European Road Trip - 1 month over May / June - 4 year old
Discussion
Hello PHers,
Looking for help.
At the last minute, we've had to change plans from a Canadian trip to a European road trip, and need help from those who have done it.
We have a 3 year old who's pretty easy with a mix of long and short drives, likes to do different things but definitely want to pack in some great auto museums and scenery, mountains etc. Thinking that Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria are probably musts.
Some other info:
- we've got a new landcruiser i would ideally like to take (and can chuck everything in the boot)
- start and finish in UK (London)
- have a month roughly from mid-May to June (but flex as im out of work)
- want to go to any great motor museums (independent or manufacturer dont mind), jungfraujoch, grindelwald, lakes of some sort
- like the idea of booking as we go along but dont know how practical that is with a kid / availability at this time of year so happy to do either that or book in advance
Any shared itineraries or thoughts helpful, I will try also to muster the confidence to have a separate travelling thread (wanted to do the landcruiser import process but didnt have much interesting stuff to share)
Thanks all.
Looking for help.
At the last minute, we've had to change plans from a Canadian trip to a European road trip, and need help from those who have done it.
We have a 3 year old who's pretty easy with a mix of long and short drives, likes to do different things but definitely want to pack in some great auto museums and scenery, mountains etc. Thinking that Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria are probably musts.
Some other info:
- we've got a new landcruiser i would ideally like to take (and can chuck everything in the boot)
- start and finish in UK (London)
- have a month roughly from mid-May to June (but flex as im out of work)
- want to go to any great motor museums (independent or manufacturer dont mind), jungfraujoch, grindelwald, lakes of some sort
- like the idea of booking as we go along but dont know how practical that is with a kid / availability at this time of year so happy to do either that or book in advance
Any shared itineraries or thoughts helpful, I will try also to muster the confidence to have a separate travelling thread (wanted to do the landcruiser import process but didnt have much interesting stuff to share)
Thanks all.
Schlumpf collection in Mulhouse is a great museum, Porsche museum worth a visit, and by all accounts Merc is very highly rated.
Check what low emission zone stickers you may need (buy from official country websites, there are several scam sites), and also motorway vignettes (some are now online registering).
Highley recommend getting a toll transponder such as Bip&go. Saves the hassle of paying on motorways.
Check what low emission zone stickers you may need (buy from official country websites, there are several scam sites), and also motorway vignettes (some are now online registering).
Highley recommend getting a toll transponder such as Bip&go. Saves the hassle of paying on motorways.
The schlumpf museum is definitely worth the trip as is the Porsche museum and factory tour if you can get tickets. The Mercedes museum is possibly the most comprehensive car museum I’ve ever been to and absolutely worth a day of your time.
Depending on your route down and back perhaps a stop at the Louwman museum would be worth a stop plus a drive up to the Nurburgring via the Rhine and a stop overnight at a castle 🏰, for example we stayed here a couple of years ago and it was amazing.
https://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/en
Oh, and talking of castles, perhaps a stop at this one would be worth a day as well especially if your 4 year old has seen Chitty Chitty Band Bang 💥
https://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/tourist/ind...
Depending on your route down and back perhaps a stop at the Louwman museum would be worth a stop plus a drive up to the Nurburgring via the Rhine and a stop overnight at a castle 🏰, for example we stayed here a couple of years ago and it was amazing.
https://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/en
Oh, and talking of castles, perhaps a stop at this one would be worth a day as well especially if your 4 year old has seen Chitty Chitty Band Bang 💥
https://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/tourist/ind...
4 weeks a luxury to have to travel around Europe. Switzerland, Germany, even Italy are all great but you can do all those places in shorter breaks with no issues.
The most amazing place I've driven to in Europe is Norway. It's simply a stunning country to visit, on par with New Zealand but it's not a 24hr flight away. 4 weeks will allow you explore the whole of the West coast from the south up to the Atlantic highway with no issues.
It's not a cheap place to go however, essentially London prices everywhere and meat is especially expensive. Its a place we are planning to go again to celebrate our 45th in the next couple of years.
The most amazing place I've driven to in Europe is Norway. It's simply a stunning country to visit, on par with New Zealand but it's not a 24hr flight away. 4 weeks will allow you explore the whole of the West coast from the south up to the Atlantic highway with no issues.
It's not a cheap place to go however, essentially London prices everywhere and meat is especially expensive. Its a place we are planning to go again to celebrate our 45th in the next couple of years.
gangzoom said:
4 weeks a luxury to have to travel around Europe. Switzerland, Germany, even Italy are all great but you can do all those places in shorter breaks with no issues.
The most amazing place I've driven to in Europe is Norway. It's simply a stunning country to visit, on par with New Zealand but it's not a 24hr flight away. 4 weeks will allow you explore the whole of the West coast from the south up to the Atlantic highway with no issues.
It's not a cheap place to go however, essentially London prices everywhere and meat is especially expensive. Its a place we are planning to go again to celebrate our 45th in the next couple of years.
