Suggestions for German campsites

John Russell

John Russell

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We’re about to take the ferry from the UK to the Hook of Holland and then head in the direction of Chamonix via Düsseldorf, Heidelberg, Basel and Martigny.

We'll probably stop east or southeast of Dusseldorf overnight and then at one or two other locations along the way.

I have ordered Marquart shock absorbers that I can collect or they can send to me in Germany. I thought if we could find a nice campsite maybe we could collect them there instead of going on a long detour to Marquart in Löningen.

Usually we stop over in rural areas with no facilities so we don't need much but somewhere in an attractive setting or with some sights nearby would be good.

I don't know any German sites - can you recommend suitable places?

Thanks

John
 
Are they based around Stuttgart. It's not much farther south and Bavaria is well worth a look with loads of Stellplatz.
 
Marquart are based in Löningen in the North West near the Dutch border and a 300km detour from my route.
 
Heidleberg has a good Stellplatz within cycling distance of the city, there is also a camping site a little further out which I haven't tried, unfortunately we are too far over to have it delivered here (Rosenheim).
The Stellplatz app is my default go to app and well worth downloading for Germany (and the rest of Europe).
 
I like using campsites but in Germany very rarely , Stellplatz are the way.

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Parrot Face said:
I like using campsites but in Germany very rarely , Stellplatz are the way.
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We do like our stellplatz, a night or two then move on is the way here, unless you have family in tow then its a site.....
 
John Russell said:
We’re about to take the ferry from the UK to the Hook of Holland and then head in the direction of Chamonix via Düsseldorf, Heidelberg, Basel and Martigny.

We'll probably stop east or southeast of Dusseldorf overnight and then at one or two other locations along the way.

I have ordered Marquart shock absorbers that I can collect or they can send to me in Germany. I thought if we could find a nice campsite maybe we could collect them there instead of going on a long detour to Marquart in Löningen.

Usually we stop over in rural areas with no facilities so we don't need much but somewhere in an attractive setting or with some sights nearby would be good.

I don't know any German sites - can you recommend suitable places?

Thanks

John
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Between Dusseldorf and Heidleberg you have the Rhine south of Koblenz. We liked spending time at Camping Loreleyblick , on the bank opposite the famous rock. Lots of river traffic watching.

Hotel*** Winzerhaus An der Loreley & Campingplatz Loreleyblick

Hotel*** Winzerhaus Gärtner An der Loreley und Campingplatz Lorleleyblick in Sankt Goar
www.camping-loreleyblick.de www.camping-loreleyblick.de
6A3510CF-9863-44EC-BC85-7A52C93B2289.jpeg
 
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Three stellplatz at Loningen,one right in the middle with services,we prefer German stellplatz to their campsites.

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rb62 said:
Three stellplatz at Loningen,one right in the middle with services,we prefer German stellplatz to their campsites.

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I think the OP needs a campsite with an office to have a part delivered.

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German camp sites are generally caravans with awnings set up for long stay use some have solid roofs ,when we first went in a motorhome it was obvious not catering for touring motorhome.stellplatz is the way to go .some have reception like bad konigshofen or any with swimming baths and wellness centre ,we’ve had deliveries made,hope this helps.
 
We have stayed on a lot of German campsites.
The facilities are often way ahead of anything you would normally get in the UK

Be aware many close for 2-3 hrs in the middle of the day, you may be locked in or out over lunchtime.
If you arrive after 11 or 12am you may have to join the queue at the gate which then opens at 2 or 3pm

We usually prefer German sites over the Stellplatz (which are OK for one night, as long as all you want to do is sleep)

As your route is following the Rhein river all the way upstream, you will never be more than 5 miles from the river, and there are campsites all along both sides of the river.

(Be aware of periodic flooding on the Rhein, if a flood is expected all the campsites close, often with only a few hours notice, and you need to head for the hills, along with every other motorhome and caravan, which means space suddenly becomes very hard to find)

Assuming you are taking the overnight ferry which dumps you in Hook of Holland at 7am and means you can be over the Dutch border and on the autobahns by 11am you could make
This site at Koln which is 300km/4hrs from Hook of Holland.
Koln (Cologne) is well worth a look around, so you could justify a couple of nights there.
 
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We always take the daytime ferry and enjoy the cruise.
If heading south, we would overnight alongside the canal at Breda or on the marina at Gorinchem (can be a bit noisy with Rhine barges).

If you're not rushing (or sailing overnight), there is a lovely, quiet marina at Neer, NE of Weert
Alternatively, there is a campsite run by a disability community at Gangelt: hardstandings, good showers, shop etc and metered electricity.

