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Hi im thinking of taking a road trip in the uk for about 2-3 months, im thinking of visiting places like france, italy, spain and a few other places, for people that have been on trips like this would you be able to give some advice to how much money i would need? I want to try and keep costs down as much as i can, sleeping in the car is no problem. also can anyone tell me what are the mostimportant things that i will need for a trip?
thanks
This forum primarily focuses on road trips in North America. But, roadtrippers are a funny breed and I am sure you will get plenty of tips here.Quote:
Originally Posted by sonix777
Mark
Hiya, I noticed your message and as I live in England thought that I might give you a little bit of advice. Petrol (fuel) here is really expensive. At the moment the price is coming down a little, but it is about $1.80 per litre. (about 3.5 litres to a US gallon). Driving on the left side of the road can be challenging if you haven't done it before (like when we are in almost any other country and we have to drive on the right) and people from abroad can have big problems with our roundabouts (sorry, don't know what you might call them in the States). Our roads here are NOT like in the US. Much smaller, and in the urban areas, can easily become gridlocked. That said, you will notice that most drivers are courteous and well mannered to each other (waving to thank each other for a small curtesty is normal, offering to wait at a junction while the car opposite pulls out first etc) and if you are aiming to spend time driving AWAY from the cities, you will find pleasant, usually well moving roads opening up to beautiful countryside. I think that on the whole our road signs score a 10 out of 10, so getting from AtoB is usually good. If you drove from one end of the country to the other, on a motorway, it would probably only take about 10-12 hours (with a couple of stops), but there is a lot to see inbetween. Driving in France, Italy etc. is rather different. First, you can't understand the road signs, there are toll roads (especially through the mountain passes), fuel is a bit cheaper, and road manners are a bit ruder! How much money to take? You could probably stay in a half reasonable bed and breakfast (not 5*, but clean and adequate) for about £30 per night or a motorway hotel for about £45.00 - £50.00 per night, without breakfast. Sleeping int he car would not be an option for me (I like my comforts) but I suppose you could do that. Bring a blanket, England is damp at night, even in summer usually. Don't know if any of this helps, but good luck anyway.
Thanks for the driving intel -- I guess I should never underestimate the resourcefulness of this forum's participants. I have driven in Germany (autobahn) -- that is fun, although a little unnerving for first-timers.Quote:
Originally Posted by essexgirl
Mark
And about what it's worth!
I think the most important things you'll need for the trip are a good attitude and time. Relax, enjoy the experience, and make sure you take the interesting side roads you see -- just like you would here in the States!
I have been to the UK once -- and I absolutely loved the time I spent roadtripping there (in Scotland). Traffic in the cities was too intimidating for a person used to driving on the right side instead of the left (and traffic moves very fast even when things are congested) -- but the country roads and highways Essexgirl mentions are magnificent and great fun.
I LOVED the roundabouts (yes, we call them that here too) and once I went through a couple, found they are great for keeping traffic moving -- no waiting at signal lights! Wish we'd install more of them in the USA but it seems most folks don't even want to give them a chance here.
I never got lost, and only got confused once. The rest of the time (about 3 or 400 miles of driving) was an absolute delight, from the scenery to the people we met along the way.
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum...lighthouse.jpg
If you get up into Aberdeenshire and along the North Sea coast in that area, may I recommend the drive out to Old Rattray (there's an offshore lighthouse there and a great secluded beach),
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum...ks-fishbar.jpg
and Eck's Fish and Chips in Fraserburgh -- best fish and chips I've ever had! I also wanted to try Ratty's Tea House at Old Rattray, but it was closed the day I was there. Bob
When I travelled in Europe, I enjoyed doing it with a RailPass. It was great to see things from the train, have an opportunity to meet and visit with other travelers, and it made catching a few winks easy. Of course, I can sleep anywhere so YMMV. I would definitely look into BritRail and EuroRail passes instead of driving. I believe you'll find it cheaper, too.
