Explore the Eifel area
A NEGATIVE RAPID TEST NO OLDER THAN 24H IS REQUIRED FOR ALL VACCINATED OR RECOVERED BUS TOUR CUSTOMERS UNLESS YOU ARE BOOSTERED!!
Distance from base: 70-120 km
You are currently living in Germany in an area called “Eifel’. The Eifel lies between the cities of Aachen to the north, Trier to the south and Koblenz to the east. It descends in the northeast along a line from Aachen via Düren to Bonn into the Lower Rhine Bay. In the east and south it is bounded by the valleys of the Rhine and the Moselle. To the west it transitions in Belgium and Luxembourg into the geologically related Ardennes and the Luxembourg Ösling. The Eifel covers an area of 5,300 km² and is geographically divided into the North and South Eifel. It is further divided into several natural regional landscapes, some with further subdivisions. Its highest point is the volcanic cone of the Hohe Acht (746.9 m).
If you click on the button "Eifel Routes" you can check out which tour goes to which region.
Below you can check out the tours which we offer by clicking on the + symbol.
Visit one of the most beautiful moated Castles in Germany
You will start the day with a guided castle tour at the fairy-tale castle Satzvey whose origions go back to the 13th century. It has been family property for over 300 years and is still the residence and ancestral seat of Count Beissel von Gymnich and his family. Throughout the year numerous events like medieval markets, jousting tournaments, spooky witch markets for Halloween as well as Christmas markets will keep the medieval times alive in front of this beautiful scenery.
After the tour you may walk around the castle grounds and grab lunch at one of the restaurants.
Visit a great wildlife park with native game animals
Spend a relaxing day in the idyllic Eifel countryside and experience our native game animals, like red deer, fallow deer and sika deer, up close and without being separated by fences. You can meet our moose and rare Hungarian Grey cattle too. There are over 300 animals waiting to be discovered at the 80-hectare Hochwildpark Rheinland. And if you don’t fancy exploring the park on your own, no problem: You can download our free “Lauschtour” audioguide app from the Apple App/Google Play Store from the comfort of your own home and be guided through the park by our audio guide.
Marvel at one of the biggest radio telescopes worldwide
The Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope was the largest fully steerable radio telescope on Earth for 29 years. In 2000, it was surpassed by the Green Bank Observatory’s Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, US, which has a slightly larger elliptical 100 by 110-m aperture.
With its roughly 250 acre (100 hectare) large area, the former National Ordensburg Vogelsang in the Northern Eifel district is one of the largest constructions of the National Socialist period. It is comparable in size with the former Nazi party rally grounds in Nuremberg.
To this day, the architecture which was supposed to serve the authoritarian self-image of the National Socialists and assert their claim of being the rightful rulers of rule both people and nature, is still visible. We will have a guided tour there.
The Vogelsang National Socialist Ordensburg was developed by the German Labour Front (DAF) from 1934 to 1941 as one of three Ordensburgen designed to train future leaders of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP). Its operation as a training establishment started in 1936. By the end of their formation, the course participants were supposed to resemble the ideal “new German” and appear as leaders of a “master race”.
Since 2006 Vogelsang has been fully incorporated into the Eifel National Park. As a result of very low human intervention a valuable range of flora and fauna has developed. For example, the wildcat and the strictly protected red-backed shrike can be found there now.
We may have a foto stop at the big water reservoir of the Urft river on the way back.
Monschau - Pearl of the EifelHigh above the historic town is Monschau castle, which dates back to the 13th century — the first mention of Monschau was made in 1198. The town center has many preserved half-timbered houses and narrow cobble-stoned streets which remained largely unchanged for 300 years, making the town a popular tourist attraction nowadays. Over 300 buildings are listed as monuments. Monschau was formerly known as a center for textile production in the 18th century. We will visit the 1756 Red House, one of the most noticeable buildings in the heart of town, which was owned by Johan Heinrich Schreibler, one of the most prominent cloth producers and traders in town. The mansion is now a museum, displaying how people lived in the 18th and 19th century. It is boasting a full historic interior with all the grand features of the Rococo / Louis XV style that marked the wealth of its former proprietor. Of particular interest is the three story open-newel spiral staircase, decorated with wood carvings depicting all the main steps in the cloth production.
After a guided citytour you have time to visit the Red House, explore the city by yourself and grab some lunch in one of the restaurants before we will depart towards the monastery established in 1070.
Steinfeld Abbey is a former Premonstratensian monastery, now a Salvatorian convent,with an significant basilica. The origins of the site go back to about 920. The first monastic settlement at Steinfeld took place in about 1070, and the Premonstratensians settled here in 1130. It became an important monastery in the German Empire and was raised to the status of an abbey in 1184.The basilica, formerly the abbey church, was built between 1142 and 1150. The church received the status of a papal basilica minor in 1960. The basilica also contains the well-known König-Orgel ("King Organ"), one of the most significant church organs of the Rhineland Baroque period. It was built around 1600. The original pipework is still largely intact.The original Romanesque cloister was replaced between 1492 and 1517 by a Gothic one. After the dissolution in 1802 the stained glass windows, made between 1526 and 1557 by Gerhard Remisch, were sold by a local dealer to a compatriot in Norwich in England. Two panels are now in Steinfeld again.
After a short tour of the basilica you may want to stop at the little shop for a cup of coffee and a pastry.
Start the day at the historical water mill which powers the sawmill which still saws wood. There is also a grain mill which shows how grain turns into flour. Nearby is an old stone backing oven where they bake delicious bread which can be purchased. At the mustard mill you will learn everything about the production of the "Eifeler Mühlensenf" (Eifeler mill mustard).
