Tour Guide Wanted Family Europe trip too ambitious?

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SimW

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Hi,

New to the site and motor homes. After various trips in a campervan we are now hoping to upsize to a motorhome for a longer trip. Two adults two children so we are looking to hire a motorhome and plan a trip around Europe this August.

Itinerary so far:

-Dover to Calais
-Calais to Ghent for sight seeing and castle visit.
- short travel east for the night
- Luxembourg for sight seeing
- baden baden then the Black Forest road to kniebis, a few stops on the road and potentially an over night stop if possible
- Lake Constance.

This is as far as I’ve got at the minute, hoping to also head into / through Switzerland and return back to Calais through central France.

Does this look achieved and more importantly enjoyable? Not driven a motorhome before so presuming it’s going to be slower than Google maps predicts between points and also the time of year I’m presuming a lot of traffic around. We will have 14-16 days in total.

Any advice / thoughts appreciated.

Ps I’ve tried to keep drives between spots at a comfortable distance to allow the kids and us time for fun as opposed to constantly on the road.
 
Plan your route then maybe half it.. !!!
Looking at a map and working things out is very different to being on the road.
August is a busy time so you need to account for traffic, campsites or aires will be busy maybe even full.

and if you have not done it already check hire and ferry costs. (y)
 
Last edited:
Decide when you get there.
 
Hi,
We rented a few years ago to test the water and did two weeks around Portugal with two girls, 14 and 18!
It worked out really well - we didn’t book anything and just free styled so it was quite a test! - in the middle we did stop for 3 nights in a very swanky site with multiple pools and bars etc and that took any heat out of it and gave us a chance to re group and relax together so I would advise something similar.
But it’s definitely not too ambitious - go for it!!

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Lake Constance/Bodensee:

Zeppelin Museum at Friedrichshafen.

Opera on the Lake at Bregenz - even if not there for the performance the setting is astounding and guided tours are available and campsites nearby.

Bregenz Festival
 
Hi and welcome to FUN. That sounds like at least a 3 week trip but the good thing about Motorhoming is having the ability to change your mind at short notice and your half way there by joining this site as the advice you will get is priceless.
 
SimW said:
Hi,

New to the site and motor homes. After various trips in a campervan we are now hoping to upsize to a motorhome for a longer trip. Two adults two children so we are looking to hire a motorhome and plan a trip around Europe this August.

Itinerary so far:

-Dover to Calais
-Calais to Ghent for sight seeing and castle visit.
- short travel east for the night
- Luxembourg for sight seeing
- baden baden then the Black Forest road to kniebis, a few stops on the road and potentially an over night stop if possible
- Lake Constance.

This is as far as I’ve got at the minute, hoping to also head into / through Switzerland and return back to Calais through central France.

Does this look achieved and more importantly enjoyable? Not driven a motorhome before so presuming it’s going to be slower than Google maps predicts between points and also the time of year I’m presuming a lot of traffic around. We will have 14-16 days in total.

Any advice / thoughts appreciated.

Ps I’ve tried to keep drives between spots at a comfortable distance to allow the kids and us time for fun as opposed to constantly on the road.
Click to expand...

Depending on your route back, this seems pretty reasonable. I'd play it by ear though... The weather might encourage you to spend longer in some places. I would suggest spending a few days in ones place halfway though - travelling evey day is tiring.
 
You have not said how long your trip is going to be in terms of weeks yet your proposed itinerary is quite demanding if you are to truly sightsee as you go.

Most people tend to spend a half day travelling then a half day sightseeing so the road trip does not get too boring for the passengers. As has been said August is the busiest time and aires/stellplatzes will be very busy. The longer you leave it before looking for a night stop during the day the less likely there will be a space for you. People tend to move on in the mornings so spaces become available then

Speaking purely personally, I don't rate Luxembourg apart from its cheap fuel! Look up the Moselle Valley and the Romantic Road for a combination of scenery and lovely places to stop. We tried to go to Constance but it is regularly shrouded in rain/mist. Switzerland is lovely but more complicated for Motorhomes requiring a payment for the vehicle with a vignette or fines for not having one and is perhaps a step too far for the initial trip. Plenty of great scenery in the French Alps before you head north again!

My wife and I are retired and we tend to go for about 5 weeks either before schools break up or after they have gone back to school so places to stop are more available and the weather is not quite so hot. I appreciate you are limited at present with the girls.

Feel free to ask anything that you want. There is a wealth of knowledge on here.
 
Seems a bit ambitious to me, we went to Belgium then down through Bavaria Switzerland and back through France to Belgium last year, three and a half weeks and I would not say I would like to do it in less especially with kids as with 2-300 miles a day and starting mid morning will see you into late afternoon on the next stop.

Good luck with your trip.

