En este video comenzamos una serie especial sobre el sur de Alemania 🇩🇪 viajando en autocaravana. Nuestra primera parada es Baden-Baden, en el corazón de la Selva Negra, una ciudad histórica que fue refugio de la aristocracia europea en el siglo XIX gracias a sus termas y aguas minerales.
Recorremos el centro en bicicleta 🚲, descubrimos su famoso casino, probamos agua mineral gratis directamente en la calle y les contamos datos históricos curiosos de este destino único.
Además, compartimos información práctica para quienes viajen a Alemania en autocaravana:
Qué documentos personales y de mascotas necesitas.
Cómo funciona la sanidad en Alemania y qué cubre la tarjeta europea.
Consejos para circular en las autopistas alemanas 🚗: velocidad máxima, carriles de 2,10 m y la regla del “carril de emergencia”.
Peajes, radares urbanos y zonas de bajas emisiones.
Bicicletas y movilidad en las ciudades alemanas.
También mostramos en detalle un área para autocaravanas cerca del centro de Baden-Baden: precios, cómo pagar electricidad y agua con monedas, organización de los espacios y recomendaciones para aprovechar al máximo la estancia.
Si planeas viajar en autocaravana por Alemania, este video te será de gran ayuda para evitar imprevistos y disfrutar del viaje.
👉 Suscríbete al canal Autocaravana Práctica para no perderte los próximos episodios de esta serie, donde visitaremos más ciudades y áreas en el sur de Alemania.
This week, we’re starting a series of 12 videos about southern Germany. As we cycle to the center, we’ll share some practical information that will surely be useful on your trip through this country. We walk through a city that became a fashionable place for the rich and famous in the 19th century and drink free mineral water on the street. We’ll also show you a campervan area and everything you need to know to make the most of it. Because today we’re in Baden-Baden, in the heart of the German Black Forest. Join me; my name is Carlos, and this is Practical Motorhome Travel. In the introduction, we said we were going to give you practical information that will surely be useful to those who haven’t traveled to this country, and also to those who haven’t yet traveled by motorhome. First of all, what personal documents do we need to bring? As always, your ID and passport. And if you can bring both, that’s also good. What about pet documents, if we’re bringing pets? Of course, the animal must have its identification passport, a microchip, and, in the case of dogs and cats, a rabies vaccination valid for at least one year. And if something happens to us, if we have an accident or an illness, we’ll be covered by social security. We must carry the European Health Insurance Card, and this will serve as identification. But be careful, German healthcare is different from, for example, Spanish healthcare. Much of the care, other than emergency care, is provided in private centers or even by doctors who work in their offices. Therefore, if we have to go to a doctor, that doctor, who will most likely be a private doctor, will charge us, and then German social security will reimburse us. And they do, so there’s no problem, but keep this in mind. Do we have to pay some kind of toll on the famous German motorways? No, there are no tolls, and German motorways, in addition to being very extensive, are in perfect condition. It’s true that driving is becoming increasingly difficult because there are more and more cars, and especially more and more trucks. So, are speed limits and speed limits possible? Well, first, with a motorhome, we won’t be able to go very fast, but if you’re driving, for example, a Ferrari, you can probably go at any speed. However, not during rush hour, because these highways are so crowded that sometimes cars that could be traveling at 200 kilometers per hour are next to us at no more than 80. It’s also important to keep in mind that recently, over the last 15 years, speed limits have been restricted, and many motorways have a speed limit of 130 kilometers. What is the maximum speed limit on highways and in cities? 100 kilometers on highways, unless otherwise posted, and 50 or 30 kilometers in cities, as posted. Be careful, especially in cities, because speed cameras traveling at 30 kilometers per hour are very, very common and are in places you wouldn’t expect. Speed cameras aren’t advertised, so if a city says 30, it’s better to go at 30. What’s the famous 2.10 meter width on highways? Germany is always repairing or building something, so it’s very, very common for you to come across a construction project on a highway, a major project 10, 15, 20 kilometers long. Now, when you do that, you generally use the shoulder to maintain the minimum two lanes on a highway. And since there are very few spaces left, the right lane is for trucks; the left lane is only for cars and is 2.10 meters wide at most. So if it says 2.10 meters, don’t drive your motorhome there because if a truck hits the side of you, you’re sure to get into trouble. What happens when the road is stopped? In Germany, it is mandatory that when a motorway is stopped, drivers Cars on the left and right, if there are, for example, two lanes, move to the ends, the left one to the left and the right one to the right. This allows for a free lane or a small free lane for emergency vehicles to pass. So if you see traffic slowing down, the first thing you have to do is go left or go right , never stay in the center. Are there low-emission zones? Yes, of course, as there are low-emission zones throughout Europe, and we recommend watching our specific video where we show you how to obtain the sticker for low-emission zones in Germany at the official price and directly from the Berlin government headquarters. If you don’t have one and it’s required, the fine is quite, quite high. And since we’re reaching the city center by bike, is it worth bringing a bike to Germany? Yes, of course, because the facilities are enormous. There are excellent, well-maintained bike lanes in most cities. After that, riding a motorcycle is a little more complicated, so if you have an electric or manual one, take advantage, because it’s also quite, quite safe, although we always have to take precautions. One, two, or three locks never hurt. And as we always say, walking, walking, we reach the center, this time pedaling, pedaling. And the center of Baden-Baden, which is a large town or a small city, if you will, is very, very beautiful, like most German cities. Everything is very well preserved, everything is very well maintained. Let me tell