ROAD TRIP!!!

[doodles19]

Hey guys ,

I have been scheming as of late, more specifically about going on a euro road trip over the summer as I have always wanted to do one!

The point of this thread being, that I am a complete euro trip virgin and was woundering if anyone could offer me some advice in terms of where is good to go, good websites to look at, cities/places they would reccomend, good camping spots/cheap hotel(s)/chains? Maily because I am on rather a tight budget.

Oh and anyone got any ideas on any hidden costs... specifically how much I can expect toll's to be etc etc.

I know this seems lazy, I have done some research on the subject and there is simply loads of info to trawl through, and not much in the way of actuall helpful information, and I was just woundering if anyone with experience in euro road trip'ing could give me any pointers.

Much appreciated guys!!

Doodles.

[hunt_the_fox]

Let this be your bible- great site and will help with almost all your questions.

http://www.viamichelin.com/

[doodles19]

Cheers fella

[skodamanpat]

Depending where you are planning on driving you will need:

Swiss road tax 40 CHF
Austrian Road tax Available for 1 week/ 2 weeks/ month from about 7Euros
German emission zone road tax 5 Euro +

Road Tolls, mainly France and Italy on the autostrada/ aautoroute avoid if possible, price varies from company to company, Italy dearer than France.

Grossglockner £25
Timmelsjoch £10
Livigno £15

are 3 specific passes that are toll roads that I can remember off the top of my head.

http://www.alpineroads.com/ will give you a fairly comprehensive list of all the cols and passes.

Best bet is to buy a good map or atlas http://www.amazon.co.uk/Road-Atlas-Europe-Atlases-... is a good one and then look for the areas you want to visit and string them together.

Alternatively this book will give you some fantastic routes to follow, or string together: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorcycle-Journeys-Throug...

Edited by skodamanpat on Saturday 22 May 19:32

[doodles19]

Brilliant, thanks very much.

[skodamanpat]

The other questions you need to answer are

1) How long are you planning on going for (200 miles is a days driving on the passes)
2) what is your budget (with Euro as is petrol is same if not dearer)
3) what MPG do you get (remember high altitude and pushing on)
4) what mileage do you want to do (It's a good 700 mile 'till it gets interesting)
5) what do you want to see (eg Maranello/S'ant Agata)
i) Any activities (Climbing, Glacier walking, Toboggan)
ii) Any particul;ar sights (eg Reichanbach falls, Eagles nest, Piz Gloria etc)
6) what types of road do you prefer/ want to avoid (Autobahn/Gravel/ Single track)ie how confident are you
7) Do you have any must do's (eg Stelvio pass/ co de turini etc)
8) When are you planning on travelling? (MAKE sure you avoid ALL cycle races and July August can get very busy in anycase.)Early June and late September runs risk of heavy snow.

Edited by skodamanpat on Saturday 22 May 19:47

Edited by skodamanpat on Saturday 22 May 19:53

[fluffnik]

Poland is good for lunch.

[.blue]

You might want to check out Urally.org - might just be something you're interested in, plus it's for charity!

[DJC]

Head to Ashford and the Chunnel.

Sit there 30mins.
Leave train.

Drive.


All the planning you need to know.

[doodles19]

DJC said:

Head to Ashford and the Chunnel.

Sit there 30mins.
Leave train.

Drive.


All the planning you need to know.

This sounds brilliant, though if not a little, erm, haphazard?

[therealpigdog]

All you need is a map/sat nav to work out how long it will take you to get home. Just leave the ferry and chase the sunshine!

[fluffnik]

doodles19 said:

DJC said:

Head to Ashford and the Chunnel.

Sit there 30mins.
Leave train.

Drive.


All the planning you need to know.

This sounds brilliant, though if not a little, erm, haphazard?

Provided you carry the necessary kit - beam deflectors, bulbs, paperwork, hi-vis vests, plastic, etc - it works.

...though I prefer to start with driving to North Shields.

[Fort Jefferson]

Don't plan a trip, just check the legal stuff, things you're suppose to have etc, then book a ferry as ps off.

Mrs FJ and I have been doing it for a while, when we get up in the morning, we never know what country we are going to be sleeping in, let alone what hotel.

[kiteless]

Take some large jerrycans, and fill them - and your car - to the brim in Luxembourg.

Then do whatever flicks your switch: the Vosges, Austria, the Dolomites, Tuscany, Milan to Genoa, whatever. Generally, driving on the Continent is an utter joy.

[Gizmo!]

The continent has lots of very cheap hotels.

http://www.hotelformule1.com/gb/home/index.shtml - Just a room. Toilet and shower at the end of the corridor. £20/night or so.
http://www.premiereclasse.com/en/default.aspx - Ensuite room, free wifi. Slightly more expensive, £30/night maybe.

With both of them, you just turn up, slot your credit card in the machine by the door and it gives you a slip with an entry code for the keypad and room, 24/7. Genius for the disorganised.

[doodles19]

Gizmo! said:

The continent has lots of very cheap hotels.

http://www.hotelformule1.com/gb/home/index.shtml - Just a room. Toilet and shower at the end of the corridor. £20/night or so.
http://www.premiereclasse.com/en/default.aspx - Ensuite room, free wifi. Slightly more expensive, £30/night maybe.

With both of them, you just turn up, slot your credit card in the machine by the door and it gives you a slip with an entry code for the keypad and room, 24/7. Genius for the disorganised.