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Ok not Europe but before covid we did 3000 miles from Boston via NY to grand rapids RTN via Niagara falls.... A rush as we spent a weekend in both NY and GR but long distances can be done. If the rewards are good enough like NY friends in GR, NF etc then that creates anticipation.

Where as driving to devon from West Yorkshire we hit the m62 and "are we there yet" ..!
 
Hi, that is doable. We had same time (coming h from Scotland). Did North Sea crossing … drove straight to Dortmund to drop my son off at his pal’s house, then down the Mosel for a few days, crossed over to drive over to Rotenburg ODT then down to Lake Constance, along the AlpenStrasse to Chiemsee, up to Regensburg where we picked son up, then back up to the Netherlands to get Busbiker fitted to the van.
 
I would make some adjustments.
Much depends on how far you will have travelled from home to get to Dover, but Ghent sightseeing (was there a couple of weeks ago in the rain) would be on my reserve list for home, and echoing thoughts on Luxembourg versus another day in the Black Forest.
Constance and August dont go well together unless they have booked campsite in the sentence !
Baden Baden, you will need the emission card thing from Germany (costs 6 euros but need your log book) and its probably worth getting one (may have to speak to the hiring firm as it sticks to their windscreen) There is also a road somewhere around there on the tourist trail in the middle of nowhere with no alternative which is an emission zone, and if I could remember it I would say where it was. (Think it was near some big waterfalls)
I would also miss out the Moselle, lovely as it is, fighting for a stellplatz in August will negate some of the fun.
Romantic Road is worth doing but take note of the stops recommended on here as there will be a temptation to do them all.
Take a look at this thread and ignore the first 10-15 pages as it was done by a number of us who had to go to Germany during Covid times so several people blagging their way around helping each other out with hints and tips. https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...-august-september-information-sharing.225430/
Unfortunately the map has disappeared so please dont ask for it.
Not sure what the price is to rent a motorhome and the sticking point of taking it abroad, and how much cheaper it might be renting one in Belgium (if you can get there with all your clothing and bikes)
Switzerland will cost you (unless you plan very carefully) for a vignette (35 euros?) and a slightly better alternative for you may be the Alpenstrabbe incorporated into your itinerary. If I remember rightly it crosses the Romantic road at the bottom near Fussen (a must)
Keep an eye out for the Rodenbahls (dry luges) excellent fun and the one in my signature below was the best we found.
Weight on your motorhome if taking 4 bikes (which would help) may well be an issue for many of the rented motorhomes

Your best decision though is to pay the fees for this site as you can then do a search for "Baden Baden" and can then look through all the threads which are bound to have information as to where to park for free so you can catch the bus in.

Eagles nest may need some consideration

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I did a very similar itinerary a couple of years ago. Rhinefalls would be a good visit if returning from Frierichshafen and Konstanz. We took a month. It'll be a bit of rush in 16 days.
 
I think it’s a bit ambitious for 2 weeks. That said, we just did the south coast of France and D day beaches over Easter, it was a lot of driving though.

We tend to just wait to see what the weather is doing and head where the forecast looks best.
 
Thank you to all who have replied. Will have a good read through these this weekend.

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Regarding the vehicle hire, will be looking at no heavier than 3500kg due to my licence restriction.
Have had some quotes on various hire sites and the price seems to be between 2.7 & 3k for the 15-17 days hire inclusive of insurance.
Also toying with the idea of buying a cheaper motorhome and either keeping it after the trip or selling it.
 
SimW said:
Also toying with the idea of buying a cheaper motorhome and either keeping it after the trip or selling it.
Click to expand...

I think that they stopped making them (cheaper motorhomes, that is) just as Covid hit. 😎

They may come back to the market once the holiday habits of folks return to pre Covid patterns.

Ian
 
I’ve noticed in a few of the comments mention booking sites and busy aires, thought that would be the case in august. How busy are we talking lol? Will we not being able to find any sites or safe aires or may have to drive around for a while?
I’ve looked at a few site at the beginning of our trip nothing to in depth yet and I noticed all of them had a minimum 5/7 night stay during august, is this typical across France and Germany?

Thanks
 
4 adults in sub 3,500 kgs van with luggage and bikes etc sounds like an overloaded van to me!

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Can't comment on the locations or stopovers - can say that my best locations and stopovers were those done on the hoof and that's why I've got a MH.

Rise earlier, empty and move quickly. With kids (any human person aged less than 18 and probably older than that) don't travel more than 3-4 hours in any day unless absolutely necessary - to get to the boat for example.

Think about where you would like to stop and look for something that you could see or do there, and use the various apps and websites to have a look for things that are about and are even just a bit interesting - you would be surprised how interesting the seemingly boring things turn out to be!