Gordon
 
Great suggestions thanks everyone. :giggle:

We're under a bit of time pressure on the way South, as I'd like to be in Argentière, or Chamonix, by Sunday afternoon 26th. We're getting things ready today and tomorrow, driving tomorrow evening, expecting to arrive at Hoek van Holland at 08:00 on Thursday 23rd.

I need to be in Dusseldorf that evening, so we'll stop near there, and two and a half more days for the drive.

I think Stellplatzes would be great, but I presume they'd need an office for a delivery address, and how will they take it if a package arrives for a random stranger? Are they likely to be helpful if I email in advance?

If I can't arrange something on the way South, we'll have a more leisurely journey on the way North, probably warmer weather, bikes and we can explore some of the places you've suggested. And wait for my stuff to turn up!
 
DHL Packstation: You can have stuff delivered almost anywhere in Germany to one of the stations and you can pick it up 24/7 ....

Your supplier should know what to do .....

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Roby2008 Good suggestion.

I found a DHL packstation en route:
190, Westtangente 2, 79395 Neuenburg am Rhein, Germany

It's at a filling station just off Autobahn 5 North of Basel, so looks ideal.

Looking on the DHL website it seems I need to register an account to receive packages. I did that on their app, using Ireland as the country as the UK isn't an option. Then it tells me they'll write to me at my home address in around a week with my account details. It's like opening a bank account :rolleyes:

Is this how it's meant to work?
 
To be honest I have never opened one, I see the pack stations all the time around here and in other cities , plus it's always a collection option when I make a purchase on Amazon etc...
But DHL being German I would expect it would be a complex sign on for security etc
 
Roby2008 said:
To be honest I have never opened one, I see the pack stations all the time around here and in other cities , plus it's always a collection option when I make a purchase on Amazon etc...
But DHL being German I would expect it would be a complex sign on for security etc
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It's worse than that. Two hours of my life wasted on an exercise in futility.

I applied online and got hold of their app which seems to be a requirement (Play Store said 'not available in your country'), registered and was told they'll be writing to my UK home address in a week with my registration.

A bit more playing with it and it appeared if I updated some more info (date of birth, inside leg measurement, phone number) I could use the pack stations.

The phone number is so they can send you a code to access your item at the pack station. However their site or app doesn't accept non-German phone numbers and tells you to ask Customer Services to manually enter foreign numbers.

I called Deutsche Post customer service around seven or eight times. They wouldn't listen to my description of the situation and persisted in telling me to do various things unrelated to my problem, wouldn't help at all because it wasn't in their three categories of problem, frequently said they couldn't hear me and hung up, said they were DHL and I needed to call Deutsche Post (same number so who knows).

Eventually I found someone who knew what I was talking about and agreed that they could enter my UK mobile number on the system.

At that point I learned that you need a German address and ID card.

His advice was to ask someone with a German address, mobile number etc to let you use their details.

So I think I will need a campsite unless Stellplätze have offices.
 
John Russell said:
It's worse than that. Two hours of my life wasted on an exercise in futility.

I applied online and got hold of their app which seems to be a requirement (Play Store said 'not available in your country'), registered and was told they'll be writing to my UK home address in a week with my registration.

A bit more playing with it and it appeared if I updated some more info (date of birth, inside leg measurement, phone number) I could use the pack stations.

The phone number is so they can send you a code to access your item at the pack station. However their site or app doesn't accept non-German phone numbers and tells you to ask Customer Services to manually enter foreign numbers.

I called Deutsche Post customer service around seven or eight times. They wouldn't listen to my description of the situation and persisted in telling me to do various things unrelated to my problem, wouldn't help at all because it wasn't in their three categories of problem, frequently said they couldn't hear me and hung up, said they were DHL and I needed to call Deutsche Post (same number so who knows).

Eventually I found someone who knew what I was talking about and agreed that they could enter my UK mobile number on the system.

At that point I learned that you need a German address and ID card.

His advice was to ask someone with a German address, mobile number etc to let you use their details.

So I think I will need a campsite unless Stellplätze have offices.
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No problem, we can do it that way, I have a DHL account, lets deal via message, date you want to collect etc.....
 
Just arrived at the Loreley Blick and taking in the view :LOL:

I was going to add some pictures, maybe tomorrow as their WiFi isn't working and I'm getting an error with mobile data.

I should mention Google Maps tried to send us from the A61 and N213 down the unsuitably steep and narrow old end section of the N213 (a left turn off the new road) into Burg Rheinfels. Better to carry on the new road.

