Sabbatical - ideas....
Discussion
So - I've been thinking about this for a while and whilst not officially approved yet, I intend to take a 4-6wk sabbatical from work next year and most likely spend the vast majority of this time travelling with my wife & daughter in the motorhome. It's basically been brought to my attention that I can take up to 15wks paternity leave up until my daughter's fifth birthday so it would make sense to try and avail of some of this time, in spite of the financial penalty for doing so. So I'm starting to save up now so that I can afford to cover my salary for the time I'd not be earning. I figure now is the time to make real memories with my daughter before she goes to school and we're limited to school holidays or exam timetables etc.
But we're a bit stuck on what to do! On the face of it, 6wks is an awfully long time, on the other hand, I remember from my time of being unemployed for 3 months in 2012, time can easily slip away unused.
The question really hangs on how much is sensible to try and pack in and where to Focus our efforts. Will likely be end-May / June 2017. I'm thinking Germany, Austria and maybe Italy. But then I also fancy France and Spain!
So - fire ahead touring folk - what would you do in my position, what have you done and why?
For the record, it's me, my wife and by that time, 4yr old daughter (and maybe a Labrador).
But we're a bit stuck on what to do! On the face of it, 6wks is an awfully long time, on the other hand, I remember from my time of being unemployed for 3 months in 2012, time can easily slip away unused.
The question really hangs on how much is sensible to try and pack in and where to Focus our efforts. Will likely be end-May / June 2017. I'm thinking Germany, Austria and maybe Italy. But then I also fancy France and Spain!
So - fire ahead touring folk - what would you do in my position, what have you done and why?
For the record, it's me, my wife and by that time, 4yr old daughter (and maybe a Labrador).
Edited by Spuffington on Monday 15th February 11:16
I might do something similar in a few years. My route would probably be something like - Ferry to Britanny and explore a bit, drive to Spain and work my way along the north coast, come back into south of France and then into northern Italy around the lakes.
I have family in Asturias in the north of Spain, and I worked north of Milan for a few months, so that helps my decision.
Used to be a handy ferry from St Nazaire to Gijon, but this is currently suspended.
Good luck and I hope get it done!
I have family in Asturias in the north of Spain, and I worked north of Milan for a few months, so that helps my decision.
Used to be a handy ferry from St Nazaire to Gijon, but this is currently suspended.
Good luck and I hope get it done!
Think about going to hungary, slovakia and czech.
Its a bit too far to on a 2 week trip, the other countries you mention are easy to do in two weeks in normal holiday years.
You will find good campsites, amazing scenery, fantastic medieval towns, and as an added bonus its a fair bit cheaper as well.
Camp in the mala fatra national park or at the bottom of the Tatras (tatranska lomnica is a good base) catch cable cars up the mountains, use the narrow gauge railway.
Camp outside Prague, and use public transport to go in.
Etc Etc
Its a bit too far to on a 2 week trip, the other countries you mention are easy to do in two weeks in normal holiday years.
You will find good campsites, amazing scenery, fantastic medieval towns, and as an added bonus its a fair bit cheaper as well.
Camp in the mala fatra national park or at the bottom of the Tatras (tatranska lomnica is a good base) catch cable cars up the mountains, use the narrow gauge railway.
Camp outside Prague, and use public transport to go in.
Etc Etc
Good call on heading eastwards. I do like the idea of going deep into Hungary and Slovakia, but having a little girl who's had some health challenges in the past, both myself and Mrs Spuff are a little more conservative on our travel plans, which is a shame. Perhaps things might change by next year if she has a good run of it.
I'm naturally skewed towards Germany, being bi-lingual and feeling very comfortable there - which is also reinforced by the fact that if anything does go wrong (with any of us) then I can ensure we're all looked after.
What I'm erring toward at the moment is a trip up through Netherlands, up to Hamburg (I used to live there and would love to show my daughter around) and then head up via Copenhagen to Norway and get to Trondheim for Midsummer (maybe get some norther lights if it ever gets dark!). From there, head towards Stockholm and then potentially get the ferry back over or retrace our footsteps back to Germany and head eastwards to Berlin and then on to Prague. South to Vienna, Venice, Geneva, Zurich, Black Forest, Frankfurt and then home via Luxembourg & France.
Reckon that should do for 45-50 days. On average working on 2.5hrs driving per day but in reality probably taking some days of driving 4-6hrs and other days doing nothing and staying put.
I reckon for that period of time on the road we probably need to think about some modifications to the van? Anyone have anything in mind?
