Early Summer road trip booked 😃

[GARETH]

We’re taking the F Type on its 4th European road trip in June! Having previously done Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, we are now planning on Germany & Austria.

Ferry to Rotterdam. Then drive to Berlin for a 4 day stay. Planning to then head south and take a couple of days to get to Austria. One of my things is to drive the Grossglockner pass, so we will be staying a few nights in the area.

From there we will cross back to western Germany and explore the wine region, then head home. Should be a nice 2 week trip

 

[Anonymous]

I'm also planning a 2 week trip to the Bavarian Alps in June, Taking in a little of the Austrian, Italian and Swiss alps along the way.

I too was planning a detour to the Grossglockner, Until earlier in this month the episode of TopGear aired where McGuinness, Flintoff and Harris declared this the grestest driving road in the world. I was gutted, every man and his dog from across the globe will be there this summer thanks to that, so I'm giving it a miss! Same with the bloody stelvio which I hear is like the M25. Got a good tourist roads atlas, there are many alpine passes, I will be enjoying the ones no-ones heard off.

Do you pre-book all your hotels, Or do you just book last minute as and when/where you end up?

 

[Jimmyrn85]

Lovely! Where is the ferry from to go to Rotterdam? And rough cost each way?

We’re gonna do a Europe road trip too, in September. Looking like approx £130 each way on the Euro Tunnel.

 

[GARETH]

Yes I think it will probably be busy. When we did the Stelvio is was the same. More push bikes than cars! We have pre booked air-bnb accommodation. Very easy.

The ferry goes from Hull - Rotterdam. It’s an overnight ferry which docks at 0800. There’s a decent restaurant on board. Bit of a mini cruise! Cost for the ferry with the premier club class cabin and brasserie meal, 2 adults with the car is £689 return. Not cheap, but for us northerners it’s very convenient and saves a long drive south.

 

[Jimmyrn85]

Cheers Gareth!

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah thats well worth it, your lucky to have that service where you live, Here in mid-wales there is no quick/easy way to get to europe, its 4 hours to le tunnel if your luckly with the traffic then overnight stay in folkstone premier inn each way, ends up nearly costing near the same as that.

 

[ianp]

South of France for me in June using planes cos that's what they were invented for. Leaving car at Luton. Quick trip to Israel in March for a wedding too. Wouldn't drive my F-Type there even if I could get it to the place lol.

 

[Anonymous]

Flying, Lol, thats cheating!

 

[GARETH]

Yeah thats well worth it, your lucky to have that service where you live, Here in mid-wales there is no quick/easy way to get to europe, its 4 hours to le tunnel if your luckly with the traffic then overnight stay in folkstone premier inn each way, ends up nearly costing near the same as that.

Actually, because it’s an evening sailing, and you get a night at sea, you’ve got all day to get to Hull.

 

[Anonymous]

We will also be going to Germany and Austria in early June for a road trip! Using the chunnel and getting to southern Germany on day one then Austria day 2. From there will be doing day trips to various routes/passes etc then back to Bruges for the last night. Will be doing the grossglockner pass early morning one of the days

 

[shatnersbassoon]

We're also thinking of planning our first road trip down to do some of the Swiss passes in September. Never driven on the continent before!
A colleague mentioned that his sister's friends aunties bridesmaids dog, said that stone chips were possibly an issue when driving some of the passes, and some kind of PPF is a must.
For those who've done it a few times, is that really a concern or is it no worse than anywhere else?

 

[MajorTom]

There can occasionally be some gravel along the sides of smaller roads but I'd say nothing in the more civilized parts of the continent is as bad as English roads. You'll be fine, especially if you stick to bigger passes.

Two insider tips with amazing driving roads for anyone planning to cross the continent: the country roads across northern Luxembourg and Route des Cretes in Alsace.

 

[shatnersbassoon]

There can occasionally be some gravel along the sides of smaller roads but I'd say nothing in the more civilized parts of the continent is as bad as English roads. You'll be fine, especially if you stick to bigger passes.

Two insider tips with amazing driving roads for anyone planning to cross the continent: the country roads across northern Luxembourg and Route des Cretes in Alsace.

Thanks for the info, that puts my mind at rest a bit!
Had visions of having to get the whole car resprayed when we got back

 

[MajorTom]

There can occasionally be some gravel along the sides of smaller roads but I'd say nothing in the more civilized parts of the continent is as bad as English roads. You'll be fine, especially if you stick to bigger passes.

Two insider tips with amazing driving roads for anyone planning to cross the continent: the country roads across northern Luxembourg and Route des Cretes in Alsace.

Thanks for the info, that puts my mind at rest a bit!
Had visions of having to get the whole car resprayed when we got back

No worries, your paint will certainly be safer on continental roads than on Wiltshire roads.

 

[shatnersbassoon]

What software does everyone use for planning multi-day trips?
I'm trying to use google maps to plan a day at a time, but it really doesn't seem to want me to go anywhere near most of the passes no matter how many waypoints I add. I've set a departure time of start of September, I assume the passes should still be open at that time of year!

 

[Anonymous]

Google maps makes for a rubbish road atlas, get yourself a real one, A tourist atlas will have the scenic routes highlighted. Also a guide book for the area will tell you what's worth seeing in the area.

My advise is don't be doing more than a couple of hours driving a day. My first road trip holiday I was just driving around almost all day every day and found I just didn't take it in and didn't have many memorys after. Some of the greatest stretches of road are over in just a few minutes, stop at all the cafes along the way, pull over at all the lay-bys to enjoy the view and take photos, if found this the best way to make it an experience you'll remember.

 

[NavigatorNI]

I've always found the Michelin maps good. They highlight the scenic/interesting roads in green - although some of their narrow whites might be best avoided in the F-Type!

 

[Darren P]

What software does everyone use for planning multi-day trips?
I'm trying to use google maps to plan a day at a time, but it really doesn't seem to want me to go anywhere near most of the passes no matter how many waypoints I add. I've set a departure time of start of September, I assume the passes should still be open at that time of year!

I believe Google maps recognise most of the mountain pass are closed this time of year. I have done a couple of European tours and found once you get into the warmer months and the passes open google will allow you to plan via passes.


I tend to use Waze on Route and have a list of next waypoints marked in a traditional atlas. Waze is amazing at letting you know where to slow down

 

[GARETH]

+1 for Michelin maps. Good old big single sided paper ones that you can spread out on the table!

I also use google to work out approximate driving times between stops. Be careful with mountain passes, as GM will try to avoid them, and it has no idea how many cyclists you’ll encounter!

We are doing big miles from Rotterdam to Berlin at the start, and again on last day from SW Germany to Rotterdam. Other than that we limit to no more than 4 hours. Also try and avoid single overnight stops. We choose an area and book 2-4 nights, and explore from there.

 

[shatnersbassoon]

Thanks all. Good advice there
It was a bit tempting to try and fit everything into just 10 days, staying somewhere different each night and doing mega miles. Taking it a bit slower and staying somewhere for more than one night sounds like a very sensible plan.
Paper map ordered!