Driving to Northern Germany - non-football related enquiry

[Turkey]

Dover - Dunkurque is looking the best bet. I'm trying to do this on the relatively cheap as there are 3 of us and flights to Bremen are coming in at £500 from Heathrow and then the hassle of getting there, parking etc. I'm going to the Hannover region, so expect an overnight stop somewhere on the way

Cheers for all your help - its given me plenty of food for thought

If the cost is the only thing putting you off flying you can usually get cheap flights with ryanair from Stanstead - Bremen.

 

[scooter1]

If the cost is the only thing putting you off flying you can usually get cheap flights with ryanair from Stanstead - Bremen.

I did a quick flights check on kayak, and don't fancy the thought of flying RyanAir or getting to Stanstead. But thanks i'll look into this as an option as well. I like the idea of having our car at the other end as we're taking the little'un and he needs a child seat as well if we're going to hire a car when we get there

 

[Lethargic]

When serving in Germany I tried most of the various routes to travel back to the UK and there are pluses and minuses for most of the routes, probably the best ferry crossing was Dover - Zeebrugge it avoided the coastal drive from Dunkirk and Calais which can be a pain as your are straight onto the Belgium motorways.
If your are driving try to avoid the Essen/Dortmund city areas as the traffic can be a pain.

 

[Danny-Boy]

I have driven to germany twice the last time i went was december just gone and we went from dover to dunkerque takes about 2 hours and motorway links in france are right by the ferry port, i cant remember the road it may be n91 this road goes through france then belgium and holland then you will need to change as this road goes to aachen in germany which is 2/3 of the way up and not right in the north. it took me 4 hours to drive to leverkusen near colonge the roads are good no hold ups and no speed limits on most of the german motorways. if you can afford it get a garmin euro sat nav about £150 they are worth their weight in gold inner city driving in germany and holland is tough without one. good luck

Years ago I used to get the boat into Ostend then along the E5 through Belgium into Aachen. Not sure if there are any boats that route from Dover or Folkestone these days.

Would agree the Channel Tunnel better than a long drive to Harwich followed by an equally-long crossing to the Hook.

 

[Notters]

The big, massive point I would make is going through Holland there was a new junction that wasn't on the sat nav. I think it was just south of Eindhoven. The road layout is quite confusing and when the Sat Nav is saying left lane or whatever its actually sending you off at a junction it doesn't know about. This sends you heading off north into Holland and its bloody difficult to find a turn off to be able to turn around and go back. So if you go this route I would strongly suggest making sure the Sat Nav is fully up to date and perhaps having someone else in the car with a map to hand. So long as you're aware its coming and alert to it, it's avoidable but if you're in autopilot relying on sat nav a bit of a nightmare!

Anyone else find it extremely worrying that people rely on Sat Navs that much? I don't get 'em myself.

 

[severnside gull]

Anyone else find it extremely worrying that people rely on Sat Navs that much? I don't get 'em myself.

They have their value and I wouldn't be without mine - even when, on a new stretch of motorway just south of Amsterdam, it thought I was driving through a field so told me to do an immediate u-turn or when dumped in the middle of Paris at 2am when the motorway was closed and it kept wanting to go back and back and back....... - but I always have a map and study new routes in advance so I know where I'm going. Satnavs are brilliant in inner cities where heavy traffic and poor road signage makes finding your way difficult

 

[Fungus]

Anyone else find it extremely worrying that people rely on Sat Navs that much?

They are a modern miracle, especially when they divert you around snarl-ups. But you DO have to "work with them", ie. compare the Sat Nav's planned route on a proper map, get an idea of where you're going, and avoid being sent along Cornish farm-tracks. (Grrr) I'd hate to be without mine.

 

[Turkey]

Anyone else find it extremely worrying that people rely on Sat Navs that much? I don't get 'em myself.

Found it brilliant to be honest. Especially when navigatting the inner city streets finding the hotel etc.

 

[Papak]

Links faren.

 

[Gully]

Anyone else find it extremely worrying that people rely on Sat Navs that much? I don't get 'em myself.

Yes, never had one myself and never will, have always been able to rely on a mixture of map-reading and intuition to get me to my intended destination.

As for going to Germany, I lived on the Dutch/German border not far from Aachen for a few years...my chosen route going to and from Sussex was up to the M25 then motorway to Folkstone, Channel Tunnel to Calais, across Northern France into Belgium, Ghent, Antwerp and keep going into the Netherlands, lived about 5 miles from the motorway, just before it hit Germany. If you choose to go via the tunnel you could follow the same route to Antwerp, then head north and across towards Eindhoven and into Germany there. Once you hit Germany the motorways are brilliant. Gute Reis!