Summer family European road trip ideas?

[gangzoom]

Since COVID we've pretty much driven to Europe on a family road trip every summer, taking the grand parent's with us, so 5-6 people in the car. We've driven to Norway, Bordeaux, Colmer, Como, Switzerland, and than usually stay at an Air B&B and do road trips to surrounding areas.

Starting to plan for this summer, original plan was North Spain on the ferry, but looking at crossing costs close to £3k for all of us if we booked fancier cabins for the day+night crossing. So we might just go back to north Italy, maybe Garda, but I've driven the route through Switzerland into Italy now half a dozen times and it's getting a bit boring despite the amazing scenery, so fancy somewhere different.

Anyone got any other suggestions for 7-10days in Europe over the summer by car? Not interested in beaches but some water is always nice, Como and Ausland in Norway are the stand out destination for us. So somewhere else similar in Europe would be prefect.....

[kiethton]

Could do the Black Forest or SE Germany?

Fussen for the castle which inspired Disney
The Ring
Plenty of lakes/mountains for walks
Munich for a bit of city fun
Therme Erding was great and with kids I don't think you'll have your eyes opened as much as I had a few months back (has a massive naked area for adults)
Porsche/BMW/Merc museums across Munich/Sturtgart

[trumptriple]

Drive to Northern Spain instead of getting the ferry. If you already drive to Italy then it's similar. We do it every year and normally sleep over in Bordeaux, only taking the ferry if we manage to somehow get bargain tickets.

Northern Spain is lovely and not too full of tourists. Great roads in the mountains. Lovely food too.

[ecsrobin]

kiethton said:

Could do the Black Forest or SE Germany?

Fussen for the castle which inspired Disney
The Ring
Plenty of lakes/mountains for walks
Munich for a bit of city fun
Therme Erding was great and with kids I don't think you'll have your eyes opened as much as I had a few months back (has a massive naked area for adults)
Porsche/BMW/Merc museums across Munich/Sturtgart

This would be my suggestion.

We’ve road tripped down to Titisee and stayed here before https://maps.app.goo.gl/3GrKsc2tUosMPB6a8?g_st=ic

With a night stop in Monschau, then explored the Black Forest, I think the train might have been free during the summer as we headed to Freiburg for a day trip.

[omniflow]

Depending on exactly where you live and how you like to travel, the cheapest and quickest way to get to Northern Spain is to take the Portsmouth -> St. Malo ferry.

Taking the tunnel will require an overnight stop - either in the UK or somewhere in France. The ferry is overnight, so avoids this requirement. Obviously, if you're a terminal tightwad, you can leave home at 9pm, take the tunnel in the middle of the night and then drive through the rest of the night and most of the next day to get to Spain.

The ferries to Spain are quite dull, the cabins and food on board are disappointing, they take a long time, and they're expensive. You can avoid some of this by going from Plymouth. The normal boat (Pont Aven) on the Plymouth route does have some really nice 4 berth cabins with a balcony that are spacious enough to be actually practical for a family of 4. The crossing time is less than 24 hours, so it's not as tedious and you can normally see dolphins following the boat from the balcony in your cabin.

However, if there's somewhere specific in France you want to visit on the way, then take the tunnel and make the overnight stop a part of the holiday rather than a logistical exercise.

[SwissJonese]

We really enjoy Winterberg in Germany. Catch the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland. Then a nice small 5hr drive to Winterberg. Beautiful German town. We go mainly because of the mountain biking trails (3 in the local area). But loads of other things to do, swimming in the local Centre Parks (also has the biggest outdoor playground for the kids which is free).

Last year we did Laxx in Switzerland, some lovely lake swimming, mountain biking and hiking, skateparks, trampoline parks, loads to do (but usual Swiss prices).

We also went to Denmark, visited Aarhus a few times, lovely university city with plenty to do around the place.

[TCEvo]

kiethton said:

Could do the Black Forest or SE Germany?

Fussen for the castle which inspired Disney
The Ring
Plenty of lakes/mountains for walks
Munich for a bit of city fun
Therme Erding was great and with kids I don't think you'll have your eyes opened as much as I had a few months back (has a massive naked area for adults)
Porsche/BMW/Merc museums across Munich/Sturtgart

If theme parks are of interest you could add Europa Park into that itinerary - we did a similar route in summer 2024: Harwich ferry to Holland - Koln (+Sinsheim Technik Museum) - Stuttgart - BF - Reims - Calais.

[gangzoom]

Black forest sounds good, but last time I went to Germany the food was disappointing to say the least, especially compared to Italy......

[ecsrobin]

gangzoom said:

Black forest sounds good, but last time I went to Germany the food was disappointing to say the least, especially compared to Italy......

Any other European countries you don’t want recommending?

[mikef]

It’s a couple of days drive to Northern Spain from London, probably longer if you are further from the ports. How about one person (who likes driving) drives down and others get an EasyJet flight and pick them up an at airport like Bilbao?