We already have Nature Pure water filter, 2 x leisure batteries & 80w solar Panel. But would it be worth fitting habitation aircon? Any other things to consider when "full-timing"?
I'm naturally skewed towards Germany, being bi-lingual and feeling very comfortable there - which is also reinforced by the fact that if anything does go wrong (with any of us) then I can ensure we're all looked after.
What I'm erring toward at the moment is a trip up through Netherlands, up to Hamburg (I used to live there and would love to show my daughter around) and then head up via Copenhagen to Norway and get to Trondheim for Midsummer (maybe get some norther lights if it ever gets dark!). From there, head towards Stockholm and then potentially get the ferry back over or retrace our footsteps back to Germany and head eastwards to Berlin and then on to Prague. South to Vienna, Venice, Geneva, Zurich, Black Forest, Frankfurt and then home via Luxembourg & France.
Reckon that should do for 45-50 days. On average working on 2.5hrs driving per day but in reality probably taking some days of driving 4-6hrs and other days doing nothing and staying put.
I reckon for that period of time on the road we probably need to think about some modifications to the van? Anyone have anything in mind?
We already have Nature Pure water filter, 2 x leisure batteries & 80w solar Panel. But would it be worth fitting habitation aircon? Any other things to consider when "full-timing"?
Hi,
I had habitation air-con fitted in one of my Carthago m/homes and to be honest found it to be a waste of time, because at the time a lot of campsites didn't have enough electrical power at the pitches to carry the load.
So with our last motorhome didn't have habitation air-con and we toured a lot of Spain in the height of summer and used to ensure that the blinds were pulled down in the daytime and then had one large electric fan which was portable and you could easily take it outside the van when you were sitting around during the day and it circulated enough cool air to suit us.
But we are all different, it will be interesting to hear other views.
As an aside I have spent 3 months travelling through France,Holland, Germany, Austria ,Switzerland and then returning at the time to home in Spain, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
We will be going and doing this again just as soon as I have finished my new house, can't wait to go.
I had habitation air-con fitted in one of my Carthago m/homes and to be honest found it to be a waste of time, because at the time a lot of campsites didn't have enough electrical power at the pitches to carry the load.
So with our last motorhome didn't have habitation air-con and we toured a lot of Spain in the height of summer and used to ensure that the blinds were pulled down in the daytime and then had one large electric fan which was portable and you could easily take it outside the van when you were sitting around during the day and it circulated enough cool air to suit us.
But we are all different, it will be interesting to hear other views.
As an aside I have spent 3 months travelling through France,Holland, Germany, Austria ,Switzerland and then returning at the time to home in Spain, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment.
We will be going and doing this again just as soon as I have finished my new house, can't wait to go.
Thanks KT - I was hoping you'd post since I know you'd done some longterm touring.
It's funny, whilst chatting it over again with the wife last night, we were thinking we might be biting off more than we can chew with Scandinavia AND Prague, Venice, Switzerland. Which brings me to my next point - how firmly do you plan things? Do you plan everything down to the last detail and choose & book where you're staying or do you completely play it by ear, go where the mood takes you and wing it? Or a mixture of the two?
Good tip on the aircon. Would like to hear others' views on it too since I've heard that electricity provision on sites is better than it used to be, but know it's generally lagging the UK. Also KT, were you tripping the electricity when using it, or just insufficient to run it full stop?
It's funny, whilst chatting it over again with the wife last night, we were thinking we might be biting off more than we can chew with Scandinavia AND Prague, Venice, Switzerland. Which brings me to my next point - how firmly do you plan things? Do you plan everything down to the last detail and choose & book where you're staying or do you completely play it by ear, go where the mood takes you and wing it? Or a mixture of the two?
Good tip on the aircon. Would like to hear others' views on it too since I've heard that electricity provision on sites is better than it used to be, but know it's generally lagging the UK. Also KT, were you tripping the electricity when using it, or just insufficient to run it full stop?
[quote=SpuffingtonIt's basically been brought to my attention that I can take up to 15wks paternity leave up until my daughter's fifth birthday
[/quote]
This used to be the case but it's been changed recently to each parent can take a total of up to 18 weeks parental leave for each of your children up to their 18th birthday.
[/quote]
This used to be the case but it's been changed recently to each parent can take a total of up to 18 weeks parental leave for each of your children up to their 18th birthday.
I would not be to hung up on hospitals in slovakia, etc, my experience is they are better than UK!
I would think your proposed route is to much driving.
If you do not want to go east, i would look to head to Luxembourg, then down Rhine, switzerland, italy (lakes and venice. then up to Austria, and back.
