Tips for camping on a budget in Germany
Considered a budget-friendly vacation option, camping for one or two weeks each summer has become a popular tradition for many German families.
In fact, the number of campers in Germany each year appears to be steadily rising. The statistical office (Destatis) recently reported a new record in annual overnight stays at Germany's campsites – a total of nearly 42.9 million in 2024, up by almost 20 percent compared to 2019. Within the past twenty years, the number of overnight stays at campsites in the country has doubled.
But unfortunately for those who see camping as a cheaper getaway option, the popularity of sleeping in the great outdoors means the costs have risen accordingly.
Citing Destatis,
Tagesschau
recently reported that in 2024, motorhome parking spaces were 27.7 percent more expensive than in 2020, and the price increase for a simple tent campsite went up by 24.6 percent.
So, for anyone looking to spend a few nights under the stars this year and keep costs down, here's what you need to know about planning a budget camping trip in Germany.
How camping is priced in Germany
Wild camping – that is camping outside of specifically designated camp sites – is illegal in Germany. So, short of getting permission to freely pitch a tent on someone's private property, there's usually no way around paying campground fees.
Most campsites in Germany will charge a set fee for the use of the grounds as well as an additional cost per person or per tent. Some may add in extra costs, such as for bringing dogs. Some may also charge for access to specific amenities like hot showers or wifi, but most will loop these costs into the total price of your stay.
As an example, prices to camp at Ostseecamping Am Salzhaff (a campsite on the Baltic Sea coast) are listed as €5 per adult and
€7
.50 for a pitch including car and tent, on the
Campingplatz Deutschland
website. So two adults in one car with one tent could expect to pay €17.50 per night to camp there. But if you add in a couple of kids (at €2.50 each), a dog (€2.50) and another tent (€4), the per night costs would rise to €29.
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For those who are used to camping in the wilderness, or in bare-bones campsites – like those that are common in the US – German camping grounds will amaze you with the facilities and conveniences on offer. The wifi and hot showers mentioned above are quite common, as are abundant electrical sockets and on-site restaurants and bars.
Many of these feel more like an outdoor resort area than a campsite: heated pools, saunas, laundry machines, gyms, equipment rentals – if you can dream it, there's probably a camping ground that offers it.
A campground on the Bodensee in the village of Allansbach in Baden-Württemberg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Felix Kästle
Of course, campsites offering luxurious amenities tend to come with higher price tags.
Sometimes, that price is seen in the cost of the site itself, and other times it's only revealed at the end of a trip when all of the added extras that you indulged in are tallied up. Either way, if your aim is keeping costs down (or feeling closer to nature) you'll want to avoid the resort style campgrounds and aim for a more simplified set-up.
Where is camping cheapest?
Compared to other European countries, the cost to camp in Germany is right in the middle of the range.
That's according to data compiled by the campground search site
Camping.info
, and reported by
Die Welt
, which looked at 20,000 campgrounds in 24 countries.
On average camping costs significantly more in Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, and Austria.
Whereas the price to camp was higher on average in Germany than in Sweden, France, Greece or the Netherlands. Albania and Turkey had the cheapest camping prices in Europe.
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But within Germany the prices for camping also vary widely from state to state.
The cheapest state to camp is Saarland, where the average price of a campsite is €23.70 in 2025. The next cheapest states are; Thuringia with sites for around €24.20, Saxony Anhalt with an average cost of
€2
5, Hesse at about €25.10 and North Rhineland-Westphalia where a
Campingplatz
goes for €25.90 on average.
Hamburg is home to Germany's most expensive camping, with the average price being a whopping €44.40. Other pricier regions are along the northern coast, in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg Pomerania, and in the extreme south, in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg: Campsites in all of those states go for a little over €30 per night on average.
But while regional prices offer a sense of where it is more or less expensive to camp, ultimately it's only the price of the campsite you go to that matters. Even in the pricier states, you'll find a range of prices from campground to campground, and you'll find more affordable options if you look around online and avoid the most popular sites.
An interesting fact to note is that German campers (often in motorhomes) tend to prefer beachside locations next to the North- or Baltic Seas, whereas foreign visitors (primarily from the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium) tend to prefer the Black Forest or the Moselle, Saar or Eifel regions.
READ ALSO:
Holiday like a local - Five of the best camping regions in Germany
The Swiss Alps and the mist-covered foothills of the Alps can be seen from a southern foothills of the Black Forest. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Philipp von Ditfurth
Tips for cutting costs
No matter where you decide to go, there are a few other tips that are helpful if you want to keep costs down.
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First, it matters when you try to camp – camping in the shoulder season can be significantly more affordable than doing so in the middle of Germany's summer vacation season.
In general, the camping season in Germany is from May to September. You can occasionally find campgrounds that open earlier or close later, and a select few that stay open through the winter, but most will be closed from October to April.
So the best time to plan a budget camping trip is around May to early July, or in September rather than from mid-July to August.
Another tip, albeit an obvious one, is that it's cheaper to keep it simple with tent camping compared to staying in a motorhome. The cost for a motorhome camping spot tends to be a bit higher than for a tent, and you'll save significantly on fuel costs.
Speaking of fuel costs, depending on how and where you go, transportation to and from the campground can be among the bigger costs for a trip.
The cheapest option, for those who don't mind roughing it, is usually skipping a vehicle altogether and finding a campsite that you can reach by train and / or bike.
If you have a
Deutschlandticket
, for example, you can seek out a site near to a train station and ride a regional train there for free – or bring your bike on the train to significantly extend your reach for the small cost of a bike pass for the train.
Of course, this implies a bit of know-how in terms of packing for bike camping, but it can make for a fun budget adventure.
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READ ALSO:
10 things to consider for a bike trip in Germany
Finally, to keep costs low at the campground itself, you may want to consider sharing a tent (to avoid the extra tent fee mentioned above) and bringing your own food and drinks rather than buying everything at an on-site restaurant.
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