Big European Tour in Concept Phase - Advice Sought

[TravellinJones]

Hi Folks,

Not been on the forum for a while - been too busy either enjoying the Cali, or working to correct the serious dent which buying it has put in our finances.

We have nevertheless found the time to start formulating a plan which we hope to put in to action late summer / early autumn next year (2014). Basically it consists of taking 2-3 months 'out' and going on a grand tour of Europe - in the Cali (of course).

We will have plenty of things to worry about in due course (financing the trip, being sure of having work to come back to, 2 very young kids tagging along, what to do with the cat, etc) - but for now the main one is coming up with an itinerary. We'll continue trawling back through this section of the forum and the rest of the internet, but just thought we'd summarise the plan so far and see what folk think. We know there are plenty of you on here with more experience of touring in Europe than we have so hopefully we'll get some good advise...

Very roughly this is what we have in mind:

- Aberdeenshire - Harwich
- Ferry Harwich - Esbjerg
- Denmark (Jutland, Langeland)
- Nip to Amsterdam
- Germany (Down Rhine Valley)
- Austria (Alps)
- Slovenia
- Croatia
- Ferry Croatia - Italy (Split - Ancona or Dubrovnick - Bari look good options)
- Italy (Gorge on food, Lake Garda, Dolomites)
- Switzerland (Alps)
- France (Chamonix, Lyon, Toulouse)
- Spain (Pyrenees, Barcelona, Granada, Galicia, North Coast)
- Ferry Spain - UK (Santander or Bilbao - Plymouth)
- Plymouth - Welsh Coast - Aberdeenshire

+++Option 2 is do Swiss Alps and North Italy on way down, then Slovenia Croatia, then ferry to Italy, cross Italy then ferry to Corsica and from there ferry to France, before continuing on to Spain+++

Plugging a route based on the above in to google maps tells us that this is about 110hours worth of non-stop driving. We don't know whether google assumes you zoom down motorways at maximum allowable speed or that you crawl along back roads - but presume something in between. Anyway, allowing a nominal 2 hours per day driving (some days might be 8+, hopefully plenty of others zero) that 110hours equates to about 8 weeks away. Even allowing a few days for the ferries, our nominal allowance of 10 weeks looks reasonable. If we can stretch to 12 or so weeks it seems like it should be achievable at a relaxed pace even, with no reason to stress about stopping off at the places we really like, and where the sun is shining.

Much appreciate any thoughts you have on the above. Has anybody made a similar trip? Is it naive to think that fuel and camp sites should be our only major expenses assuming we generally avoid toll roads (is it also naive to think we can!?).

Thanks

Team TravellinJones

 

[BerndRos]

Set your SatNav to avoid all motorways...that's what I did while away for 15 months...I saw far more like that....

 

[greyplague]

