Vanlife and motorhoming in Germany is an awesome experience. There is all kinds of stunning scenery and iconic historic villages; castles and cities and everything in between. And although free camping is technically a grey area we found some great low cost and free campsites in Germany (I’ll tell you about Stellplatz in a minute) that we want to share.
It’s worth getting off the beaten track autobahn and looking a little further to find some of Germany’s lesser known but equally surprising parks with your motorhome.
A little bit about Germany
Land area: 357,588 km²
Population: 83.2 million
Language: German. (Lots of people speak English very well. Don’t be shy to ask).
Currency: Euro
Credit/Debit Cards: Most international credit cards are accepted at larger chain type stores and services (supermarkets and service stations). However we do recommend keeping cash on hand as occasionally some places don’t accept visa.
Shop Opening Hours: Many larger shops and supermarkets are completely closed on Sunday.
Service Stations: JET Tankstelle · Esso · Shell Tankstelle · Shell · Total · Aral · Agip.
Service Station Opening Hours: On the major highways and autobahn service stations and highway stop areas are open 24 hours. In smaller towns and cities service stations are only open 8am-8pm.
Rubbish and Recycling: Recycling is big in Germany. Inside supermarkets there are recycling stations that take bottles (glass and plastic) where you feed them into a machine and it tallies up a total refund for the recycling you receive.
Laundry Facilities: Laundromats are readily available (easy to locate through Park4Night app). It costs around 5 Euro for a washing load and 3 Euro for 15 mins of drying.
Finding free campsites in Germany
We found by far the best app for finding free campsites in Germany was Park4Night. You can download the app on your phone and search all kinds of parking lots (day/night), campsites, free motorhome areas and motorhome service areas and paid parking.
We recommend paying the small fee to Park4Night to upgrade to the membership level.
The app offers a paid Park4night+ version:
- €2.49/month; or
- €9.99/year.
What are Stellplatz?
Stellplatz are pretty much the German equivalent of French ‘aires’. These are designated motorhome parking areas that are often free or low cost and safe parking options for overnight.
WHERE WE STAYED – Free Campsites in Germany we recommend
The following are some of our favourite free campsites in Germany that we found during our travels by campervan in Europe from 2022 to 2024.
Some of the free campsites in Germany are places we have visited more than once and certainly are all places we can recommend for your Europe roadtrip.
BADEN-WURTTEMBERG
MANHEINN: Waldsee
- Location: Rheinauenstrasse, 67165 Waldsee
- Type: MH Parking Without Services
- Park4Night: #266799
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Parking
About: Quiet free parking near the lake. Lots of space for motorhomes and vehicles with designated car and motorhome parking. We stopped for a night en route to Munich and it was a good one night stopover. Supermarket five minutes’ drive away.
STUTTGART: Rutesheim
- Location: 4 Eisengriffweg, 71277 Rutesheim
- Type: Parking Lot Day/Night
- Park4Night: #228756
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Playground, rubbish bins
About: A convenient free parking space to stop for the night en-route to Munich or back. We had a quiet night here in November as the only vehicle. No facilities but a free stop and there is a service station in the local town with toilets and fresh water to fill your campervan at no cost.
BAVARIA – MUNICH
REGENSBURG: Sinzing
- Location: Unnamed Road 93161 Sinzing
- Type: Parking Lot Day/Night
- Park4Night: #331470
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Parking
About: Beautiful parking spot near the old church. A quiet place to park with the bridge across the river to explore and a walking path on the other side. Very tranquil – we visited here twice.
MUNICH: Allianz Arena
Location: 61 Werner-Heisenberg-Allee, 80939 Munich
Type: Paying Motorhome Area
Park4Night: #18346
Cost: 20 EUR/24h
Facilities: Toilets, water, power, rubbish bins and motorhome services
About: An awesomely Munich experience staying the night at the famous Allianz Arena! The car park has toilets and power available for motorhomes. And it’s possible to enter the stadium and do a tour of the Allianz Arena.
A very cool and totally unique German campsite motorhome experience!
MUNICH: Garching Bei Munchen Skate Park
- Location: 85748 Garching Bei Munchen
- Type: Parking Lot Day/Night
- Park4Night: #104452
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Parking, playground
About: A beautiful peaceful carpark situated at the tennis club and skate park only 20 minutes from Allianz Arena in Munich.
A great free parking option with a nice walking track loop around the nearby sports field. Lots of fun with the kids for the playground and skate park.
MUNICH: Freistaat Motorhome and Caravan Shops
- Location: 16 Ohmstrasse, 85254 Sulzemoos
- Type: Free Motorhome Area
- Park4Night: #14234
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Motorhome services, rubbish and water (cost for water)
About: A convenient parking area at the huge Freistaat Motorhome mechanics and shops. In walking distance to McDonalds. (A bit like a massive highway rest stop area). Good place to stop and dump/refill even if not staying the night.
BAVARIA – AUGSBURG
AUGSBURG: Friedberg
- Location: 1 Gerberweg, Friedberg
- Type: Paying Motorhome Area
- Park4Night: #188330
- Cost: 10 EUR per night
- Facilities: Motorhome services and rubbish/recycling
About: A newly built designated paid motorhome area just outside of Augsburg. Quiet area and nice flat carparks. All motorhome services available. Easy to pay with card for the 10 EUR per night per motorhome. Water to be paid for with coins.
AUGSBURG: Swimming Pool Parking Lot
- Location: 4 Siebentischstrasse, 86161 Augsburg
- Type: Parking Lot Day/Night
- Park4Night: # 65138
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Parking
About: NOTE: Must display the parking hours meter on dashboard of your motorhome. We stayed in November for four nights with no problems but stayed again the following April and received a 20 EUR fine for not displaying our parking meter.
We moved the next night to the nearby motorhome parking area in Friedberg but otherwise really had a good time parking at this swimming pool carpark in the off-season to visit Augsburg.
PLEYSTEIN: Pleystein; 2 Galenbergweg
- Location: 2 Galgenbergweg, 92714 Pleystein
- Type: Free Motorhome Area
- Park4Night: #99038
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Toilets, water, grey and black water.
About: Camper stop in pretty town with lovely churches, cycling and walking routes. We were the only campervan when we stopped and woke up in the morning to a friendly group of locals cleaning the bathrooms on the site.
The perfect stop for the night after crossing the border back over from Czechia.
CELLE – LOWER SAXONY
BERNHAUPTEN: Bergen Highway Stop
- Location: 60 E52, 83346 Bergen
- Type: Highway Rest Area
- Park4Night: #221571
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Toilets inside service station, rubbish bins
About: Just over the border from Salzburg in Austria. We stopped here for the night as we needed to get out of Austria before our vignette expired.
This was a handy and free parking stop for the night just over the border.
MUNICH: Campingplatz Winkelbachtal
- Location: Gruibingen
- Type: Camping
- Park4Night: #24367
- Cost: 18 EUR (1 CC 2A)
- Facilities: Motorhome services, showers, toilets, power, rubbish
About: Near to beautiful playground, sports field and small skatepark. A picturesque campsite up in the villages with newly built small bathroom facilities and kitchen area.
ROSENFELD: Brechete
- Location: 36 Brechete, 72348 Rosenfeld
- Type: Free Motorhome Area
- Park4Night: #64672
- Cost: Free
- Facilities: Motorhome services
About: A small village halfway between Stuttgart and the border of France where we stopped for a quiet night on our way towards Lyon in France.
Another great free campsite in Germany that is worth stopping for a night if it’s on your travel route.
