Germany

peejay

Autohof is a chain of German autobahn service stations with motorhome friendly facilities at many of their outlets that may help if you are visiting Germany on your travels.

Log on to the map at....

neilandsue

Thanks Pete,

They are excellent links for LPG in Germany!
Another good source of LPG stations is the "Die General Karte" map collection by Marco Polo. 1cm = 2Km. 10 double sided maps (20 maps) of the whole of Germany in a zipped case for 9.95 euro. These are available from any good bookshop in Germany and are excellent!! The gas stations are clearly shown.

Neil

Boff

Hi,

Pete's links are, as usual, very good and helpful. However, the link to the autobahn service stations needs some comments:

There are two different categories of service stations on German autobahn, called "Raststätte" and "Autohof":

"Raststätte" describes a service station that is only directly accessible from the motorway (except maybe for deliveries). The roads and car parks of a Raststätte are part of the public highway, so normal traffic rules apply and parking is free of charge (up to 24 hrs). The service buildings however are leased to private companies, so services - including toilets(!) - usually have to be paid for.

"Autohof" describes a service station that is not directly accessible from the motorway, but within about 1 km of the nearest motorway exit. The premises here are completely on private ground, so the providers might charge a fee even for parking.
Usually however, at least daytime parking on Autohof stations is free, only overnight parking has to be paid for. And even overnight parkers usually can have their fee at least partially refunded if they buy something. And toilet usage is in most cases free.

Not all Autohof stations are signposted on the motorway. If an autohof wants to be signposted, it has to fulfill certain minimum requirements like: Not more than 1 km away from the autobahn, open "24/7/365" (at least fuel, snacks/drinks and the loos must be available at all times), access road must be suitable for HGVs, a certain minimum number of parking places for lorries and cars must be provided etc.

While the "Raststätte" stations were originally gouvernment property, and privatised not before 1998, the "Autohof" stations originated as private enterprises providing services for lorry drivers. Nowadays however also Autohof stations are open to all drivers.

Personally I prefer Autohof stations, because in most cases the fuel is cheaper than at Raststätte stations and the food is better and cheaper. And quite a few have sanitary stations for motorhomes.

Also, as on an Autohof there is at least CCTV surveillance, it is considered to be a much safer place for overnight parking than a Raststätte.

Best Regards,
Gerhard

zulurita

Thanks for the links and useful info Pete.

I have now added them to favourites. Smile