Traveling to Kaiserslautern in February 2026

That's a pretty open statement. Why go to Ktown if you don't have a plan?

You shouldn't need a International Drivers License, but it is a requirement, and if something does happen you'll be expected to produce it.

I have a plan some what. Just nothing set in stone. I was wanting ideas.

ok, if you have a bit of a plan, can you share it?

No good me waxing lyrical about the Harz mountains or the middle Rhine or Oberammergau if you won't be anywhere near them.

Are you flying in on Space-A and want to look around? How much time do you have?

and, yes, France and Germany both require additional beyond your home (US state?) license - an IDP fixes that.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/baltic-germany-fachwerke-landesgartenschau

(The word Kaiserslautern appears in this TR.)

Before you ask someone to spend time to prepare travel advice for you, it is appropriate to provide some basic information to guide them. For example:

Month and Year
Business aspects of trip, if any
Must do, as in "family wedding"
Ages and number of guests.
Rough length of trip
Imagined itinerary, if any
Likely in and out airports
Home state or airport
Vague budget level
Health/diet issues, if any
Previous travel to Europe
Personal interests

Yes, get an IDP, it takes a few minutes at most AAA's, and less than $30 with pictures and what you pay them.

Kaiserslautern is fairly well situated, but with a car you can get to Trier, all along the Mosel, Koblenz, the Middle Rhine, Frankfurt and environs, Heidelberg, over to France, even Luxembourg, all within a couple hours driving.

February though may be a bit dreary, some of the Mosel and Rhine tourism venues may be shuttered, but cities always have something going on.

I should add, there is a direct ICE train from Kaiserslautern that will get you to Paris in 2 1/2 hours.

Open to traveling in Germany? Nothing pinned down as yet except for Kaiserslautern? How about somewhere quite different?

I suggest going to explore the towns and cities in North Germany and eastern areas as well....lots of interesting and captivating cultural and historical places in those 2 regions....eg, Weimar, Dessau, Magdeburg, Leipzig, Stralsund, Neustrelitz, Jena, Halle, Naumburg an der Saale, Greifswald, Husum, Schwerin, and on and on.

The reason I am going Kaiserslautern is when my father was in the military he was stationed at Ramstein. I haven’t been back to Germany since the 80’s. I wanted to go to the town I grew up in. Please take my husband to places I had been to and just travel around for the days we are there.
I got my international drivers license today.

If this is your first time in Germany assuming you weren't stationed in K-town in the past, then I suggest going to places totally not frequented by international visitors, ie, places off their usual tourist radar in Germany, places where you will be quite literally the only foreign traveler there.

Cities and towns in North Germany and east of the Elbe River are such places. Numerous towns and cities fit that bill aside from Berlin, or just stay in the Greater Berlin area, ie Potsdam, Babelsberg, Rheinsberg, Neuruppin, etc.

But if you want to stay in the vicinity of Kaiserslautern, besides previously mentioned Trier and Paris, consider Strasbourg. Because a French Critair sticker is needed in Strasbourg, just drive to Kehl, Germany and take the tram into Strasbourg.