Errrrrrm...hello (1 Viewer)

[ntg]

I'm completely new to all this. I have camped in the past during my time in the forces and when my kids were........well....kids.
I'm planning a 5 week tour of Europe next year, stopping off in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Mainland Greece, then on to Crete, not sure of the rout back home yet. Just spent what I consider to be an obscene amount of dosh on a Fiat Ducato Adria Twin van conversion. Not sure if I have made the right choice, I have looked at loads of different conversions, but it's impossible to know exactly what you want until you've used it:Blush: I was going to hire a van, but it was going to cost around 3K, so I bit the bullet and parted with a lot more cash to buy one and if I don't like it I can flog it and hopefully not lose too much.
Anyway, I'm hoping to get some advice from some of you camping veterans to make the most of my trip and have a great time.

Nick.

 

[hilldweller]

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr hello to you too.

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr you're not going to do that in 5 weeks and enjoy it properly.

Think Quality not Quantity.

 

[Reallyretired]

Welcome to the fun. Plenty of veterans here and some are pretty camp, but probably don't consider themselves campers

Have a great trip, check up on the Aires, it could save you a lot of dosh.

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[Gran & Rog]

Hello welcome to Fun

 

[Hayleylulu]

HI and welcome:thumb::thumb:

 

[Brisey]

Hi Nick, welcome to MotorhomeFun. :thumb:
:flyingwelcome:

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[Jim]

Hi Nick, welcome to the Fun :thumb:

 

[Road Runner]

Welcome to Fun..................

 

[dshague]

hi there and welcome

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[chatter]

Hi and welcome to FUN
Im sure that any questions you have be it about your new to you toy or route suggestions will be answered, you only have to ask

 

[Gaz]

hello nick

welcome to fun i am from the cambridge area to :thumb:

 

[motorhomelover]

I'm completely new to all this. I have camped in the past during my time in the forces and when my kids were........well....kids.
I'm planning a 5 week tour of Europe next year, stopping off in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Mainland Greece, then on to Crete, not sure of the rout back home yet. Just spent what I consider to be an obscene amount of dosh on a Fiat Ducato Adria Twin van conversion. Not sure if I have made the right choice, I have looked at loads of different conversions, but it's impossible to know exactly what you want until you've used it:Blush: I was going to hire a van, but it was going to cost around 3K, so I bit the bullet and parted with a lot more cash to buy one and if I don't like it I can flog it and hopefully not lose too much.
Anyway, I'm hoping to get some advice from some of you camping veterans to make the most of my trip and have a great time.

Nick.

:welcomefunster:
it sounds like a good trip get good insurance cover for Europe with home cover should the worst happen
fill up with as much food as you can here (youl save pounds on euro food costs
enjoy your trip:thumb:

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[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Welcome to Fun..................

Peter

 

[ntg]

Thanks for the support and advice, some good tips there.

 

[johnandi]

Hi Nick,
Firstly Welcome. We're still new or relatively so to motorhoming, and your right, there is a lot of help and advice on this website - new friends out there have already helped emormously!
We did a 25 day trip to Germany this year, our first venture into mainland Europe, had a great time but could have easily spent longer just around Germany alone ( Mosel valley, Rhine, Black Forest, etc), so much to see.
So, I'd think about taking it easy and either increasing your trip time or decreasing the itinerary - seems a lot to do in the time you've allocated.
Happy Travels,
John and Di

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[Carol]

Welcome to Fun, a good place to ask all the questions you need to, that's quite a trip you have planned, now that you have your van, and years of adventures ahead of you it may be a thought to just follow the front of the van on your route and see how far you get the first time with out putting pressure on to do it all in one hit, whatever you choose have a great time and enjoy. :welcomefunster:

 

[ntg]

Thanks for your tips Carol & jonandi, much appreciated.

You are both right of course, my trip does sound a bit unachievable, but our main aim is to get to Crete to visit relatives. We haven't really planned to tour all of these countries, just take a convoluted rout to look at Dachau in Germany traveling through Belgium to get there (perhaps stop the night and sample some beer). On through Switzerland and stop over for a night or two, then into Italy spending a few days looking at some of the main attractions. Over to Greece to spend a few days on the mainland before sailing to Crete for about 7 days, then back to the UK via a different rout.
It all started with the intention of driving by car taking the quickest rout and stopping in B&B's. Then it progressed to hiring a motor home and now we've bought one!
I used to travel to Greece by car as a kid because my dad would not fly so it's a bit of nostalgia for me.
Who knows......it will probably all change by June 1st when we plan to leave.

