Driving to Northern Germany - non-football related enquiry

[scooter1]

Has anybody driven from Brighton to northern Germany in the past? I've got to do this later in the year and if anybody has any tips they can offer i'd be grateful. Which ferry port? Via France or Holland etc etc

Cheers!

 

[daveinprague]

Id go to Holland personally... Harwich to Hook of Holland...

 

[skipper734]

Northern Germany is big, which part?

 

[Hunting 784561]

Through the Channel tunnel is quickest, then head north to Ostend - 1 hr- and another hour then east to Brussells.

Brussells will then take you on to most parts in N Germany, depending on where you're aiming for.

 

[Giraffe]

I have no personal experience, but my grandad did that journey in 1944-45 and it took him six months to get to Berlin. Watch out for people shooting at you, low flying bombers and tanks.

 

[scooter1]

Through the Channel tunnel is quickest, then head north to Ostend - 1 hr- and another hour then east to Brussells.

Brussells will then take you on to most parts in N Germany, depending on where you're aiming for.

Cheers, this looks like a decent option.

I can't be arsed to drive to Harwich

 

[sambha75]

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

 

[Simster]

You used to be able to get a ferry direct to Cuxhaven in Northern Germany but the service isn't running anymore. Personally I prefer to ferry overnight and cut down on driving, so from Sussex I'd imagine you're best off driving to one of the Kent ports and ferrying to the Hook of Holland overnight.

 

[Fungus]

Has anybody driven from Brighton to northern Germany in the past?

If I could drive to northern Germany in the past, I'd take my Hillman Imp and go back to Bremen in 1979, to visit some girls I knew then. Happy days.

 

[Springal]

We did it in the world cup to go to Cologne. We took a ferry to Dunkirk [?] and then drove, wasn't too far. Not sure if it was the best route, but it was certainly the cheapest

 

[sully]

We've driven to the Moenchengladbach / Duesseldorf area a couple of times and it was really quick and easy via the tunnel.

Heading further north should be fine by the same initial route. As others have said, along the coast to Oostende then through Belgium and Holland the motorways are clear and fast, normally - though we did get politely asked to slow down by a very nice Belgian policeman on a motorbike one time

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Sheerness to Vlissingen (Flushing) used to be the best, via Olau Line, and the ferries were the lap of luxury. Then there was a dispute with the staff, and the bloke that owned it pulled out on the spot. All there is now is a cheap and cheerful lorry ferry and I don't know if they take passengers.

What I would do is PM Turkey, who went to Hamburg twice last season to see Fulham's Europa Cup games there. He and a mate drove to the games IIRC.

 

[armchairclubber]

As Suggested I would go Dover ~ Dunkerque as only 1.45 hr crossing and prefer the freedom of boat. Also tends to be a lot cheaper. Try ferrysavers.com if taking this option.

 

[MissT]

I have driven from Brighton to Nordenham (north of Bremen) every summer holiday for as long as I can remember and have tried most routes. It depends if you prefer driving to time spent on a boat, the cost of petrol v the cost of ferry travel etc. The motorways are all pretty good whichever route you take. As I've got older I prefer a more relaxed journey, so I book a cabin on the Harwich to Hook route and drive off fresh in the early morning from Holland. It obviously costs more though so, once again, it depends on your prioities. Happy and safe driving to you, whatever you decide!

 

[severnside gull]

I always use the channel tunnel driving over to Amsterdam at least once a month and it's brilliant and cheap. Highly recommended.
I regularly drive to northern Poland which is around 12 hours from Calais - Berlin is about 10 hours.
Head for Brussels is right but seriously suggest investing in a satnav if you haven't already got one - they are brilliant for steering you round city ring roads and save so much grief because you don't have to worry about hard to read road signs.

If your speedo kph readings aren't clear then make sure you know about mph equivalents to speed limits (a satnav will take care of that for you)

It's a long run in one go. If I take a break overnight I usually use Ibis Hotels as they are cheap (about £50 a night average) but an OK standard - if you plan your journey and pre-book via Travel Republic you can get a free breakfast included. If you book direct with Ibis the brekkie is an extra 12 euros.

Go off motorway for petrol if you can - it's lots cheaper same as here (again a satnav helps here) - if you use superstores for petrol you can get a cheap food fill at the same time

Enjoy! I find driving a right hand drive car on european roads really easy (and no I never adjust my headlights and it isn't an issue). Traffic islands are the only minor problem causing you to stop and think about which way to go but you wont find many anyway. But make sure you have a first aid kit, a hi viz jacket, a warning triangle and set of spare bulbs and take your driving licence with you

edit:just a thought if you dont have a satnav try to borrow one off a mate - mine sits unused in the glovebox most of the time and I suspect most people are the same

 

[scooter1]

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

 

[Drumstick]

Sheerness to Vlissingen (Flushing) used to be the best, via Olau Line, and the ferries were the lap of luxury. Then there was a dispute with the staff, and the bloke that owned it pulled out on the spot. All there is now is a cheap and cheerful lorry ferry and I don't know if they take passengers.

What I would do is PM Turkey, who went to Hamburg twice last season to see Fulham's Europa Cup games there. He and a mate drove to the games IIRC.

He also along with me and biscuit was ferried there most summers by our dad to see relatives so he(turkey) can also confirm it with our dad too.

 

[Seagulls over Lewes]

I drove to Koln just before Christmas for the markets. Went via Dover from Lewes took about 4 hours to do trip once over water driving through Belguim and small part of Holland. Roads lot better in Europe (IMHO) and this was with two foot of snow on the sides of the roads. Over here I would not have bothered as we know roads shut as soon as a snow flake falls.

 

[Jesus Gul]

Watch this in slo-mo, your route is at 0:51 -

 

[Turkey]

When I went earlier in the year we used the channel tunnel. Up the French coast towards Dunkerque, into Belgium and past Gent. Head North and did a short stint through the south of Holland. You're then into Germany and it was fairly simple from there. IIRC the main autobahn going north (E37?) had loads of roadworks which slowed us down a bit but not to bad, that was sometime ago though so presume they're gone now.

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!