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

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Throwing the dice around at the moment but next summer we fancy taking the car for a couple of weeks and heading up through Bruges, Holland, down near Koln, Stuttgart and back through France up to Dieppe. (Via Basel)

We don’t want to go inter railing as we want to stop off at smaller towns/villages.

The route above is sort of non negotiable as the boy will be leaving school so he wants to stop off at a couple of theme parks

It’s about 1000 miles and I’m no stranger to driving long distances (albeit in the UK)

Any tips, advice very welcome.
Thanks in advance

 

[The Clamp]

Only that it’s largely pleasant, flat, easy but slightly dull to drive through those countries.

Enjoy

 

[Faldo]

Only that it’s largely pleasant, flat, easy but slightly dull to drive through those countries.

Enjoy

Agree with this - my tip would be (in Germany at least) would be to get off the autobahn if you can. Some of the roads through towns and villages are gorgeous.

If you don’t have it already, use Waze as that will scoot you around roadworks and traffic - scenic routes will need a bit more planning.

Sounds a great trip - we did a similar route last year. Enjoy!

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

It's great, did it last year, stopped in Leuven in Belgium for the night(beautiful place) then to cologne then koblenz.
Stayed there and took trips down the rhine and moselle (cochem is absolutely stunning).
Go for it!

 

[Easy 10]

Stay on the right.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Stay on the right.

Please keep the politics off this thread.

 

[Flounce]

Haven’t been to Germany or Belgium for a while but once you are on French roads it will become extremely apparent that English roads are third world quality. Driving in France is an absolute joy outside of cities, assuming you like driving.

 

[WATFORD zero]

If it was me, I would (and normally do) hire a left hand drive car as soon as I get 'abroad'. Find it far less stressful

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Stay on the right.

Please keep the politics off this thread.

Indeed, as much as I’m grateful for all suggestions I’ll pass on this one thanks

 

[Flounce]

If it was me, I would (and normally do) hire a left hand drive car as soon as I get 'abroad'. Find it far less stressful

Completely the opposite for me, I like my own car, much better than a hire car and other than overtaking on single lane roads it makes pretty well no difference at all. If you have a passenger you trust even the overtaking is easy. Not vaguely stressful and I do quite a bit of driving abroad in RHD cars

Stressful is driving in SE England for me

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

If it was me, I would (and normally do) hire a left hand drive car as soon as I get 'abroad'. Find it far less stressful

I’ve driven my car in France (admittedly only about 100 miles) with no issues. Any left hand car I’ve hired in the Med I keep bashing my left hand into the door when I need to change gear.

 

[Machiavelli]

Throwing the dice around at the moment but next summer we fancy taking the car for a couple of weeks and heading up through Bruges, Holland, down near Koln, Stuttgart and back through France up to Dieppe. (Via Basel)

We don’t want to go inter railing as we want to stop off at smaller towns/villages.

The route above is sort of non negotiable as the boy will be leaving school so he wants to stop off at a couple of theme parks

It’s about 1000 miles and I’m no stranger to driving long distances (albeit in the UK)

Any tips, advice very welcome.
Thanks in advance

Did a similar journey in 2008 and the engine blew out just before getting to Calais on the return leg, so check the oil en route. Beyond that, do it, driving to the continent is fine, much cheaper than hiring a car, and gives you lots of opportunities.

 

[Change at Barnham]

Just use Waze on your mobile and plug it into your car for all your directions.
We drove through Netherlands and down to the Moselle last summer, I was surprised to find that several restaurants in Germany only wanted payment in cash, so have a few Euros handy just in case.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Put ‘Avoid Tolls’ into the Sat Nav/Google Maps. You get to see so much more, and rarely struggle with traffic.

Download the app ‘Park4Night’. Wherever you are, this gives brilliant options of where you can stop and park. We have a campervan, so use it for overnight stops, but it’s great for parking anytime.

Make sure you take hi-viz gilets! A legal requirement.

Do NOT fill up with fuel on motorways.

Make sandwiches/picnics in the morning. There are so many places to stop and eat with beautiful surroundings.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

Not sure what it’s like in Germany and Holland but to drive in some major cities in France you need to have a low emissions sticker. I got one just in case as it was only 5/6 Euros.

 

[redoubtable seagull]

Driven in and through Belgium, Holland and Germany quite a bit in recent years for weekend European football trips. Driving is so much better than in the UK - less traffic generally and better quality roads.

Our journeys tend to be about getting to the destination asap, so it’s motorway all the way. Very easy to drive.

Watch out for roadworks around Antwerp, motorway driving in Germany is unreal (certain sections have no speed limit) and driving across Bel and Holland is flat and a bit boring.

 

[Wozza]

Just use Waze on your mobile and plug it into your car for all your directions.
We drove through Netherlands and down to the Moselle last summer, I was surprised to find that several restaurants in Germany only wanted payment in cash, so have a few Euros handy just in case.

Yep. I got caught out by this a couple of weeks ago. Quite common, apparently.

 

[Baldseagull]

Throwing the dice around at the moment but next summer we fancy taking the car for a couple of weeks and heading up through Bruges, Holland, down near Koln, Stuttgart and back through France up to Dieppe. (Via Basel)

We don’t want to go inter railing as we want to stop off at smaller towns/villages.

The route above is sort of non negotiable as the boy will be leaving school so he wants to stop off at a couple of theme parks

It’s about 1000 miles and I’m no stranger to driving long distances (albeit in the UK)

Any tips, advice very welcome.
Thanks in advance

Check your motor meets the emissions standard, and any rules around that in the major towns and cities you want to visit.

 

[Sorrel]

We had a great time at Europa-Park theme park in the pre-covid years. Sounds like that could be on your agenda....

 

[Flounce]

Check your motor meets the emissions standard, and any rules around that in the major towns and cities you want to visit.

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