Progressing from 2 to 10 weeks! (1 Viewer)

[ShaKen]

Hi all

I’m planning on “upgrading” from a 2 week holiday in Europe to a 10 week break next summer.

But what to do; where to go??

We do love France and expect to spend a good portion of the 8 weeks there, but was looking for some collective thoughts on other places to take in?

I have thought that in early summer a trip to Scandinavia may be a great way to start.

Any suggestions?

(We are in our mid 50’s with a small dog and like our biking (dog in trailer) and wine/food in equal measure. And we like a mix of small, buzzing towns and awesome scenery / nature).

Also any top tips on how the “games changes” from going from a short break to a longer one (such as clothes needs, spares, site cost planning etc)?

p.s. We’ve travelled and stayed in loads of places around France in Summer and Winter including Brittany, Dordogne, Savoie, Aquitaine, Bordeaux, Languedoc, Massif-Central, Provence etc, staying in Hotels, Gitês, PVC’s and our recent addition of our 2018 Motorhome with a couple of road trips in open top sports cars (with just about 2days worth of clothes for a 14 day trip). But this is our first longer term trip and thus would welcome your experiences of longer term trips.

 

[Caggsie1]

Lake Constance,, lovely. We went there in Germany, also the Mosel, Stellplatz in most towns requiring a 10 min drive to the next one.

 

[The Dudess]

Another vote for the Moselle - great for cycling and dog walking, inexpensive and beautiful.

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[Hollyberry]

How about down through France, ( alternatively see some of Germany if you feel you’ve done France) down to Italy. Wander through Italy to Bari, ferry to Croatia, then north via whatever takes your fancy, home.

 

[GerTee]

We spent 4 months travelling this year, check out our blog for some ideas. www.dearsoupdragon.co.uk
You will love whatever and wherever you find yourselves,enjoy

 

[DBK]

A couple of recent threads on here about laundry revealed the approaches folk take vary widely from the outright weird to something closer to civilised normality. We take underwear for just 7 or 8 days and only one set of bedding. We only have one set of "proper" towels too but have some lightweight microfibre ones as backups or for the beach.

This all means we have to do a weekly wash and get it all dried in one day. We've previously tended to do this by booking into a campsite for the weekend but on our last trip of about ten weeks in France we used launderettes almost exclusively, often the ones at supermarkets just for the convenience of being able to park close to the machines.

For everything else I don't think you need take anything above what you used for a two week trip.

For cycling Spain isn't bad but expect hills in some places. For scenery try the Pyrenees if the weather forecast is good, its generally drier on the Spanish side. Then perhaps Northern Spain to Galicia which has a stunning coast. I found the Mosel a bit boring but it is a good area for cycling, Denmark ditto.

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[maison]

Another vote for Croatia.

It’s quite a drive across a relatively uninspiring part of northern Italy but wee worth it when you get there. You could also divert into the prettier parts of Italy as you have 10 weeks.

Good luck.

 

[MisterB]

dont take lots of clothes, t shirts, shorts etc take up minimal space compared to jeans and jumpers! also, in case you didnt realise, most of europe has shops where you can buy additional clothes AND food/wine if you need extras

 

[ctc]

10 weeks? Why don't you spend a little more time wandering and come back when you feel like it? There is no need to fix in stone a return date.

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[Riverbankannie]

I take the same for 6 weeks as I do for 2 weeks. Maybe just upgrade the stash of tea bags!
Like DBK, Wash out smalls as we go along and find a campsite, on a sunny day, for a bedding wash

 

[carolyn]

If you do head up to Norway you may have to reconsider your packing, we were there for a few weeks in June/July this summer and Jeans, jumpers, jackets and heavy duty rain wear was required most days and that was just the Southern half! Even Denmark was pretty chilly with cold winds. Yes they do have shops but even Denmark was pretty pricey for clothing. I wouldn’t want you to get caught out.

 

[The Wino]

We ended up coming back early this year after 3 weeks because we were bored and fancied coming back as we had just moved to the area and felt like we were on holiday anyway!

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[Potty]

Personally we prefer the France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia route to Croatia. Slovenia is a very nice country, prefer it to Croatia. The route through Germany could be via the Black Forest and/or follow the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road).

 

[Easyliving]

Lake Constance,, lovely. We went there in Germany, also the Mosel, Stellplatz in most towns requiring a 10 min drive to the next one.

Another vote for Bodensee (Lake Constance), its lovely there. On this years trip we stayed on the stellplatz at Uberlingen, bit pricey at €13 a night but worth it. Geisingen is another favourite of ours.

Paul

 

[brynric]

I think a long break needs a slight different attitude.

If you're on a 2 week holiday there's a tendency to rush pack in 2 weeks of fun and spending then get back to normal. On a 10 week tour you can take your time to live in the country a little bit more, not just visit it. As DBK and others have said, don't take extra clothes etc but be prepared to find a laundry and do a wash. Take a bit (lot) more time shopping and finding out how the locals eat. You dont have to travel twice as far if you have more time, often just a trip of a few miles will give a completely different view. Have a couple of weeks following a river, many of the big rivers have fantastic cycle routes alongside - we've followed the Moselle and the Loire for miles by bike.
The lack of rush and open endedness of the tour can lead to a completely different experience.

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[Jenka]

If you do head up to Norway you may have to reconsider your packing, we were there for a few weeks in June/July this summer and Jeans, jumpers, jackets and heavy duty rain wear was required most days and that was just the Southern half! Even Denmark was pretty chilly with cold winds. Yes they do have shops but even Denmark was pretty pricey for clothing. I wouldn’t want you to get caught out.

