10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO GERMANY

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With this selection of tips for traveling to Germany We want to help you prepare your trip to one of the most diverse and incredible countries in the world, which is also very easy to move around.
Known by many for its fairytale landscapes, charming villages, romantic palaces and its multicultural Berlin, Germany is a country that we recommend to know, whether making a roadtrip or different getaways from your place of origin.

Based on the different trips we have made such as the trip to Bavaria, the couple of occasions we have made a trip to Berlin and the trip to Bremen and Hamburg, we want to leave you a selection of those that are for us the 10 essential tips for traveling to Germany. We start!

1. What is the best time?

Although as in other countries we could say that any time is good to visit Germany, taking into account the weather, we can divide the year into three quite different eras.

High season (July and August): these two months of the year are the busiest and also, since the last two years, the hottest. Although it is a perfect time if you want to enjoy festivals and outdoor activities, it is worth considering the overcrowding and high temperatures in some areas of the country such as Berlin.
Mid season (from April to June and September and October): in our experience, the best time to make a trip to Germany would be during these months when the tourist places are not so crowded and the weather is much more benign.
Low season (from November to March): normally these months are the coldest of the year as well as the rainiest. Except for the option that you want to travel at Christmas to enjoy some charming area like the Black Forest or winter sports, it would be the least recommended time.

Remember that in case of traveling in high season or at Christmas, it is highly recommended to book flights and accommodation with enough time to have the maximum options and find more affordable prices.

2. Entry requirements

For travel to Germany Being a Spanish citizen or of the European Union (EU), you will only need to carry your ID or passport as an entry requirement. In case you have another place of origin, we recommend you to inform yourself on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of your country or at the German Embassy, to have clear and updated procedures for entering the country.

In addition to the documentation discussed above and although this is not an indispensable requirement, it is important to bring the European Health Card to receive medical assistance if necessary. Regardless of this and if you want to have the best coverage and that extras are included as a repatriation, it is highly recommended to have the best travel insurance for Europe, with which you will receive the best medical care.
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

3. Security

Germany is one of the safest countries in the European Union, although as in all destinations, it is important to take precautions and travel with common sense. Taking this into account, it is advisable not to pay attention to valuables when you are in tourist places where there are many people, ask at the hotel if there is any area not recommended in the city if you travel alone in addition to going at night for places that you know and know that they are not dangerous.

In case you are going to rent a car in Germany, it is important to know that the maximum breathalyzer rate is 0.05% and if you exceed it, you can also face a fine to the jail sentence.

In addition to the aforementioned, another of the tips for traveling to Germany, as well as any destination, is to take a copy of the personal documentation, such as passport, ID, insurance policy ... etc in the cloud so that in case of loss or theft, it is much easier to perform any type of procedure.

Dresden

4. How to start the trip to Germany?

The first and most important thing to keep in mind is to determine if you want to make a trip through Germany or want to pay a visit to one of its best-known cities or areas, something that will depend largely on the days you have.
Whatever the option, the most common means of transport is the plane, with dozens of options among which are included depending on the destination, low cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet. To find the one that best suits your needs, we recommend using a search engine like Skyscanner.

In case you have chosen to make a roadtrip, it is very advisable to choose to rent a car, since although public transport in Germany is very effective, having a car that gives you freedom of schedules and movements, is a real luxury.
In case you do not want to use the car and want to move around some of the main cities of the country, another option is the train, a very comfortable and fast option.

Once the transport issue has been resolved and especially if you travel in the middle or high season, it is highly recommended to look at the different accommodation options. We always use this hotel search engine with which we always get the best options at the best prices.

And last but not least, it is highly recommended to review the different excursions that can be done in the country, to be able to book them, especially if you travel in high season, to secure the place. You can see all excursions and tours in Germany here.

Germany

5. Routes through Germany

A trip to Germany by car or train, will allow you to know some of the essential places to see in Germany, through which you can enjoy incredible landscapes, charming villages anchored in time, cities with a great weight in the history of the country and the world in addition to a gastronomy, which we are sure, will be another of the pleasures of the trip.

Although as you can imagine there are hundreds of options when traveling to Germany, we propose you to start the trip in Berlin, its most cosmopolitan city, where we recommend you stay about 3-4 days to know its most tourist places.
From here the route would continue south, making a one or two day stop in Dresden, capital of Saxony, which during the Second World War suffered one of the worst bombings, which took most of its historic center, but which Today it looks wonderful after reconstruction.
After this stop, the route through Germany continues to arrive in Würzburg where you will start the Romantic Road, a route of 400 kilometers through castles, palaces, historic cities, fairytale villages and incredible landscapes, where you will meet the charming Rothenburg ob der Tauber, one of the most beautiful villages to visit in Europe, the Dinkelsbühl and Colmberg castles, the Pfaffenwinkel area, famous for its churches, and Augsburg and then finish the route in Füssen, where the famous Neuschwanstein Castle awaits you.

The village of Oberammergau

At this point you will enter Bavaria, another of the most incredible areas of Germany, where in addition to the castle, you can not miss the visit to its capital Munich, with an impressive historical center, the town of Oberammergau, a charming town, located in southern Bavaria and known for the facades of its houses painted with scenes of children's stories.
You can expand the information of this area by reading this post of tips to travel to Bavaria essential.
From here the next stop will be in Quedlinburg, one of the most beautiful cities in Germany, which stands out for its more than 1200 half-timbered houses, built from the fifteenth century and then approaching you to Lake Constance, located between three countries: Switzerland , Austria and Germany where you can spend a few relaxing days bordering it while enjoying medieval villages and exceptional landscapes.

