Germany Travel Guide: Schengen Rules, Cash Culture, and What to Know Before You Go

Germany is in the Schengen Area. For visa-exempt travellers (US, UK, Canadian, Australian passports among them), the limit is 90 days within any rolling 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen zone — not per country, so time spent in France or Italy on the same trip counts against the same allowance.

The EU's planned ETIAS pre-travel authorisation is not yet required as of this guide's last update, despite earlier announced dates that have since slipped. Check travel-europe.europa.eu directly for the current status rather than trusting a specific date quoted elsewhere.

This is the one that catches people out: Germany's own central bank reports cash is still accepted at a higher share of in-person purchases than cards are, and there's no legal requirement for a shop, café or guesthouse to accept cards at all — a business can be entirely cash-only and that's completely normal here. Carry roughly €20-50 as backup, more if you're headed somewhere small or rural.

Where cards are accepted, contactless is standard. But don't assume the card-first assumption that works in much of Northern Europe carries over here.

The Deutschland-Ticket is a nationwide flat-rate pass covering all regional and local trains, buses, trams and city transit (U-Bahn/S-Bahn) — genuinely good value if your trip involves multiple regional or city trips over more than a week, though it does not cover long-distance ICE/IC trains or long-distance buses. Check the current price directly before buying, since it's been revised before.

Tipping is customary but voluntary — 5-10% at a normal restaurant, up to around 10% somewhere nicer, with 15% read as generous rather than expected. The method matters: don't leave cash on the table. Hand your payment to the server and state the total you want to pay including the tip (if the bill is €18.50, say '€20' when you hand over the money or card).

Oktoberfest runs on fixed dates each year and 2026's edition is 19 September to 4 October in Munich, opening with the mayor tapping the first barrel at noon. Book accommodation well ahead if your trip overlaps it.

Christmas markets don't share one nationwide opening date, but most major cities' markets are simultaneously open through the window roughly late November to just before Christmas — individual cities set their own specific opening dates each year, so check the relevant city's own tourism site rather than assuming last year's dates apply.