Am I being too ambitious?

[Blink982]

Currently planning a European tour either later in the year or next year. Due to work, 17 days is about the most we can do and that will include travel to and from overnight ferries from the North of England so 14-15 nights ‘in country’.

I’m sure that I could cover a load of miles in the first day but I’d rather not.

Plan is to tour Germany top to bottom covering Rhine, Black Forest and a couple of the famous castles. I was hoping to extend the tour over to the Italian lakes or Zel am See in Austria but fear I might be biting off too much in a first European tour.

I haven’t really considered the return journey! I’m trying to figure out if I’m being too ambitious for a first tour and should perhaps limit the tour to just Germany for now.

 

[Betsycalifornia]

It’s doable but quite trek. We took a month to do something similar.

 

[acer]

We’ve tried to fit too much into a trip in the past. We want it to be ‘full’ but without feeling like all we’re doing is driving. It’s a difficult balance. These days we to try to cover less square mileage, but do more stuff if you know what I mean. Sorry if that’s a bit vague.

 

[colintfcolintf]

I did Croatia and back via the Alps and mountain passes in 2 weeks, including overnights in Tatra Mountains, Prague, Budapest, Grossglockner, Stelvio etc. was more of a driving holiday seeing sights, it’s doable but not everyone’s cup of tea!

 

[Blink982]

One option is just dip my toes and limit it to Germany and Holland, although a stop in Brugge on way back might be in order. I haven’t been there for years.

I think 2-3 nights max is the plan. Are there any must-visit places in Germany that would need 4 or 5 nights? I don’t envisage visiting any cities other than Freiburg, as the usual German city breaks have been ticked off.

Whilst the VW is okay to drive, I can’t imagine enjoying the alpine passes in a 150bhp van that handles like a supertanker

 

[Caliconfidential]

I would say limit it to germany - the Alps around Bavaria are brilliant, you can do a day trip to Innsbruck or Austria if you really want an alpine pass. We found Germany brilliant to tour in the van as there are brilliant park ups (park4night) and excellent campsites. The roads are free and we found the black forest (western half of germany) really pretty. Munich is a great place to visit too as you may know.

 

[Caliconfidential]

by the way we did Croatia and back in 26 days - it is a long way! Even Slovenia is a long drive and we are really close to Dover. We have also done Elba, Spain and France but Germany stood out for us.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

We did Austria last year, the grossglockner in a 150 hp California was excellent especially with a little snow in May, 3 days in Innsbruck and 3 days in Salzburg. Have you got your German emissions sticker? You will need one if leaving autobahns in germany

 

[Bellcrew]

One option is just dip my toes and limit it to Germany and Holland, although a stop in Brugge on way back might be in order. I haven’t been there for years.

I think 2-3 nights max is the plan. Are there any must-visit places in Germany that would need 4 or 5 nights? I don’t envisage visiting any cities other than Freiburg, as the usual German city breaks have been ticked off.

Whilst the VW is okay to drive, I can’t imagine enjoying the alpine passes in a 150bhp van that handles like a supertanker

Freiburg is lovely, when we visited a few years ago the campsite nearby was supplying free Black Forest rail and bus passes issued by the local government.
Convenient for travel in the area which also included travel to Basel.

 

[Blink982]

We did Austria last year, the grossglockner in a 150 hp California was excellent especially with a little snow in May, 3 days in Innsbruck and 3 days in Salzburg. Have you got your German emissions sticker? You will need one if leaving autobahns in germany

We haven’t sorted anything yet as it’s just at the planning stage but I’ll add it to the list. Thanks.

 

[Blink982]

by the way we did Croatia and back in 26 days - it is a long way! Even Slovenia is a long drive and we are really close to Dover. We have also done Elba, Spain and France but Germany stood out for us.

Alas, I’m about 5 hours from Newcastle or 8 hours from Hull which is a consideration for the trip.

 

[colintfcolintf]

Have you got your German emissions sticker? You will need one if leaving autobahns in germany

that depends where you go.
We had a week near Cologne and didn't need it, but if entering big cities then yes it is probably needed.
to be honest, it's probably worth getting just in case, but we knew where we were going and that we wouldn't need it.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

that depends where you go.
We had a week near Cologne and didn't need it, but if entering big cities then yes it is probably needed.
to be honest, it's probably worth getting just in case, but we knew where we were going and that we wouldn't need it.

I wanted to go to the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart which is 150 yards inside the emissions zone, and the Same with the BMW Museum, so the sticker is definitely worth getting before you travel. You can get one in Germany at a TUV station but they then post it to your home address which is really useful. The Red Bull exhibition at Salzburg Airport is really worth a visit!

 

[Blink982]

I’ve been to Stuttgart a couple of times and visited the Mercedes and Porsche museums and factory tour. I don’t think I’ll go to Munich though. Good idea re. the sticker.