Would you drive to Italy, in a Golf R32, with 2 young kids?
Discussion
Just looking around for some inspiration for next year's holiday and we're keen on Italy.
Would it be mad to drive from Bristol to Italy in a 2008 Golf R32 Mk5, with the Mrs and 2 kids on board? Oh - and I don't have sat nav (yet)!
It is at this point that I'd really like my old, fully loaded Volvo V60 D5 back - although that isn't as good as the R32 for day-to-day life.
Any route or stop-over tips?
Thanks
Would it be mad to drive from Bristol to Italy in a 2008 Golf R32 Mk5, with the Mrs and 2 kids on board? Oh - and I don't have sat nav (yet)!
It is at this point that I'd really like my old, fully loaded Volvo V60 D5 back - although that isn't as good as the R32 for day-to-day life.
Any route or stop-over tips?
Thanks
Age of kids is pretty important.
I drove to the south of France this year with a 2.5 year old and a 4 month old in an FF. Car was fine, it all worked. The mistake I made was being too knackered before attempting an overnight drive. Luckily my wife is awesome and took over from 3am to 7am so I could sleep. The weather was bloody awful - heavy rain and fog the whole way...
If you are doing this with young kids travel overnight so they sleep, but for your sanity make sure you have the best sleep for a week beforehand. Sleeping for 15 mins at a time in French truck stops is not fun when your 4 month old can only sleep if the car is moving and if stationary screams at full volume incessantly. Your preparation should also probably not include 3-4 long haul trips over successive weeks, some 28hour days and a serious health scare for a baby...
I would do it again though.
I drove to the south of France this year with a 2.5 year old and a 4 month old in an FF. Car was fine, it all worked. The mistake I made was being too knackered before attempting an overnight drive. Luckily my wife is awesome and took over from 3am to 7am so I could sleep. The weather was bloody awful - heavy rain and fog the whole way...
If you are doing this with young kids travel overnight so they sleep, but for your sanity make sure you have the best sleep for a week beforehand. Sleeping for 15 mins at a time in French truck stops is not fun when your 4 month old can only sleep if the car is moving and if stationary screams at full volume incessantly. Your preparation should also probably not include 3-4 long haul trips over successive weeks, some 28hour days and a serious health scare for a baby...
I would do it again though.
Depends on time in the car. My parents used to drive us across france and Germany in an old avenger, fully laden with camping gear, but each day was planned like a day trip. 2 hours driving. 2 hours sightseeing, 1 hour lunch, 2 hours driving, 2 hours putting up the tent. 3 hours of exploring, before lights out. Then a day in the local area, followed by packing up the tent, and doing the same again.
No aircon, no radio, no DVD's nothing. but the sweet smell of my sick from the carpet.
No aircon, no radio, no DVD's nothing. but the sweet smell of my sick from the carpet.
mr_tony said:
Age of kids is pretty important.
I drove to the south of France this year with a 2.5 year old and a 4 month old in an FF. Car was fine, it all worked.......
.....I would do it again though.
Those DVD players on the back of the headrests are good for older kids ( get headphone ones though so you can enjoy crazy French and Italian radio stations up front! )I drove to the south of France this year with a 2.5 year old and a 4 month old in an FF. Car was fine, it all worked.......
.....I would do it again though.
Go for it! I have done near enough the South of France in a 2006 Impreza WRX with the wife and inlaws and the wife and little one several times. Performance cars are a rare site in France and they get a lot of attention and the roads are fantastic. I once even did the trip with the car wearing coilovers, although they soon came back off, silly addition to a road car.
If you can justify the petrol then an R32 is even better on such a journey, certainly a little more luxury than the Impreza. It would be great fun!
If you can justify the petrol then an R32 is even better on such a journey, certainly a little more luxury than the Impreza. It would be great fun!
brickwall said:
Go for it. Just make sure there's plenty of entertainment, and a second driver.
I'd try and get to Dijon or even Dole for the stopover.
Not sure where OP is headed in Italy but we stopped in Chambery/Annecy to/from the Italian Lakes. Means you can enjoy the twisty road bits between France and Italy. They're fun/good views but drag your average speeds down compared to the faster/less interesting bits of North/Mid France ( assuming you're headed that way to Italy )I'd try and get to Dijon or even Dole for the stopover.
We drove down to Lake Garda this summer with 6 and 8 year old boys. We took plenty of gadgets (old smartphone, ipad, nintendo ds etc) and colouring books for when they had gone flat...
I used Google maps to work out the route. We caught a lunchtime ferry from Dover to Dunkirk, then drove through Belgium and stayed overnight in Luxembourg (arrived about 9.30pm). Then down through Switzerland via Basel and the Gotthard tunnel. Got to our destination at about 9.00pm. Wife was happy to swap driving every 3 hours or so.
