Wellness Camping in Germany

Thanks to its diverse landscape, Germany offers a wide range of wellness options. Important natural healing methods such as the Schroth therapy and the Kneipp cure originated in the local regions, and only in our latitudes do mud spas offer soothing days. With bubbling springs of healing water and climatic spas from the mountains to the sea, there is nothing better than wellness campsites in Germany when looking for relaxation on holiday.

Destinations

The wellness campsites on Germany's coasts offer maritime relaxation, for example in Europe's first certified thalassotherapy region on the North Sea in Lower Saxony or at the Wulfener Hals campsite on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn. Flat sandy beaches right next to the campsite welcome the whole family in the best sea air. Campers can enjoy the pool and sauna area, children's entertainment and numerous beauty and wellness offers.

As the largest thermal spa region in Europe, the Rottal spa triangle in Lower Bavaria is one of the best destinations for wellness camping in Germany. The spa towns of Bad Griesbach, Bad Birnbach and Bad Füssing are just a few minutes' drive from each other and pamper those seeking relaxation with healing water drinking cures and five first-class thermal spas. The Kur- & Feriencamping Holmernhof Dreiquellenbad is a great place to stay in the golf and wellness paradise of Bad Griesbach, with its own thermal vitality oasis with saltwater pool, steam grotto and comprehensive therapy and spa facilities.

The baroque three-river city of Passau and the nearby Bavarian Forest, with its air and Kneipp spas, healing tunnels and thermal baths, is another excellent destination for wellness camping. The south-west of Germany is also wonderfully relaxing, where the Black Forest offers everything that is good for body and soul. Breathe deeply not only in the pure air, while forest bathing or during winter sports, but also in the salt caves and the climatic Schindlerstollen in Münstertal, where you can take a deep breath. Nearby, Camping Münstertal welcomes holidaymakers in the most beautiful surroundings with a sauna area, steam and indoor pool as well as a wide range of health and beauty programmes. Numerous thermal baths, health centres and spas promise relaxing excursions. If you need some action in between, you'll find it at Europa-Park Rust.

Top tips

• Free outdoor wellness is offered by barefoot trails in many parks and forests in Germany. The sensory trails lead across meadows, forest floors and feeling stations, which are a blessing for feet and legs in addition to the marvellous contact with nature.
• Framed by the Harz Mountains, Thuringian Forest, Weserbergland and Solling, the university town of Göttingen in Lower Saxony has a special excursion treat in store: Luisenhall, Europe's only surviving pan salt works, can be visited on guided tours of the industrial monument and provides wonderful relaxation in the bathhouse. Sun shower, brine steam bath and the floating pool with a salt content of 18 per cent await guests. The naturally pure deep salt is available in the shop to take home for the kitchen and bathroom.
• Absolute peace and relaxation are promised by child-free wellness areas such as the VitalOase at Therme Erding. The bathing and sauna worlds of the Südsee-Therme Bad Wörishofen are - except on family Saturdays - reserved for those aged 16 and over.

Activities and excursions

There are plenty of excursion destinations in Germany for stress-free variety in all weathers.

Healthy and beautiful: excursions underground

If you want to combine your wellness holiday with a healing cave therapy, you will find opportunities in the German low mountain ranges, from the Thuringian Forest to the Harz Mountains and the Sauerland all the way down to the Black Forest and the Bavarian Forest. An excursion into the bowels of the earth is also always a feast for the eyes, with fascinating show caves and exciting visitor mines around the healing galleries. Close to Germany's northernmost healing grotto in Bad Grund, the Iberg stalactite cave shows the enchanting Upper Harz underworld. Saalfeld is home to Germany's oldest healing cave in the Thuringian Forest and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most colourful show cave with its enchanting fairy grottoes.

Relaxing on Germany's waters

If you want to slow down on holiday and still get around, passenger shipping is a great option. The coasts tempt you on harbour cruises, sightseeing tours of the Salzhaffs, a day on the car-free East Frisian Islands or the remote Heligoland. In the wine regions of western Germany, castles and palaces pass by on river cruises, while spa towns such as Bad Ems on the Lahn with its unique bathing castle invite you to make a stopover. A wellness day on the Tegernsee sauna boat is also unforgettable.

A sophisticated spa holiday: casinos and imperial residences

Natural cures and noblesse go hand in hand in many places in Germany. For example, the modern Kurhessen Therme spa with its healing waters is located not far from the imposing Wilhelmshöhe Palace in Kassel at the foot of the ornate Bergpark. The spa and bathing town of Baden-Baden is recommended for Black Forest holidaymakers: Historic magnificent buildings, an elegant casino, the Roman-Irish Friedrichsbad and the bathing and sauna landscapes of the Caracalla Therme beckon. Aachen also stands for royal wellness. Not only in the nearby Volcanic Eifel, but also in Germany's westernmost city, mineral springs bubble up for the benefit of health. Even Frederick the Great came here to take the waters. Splendid historic drinking fountains and the modern Carolus Thermen make Aachen's hot springs an experience for all the senses.

Calendar highlights for wellness campers

There is plenty to experience in Germany's wellness regions all year round.

January

• New Year's swimming: Many coastal towns welcome the year with a dip in the ice-cold sea water, for example in Butjadingen on the North Sea. But inland towns don't miss out on this custom either. In Münster, swimmers jump into the cold waters of the Dortmund-Ems Canal, and in Haltern am See, people simply use the seaside resort for a dip.

June

• Global Wellness Day: The second Saturday in June is an international open day and offers free wellness activities from the Alps to the sea. If you want to experience the diversity of wellness, this is the place to be. From sports programmes to sauna infusions and care tips, there is guaranteed to be something for everyone.