Are you a lesbian?
Euro Trips
- Thread starter [TW]Fox
- Start date
Are you a lesbian?
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Hmm, getting lots of ideas now and my plan is beginning to develop. Wondering about combining it with the extra bank holiday we get next year to take 22 days to cover the same mileage, so a bit less rushed. Definitely open to the idea of hostels, though - we used plenty in Australia and they were fine as long as we got a double room. They seem good value as well at about 30ish for a room, though not sure if that's per person in which case they appear to be no cheaper than some hotels.
Not sure Inter-rail is right - I do enjoy train travel but much of the appeal of this trip is the ability to take my own car. I don't have issues with not arriving at places feeling fresh as covering large distances without realising you've done it is pretty much the design brief behind the 530i anyway
I'd need 1 Youth and 1 Adult Interrail pass, which for 22 days works out at £700 which compares unfavourably with the 2300 miles of fuel at 30mpg. It might balance out with Tolls (Though my intention to largely avoid France should sidestep the toll issue somewhat) but you've got the convenience of a car which is difficult to put a price on.
Not sure Inter-rail is right - I do enjoy train travel but much of the appeal of this trip is the ability to take my own car. I don't have issues with not arriving at places feeling fresh as covering large distances without realising you've done it is pretty much the design brief behind the 530i anyway
I'd need 1 Youth and 1 Adult Interrail pass, which for 22 days works out at £700 which compares unfavourably with the 2300 miles of fuel at 30mpg. It might balance out with Tolls (Though my intention to largely avoid France should sidestep the toll issue somewhat) but you've got the convenience of a car which is difficult to put a price on.
Can you expand on why?
I did a trip a few weeks ago that basically went like this:
Ashford GB (overnight stay)
Calais FR
Yves BE (Brunch, WWI memorial etc)
Luxembourg LU
Strasbourg FR (Overnight stay in Ibis hotel)
Basel CH
Lucern CH (Stopped for lunch)
Como IT
Milan IT (outskirts - snack)
Menton FR (on coast 5km from Monaco just across the FR/IT border - stayed here overnight in Best Great Western - good rates)
Monaco MC (breakfast)
Vieux Port, Marseille FR (lunch)
Barcelona SP (dinner and overnight stay - stayed in Travelodge, completely in the middle of a new development, not many people around but close to airport and cheap).
See the route map here: http://g.co/maps/yzs4u
I did all this in 3 days as had to get to Barcelona Airport for a flight so was just driving really but great roads and actually fairly toll-less (except the Swiss annual road tax you pay when entering the country) until you hit Italy/French Riviera/Spain.
Approximate cost was about 80-100 euros a night and that was for 3 people... we used hotels.com and booking.com iPad apps to do all of our bookings and usually did it on the way using a free McDonalds wifi point.
Good luck.
Ashford GB (overnight stay)
Calais FR
Yves BE (Brunch, WWI memorial etc)
Luxembourg LU
Strasbourg FR (Overnight stay in Ibis hotel)
Basel CH
Lucern CH (Stopped for lunch)
Como IT
Milan IT (outskirts - snack)
Menton FR (on coast 5km from Monaco just across the FR/IT border - stayed here overnight in Best Great Western - good rates)
Monaco MC (breakfast)
Vieux Port, Marseille FR (lunch)
Barcelona SP (dinner and overnight stay - stayed in Travelodge, completely in the middle of a new development, not many people around but close to airport and cheap).
See the route map here: http://g.co/maps/yzs4u
I did all this in 3 days as had to get to Barcelona Airport for a flight so was just driving really but great roads and actually fairly toll-less (except the Swiss annual road tax you pay when entering the country) until you hit Italy/French Riviera/Spain.
Approximate cost was about 80-100 euros a night and that was for 3 people... we used hotels.com and booking.com iPad apps to do all of our bookings and usually did it on the way using a free McDonalds wifi point.
Good luck.
You dare post that in "Motors"? sacrilege
edit: Fox could also tow a caravan behind him
Trains have a motor too. One very big one.