It's a big country Norway we was there for June & July and went from Oslo to the Lofeten Island and then the North Cape no real issues with weather apart from wind and I wore shorts all the time ,but your right to take an assortment of clothing . On the point of 10 weeks it's not long in relation to the distances you would need to travel to enjoy a number of countries,Di your must see countries and enjoy.

 

[carolyn]

It's a big country Norway we was there for June & July and went from Oslo to the Lofeten Island and then the North Cape no real issues with weather apart from wind and I wore shorts all the time ,but your right to take an assortment of clothing . On the point of 10 weeks it's not long in relation to the distances you would need to travel to enjoy a number of countries,Di your must see countries and enjoy.

This is me with a friend from Inverness whilst on the tour of Norway, I’m a softy Southerner so perhaps my opinions on weather gear are not really the best. But then I don’t suppose Steve’s are either!

 

[Jenka]

This is me with a friend from Inverness whilst on the tour of Norway, I’m a softy Southerner so perhaps my opinions on weather gear are not really the best. But then I don’t suppose Steve’s are either!

Lol there are people in Spain today who are dressed like they are going to the Artic circle ??

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[Allanm]

We are off for 5 weeks in a few days. We did consider Spain and Portugal, but decided we would rather do the French west coast down, then across the south and up the East and maybe pop across to Italy, Switzerland Germany and Belgium, also taking in Jura and Alsace, then over to the UK after Christmas and ending up in Cambridge for a few days before returning home to France.

 

[DBK]

We are off for 5 weeks in a few days. We did consider Spain and Portugal, but decided we would rather do the French west coast down, then across the south and up the East and maybe pop across to Italy, Switzerland Germany and Belgium, also taking in Jura and Alsace, then over to the UK after Christmas and ending up in Cambridge for a few days before returning home to France.

You won't be able to watch it where you are unless you have a VPN or a UK sourced SIM but Rick Stein's latest episode of Secret France was in the Jura. Looks very interesting. We had planned to go there on our last trip until the weather changed and we headed further south instead - but we will get there eventually.

BBC Two - Rick Stein’s Secret France, Series 1, Episode 2

Rick Stein's journey brings him to France's eastern regions of Alsace and Jura.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Reallyretired]

We take two sets of bedding and towels and sufficient grundies for two weeks, that way if we cant do a weekly wash its not a problem.
Always loads of teabags.

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[Speve]

We did Denmark and Sweden starting in May which meant we missed the Mossies and had a great trip most of the time weather was warm and sunny with a colder spell of a couple of weeks end of May but didn’t spoil it one bit.
We did E45 all the way to top of Sweden and took our time there’s lots to see if you look and ignore those that say all there is are trees.??
We took 13 weeks in all.?

 

[carolyn]

Lol there are people in Spain today who are dressed like they are going to the Artic circle ??

You just spotted me on the way back from Mas y Mas in my jeans and fleece then. I am not joking either I’m afraid!

 

[nicholsong]

We usually do 10 weeks, but split into 2 X 5 weeks, but leaving the MH parked and flying back for 3-4 weeks with hand luggage only, so basically leave home with what we need for 10 weeks like you will.

We carry 3 sets of bedding linen, so no washing en route.

For clothes we carry enough for whole trip but do bring some 'smalls' back in hand lugage for washing, but so little we could just take more initially.

As for clothes for cooler times, we hang some warmer clothes, e.g. jeans, in wardrobe, but also rely on layering with several layers if needed. We carry one thin waterproof outer layer which can be used on its own in warm rain or over other layers if colder.

We take a golfing umbrella.

Chargers for phones, laptops etc. are specific for 12v so stay in MH.

We also have most things duplicated in MH and house - all bathroom stuff; shaving, shampoo, soap, etc. so not much need to do checklists. There is an initial cost to that but over the years we do not replace more than at home.

Any further questions? Please ask.

Geoff

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[ShaKen]

Thanks all!

Some great tips and ideas there!

We are hoping that this years 10 weeks will be the start of a longer term seasonal trip to Europe and beyond (if future income / future retirement will allow).

Of course we understand we can’t do everything in a single trip (of 10 weeks) and thus why we bought a MoHo in the first place; to allow us to plan the adventures over the coming years.

Keep the ideas and tips coming

P.S. I like to options of visiting Lakes / Rivers as I’ve a boat myself and thus have a natural affinity to being on the water. In fact I’ll need to check if I can squeeze my inflatable tender into the garage along with the outboard - now there’s an idea!!

 

[Blue Knight]

It seems as if you've got the trip sorted.

The only thing I would do now is to get the van weighed in full touring guise, including full water and fuel, to see if you're travelling legal and safely, especially on the rear axle etc.

 

[Theonlysue]

If you go in summer, some places will be full and forgets very busy, especially in coastal places.

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[ShaKen]

It seems as if you've got the trip sorted.

The only thing I would do now is to get the van weighed in full touring guise, including full water and fuel, to see if you're travelling legal and safely, especially on the rear axle etc.

We did 2 weeks in southern France this year and all up (fully loaded) we were bang on 3500kg, with 400kg spare on rear axle.

But I am going to up-plate also; paper upgrade to 3850kg to give us some breathing space.

 

[Blue Knight]

We did 2 weeks in southern France this year and all up (fully loaded) we were bang on 3500kg, with 400kg spare on rear axle.

But I am going to up-plate also; paper upgrade to 3850kg to give us some breathing space.

It sounds as if you're front end heavy so you'll have a load of traction through the front wheels should the weather get a bit iffy.

 

[Blue Knight]

P.S. Those stats also indicate that you're 50kg over your front axle limit so you really need to redistribute your load if possible i.e. 3,500 - 1,600 (rear) = 1,900kg and your maximum loading on your front axle can only be 1,850kg.

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