 

[hilldweller]

Who knows......it will probably all change by June 1st when we plan to leave.

If you've not done many miles in a MH you could be in for a surprise. OK you can have the glasses and pans rattling and drop down to 20mpg and cover some miles but it's not much fun.

As a means of transport to get to Greece you are on a loser, a plane is much better.

As a means to chill out and amble somewhere then a winner.

We set a maximum of 300 miles a day but 200 is real holiday mode.

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[ntg]

If you've not done many miles in a MH you could be in for a surprise. OK you can have the glasses and pans rattling and drop down to 20mpg and cover some miles but it's not much fun.

As a means of transport to get to Greece you are on a loser, a plane is much better.

As a means to chill out and amble somewhere then a winner.

We set a maximum of 300 miles a day but 200 is real holiday mode.

I appreciate your advice hilldweller and I'm sure we are in for a surprise, but I don't intend to rush it. To be honest, I have not sat down to calculate miles timings etc and this is something that my brief membership of this forum has highlighted as fairly important.
As for flying.......I do that for a living so I don't particularly fancy it for a holiday, but I agree it's good if you just need to get somewhere quickly.

 

[johnandi]

Thanks for your tips Carol & jonandi, much appreciated.

You are both right of course, my trip does sound a bit unachievable, but our main aim is to get to Crete to visit relatives. We haven't really planned to tour all of these countries, just take a convoluted rout to look at Dachau in Germany traveling through Belgium to get there (perhaps stop the night and sample some beer). On through Switzerland and stop over for a night or two, then into Italy spending a few days looking at some of the main attractions. Over to Greece to spend a few days on the mainland before sailing to Crete for about 7 days, then back to the UK via a different rout.
It all started with the intention of driving by car taking the quickest rout and stopping in B&B's. Then it progressed to hiring a motor home and now we've bought one!
I used to travel to Greece by car as a kid because my dad would not fly so it's a bit of nostalgia for me.
Who knows......it will probably all change by June 1st when we plan to leave.

Hi Nick,
OK, I'm sure you're in for a fantastic adventure - whatever happens.
Have fun and travel safely.
Big 'Hello' to Carol and Eddie!!:thumb:
John

 

[novawight]

Welcome, and have fun in fun..................Del

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[hilldweller]

but I agree it's good if you just need to get somewhere quickly.

This crops up regularly in here. "Must dash to Spain for some good weather" and the reality is if they did a bit of research they would get an apartment and flights cheaper than taking a MH. The usual argument is "I want to be in my MH", OK but I wonder what attraction a MH has over a proper bathroom, lounge, bedroom. Only a big RV really gets close. The pitch prices can be as expensive or higher than a good room deal.

This applies only to people with limited time of course, like someone who was determined to take his 90 year old mother to Spain for a week via Calais.

Long term, I think having lots of your possessions might sway the argument.

 

[Jaws]

Hi and welcome

I would suggest:

Germany, Austria, Italy, then bimble round to Croatia.
Croatia is fantastic and really is your atypical Med / Aegean /Adriatic desitnation without the hassles
Plot up there there ( somewhere near Dubrovnik maybe ? Fabulous walled city ) and fly over to Crete on Fleasy Jet or similar

Cost less, be with the family longer, less hassle, and taking in Croatian night life is worth the drive down on its own !!

 

[ntg]

Brian wrote:
The usual argument is "I want to be in my MH", OK but I wonder what attraction a MH has over a proper bathroom, lounge, bedroom.

This is exactly what I don't know Brian. I spend a large part of my working life in hotels, so the MH appeals to me as something different. We may hate it, but I would like to think not. This is all a bit of an experiment and I appreciate all of the advice.

Jaws wrote:

I would suggest:

Germany, Austria, Italy, then bimble round to Croatia.
Croatia is fantastic and really is your atypical Med / Aegean /Adriatic desitnation without the hassles
Plot up there there ( somewhere near Dubrovnik maybe ? Fabulous walled city ) and fly over to Crete on Fleasy Jet or similar

That's good advice. I have heard lots of good things about Croatia and I have never been so this is a place I would intend to stay for longer and make a holiday of it.

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