[Img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOOTPCq5UUpaRMoxFt4wFFlqbOU_BhAF3F4e9XoeUIO6lAV6VK0JITnccX_2tIhHZPJjEAGPLzlpNbLD7k61O5QBrDmBv6NOAiayvQ3ncH9L7aKIalAxBiuZmOGLrI90pNrF-Idkff_XxGkACpRS4BlXA=w1080-h1619-s-no-gm?authuser=0[/thumb]
Looks amazing. Did you drive up from Calais?The most amazing place I've driven to in Europe is Norway. It's simply a stunning country to visit, on par with New Zealand but it's not a 24hr flight away. 4 weeks will allow you explore the whole of the West coast from the south up to the Atlantic highway with no issues.
It's not a cheap place to go however, essentially London prices everywhere and meat is especially expensive. Its a place we are planning to go again to celebrate our 45th in the next couple of years.
[Img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOOTPCq5UUpaRMoxFt4wFFlqbOU_BhAF3F4e9XoeUIO6lAV6VK0JITnccX_2tIhHZPJjEAGPLzlpNbLD7k61O5QBrDmBv6NOAiayvQ3ncH9L7aKIalAxBiuZmOGLrI90pNrF-Idkff_XxGkACpRS4BlXA=w1080-h1619-s-no-gm?authuser=0[/thumb]
When I were a lad there was a ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg, Denmark, but it doesn't run anymore.
One of my lads pops over as he has a girlfriend near Oslo, and loves the place.
If it wasn't for the B word, he'd be living there.
So many choices!
In terms of museums, the Mercedes one is the biggest and best though Porsche and BMW are also great. There's a Zeppelin museum down in Friedrichshafen on Lake Konstanz (it's a beautiful area and is near Lindau island which is cute). Also if you go to Munich for BMW visit the Deutsches Museum, it's massive.
If you're in that part of the world, as said, King Ludwigs castles are well worth visiting.
In Switzerland, Lucerne is a beautiful city to visit. Grindelwald is lovely, but can be busy. We did Piz Gloria (the restaurant featured in James Bond OHMSS) instead of Jungfrauhoch, as I'm a bond fan and it was also half the price (Jungfrauhoch is £230 per adult). You can also stop in Murren half-way down which is a very beautiful village.
If you get over to Austria, Salzburg and Vienna are both great and among my favourite cities.
In terms of museums, the Mercedes one is the biggest and best though Porsche and BMW are also great. There's a Zeppelin museum down in Friedrichshafen on Lake Konstanz (it's a beautiful area and is near Lindau island which is cute). Also if you go to Munich for BMW visit the Deutsches Museum, it's massive.
If you're in that part of the world, as said, King Ludwigs castles are well worth visiting.
In Switzerland, Lucerne is a beautiful city to visit. Grindelwald is lovely, but can be busy. We did Piz Gloria (the restaurant featured in James Bond OHMSS) instead of Jungfrauhoch, as I'm a bond fan and it was also half the price (Jungfrauhoch is £230 per adult). You can also stop in Murren half-way down which is a very beautiful village.
If you get over to Austria, Salzburg and Vienna are both great and among my favourite cities.
Doofus said:
If you intend to find accommodation as you go, you'll spend half of every day looking for somewhere to stay.
Book at least some of your hotels before you go.
Would disagree entirely, I did 3 weeks last year in Europe and booked day to day. Never had a problem finding places and it allowed a lot more flexibility over where to stay and how long to drive per day, depending if there were some things to see or not. Book at least some of your hotels before you go.
Maybe with a small child you might want some certainty, but as a principle with a smartphone, Google and Booking.com it's incredibly easy to find places as you travel. I would guess it took 10 mins per day to book a hotel, and I generally didn't start looking until 3 or 5pm that afternoon.
Was going to say the same.
I drove through France and Spain last year and I just had to be at the port in time for the boat to Tenerife.
Didn't have any plan, just drove until near somewhere, pulled over, booked hotel then went and found it.
Stopped in some amazing places all by accident
Same on the way back.
I drove through France and Spain last year and I just had to be at the port in time for the boat to Tenerife.
Didn't have any plan, just drove until near somewhere, pulled over, booked hotel then went and found it.
Stopped in some amazing places all by accident
Same on the way back.
croyde said:
Looks amazing. Did you drive up from Calais?
When I were a lad there was a ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg, Denmark, but it doesn't run anymore.
One of my lads pops over as he has a girlfriend near Oslo, and loves the place.
If it wasn't for the B word, he'd be living there.
Overnight ferry to Hook of Holland, drove through to Denmark by the end of day 1. Ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo day 2. In Norway by day 3, spent 30min in Oslo before heading North into the Fjords. On the way back we spent a couple of days in Amsterdam. 6 people in the car for half the trip as we picked up the extended family as they flew into Oslo. When I were a lad there was a ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg, Denmark, but it doesn't run anymore.
One of my lads pops over as he has a girlfriend near Oslo, and loves the place.
If it wasn't for the B word, he'd be living there.
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