Euro Trail Road Trip

[kay7]

Heard about few road trips to Europe but they were too expensive. We , as MB Club member, can do it as well, right ? I`m just asking if there is anyone who might be interested in this.
We`ll set it up for summer holidays( july/august )to South France, North Italy, Switzerland , Austria, Germany for 12 days.
Shall we say 20/30 cars or more ? We`ll meet before that and discuss all details and then we`ll order ferry tickets, hotels( b&bs ). On few sites they`re charging like £ 1800 (!) but i`m sure we can make it cheaper.
What do you think guys ?
It`ll be fun and no hidden things. Driving at legal speed , daily briefings/discussions, nights at b&bs/pubs.
Whos up for this?
I hope MB seniors will back this up.

Kind regards

 

[BlackC55]

I am very much up for this. I have a holiday planned for August but not too sure what to do but I want to drive in Europe, mainly france.

 

[st13phil]

It's a great idea and I don't want to p*ss on anyone's fireworks, but having organised a number of road tours in Europe (for motorcycles, not cars), I'll make a couple of observations:

• August is a bad time to do this as it's prime holiday season in most of the countries you've mentioned
• Finding accomodation for up to 30 couples is challenging if you want to stay in interesting places, and that's if you're planning the trip 9 or 10 months ahead. With just 3 to 4 months to go, I don't envy your chances
• Europe is horrendously expensive for us Brits at the moment. I was getting €1.06 to €1.08 / £ last week in Valencia, which makes £1,800 look quite cheap unless you're looking at room only rates in some pretty low-rent places

If you do want to go ahead, I organised a tour for 9 couples on motorcycles two years ago that stayed in some great places and covered some fantastic roads in France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland and I'll happily share details of routes, hotels, etc. It even included a day-trip over the Stelvio

 

[kay7]

August its not a bad time at all. There is no rain in Switzerland or North Italy. Europe can be cheap if you where to go. Hotels/b&bs are cheap if you book in advance. I know few good b&Bs with low prices really close to Geneva and Nice, Chamonix Valley , Aosta, Sion, Locarno, Lausanne , Davos Valley and Innsbruck at around £35/night. Is that expensive?? A night at some b&b in Devon or Cumbria is around £70.
Petrol is cheaper at petrol stations in small villages. 12 days driving won`t cost more than £800/couple. Don`t tell me about rates exchange, i don`t care about that. I don`t live with credit cards and loans! Credit crunch again?? Dear god...

Who wants to come, let me know. Got 8 couples already( all MB owners ).

 

[imadoofus]

It sounds lika a good idea, but I tend to agree with Phil. You won't get b&b for £35 for 20 to 30 cars all in the same place. And they won't be able to feed 40 to 60 people either. In France, August is the national holiday month, which means plenty of places will be very busy.

It is certainly do-able, but I think when you're planning this, you'll begin to realise why the companies who organise tours charge so much. It covers their time and effort.

Don`t tell me about rates exchange, i don`t care about that. I don`t live with credit cards and loans! Credit crunch again?? Dear god...

Well let's hope that all the people who sign up have the same attitude then.

Keep at it though, because it sounds like it could be fun.

PJ

PS: I can't come because I'm going to France and Italy in August.

 

[Spinal]

Sounds like a good idea - but being Italian I'd advise not to drive around in August... There is a national bank holiday (ferragosto) on the 15th of August to celebrate... well, summer holidays! Usually, a week before every single car starts moving, and the roads become hell.

Put it this way - my family (Italian extended family) moves every summer from the North of Italy to random areas around Italy... The kids & mothers that stay at home try to move before the exodus, just to avoid the traffic...

It's really painful... if you can move it to July or September you would be much better off...

M.

 

[Mr E]

If you want a professionl to organise this, I'm sure Mrs E would be only too glad to oblige. Having a global travel company's leverage for rates, etc, can make a lot of difference.

I'd agree with the "avoid August" recommendation - it would be a much more pleasent time in July or September.

 

[crockers]

August is a great time to visit Paris because the whole of Paris heads south to where you're planning to go.....Roads in France can be hell in August too.

