Roundozo's European Road 2016 - update

[Roundozo]

Hello fellow Zeders!

As some of you know I took the plunge and got married this year in April, what have I let myself in for!

Discussions were had about what we wanted to do for our honeymoon and we had originally planned to go to the USA and tour a few places for three weeks. As time went on (we would have been leaving on 27th July this year) we realised we just didn’t have enough time to plan it properly so we’ve scrapped it until next year.

The original holiday would have been well within Mrs Roundozo’s comfort zone etc but after speaking with her, showing her some awesome photos of other peoples journeys and explaining that we probably can’t do this again for a long time if we have kids, I’ve managed to persuade her to complete a euro road trip in the zed!!! It’s funny as I can’t even get her to come to a forum meet and now she’s happy to spend 3 weeks in the car! Lol.

So the plan would be to set off from Dover on Saturday 23rd July 2016 and venture through Europe (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and back through France), aiming to be back by August 10th 2016. This gives us 19 days to explore!

I need to start planning this now so that I can make the most of our journey. We want to try and visit as many “landmarks” as possible but while also aiming not to be driving every day (It'll only be me driving). From a personal point of view I’d also like to know of any roads I must take such as the Klausen Pass – Switzerland (ummmmm, nice)

The car will be my Coupe (she'll be fully prepped for it before we go) and we plan to stay in some cheaper hotels on the way down, some nice ones in Italy and the south of France and we’ll probably stay over in Paris for a night.

Before I start booking hotels and buying ferry tickets etc I wanted to ask a few questions and get some input as I know many of you have done this sort of thing before;

Firstly I’d love to hear any advice on ‘things to see and do’ and roads to go on.

Secondly are there any tips people can give? I believe I need to get car tax in Switzerland to legally drive through their country etc. It’s the little things like this that might pass me by.

As the year goes on I will keep this thread updated with progress and all things related to the trip so that if others ever wanted to venture out, they can use this as a novice’s guide. Once we set off on our way in just over a year’s time I’ll also pop up a blog!

[mr wilks]

IF this is your first similar trip then i would try out a 5/6 day mini version to get a drift on things
II your lady doesn't share the Z love quite like you do then what sounds like a great trip may be spoiled for both of you ?
Whilst mrs w doesn't mind a drive out or recently 5 nights touring Scotland there's no way she would use up almost a years worth of holidays sat in a car for the bulk of the daylight hours .
Maybe consider 5/6 days driving with 10days stayover in the middle ?
Next years main holiday for us is 3 weeks wirh 3/4 days driving to Spain via Normandy /Biarritz/Northern Spain down the Rioja Valley to destination near Valencia - 2 weeks stay . Return 3/4 days Pyrenees / Andorra .
That way we both get a bit of what we want
Worth considering

[Roundozo]

In total we have 19 days (possibly one more to make 20). We've driven in Europe before so that's not an issue (only France and Belgium though) and we do want to spend at least a few days down in Italy so we can relax. What Mrs R doesn't like about the Zed is the fact the seats don't go back too much as she likes to sleep in the car.

With regards to holiday she's a primary school teacher so she's got the whole summer off so using up holiday isn't an issue there (well apart from me but then I get to drive!)

Sounds like you do this quite a lot Mr Wilks. Got any pointers?

[mr wilks]

Sounds like you do this quite a lot Mr Wilks. Got any pointers?

Countless holidays all over France with our young children , then when they hit teens gave it a miss , now they're early 20s doing there own thing we're back at it .(Italy still very much a "to do" for us)
Whilst big daily miles can be done quite easily in Europe my best advice is don't try for too many each day / 150/200 max to get there mid afternoon , check in , relax & enjoy wherever it is you are before leaving the following morning .
The road down from Grenoble through the Alps to Grasse/Cote Azur is great way to the med but your dates are peak traffic weeks so also bear that in mind
.

[Roundozo]

Unfortunately wherever we go on holidays it will be peak. That's the downside to having a school teacher as a wife, we can only holiday when the kids can. Booo.

I was thinking along those lines regarding miles. Don't want to over do it.

When I get home I'll post the pick of the planned route and see what responses I get. I do want it to be ours and individual but at the same time happy to hear suggestions of must see places.

[Roundozo]

This is a first draft of our route map. Its still open to changes while I fine tune what we want to do and where we want to go but this covers some of the basics.



What do you lot think?

[mr wilks]

Worth seeing Oradour sur Glane on your drive up through central France https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Oradour-sur-Glane
& before that the Millau Bridge & drive through the Auvergne / volcano country is a good one
Are you heading for Paris as a stopover ?

