Planned your 2017 road trip(s)yet?

[Avnt]

A trip to the vendee this year for me. Doncaster to folkstone hop on the eurotunnel then calais to caen for the night before a leasurely drive to the vendee


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[JohnnyAMG]

Just been working on the finer details of mine.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Going down to Normandy in a few weeks then down to Lacanau (near Bordeaux) in the summer.

Got to love the E Class estate - utterly brilliant for those trips.

We used to go to Lacanau twice a year, are you there for the world tour?

 

[st13phil]

Just been working on the finer details of mine.

I did a motorcycle trip down the Dalmatian coast to Dubrovnik in August 2014. The scenery is spectacular, but all I can say is I hope you like it hot. We had three consecutive days riding in 40c+ conditions which, believe me, isn't at all funny

Napoli and Rome should be nice and sweaty at that time of year too, but fortunately you'll have aircon!

Edit to add: Have you checked the insurance situation for crossing the short stretch of road through Bosnia to get to Dubrovnik? We had to get short period cover locally, near the border, which was a real faff and added quite a deal of time to the route.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Just been working on the finer details of mine.

I have a very similar sheet I use for planning our road trips too

 

[JohnnyAMG]

I did a motorcycle trip down the Dalmatian coast to Dubrovnik in August 2014. The scenery is spectacular, but all I can say is I hope you like it hot. We had three consecutive days riding in 40c+ conditions which, believe me, isn't at all funny Napoli and Rome should be nice and sweaty at that time of year too, but fortunately you'll have aircon! Edit to add: Have you checked the insurance situation for crossing the short stretch of road through Bosnia to get to Dubrovnik? We had to get short period cover locally, near the border, which was a real faff and added quite a deal of time to the route.

I have been hearing great things snog the scenery. And I am expecting soon very hot weather so at times it might be roof up and A/C on.


Thanks for the heads up. Didn't realise I had to pass through Bosnia. I wonder could you get the ferry from Ploce to Trpanj to avoid it?

 

[JohnnyAMG]

I have a very similar sheet I use for planning our road trips too

Same template I always use. The planning is the make or break of a good road trip. The better the plan, the less stress which ultimately means less arguments with SWMBO.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Same template I always use. The planning is the make or break of a good road trip. The better the plan, the less stress which ultimately means less arguments with SWMBO.

Ahhh, I find the toll tag(s) is the key to avoiding stress and arguments

 

[JohnnyAMG]

Ahhh, I find the toll tag(s) is the key to avoiding stress and arguments

Agree, had that experience in France last year. Getting toll tags is high up the To-do list.

 

[st13phil]

Thanks for the heads up. Didn't realise I had to pass through Bosnia. I wonder could you get the ferry from Ploce to Trpanj to avoid it?

Probably not worth the time or trouble.

The annoyance (and I suspect it's deliberate on behalf of the Bosnia-Herzegovina authorities) is that you can't buy insurance cover at the Neum crossing. Instead you have to divert east or a few miles to the Doljani crossing where you can buy cover, and then retrace your route back to the coast road and the Neum crossing. This adds around 30 miles to the Zadar / Dubrovnik route, plus time for queuing / faffing about getting the insurance which is issued off a pad for a fixed price! It's worth taking a look at the UK Government's Foreign Travel Advice page for more details.

As another bit of advice, I'd say your driving time estimates in Croatia are somewhat optimistic. The coast road is spectacular, but can be slow too. There are lots of 70kph limit zones which slow you, and we had to work quite hard to get past slow traffic in places and we were on motorcycles. It took us roughly 6hrs plus stopping time to get from Zadar to Dubrovnik and I'd say that the chances of making the same sort of progress on the main coast road in a car are roughly nil. This means that if you're in Dubrovnik for one night only you'll see nothing of a fascinating city. Personally, I'd try to spend at least two nights there and take in one of the walking tours. It would also give you time to take the cable car up to the war museum on the hill overlooking the town (if you don't know the history of the brutal siege in 1991/92, both the museum and a city walking tour will be a real eye-opener) and a general mooch around.

 

[JohnnyAMG]

Probably not worth the time or trouble. The annoyance (and I suspect it's deliberate on behalf of the Bosnia-Herzegovina authorities) is that you can't buy insurance cover at the Neum crossing. Instead you have to divert east or a few miles to the Doljani crossing where you can buy cover, and then retrace your route back to the coast road and the Neum crossing. This adds around 30 miles to the Zadar / Dubrovnik route, plus time for queuing / faffing about getting the insurance which is issued off a pad for a fixed price! It's worth taking a look at the UK Government's Foreign Travel Advice page for more details. As another bit of advice, I'd say your driving time estimates in Croatia are somewhat optimistic. The coast road is spectacular, but can be slow too. There are lots of 70kph limit zones which slow you, and we had to work quite hard to get past slow traffic in places and we were on motorcycles. It took us roughly 6hrs plus stopping time to get from Zadar to Dubrovnik and I'd say that the chances of making the same sort of progress on the main coast road in a car are roughly nil. This means that if you're in Dubrovnik for one night only you'll see nothing of a fascinating city. Personally, I'd try to spend at least two nights there and take in one of the walking tours. It would also give you time to take the cable car up to the war museum on the hill overlooking the town (if you don't know the history of the brutal siege in 1991/92, both the museum and a city walking tour will be a real eye-opener) and a general mooch around.