Might be worth thinking about refillable gas bottles.
http://www.gaslowdirect.com/epages/cyujrhdmmu67.sf...
I would think your proposed route is to much driving.
If you do not want to go east, i would look to head to Luxembourg, then down Rhine, switzerland, italy (lakes and venice. then up to Austria, and back.
Might be worth thinking about refillable gas bottles.
http://www.gaslowdirect.com/epages/cyujrhdmmu67.sf...
Spuffington said:
Thanks KT - I was hoping you'd post since I know you'd done some longterm touring.
It's funny, whilst chatting it over again with the wife last night, we were thinking we might be biting off more than we can chew with Scandinavia AND Prague, Venice, Switzerland. Which brings me to my next point - how firmly do you plan things? Do you plan everything down to the last detail and choose & book where you're staying or do you completely play it by ear, go where the mood takes you and wing it? Or a mixture of the two?
Good tip on the aircon. Would like to hear others' views on it too since I've heard that electricity provision on sites is better than it used to be, but know it's generally lagging the UK. Also KT, were you tripping the electricity when using it, or just insufficient to run it full stop?
Air Con was tripping out the pitch electrics when using it, mainly in France & Spain, Germany as always with whatever they throw at you generally was far superior electrics, but having said that Air Con wasn't necessary in Germany, more France & Spain, which was the main problem.It's funny, whilst chatting it over again with the wife last night, we were thinking we might be biting off more than we can chew with Scandinavia AND Prague, Venice, Switzerland. Which brings me to my next point - how firmly do you plan things? Do you plan everything down to the last detail and choose & book where you're staying or do you completely play it by ear, go where the mood takes you and wing it? Or a mixture of the two?
Good tip on the aircon. Would like to hear others' views on it too since I've heard that electricity provision on sites is better than it used to be, but know it's generally lagging the UK. Also KT, were you tripping the electricity when using it, or just insufficient to run it full stop?
I haven't had any Air Con fitted to this latest M/ Home only that from the engine whilst driving, other than that we will revert to a Fan again as before.
With regards booking in advance Campsite pitches it will really depend when and where you are going, if you are hitting any festivals/races or such like then you need to book up well in advance, or down near the coast in the summer and also winter period, people forget about the winter but you then get the purple rinse retired lot who always tend to book up the sites throughout the winter period near the coast in Spain especially, Snowbirds following the Golden Orb.
We have always tended to wing it except as I have already said for any races/ festivals, and have never been disappointed yet.
One other thing is that these days I am very careful on the amount of driving that I do, in the past I have visited a lot of countries and covered a lot of miles but if you are not careful you only get a snapshot view of a country, and also you are just piling on the mileage to your motorhome without any benefit.
Better off to enjoy your driving route but avoid M/ways except if really needed, because again you miss out on all the picturesque sections of your routes, take your time and stop for 2/3 days and really see and enjoy the towns and villages.
In Germany you can very easily spend a long time just travelling along the Rhine,Moselle & Wesser, because at virtually every village along the river they have some wonderful campsites, another good thing about Germany is most big villages always seem to have their own brewery 👍.
They always have some wonderful cycling routes alongside the rivers as well, sorry teaching you to suck eggs about Germany, we just love the country.
Better off to enjoy your driving route but avoid M/ways except if really needed, because again you miss out on all the picturesque sections of your routes, take your time and stop for 2/3 days and really see and enjoy the towns and villages.
In Germany you can very easily spend a long time just travelling along the Rhine,Moselle & Wesser, because at virtually every village along the river they have some wonderful campsites, another good thing about Germany is most big villages always seem to have their own brewery 👍.
They always have some wonderful cycling routes alongside the rivers as well, sorry teaching you to suck eggs about Germany, we just love the country.
Spuffington said:
Thanks Steve. I think you're right - the mileage we're looking at is too great for "just" 6 wks. Need to refocus a little more.
Already have 2 x 11kg GasIT fitted; was the first thing on my list when we bought the van and had Travelworld fit it before we collected.
Don't forget to carry the different adaptors with you Already have 2 x 11kg GasIT fitted; was the first thing on my list when we bought the van and had Travelworld fit it before we collected.
We've always used a couple of fans as well - one small 12v for when we're totally 'off-grid' and a 240v for hook-ups.
Edited by BigBob on Wednesday 17th February 07:33
Stevemr said:
Its a bit too far to on a 2 week trip, the other countries you mention are easy to do in two weeks in normal holiday years.
The north is, but it's a lot of driving in two weeks to get to the the South of France or Spain if you have young kids. Having said that I'd be very tempted by Germany and Scandinavia because it is that bit further.We've only ever booked in August in France and never come unstuck.