[Roundozo]

Yeah, Mrs roundozo wants to spend a night in Paris, do some tourist stuff etc. Will find a hotel with secure parking though as not leaving my pride and joy outside on the road, that's the car btw not the wife!

Thanks for the added ideas. Forgot about that bridge. Isn't it one of the highest in Europe or something?

[Roundozo]

All those destinations have been added Mr Wilks! Thanks very much! This is exactly the reason I wanted to post about this trip. They're all on the way back home too so its not even a detour. Without your info we could have driven straight past these sights.

[lmario]

Some tips in The Netherlands all around Rotterdam:

When driving from Antwerp, take the E312 and then the N256 or N57 to drive to Rotterdam over the big dams. (detour of about 1hour compared to highway, unless you wanne take a swim on one of the many beaches you pass...)
The Mills of Kinderdijk. (detour of about 30-60minutes when leaving rotterdam for Germany. great scenery on some typical dutch country roads, almost all of them below saelevel.)
And if you stay an extra day, near The Hague(30min from Rotterdam):
Keukenhof (a garden of 32 acres of flowers)
Louwman car museum (just don't tell the missus... http://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/Ontdekken/O ... ectie.aspx )
Madurodam (miniature version of NL)

pm me if you want a gpx or itn file with the exact locations and routes.

Only tip I can give around rules: don't drive too fast. The fee is high and you have to pay cash before you can continue your journey.

ps: I left the Amsterdam Red Light district and the infamous Coffeeshops out of my list. But they are fun to visit.

[jimbo1958]

Some tips in The Netherlands all around Rotterdam:

When driving from Antwerp, take the E312 and then the N256 or N57 to drive to Rotterdam over the big dams. (detour of about 1hour compared to highway, unless you wanne take a swim on one of the many beaches you pass...)
The Mills of Kinderdijk. (detour of about 30-60minutes when leaving rotterdam for Germany. great scenery on some typical dutch country roads, almost all of them below saelevel.)
And if you stay an extra day, near The Hague(30min from Rotterdam):
Keukenhof (a garden of 32 acres of flowers)
Louwman car museum (just don't tell the missus... http://www.louwmanmuseum.nl/Ontdekken/O ... ectie.aspx )
Madurodam (miniature version of NL)

pm me if you want a gpx or itn file with the exact locations and routes.

Only tip I can give around rules: don't drive too fast. The fee is high and you have to pay cash before you can continue your journey.

ps: I left the Amsterdam Red Light district and the infamous Coffeeshops out of my list. But they are fun to visit.

Some great tips there Imario.......well done.

[Roundozo]

Thanks, I'll be sure to add those to the list. I may as well call it the forum decided road trip!

Think I've visited the miniature NL before. My brother used to work in the Hague a few years ago so we went to see it. Don't mind the extra detour if it's nice. As we'll be spending most of our time in the car we'd rather the scenery be nice than going faster on the m-way where it can be pretty monotonous.

[Roundozo]

Update! Now the zed is back and working I can confirm the trip is on!!

First stop will be Gent in Belgium visiting some friends. Next stop Rotterdam and then on to Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and then Stuttgart. We then head to Zurich and then lake como. After that it's over to Venice then on to Florence. We spend 4 days in Nice before heading off to Montpellier. Afterwards up to the Volvic region before heading over to Oradour sur glen before spending our final nights in Paris. We're away for 3.5 weeks and we both can't wait. 5* hotels all the way!!!!

I am still open for suggestions for places to visit during our travels. I've also stolen some locations from other trips such as visiting the gorges du verdon.

I probably won't post much more on here as its only a month or so before we set off however expect a full write up and pictures afterwards!!!

[85genius]

Pretty much all the roads around the nurburgring are amazing, there's also some fantastic roads and scenery in Austria.

I would recommend the drive I did last year from Lake como in Italy up the stelvio pass and down through Austria

We did 7 countries in 2 weeks but honestly wish I'd had more time

[AndyZ]

Hurro.
Get a sanef tag to save loads of time and Afro at the tolls. You also get to feel quite smug as you bypass the queues, not to mention saving on fuel, wear and tear on the clutch and gearbox etc.
Some great switch-backs heading down from La Turbie into Monaco and a blast through the tunnel and round the hairpin is a must.
Bridge at Milleau is awe inspiring (as is the winding road through Milleau village that it now bypasses)
Dordogne and Bordeaux are beautiful - not much room in the book for the booze though.
Not any experience outside of France but you could spend the whole time you've got there and still wouldn't be bored.
See you at the w/e?