Great advice thanks, I will defo do more research on the Bosnia crossing. I checked my own car insurance and I am insured for driving in Croatia but not sure about Bosnia. The border insurance you mention above is that for driving? I am guessing its more of a "tax" than actual insurance?


We will certainly spend more time in Dubrovnik. The screen grab of my spreadsheet is a very rough draft before I started to pad it out. It looks a bit more like this now.

 

[st13phil]

Good call on the additional time in Dubrovnik etc.

The insurance is real - its proper motor insurance. I don't know if any UK insurers that will cover you for Bosnia-Herzegovina, so you're rather compelled to take the border insurance.


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[Bryan Allman]

Road trip season is approaching

So what have you got planned, anywhere exciting?

Another Grand Tour this year taking most of June

First leg via Euro-tunnel and down through France via A roads (and as few toll roads as possible) for a first night at Grenoble. Then down via the Route Napoleon through the Alps and into Monaco. a slow trundle along the Italian Riviera coast road through to Genoa; then via Pisa and Lucca across to Mugello for the MotoGP race. This followed by a three weeks based in a villa just south of Monterchi (south East of Arrezo); enjoying good food and wine in locations all around the area of Tuscany and Umbria. The journey back begins with a stopover in Verona, then up through the Stelvio to Fussen and a visit to the Castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. A quick blast up the autobahn to Affalterbach and a visit to AMG, and possibly the Mercedes Museum the following day. Then the mad dash across Belgium etc to catch the last Euro-tunnel train back to the UK.

Meeting up with other AMG nutters for the last part - as you do

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Lyon delays

.....
With the French toll roads so smooth and traffic free - except near Lyon around rush hour......

I don't know how long it is since you've driven through Lyon, but you might be pleasantly surprised. Lyon is not the horrendous bottleneck that it used to be - thanks to new motorways that spread the load. For sure there'll be rush hour traffic, but it's not the grind that it was 10+years ago.

Again, you may well know it, but if you're based in Cannes, the coast road along the Esterel is still a great drive. Fabulous views and lots of attractive stopping places.

Along the Riviera, apart from the usual suspects, places like Beaulieu, Villefranche, Cap Ferrat, Cap d'Antibes, Sanary-sur-mer, and Cassis are all little diamonds for walks, lunch and the markets.




Enjoy the trip!

 

[C240Sport97]

I am doing these 2 trips this year

Petrolhead Tours - Driving holidays for the discerning petrolhead ? UK, Europe, and beyond.

Petrolhead Tours - Driving holidays for the discerning petrolhead ? UK, Europe, and beyond.

 

[BEJ]

We are driving to Stresa on Lake Maggiore in May. Route is overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Caen, one overnoght stop in France south of Tours and then on to Chateau D'Oex in the Swiss Alps for another overnight. I flew a light aircraft out to Gruyere last year for some Alpine mountain flying experience, so want to show the other half where I stayed. On to Stresa for a week of lounging around, eating and trying the Italian wine before heading home with three leisurely stops in France and ferry back to Portsmouth.

 

[scania144420]

We are going to be driving from Staffordshire to Plymouth, before boarding the Brittany Ferries to Santander then driving to Benidorm and Salou via Madrid. This is our first trip with the B Class after previously doing it with our old Renault Scenic

 

[C43AMG]

I am doing these 2 trips this year

Petrolhead Tours - Driving holidays for the discerning petrolhead ? UK, Europe, and beyond.

Petrolhead Tours - Driving holidays for the discerning petrolhead ? UK, Europe, and beyond.

Which car are taking Sean.

Having lots of special birthday's in the family this year, I am taking over a Chateau for a long weekend Chambre d'hôtes / Bed and breakfast à Roanne - Rhône Alpes - Chateau Dorigny about 100 km from Lyon then onto to friends near Toulouse for a few days, can't wait as this will be the first serious drive in the new CL If it is only half as enjoyable than the old CL I will be very pleased.

 

[C240Sport97]

Which car are taking Sean.

Having lots of special birthday's in the family this year, I am taking over a Chateau for a long weekend Chambre d'hôtes / Bed and breakfast à Roanne - Rhône Alpes - Chateau Dorigny about 100 km from Lyon then onto to friends near Toulouse for a few days, can't wait as this will be the first serious drive in the new CL If it is only half as enjoyable than the old CL I will be very pleased.

SL400 to Norway
GT3 to Spain

Chateaus are for posh folks, how did you qualify

 

[C43AMG]

SL400 to Norway
GT3 to Spain

Chateaus are for posh folks, how did you qualify

God knows Sean.

It must be the Posh Cars I drive