I have ruled out buying a Garmin Edge due to costs. My question is how would google maps on my smart phone work in Germany for following a bike route along the Rhine?

Well, you don't need to be in Germany to locate anything in Germany. Just specify a start and end location in Germany and see what happens. I'm sure it'll work as well there as where you currently are.

Looking at Google Earth, looks like there are roads on both sides of the Rhine for virtually it's entire length through Germany. You could probably ride the whole way without losing sight of the river. Never been there though.

I think you guys are right. I used it in Rome for foot navigation and did fine. I have a good data plan and can monitor my usage. Thank You.

You will be taking lots of pics and reporting back I presume? Have a safe trip.

The route along the Rhine is well signed, and navigation is not a problem. I would recommend the west side of the river.

Google maps suck in Germany...no street view!?!

Picture (copied from slide) taken over 15 years ago and 40 pounds heavier while on a Rhine bike ride; Rhine River scenic sights should remain the same. Note the very Deutsch bicycling footwear combo.

Say, I've been there. KB

Yep, I was stationed there for 9 years, then retired. Also, lots of boat crossings, to go from one side to the other. Enjoy. KB

You will need either a cell data plan/connection while in Germany, or will need to cache the maps ahead of time onto a phone or tablet.

The German government is one of the few left that takes privacy serious, so probably Google isn't to blame.

Since this zombie thread has been reanimated anyway...

Google maps has an offline mode. It will download the mapping data for up to a 120,000 square kilometer region. It will use that data automatically. That works out to about a 350x350 km section, so you should be able to download every few days over WIFI, and preserve your data.

I was stationed in Germany in 1969. I visited the Rhine and have been aching to go back. I will post pics when I do

I rode the Rhine River bike trail in 2013, from the source of the Rhine in Switzerland to Cologne. There is an official bike route that you can follow. There a lot of signs along the route so most of the time you don't need a GPS-based map, but if I remember correctly, Google maps worked fine whenever I looked at it. I found it very useful for finding a hotel at the end of each day.
The Rhine River bike route is very nice. When I was riding it (May 2013) it was very rainy and there was a lot of headwinds so it wasn't that great at the time. Bring rain gear !

just download offline maps on your phone or use gps

I used Waze (same data as Google maps) in France for a month. Worked perfectly. The trick is to enter destinations when you have wifi, and keep data roaming turned off.

I did enjoy the Waze voice botching french street names.

For the record, I don't know if it works everywhere, but there is streetview in Germany. I haven't had an occasion where I wanted to see it, and couldn't...