Through the turmoil of the 20th century, Germany has emerged as a powerful, confident nation and, with the memory of the wall that divided Berlin into east and west still fresh in the national consciousness, continues to be the driving force towards greater European integration.  The German people enjoy a reputation for accuracy, precision and efficiency, words often used to describe their excellent cars.  An equally enduring image is of lederhosen-clad Bavarians hoisting beer steins at Munich's famous Oktoberfest.

The following low-cost carriers also offer services from the UK to Germany:

• German Wings ~ Flights from Stansted and Edinburgh to Cologne; and Stansted and London Gatwick to Hamburg.   
• EasyJet ~ Flights from Glasgow, Belfast, Newcastle, Liverpool, Bristol, Luton and Gatwick to Berlin; Liverpool, East Midlands and Gatwick to Cologne/Bonn; Hamburg from Bristol; and Stansted to Munich.
• Jet2 ~ Flights from Leeds Bradford to Dusseldorf.
• FlyBe ~ Flights from Southampton to Dusseldorf.
• Thomson Fly ~ Flights from Manchester and Birmingham to Cologne.
• Ryanair ~ From Stansted and Dublin to Hamburg; Stansted, Glasgow and Shannon to Dusseldorf; Stansted, Glasgow, Dublin and Shannon to Frankfurt; and Stansted, East Midlands and Dublin to Berlin.

We are the only team sports tour operator which has been appointed by British Airways as a 'Preferred Partner'. This gives us preferential advantages over our competitors. We use them when flying to Hamburg. 

Modern, air conditioned coaches turn up with typical German efficiency. Hamburg has an excellent underground system but make sure you buy your ticket from one of the machines before you board, or you may get caught by the Railway Police!

Major sports for touring are Hockey and Football.  Some rugby is available particularly in Hanover and Heidelberg although the standard is modest. Germany is more suited to cloub travel from a rugby point of view than schools.  We use local regional contacts who work exclusively with us for our school tours. They co-ordinate all fixture, accommodation and transportation arrangements where their experience in finding the right level of opposition cannot be bettered.

We are very lucky throughout the world in having top class fixture arrangers. Many of them have been working with us for such a long time. One of these is Marko Protega who is originally from Split but who left Croatia during the war.

Another is our man in Hamburg, an ex-employee who married a German lady and returned there after the marriage.  Matt Clayton is excellent and looks after us particularly well. Although centered in Hamburg, we tend to use this area more than others. Main sports are football, hockey and rugby.

There are some excellent Hostels in Germany which we have been using very successfully over the years. In addition, there are many outstanding Sports Camps used by professional teams. Alternatively, Germany provides an excellent range of moderately-priced, city centre hotels which have been looking after our groups over many years.

You have the full range of accommodations available to you from very clean and comfortable four bedded rooms in hotels to twin share in higher categories, depending on your budget. Taking  Hamburg as an example, it is primarily a business town, which means that rates at weekends are competitive which makes the city good value.

In Berlin, the Econtel Hotel is a 3*+ hotel in a central, quiet location close to the river Spree and separated from the famous Charlottenburg castle by a small park.  All rooms have a comfortable bed, desk, colour satellite TV, telephone, free WLAN, and a private shower/WC.   Also offering a huge selection at the breakfast buffet, as well as an a la carte restaurant and a cosy bar in the lounge.