Am planning a trip to Germany...

Can anyone tell me the best time to go...was thinking of August for my anniversary.
also...advice as best/worst places
want clean comfortable but not not fancy...

Any season can be very nice in Germany. Summers (August) can be hot and humid, or cool and rainy. We don't reserve air conditioned rooms, but you might consider it in August if you really dislike humid nights.

What to see? Germany has a highly varied menu of tourist sights. You can beach on the North or Baltic Seas. You can visit the mountains (cooler in August). You can visit medieval cities, castles, palaces, river towns, Gothic or Baroque churches, etc. Many places have good museums: art, history, technology, culture. It might be best if you outlined the types of things that you might like to see.

A good start is a guide book targeted at sights; I like the Michelin Green Guide for this purpose.

Good Luck, Gary

April, May, June. Why? It's the spargel season (white asparagus), and they're heavenly.

I'd avoid July & August. It can get quite hot in Germany, and many smaller hotels and guesthouses don't have a/c. Of course, if you stay at 4* hotels or business-type hotels, those certainly have a/c.

Germany is lovely when all the trees are in bloom and the flowers are out. Of course one also gets a lot of rain then too. May can be really nice on average. As to where to go, you really need to think about your interests. Small towns and villages or big cities, historical sites, Roman stuff, castles, WW2 things, etc. Come back and tell us that and you will get some good answers. Just as a personal favorite - Berlin and Potsdam.

Hi crazyb,

It would help if you could be a bit more specific... what type of trip you'd like... such as museums, castles, cities, villages, mountains, etc. and how long you have to spend there plus if you prefer traveling by car or train.

That said, we almost always travel in Oct. and think it's the best time of year to travel. Fewer crowds and nice weather, at least in our experiences so far.

Anyway, my personal favorites:

Mittenwald
Berchtesgaden area (we like Ramsau in particular)
Fuessen
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Cochem (and everywhere along the Mosel)
Bacharach and St. Goar along the Rhine

Really need more info to help you though.

Paul

When ever you can get a ticket.

My recommendation is May through mid June, or early to mid September. Anything earlier or later and you can't enjoy the outdoors as much. Biergarten season usually starts May 1 or so, which opens up a whole host of dining, people watching, and beverage drinking options.

Anything in between and you run a higher risk of it being very hot & humid.

We have been several times in May and the weather has been quite good. Sometimes cool with rain here and there, but mostly nice. Lots of lovely flowers and everything is very green. As others mentioned, it is also the Spargel season so a plus if you like asparagus.

Our last trip was from 12 Sept to 4 October and it was gorgeous! The colors were lovely and the weather was good. While there wasn't any spargel, there was lots of wine!!

Favorite places, in no particular order:

Berchtesgaden and Koenigsee

Rhine and Mosel River areas with all their castles and winegrowing areas including Bacarach, Beilstein, Bernkastel-Kues, Trier, Cochem, Burg Eltz.

The Romantic Road including Wurzburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Noerdlingen, and Dinkelsbuehl.

Tuebingen and the nearby Hohenzollern Castle

Many small towns such as Bad Wimpfen, Iphofen, Miltenberg, Gengenbach, and Dettelbach.

Bavarian mountains and castles including Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, and Mittenwald

In my experience, I have yet to find any "worst" places.

If you would like to see our photos, you can check out this website:

Sept 2007 trip: http://travel.webshots.com/album/561038806XxDcvw

May 2006 trip:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/554510509SyxotU

May 2005 trip:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/354616542PMkPVQ

Hi bettyk,

I agree, I haven't found a "worst place" yet either. Hopefully we won't!

Paul

Paul, when are you planning your next trip?

We're doing the UK in April so may not get back to Germany & Austria this year. Would love to go at Christmas but the stock market would need to go waaaaay up. LOL!

My favorite time in Germany was early June. May was more of a mixed bag for me - weather wise. July and August were a little hot for me, but I was in Northern Germany at the time.

I have never been in the fall, but one day I will.

For my first trip to Germany I would start in Southern Germany.

Gee, I can't believe I forgot to add the Bodensee (Lake Constance) area of Germany -- Meersburg and Lindau. Gorgeous scenery and so close to Switzerland and another of my favorite places, Stein am Rhein!!

Hi bettyk,

We're looking to go to Bavaria/Austria/Dolomites and Venice this fall. Hopefully this year will be better than last and we can make the trip. I really enjoyed your photo's again! Have a safe and great time in the UK!

Paul

I vote for winter!! The Christmas markets are so magical -

I've only been to Germany once and that was during the middle of October. We started on the Rhine & Mosel with 70-80 degree temps, and the beautiful colors of the still blooming flowers and changing trees.

By the time we made our way across Germany to Munich and then on to Mittenwald and Füssen, we had snow! For us, it was the perfect weather and the perfect time to go.

You can read my trip report at the following link. Maybe there's some information that could help your planning -

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35116484

Robyn >-

WOW! Lots of info...Thanks very much for all your help....let me read all that you've given me and maybe then I'll have better questions..

Really appreciate your time guys!

I am with lisadrew...Everything is so magical at Christmas!

We enjoyed Bavaria (Munich, Fuessen, Salzburg) and can't wait to go back!

I'd say the best time to go is on a Redeye flight. I am going at 5:00 p.m. next week.
;-)

crazyb1,

I was in Baden-Wurttemburg Germany this past October from the 8th to the 16th, in a samall village, this time of the year was amazing, the vineyards were changing colors it was the most beaultiful thing I have ever seen. Summer is also beautiful however it was very, very hot and humid. Spring I also love very much, the houses and gardens are beautiful lots of different color flowers, and of course the winter is beautiful when it snows, it looks like a Christmas Card. Enjoy your trip.