The Ultimate Germany Road Trip Itinerary
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Our Germany Road Trip was probably the most last minute trip we have taken. With three holidays and a honeymoon cancelled thanks to coronavirus and the ever changing quarantine rules. We decided to jump in the car and plan our route as we went, we booked the channel tunnel the day before we left, and spent a wonderful 2 and a bit weeks travelling through Bavaria and the Black Forest.
I really underestimated how beautiful Germany is and how much there is to see and do there. I’ve never thought of travelling round the country, perhaps because in past I’ve just take weekend city breaks there, plus the food which I’ll come to later isn’t hugely vegetarian friendly.
However it’s the perfect country to drive through, with a really varied landscape you can fit in forest walks, lakeside swims, city life and incredible vineyards all in one trip.
Our Germany Itinerary at a glance:
Day 1-3
Folkestone- Calais- Cologne
Regensburg, stayed in this great hotel: The Green Spirit Hotel
Day 3-4
Bavarian Forest, Miltach
Stayed in this beautiful and quite unusual Airbnb
Day 5-7
Lake Starnberg
Day 7-9
Munich
Stayed in the well located hotel: The Bold Hotel
Day 10-16
Black Forest
Waldkirch, Airbnb (this was a really gem): Annas Scheune
Gengebach, Hotel, the staff here were so wonderful and the breakfast was the best we had in all of Germany: https://www.die-reichsstadt.de/
Top tips for plan a road trip in Germany:
With the current coronavirus situation, there are obviously a lot of Germans travelling through Germany so accommodation can take longer to find, but if you are prepared to do your research you can find some great places on: booking.com and Airbnb
If you are planning to take your car over from the UK make sure to check what you need to:
When driving through Germany it is a legal requirement to have a environmental low emission sticker. You can order one before you leave the UK, or it’s easy enough to pick up one on your route at any TUV centre while you are out there. However if you don’t have a sticker you can be fined by the police.
Our Two Week-Itinerary: Germany road trip
Our travelling style was to book things on the go and as we moved along, our route was quite ambitious and involved a lot of driving at the start, as originally we were hoping to get into Slovenia and then head back through parts of the Black Forest.
However with quarantine rules changing while we were out there we had to change our plans, so I would say plan your route so you can fit in more stops and take things a bit slower.
Cologne & Regensburg
We stopped off in a town just outside of Cologne, this was to break up the journey and give us a break from driving but if were to go back we probably would of spent a night or two in the city.
Regensburg we randomly picked on the map on our route to Slovenia but it turned into being one of our favourite stop offs. As the city has managed to keep a lot of its original medieval architecture in its old town, and its location right on the Danube reminded of parts of Amsterdam or Budapest.
You could easily spend a weekend break here and fill your day strolling around the town, taking in the cathedral and stopping off at all the bakeries for apfel strudel and pretzels.
Food & Restaurant Recommendations
The Green Spirit Hotel- This was a great find, with a modern but also steam punk theme to it, with a beautiful garden and they serve breakfast in the hotel, although we ended up going out for food.
This was one of the best dinner we had of the trip, delicious small plates with loads of vegetarian and vegan options. They have a cosy cocktail bar space too and the staff were so friendly. Highly recommended
Go for the breakfast or the cocktails or both, such a tasty menu but be warned it is all in German so either learn some German or download the google translate app for the menu.
The presentation of the food, the taste and atmosphere of the restaurant all get a 10/10
Bavarian Forest
This was another unplanned visit but it turned out to be a real highlight of the trip, we stayed in a tiny little quiet village called Miltatch (see the link to the Airbnb above) and spent a long weekend soaking up the September sunshine, hiking and eating lots of waffles.
Recommendations:
Hiking up to Grosser Falkenstein, this is an absolute must especially if the weather is good.
There is lots of parking at the bottom and clearly sign posted routes up the top of varying levels of difficutly.
Take food, snacks and water with you as its quite a climb. There is also a small café and restaurant at the top where you can have a beer or a slice of Bavarian pie and take in the view.
This place was right next to our Airbnb, a random little find but the waffles were fantastic and you can eat in a stationery train or do a take away. Worth stopping if you are passing by.
Lake Starnberg
We were really fortunate with the weather for a good chunk of the trip so we decided to spend some sunny days by one of Germany’s famous lakes. There are so many to pick from, and the lakes are well maintained, clean and the German’s of a day trip the beach.
Others on our list that didn’t make it to were: Amersee and Koniggssee.
If the weather is good you can spend your days swimming in the lake, cycling around, we rented bikes for the day and get to the other side of the lake. There’s lots of bars, restaurants, and ice cream shops to stop off on route and the trails are clearly sign posted.
We didn’t find many great restaurants here, or they seemed over-priced and tourist so we did end up cooking a lot in our Airbnb.
Munich
I wasn’t expecting to like Munich as much as I did, perhaps because Berlin is always top of my list. However it was lovely to be in a city for a few days, and a nice contrast to the forests and lakes we had been visiting.
It’s an easy to city navigate around on foot, or if you are feeling more adventurous pick up the road side electric scooters that they have all over the city. They are so much fun to use, and with all the bike paths and parks you can cover a lot of ground in a day.
Food & Other Recommendations:
Great rooftop bar, opening hours vary and the website isn’t too reliable so check their social media and Instagram stories
Hans Im Gluck:
This is a well know chain with restaurants all over the city, its reliable and a good price and the burgers and cocktails are delicious.
Great café with delicious cake, their lunch and dinner menu looked good too and an incredible hot chocolate menu.
Perfect brunch spot, or go for the coffee and cake
Get the banh mi and the fresh apple juice, I loved the décor of their restaurants.
Beer garden at the Chinese Tower, English Garden
Great spot in the park to sip beers and eat giant pretzels.
Black Forest
The Black Forest is every bit as mystical and atmospheric as it sounds, you need a car here just to take in the scenery and the way the mist gathers over the top of the tree tops is mesmerising.
We stayed in a very unique Airbnb that I completely fell in love with, located in Buchholz near Waldkirch, we were surrounded by vineyards, wine shops, bakers and a small local market. On the weekends in August- October you can go and pick fresh apple juice from the orchards for a euro.
There is so much to see and explore in this whole region and you could easily spend a week in just a small area exploring, hiking, visiting vineyards.
After 3 nights we headed further up North to Gengebach, where part of Charlie and the Chocolate factory is filmed. We treated ourselves to a lovely hotel which used as a base to drive from and cycle out to the local vineyards and towns nearby.
I loved the Black Forest, again the food was mixed in this area as you either have to go for a Michelin starred dinner or meat and potatoes or pizza, but if you do your research some of the vineyards have some great places to eat.
Recommendations:
A winery based up in a castle with great views, a restaurant, a wine shop and a good place to stop for a drink outside for a few hours
This winery was my favourite, the location was close to the French border and the architecture was thoughtfully and beautifully designed. Go for generous tastings or book one of their two famous restaurants. You can take a walk through the vineyards which is well worth doing
The best accommodation we stayed in the whole trip, and Ines was a fantastic and helpful host.
We had such a great trip and we could have easily extended it to included some stop offs in France, Austria and Slovenia if we could have done. But that’s something for next time.
I do hope this helpful, let me know if you end up taking a trip or using any tips or advice here.