Driving to Poland

[ChrisnChris]

I posted this in the General TVR section but didn't get much response, so I thought I would try here.

ChrisnChris said:

Wedding duties dictate that my better half (Mrschris) & I will be going to Poland for her son's wedding in July.
Tonight she asked me if we were taking the car

But then again.....why not

Destination is Koszalin which is on the North coast.

I've had a brief look & the journey would be about 900 miles & we would stop at

Brussels
Bielefeld
Berlin
Koszalin

For no particular reason other than to break the journey.

Any ideas, suggestions, have you done a similar trip ?

So many questions, but time for bed now....I'll post further during the week.

I'm very tempted

The Stopping points aren't set in stone, in fact, I doubt we will stop at Brussels, it seems to be very expensive.
So we will probably push on a bit for just one stop over, between Calais & Berlin, so probably not Bielefeld, we would like to stay a couple of days in Berlin

I'm really looking for any info on road conditions, especially beyond Berlin & in Poland, I have been told that the roads there were really bad, I don't know if that's still the case.
Also if anyone has any pointers with regard to places to stay....we're not looking for 5* luxury.
Thanks

Chris

[christofmccracke]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pydHuL9tT4

Jonnie Smith from 5th gear did it in a 635d this should help you

[twiglove]

What car are you taking.... Hopefully something mundane, which blends into the surroundings!

[unclepockets]

I drove to a place near Krakow for Christmas 2009, I stopped off in Germany near Frankfurt for a day to see my brother which broke the journey up nicely. It took me about 8-9 hours from St Malo to Frankfurt then about the same again to my destination near Krakow (Katowice in the south)

I bought winter tyres as I wanted to be safe and I'm glad I did. Every time I've been to Poland the road infrastructure gets better and where I went it was ok but I've heard some parts of Poland the roads are still in a bit of a state.

I belive the Polish law dictates that you must have your headlights on at all times day or night regardless so don't forget!

[ChrisnChris]

twiglove said:

What car are you taking.... Hopefully something mundane, which blends into the surroundings!

errrrrr.......no

[twiglove]

I hope you have somewhere very safe to hide it... I have heard of English cars being targetted and stolen, even when in locked garages with a car blocking the garage door!

Just wanted to make sure you were at least aware of the possible problem

[Balmoral Green]

Did a similar run, Derby - Berlin last October in one hit in a Panda, you aren't going much further than that, in a Tuscan you probably wouldn't need a stopover, unless you like to settle in somewhere early for a chilled afternoon and an evening meal, a lazy start and brekkie the next day before continuing.

[maccas99]

I drove from SE England to Eastern Slovakia last August for my Wedding. We completed the trip in 19 hours from Calais in one hit and I regret doing it that way now. I wish we'd had an overnight stay to break up the journey.

Germany is fair game for elevated driving speeds but play it safe otherwise. Have fun! Oh and lights on all the time plus winter tyres between Oct - April...

[TheLurker]

It's somthing I would love to do, but as yet am unable to find anyone else mental enough to do it with.

I also rather fancy driving to finland...

Anyway, I would be worried about my car being stolen in poland, heard lots of bad stories.

[AndyT77]

My other half is Polish, and the next time we visit Poland she want's me to drive over, instead of flying then relying on her relatives to pick us up at the other end (Katowice airport). Her family live about 2 hours from Katowice, and i've had a look into how far it is to drive, how long it would take and cost in fuel.

Having been before, i know the roads can be terrible, and this combined with the distance/cost and time it would take (my other half doesn't drive), i've decided we'll be flying.

[Chris71]

twiglove said:

I hope you have somewhere very safe to hide it... I have heard of English cars being targetted and stolen, even when in locked garages with a car blocking the garage door!

Just wanted to make sure you were at least aware of the possible problem

Maybe they all get shipped south to those Albanian gangsters?

[sunbeam alpine]

The roads in Poland are unbelievably bad, combined with suicidal truck drivers.

I wouldn't dare take a TVR - not only is there a high risk of it being stolen, the ground clearance will be a nightmare on many of the roads. I did nearly €2000 damage to a 3-week old Audi A6 just grounding it out on a bump in the road - and I was already travelling slowly because the road surface was so bad.

I always make a point of stopping either at hotels with a locked car park, or sometimes I stop at farm B&B's - they're far out of the way and also well guarded. On the last night of my last trip, I stopped at a hotel just outside Poznan. When I went out to the car early in the morning, the barrier was open, the two guys who were supposed to be on guard lay in a drunken stupor in their hut, and several cars were missing. There was a big wedding at the hotel and there were a load of Russian-registered Mercs (all S-class). Compared with them, my base-model A6 probably wasn't worth it.

I really would urge you not to take a TVR to Poland - you won't be able to enjoy it, and it if were mine, I'd end up sleeping in it.

[ChrisnChris]

Thanks everyone...especially the negative views, that's just what I was after.

These things can seem like a good idea on the spur of the moment...but in the cold light of day a different picture emerges.
You are so right, I wouldn't enjoy the trip if I was constantly worrying about the car

[rob.e]

I go there for work (Poznan) regularly at the moment - I looked at driving but TBH its just not worth it; wizz air for luton £100 quid return and a 2 hr direct flight vs. a full day on the road on boring m-ways then the risk to your car (potholed roads like you've never seen before and poor standard of driving) when you get there..

Personally I'd fly, but definitely do a long road euro road trip in the tuscan somewhere nicer - I still dream of a return trip to route napoleon.. just awesome (pics on my esprit blog).

HTH

[G350]

I love touring in Poland, I think it is one of the most fascinating countries in Europe. I've made 3 big trips there with my family; we've been everywhere except the north west.

Yes, perhaps your gorgeous TVR is not the right car but why not go in your Volvo? My last two trips were in my Subaru Forester. On the last trip, we followed the length of the Ukraine border all the way south from Lithuania to Slovakia.

Some roads can be awful and the main roads can be full of huge trucks, so my key to progress is to keep to the minor roads that are traffic-free. We stay often in basic little agro-tourist farm-houses.

I'd thoroughly recommend a trip through Poland on Back Roads.

If you have the time, there is plenty to see and do en-route, too.