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Our 2016 Roadtrip report! Holland-Germany-Italy-France

cleve

cleve

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Long post ahead but thought I'd paste into a thread in case it's helpful for others. PART 1 .....

Writing this whilst heading home after 15 days away covering 5 countries and had such an amazing time.
We packed our California Beach fully loaded with 2 adults, 3 children, 5 bikes, a bike trailer, rear storage box and all the other things we saw as essentials.
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We got the overnight Ferry at 11pm from Harwich to the Hook of Holland which was fantastic. We started with a meal at the Alma Inns in Harwich based on TripAdvisor reviews. As we approached a rowdy pub on a Friday night we hesitated but were hungry, managed to grab the last table outside and had a delicious meal. A great start to the holiday. Finally on the ferry we had a lovely cabin with sea view and ensuite for all 5 of us and woke up fairly refreshed for a very easy drive through Holland. The roads were so easy and empty, just wish we had more time to stop and explore.
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Our first stop was an Aire in Ladenburg. We had a very friendly reception from the couple on site and although there were no toilets or showers there was electricity. We set up and headed by bike to the adjacent public pool which was amazing and made sure we all showered before leaving! That evening we cycled 5 minutes into Ladenburg for a lovely meal at the Italian in the square and probably had the best pizza all holiday which is pretty impressive as we are comparing it to the quantity of Pizza consumed in Italy later in our trip! https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0x8ace810986942be0!8m2!3d49.465153!4d8.615641
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As it was raining when we woke we decided not to cycle to Heidelberg as planned but packed up and drove to Heidelberg. Parking was tricky so we parked on the outskirts and walked in but later found everyone else around us had university parking permits so wonder if we were not supposed to park there! We had a look around and headed by the funicular railway up to the castle which was worth a visit. http://www.heidelberg-marketing.de/en/experience/sights/funicular-railway.html
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Next stop was Europa park. When we arrived we nearly made the mistake of missing the Europapark Camping and nearly ended up in a private motorhome parking which is slightly further away from all the fun. Once through the barrier we were delighted to pitch up with a view of the roller coasters and have our dinner listening to the screams of everyone on the rides. The atmosphere was great with people playing guitars, space for caravans and some grass areas for tents but mostly motorhomes. The campsite facilities are available to everyone so there were lovely hot showers and clean toilets all in a saloon, wild west themed setting. http://www.europapark.de/en/hotels/europa-park-camping
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The following morning we dashed around loading up the bike trailer with plentiful supplies of water as we had heard it was expensive to buy once in the park. The theme park was fantastic and we are never going to Disneyland Paris again. There were loads of rides for our younger children aged 3 and 5, most of which we didn’t have to queue for so they could go on repeatedly if they wanted. Most of the bigger rides had very reasonable queues about 15-20 minutes with us only waiting longer, about 30 minutes for the single rider rides. The splash park for children was great at the end of a hot day but there were lots of places to cool down with fountains and mist tunnels to walk through to cope in hot weather. We ate at the French restaurant which was huge portions and reasonably priced with plenty of shady seating and good choice for everyone. There is so much to cover in the park that we only did a small amount but 1 day was enough for us with young children.
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Heading back to the campsite after a long day we ate at the saloon restaurant which was reasonably priced but very busy so we had a bit of a wait. By the time the food came the children were too tired to eat so I wish we had just cooked something quick and packed them off to bed! It was lovely sitting outside though by the lake but the mosquitoes were fairly bad so we needed lots of repellant and were glad of our makeshift mosquito net that night.
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After 2 nights at Europa Park we headed to a campsite near Freiburg called Camping Belchenblick. http://www.camping-belchenblick.de/html/welcom.html
We had a very warm reception and were grateful that everyone spoke good English. Facilities were very clean, very helpful lady in the well stocked shop where you could order delicious bread and pastries the night before. It was one of the most expensive stays, especially as there was no pool on site but we had free use of the adjacent public pool which had a great toddler area, sandpit and plenty of shaded grass to enjoy. We also had a Kronus card giving you free access to public transport but having stayed an extra night at Europa park we sadly didn’t have enough time to make use of this. We cycled into the nearby small but beautiful town of Staufen along a shady path and found a great toy shop and enjoyed an amazing selection of cakes including Black Forest Gateau at Cafe Decker which we would recommend.
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We then headed off in the direction of Italy through Switzerland. We were glad we already had purchased our vignette in advance so we didn’t have to queue to purchase one to allow us to travel on the Swiss motorways. We ordered it from England online and it was delivered within 7 days. The drive was stunning and we took the Gotthard Tunnel, travelling on a Thursday. Google maps anticipated a 22 minute delay but it was nearer 30 minutes of queueing but nothing like the length we had prepared ourselves for. We didn’t anticipate the traffic at Lake Maggiore however and had long queues to get round the lake to our next destination.

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PART 2....
We had booked a week at Lago Maggiore staying at Camping Valle Romantica. http://www.riviera-valleromantica.com/en/camping-valle-romantica-lago-maggiore.html

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Their website states minimum stay of 2 weeks but when we emailed them they were happy for us to stay for only a week and we saw several people coming and going after only an odd night on site. It was amazing. The simple pool was lovely and the children didn’t seem to notice the lack of slides as they were happy with a ball. The lifeguard was pretty chilled and although kept an eye for anyone really messing around, he happily turned a blind eye to children jumping in, splashing and having a great time. We all needed swimming hats which were for sale but wish I had known as I would have packed the ones we had at home already! We had pitch 110A which was perfect. Easy access to everything on site as some of the pitches were much further away and in deeper forest cover so quite shaded. We had plenty of shade, a gap in the hedge led the children directly to the play area and we were just a short stroll from the bar, pool and river. The river was the highlight of the holiday as it was safe enough for inflatables and a great place to swim or just have a camp fire and marshmallows in the evening. Water shoes would have been a good idea to pack as it was a very tricky entrance into the water over rocks but once in the water was so clear and the perfect temperature to cool down in. The nearby town of Cannobio was easily accessed by bike or foot along a shaded trail that followed the river. It was about a 30 minute walk but we opted to cycle. All downhill on the way but a slight incline to cope with on the way back. We just managed with a singe bike trailer through the barriers along the path but would have struggled to fit a double bike trailer though.
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Cannobio was stunning. There is a huge market on Sundays but you need to go prepared to face the crowds and also return on a non market day to fully appreciate the town. The lake had a small beach area with park, bar and plenty of toilets but we were glad to take our parasol and beach mats with us. The Town had plenty of restaurants along the promenade and some delightful shops tucked away. Definitely a memorable part of the holiday. You can take the ferry across the lake from Cannobio but we chose to drive to Intra to catch the ferry there as we needed to stock up at the supermarket and parking was easy and 1 euro per hour. The boat trip to the Islands and other places across the lake is definitely something to put on the to do list.
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Reluctantly we left the lake and headed to the coast for a couple of days where we had booked an apartment near Camogli, east of Genova. We stayed at H2O apartments in Ruta where we could get a no.75 bus easily to Camogli or Portofino right outside the apartment. It was so very hot that we opted to just get the bus to Camogli for lunch and spent most of the time in the Sea which was very warm, clear but again stony. We paid an eye watering 30 euros for 2 chairs and a parasol as we just needed the shade and facilities that were not on offer on the locals beach having limited ourselves to just a backpack for the day with using the bus. The bus was very cheap and easy paying about 5 euros for all of us with children under 1m travelling free. We wandered around the side streets and found some great little shops to purchase things for dinner and some gifts. If we had had longer we would have travelled by bus to Portofino to get the boat to explore but enjoyed time just chilling at the apartment which had a small grass terrace where we put our inflatable boat as a paddling pool! http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/virgin-stay-portofino.en-gb.html?aid=359627;sid=f7cb4817dc601366578062458c850c30;dcid=12;checkin=2016-09-05;checkout=2016-09-07;dest_id=-112711;dest_type=city;dist=0;room1=A,A;sb_price_type=total;soh=1;soldout=0,0;srfid=3783611503ccbe9dbf7aa20c7f797e740b0ce742X1;type=total;ucfs=1&
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Finally it was Friday and time to make the journey back towards Calais as we had the Eurotunnel booked for Sunday morning. We considered going back through Switzerland as it would be much cheaper but the option of coming home though France was appealing so off we headed in the direction of Mont Blanc. The tunnel was great as the scenery was stunning. We queued for just over 30 minutes but seeing the traffic that was trying to enter the tunnel from France to Italy stretched for miles and miles.

We had found an aire we were planning to stop at for the night south of Dijon using the park4night app but as we got nearer and googled it apparently it is now closed so we quickly googled camping Montrevel en Bresse which was the Town we were approaching and it came up with La Plaine Tonique, a large lakeside campsite which had 8 camping car spaces for 8 euros per night. As we also needed a restaurant for dinner it seemed a good option so we followed Google maps. On arrival it was a huge setup with large swimming lake, fishing, swimming pool with flumes and splash park, play areas everywhere, shop etc. We took a quick decision to take a camping pitch so we had access to all the facilities as we didn’t think we could walk the children past the swimming pool without them wanting to go in after 8 hours in the van! It turned out the pool was then closed so we set up camp and went to the restaurant where we all had a delicious meal, a bit pricey comparing it with Italy dining out but everyone was happy. The following morning we planned a swim and then to head off after lunch as we had to vacate the pitch by 12pm. Annoyingly the pool doesn’t open until 11am Saturdays so we had an hour to kill but had a lovely swim in the lake until the pool opened. With hindsight I think we could have managed quite happily on the park and go spaces adjacent to the car park as you can still access the lake, restaurant and play areas but need to pay the extortianate pitch fee to access the swimming pool with a wristband. It’s the kind of place you can visit with children and stay on site for several days if you are not bothered about sight seeing in the area. The children wanted to stay longer so I think we will bookmark it as a good place to have a 3 night rest stop in future but will use the stop and go campervan parking for 8 euros on the first night we arrive to keep the cost down! http://laplainetonique.com/accueil.php
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Our last night in France was not quite so successful. We had planned to stay 30 minutes from Calais near Gravelines at a canal side aire we had found using the park4night app close to a boulangerie etc for breakfast but somehow ended up in a car park opposite a campsite on the edge of a housing estate! When we got to the town we didn’t realise that the wifi box had run out of battery so when the google maps told us we had arrived at our destination in a housing estate we presumed the coordinates were wrong and just followed the signs to the camping-car parking which was opposite Camping de la Plage. It was only once we had tucked 3 children in at 10:30pm that we realised that we were still 10 minutes from our planned destination. It was a little noisy until midnight but then we had a peaceful night and were very close to get back on the motorway for a really easy drive to the Eurotunnel. So although it wasn’t a very exciting end to our holiday, it served a purpose and I would go back if needed as there were 6 other campers and a campsite opposite with lots of people about and well lit around us so it felt safe.

What we have learnt…..

-We can manage for a couple of days without toilets or showers but struggled without internet and electricity. Our mobile wifi on 3 was invaluable and we ended up using it daily having paid £30 for a 12GB payg sim in a Huawei wifi box.
-Driving through Holland, Germany and Switzerland was much easier than driving in France
-Gotthard Tunnel was easy on a Thursday but don’t travel into Italy on a Friday via Mont Blanc
-Our German and Italian language skills are appalling and we were much more comfortable when we were speaking in France and able to communicate.

What we wish we had packed…..
-Portable freestanding washing line as we had lovely shady pitches but it was a pain for getting towels and laundry dry quickly
-inflatables and water shoes. Most of the rivers, lakes and beaches in Italy were stone or shingle so very painful on our feet.

What would we change?
Nothing. If we could do it all again we would probably follow the same route but possibly stay longer at each of the shorter stops to make the most of it.
 
Thanks for sharing. More please! We're off on later this week for 18 days and, apart from the first four nights, haven't got a fixed itinerary - so this is v.helpful.
 
Seems you had a great trip , take my hat off.....three young childeren.....
The Alpes are super to travel thru!
 
What a great holiday! Thank you for sharing your experiences, l really enjoyed reading your post.
 
Thanks for sharing. More please! We're off on later this week for 18 days and, apart from the first four nights, haven't got a fixed itinerary - so this is v.helpful.
I'd definitely recommend using park 4 night app if you haven't got anything booked as you can search for Aires or campsites etc by location or use gps to search around you when you're ready to stop.

Let me know if you want to know anything else. Hard to summarise so much fun in a few paragraphs!
 
I'd definitely recommend using park 4 night app if you haven't got anything booked as you can search for Aires or campsites etc by location or use gps to search around you when you're ready to stop.

Let me know if you want to know anything else. Hard to summarise so much fun in a few paragraphs!
 
Thank you for this, looks a great app and have downloaded pro version. Finding lots (the majority) but not all of the map icons simply disappear when tapping them. Any idea why this might be? Perhaps they are closed now for the season?
 
Thank you for this, looks a great app and have downloaded pro version. Finding lots (the majority) but not all of the map icons simply disappear when tapping them. Any idea why this might be? Perhaps they are closed now for the season?

Sorry I don't know. The app can be a bit buggy sometimes so maybe worth closing and reopening the app if it does that?
 
Most likely an iOS 10 problem. Will be solved in an update.
I have the same problem.
 
What a lovely post to read,
thank you
 
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