In the afternoon we will have a stop at the Gerolsteiner spring where you learn everything about the production of the local spring before finishing the day off at a game reserve. Maybe you will get to see the flight show and the feeding of the wolves.
An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum.
Living-history museums, including living-farm museums and living museums, are open-air museums where costumed interpreters portray period life in an earlier era. The interpreters act as if they are living in a different time and place and perform everyday household tasks, crafts, and occupations. The goal is to demonstrate older lifestyles and pursuits to modern audiences. Household tasks might include cooking on an open hearth, churning butter, spinning wool and weaving, and farming without modern equipment. Many living museums feature traditional craftsmen at work, such as a blacksmith, pewtersmith, silversmith, weaver, tanner, armorer, cooper, potter, miller, sawyer, cabinet-maker, woodcarver, printer, doctor, and general storekeeper.
(Travel back in time to the 40s & 50s in a small museum on our way to the famous Nuerburgring. The Nostalgikum is a museum which showcases the life of simple folks of the last century. Get insights in a life where you would purchase your groceries next door in a corner shop, where not every household owned a television and those who did watched it in black and white and not in color. The time where music didn’t come from an ipod but from a vinyl record.) closed due to COVID-19
Now discover the ring°werk, the Nuerburgring’s large indoor theme park where visitors young and old embark on a journey of discovery through the world of motorsport. Everything revolves around the legend, motor racing and mobility and you can experience the world of the Nuerburgring with all your senses. The theme park is located at the famous Nuerburgring. The Nuerburgring is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nuerburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer Nordschleife "North loop" track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nuerburg in the Eifel mountains. The north loop is 20.8km (12.9mi) long and has more than 300 meters (1,000 feet) of elevation change from its lowest to highest points.
In the afternoon our bus will take us to the Vulkaneifel (Volcanic-Eifel). Many crater lakes or maars, volcanic tuffs and lava streams bear witness of the volcanic history. Although there has not been an eruption for 12.900 years now, the volcanic activity can still be observed in the volcanic Eifel. One sign of this activity is the escaping gases in the Laacher See (Lake Laach) which is a volcanic caldera lake with a still active magma chamber below the surface. Today we will explore a brewery that is that is one of a kind with the deepest fermentation cellar in the world. Make sure that you bring solid shoes and a warm jacket since it will get chilly on the brewery tour which will take us 30 meters 98 ft (153 steps) under the earth. During the tour you will learn about the connection between the volcanic eruption which created the nearby lake Laach and the brewing of this special beer. After returning from the underground you have time to enjoy dinner and have some special volcano bee
There you can spend your time at the museum and shops and find your lunch. In the afternoon we will have a Foto stop at a giant bench before reaching our final destination; the brewery in Mendig.
We start the day off with a visit of the world's highest cold-water geyser. The Eifel has been shaped by volcanism which created a rar natural spectacle: The Andernach Geyser. It reaches hights of 30-60 meters.
After you watched the geyser, there is some time for lunch. You can check out the Volcano Brewery which has the deepest fermentation cellar in the world (98 ft) with a temperature around 43°F.(not included in the price).
After lunch we will meet up at the Lava Dome where a tour guide awaits you to show and explain the mechanism of volcanoes and how this landscape has evolved because of the volcanoes.
On our way back to base the bus will take us to Mayen ‘The Gateway to the Eifel’. You have some free time to explore Mayen and visit the Genoveva Castle which houses the Eifel Museum. There you may learn about the geographical boundaries, its geological past and how "Eifeler" (person of this region) adopted to a life in this region as well as what their believes and superstitions were. (not included in the price)
The tour will start at the ropes course. After receiving a short instruction, you can explore the outdoor climbing forest on your own and at your own risk. There are many different parcourse with 90 elements of ropes and barriers in up to 18 meters height. There are easy parcours and more advanced ones. Children need to wear helmets. You can bring a bicycle helmet or borrow one at the climbing center. Gloves are sold there as well for a few Euros or you can bring your own. In order to have a good grip on the ropes, it is rcommended to wear gloves.
After a lunch break (not included in price) the bus will take you to the Lava Dome.
A tour guide awaits you to show and explain the mechanism of volcanoes and how this landscape has evolved because of the volcanoes.
We will start our day at a fairytale castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River. Castle Eltz is still owned by a branch of the same family that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. It remained unscathed by wars and its architecture has no comparison. Many of the original furnishings form the past eight centuries can be seen.
After the tour you will head towards Cochem for our lunch break. Enjoy a stroll through the cobble stone streets. We have two recommendations La Baia (a good pizza place) or Zum Goldenen Fass (bourgeois kitchen).
After the lunch break we will walk up to Cochem Castle.
The old walls, which throne majestically over the Mosel River valley, are an invitation for every history and culture enthusiast to enjoy a beautiful afternoon in one the highest hill castles on the Mosel river. The castle was built around the year 1000. In 1151, it was occupied by King Konrad III, who declared it an Imperial castle. In 1688, the castle was overrun by French King Louis XIV's troops in the course of the Nine Years' War.
Finally the bus will take us to the two ruins of the Castles of Manderscheid, whose history and location reflect the medieval conflict of interest between the Electorate of Trier and the Duchy of Luxembourg.
The Oberburg or "Upper Castle" is located on a hilltop that was levelled in order to construct the castle. It had, as can still be seen from the ruins, an almost triangular enceinte and a five-story bergfried or fighting tower that has been made accessible again. From the bergfried there is a clear view of the Niederburg or "Lower Castle", the town of Manderscheid and the countryside of the Lieser valley. The earliest record of the castle, which is first historically known from the feud over St. Maximin's Abbey in front of Trier between Count Henry the Blind of Namur-Luxembourg and Archbishop Albero of Trier, between 1141 and 1146.
