So you want to explore France, Germany and Spain. And you want to see the local cultures up close and stay off the beaten path! Then the options for how to travel are diverse. If you want to really experience the local life and see the nature up close, then you want to consider a road trip or bikepacking, or why not traverse the landscapes with regional trains.
Country roads and routes
Stay on country roads and allow the trip to take longer. When you travel by highway you are missing out on so much of the local charm in the places you pass by. Moreover, there are many nature reserves in France and Germany. And they are often not far from larger cities that you may want to visit. For instance, in France you have the Alsace wine route, the route from Bordeaux to Biarritz, and Normandy as well as the Loire valley. Take a peek at these three ideas to consider for your next road trip in Europe.
Bikepacking
Bikepacking will take you very close to nature and the local cultures. This way of travelling also implies that you will need much more time to travel a considerable distance. Additionally, you will need to have a certain fitness level to enjoy a bikepacking trip. Learn how to get started with bikepacking.
Trains with flexibility
There are numerous country rail passes in the European countries. And the European rail pass Interrail is widely known as a flexible option to cater to the travel desires of those who want to spend weeks on the road (rail :) and pick the destinations and travel times as they go. The Interrail pass is also being modernized to make it even simpler, in fact, the new mobile Interrail pass that was introduced in 2021 was a success with more than 93% Interrail travellers choosing it. There are also handy tricks to make an Interrail trip more enjoyable, for instance why one should save an Interrail travel day.
