Trip Summary

Favorite Experiences

What I Wish I Knew

Trip Summary

Nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia, this quaint Bavarian town has always been on my list of places to see. The river alongside the town full of German shops and restaurants. The festival hall where Oktoberfest is held every year–full of patrons in costumes and enjoying massive steins of beer. Having spent part of my childhood in Germany (military brat), it always seemed like it would be a little piece of home.

But Oktoberfest always seemed outrageously expensive there with many hotels booking up many months in advance, many requiring a three night minimum, and even the junkiest hotels charging prices mirroring those you would see at fancy all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. So after years of talking about it, we decided to finally just go–but in the summer when accommodations were cheaper (and they didn’t have the three-night minimums as they did for Oktoberfest), it would be less crowded, and the weather would be warm enough to enjoy the river a bit.

And it was the perfect little getaway! We decided to bring our dog and make it a family vacation for a weekend. After a beautiful drive through the mountains, we reached the village, and it was everything we expected it to be! Granted, there are a lot of hotels in the area, but having our dog with us, we were a bit limited in our choices. We decided on the Hampton Inn Helen due to its price, dog-friendly policies, and proximity to the river. It’s also a Hilton hotel, so if you have status, that works in your favor, too.

It’s a cute hotel with a nice fountain out front, shaded parking options, and a hot breakfast in the morning. The rooms, though basic, are also clean and offer balconies where you can see the river in the distance. The pictures made it seem like guests could sit along the edge of the river in swings and chairs, and that was a big reason why we booked the hotel, but then we found out that this area is actually fenced off and locked. Your hotel key doesn’t work to unlock it, buuuuuut you can easily reach in and open the locked door from the other side. It’s a relaxing area to sit and enjoy the river, and we saw a lot of people gathered there, so it is worth checking out even if it was disappointing that it wasn’t actually part of the hotel. The balconies also view the parking lot more than the actual river, so that is something to consider, too, but given that it was one of the cheaper properties in the area (though still on the pricy side for what it was), it met our needs. It does affect the rating, though, so that’s why it does not make the honor roll so to speak.

Hampton Inn Helen: B

If you are there in the summer like we were, going tubing on the Chattahoochie River is a very popular activity. There are several tubing companies along the river, so we decided to go with Cool River Tubing Company. They were cheap, easy to access, and their tickets lasted all day which made it easy to just go float whenever it worked with your schedule. They also had a “short” and “long” float option, so we chose the long float and just enjoyed the river for a few hours. They also offer you a tie/rope where you can link together multiple rafts, and those are a good idea to use as the rocks easily separate you from your group, and it can be hard to catch up with them, so take the tie / rope for sure!

We have tubed down several rivers now, but this one was by far our favorite, because you were always passing by fun scenery such as restaurants, cabins, shops, and everything being decorated like a Bavarian village, it was like you were transported to a new country. The river is also fairly mild so lots of families enjoy the water. There is an area near a bridge where it’s easy to get stuck, but you can easily get out and hike down the rocks with your raft if that is the case. Great weather, good scenery, and you can’t beat the price, too! High recommend–it was definitely one of the perks of visiting in the summer!

Cool River Tubing Company: A+

But you go to Helen for more than just tubing, right? There are restaurants and shops galore, so let me tell you which ones to visit! We were a little surprised that about half of the restaurants with outside seating did not allow dogs (a shame, too, as most of the places were on the river and would have been nice to enjoy with our pup). So I will review the dog-friendly places we visited.

One of our favorites was the first place we stopped. After driving for a few hours, we were hungry, so what better spot than Cowboys and Angels? A cute spot with ample outside seating, amazing staff, and an impressive selection of beer (this was also the only place we found that offered Hoegaarden–a beer my husband really likes). Their cuisine is absolutely delicious, too, as we both enjoyed burgers and ate every bite! They offer lots of other entrees and they all looked delicious, but the burgers were calling our name, and they delivered! Super tasty, and probably the best meal we had in Helen!

Cowboys and Angels: A+

Another knockout place was one of the only true authentic German places in the town–Bodensee Restaurant. Wait times can get up to three hours long during Oktoberfest, but during the summer, they are a lot more reasonable. The owner, Doina, is a delightful lady from Germany, and we had a good time talking about fun memories in Germany and how she cooked her food to make it stand out from the others in town.