you a little about the history of this city. We’re not going to visit the typical tourist spots. You know this canal isn’t about that. The idea is to get lost in the streets, and if by chance we find a place worth seeing, good luck, and off we go. At the end of the 19th century, thermal baths, baths with hot springs, became very popular because it was presumed to be beneficial for health. Basically, it could cure any type of illness. This continued well into the 20th century, where thermal baths also became famous around the world. In Baden-Baden, which means bath, bathing, or bathing, there are thermal baths that had been used since Roman times. And so this city became a refuge for the rich and famous of that time. Of course, at that time only the rich and famous traveled; the poor could only do one thing: work. These rich people chose this place because, in addition to having these thermal baths, where they built very, very beautiful thermal complexes, very similar to those in the city of Vichy in France, which we’ll also show you in an upcoming video, these rich people also built everything they needed to be well, to be at their level. And that’s why the Baden-Baden casino is one of the most luxurious casinos in the world. And I’ll also tell you that to enter the casino, there’s still a dress code, something that’s hardly seen in any casino anymore. Imagine if they required a dress code in Las Vegas. You have to wear a jacket here, and ladies have to wear an afternoon dress, so if you want to go, be prepared to dress up. There’s also a guided tour of this casino, which will show you a little bit about these luxurious places. You don’t have to dress up for those, so if you want to take it, take advantage of it. I don’t remember how much it cost. Otherwise, this is a very pretty city with an almost unique characteristic, very similar to some cities in Switzerland. There are mineral water fountains available on the streets, and of course , it’s free and very cool, so if you have one of those thermoses you always have to carry, or an empty water bottle, don’t hesitate to fill it up and drink that water, because it’s top quality. It’s better than the stuff we buy at the supermarket. And what we’re looking at is the Trinhale, a pump room. It was built around 1840 and a little later, but it was spectacularly decorated as if it were a palace. Today there’s a café there, which was closed when we visited. There’s also a water fountain, which in this case was marked as off-limits , and outside, an impressive and spectacular number of frescoes that were made specifically to decorate this place. But after having a delicious ice cream, which in Germany seems to be an obsession, because ice cream shops are everywhere, they’re very cheap, and the ice cream is of good quality, we head to the campervan area, because we want to tell you how they operate in this country. This area we chose is approximately 3.5 km from the city center, directly next to a bike path, so it’s perfect for visiting. We could also, of course, go by public transport, or if we feel like it, walk, because the route is next to a river and is very, very beautiful. The area is typical of Germany, more similar to what we call a parking lot. We’ll have spaces that are more or less marked, and here we have to keep in mind that Germans tend to park one camper next to another, even when there are signs. So it’s best to always try to get a car seat or something similar, so you don’t have to greet your neighbor in the morning with a very, very warm welcome. How do these areas work in Germany? They’re all very similar. Generally, they don’t have barriers. What there is, however, is a machine with a language selector, so it’s not a problem being able to understand them. Where will we have to insert our debit card, if we’re lucky , or cash? Coins, if we’re not that lucky. And I say coins because most of these machines don’t accept bills, so a fundamental tip when traveling by camper in Germany is to carry plenty of coins of all denominations: 1 euro, 2 euros, but also 10 cents and 50 cents. Why? Because water in Germany, which is top quality, just like the mineral water we buy in the supermarket, always has to be paid for separately. And it’s bought from vending machines next door, where the gray water is emptied and where the toilet is emptied, and we generally have to pay, in 99% of cases, with coins. Furthermore, this is often sold in increments of 10 liters or 10 cents; sometimes it’s 8 liters, sometimes it’s 7 liters because prices have increased recently. So if you don’t need to fill up a whole tank and only need 30 or 40 liters of water, it’s a good idea to put in four 10-cent coins and that way you don’t waste money. Electricity, which is also included in this campervan area, is also paid for with these coins. They generally sell for between 50 and 70 cents per kilowatt, sometimes up to 1 euro per kilowatt—very expensive. In this particular area, it cost 50 cents per kilowatt, a more or less reasonable price if we don’t have excessive consumption. In that same machine, we’ll have to select a plug, then insert the coin, and from that moment on, we’ll have that kilowatt available. It’s a method that may seem a little strange, but once you fully understand it, this system of buying water, buying electricity, and paying only for parking works, and it works quite well. How much do we pay for this parking lot? In September 2025, 19 euros, a price we consider a bit excessive. The parking lot is well located but not in the city center, so a bit expensive considering the services it offers. Can chairs be brought out? Yes, chairs, tables, everything can be brought out, as long as possible, because if a neighbor is a meter and a half away, at most we can bring out a small chair. And at this point, and as always, we invite you to subscribe to the channel and activate the notifications box. If you liked the video, click here. Like because the YouTube algorithm likes it, and it helps rank the videos on this channel. We remind you that we currently have more than 200 videos online, so surely some of them could also be useful to you. And we also remind you that we’re publishing the definitive guide to choosing your RV. More than 200 RVs toured inside and out, in short 2-3-minute walkthroughs. Don’t miss it every Thursday for the next 4 months. But as always, I hope you enjoyed it, and until next time. This was a practical RV video.
1 Comment
Vaya subida: hace dos años me costó 12€, si bien también se podía aparcar gratis fuera del área.