Great advice here - keep it coming.
I've had some other advice on another forum that I should look at the Med / Adriatic given my 3yr old and the fact she may be bored just driving around Scandinavia. Good thought and has perhaps steered us away from spending too much time in Scandinavia (have heard it can get a bit samey; one Fjord much like the other, etc) but we're not great sunworshipers either, me and Mrs Spuff, so I think we'll do the beach thing around Denmark, Sweden and NE Germany instead.
Current route only goes as far North as Bergen in Norway and Stockholm in Sweden, although may even skip Stockholm and concentrate on the southern part, given my wife and I have already "done" Stockholm on a City Break and I've spent lots of time there on business over the years. We'll see.
As a result of the tips on here, I'm keen on getting the driving time down so that we get maximum opportunity to enjoy the places we come across. Less distance, but more enjoyment. Perhaps sans child, we might seek to do more mileage, but it's not fair on the little'un.
I've had some other advice on another forum that I should look at the Med / Adriatic given my 3yr old and the fact she may be bored just driving around Scandinavia. Good thought and has perhaps steered us away from spending too much time in Scandinavia (have heard it can get a bit samey; one Fjord much like the other, etc) but we're not great sunworshipers either, me and Mrs Spuff, so I think we'll do the beach thing around Denmark, Sweden and NE Germany instead.
Current route only goes as far North as Bergen in Norway and Stockholm in Sweden, although may even skip Stockholm and concentrate on the southern part, given my wife and I have already "done" Stockholm on a City Break and I've spent lots of time there on business over the years. We'll see.
As a result of the tips on here, I'm keen on getting the driving time down so that we get maximum opportunity to enjoy the places we come across. Less distance, but more enjoyment. Perhaps sans child, we might seek to do more mileage, but it's not fair on the little'un.
Spuff
We did 30 nights last summer (mid July to mid August):
Kent - Spa - Luxemburg - NE France - Lucerne - Lichtenstein - S Switzerland - a week at Garda - a week at Iseo - foothills of the Alps - Innsbruck - 3 nights back through Germany - Bruges - Kent
I did plan a Stelvio drive but it was closed the day we tried
it so plotted another route through the Alps on the hoof...which was interesting to say the least (8.7m; TAG axle; near 5tonne 
)
This summer I have planned 32 nights from early July:
Kent - Dunkirk - transit through Germany - Berlin (4 nights) - transit through Poland - Auschwitz (2 nights) - Krakow (3 nights) - transit through Czech Republic - Prague (3 nights) - Colditz (2 nights) - transit through Germany - Cologne (3 nights) - Arnhem (2 nights)- Ghent - Kent
All days involve no more than 2.5 hours driving so plenty of time to see a sight en-route to anywhere. Where it says "transit" above these are 1 nighters and may take 2 or 3 nights to get from A to B.
So all in all with 4-6 weeks anything is possible I guess
Good luck
We did 30 nights last summer (mid July to mid August):
Kent - Spa - Luxemburg - NE France - Lucerne - Lichtenstein - S Switzerland - a week at Garda - a week at Iseo - foothills of the Alps - Innsbruck - 3 nights back through Germany - Bruges - Kent
I did plan a Stelvio drive but it was closed the day we tried
it so plotted another route through the Alps on the hoof...which was interesting to say the least (8.7m; TAG axle; near 5tonne )This summer I have planned 32 nights from early July:
Kent - Dunkirk - transit through Germany - Berlin (4 nights) - transit through Poland - Auschwitz (2 nights) - Krakow (3 nights) - transit through Czech Republic - Prague (3 nights) - Colditz (2 nights) - transit through Germany - Cologne (3 nights) - Arnhem (2 nights)- Ghent - Kent
All days involve no more than 2.5 hours driving so plenty of time to see a sight en-route to anywhere. Where it says "transit" above these are 1 nighters and may take 2 or 3 nights to get from A to B.
So all in all with 4-6 weeks anything is possible I guess
Good luck
Don't discount Poland. Get to Berlin and keep gong East, it's a nice country and some huge amounts of EU money have gone into the road network. Cheap as chips too (fillet steak for £8?). In about 18 nights last year went through Germany, Berlin, Torun (Poland), Prague and then slowly back through Germany (it was very very hot in Germany last year). Great trip. Have found France is getting more and more expensive, so not really bothered about going there.
Only ever booked on campsite abroad (first night) and after that we wing it. Never had a problem.
Only ever booked on campsite abroad (first night) and after that we wing it. Never had a problem.
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