It looks as though the road along the Rhine would have been better than the N213 which had a lot of tight sections
 
How about Speyer a short distance SW of Heidelberg on the side of the R. Rhine? I think it ticks most of your boxes. The Technik Museum Speyer is well worth a visit, a whole days visit (€17) with cars, planes, tanks, bikes and so much more. My husband is the engineer, not me, but I found it fascinating all the same. Right next to the museum is a simple but very pleasant 90 pitch campsite. When we went a few years ago you could get a discount at the museum by showing your campsite card. The reception for the campsite is in the hotel alongside so an organised point for your delivery, and they spoke english well. There is a small private airport alongside the site, but we found that interesting rather than a problem, especially when they launched hot air balloons from it one evening. Speyer itself is a lovely place to visit with the huge Kaiser Dome, a Cathedral that has many kaisers in its crypts …..another interesting place to visit. It’s only a short walk into the town from the campsite and there are other paths to walk/cycle alongside the Rhine. You can find contact info etc on the museum and campsite at Speyer-technik-museum.de . If you really love the museum there’s a sister museum at Sinsheim about 30 miles away. No campsite there, but a stellplatz close by and easy motorhome parking at the museum.. Having just read my diary of our visit I note that we had to climb many steps to enter the planes/trains etc ……just incase you have any mobility issues. Hope this might be of interest to you. Happy travels!
 
Today it rained, again. As it's Sunday most places are closed.

We had a good brunch at the neighbouring Cafe Aufschlag - best to book in advance - and when the rain eased off walked 15 minutes to the Automuseum Dr Karl Benz, housed in Benz's former factory.

Bit chilly but lots of interesting cars.

The site is very peaceful, overlooking fields on one side, tennis courts on the other, and not busy atm. Wifi is free for two devices and mostly works. They charge for fresh water, but not waste disposal.

The DHL / Deutsche Post Packstation, with Rob's help, isn't working out as they have refused to accept delivery, probably because they're full although they don't give a reason, and deliveries are being redirected.

Did I mention it's been raining?
IMG_20230326_111034.jpg

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John Russell said:
We’re about to take the ferry from the UK to the Hook of Holland and then head in the direction of Chamonix via Düsseldorf, Heidelberg, Basel and Martigny.

We'll probably stop east or southeast of Dusseldorf overnight and then at one or two other locations along the way.

I have ordered Marquart shock absorbers that I can collect or they can send to me in Germany. I thought if we could find a nice campsite maybe we could collect them there instead of going on a long detour to Marquart in Löningen.

Usually we stop over in rural areas with no facilities so we don't need much but somewhere in an attractive setting or with some sights nearby would be good.

I don't know any German sites - can you recommend suitable places?

Thanks

John
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Camping Sonnenstrand at Bacharach on the river lovely town and in ACSI
 
I have crossed the Rhine south of Rudesheim and work your way North, if you camp at Rudesheim you can walk into town , have a Champagne breakfast at the Hotel Schoss!! It's lovely , then take a cable car up to the Monument of " War & Peace" from there you have lovely views
 
We had a very nice stop at the Wöhnmobilstellplatz Mühlheim which is by the local sports complex, football pitches in front and forest behind. It gets the sun late in the day, but just free overnight parking without facilities.

We walked into the town and had a few glasses of wine at Sahner's Finest Wines. It's a recently opened business by a young guy who has a great selection of high-quality German wine. He knows his stuff. We bought a couple of bottles to cellar and hope to drop in on the way back.

As far as the original purpose of this thread goes - to get a German delivery address - the DHL Packstation needs the help of someone who already has an account as it requires a German residential address and ID. If the delivery is 'signed for' then it can only be via DHL.

UPS failed to deliver to the Packstation for that reason. However UPS also have numerous collection points of their own.

So if anyone else would like to receive a delivery whilst in Germany, my suggestion would be to find out which courier will be used and, if they have their own collection points, to use those.
 
On our way home now, will be stopping at the Campingparkplatz Park Dutzendreich tomorrow, recommended by a local, and visiting Nuremberg.

We'll take the A3 to Köln, then on to Isselburg near the border with Holland.

Thought Köln would be an interesting visit, and we're taking a part there for another motorhomer but struggling to find suitable Stellplätze outside the Umweltzone. Or we could stop sooner.

We have a UPS parcel to collect in Isselburg - this is a shopping trip, what else are motorhomes for? - but anywhere around that area would be fine.

So any suggestions for overnight stops, ideally peaceful, would be very welcome.
 

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