 

[st13phil]

August its not a bad time at all. There is no rain in Switzerland or North Italy.

Exactly my point. That's why the places are very busy and what accomodation that is available is premium priced at that time.

Europe can be cheap if you where to go. Hotels/b&bs are cheap if you book in advance. I know few good b&Bs with low prices really close to Geneva and Nice, Chamonix Valley , Aosta, Sion, Locarno, Lausanne , Davos Valley and Innsbruck at around £35/night.

I bow to your local knowledge, but can you really find places at that price in August 2009 that can provide 20-30 rooms and be able to feed that number of people?

Don`t tell me about rates exchange, i don`t care about that. I don`t live with credit cards and loans!

You've lost me there, I'm afraid. Western Europe at €1.06 - €1.08 / £ is expensive. What would have cost you £75 in France last year will cost you £95 today just through exchange rate movements. And what have credit cards and loans got to do with exchange rates?

Don't get me wrong, it could be a great trip but it's a big organisational hill to climb at such short notice and it won't be that cheap, IMO. Good luck and I look forward to reading about what a fantastic time everyone had.

(BTW, I have a group motorcycle trip arranged for late June / early July covering the Dolomites, Perugia and the Italian Lakes, so I'm sorted already)

 

[Sp!ke]

I think you should listen to some good advice on offer here Kay7.

This kind of thing would need planning many months in advance and your timing and sheer numbers of people will make this a very hard task indeed.

Plus, have you ever tried to drive thousands of miles in a 20-30 car convoy?

 

[A210AMG]

Fliipin heck


Good job some people want to orginaise such events, with out people like Kay nothing would happen.

People that agree to the trip will know the prices of things we are all adults we all have access to the tinterweb.


Local knowledge such as Italy shuts down from the 15th etc is good but give the guy a break..... (joke there)

 

[Mr E]

Fliipin heck


Good job some people want to orginaise such events, with out people like Kay nothing would happen.

People that agree to the trip will know the prices of things we are all adults we all have access to the tinterweb.


Local knowledge such as Italy shuts down from the 15th etc is good but give the guy a break..... (joke there)

Agreed - it's good that someone want to get things like this moving, but it's not quite as simple as it seems.

Putting a group together is a logistical nightmare - for £66/night per couple something is missing

You can imagine the difficulties if one of the accomodation suppliers goes out of business (which happens), and you need to think about what happens in terms of accidents/breakdown. For the person running the thing, it isn't a holiday (I know, I've led groups like this for Mrs E).

I would hate for anyone on here to get in over their head because no-one chipped in with a reality check. When dealing with other people's vacation time things can soon escalate into all kinds of issues, hence the offer made earlier.

 

[st13phil]

For the person running the thing, it isn't a holiday (I know, I've led groups like this for Mrs E).

Having lead groups like this myself, I couldn't agree more - but it's still good fun if you've organised it well.

 

[Satch]

These things are hard work to arrange because, apart from the logistics of rooms, food etc it is like trying to herd cats!

So a few years back arranged a DIY road trip for 7 cars based on the concept that since everybody would want to do different things and at their own pace we would just try to meet up at given points.

Since nobody really cared to spend time in French traffic jams it ended up as tour of Southern Germany/Austria and we arranged to meet up on given days in Munich, Salzberg & Kitzbuhel all chosen because was is no shortage of accomodation to choose from.

Overall it worked out far better than you might think. Went in early May which was great.

 

[kay7]

We`re 8 cars so far and counting. You guys, may say all the good or bad words ...we`re going anyway! Start date: 6.07.2009 for 12 days.
Thanks to our business partners : Axxe Hotels, BnB Switzerland.
Cars confirmed so far:
C55 AMG , 09 plate
S320 cdi , 08 plate
ML 63 AMG , 58 plate
Audi S8, 57 plate
Clk 220cdi Sport, 57 plate
E55 Amg, 08 plate
BMW M5, 58 plate
CLS 320 cdi, 57 plate
Mine is not sorted yet. Either E320 Sport or C class new shape.
It`s gonna be fun