Driving from the UK                                                 

Driving time from Calais by our recommended route (below) is normally max. 10 hours - obviously traffic jams and roadworks can increase the time. Extra time needs to be allowed for breaks. It can be done in one day but this is only advisable if you really like long drives and have tolerant passengers.

Overnight stops

A better idea is to have at least one overnight stop in each direction and make the journey part of the holiday - there are plenty of nice towns and other places to visit on the way, for example:

• Heidelberg
• the motor museum at Sinsheim.
• Nuernberg.
• Regensburg

Remember, you do not have to book exact weeks with us, Saturday to Saturday - you can arrive and depart on any day and stay any number of days.

The best route

We recommend the following route:

• Motorway Calais
• Reims
• Metz
• Saarbruecken
• Mannheim
• Heilbronn
• Nuernberg
• Regensburg
• Deggendorf
• then country roads to Bayerisch Eisenstein (signposted from Deggendorf).

This route has the least traffic and is therefore usually faster in spite of being slightly longer than the route recommended by all SatNavs and navigation websites (through Belgium). There are tolls of approx €30 to pay on the French section of the route.

If you bring your own car from the UK, your UK insurance will normally cover you for driving in the Czech Republic with no extra cost or restrictions. We drive regularly between the UK and Bayerisch Eisenstein and always drive through France rather than Belgium.

For overnight stops, we recommend

Hostellerie du Chateau at Neuville St Amand
(Approx 1.5 hours from Calais, 8 hours from Bayerisch Eisenstein).

5-10 minutes from the autoroute, on the edge of the village, surrounded by spacious gardens. Very peaceful. We stayed in the main house where the bedroom and bathroom had distinctly eccentric decoration but were comfortable, if basic and old fashioned. The food and wine in the restaurant were superb. Rooms cost €72 per night plus €9 for breakfast.

Near Heilbronn - Schlosshotel at Neckar-Bischofsheim
(Approx 6.5 hours from Calais, 3.5 hours from Bayerisch Eisenstein).

In the centre of a small town, but very quiet, overlooking a park where the (small) castle is. Very elegant but also very comfortable and casual. Excellent service and food. The restaurant can be a bit pricey - the traditional part of the menu is excellent value. Double room with park view €145, without park view €135. Special rates have been negotiated for Bavarian Forest Holidays customers - please email us at for details.

This hotel has the advantage of being close to the Motor and Technology Museum at Sinsheim (right next to the motorway and 10 minutes from the hotel). The museum has a huge range of planes (including a French Concorde and a Konkordski), trains, cars, motor bikes etc. It is open every day of the year 09.00 to 18.00

Driving from Belgium/Netherlands

We recommend the E45 to bypass Frankfurt, then Wuerzburg - Nuernberg - Deggendorf and country roads to Bayerisch Eisenstein, (It looks like a bit of a detour to get to, but the traffic is much lighter on the E45 than on the Rhine autobahns). Near Nuernberg - Hotel Burg Colmberg a real medieval castle with lots of atmosphere, fantastic views, excellent food and close to the autobahn. Double rooms €79-109.

Getting Here | Trains | Driving | Flights | Car Hire

Contact us

Bavarian Forest Holidays
Waldschmidtstrasse 1
94252 Bayerisch Eisenstein
Germany
Tel. (Germany) +49 (0)9925 90 32 04 (UK) 07976 403434
Email: