# Europe for 2 weeks route



## vince16 (Feb 8, 2019)

Hi all,

We are planning our first trip to Europe. 

We have 15 days and were planning to get to Slovenia, going through France, Switzerland (Jungfrau), Austria, Slovenia and back through Germany.

We want to see a couple of castles, alpine scenery and lakes. 

I am now having serious doubts about the time. We are going in August so I know it's going to be busy. My daughter is 12 but doesn't mind a long journey but I also want to spend 2 or 3 days at certain places like jungfrau and lake bled.

The routes I have been looking at is around 2000 miles. I was thinking of driving through France using the toll roads for as long as we can to get closer to Switzerland. We are just under 3.5 tonnes so the tolls won't be too bad, but i thought this would be quickest. 

Here is one rough route using campsites.

eurotunnel Calais Les Bords de Loue (france)
Les Bords de Loue jungfrau (Switzerland)
jungfrau jungfrau (Switzerland)	
jungfrau jungfrau (Switzerland)
Jungfrau camping pe da munt (Switzerland)
camping pe da munt camping park sexten (Italy)
camping park sexten camping park sexten (Italy)
camping park sexten lake bled (Slovenia)
lake bled lake bled (Slovenia)
lake bled Camping Wolfgangsee Birkenstrand (Germany)
Wolfgangsee Birkenstrand	Camping Wolfgangsee Birkenstrand (Germany)
Wolfgangsee Birkenstrand	camping christophorus (Germany)
camping christophorus Lichtenstein castle, Hohenzollern castle, Camping Müllerwiese (Germany)
Camping Müllerwiese Camping Müllerwiese (Germany)
Campinganlage Stahlhütte	The iron farm (Belgium)
The iron farm eurotunnel Calais


Regards
Vince


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

You are joking surely, when will you sleep?


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## vince16 (Feb 8, 2019)

Most of the days we would be driving are about 4 hours, but this is what I thought. The original plan was to drive down to top of Croatia and then drive back.


Thinking now perhaps just sticking to France or Germany.


Thanks


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Thats a much better idea. If its your first trip to _continental_ Europe (please don't forget if you are in the UK that also is and forever will be on the European continent) :grin2: you will surely want to stop to investigate the area not just wizz past places, you can´t do that travelling along the motorways.
If I were you I would ask folks on the forum the recommend places in France, but first of all give them an idea of what you are interested in.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yes Vince it really does look like you will hardly 'see' anything at that rate.


Ray.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Far too much in three weeks 

Lake Bled is a bit commercialised for my taste and will be busy in August, it was heaving in Sept 

By the time you are up and ready in the morning and drive for four hours I doubt you will cover 200 miles in a day unless you are belting along toll roads and it’s long way to cover in such a short time 

It is tempting to plan first trips to take in vast areas of Europe , and I guess we’ve all done it and regretted it 

But maybe it’s something you need to do 

I’d pick an area and one country to explore and relax in, wherever you choose usually involves enough incidental travelling to get there 

Sandra


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## bc109 (Sep 17, 2016)

French toll roads are boring !
Ah h h h h h lovely France ! Wish we could afford to live there.

Have a look at a Michelin map of France to find the routes marked in green = "picturesque" 

Avoid A roads.....too many roundabouts; look for D roads across country, fewer roundabouts and avoiding big towns.
Get petrol/diesel at big supermarkets; take coffee creamer with you, because black coffee is cheap, and milky coffee is very expensive. 

August is likely to be mighty hot, and make sure your mosquito netting is up to scratch.

Then fit in your things/places to see !
We might bump into you ! We leave Spain to go North to the colder climes in the Summer.

Bill


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Sorry Vince but you will ruin your holiday if you try and do all that. Ive done almost exactly that trip you describe but over three months!

Some fantastic choices but you literally will be just driving all the time. Sounds like you like the mountains which is something I am crazy about as well (Spent the last ten years mainly in the Alps and Pyrenees) so if I were you I would pick a couple of western Alpine destinations only and even that is going to involve some pretty long drives getting there and back. 

Two options I would think of. Get across to the Black Forest as quickly as possible (use tolls if you can), maybe spend a few days there then head to Switzerland before belting back through France.

Or another doable option. Have a few days in Say Jura or the Alsace region and then try the western French Alps. Annecy, Route des Grande Alps etc. Annecy will be heaving in August though but its a fantastic atmosphere.

If its the mountains your after they dont really start or get interesting until you reach Jura/Alsace in France or the Black forest. Dont hang about in Northern France or Belgium, not worth it.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

vince16 said:


> Most of the days we would be driving are about 4 hours, but this is what I thought. The original plan was to drive down to top of Croatia and then drive back.
> 
> Thinking now perhaps just sticking to France or Germany.
> Thanks


He has probably changed his mind folks :laugh:


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## vince16 (Feb 8, 2019)

Thanks all, yep I have changed my mind. I have been looking at a route similar to BarryD's first choice.


So pleased I found this forum.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

vince16 said:


> Thanks all, yep I have changed my mind. I have been looking at a route similar to BarryD's first choice.
> 
> So pleased I found this forum.


Sensible. Black forest is great. Titasee at the centre of it all is proper chocolate box jewel of the forest. Touristy as hell but a cracking place. Good little stellplatz outside camping Bankenhoff. I spent 8 days there as a teenager in the 80s with my parents on a European summer holiday tour and have always loved going back.

Inbtween there and the Jungfrau if you get that far dont forget the Rhine Falls. Awesome. Good little site at the top of the Jungfrau valley (Camping Rutti I think its called).

You might find some of the stuff in my 2011 blog interesting (or not) 

Hank the Tank 2011 Blog


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

I bet you are new to this motorhoming game? Most newcomers have similar ideas initially, then learn that there is FAR more enjoyment to be had by simply following their noses and stopping whenever the fancy takes them. 

Andy


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I wouldnt take that approach Plodders and certainly not on a time limited trip. Plan and plan again. If you veer off plan a bit so be it but I would want to make the most of those two weeks and pinpoint exactly where I Was going and how quickly I could get there. Fair enough if you have four months but even then I usually have a plan. I spend weeks planning before a trip.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

To visit Jungfraujoch, stay at TCS Interlaken (walk to station) or Bonigen (short bus ride) pre-book site online (site was heaving). Take train from Interlaken Ost station, up to Kleine Scheidegg and on to Jungfraujoch. PRE-BOOK TRAIN ONLINE (SBB ticket office) or at the station. It's so busy in August. My son and I went up last August and the earliest we could get on train to the top was 3pm, luckily there was a space at 2.30pm. Long sunny evening though so plenty of time. Journey back via Grindelwald makes it a good round trip.



The challenge of course is to pick a day when it's not going to be cloudy otherwise it's a waste of big money. A wonderful day out though. Check the weather on Meteo Suisse. BTW dress appropriately it can be pretty cold up there, especially inside the glacier (obviously, freezing!) Was quite warm last year, but other times its been arctic. There's always someone on the train dressed for a Friday night out in Manchester - strappies and miniskirt!)


If heading back towards France the area around Lake Geneva (Lac Leman as its known there) is beautiful whether your travel via the north (Swiss) coast or the southern (French) coast of the lake. My favourite stopover spot is Le Bouveret, just near the French border on the south/eastern point of the lake. 



No visit to Switzerland would be complete without a boat ride on the lake. Mostly restored paddle steamers, they are beautiful. You can do a trip across the lake, say Montreux - see Freddie Mercury's statue on the waters edge. From le Bouveret jetty (buy tickets here) a 10 minute walk from Rive Bleue campsite. They also give you free entry to "the beach" which has a swimming pool. If you want to pay there's a water park as well, a miniature train and village. Free bikes for hire too. There's some entertainment on the jetty in peak season and pop up cafe's for drinks and eats. There's a train station too and buses nearby. Worth more than a couple of nights. If you go after about 19 August, they're on ACSI rates so that's a big saving.


Oh yes DONT forget your Vignette, the toll sticker for motorway travel. I suggest you don't attempt to bypass the motorways. You can slip up easily and end up on a motorway and then you pay through the nose of they catch you. Also watch speed limits SF250 for doing less than 10km over the limit and just when you're not looking there'll be a reduction. Known others who've been caught just by following the line of traffic in front of them. No escape, they were escorted to a cash machine for immediate payment. Law-abiding type? No worries.


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

Average of 125 miles a day for the whole trip.....too far!
I tend to start with an average of 50 to 75 a day!


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## fdhadi (May 9, 2005)

Hi Vince

No problem doing that. Like you we only get 2 wks holiday at a time so want to see as many places in that time. 

We’ve been down to Croatia, driving down through Belgium Luxembourg (fuel up here with cheaper fuel) into France (short toll distance) Germany Austria Italy Slovenia. 

Come back through Slovenia Italy Swiis Germany France Luxembourg (cheap fuel again) Belgium. 

You will be fine doing this and see plenty. It’s a motorhome you have, use it as one or buy a caravan. 

We drove down to Salou 2016 and again in 2017. Did 10 nights there each time. 

We’ve also driven to Rome and back in 2 wks and had plenty of stop of time. 

Enjoy your trip.


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## fdhadi (May 9, 2005)

https://forums.motorhomefacts.com/37-continental-touring-info/203305-latest-excursion.html

Just found this.


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

EJB said:


> Average of 125 miles a day for the whole trip.....too far!
> I tend to start with an average of 50 to 75 a day!


Because once you get to the touristy bits there's so much to see packed in a small area. Plus you wont be averaging more than 40mph.

There's a humungus pay parking area with space for mohos of course (this IS EU, not UK) on the outskirts of Titisee, a 5 minute walk and you're in the village and down by the lake. Go for a "cruise" on the lake, buy some local foods and drinks or souvenirs at the tourist traps. Have a beer on the terrace overlooking the lake. If its a sunny day, its gorgeous! The world also thinks so. If you stay 3 nights in a local campsite they give (or did) you a free buspass for the region.

Two more interesting tourist traps - the House of 1000 Clocks in Triberg and the Highest Waterfall in Germany.>


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

HermanHymer said:


> Because once you get to the touristy bits there's so much to see packed in a small area. Plus you wont be averaging more than 40mph.
> 
> There's a humungus pay parking area with space for mohos of course (this IS EU, not UK) on the outskirts of Titisee, a 5 minute walk and you're in the village and down by the lake. Go for a "cruise" on the lake, buy some local foods and drinks or souvenirs at the tourist traps. *Have a beer on the terrace overlooking the lake.* If its a sunny day, its gorgeous! The world also thinks so. If you stay 3 nights in a local campsite they give (or did) you a free buspass for the region.
> 
> Two more interesting tourist traps - the House of 1000 Clocks in Triberg and the Highest Waterfall in Germany.>


I did exactly that on our wedding anniversary over looking the lake for lunch and a beer. I just picked the oddest sounding and most expensive beer on the menu. Turned out it was 30%.  Bit of a wobble getting back to the van.


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## Rachael Maitland (Aug 27, 2018)

Hey
Last summer we did Ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam then through Holland, Germany, Switzerland and back through France. 2 or 3 nights each place. We did it in 2 weeks
People said we were mad! We did it though. Don't be too put off, do your own thing then you will get a better idea of how you want to do your next trip! I have a 14 and a 4 year old. Next summer the plan is to take 3 weeks from Santander to Caen
One thing to watch out for though if you are goggling how far between paces - add an hour or 2 for the fact you are in a van and traffic! Each journey that we thought would be 4 hours was more like 6! And we did use toll roads but it was expensive!
Slower ace for us this year!


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

The driver in our family likes to put his foot down and get there. It is a standing joke that I have neck ache looking at all the fantastic places as they zoom past my window 
One year we were on our way back from Portugal and realised that we would be too early for the ferry if we continued as we were (foot to the floor) so we slowed right down and meandered. The driver now tells everyone he meets what a wonderful trip that was when we only moved just a forty minute drive one day! We wandered around villages and along canal banks and got a real "feel" for the location.

Motorhomes are just made for "meandering". One time we were on our way somewhere and saw a sign for "Andorra". We looked at each other and said "what do you think - let's just go for it!" Again we have memories of doing just that, turning right instead of left and seeing something completely different to the norm.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

vince16 said:


> Thanks all, yep I have changed my mind. I have been looking at a route similar to BarryD's first choice.
> 
> So pleased I found this forum.


Unfortunately the thread started hasn't returned to tell us what he did in the end, what a shame. 
Did he lose his way as he seems to have lost the forum he was so pleased to have found. :frown2:


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