Frequently Asked Germany Travel Questions

Check out our collection of common questions and answers to help you better plan your Germany travel and vacation. If you have a question that is not listed here please drop us an email and we're trying to answer it quickly.

How far in advance should I book my Germany vacation?

We recommend as early as possible when you know your specific travel dates. During high season vacation rentals in desired locations fill up very quickly, so the earlier you can make a reservation the better. For example, a very popular location is Munich around the time of the traditional yearly Oktoberfest. Many of the available vacation rentals are sold out years in advance! In that case if you can make a reservation in November/December for the next Oktoberfest this will definitely help (but is still not a guarantee for finding an available holiday rental during that time). Or, finding a vacation rental at Lake Constance in summer, or finding a vacation rental in an alpine location (e.g., Oberstdorf) during holiday time is a similar challenge. So please call / email us early well in advance so that you will be able to secure your desired time-frame.

1. More Space: Instead of a small hotel room, a vacation rental allows the entire family to stay comfortably under the same roof and enjoy full privacy. A rental accommodation is also very well suited for extended stays.
2. More Amenities: Vacation homes typically offer more amenities than hotels do. There are fully-equipped kitchens, a large dining and family room, a balcony, and sometimes a backyard.
3. More Privacy: Vacation homes offer freedom from the people and the noisy environment present in many hotels. Privacy is one of the biggest benefits of choosing a vacation rental.
4. Strong experience of daily German life: Vacation rentals offer a major difference from the typical resort or hotel. A resort is a contained environment. If you stay in a regular apartment, you can enjoy and become a part of the daily life of a small German village. You'll meet other tenants and neighbors close by, the local people when you walk through the streets or shop in the local village.

Why is staying in an apartment a better choice for your Germany vacation?

Imagine this: a completely furnished apartment, with all the amenities of a fully functional home, conveniently located in the area of your choice and priced at least 20-80% below the price of a hotel room (with far less convenience) for the same length of stay - this can be offered only in a vacation rental! We therefore believe that staying in a vacation apartment will offer you several unique advantages:

Some web pages that link from this site are in German. How do I read them?

We try to link to English pages if possible. However, some sites do not offer English. We still link to them, however, because they provide very valuable information. You can use a translation web site like Google Translate (http://translate.google.com) to help with quick translations in many languages.

How expensive to take a vacation in Germany with the current high Euro conversion rate?

Based on the current exchange rate (August 2010), you pay around $1.31 for 1 Euro. Overall, living in Germany is very affordable. To give you more specific information, here are some recent examples on what things cost:

• A typical price for a dinner for 1 person in a family -type restaurant (including drinks) is about 10 - 15 Euros. Cost for a family of 4 (with two small children) for a dinner is about 30 to 40 Euros. This cost is very comparable to the US.
• Gas is expensive! We can't deny that! A liter of gas costs around 1.2 Euros. If we convert liters to gallons and dollars that means a gallon of gas will cost you more than $5 !!! Just be prepared when you fill up your car and use your car efficiently!
• Overall groceries are reasonably priced, very comparable to the US.
• Getting fresh bread and rolls in the morning from our bakery for the whole family will cost about 5-10 Euros.

To sum up, in Germany, some things, like gas, are expensive. Other things are similar in price to costs in the US, and there, not that much difference (e.g., like dining out, buying groceries.) There are also still some bargains here in Germany. You'll have to spend some time to find them. When you do, they will be worth the effort.

What makes the Live Like a German web site special?

Unlike big vacation rental portal sites (e.g., homeaway.com, vacationvillas.net) that list thousands of vacation apartments we focus on a smaller, hand-selected set of vacation apartments in Germany. Less is sometimes more! Why?

This is similar to when you search on Google, and it returns you a list of 14,237,234 results that are matching your query. In this case there are just too many hits. Which one is the best? Do you have the time to scan through all the results to find a good match?

The Live Like a German web site provides rich and detailed information about every vacation apartment that we list. We work closely with the property owners to make sure every little detail about the vacation apartment is known, verified, and published on our web site. In addition, we are very picky accepting and listing vacation apartments. We carefully select only high quality vacation rentals, when they meet our strict quality standards. They have to be clean, nice, comfortable, affordable, and should make your feel at home during your Germany vacation. Fewer apartments with more details around them makes it easier for you to find a good one that matches your personal preferences.

Furthermore, we provide a wealth of Germany related travel information and and destination guides for each destination that we list, and help you with your Germany vacation planning with insider tips and guidance. This combination is unique, and makes Live Like a German a special place to visit when exploring Germany and preparing for your Germany vacation!

How much do I need to tip in restaurants?

If you want to tip someone, go ahead! But 1 - 2 Euros per meal is plenty! We don't do the 15-20% tip in Germany.Even though, if you feel like it...they will love you!

Where can I find good maps while in Germany?

Germany's AAA, called the "ADAC" has local offices with great maps. Or, go to local bookstores and invest in an ADAC map or city plan, such as the 1:150,000 ADAC CityPlan map.

How fast can I speed on the German autobahn?

A lot of people know that the Autobahn is the fastest way to go. That may be true, but usually, unless otherwise noted the speed limit is 130 km/h. Radar is ALL OVER Germany, on the Autobahn and in cities. So be careful and stick to the speed limits. Middle is for semi fast cars, right lane for slow cars or to exit.

Are stores open over the weekend?

Most grocery stores close on Sundays and are open limited on Saturdays. Especially in small villages it will be hard to find an open store after noon on a Saturday and Sunday. So buy your goodies before you hit the weekend.

Where can I buy medicine and drugs?

You can buy drugs in the "Apotheke". These are all over the villages and cities. We also provide addresses of these, along with advice on where to go for emergencies in the "Health" section of our destination guides.