Had to chuckle at this, Bob. We have some towns around here with roundabouts. I hate them. Hate is a strong word but very accurate in this case. I will purposely try to go other routes to avoid them. I have seen numerous fender-benders happen in them. In bigger ones with more than 4 streets merging into them, I have actually gotten lost, i.e. while driving along on a street (without knowing the name of the street I was on), I have gotten confused and left it at the wrong street. I have found that if you are familiar with the area you are in, they are tolerable. But if you're driving in unfamiliar territory, they just add to the confusion. I have rarely gotten lost in all my years of driving. I have gotten lost several times due to bizarre roundabouts. This irritates the heck outta me. Anyway.....you can take my roundabouts, please!Quote:
I LOVED the roundabouts (yes, we call them that here too) and once I went through a couple, found they are great for keeping traffic moving -- no waiting at signal lights! Wish we'd install more of them in the USA but it seems most folks don't even want to give them a chance here.
Better get used to them. I have found them in just about every major city in America. I have my own "war stories" about them -- I think the biggest problem is that most American drivers seem to lose all their brain functions when they enter one. Concepts like yield seem to disappear from their driving expertise. Personally, I really enjoy them -- but I have gotten "spit-out" in ways similar to your own experience from time to time...Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
Mark
I know they are starting to become popular here. Dang it anyway. Everytime I enter one, I feel like I'm in some bizarre demolition derby.Quote:
Originally Posted by Editor
Driving in the UK:
I would steer WELL clear of driving in urban areas, especially London. Every time I drive in London, I have to take a week off to recover! Birmingham and Manchester are pretty hideous too!
If you need to get from A to B as quickly as possible, the motorways can be very effective, if rather dull. I once drove down to Devon and Cornwall taking the shortest route, all twisty roads and country lanes. It took two full days to get there. When I drove back, I took the motorway, and was fairly stunned when it only took me about 5 hours to get home! (But it was dull as dull can be!)
If you want to see the UK, I can strongly recommend certain stretches of road -- but it would fill up pages and pages if I went into any detail. If you want to PM me or email me, I'd be happy to share ideas and routes with you and post up some summaries.
Some quick ideas include:
1. The A4 from Reading to Avebury, then down to Stonehenge.
2. The A39 (a very inappropriately named "Atlantic Highway")
3. Castell Coch to Llandrindod Wells and thence along the A44 to Worcester
4. The A6 from Derby to Buxton
5. Anywhere in the Lake District
6. The A68 from Darlington to Edinburgh
7. The Road to Nowhere (Glen Etive in Scotland)
8. Inverness to Fort William to Oban to Glasgow
Some other tips:
1. Get as small car as you can -- the roads can be very narrow in places, and you will thank me for this at least once. (Also when you fill up!)
2. It's worth considering English Heritage or equivalent visitors' passes -- there are tons of things to see (if that's your bag) and it's well worth the effort.
Driving in Europe:
Watch out for the police, in general, and be aware that some countries have different rules about what you must have in your car.
France:
Some wonderful drivers -- outside of Paris. Paris is like London, but the drivers sound more romantic when they curse you.
The roads are generally in excellent condition, and outside of towns, traffic is generally negligible. Watch out for speeding, especially on peages.
Can't really recommend any roads, as all my driving has been to get somewhere. Also, the country is HUGE. However, the A75 down to Montpellier passes over the highest bridge in the world, I believe, and from Montpellier, it is a short drive to Barcelona, which is a place to spend a couple of days in!
Belgium:
Avoid.
Luxembourg:
Ditto.
Germany:
Ahhhh ... heaven! But be aware that you catch up to slower moving cars extraordinarily quickly when travelling at the speed of light. They don't have many accidents, but when they do ...
I can strongly recommend driving ANYWHERE in the Eiffel region. And while you're there, you have to do a lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife.
You may want to look into a special offer I heard about, where you fly into Frankfurt airport and you can then hire a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 for $200 a day. It's not at all far from Frankfurt to the Nurburgring, hint, hint! Apparently it applies to flights into Munich as well.
I have driven in Munich in rush hour, and it's lovely compared to London on a Sunday afternoon!
Elsewhere:
I haven't driven anywhere else in Europe, but I would LOVE to see Switzerland, and Lake Garda in Italy.
Hope this helps!
Roundabouts, aka Rotary(ies) here in New England, are probably my least favorite road "feature". In fact, near the Bourne bridge to Cape Cod, the roadway is being realigned with one of the key features being the elimination of the rotary. When I think of all the rotar...,er, roundabouts I've driven in, I'm reminded of the following:
Misaligned or missing signage
Poor drainage, potholes
Center lane debris collections
Arbitrary lane closures for construction
Lanes that exit with an immediate traffic signal, backing up traffic into the rotary
ad infinitum
I think they'd be more useful in areas with less dense population. This has been discussed exhaustively on roadgeek forums.
