[Travel] Driving in Europe (Holland/Gemany) advice, experiences etc

[southstandandy]

If you get the chance and have a powerful car get yourself on to the autobahn for 20 or 30 miles.

Brilliantly smooth road - and great to test the speed of your car. I went there in 2018 in a Porsche Taycan turbo with my brother in law. That was a brilliant experience getting up to 180mph in the outside lane.

Seems mad now thinking about it, but it was a lads weekend (ironically spent mostly in Holland) and had to be done.

 

[LANGDON SEAGULL]

Did a similar journey this summer . Went across to Dieppe , through Belgium , Germany , Switzerland and back through France. Really enjoyable . As others have said , make sure you check the environment criteria for cities , but most cities have a park n ride in the outside . Turn on the ‘avoid tolls’ option on google maps - went through some lovely bits of countryside and villages doing this. Limit driving to three hours or less a day. The only minor issue I had is overtaking on a single carriageway road as you can’t see what’s coming towards you if you are overtaking a lorry or large vehicle . And goes without saying plan your route and accommodation in advance . I also recommend a cabin if taking the overnight Dieppe ferry - a bargain at £65. Make sure you’ve got red triangle , hi-viz and breathalyser kit in boot, and bring oil, screen wash and water coolant with you

 

[studio150]

If you've been driving on motorways or dual carriage ways for some distance, a word of caution when you then comes to a junction. It is very easy to automatically look to your right as you would when driving here, but you need to look the other way for traffic.

Not a issue when driving around town.

Have a safe and fun trip.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

Bruges is very touristy but has to be visited and is easily walkable in the centre. . It’s a car free city but very easy to park and reasonably priced to leave your car at the purpose built multi storey car parks near the station on the edge of town and then walk in (15 mins) or get a shuttle bus into the centre.

Watch the film “ In Bruges” before you go to get a different perspective!

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Watch the film “ In Bruges” before you go to get a different perspective!

One of my favourites!

 

[Wozza]

Pop in to see Pascal, of course!

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

While in Switzerland, keep an eye on your speed. They put speed cameras in sneaky places (tunnel exits) and the fines are very high.

 

[jackanada]

Avoid Antwerp at anything vaguely near rush hour.
Belgium and Germany have cheaper fuel than Holland so fill up before you enter or after you exit.
If you're off the main routes in Holland you may come across places (including petrol stations) that only take some weird Dutch only bank card, so do have a stash of euros just in case.

 

[Jack Straw]

At junctions, I always say to myself, "Left, right. Left right left", whilst looking that way, the opposite of us. Take your time, and double check before any manoeuvres. I found the hardest bit, turning left, as you have to go across to the far side of the road. Once that's mastered, it's very easy.
My number one tip - Use a Sat nav.

 

[junior]

Electric car or petrol/diesel?

Mrs Junior is from Dortmund, so we drive from home in Cheshire over to Germany a couple of times a year as I hate flying, love driving, and we take the dogs.
I've never had any issues driving there, and agree with others that the worst bit of our travels is usually the beginning and end of UK roads.

This autumn will be our first time doing it as electric car owners, so let's see what that brings!

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Drove to Munich and back (route was via Reims and Stuttgart) a couple of years ago with young kids.

Main advice would be if you are trying to get from one place to another through France and don't need to stop, pay the tolls. Best roads I've ever seen anywhere in the world.

Services a bit hit and miss, but picnic areas in France amazing so if you can do packed lunches do so. However in Germany (and maybe we were unlucky) we struggled to find services with areas to eat your own food.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

True, some French cities require one of these. Cheap as chips and arrive within a week or so. Registration will advise if the car is OK to go into the cities

Crit'Air clean air stickers - need to know for driving in France | RAC Drive

With the law change in France we explain what the 'Crit'Air' clean air stickers are, where they're used, how to get one and what happens if you don't

www.rac.co.uk

Rouen is one of them.

 

[Mackenzie]

I drove back home to Wales from Germany last Wednesday, 600 miles and 6 different countries.

Really easy and good roads…well until you reach Dover!

Good luck, have fun.

 

[raymondo]

If you've been driving on motorways or dual carriage ways for some distance, a word of caution when you then comes to a junction. It is very easy to automatically look to your right as you would when driving here, but you need to look the other way for traffic.

Not a issue when driving around town.

Have a safe and fun trip.

Can also be an issue when emerging from a petrol station/car park

 

[el punal]

Avoid Antwerp like the plague - major, humongous road works on their version of the M25. Well, there was when we did our trip to Amsterdam for our Europa League match against Ajax. Of course it might all be sorted when you go.

 

[schmunk]

Avoid Antwerp like the plague - major, humongous road works on their version of the M25. Well, there was when we did our trip to Amsterdam for our Europa League match against Ajax. Of course it might all be sorted when you go.

I was reading down the thread and going to post exactly the same - Antwerp is a twat to drive through.

We drove from the tunnel to near Eindhoven for a holiday last year, then down to the "three country point" where Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands meet - well worth a visit, and a quick stop in Aachen nearby.

Three-Country Point

www.outdooractive.com

Driving everywhere was very leisurely and easy to manage, except for f***ing Antwerp.

We also drove back via Bruges and that was a very nice place to spend a few hours.

 

[worthingseagull123]

Don’t worry about speed cameras.

I got flashed at in France. Never heard anything back.

But have a great trip. France has roads we can only dream of. Fast autoroutes that extend over the country.

Compare it to the pathetic amount of dual carriageway we have in East Sussex.

 

[AK74]

If you’re using any of the autoroutes in France, get one of the automated tags for the peage (toll) stations. Available in to motorists in the UK here:

Emovis Tag UK

Travel without stopping on European Motorways. Emovis Tag UK can provide UK customers with a tag for automatic payment of motorway tolls in France, Spain & Portugal.

www.emovis-tag.co.uk

We’ve found it very useful over the years, as we drive to the alps every winter.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

If you do happen to drive on a French motorway though, don’t leave more than a car length between you and the vehicle in front otherwise a French driver will overtake you to fill the gap.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

If you’re using any of the autoroutes in France, get one of the automated tags for the peage (toll) stations. Available in to motorists in the UK here:

Emovis Tag UK

Travel without stopping on European Motorways. Emovis Tag UK can provide UK customers with a tag for automatic payment of motorway tolls in France, Spain & Portugal.

www.emovis-tag.co.uk

We’ve found it very useful over the years, as we drive to the alps every winter.

And it’s quite amusing when you use them in the “non stop” lane with a Uk number plate when the French driver behind you thinks you’ve made a mistake and in the wrong lane and holds back 30m as they think you’ll have to reverse out.

I wouldn’t say they are essential, but they are very handy if you are driving on your own otherwise you have to unbelt and try and pay from the passenger side of the car.