They sound brilliant!

however, I have noticed that premierclasse are only really in France, anyone know of any equivalents in Italy/Germany/Switzerland/Belgium etc?

[doodles19]

And to all of you brave people that just hop on a ferry with no plans, what do you do... just pick a place to go on the map, head for it and worry about where you will be sleeping later?

[doodles19]

skodamanpat said:

The other questions you need to answer are

1) How long are you planning on going for (200 miles is a days driving on the passes)
2) what is your budget (with Euro as is petrol is same if not dearer)
3) what MPG do you get (remember high altitude and pushing on)
4) what mileage do you want to do (It's a good 700 mile 'till it gets interesting)
5) what do you want to see (eg Maranello/S'ant Agata)
i) Any activities (Climbing, Glacier walking, Toboggan)
ii) Any particul;ar sights (eg Reichanbach falls, Eagles nest, Piz Gloria etc)
6) what types of road do you prefer/ want to avoid (Autobahn/Gravel/ Single track)ie how confident are you
7) Do you have any must do's (eg Stelvio pass/ co de turini etc)
8) When are you planning on travelling? (MAKE sure you avoid ALL cycle races and July August can get very busy in anycase.)Early June and late September runs risk of heavy snow.

Edited by skodamanpat on Saturday 22 May 19:47

Edited by skodamanpat on Saturday 22 May 19:53

1) How long are you planning on going for (200 miles is a days driving on the passes)

- As long as £500 can afford me.

2) what is your budget (with Euro as is petrol is same if not dearer)

- £500

3) what MPG do you get (remember high altitude and pushing on)

- 1.2 clio, it 100% categorically wont set the road on fire (I doubt it would even gently warm the road, but as a student you cannot compain ), but with everything included 48mpg seems about right, having a tiny engine does have its perks

4) what mileage do you want to do (It's a good 700 mile 'till it gets interesting)

- As much as I can on £500 with food, accom, sightseeing, ferry and toll's deducted, I shall be sharing with a friend so fuel/accom/ferry/toll costs will be split.

5) what do you want to see (eg Maranello/S'ant Agata)

- Open to anything interesting/amazing/different/quirky however, fun is top of the list in comparison to intellectual stuff.

i) Any activities (Climbing, Glacier walking, Toboggan)

- Nothing in particular, open to anything... biking is fun, but taking a bike rack for the kona and my friends steed makes everything that much more difficult and renting is expensive

ii) Any particular sights (eg Reichanbach falls, Eagles nest, Piz Gloria etc)

- I would love to go to Germany, I've never been and it just seems like an interesting place. I think seeing some of the old ww2 German remnants would be fascinating. Also Italy and the Italian lakes look amazing.

6) what types of road do you prefer/ want to avoid (Autobahn/Gravel/ Single track)i.e how confident are you?

- I am confident, I've driven in france before with my family, on all sorts of roads, autoroute, fast country roads, through cities, you name it, RHD cars can be a right pain on the continent especially when it comes to passing slower things on single track roads. In answer to your question, anything really, not too much autoroute/autobahn though. It gets a little samey after a while.

7) Do you have any must do's (eg Stelvio pass/ co de turini etc)

- I would like to go on the autobahn to set my 75 rampaging horses loose , but other than that nothing in particular.

8) When are you planning on travelling? (MAKE sure you avoid ALL cycle races and July August can get very busy in anycase.)Early June and late September runs risk of heavy snow.

- I have a very open schedule, whenever is cheap .

Cheers, doodles.

[skodamanpat]

Still not sure what it is you want to do, on the one hand you could just blat through Germany to for eg Remagen (war interest) and spend a couple of days there commuting to the 'ring if you plan your trip to coincide with TF days. Alternatively you could head for Gletsch and Andermatt through Belgium/Luxemberg/germany (ie avoid French tolls) and go play on the high alpine passes (furka/Gothard/Nufenen etc) even heading east to Stelvio.

Plenty of cheap Gasthoffs and hotels catering for bikers and drivers on a budget in every town (its a popular sport) just look for Zimmer frei signs. You could also pack a tent and sleeping bag for emergency. I would go late June or early September to avoid the main tourist times, still lots of bike about though (both motorised and not)

When I asked about your confidence I was thinking along the lines of do you mind driving on road barely 2 cars wide where the edge of the (crumbling) tarmac is a 500' drop with no barrier :lol:

I think your budget rules out places like Maranello. I would deffinately get a good map and access to a sat nav. and plan your route on via michelin or ms autoroute that way you don't miss anything and maximise your fuel budget.

I am going on a tour in June http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/158157-road-trip-...pid__1991788__st0&#entry1991788 It is possibly a bit over your budget but might give you some ideas.

Don't forget to factor in Euro b'down and insurance to your costings.

Oh and catching a midnight ferry midweek will bring your ferry costs down massively ;

Edited by skodamanpat on Sunday 23 May 11:23

[zx10ben]

How about this:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=389217940634...

24th August 2010. 50 vehicles from MPV's and souped up ST's to motorbikes, driving for 4 days going across Germany, Austria and Italy, with a stopover at the Nurburgring. Everyone's staying under canvas at pre-determined camp-sites so cheap as chips and best of all its all being done for Help for Heroes, no minimum sponsorship required either. At last count there were about 10 places left.