I was putting it out there as an alternative as I've done both within a year of each other and preferred going round in the train. But a VX220 is not really the car to do a long journeys day after day where as Fox rightly pointed out, a 530 is perfect.
Using Interail does have some huge downsides though, running to catch a train, running to catch a train and missing it. Arriving on a platform on time for a train and having to wait 2 hours for it to turn up (1.30am scheduled, arrived 3.30am was the worst.) Although looking back, it was part of the fun.
Associate
- Joined
- 16 Aug 2011
- Posts
- 1,172
- Location
- Reading, Berks
[TW]Fox;20628146 said:
I did 3 weeks in Europe on my motorbike over this summer, did a mixture of camping and hostels.
The hostels were uber cheap, but I always chose a dorm room, to keep costs down. A double room would be more expensive, but probably less than a "cheap" hotel. Once I paid for dorm room, but mentioned I had to leave ridiculously early (4am) the next day, so asked if I could be put in an empty dorm "so I didn't wake anyone up with packing all my stuff, etc" - they obliged - so I got a dorm room to myself at the dorm price!
I regularly used the Hostelling International website to hunt down the nearest hostel. http://www.hihostels.com/
Quality and standards are basic, but acceptable. They normally have a little kitchenette if you fancy cooking yourself. though they tend to be slightly out-of-town, and not bang in the city centre, so can be slightly less convenient for restaurants and bars, etc.
All of the ones I went to had space for car parking, but tbh I didn't pay too much attention as a bike is easier to park than a car.
My limited experience was purely based on 3 weeks in France (Normandy, Caen) Belgium (Bruges) and Germany (Cologne). I used campsites for the rest of the trip.
It should all be very easy..
I prebook hotels (www.etaphotels.com etc), even in June, I get nice clean double rooms for £30-£50 a night with ease, and being pre-booked, if you aren't overly fluent with the local lingo and the staff on duty don't speak much english, having the booking form makes it less 'stress' at times..
Other then that, plan your route, see what toll roads are around, see if it's worth bypassing etc..
You can use The AA's website for that..
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/overseas/european_tolls_select.jsp
I prebook hotels (www.etaphotels.com etc), even in June, I get nice clean double rooms for £30-£50 a night with ease, and being pre-booked, if you aren't overly fluent with the local lingo and the staff on duty don't speak much english, having the booking form makes it less 'stress' at times..
Other then that, plan your route, see what toll roads are around, see if it's worth bypassing etc..
You can use The AA's website for that..
http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/overseas/european_tolls_select.jsp
Considering how diverse Europe is.. thats a rather generalized statement Hurf..
Other than the French (ofc!), whose culture and attitude didn't you get on with? After 10+ years on the continent I got to really appreciate many aspects of life and travel there.
My experience of road tips in the US is that you have to drive a very long way to get from A to B and there is often not that much in between of interest, bar fast food outlets. Travel in Europe and its a regularly changing environment with plenty to see, even outside of the typical tourist traps.
You need to do it in the Summer ofc and it helps to know people along the way (or have recommendations) who can help you discover the more off-the-beaten-track places.
anyway, if you didn't like it then fair enough
I cant argue about expensive, but thats all relative.
Other than the French (ofc!), whose culture and attitude didn't you get on with? After 10+ years on the continent I got to really appreciate many aspects of life and travel there.
My experience of road tips in the US is that you have to drive a very long way to get from A to B and there is often not that much in between of interest, bar fast food outlets. Travel in Europe and its a regularly changing environment with plenty to see, even outside of the typical tourist traps.
You need to do it in the Summer ofc and it helps to know people along the way (or have recommendations) who can help you discover the more off-the-beaten-track places.
anyway, if you didn't like it then fair enough
I cant argue about expensive, but thats all relative.You MUST visit Garda/Como in Italy, having been to almost every country in Western Europe this easily the stand-out place to go to. I'm tempted to go to the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix next year, spending the intervening time relaxing on the shores of Garda or Como.
Considering how diverse Europe is.. thats a rather generalized statement Hurf..
Oh I know, I'm not trying to present it as fact, just purely analytical from my own experiences.
