Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

The black art of moving from A to B on foreign soil
DavidS
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by DavidS »

Comfy SUV, 5 star hotels and good food and drink.
We’re too old for roughing it now but our honeymoon back in 1977 was camping on the Bonneville in Germany for 10 days....with my best man and his girlfriend as we had already sorted the trip before deciding to get married the week before. In those days, pretty much all bikes were unsuitable for touring/camping.
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Spike941
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by Spike941 »

Taking our own Covid secure accommodation with us.
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Alan29
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by Alan29 »

I micro-plan. It keeps me sane during the winter.
I like to stay somewhere for a week in a mobile home on a posh campsite (pool, bar, restaurant etc) buy the local map and really explore the area. Use highlighters to mark out where we've been each day - a permanent souvenir.
Not a fan of just passing through to tick a road off a list.
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by paul_tim2000 »

I plan locations, good hotels and sometimes restaurant reservations if I believe it will be difficult to get in as a walk up customer (usually only needed for Michelin starred or similar). But I tend to ride somewhere then use it as a base for a few days to explore, had enough of rushing around every day to a new location.
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by moto al »

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the port of Barcelona catching the ferry to the port of rome , a great deal bike, cabin , and myself 69 euro . not bad for a 22 hour ferry trip.
moto al
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by moto al »

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my favourite campsite in EL port de la selva , a small fishing village on the costa brava , iv been going there for over 30 years and its hardly changed , its got the added bonus very few tourists.
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by moto al »

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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by moto al »

Last year i had a months tour of spain ,living in scotland its a long motorway jaunt down to portsmouth, i decided to go via IRELAND ,CAIRNRYNE to bBELFAST , then the run down ROSSLARE , then the brittany ferry to bilbao , a route id recommend
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due to covid the campsites were very quite only spannish campers
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by moto al »

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the friendly local plod
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in the pyrenees
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Re: Planning a European trip....what’s your method?

Post by ErikGustav2 »

I decide what route to take.
On a high level.
E.G From Sweden south. Over bridges or ferries to Denmark (Germany). South through Germany. West through France to the Atlantic Coast, Follow the coast to Porto i Portugal. IC1 or EN to Algarve.....

Than take it day by day. Drive in the direction I am headed, until afternoon. And let the clock decide. Instead of having a fix end point for the day.
In many ways it would be easier to have a booking for next night, already when starting.
But things can happen during the day. Taffic jam, nice places to visit, bad road conditions.....
So to have fixed "goal" for the day can create stress, a "must" and driving too late.....
Then I stop and search on maps/internet for camping within 1-1½ hour i correct direction.
Set is as destination in the GPS (Separate or google maps). And follow the GPS for the last part.
In the evening, I take a look at the map in the direction which I plan to go next day.

So easy these days with Internet and GPS support.
I the old days it was driving until 3 PM.
And than hope to find a sign for camping, before it was getting dark.

I missed one time in Germany. And was driving in the dark. Until I found a closed camping around 10 PM.
But I could drive around the locked gate. Pitch the tent. And fix the check-in in the morning.
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