Hello, We are traveling from Mainz to Heidleberg next July. If we go by train,it looks to be approx. one hour. We would then rent a car to travel to Alsace to visit an old family homestead for an hour. The car ride to Ingolsheim is about 1 and 1/2 hours. We would stay an hour or so and then return to Heidleberg for the night. Is this doable? What are the roads like from H to Alscase? Or are we better off just renting a car from Mainz, going to Alsace and then returning car in Heidlberg? Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Green Bay
20254 posts
Given the distances, I'd just rent a car in Mainz to go Ingolsheim and then to Heidelberg. It is mostly Autobahn to within about an hour of Ingolsheim. I would not worry about the roads, probably better than comparable roads in the US.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Concur, your easiest option would be to rent the car in Mainz. Traffic can be heavy, but not it's easily manageable.
Allow me to give you one warning on a speed camera that seems to snag many travelers unawares. If you drive on A656 into Heidelberg, be very diligent to the signs that indicate the Autobahn has ended and the yellow city sign that marks Heidelberg city limits. This implies that you must now decrease to the default urban speed limit (50 km/hr), even though there's no specific speed limit indicated otherwise and the road for all intents and purposes still looks like an Autobahn. If you don't slow down after the proper marker, the camera will take a nice souvnir photo of you and the family.