Motorhome hire in Germany or less likely Scotland

At short notice I have the opportunity of a month off work from mid-September with my wife and 6m old son and would like a change of scene for some or all of it having been at home bar one night since January.

Clearly whilst a great opportunity going away is a bit less simple than it used to be and whilst we are willing to take a risk that it might change whilst we are away we would rather not go somewhere that will require us to quarantine on return and holiday insurance won’t cover those locations anyway at the minute.

With that in mind we are thinking (like so many other people have recently) that hiring a motorhome might be a good option as this will limit ongoing accommodation hassles and give us some flexibility on location and duration whilst having a consistent environment to stay in. Also hoping that the number of people on holiday will drop with the end of the summer holidays but that the weather will hold out as our son becomes less good company if he is not outside for at least four hours a day!

Without needing to fly to get there we think Scotland or Germany (via Channel tunnel and France/Belgium without stopping) are currently our realistic options.

Has anyone got advice on:
– Where/how to hire a motorhome from current thinking is to drive to Scotland/Germany and then hire motorhome via a Peer to Peer site such as Yescapa (looks like Air BnB for campervans)
– What sort of motorhome to hire. We are thinking a fairly large one with onboard facilities and double bed over cab so we don’t have to move beds to sit at a table and room for cot, bikes and bike trailer. We have previously done tiny campervan (Suzuki SuperCarry) which was good fun but not for longer than a week!
– Does a baby car seat fit/fasten OK the ‘not really a standard car seat’ that you get in motorhomes so long as they have a forward facing 3 point seatbelt?
– Where to go in Germany? probably more rural places rather than cities considering the campervan and baby. I have in mind glass smooth cycle paths amongst rolling hills 🙂
– Where to go in Scotland? though I do I know it better having spent four weeks on mountain biking trips plus other holidays in the past

Thanks in advance.

The weather in SW Germany (The Black Forest), can be lovely in mid-Sept. Look at the Kaiserstuhlweg for a nice easy 60km family friendly bike ride near Freiburg.

The Bavarian Alps are amazing and many of the villages there have great facilities and bike path networks set around the numerous lakes in the foothills of the Alps

I’m sure that @alpin can recommend lots of places,

Southern Germany is great and there are lots of places to visit. As an example we randomly ended up in Wertach for a couple of days on the way home from Austria last year and it was lovely. The site at Grüntensee was great – lots of cycle paths and quiet lanes locally. Only stayed 2 nights but it was very pleasant and the local almabtrieb  festival was fab

That sounds great – you have transported me away from my bedroom office! I don’t think we will enjoy a change of scene.

McRent is one of the big mobile home rental companies. They offer all kinds of coach built vans for all price ranges. Link As suggested Bavaria has some really nice areas and the campsites are very well equipped ( a lot better than the UK standard) the Algäu region is one of my favorites. Lake Constance is also a nice area to look at with lots of camping options. Or if you want sand and sea the Baltic Sea has some lovely quiet beaches and lots of camping.

Ill second the south of germany, moved here a few years ago and i love it.

Places to visit to start off with…

Konstanz, Meersburg (let me know and ill have the kettle on!), Stein am Rhein, Lindau, Bregenz (plenty of mountain walks and rides from here – the best is to go via the Karenbahn to start). Also don’t discount Berchtesgaden – another beautiful area filled with possibilities.

Plenty of large caravan sites most of which have spaces available seemingly at the moment – feel free to PM me if you decide on Germany.)

All the best regardless of what you decide!

Ooh Algäu is really good. Oberstdorf is a great  base for the local area and Kleinwalsertal

I wish I was there now!

ADAC (the German AA) rent motorhomes. Pricy, but classy! ADAC Wohnmobile

Peer to peer is risky. It’s a long way to go to get a shed.

Whatever you decide though, I’d definitely get yourself a big coach built wagon with a permanent bed over the cab as you suggest.

Most modern 4+ berth models have isofix on the bench seats in the back of the wagon (at least the forward facing seats). And non-isofix baby seats fit OK too.

In terms of German destinations, agree with all the above. For Allgau, I’d add Fussen on the Austrian border. Near the Disney castle. There are some lovely flat cycle tracks on the plains and lakes around there, and loads to do. Beautiful stuff. Fussen / Schwangau

To be fair, any lakes down South are good: Titsee, Kochelsee, Ammersee etc etc

FYI A fair few campsites only let you book for a week at a time, but save spaces for those that turn up on the day and take pot luck. In September that should be fine, but maybe prepare for the odd night of car park camping if you find places are full.

That time of year, you may be getting into Erntedankfest and Oktoberfest (harvest festivals) which might create some demand, especially down South.

Much as I love Scotland, if I had the option of taking a wagon in September, think Germany would ace it for me.

No Oktoberfest this year so plenty of space in hotels and campsites.

The Bavarian alps are to Germany as Tuscany is to Italy…. All those stereotypes; lederhosen, litres of beer (Maß, not Stein!), Bresen, mountains, funny moustaches…. All coming from upper Bavaria. Basically the bit around and south of Munich down to the Austrian border.