Be flexible and decide to stay if it turns out to be more interesting than you thought, or move on if it's not. This is the gift that an MH gives us.

Sort your travelling mindset. For example, my Dad was always obsessed with 'arriving' at the destination and worried himself sick on the boat and in the car that the family 'wouldn't make it' on time. With the MH, it's much more flexible and if you don't get there, that's ok.

If you are or have a partner who is less flexible, then you need to talk about expectations in advance and come to an agreement - for example, my ex always has to have a main meal at lunchtime... which is a serious amount of planning, cooking etc, and usually puts paid to the move quickly rule and pretty much screws up the travelling for the rest of the day. Sometimes, that's ok. Other times, the foot goes down.

Think about your MH - is it enormous and hard to park? Does it comply with various city/district clean air restrictions? Where are you going to put it while you do a visit?

After all that - it's a breeze!
 
Abacist said:
4 adults in sub 3,500 kgs van with luggage and bikes etc sounds like an overloaded van to me!
Click to expand...
2 x adults 2 x children. I hadn’t considered weight to be honest maybe naive but I presumed a motorhome would have a decent payload and what we would take would be negligible.
Our bikes for example have an approx weight of no more than 50kg.
 
SimW said:
2 x adults 2 x children. I hadn’t considered weight to be honest maybe naive but I presumed a motorhome would have a decent payload and what we would take would be negligible.
Our bikes for example have an approx weight of no more than 50kg.
Click to expand...
Some vehicles have very low payloads... The choice can be limited to having a full tank of fuel, or water or passengers...

I'd invest in membership of this forum to get more info and answers. It is worth it.

Also bear in mind there are many differences between families and users. I know of some that insist on having sites arranged in advance and rarely drive for more than a maximum of 4 hours a day while other families will drive around 10 hrs. Some prefer the journey to their destination and others want to get there as quickly as possible. One of the great opportunities with 'van life is the flexibility to do what works for your circumstances on each day.

Have fun.
 
SimW said:
Hi,

New to the site and motor homes. After various trips in a campervan we are now hoping to upsize to a motorhome for a longer trip. Two adults two children so we are looking to hire a motorhome and plan a trip around Europe this August.

Itinerary so far:

-Dover to Calais
-Calais to Ghent for sight seeing and castle visit.
- short travel east for the night
- Luxembourg for sight seeing
- baden baden then the Black Forest road to kniebis, a few stops on the road and potentially an over night stop if possible
- Lake Constance.

This is as far as I’ve got at the minute, hoping to also head into / through Switzerland and return back to Calais through central France.

Does this look achieved and more importantly enjoyable? Not driven a motorhome before so presuming it’s going to be slower than Google maps predicts between points and also the time of year I’m presuming a lot of traffic around. We will have 14-16 days in total.

Any advice / thoughts appreciated.

Ps I’ve tried to keep drives between spots at a comfortable distance to allow the kids and us time for fun as opposed to constantly on the road.
Click to expand...
Just realised you are going to Baden Baden
If you do - I would strongly strongly recommend taking an afternoon out - and hitting the Caracalla thermal spa there - we did it with the kids - then 10 and 14 and it was a really fun and memorable afternoon.
Caracalla is the public one - really beautiful, and very worth it in a town that is famous for this stuff!
When I get to Baden Baden again it’s first on the list!
 
SimW said:
2 x adults 2 x children. I hadn’t considered weight to be honest maybe naive but I presumed a motorhome would have a decent payload and what we would take would be negligible.
Our bikes for example have an approx weight of no more than 50kg.
Click to expand...
Actually, this is a very good point made by Mattyjwr.

There is a huge amount of variation in MH weight due to various factors within and not within your control.

Every litre of water on board weighs a kilo. I would routinely have at least 8kg of liquid in the fridge and maybe 36kg more stored in the bathroom what with 8-litre water bottles, tetras of juice, lemonade, cola (and the odd several litres of beer but who's counting???). That is the weight of an older child!

Carry two bottles of gas instead of one, the tank of diesel, those clothes - think about how much budget airlines charge for being in excess of 15 kilos per bag- and it all builds up!

I have an old van that is gutsy but heavy, underpowered and can be very slow. It has never not gone where I pointed it, but I've been careful to think about some journeys in advance and when I haven't, I was reduced to crawling up gradients in first (unladen the last time) with a queue of traffic behind me. I find that here 'on the continent' (is it still ok to say that?), they built roads the gradients of which I never experienced at home - the sliding glaciers of the ice age wiped out much of that above a certain latitude - but here (in Spain at least), it's quite ok to expect to drive up a near vertical hill to get somewhere.

I'd make sure you plan a journey that the van can do before trying to drive up crazy inclines with everyone onboard - you don't want to have to stop traffic and get help to reverse back down!

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