Backpacking in Germany

[allie_oop_07]

I am planning a trip to Germany next year and want to camp for most of it in an effort to save money. I plan to go along the Neckar and Rhine and visit as many castles/ruins as I can. Because of this I will be walking just about everywhere. My first concern is safety, of couse. Will I be ok sleeping in a tent alone (I am female and will be 23 next

Comments

[liluenhen]

The idea sounds great but out of my own experience, I sadly cannot recommend you going on that trip alone. Anything could happen, really, and no one would ever find out. You could trip or fall and hurt yourself really badly, get hit by a car, mugged or even worse, get lost, pretty much anything. It's not enough that your family or friends know your whereabouts, I really think you should find someone to join you on that awesome trip.

Other than that, it's a great idea and I've done plenty of hiking trips with my brother and they've all been an awesome experience.

[allie_oop_07]

Thanks for all the good info. I was planning on getting a phone/what-have-you that has GPS as well as internet access so I can keep in contact with my family. I imagine that will allay some fears my family has.

What type of backpack did you have? I've been looking at the internal frame backpacking ones but it doesn't seem like those can be locked closed. How did you make sure people couldn't get in?

[njlorelei]

I can't answer the camping questions but I've been to the Rhine and Mosel areas of Germany and the roads along the rivers are definitely safe for walking. We walked along the river often, but I was never alone. I took the ferry once. What specifically do you want to know about the ferry?

Also you might get more answers from the German community - deutsche_kultur

[allie_oop_07]

I am about as landlocked as one can get(North Dakota) so I have never been on a ferry before. How often do they leave? How long does it take to get from one side of the river to the other? Can you buy a week-long pass? Anything you might think to be heplful probably would be.

[njlorelei]

There are many points along the Rhine River that you can cross on a ferry. Depending on which town you are in there could be one ferry company or a couple. There are usually multiple ferries running per day at many times. You can also take a boat up or down the river rather than just across it.

I don't remember how long it takes but I imagine it would depend on which part of the river you are crossing. We only went on it once and just bought a single ride ticket.

Here's a link to a website (http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.com/rhine-cruise/map/index.html) that I used prior to our trip to get ideas about the ferries. It definitely has lot of info in it and hopefully will give you what you need.

[freda]

Apart from what's already mentioned above (and what probably could happen everywhere), I'd say it's safe to travel alone in Germany but I guess you will find fellow travellers along the way or at the campinggrounds anyway.
The most dangerous thing would be walking on the actual main roads but there should be hiking paths (Wanderwege) like the "Rheinsteig" or small trails next to the roads.
I think I might be easier to use the ferry to get in and out of the cities but cannot help you with any detail on that.

[legolulu]

Hi I´m german, so pleas excuse my english. I think there will be no problems on your trip. You can safely stay on the campgrounds. The part of germany you are going to travel to is one of the most touristic parts, so there are tourist informations center almost in every small city. Most of them have good internet sites you could check, they will send you informations via mail or email. It is really safe, even for a girl. The ADAC has checked and classified all official campgrounds in germany, you should look at their internet page (I´m not sure if it´s in english).You can of course walk along the main round into the cities, but there will always be a foothpath, which is more beautiful. As far as I know, you can walk all the way along the Rhine from Holland to the Bodensee, so ferries and cars will be no problem. I hope this will help you. If there are any questions, please ask.