Continuing our series on how other nationalities travel, we sort fact from fiction when it comes to the Germans. Previous articles have looked at Japanese, Italian, French and American travellers.

Where they go

We all know that the Germans are quite handy when it comes to football, but they are also, according to the country’s largest travel association, the Deutscher ReiseVerband, the “world’s travel champions”.

They are “travel champions” Credit: ALAMY

Apparently, they spend more on foreign travel than any other nation (a neat €65bn a year) and collectively take more than 70 million holidays. They travel far and wide. As any lover of the Mediterranean knows, it doesn’t take long to encounter the German beach towel (oops – see below), with perennial favourites including Spain, Italy, Turkey and Croatia (easily reachable by car).

They are also fond of more cultural breaks – cities such as Venice, London and Vienna are always high on the wish list. They love the lakes, forests and mountains of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Austria, the North Sea breezes on islands such as Sylt. They also love the appeal of the far-flung: safaris in Africa, bear-watching in Canada, river-rafting in the Amazon. As Nigel Richardson, a regular contributor to Telegraph Travel, has observed: “Whenever you think you’ve reached somewhere few people have been, and are feeling smug about it, a campervan will appear and eight Germans will spill out, looking as if they’ve been to a million such places.”

What they like to do

There are plenty of Germans who just want to fly and flop and drink beer and sangria, and their choice of destination is frequently similar to ours: Majorca, the Canary Islands, Greece. Perhaps inspired by the Alps and Black Forest wonders back home, the Germans are also great hikers. There is huge interest in culture too. In their own country this translates into visits to cities such as Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg (home to the dazzling new Elbphilharmonie concert hall); further afield, the treasure troves of Italy, France and pretty much anywhere on the planet.

You think you’ve reached somewhere few people have been, and are feeling smug about it, then a campervan will appear and eight Germans will spill out Nigel Richardson

“Germans like to get their money’s worth on holiday,” reveals our spy on the Strandkorb (wicker beach chair). “So if you’ve booked and paid for something, you are damn well going to do it, even if it half kills you reaching Machu Picchu on a lame donkey in a snow storm.”

How they behave

Clearly the German lounging on the Costas is going to cut a very different figure to the one marvelling at the Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna, but as someone who for years ran a B&B in Cornwall, Gill Charlton, Telegraph Travel’s consumer champion, has had the chance to observe the German holidaymaker at close quarters. “They speak good English, never complain about the weather, take their shoes off to go upstairs, and have a holiday action plan that usually involves a lot of walking and drinking British beer (always in moderation),” she says. “Apart from the odd moan if there’s no ham and cheese on the breakfast table, they are ‘model guests’, though they can lack a certain levity and sense of humour.”

They are model guests, says one former b&b owner Credit: mandarina - Fotolia

Andrew Eames, the man behind the website germanyiswunderbar.com, agrees. “They take their holidays very seriously. In fact, they take them so seriously it is hard to tell if they are actually having fun,” he said. “And they like the detail. If an itinerary says the transfer from the airport includes cold towels, soft drinks and snacks, then they will insist on cold towels, soft drinks and snacks... even if it means not noticing what's out of the window.”

What they wear

Given a choice, many Germans would prefer to wear nothing at all: nude sunbathing? Ja, danke! A 2014 poll suggested that they are the most likely to go naked on the beach, with 28 per cent of them admitting stripping down to their birthday suit, compared with just 12 per cent of Britons (the Japanese came bottom, as it were, with just two per cent).

It is probably just as well that this predilection is one which Germans generally choose to share with those of like mind (and body). Look for the signs for Freikörperkultur (FKK) - Free Body Culture.

That's FKK for you

Back in the textile world, items popular with German travellers include Birkenstock sandals (particularly more stylish modern forms), zip-off trousers and Jack Wolfskin jackets (practical, but with a bit of panache). You can still spot the odd sock-and-sandal wearer on the beaches, and any Berliner under 25 will be pretty much dressed entirely in black.

Older Germans embarking on cruises dress rather more smartly. On board the MS Deutschland, Telegraph Travel’s Peter Hughes observed: “The Germans all wore clothes suited to an activity far smarter than the one in which they were engaged. Men wore ties on the promenade deck.”

Expect German cruisers to be very well dressed Credit: 2016 James D. Morgan/James D. Morgan

What of the towels on the sun loungers?

This is something that even Germans themselves acknowledge. Back in 2005, Ralf Höcker, a German solicitor, admitted that “the stereotype is true - German people do reserve all the loungers.”

“There is a certain type of German tourist who does it,” he added. “The same type who when they are on the beach builds a little wall… to protect their spot.”

He also confirmed the cunning deployment of towels is not backed up by law. "British tourists would be quite within their legal rights to ignore the reservation implied by the towels if there is nobody there,” he said.

The Germans do – however – appear to be trying to reign in their seat-hogging instincts. Peter Hughes, on the MS Deutschland, found instructions warning the largely German clientele that no sun loungers should be reserved in this way.

Ralf Höcker, a German solicitor, admitted that “the stereotype is true - German people do reserve all the loungers.”

Dining and drinking habits

At the risk of dredging up another well-worn cliché, Germans have hearty appetites and like to eat punctually: 12.30 for lunch, 7pm for dinner. “The Costa German has no adventurous bone in him/her and will expect a Bratwurst und Pommes Frit at the beach, washed down with a beer with a decent head on it,” confirms our spy in the Strandkorb. “More adventurous German travellers do like to try local foods, but it’s no good giving them a small portion of – say kangaroos’ scrotums – they need to see the meat overlapping the plate.” And drinking? Yes, Germans like their beer, and wine, and Sekt (fizz) and Schnapps.

“The Costa German has no adventurous bone in him/her and will expect a Bratwurst und Pommes Frit at the beach, washed down with a beer with a decent head on it.” Credit: ALAMY

How to get along with them

The British and the Germans are actually very similar, and it is not all that difficult to strike up a conversation – particularly as so many speak such good English. There are one or two touchy subjects. Despite Germans’ protestations of love for Fawlty Towers, it’s probably best not to mention the war. Or, at the moment at least, Brexit (they are not huge fans). By all means bring up the subject of football, though of course they have a slightly stronger hand. And while they are magnanimous, there are certain eternal verities in the mind of the Teuton – and one of them is that ‘that goal’ (the one Geoff Hurst scored in the 1966 World Cup final) was not a goal. Actually, better steer clear of that one too. Stick to the easy stuff. Prosit!