The last proposal for this trip through Germany is to make a route through the Black Forest, a region of dreamlike landscapes and wooden houses and farms, where you can not miss Gengenbach, Sasbachwalden, Seebach, Durbach and Triberg, with their Famous waterfalls

6. Berlin

Another highly recommended way to get to know Germany, as we mentioned earlier, is to make different trips to different areas of the country.
In the first place and as the goal of many travelers, we believe that without a doubt, Berlin It's one of the essential when traveling in Germany, for being the capital of the country as well as a city with character and a difficult history to digest, which was completely rebuilt after World War II.
Taking into account the amount of visits that can and should be done in the city, we recommend you spend at least 3-4 days to know the essential places to visit in Berlin, including the Brandenburg Gate and the Unter den Linden, the East Side Gallery, Alexanderplatz, Museum Island, Berlin Cathedral, the Holocaust Monument and the Reichstag, among many others.
Remember that you can book the Berlin Pass to enter most tourist places in the city and save time and money.

Based on the experience of our two visits to the city, when traveling to Germany, we have made these four guides that will serve as a reference to not miss anything important in Berlin.

In addition to following these guides, we recommend you to know the painful history of the city by booking this guided tour of Berlin or this Free tour of Berlin Free!, Both with a guide in Spanish and the latter considered as one of the best free tours in Berlin for free in Spanish.

Berlin

After making all the visits proposed by the city and if you have an extra day, we advise you to do some of the best tours and excursions in Berlin such as the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Postdam or Dresden, where you can not miss a route through the 10 Essential places to see in Dresden.
All these excursions can be done for free, renting a car or using public transport although another more comfortable option is to book one of these excursions with a guide in Spanish:

For more information about this city you can consult this post of essential tips for traveling to Berlin.

7. Munich in Bavaria

Known for being the largest region in Germany and with endless places to visit, if your getaway is 4-5 days, like the one we did, we recommend you start in Munich, its capital where you can not miss places like Marienplatz and New Town Hall, Viktualienmarkt, a stop at the Hofbräuhaus Brewery, which is one of the things to do in Munich, a walk in Englischer Garten or a visit to Residenz, among many other places to visit in Munich.

Based on the experience of our visit to the city, we have made these three guides that will serve as a reference to not miss anything important in Munich.

In addition to following these guides to travel to Germany, we recommend you to know the history of the city by booking this guided tour of Munich or this Free tour of Munich Free!, Both with a guide in Spanish and the latter considered as one of the best free tours in Munich for free in Spanish.

If you have an extra day, it is highly recommended to make a trip to the Neuschwanstein Castle, the Dachau concentration camp or Salzburg, considered some of the best tours and excursions in Munich.

Munich

8. Black Forest

A destination for many travelers, this area of Germany is known for being one of the most beautiful landscapes in the southern part of the country, where you can enjoy rivers, waterfalls, lakes and endless forests, dotted with wooden houses that will take you back in the time.
In addition to the charming towns of Gengenbach, Sasbachwalden, Seebach, Durbach or Triberg, with their famous waterfalls, on your route through the Black Forest on the trip to Germany you can not miss the cities of Freiburg or Baden Baden.
As another of the tips to travel to Germany we would say that it is very advisable to make this route by rental car to have total freedom of movement and schedules and have 5-7 days to know and enjoy its most famous and tourist places.

The Black Forest

9. German gastronomy

Another of the most advisable advice is that you do not forget to taste and taste the fabulous (and sometimes) forceful, German cuisine. Although we know that it is impossible to cite all the dishes, we want to leave you a selection of some of the most famous and delicious, which you cannot miss on your trip.

Pork knuckle: Pork cooked in the oven to which peas puree is normally added.
Kartoffelsalat: potato salad.
Kartoffelsuppe: Potato soup to which onion, carrot and different spices are added.
Pretzel: salty bread that is usually eaten as a snack and has a round or loop shape.
Sauerkraut: fermented cabbage that is usually served as a garnish for many German cuisine dishes, including its famous sausages.
Currywurst: without a doubt, one of the star dishes of Germany. Although there are dozens of options, one of the most famous is currywurst, a sausage seasoned with curry, which you can not miss trying.
Apple strudel: Apple pie. Delicious!

Currywurst

10. More tips for traveling to Germany

Other of the best tips for traveling to Germany They are:

Although most Germans speak English, if you want to get on the right foot it is highly recommended to learn some German words like Hallo (Hello), Good morning (Guten Morgen), Good afternoon (Guten Abend), Good night (Guten Nacht), even then / see you soon (auf wiedersehen), yes (ja), no (nein), thanks (danke) and you're welcome (bitte).
Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot. You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
Remember that in Germany, in some sections, there is no speed limit on motorways. In spite of that, he always drives with caution and respecting the signs and rules.
In Germany, breakfast times are usually from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., lunch from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Although in large cities there are restaurants that usually have continuous hours, in many small towns they close between services. Keep it in mind so you don't run out of food.
In Germany the voltage is 230V, the frequency 50 Hz and the plugs are of type F.

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