Holidays in Germany have so much to offer the British traveller. From vibrant cities to fairytale towns and pristine natural landscapes, this is a travel destination which keeps on giving! In fact, Germany is rich with so much history, beauty and culture that we struggled to cover it all in one post! Here are some of our favourite Germany holiday ideas and some top tips to get your next adventure started!
Table of Contents:
- Germany Beach Holidays
- City Breaks in Germany
- Germany’s Great Outdoors
- How to Get to Germany From the U.K.
- Useful German Phrases for Travel
Germany Beach Holidays
Like Poland, the German coast faces North, into the Baltic Sea. Despite summer temperatures reaching a respectable 21 degrees at best, there are still plenty of beaches for a summer holiday. Some of the prettiest German beaches can be found on the small island of Rügen in the North East tip of the country. Here you can find white sandy beaches with traditional architecture and old school charm. It’s about a three hour drive on the Autobahn from Berlin to Rügen and the North East Coast. Closer to Hamburg, the island of Langeoog (‘Long Island’ in Low German) – less populated than Rügen, you can still find white sand and plenty of space to relax!
City Breaks in Germany
Germany has no shortage of well known cities, each with a different focus or speciality for the intrepid traveller. Less than two hours from London, the iconic Berlin offers much for any tourist. Recent history from the WWII and the Cold War are on every street but so too is the culture that makes this a city like no other. Before, and after the wall Berlin has inspired musicians to write and record in the city. Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy, U2’s Achtung Baby were just some of the seminal works created at Hansa, the Studio by the wall.
For history buffs, Berlin is almost a living museum of history with museums and memorials to the many events of the Second World War – what other city has a gun tower as a major tourist attraction?
The southern city of Munich is Bavaria’s capital famous for historic buildings, beer halls and traditions including the annual Oktoberfest. The city is full of beautiful buildings, from the chocolate box Marienplatz, Gothic buildings Neues Rathaus (town hall) the stunning St. Peter’s Church and modern buildings like Pinakothek der Moderne – the modern art museum.
Big Skies and Black Forests
Away from the busy cities, Germany has lots of open space for hiking and enjoying the great outdoors. The famous Black Forest, named after the tree canopy that blocks light into the forest, is just one of 16 national parks across the country.
Nestled in the South West of Germany, just almost bordering Switzerland and France, The Black Forest offers quaint villages, cuckoo clocks, spa towns and plenty of campsites and trails. Major towns like Baden Baden in the North and Freiburg in the South are great focal points for planning a trip.
Another fantastic way to explore Germany’s stunning landscapes is by booking a cruise. From one of Germany’s popular river cruises, it’s possible to admire the country’s majestic landscape as it shifts from dramatic mountains to lush vineyards and more.
Around 40 minutes from Dresden, the Saxon Switzerland National Park offers 400km of trail paths, 700 peaks for climbing and no shortage of breathtaking scenery.
On the Czech Border, is Germay’s oldest national park, the Bavarian Forest National Park (Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald) home to rare European Wolves, Brown Bears and Lynx. This vast park caters for all levels of outdoor enthusiasts, with paths for families with children to majestic cross country skiing and snowshoe routes,
How to Get to Germany from the UK
With so many amazing things to see and do it is not surprising that Germany is one of the U.K.’s most popular tourist destinations. Another reason why Germany is such a firm favourite of British travellers is probably that it is relatively simple to reach. Here are some of the best ways to get to Germany from the U.K.
Flights from the UK
There are daily non-stop flights from London, Manchester and Glasgow to major German cities including Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich. The average flight time from England to Germany is 1 hour 32 mins.
Trains from London
Hop on the Eurostar to Brussels and change for most major German cities. You can expect a train journey from London to Berlin to take around 10 hours. The wonderfully efficient Deutsche Bahn railways connect most of Germany for easy connections across the country.
Bus from London
Buses leave Victoria station in London most days, heading via Belgium or the Netherlands to connect into Germany. You can expect the journey to take twice as long as the train but it could cost half as much!
Drive
If you want to experience the open road, and those famous autobahns, then pack the car and hop on the Eurotunnel train across to France then pick up the road to Ghent, passing through Antwerp before passing the German border. Major cities like Dussledorf, Cologne and Bonn are some of the closest destinations. Remember that Germany is a big country so a drive from Cologne to Berlin, for example, will take you over 6 hours.
Germany is an EU country so you can spend Euros and use your mobile phone [pretty much] as normal!
Useful German Phrases for Travel
- Wie lautet der WLAN-Code? – what is the wifi code?
- sprichst du Englisch? – do you speak English?
- Hallo! Hello!
- Guten Morgen! – Good morning!
- Guten Tag! – Good day!
- Guten Abend! – Good evening!
- Bitte. – Please.
- Danke. – Thanks. / Thank you.
- Tschüss. – Bye.
- Auf Wiedersehen. – Goodbye.
Useful German Transport Words
- Banhoff – Station (railway or Underground)
- Bahn – Railway
- Ubahn – Subway
- Stadtbahn – ‘Light Rail’ (trams)
- Autobahn – Motorway
- Strasse – Street
- Flughafen – Airport
- Hafen – Port
- Polizei – Police
To Germany and Beyond
Holidays in Germany can suit any type of traveller from the history buffs to the nature lovers. If you are interested in cultural trips you might find a holiday to Ireland or a trip to Greece fascinating. If you prefer to switch off with your toes in the sand, how about visiting Antigua or hidden Italian Islands? For all your travel inspiration needs, follow Virtual Wanderlust on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
