Germany is such a vast country especially since the unification of East and West Germany. It has such a wide variety of landscape and terrain from the flat lands of the north to the alpine mountains of Bavaria. All of which can give good cycling.
Germany has vastly improved its cycle paths and cycle routes over the last few years and now has a extensive network of of well marked local and long distance cycle paths. The amount of people touring and recreational cycling has similarly increased. There are cycle paths on most main roads and these are mostly separate to the road itself, however in the towns and cities a lot of the cycle ways are just part of existing pedestrian paths. Therefore care has to be taken with pedestrians and in mounting curbs as you cross adjoining roads. |
Cycling on the island of Amrum |
Most of the cycle paths are well sign posted. In the Old East Germany we found that the roads are still not that good, the main roads are narrow but very busy and a lot of the country roads are still cobbled. This can make journey times significantly slower.
Germany has many long distance cycle routes, there are currently 200 which cover most of the country and are well marked, you can find a good interactive map and descriptions on the www.germany-tourism.de site. Also on this site there is a good route finder, that will suggest a route according to certain criteria that you put in and suggestions for routes if you like rivers or mountains or want a route suitable for children.
Campsites in Germany are not as numerous as in Holland or Denmark and therefore a little more care is needed in your route choice to make sure that you days are not too long. They are generally of a good standard and most are well equipped and prices vary according to the facilities offered. Prices range from @€5 per person and @€4 for a tent. Most campsites are marked on the tourist maps. More information on campsites can be obtained from the Deutsche Camping Club, e-mail: info@camping-club.de or their Web site: www.camping-club.de (In German).
Maps aren't that easy to come by in Germany except in the larger book shops in the towns and cities. The tourist information offices only seem to deal with accommodation and unlike the Dutch 'VVV's' do not sell maps. It might be worth your while to try and obtain your maps in Britain before you leave from some where like Stanford's or try contacting 'The Map shop', they hold a good selection in stock and are very helpful.
 Radwanderkarte 1:75,000
Cost @ €5
The most detailed maps available, they show all the cycle paths even showing which side of the road the paths is on!. They include a lot of tourist information symbols and on the back there is information on the places of interest (only in German). Because of there small scale you may need a lot of them! |
 ADFC-RadtourenKarte 1:150,000
Cost @ €6.8
The official map of the Allgemeinen Deutschen Fahrrad club (one of the German Cycling Clubs) Good detailed maps showing all the cycling routes. They have useful 'spanner' symbol to mark the towns or villages which have cycle repair shops. Be aware that in our experience some campsites marked on the maps haven't always existed! |
 Deutsche Radtourenkarte 1:100,000
Cost @ €7.9
These are produced by Haupka in conjunction with the B.D.R.(The Bund Deutscher Radfahrer e.V.- another of the German cycling clubs). These have good detail with the usual tourist information. And like the Radwanderkarte they have information on the places of interest (again only in German). They show all the cycle paths, including the national cycle routes ('Radwanderwegs'). |
- The Rough Guide to Germany - Published by Rough Guides ISBN 1-85828-128-8 A very useful guide to all things in Germany.
- Esterbauer publish a number of good cycle guides for a lot of the main cycle routes, they have good strip maps but the text is unfortunately all in German, check out their website www.esterbauer.com
- Bergstrasse Bike Books produce good cycling guides for some areas of Germany, currently - a circular route along the Rhine from Strasbourg to Koblenz, up the Moselle to Nancy and then parallel to the Rhine-Marne canal to Strasbourg and two volumes of the Rhine End to End: Andermatt-Basel and Basel-Hook of Holland. Now includes their latest guide for Lake Constance and the area roundabout.
Remember opening times are not as liberal as in Britain most shops stay open until 5:30 p.m. and some supermarkets in the bigger towns stay open later and very few shops are open on a Sunday. Most of the bigger campsites have campsite shops although these generally adhered to normal shop opening times in Germany.
 It is perfectly feasible to take your bikes on the German trains, we have used it several times, there are a some things to take note of see our page 'Trains in Germany' to find out. Contact Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) for more details, they now have a online booking service in English.
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- The cycle paths in the towns and cities in Germany are often not purpose built and are partitioned parts of the existing pedestrian paths. You will need to be careful of pedestrians and the inadequate ramps on the curbs of roads that cross the paths.
- Cycle helmets are more acceptable in Germany and you will not get the funny looks that you do in Holland.
- Some campsites use a key system for the toilet facilities which requires you to pay a refundable deposit, if you intend to leave early you will have to make arrangements with the owners.
- Quite a few of the country roads in the old East Germany are still cobbled, a good sturdy bike and a good suspension seat post and a well padded or srung saddle is helful on the 'Derriere'.
The German Tourist information Offices seem mainly to be geared up for organising accommodation for tourists rather than for providing information on places of interest in there local area. Unlike the Dutch they don't seem to sell maps of their local area.
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