One thing to note - if you are going via the Mont Blanc tunnel at Chamonix it costs about 40 Euros. And you will probably have to queue.
It was our first continental drive with the kids and we felt it went so well, we're driving down to the Alps in February.
Family room at Folkestone Premier Inn on the Friday, early Eurotunnel and shoot down through France on the Saturday. Fingers crossed.
I used Google maps to work out the route. We caught a lunchtime ferry from Dover to Dunkirk, then drove through Belgium and stayed overnight in Luxembourg (arrived about 9.30pm). Then down through Switzerland via Basel and the Gotthard tunnel. Got to our destination at about 9.00pm. Wife was happy to swap driving every 3 hours or so.
One thing to note - if you are going via the Mont Blanc tunnel at Chamonix it costs about 40 Euros. And you will probably have to queue.
It was our first continental drive with the kids and we felt it went so well, we're driving down to the Alps in February.
Family room at Folkestone Premier Inn on the Friday, early Eurotunnel and shoot down through France on the Saturday. Fingers crossed.
My brother has done Glasgow to Milan every year for the past 5 years and they seem to love it. The kids are now 7 and 9. The only advice I could give is to take your valuables with you. Their car had DVD screens etc for the kids and the UK plates marks you out as a target. They drove home last year with no rear passenger window and a pile of insurance forms
Pit Pony said:
Depends on time in the car. My parents used to drive us across france and Germany in an old avenger, fully laden with camping gear, but each day was planned like a day trip. 2 hours driving. 2 hours sightseeing, 1 hour lunch, 2 hours driving, 2 hours putting up the tent. 3 hours of exploring, before lights out. Then a day in the local area, followed by packing up the tent, and doing the same again.
No aircon, no radio, no DVD's nothing. but the sweet smell of my sick from the carpet.
Swap the Avenger for a Vauxhall Chevette and you've described my childhood too No aircon, no radio, no DVD's nothing. but the sweet smell of my sick from the carpet.
So far as I recall, my sister and I never melted from the lack of ac, died of boredom due to not having a DVD, or expired in a fireball of doom due to lack of ABS, Traction Control or a billion airbags. But we did have fun.So OP - plan your stopovers and go for it!
Like others have said, I'd say a lot of it depends on your kids. We went to the I'le d'Oleron this year in France with our 6 year old & he was ok. We took his tablet with loads of movies and games on and a Nintendo DS (headset is a must) and it kept him occupied for ages.
Try not to do too much in one day though otherwise everyone will start getting on each others nerves - you're all stuck in the car with nowhere to go. We travelled East Lancs to Portsmouth then a ferry to Le Havre. Stayed in a hotel overnight in Caen then travelled to our destination the following day - which took just over 9 hours because of traffic delays.
I'm not sure if he was much younger than 6 we'd do it - they don't seem to have the attention span!
It's not put us off though - we're doing it again next year (albeit not as far down in France).
Try not to do too much in one day though otherwise everyone will start getting on each others nerves - you're all stuck in the car with nowhere to go. We travelled East Lancs to Portsmouth then a ferry to Le Havre. Stayed in a hotel overnight in Caen then travelled to our destination the following day - which took just over 9 hours because of traffic delays.
I'm not sure if he was much younger than 6 we'd do it - they don't seem to have the attention span!
It's not put us off though - we're doing it again next year (albeit not as far down in France).
tty thing to do.Sounds good. Did this trip a few years ago just with my wife in a "Bugeye" Impreza WRX and it was great. A very early start to get to Dover for the 9am ferry (as we were living in Gloucestershire at the time). Drove through Belgium and Germany with a couple of nights at the Nurburgring and 4 laps of the circuit. Then down to Basel, where we stayed with some family, then across to Davos (we stayed somewhere near Stelvio in Italy) and then on to the Lakes. Went to Como for our honeymoon but actually I think Garda is a bit nicer. Alternatively if that's too many stops, you could stop off for one night at the Nurburgring, spend the day there and then do an overnighter to Italy if you have a spare driver and the kids can sleep. Came back through France but I preferred going through Germany and Belgium as France has got stupidly expensive, the drivers and people are rude and aggressive and the Autoroutes stupidly expensive. Oh, and they closed a main road and put in a massive detour for a car boot sale, so we nearly missed our ferry! Not being funny, because I used to holiday in France when I was a child and liked it but hated it on that last trip!
When we went to Lake Como, we stayed in a hotel in Bellagio (which was lovely) but if I ever went back, I would like to stay here, which is on the opposite side of the lake:
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p80330...
You may recognise it from the final scene in Casino Royale!
When we went to Lake Como, we stayed in a hotel in Bellagio (which was lovely) but if I ever went back, I would like to stay here, which is on the opposite side of the lake:
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p80330...
You may recognise it from the final scene in Casino Royale!
Edited by white_goodman on Tuesday 28th October 00:51
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