Hi,
First off, I can offer advice - we did a similar, but shorter, 2-month trip last year - through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Tuscany, France, back into Germany, then finished at Bruges. Mileage was 4,750 over 8 weeks. What a trip! We loved every minute of it, except for 3 breakdowns (relatively minor, fortunately). So…
the first bit of advice is to get yourself some breakdown cover if you haven't already done so. We use Adrian Flux - you don't need to have their insurance - not expensive for all Europe and the service was brilliant: broken throttle cable in Germany, gear linkage in Italy and air-lock in fuel line in France, fixed each time using a VW garage.
Next tip: if you're going out of high season, you MUST get yourself an ACSI Card and/or Camping Cheques - you'll save a LOT of money, e.g. normal price for sites in Italy can be over 30 Euros/night - with ACSI, 16 Euros/night max. and for that you get all your electricity and showers free.
Google maps: we planned all our route using them and they were very accurate as far as time/distances was concerned, but inaccurate as far as fuel cost - the cost shown at the bottom of the route planner was MUCH higher than our actual costs, even with our 1992 T4 Westfalia! We only drove more than 4 hours/day on 2 days, which made life quite easy - and we didn't have kids with us!
Where to go? Rhine Gorge - have a look at Camping Sonnenstrand, Bacharach am Rhein - lovely mediaeval town with everything you need.
Before you reach Austria, try Berchtesgaden (Bavaria) - Camping Allweglehen, with views to die for, swimming pool, good restaurant (also Hitler's 'Eagle's Nest'). Handy for a trip into Salzburg.
Into Austria next: seeing the Dolomites is a must. Lienz (S. Tirol) is a good place to stay, campsite Tristachersee is great, by a lake, good food, quiet site, handy for a trip up the Grossglockner.
Then into Italy, but fill your tank up BEFORE you cross the border. Fuel in Italy can cost up to 30 cents/ltr more than in Austria!! Lake Garda was another must for us. Plenty of sites all round the lake - we used La Pientelle at Moniga del Garda (S.W. corner of lake). Pitch on lakeside, good bar restaurant, pool, plenty for kids, staff all speak English. We then went on to visit friends in Tuscany, then round the Med to S. of France (a long drive, took all day, then broke down!). We stayed near Fréjus, before moving to the Tarn Gorge (Florac, municipal site), which is nothing short of magnificent.
After that, we 'hit' Germany again, via the Black Forest (Titisee - 2 good sites), then followed the Rhine northwards again and into Belgium (Bruges). Camping Memling on the edge of the city is good - walk into the city (about 20 minutes) for all the touristy things (or get the bus).
All the above can be found on the internet - good old Google - and we found half the fun was planning the trip. One last bit of info - we didn't book a single campsite before arriving: just turned up. This was in May and June.
Further advice: make a plan and stick to it as far as possible. If you don't, you'll find yourself wandering aimlessly, not knowing where to go next. However, be a little flexible on how long you stay at each pace if you need to. You can catch up later.
Please feel free to get back to me if you wish, either on a posting or by personal message.
I almost forgot… we're doing it all again - starting next Sunday! That's how good it is.
Go and enjoy yourselves, have a great trip and post us some piccies .

 

[RobdeBear]

I would suggest looking at the titles available from Vicarious books, including the Aires publications and the ACSI camping guide. Great reading, well researched and well worth the money. Fuel is much cheaper off the motorways and autoroutes (Doh!) if you're not in a hurry and you'll see far more. The French Aires we stopped at on our trip to Barcelona via the Alps and back via Andorra this January were a bit grim but they were there as per the book, perfect for just a sleeping place, felt secure and were very cheap. Make sure you know the difference betyween an 'Aire' which is just a resting place and a proper 'Aire' for campervan stops, where you should find some facilities and much less risk of interference/theft.

From previous visits, Scandinavia is eye-wateringly expensive for everything so be careful if you're on a budget. Great place though and lovely people of course. We drove to Esbjerg via Amsterdam years ago and became so bored that we gave up on driving home and got the ferry back from Hamburg. Scenic it isn't. Don't forget Portugal - The Atlantic coast is beautiful, much cooler and less crowded than the Algarve. Makes a great run down via Galicia from the UK ferries to Bilbao/Santander. The Atlantic coast to the south of Porto is still relatively unspoiled.

Go for it, have a great time, you won't regret it - I wish I could get the leave!

 

[TravellinJones]

Thanks all, much appreciate you taking the time to put down your advise. Food for thought - plenty of research and planning to be done now. Portugal sounds great, can't miss out in the fatherland (Denmark) however. When we came up with this idea 2-3 months seemed like a vast void of opportunity, it 's getting claustrophobic now though!!!

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

Sounds good. I can recommend Slovenia (go to Lake Bled and there are some fantastic caves to go and see as well) and Croatia. We stayed at a good campsite in Split and Dubrovnik is definitely worth going to. To get to Dubrovnik if you are driving down, you have to leave Croatia and go through Bosnia and Herzegovnia so make sure you have correct documentation etc...for there. Just remember which countries require a vignette for the motorways. If you can I would wholeheartedly recommend the Czech Republic and a few days in Prague if you haven't been before.

cheers