Germany - What to do, where to go and how not to spend much money

neon_glows

I was thinking of spending 3 weeks in germany, hitching around the country and travelling light, going for the real backpacker life style however i do have access to a car in ireland, would it work out cheaper in long run if i brought it with me to sleep in and to get around and am i being silly by spending my whole time in only germany and should i really expand it to a quick nip through a few countrys in europe

neon_glows

Wondering if anyone has any advice on how to stick to a really tight budget while travelling in germany, cheapest beer and places to drink, cheap places to buy food and if camping or sleeping rough would be worth it? Is there public showers?

BuffyBot

One thread would seem to be plenty. Merged

uiscebeatha

If not spending much money is a priority, avoid the Irish pubs and other touristy places as they cost a lot more. Drink the local beers and wines as they are usually a bit cheaper.

Taking the car might be a bit of a hastle because you would spend a lot on petrol. Germany is a lot bigger then Ireland, to drive around would cost a fortune and petrol was a bit more expenive here last time I checked. Plus there's the cost of the ferry and the fact that even getting to germany would be at least a whole day travelling as opposed to a few hours by plane. And obviously you wouldn't be able to shower in the car so a hostel might be nicer in that sense

There are private bus companies that aren't that expensive, and you could get a night-bus, to save you the odd nights hostel cost and to make the most of the daylight hours.

The train costs a fortune, especially the IC and ICEs (Inter-city and Inter-City Express) but they are more comfortable and way faster, plus there are night trains with beds and stuff in them. What I have is a BahnCard50 which I paid €220 for and means I get all my train tickets for half price (except special offers I think), it's €110 if you have a student card. There is also the BahnCard25, which is the same but cheaper and you only get 25% off. They are valid for 12 months but if you are doing a fair bit of travelling you will save the cost of the card very quickly. Eg. a return trip from Koblenz to Munich with the IC costs €160, with the BC50 it's only €80. There are other offers too but I'm not familiar with them, but go to bahn.de to see them

There used to be a website where you could find people making a trip on the same day as you and organise to go with them if you shared the cost of the petrol. I can't think of it at the moment but if I find it I'll post back. I don't know that it's any safer then hitch-hiking but you'd have the person's details beforehand etc.

There are some hostels that are dirt cheap in the big cities but might be on the outskirts. Eg. The Generator in Berlin was I think about €10 per night for a bed in a shared dorm 2 years ago, but you had to get the tram into the city centre, it wasn't anywhere near walking distance. But it was right beside the tram-stop and was nice and clean and they gve you a free breakfast.

PeakOutput

you should spend at least a week in berlin alone to be honest

east berlin was very cheap to live when i was there 2 years ago and its an amazing city(my personaly favourite in the world to date)

i found a great little hippy type commune type place in the middle of the city which is great for chilling at all night but i never got the real name but if your interested i can pm you directions(rough directions)

id skip frankfurt i hated it

edit; we stayed in the generator hostel in berlin was dirt cheap at teh time and suprisingly good quality with a nice bar and they organise a great pub crawl fr 10/15 euro

WooPeeA

1. Visit sex museum in Berlin
2. Buy a piece of Berlin wall from street seller
3. Drink original German beers
4. Visit Nuremberg where Nazism began
5. Taste original German sausage roll
6. Visit some night club
7. Visit some coffee shop and read local press
8. Ski
9. Quads
10. Make a trip to central-European forest, you won't find them anywhere else in Europe and the world.

All depend of what do you like.

thusspakeblixa

My advice would be to skip Frankfurt and head south into Baden-Wuertemburg.
Stuttgart is great and Freiburg has a real buzz about it (a major student city)
Last summer I spent a week going around Baden-Wuertemburg. Went to Stuttgart, Freiburg, Tribourg, Rust and Hoffenheim. Stayed in a B & B in Rust (really rural but quite central). You're quite near the Freench and Swiss borders too, as well as the magnificent Black Forest.
I'd reccomend a trip over the French border into Alsace as well as a trip to Titisee in the Black Forest (an absolute MUST see in the south-west, and quite accessible by train). There's loads of little tourist villages like Tribourg around that area. Tribourg has lots of accomodation, Germanys largest waterfall, and the worlds largest cuckoo clock