German & Dutch Camping

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groberts
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German & Dutch Camping

Post by groberts »

I am thinking of doing London to Berlin - taking the ferry to Hook-of-Holland and then east as directly as possible using secondary / minor roads & surfaced tracks to Berlin, maybe using Euro Velo 2 in parts. Can anyone direct me to a useful source of Dutch & German campsites, online, books or tourist information? Of course, specific recommendations are also welcome. Thanks.
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Medic101
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by Medic101 »

Certainly 10 years ago or so the Caravan and Camping Club used to do a European brochure you could buy for £15, no idea if they still do it. But might worth a venture.
Psamathe
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by Psamathe »

Some time ago somebody posted a link to a web site that had .gpx file(s) for areas of Europe giving locations (and phone numbers) of loads of camp sites around Europe. Sorry but I can't remember who posted the link but it was to http://www.archiescampings.eu/eng1/.

Ian
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Tigerbiten
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by Tigerbiten »

Just type "camping" in the search criteria on Google Maps.
That pulls up all the campsite (plus camping shops etc) in the data base.
That's what I did on tour this year.
Then it's just a question of which ones are the cheapest ....... :D
cjs
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by cjs »

groberts wrote:.....Can anyone direct me to a useful source of Dutch & German campsites, ..... Thanks.


This page will sort you out for Holland.... http://www.cycletourer.co.uk/cycletouring/holland.shtml

and also this if you want free sites, https://sites.google.com/site/paalkampeerders/English I've used them a lot and worked well but you really need a small gps to find them... :)

Hope this helps...
Kind Regards
Chris...
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foxyrider
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by foxyrider »

I find that http://www.acsi.eu/en/home/l2-n144/?utm ... 1392633241 are a great resource for campsites across Europe. :D
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
Ned Ludd
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by Ned Ludd »

For Germany I got more results putting "campingplatz" into the search engine in google maps rather than "campsite"
slowpeddler
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by slowpeddler »

It's a real problem as whilst there are many campsites in the Netherlands, in Germany they become far fewer the further you move from the coast.

The bike line books give camp sites on their maps and for Radweg 1 to Berlin and onwards you will see that in the old East Germany part of the country, specifically Harz, they are uncommon.

What I do, and I'm sure there is a better way, is to carefully plan ahead the towns along the route about 40-50 miles apart and then emailing the town tourist office or by looking at their web-site for campsites. A print-off of the maps or a scan to your tablet gives you a good idea of where they are along the route and what they are like. To get to Berlin which is about a 1000k would take me up to ten days so maybe about 6 /7 nights in Germany to sort out.

Using the Bikeline book along R1 to Berlin:- From Arnhem going East there are campsites not far from Munster, Warendorf, Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock,Detmold (I was camping there a month ago), Hoxter, Holzminden, Bad Gandersheim, Langelsheim & Wolfshagen,Bad Harzburg.

Now you are in the Harz mountains so a wild and illegal camp might be necessary ( but people do it)

Next place as far as I can see with a camp-site is Bernburg and then on from Dessau, Wittenburg and Potsdam there is no problem.


If you do decide to go the R1 route, I suggest the AFDC route map or the one published by PublicPress. I've used both and they are spot-on for accuracy and easy to read. They are in German but still will be a great aid as they are full of useful info, especially the AFDC . PublicPress maps are in concertina form, are a laminated paper and so easier to use on the bike, and are cheaper but have less tourist info but very good, I like them. http://www.publicpress.de

Best of luck, I've fancied doing R1 through to St Petersburg but don't have three months

John






There are many excellent campsites at Potsdam and campsites at Oranienbaum, Dessau
groberts
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by groberts »

Just to say thanks for everyone's thoughts - lots to work with over the winter.
hamish
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by hamish »

I used the nature camping sites in the NL this summer. They were great. I prefer wild places and wild camping but I would say the Dutch Naturecamping sites are some of the best sites I have stayed at, and together with the cycle friendly nature of the place, they made cycling in the NL a far better trip than I expected.

Website: http://www.natuurkampeerterreinen.nl/en/

You can get the cards from Beaver Sport - we cycled through den Haag on the way to our first site at Noordwijk. I recon you could also buy them from the campsites themselves.
Ron
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by Ron »

I've never done any booking ahead on that route, always managing to find a site on the day. Consider using hostels also, these are usually of higher quality than any UK hostels I have used and relatively inexpensive, an Internationa Hostelling Card helps keep the price down.
bohrsatom
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by bohrsatom »

Psamathe wrote:Some time ago somebody posted a link to a web site that had .gpx file(s) for areas of Europe giving locations (and phone numbers) of loads of camp sites around Europe. Sorry but I can't remember who posted the link but it was to http://www.archiescampings.eu/eng1/.

Ian


Just to say that archies is good (I used it on a recent four month pan-European bike tour) but on a few occasions it pointed to sites that either did not exist or were not public campgrounds. My advice would be to google or call ahead if you would be in a sticky situation should a particular campsite be closed. Other than that it is second to none and out of four months we only had trouble with a handful (less than five) of sites.
willem jongman
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by willem jongman »

I rode back to Holland from a mountain walking holiday in the Dolomites with my family, using this route http://www.reitsmaroutes.nl/ It was a really nice tour, and the route's guide book was excellent and had all the campings along the route. I was struck by two things: there are now many well signposted long distance cycle routes in Germany (see here for adfc maps and gps tracks: http://www.fahrrad-buecher-karten.de). Quite a few were pretty off road through forests, however, so avoid taking a bike with narrow tyres. The second thing that struck me were the camp sites. There were not that many of them, requiring some planning (my guide book came in handy). Also, many of them were full of caravans with satellite dishes and the like. I felt out of place, and sometimes was not particularly welcome. On one occasion there was no campsite anywhere, so I slept in a nice local hotel. Compared to my native Holland that was very cheap (like most things in Germany). I enjoyed it. The second thing that may be helpful is to look for a file somewhere with locations of cash machines and supermarkets. The small local shops close for lunch, early in the evening (5.30) and also on Saturday afternoons.
I have moved temporarily to Germany for work, and I am planning to do some weekend tours before it gets too cold. I will report if and when I find some more useful stuff.
Last edited by willem jongman on 17 Nov 2014, 8:34pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sweep
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by Sweep »

Many thanks for that first link willem.

Had a quick look and it looks like a great route.

And that pic of what I took to be a bike path in Adige looked wonderful.

Maybe looked too quickly but it seemed that the info can be downloaded for free without buying anything.

Or have I missed smething?
Sweep
willem jongman
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Re: German & Dutch Camping

Post by willem jongman »

Yes I thought the route to Rome (or back from northern Italy as in my case) was a great route. And yes you can download the gpx tracks and the file with the campsites for free. The books were useful as well (but only in Dutch), and provide the author with a living. There is also another Dutch route to Rome with guide books, this one from Maastricht and through France and Switzerland rather than Germany and Austria: http://www.cyclingeurope.nl/routes/rome/ It also has freely downloadable tracks. Again, this guy lives off the sales of the books. And now that we are at it: http://europafietsers.nl/ is another site with a great many cycle routes all over Europe. The books are in Dutch, and all or almost all routes have gps tracks. Many routes begin in Holland, but that is quite convenient of course if you come from the UK, with ferries into Hook of Holland (from Harwich), Rotterdam (from Hull) and IJmuiden (from Newcastle).
The German gps tracks that I linked can only be downloaded with a code from the paper map. I had some difficulty relating the tracks to the map: there are so many tracks that it is hard to figure out whch one you need. So I still have some homework to do (and I am only a gps beginner).
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