Nurburgring - I would absolutely love to drive that! I watched a show a couple of weeks ago about it, and it looked like a heck of a lot of fun.
And the comment about not understanding the road signs - perhaps there is some sort of guide online about that. I'm picturing a sign of a horse with an exclamation over it, on a purple octagon. What's that mean?
Thanks for the chuckle!Quote:
Some wonderful drivers -- outside of Paris. Paris is like London, but the drivers sound more romantic when they curse you.
Many years ago I planned a trip to tour UK. I contacted British Tourist Authority in NY, NY. I would imagine that office is still there & they had a lot of info on BritRail & B&B. Bed & Breakfasts that are run by the Govt. called Book A Bed Ahead. They are located in major tourist sections & sometimes right at the train station. You can also make that arrangement for the next night at the place you are staying at tonight. It is very organized. The BritRail was cheaper & so were B&B's. You can specify you want to stay close to train station. The BritRail pass can only be purchased in US before traveling over there.
I had read up on the areas I knew I wanted to visit but left myself flexible. That is very key when traveling--being flexible. Sometimes mistakes that happen can be the most fun...I bought 2 different travel books to mark up & bring along.
When I traveled over there I only rented a car for 1 day in Wales as I wanted to get into the mountains. It was a very narrow winding road. Very scary to be driving on the "wrong" side. We ended up staying the night in Llududno (that is pronouned Clud-dud-no) in Wales but everywhere else it was Lud-dud-no. I was going crazy trying to get how to say that name--everyone kept correcting me. I finally decided it just depended where that person was from. Now this was about 20 years ago but with the Book A Bed Ahead plan we paid 7-10 Pounds per night & that included a big English breakfast. Coffee or tea, juice, eggs & bacon or sausage. Most of the places we stayed in were just an extra room or 2 in someones home. But we were very comfortable.
In London we paid 25 Pounds including breakfast. I'm sure thats more now.
I found an accomodations desk in Heathrow airport. They wanted to charge me 250 pounds for 1 night. I told them that was too much & they directed me to Book A Bed Ahead about 5 levels down the escalator to a little office but I got the room for 25 pounds.
One time I had to climb 3 floors to a coin-operated shower. Another time I had a shower stall in the middle of our bedroom. Another time had a separate bathroom attached to bedroom. (Remember, flexibility is key). I also discovered at Heathroom a place to store luggage. I forget the term & I actually thought it meant lost luggage while I was looking for lockers. But I left my main luggage there for a couple of pounds & just toured around. I was initially going to Isle of Wight to visit an aunt so didn't need all the luggage. I just brought overnight bag as I had to take a bus from airport to get a train to Portsmouth to ferry, back to train to cab. (Flexible!!)
Most of the B&B's were very accomodating in directing us to touristy things. They also had places to store our luggage in a large closet while we toured so as to free up the room to the next person.
I hope my info helps you. That trip was exhausting but I did England, Scotland & Wales & then Paris France in 3 weeks. I came home strong as an ox from carrying the luggage (pack very light) & lost 20 lbs. No time to eat & walking so much with the luggage. But the trip was very exciting & if I were 20 years younger I would do it again. I truly got to meet many locals & saw so many interesting things.
I forgot about the roundabouts. We call them traffic circles here & they are trying to eliminate them in NJ as a hazard. (Too much traffic). Or the rotaries in New England.
I can't help but think of Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies as he goes around the circles again & again. I do believe I did that a time or two. LOL.
Diane
You might want to take a look at the book Take Your RV to Europe. It was reviewed here on this forum at:
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/rv/Ta...-To-Europe.htm
Even if you aren't taking an RV to Europe, these seasoned "road warriors" have lots of other great advice. In fact, they are in Europe with their RV right now. I've been enjoying their emails.
Carol White
Hey-
Sorry if this reply is a bit late (only a couple of months... lol), but keep an eye out on BBC America for "Top Gear". They usually do jaunts into Europe etc, and you'll get an idea of just how picturesque England and Europe can be.
By the way, if you hate roundabouts, head to the Arc de Triomphe (sp?) in Paris... You have more chance winning the lottery than coming away without a ding! (Actually, watch out for that on Top Gear- three presenters try to take over $1 millions worth of supercar around the Arc... lol!!!)