Club 80-90 Forums

I really want to do a european camping trip this year but I've never camped outside the UK and I really fancy going to Germany as neither my wife or I have ever be there. I quite like the idea of either the Black Forest or driving the van to Wolfsburg for obvious reasons. Does anybody know of any great campsites in the regions and how long it'd take to get there? I will probably only have a week to 10 days for the trip, so would it be worth it for such a short time? I'd love to take the my dogs with me if I go to the Black Forest for some walking.

hi,
i live in germany and travel around the place quite a lot. never been to either the black forest or wolfsburg but friends of mine have been to wolfsburg and said that the factory tour and museum etc. is excellent.i keep threatening to go but never get round tto it.i suppose because tis kinda on my doorstep (3hours drive) you take it for granted.but the black forest is supposed to very good and germany is a great place to travel round in a camper as nearly all the big towns and cities have camping areas for buses. you also need to remember its very big. for example from the black forest to wolfsburg is about a 7 or 8 hour drive in a camper van plus you can get some seriously long queues on the autobahns if there is an accident (of which there are lots cos hey all drive like mentallists) or if there are road works (of which there are also lots) and these can add considerable time to the journey so i would say pick ann area you would like to see and go for it. the southern reigion of bavaria is nice especially the allgau chiemsee areas lake constance (bodensee) is also really nice .i live in nord rhine westfalia which i think is really nice too but like i say its a big place and different parts have different scenery .the north is generally flatter than down south and on the eastern borders if you go really southclose to the austrian border its like the alps, really big mountains and unbelieveable scenery. some of the larger campsites can be a bit expensive but lots of the small ones are really cheap. the people generally are very nice and all of the big autohofs have showers and power plug ups so if you cant find a camping platz you can sleep in the services .time to drive from uk? if your going north from say calais its probably about 5 and a half hours to the german border if your going south a lot more. hope this is of some help. if you have any more questions i can help you with feel free to ask

el sketcho wrote: Does anybody know of any great campsites

http://www.camping-belchenblick.de

Ian

Hi there,
3 years ago we bought a hi top westy up near Hamburg, and drove down to the Rhine, and Mainz. Found the campsites excellent, and never had to prebook or reserve. Sites are plentifull and very well organised, with barbecue's for the people to use, playgrounds , shops bars etc. People are very friendly. We were stood gazing into a wine shop window and trying to decipher the opening times, when a passerby heard us talking and came over. He advised we travel on 20 miles to Bodenheim, a little village and buy our wine direct from the farmers, much cheaper he said! He was right, every farmer had a little farm yard, bottling area, where there was a tasting area, and they are very liberal with the measures! we got 48 bottles from one place and 24 from another. Average price 3 euro per bottle. If you think your Westy has a lean on it, this is one way to counter it! Germany was much friendlier than either Luxembourg of indeed France, in our opinion. And the people we bought the van off, put us up for the night, cooked breakfast and helped with the ownership transfere the next day! Nigel in Cavan

The motorways and service areas are fantastic,put our UK ones to shame ! Even the public toilets outside built in little 'bungalows' have spotlessly clean interiors with stainless steel,self cleaning toilets,when you flush the whole thing turns in on itself,disenfecting the seat etc.
Germany and Austria are very beautiful,and the services themselves in some places are better than campsites with amazing views (if you find them) Use VIA michelin route finder or google info,before hand.
Most campers go the France to Spain route,but theres so much out there ! from Germany (if you had time )theres Austria,Hungary,Romania or Serbia,into Bulgaria (where you can buy brand new and fitted LPG system for less than £500 !!)Or from Germany into Switzerland,maybe onto Italy and even a ferry to Greece..
Three to four days driving to Bulgaria,two days to Italy..Greece 3 days (comfortably,of course much sooner if serious driving)
If your down Bulgaria way ,give us a shout,you can stop in my garden (half acre) for a while and freshen up,take in the local sites,how abouta convoy...

If you want to take your dogs, get things started asap. The pet passport scheme is good but you need to have the rabies jab done first then wait for some time to get the +ve antibody test back (from Germany ironically). Have a word with your local vet, they should have all the info, or check on the DEFRA website. It takes time to get the first passport and re-entry to the UK is not allowed within the first 6 months of issue, hence the need to get everything sorted as quickly as possible.

Drop me a line if you need any further info; it's straightforward but as with anything European it does take time.

Hi,

Like Melmelody, we also live in northern Germany and have recently got back from a trip down south. As others have said, campsites are plentiful and rarely booked up and people are generally very friendly and welcoming. However, a really good alternative option are the Stell Platz. These vary from a city centre car park to a pub car park, but are either free or very cheap (8-10Euro) to stay. As soon as you get into Germany stop at a bookshop or camping/caravan shop and pick up a 'Bord Atlas' (see http://www.bordatlas.de). This shows you where all the Stell Platzes are and gives a bit of detail (in German, but pretty easy to work out). Last time we picked one up, it was about 15Euros, but you will save that the first night you stay on a Stell Platz! My favourite was the Gasthaus car park near Nurnburg which was free to stay in and it turned out the Gasthaus did great food and had its own on-site brewery!

The Black Forest is beautiful, but covers a huge area, so don't try to do it all in one go. We went to Freiburg on our last trip and this is a fantastic old university town. We found a campsite in the city with great cycling links into the centre. Also try any of the German lakes. Because most people live so far from the sea, the lakes tend to be really well set up for beaches, swimming, camping etc. Learn a little bit of German - they will soon switch into perfect English, but appreciate you trying!