In Europe I felt lucky if I was treated well, expected to be treated nonchalantly and often felt that I was unwanted or disliked on arrival for various reasons (young, scruffy, British, etc etc)
In America I was consistently amazed to be treated incredibly well, I never felt unwanted anywhere and only twice did I get any kind of bad attitude from locals.
Soldato
- Joined
- 3 Oct 2009
- Posts
- 19,896
- Location
- Wales
Going to the really hyped up touristy spots is pretty terrible, but there are tons of smaller places that are still great and much quieter
Aye, some locals tend to get a bit tired/intolerant of tourists in the more popular areas and especially unruly Brits who don't have the best reputation abroad for obvious reasons, mainly based on stereotypes involving football and alcohol
I was also "young, scruffy and british" but always found people extremely friendly and welcoming in the places I went. But I wouldn't doubt the opposite can happen.
I was also "young, scruffy and british" but always found people extremely friendly and welcoming in the places I went. But I wouldn't doubt the opposite can happen.
Soldato
- Joined
- 3 Oct 2009
- Posts
- 19,896
- Location
- Wales
One thing about france from my experience is so long as you make at least an effort to speak the language you will get much much better reactions from locals.
I think I posted some pointers and costs to you when I got back from my Euro tour earlier this year:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18274563
Do not under-estimate how enjoyable touring in your own car rather than a hire car can be. Particularly when you're on challenging roads and you know the limits of your car better. This is a massive part of the appeal of a Euro tour to me.
I've really liked all the Ibis hotels I've stayed in in Europe and they were cheap generally (< £60). Also the quality of service and food in low-end chains tends to be a step up from what we get in the UK If find. Heck even some of the service stations in Italy have freshly made to order deli sandwiches that are really tasty. I guess we're catching up a bit now with M&S and Waitrose appearing on our motorways.
Personally the language barrier has meant I've always pre-booked hotels and thus my route is pretty set in stone before I go, however more seasoned travbellers than me say that being adventerous and going with the flow is far more exciting and rewarding and no one ever complains of not finding local accommodation. Guess I'm a bit risk averse.
Some places will be expensive no matter what you do. Switzerland and Monaco spring to mind. I couldn't get a hotel room in central Monte Carlo for much less than £200 for the night.
My next trip is likely to be driving to one of the Grand Prix's in Southern Europe in 2012 and I can't wait.
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18274563
Do not under-estimate how enjoyable touring in your own car rather than a hire car can be. Particularly when you're on challenging roads and you know the limits of your car better. This is a massive part of the appeal of a Euro tour to me.
I've really liked all the Ibis hotels I've stayed in in Europe and they were cheap generally (< £60). Also the quality of service and food in low-end chains tends to be a step up from what we get in the UK If find. Heck even some of the service stations in Italy have freshly made to order deli sandwiches that are really tasty. I guess we're catching up a bit now with M&S and Waitrose appearing on our motorways.
Personally the language barrier has meant I've always pre-booked hotels and thus my route is pretty set in stone before I go, however more seasoned travbellers than me say that being adventerous and going with the flow is far more exciting and rewarding and no one ever complains of not finding local accommodation. Guess I'm a bit risk averse.
Some places will be expensive no matter what you do. Switzerland and Monaco spring to mind. I couldn't get a hotel room in central Monte Carlo for much less than £200 for the night.
My next trip is likely to be driving to one of the Grand Prix's in Southern Europe in 2012 and I can't wait.
22 days would be amazing to do Europe in, you could do and see so much and experience so so much different culture, foods, people etc 
I'm sure NW America or Canada would be fun too and it's pretty spectacular scenery-wise but in other ways it'll just be like you're other two US trips.
I'm sure NW America or Canada would be fun too and it's pretty spectacular scenery-wise but in other ways it'll just be like you're other two US trips.
The British Columbia road trip I did last year was awesome, and as someone who drives to Poland a minimum of twice per year, I'd definitely pick the Seattle - British Columbia roadtrip. I've taken some very scenic routes to get to Poland, but driving across the Canadian rockies really was superb. We did Calgary to Vancouver Island (we'd planned to go to Seattle) as my fiance was refused a US tourist visa.