Schools in the North of Germany have gone back already. Bavarian schools start around mid September, but most folk head further south to Italy.

Weather is generally good to fair around September time.

Bavarian Forest on the border to Czech (Bohemian Forest) is nice. Lots of great, rural /quiet campsites. Some big hills and a couple of half decent bike parks.

Area directly south of Munich is nice, but usually full on weekends due to all Munich day trippers. Don’t expect a quiet walk up a mountain.

Königssee /Berchtesgaden in the south west offers proper mountains, plenty of smaller lakes and isn’t far from Salzburg /Sound of Music country (for the missus, like 😉).

Allgäu, as mentioned above, is nice. From the Neuschwanstein castles down to Bodensee (Lake Constance). Lots of rolling hills with a backdrop of mountains.

A few cliché places like the ski resorts can be ignored, but there are some beautiful old towns to visit and plenty of history.

If you end up with a camper (Wohnmobil) then I wouldn’t worry too much about booking sites.
There are Stellplätze (like the French Aire) in just about every other town in Germany. Usually cost you a tenner for the night, but provide you with a safe, level place to park and usually have water. Means you are much more flexible, imo.

Download the park4night app. It’ll show you where all the Stellplätze are.

Had a quick Google….

Campers can be had for as little as 62€ a day….
https://indiecampers.de/campervan-hire/munich/munich/2020-09-14/2020-10-15/search?seats=2&sleeps=2

If you want help with booking anything let me know….

South Germany is great at the moment but plan your trip and use the official parking sites. There is a lot of hostility growing towards camper vans ‘fly camping’, using normal car parking as camping sites.
As the seasons turn the area around the Karwendelmassiv, particularly Hinteriss and the Ahornboden in Austria are amazing.

The Karwendel is beautiful at that time of year. Don’t forget that most of these locations are reasonably high up.

For example, we spent a week in Mittenwald in early October in 2014 and it was bloody cold at night and it took a few hours to get warm in the morning. If you’re just chilling out that’s fine but early starts we’re quite bracing. It’s only 900m elevation but in the shadow of large mountains.

Another thing to remember is that in late Sept some cable cars shut down for maintenance before the winter season. Worth bearing in mind if you wanted to visit a mountain

and whilst we are willing to take a risk that it might change whilst we are away we would rather not go somewhere that will require us to quarantine on return…
… our son becomes less good company if he is not outside for at least four hours a day!…

Without needing to fly to get there we think Scotland or Germany (via Channel tunnel and France/Belgium without stopping) are currently our realistic options.

Do you not need to quarantine if you go via the Chunnel? Does that not count as being in France? Even if you get our to give the wee guy some fresh air? Which countries do Germany need you quarantine from?

Germany currently has no quarantine requirements for the countries that could be crossed or visited (F, NL, B, A, CH). Don’t know about return to the UK.
Bayern does have stricter rules and until 2 days ago were testing for Covid at the borders to Austria, Cz etc. There were 12 hour queues at the motorway crossing into Germany by Salzburg.
Hopefully this doesn’t change, I’m driving to Tuscany for a week on the gravel bike on Saturday.

Also, PM me if you want some tips for visiting the area from Kempton to Berchtesgarten.

Thanks to you all for some really great advice and welcoming responses/invites! and also in giving us a bit of picture as to what to expect. I’ve been to Berlin about six times and Frankfurt once but not spent much time in the rest of Germany and particularly not in rural areas so your descriptions and enthusiasm are really useful.

The rental recommendations are also great, we will take a look.

Do you not need to quarantine if you go via the Chunnel? Does that not count as being in France? Even if you get our to give the wee guy some fresh air? Which countries do Germany need you quarantine from?

My understanding of this from reading so far (and I will be double checking!) is that so long as you do not mix with other people on crossing France (or other countries not on FCO list) you do not need to quarantine on return. So UK -> Chunnel -> drive -> stay in Germany is OK and once in Germany we would be covered by holiday insurance. And Elbows explanation of movement in/out of Germany is correct from what I have read. But of course the whole situation is subject to change so making decisions with our eyes open!

My understanding of this from reading so far (and I will be double checking!) is that so long as you do not mix with other people on crossing France (or other countries not on FCO list) you do not need to quarantine on return.

OK I hadn’t realised this (the distinction seems to be if you get out the car, rather than “mix with people”). Of course if you need to stop to pee, or the wee guy throws up etc… if you are honest…

once in Germany we would be covered by holiday insurance.

Interesting – my annual policy says NO covid claims for anything booked after the WHO declared a pandemic, because then it became a foreseeable risk.

Ah by covered by holiday insurance I more meant covered for anything other than Covid. If you go to somewhere where FCO advice is not to travel I have spoken to my insurer and then your insurance is invalid whilst there. So break our leg whilst stopped in French layby you are not insured but once in Germany insured.

Does a baby car seat fit/fasten OK the ‘not really a standard car seat’ that you get in motorhomes so long as they have a forward facing 3 point seatbelt?

There’s always the front passenger seat as a fall back. You’ll likely need to deactivate the air bag on that side though (a fairly standard feature on cars, at least)