The menu is expansive and offers all sorts of selections as well as drink options. My husband and I had so much fun here that we ended up staying during a storm that came through and only left when the restaurant was closing! The staff is excellent, the food is good, and the conversation delightful as we had a great time talking with the “boss lady.” There are a number of German places in town, but this one is by far, the best–and certifiably the most authentic, so check it out!

Bodensee Restaurant: A+

One more amazing place we found was actually a coffee shop called The Corner Creperie and Cocktails. The place has everything from sweet and savory crepes to coffee to cocktails and is a nice spot to chill a little bit between shops.

The staff is also excellent and Isaiah who made our coffees was delightful as we shared jokes and stories while we enjoyed the coffee shop. It’s a fun little spot that is nestled in with all the other trinket stores and souvenir shops and a perfect way to get a little break from everything!

The Corner Creperie and Cocktails: A+

So lots of A+ places! During our weekend in Helen, we went to some other restaurants, too, and while they weren’t as stellar, they were still enjoyable. One of these places was La Cabana, a Mexican restaurant that had some outside seating in the back in an alleyway surrounded by large German columns. The architecture was also fun to look at (like it is all over the town of Helen) and as we sat on the back patio, we watched as another rainstorm came through (the patio is partially covered, so it was a nice way to get a break from the heat and still watch the rain). The food was good and plentiful (albeit a tad dry and plain), the staff was friendly, and the prices were respectable. A fun afternoon!

La Cabana Mexican Restaurant: B+

We also went to one more German restaurant, the Hofbrauhaus, where we had heard good things about the food, service, and that they would even give mini-bratwursts to your dogs! Well, none of that ended up being true because even though it wasn’t busy when we went, the service was so non-existent that we had to go find our server to order and then again to pay for the meal as no one would come by the table. The food itself also wasn’t as good, and we ended up not even eating half of the meal. It is a nice restaurant with some peaceful seating by the river, so the view is great, but the greatness pretty much stops there, ha. It had a lot of potential!

Hofbrauhaus: C

There are a lot of other restaurants in the area to try, too, and my husband and I were glad that we decided to try out Helen during a non-busy time of the year as we couldn’t even imagine how crowded it would be during Oktoberfests and during the holiday markets. Traffic was already at a standstill which is why we walked everywhere. While it was hot during the summer and we had some rain showers, it was a good choice to go in the off-season and get a preview of this cute little town!

We may revisit at some point during one of the holidays (because I do miss the Christmas markets of Germany!) or maybe this is a good push to go back to the Christmas markets for real–to the real Bavarian villages I loved as a kid!

Favorite Experiences

The river tubing experience was a lot better than I thought it would be, so that was a nice surprise! In the past, we have tubed on rivers that were a lot more boring as they didn’t have a lot to look at as you floated by or had really low water levels where you had to pick up your float and walk more than you were actually in the water, but this experience was great from start to finish! So much to see as you enjoyed the water, and we only had to get out once to help our floats along.

The town of Helen was also fun to explore early in the morning and late at night when the crowds had thinned out. Lots of quaint buildings and picture opportunities. The river as also quite nice to sit next to at night and just enjoy the quiet sounds of the water.

What I Wish I Knew

Having been thinking of going to Helen, Georgia for years, we already had the place pretty mapped out in terms of places we wanted to see and visit. The pictures everyone posts of the area makes it seem super dog-friendly, and it is to a point. A lot of the shops allow dogs, but only if you pick them up and carry them in the store. Some shops don’t allow them at all, and we found that restaurants were about 50/50 in allowing them on their outside patios. This was a little disappointing, especially for some of the more popular restaurants or the ones that were by the river. Those would have been nice to visit.

The hotel options open up a lot more, too, if you do not have pets, and if we didn’t have our dog in tow, I think we would have stayed at a different hotel. There are some chain hotels in the area where you could get better rates as a member, but alas, they did not allow pets. Understandable, but we have been trying to take our pup to more places now to save on boarding costs, and she is an easy traveler. We all still enjoyed our time and are glad that we were finally able to come in for a visit! Highly recommend!

I also post reels and TikToks regularly of all the places I’ve reviewed on here, so if you want to see some videos of what to expect, check out my social media here:

TikTok: @touristyteacher

Instagram: @touristyteacher

Happy travels!