Driving across Europe

[nick1881]

Me and my friend are looking at driving across Europe, were looking at getting the ferry from Dover to Calais then driving down France to Switzerland maybe touch north Italy then Austria, maybe Hungary and Slovakia then Czech Republic across Germany to the Netherlands and through Belgium to return to France for the ferry back to Dover.

Would that be possible in 2weeks? We havent looked at what places we want to see or stat in along the way yet, we could take a tent and pitch that where needed.

We really dont have much of an idea, were just looking into the possibilities at the moment and need to check funds but it would be great. Any help or advice would be great.

Thanks

[nick1881]

Well we cant spend any more time than 2 weeks. We both like driving and just want to get out there, see some places and meet some people, at least at the end of it we can say we did it. I dont just want to see france and germany, it will be only 1 night stop over in places and then moving on, I have a friend in the Netherlands too so would be nice to have a drink with him.

The ferry is cheap and with a good car fuel costs wont be too much, we're willing to spend £700 each if we have too.

Any good places we should make sure we see along the way?

[madamtrashheap]

Welcome to GFE nick1881!

As David wrote, 2 weeks to cover all of the places you've listed will mean a whole lotta driving and the only sightseeing will be out the car window. If you like to drive and don't really want to see much in the cities, then groovy, but I suspect you'll want to have a day or two to see things, yes?

As an example, say you're on the 10.00 ferry from Dover to Calais. You'll have to check-in by 9.30 at the latest, then the journey takes 75mins, unloading can take 15mins so you'll arrive in Calais around 12.30 (Europe time), the drive to Paris takes around 3hrs (without stopping) then you'll have to get to where you're staying (there's a campsite on the north-west side of town outside the Peripherique), so you'd be there mid-late afternoon and then have limited time to sightsee. Even a drive from, say, Paris to Switzerland (let's choose Luzern as it's in the centre) will take 6-7hours (non-stop, but you'll want to stop). To Lausanne would be about 5-6hours, out of interest.

So when you factor in those times, you can see that even if you only spent one night in each place (country or city) you won't see much of the place before you have to leave again. Plus it will mean early morning starts, which may or may not impress you. If you can look a little further into the cities/places you'd like to see in each country listed, then a route will sift itself out from there and you'll be about to tweak it to suit. Let us know what you come up with in terms of cities and we can go from there.

What time of year are you thinking of travelling?

[Eagle]

nick1881, sorry to sound pessimistic, but I have to agree with the others. That's an enormous amount of driving for a two week trip, and I think it's safe to say that you're mostly going to see Europe from a car window. You won't really have much time to stop and look around each location. There's no way you can drive at the same speed as the TGV, so you will be spending a lot of time behind the wheel! Also, as David mentioned you'll be dealing with the steering wheel on the "other" side, although I suspect you may be used to that?

In addition to the fuel and Ferry costs, you'll have to allow for toll costs on the Motorways (quite common in some places) and parking charges in the cities. I believe it's mandatory to have an International Driver's Permit in Italy (and probably other countries), and there's always the possibility of getting "nicked" with a fine for driving in "limited traffic zones" that are increasingly being established in some cities (it's an automated process with a Camera, so you don't know you've been nicked until you get home and receive a ticket in the mail). There may also be insurance issues in eastern European countries (Hungary, Slovakia?) and of course always the possibility of theft or vandalism.

This is entirely your decision of course, but it's not something I would ever do.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide.

[madamtrashheap]

eagle said:

I believe it's mandatory to have an International Driver's Permit in Italy (and probably other countries)

If you have an EU-country valid drivers licence (eg you have a UK-issued driver's licence) then there's no need for an International Driver's Licence.

Good point about the tolls and parking though!

[kipax]

How expensive are tolls.. say google route lille to barcelona?

[madamtrashheap]

This site www.france-pub.com/autoroutes.htm is all about the French Autoroutes and had links to other sites, particularly to calculate toll costs.

[nick1881]

I'm quite happy to see most of these places from the car as we pass through them. I just really enjoy driving and driving somewhere different and such a long distance is really exciting for me. I think I would like to stop in Prague though.

We think we could push the time up to 18 days in total and cut italy out of the trip.

Just checking on car insurance today.

We were thinking of maybe July if it could be planned in time for then.

[madamtrashheap]

European school holidays for the Summer start in the last week of July this year I believe (or a week either side depending on the country) so bear that in mind when you're planning your drives as Summer traffic can be a 'mare (as in nightmare!).

If you are happy to drive and see rather than stop and see then go for it. And understandably in some regions the scenery is the best bit (Tuscany, Tirol, Switzerland!) But once you've come up with your list of cities on your route then we can get a better idea of things to suggest to you that you might consider stopping for.

[herrbert]

nick1881 said:

The ferry is cheap and with a good car fuel costs wont be too much, we're willing to spend £700 each if we have too.

It depends how you look at it. At the moment in the Netherlands a liter of Euro95 costs around 1,50 euro. A good car will do about 15 kilometer on one liter.

I've planned your trip, and it takes a 6150 kilometer. which is just the minimum, travelling the fastest way, seeing nothing. It is more likely that you will do some de-touring to see other places, so I reckon it will be closer to 8000 kilometers. (if not more). For 8000K you would need 533 liters of petrol, which would cost you about 800 euros. If you only want to spend 700 Pounds, = 900 euros. You will only be left with 100 euros for the ferry, toll, insurance, etc. (toll is not only an issue in France, but also in Spain and Italy)

If you also have to pay rooms, food, drink etc, out of the 700 pound budget, it will simply never work.

we could take a tent and pitch that where needed.

It's not that simple. In a lot of countries you can't just put up a tent allong the way. You need to be on an official campingsite, although the costs are not as high as a room, you still have to calculate some costs.

[nick1881]

Hi, thanks for the help so far guys.

The plan is now to mission across to a city and see it for 3 days so need to decide where now, we both like the idea of Budapest, anyone tell me what its like?

Others we like the sound of are

Prague
Bratislava

Any other suggestions, Croatia maybe? As long as the people are friendly and we can have a few drinks and a laugh we dont mind. We're not bothered about seeing museums or specific landmarks.

We are thinking of a little longer route on the way to see Switzerland and go through Austria where the scenery should be nice. I also want to have 1 day in NL on the way home s-Hertogenbosch as I have a friend there.

Planned dates are as follows.

Leave 4th July
Return 21st July

Budget wise I think I can have £1000 available. The car should do 50mpg

Route wise something like this, (copy and paste into browser)
maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=8620211801139279608,47.166470,9.053080%3B17826913944122187941,47.336680,11.684590%3B1283568124006458784,51.701570,5.316620&saddr=CV10+7LY&daddr=17%2FGasterstrasse+%4047.166470,+9.053080+to:A12+%4047.336680,+11.684590+to:Budapest+to:Zandzuigerstraat+%4051.701570,+5.316620+to:52.409121,-1.477661&mra=mi&mrcr=2&mrsp=5&sz=9&via=1,2&sll=52.517892,-1.620483&sspn=0.95601,1.966553&ie=UTF8&ll=51.151786,7.470703&spn=15.793234,31.464844&z=5

We are both really excited about doing such a long drive and seeing some sights as we pass.

Thanks

Nick