Hiking in Germany: 5 Best Hiking Holidays

The most beautiful of all of the hikes in Germany also deserves first place. It doesn't get much prettier than The Malerweg. Even the painters of German Romanticism knew this. They traveled en masse to Saxon Switzerland in eastern Germany to capture its beauty. The Malerweg is a 10-day hiking trail that allows hikers to follow in the footsteps of some of Germany's greatest artists.

The Malerweg is one of those long-distance trails in Germany that can be hiked all year round. Of course, there is a high season and, unsurprisingly, it is in summer. Note that places like the Bastei attract not only hikers but also a lot of other tourists. Consequently, between May and October, some hotspots along the Malerweg can be hugely crowded. The most colorful seasons for the Malerweg are in spring and autumn. Temperatures are mild but prepare yourself for an occasional rain shower. In winter, the Malerweg is also great for hiking, however, in case of snow, the hiking trails can become inaccessible. Fortunately, this doesn't happen very often. Read more about the Malerweg here.

Just across the border, near Maastricht, you'll find the Eifel. With 313 kilometers, the Eifelsteig leads you right through the Eifel, from Aachen to Trier, passing through a varied landscape of rolling fields, rivers, moors, and volcanic crater lakes. The route is divided into 15 daily stages, each between 14 and 28 kilometers long. Multi-day walks are available including luggage transport, accommodation, and packed lunches. If you are just looking for a day trip or a long weekend, this is also an option along the Eifelsteig.

Because the Eifel is not far across the border, and the fact that there are many options, the route is extremely popular with hikers going for a long weekend. The possibility of combining the Eifelsteig with one of its oldest cities, Trier, is icing on the cake. Read our extensive blog post here.

The ending point of the Eifelsteig, beautiful Trier, is also part of the Moselsteig. The Moselsteig is one of our absolute favorites, and that is not necessarily because of the fact that more or less the whole route is dominated by wine. Indeed, along the banks of the Moselle, you will find the well-known Moselle wines. In the villages along the way, there is always an opportunity to taste some of these wines. Of course, the real reason why this route is our favorite is simply because it is very beautiful.

Although you can hike the Moselsteig all year round, the best seasons are obviously spring, summer, and early autumn. Note that some climbs on the Moselsteig can be muddy and slippery in winter. If you want to combine the Moselsteig with the wine season, stick to July and August. During these months, there are several festivities concerning Riesling and other famous wines. Not to worry, you can always find a good glass of wine along the Moselle in the off-season too. Read more about the Moselsteig here.

Red hair? No, the name has nothing to do with red hair, as you can read in this blog post about the Rothaarsteig. The Rothaarsteig is a multi-day hiking trail that passes the Rothaar Mountains in Sauerland. The region is well-known to Dutch people for its winter sports opportunities. Winterberg, also part of the Rothaarsteig, is a favorite winter sports destination every year.

With the right equipment, you can basically hike the Rothaarsteig all year round. However, in winter there is a huge chance of snow on the Rothaarsteig and then the region is mainly focused on winter sports enthusiasts. The best seasons for the Rothaarsteig are spring, summer, and autumn. As early as March, you can start the Rothaarsteig and you will see that Sauerland starts preparing for the hiking season. Check out the options for a package for the Rothaarsteig here.

World heritage sites you can enjoy with your hiking boots on; that is the Rheinsteig. The Lorelei, great forts, Germany's oldest cities, the Deutsche Eck, you will find it all on the Rheinsteig. The Rheinsteig runs from Bonn to Wiesbaden and runs parallel to the river Rhine, the Rheinhöhenweg, and the Rheinburgenweg. The Rheinsteig goes along the right side of the Rhine and runs over the Seven Mountains, around the Neuwieder Becken, through Koblenz, crosses the Lahn at Lahnstein, and then follows the Upper Middle Rhine Valley to Rüdesheim.

Just as on the Moselsteig, you will also find plenty of opportunities on the Rheinsteig for a typical German wine, for example, a Riesling. As there is a connection to public transport in every town along the Rheinsteig and a train station almost everywhere along the way in the Rhine Valley, the stages can also be completed as you wish. Thanks to the good transport connections, daily stages are also possible without any problems - you can return to the starting point by bus, train or even boat without any problems. Our packages are made for it. Find them here.

If you choose one of the better-known hiking routes for your hiking holiday in Germany, you can assume that luggage transport can always be arranged. Because of the hotels and guesthouses in the small villages along the route, it is easy to take your extra luggage to the next stage. After all, you are not the only hiker, and luggage transport ensures that hikers choose to stay at a particular address. On the Malerweg, for example, the route discussed earlier in this blog post, there is a special quality brand of accommodation that is hiker-friendly. At Bookatrekking.com, we work with local partners for all our routes who can also organize luggage transport. You can find our different options here.

Of course, you can spend a lot of money if you want to, but a walking holiday in Germany doesn't have to cost much. You can already book a package for around 70 EUR per day, and then your accommodation is taken care of, and you also enjoy breakfast every day. Plus, you won't have to carry around your extra luggage. The nice thing about hiking in Germany is that public transport gets you from A to B just fine, and in many cases, you can travel directly from Amsterdam, Brussels, or Berlin. The only additional cost is dinner. Fortunately, dinner is not that expensive in Germany. You can find a suitable package for hiking in Germany here.

Along the hiking paths in Germany, accommodation is always well organized. Although hut-to-hut tours are not covered in this blog post, in the German Alps you will always find a wide range of mountain huts run by the German Alpine Association. If you want to know how that works, you can also read blog post on hiking holidays in Austria. The hiking routes in this blog post all pass small villages where you will find cozy gasthöfer and small hotels. They are often run as family businesses, have a social function in the community and thus often also have a small restaurant or bar.