betsmate
At the Start
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2004
- Messages
- 5,752
Right you good people, I know that there are plenty of well-travelled folk on here as well as those living in Mainland Europe so I am after some advice/thoughts/ideas.
A friend and I (whilst slightly under the influence) decided that it would be a good idea to see a bit of Europe this year and so came up with the plan on travelling through the continent, generally having a good time along the way. We have both booked the last week of September and the first week of October off work and come up with a highly detailed plan (hah! - see below) and just have a few loose ends to tie up. This is where you people come in - any advice is appreciated:
The plan initially involved flying to some far-flung eastern European state, but this has been shelved until next year, so here it is:
- Either, fly, train, hire car or motor home (hired) across Western Europe.
MAIN OBJECTIVES – To be achieved
Friend – Spend a few days somewhere where it is still hot enough to catch some rays – probably southern Spain – e.g. Malaga, Almeria, Murcia
Me – Attend the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris (The middle weekend)
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES – Not essential but seem like a good idea
- Visit Barcelona
- Visit Monaco
- Visit Italy
- Do an Italian Job-style escape from Italy over the Alps.
- Visit a friend in Holland (least essential – he was over here last week!)
As you can see the plan is nearly finished, just got to pay for it and go!
BUDGET
Not a lot, the spontaneous nature of this trip mean that neither of us has had time to save up a lot of cash. But looking at between £500 - £1000 each.
METHOD
1. First idea was to fly to Southern Spain, then use trains to complete the journey, staying in Hotels and Hostels. Pros: Easy. Cons: Expensive and have to carry all luggage on Trains, in Taxis etc.
2. Fly to Southern Spain, Hire a car, Drive to Holland, foot passenger ferry or fly back to UK. Pros: More freedom than trains, escape from Italy would be possible and fun. Cons: Expensive – no rental company like one-way rentals (massive fines – one quote was over £1000 for a Renault Clio!) and this would blow most of the accommodation budget.
3. Fly to Malaga, hire a Motorhome, drive the route, but return to Barcelona to drop of the Motorhome (I have found a company who will hire us the van, let us take it out of the country without extra charge, but specify that it has to be return to one of their Spanish depots – Approx cost €1000-1500 + diesel). Pros: Not much more expensive than car, plus no accommodation costs. Freedom. Cons: Lower fuel economy, have to start and finish in Spain (albeit at the other end if we want). Escape from Italy won’t be as rapid (and could potentially be quite scary).
4. Some other way…
On the kind of budget that we are looking at, option three is looking the best. What do you think? Are there any laws in France/Spain/Italy that would prevent us from sleeping by the roadside in laybys or would we have to use campsites? What about drunk in possession of a vehicle (obviously not driving but on a night I wish to sample the local wine produce)? Has anyone done anything like this before – Lessons Learned? Is it even possible?
Any thoughts are appreciated.
A friend and I (whilst slightly under the influence) decided that it would be a good idea to see a bit of Europe this year and so came up with the plan on travelling through the continent, generally having a good time along the way. We have both booked the last week of September and the first week of October off work and come up with a highly detailed plan (hah! - see below) and just have a few loose ends to tie up. This is where you people come in - any advice is appreciated:
The plan initially involved flying to some far-flung eastern European state, but this has been shelved until next year, so here it is:
- Either, fly, train, hire car or motor home (hired) across Western Europe.
MAIN OBJECTIVES – To be achieved
Friend – Spend a few days somewhere where it is still hot enough to catch some rays – probably southern Spain – e.g. Malaga, Almeria, Murcia
Me – Attend the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris (The middle weekend)
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES – Not essential but seem like a good idea
- Visit Barcelona
- Visit Monaco
- Visit Italy
- Do an Italian Job-style escape from Italy over the Alps.
- Visit a friend in Holland (least essential – he was over here last week!)
As you can see the plan is nearly finished, just got to pay for it and go!
BUDGET
Not a lot, the spontaneous nature of this trip mean that neither of us has had time to save up a lot of cash. But looking at between £500 - £1000 each.
METHOD
1. First idea was to fly to Southern Spain, then use trains to complete the journey, staying in Hotels and Hostels. Pros: Easy. Cons: Expensive and have to carry all luggage on Trains, in Taxis etc.
2. Fly to Southern Spain, Hire a car, Drive to Holland, foot passenger ferry or fly back to UK. Pros: More freedom than trains, escape from Italy would be possible and fun. Cons: Expensive – no rental company like one-way rentals (massive fines – one quote was over £1000 for a Renault Clio!) and this would blow most of the accommodation budget.
3. Fly to Malaga, hire a Motorhome, drive the route, but return to Barcelona to drop of the Motorhome (I have found a company who will hire us the van, let us take it out of the country without extra charge, but specify that it has to be return to one of their Spanish depots – Approx cost €1000-1500 + diesel). Pros: Not much more expensive than car, plus no accommodation costs. Freedom. Cons: Lower fuel economy, have to start and finish in Spain (albeit at the other end if we want). Escape from Italy won’t be as rapid (and could potentially be quite scary).
4. Some other way…
On the kind of budget that we are looking at, option three is looking the best. What do you think? Are there any laws in France/Spain/Italy that would prevent us from sleeping by the roadside in laybys or would we have to use campsites? What about drunk in possession of a vehicle (obviously not driving but on a night I wish to sample the local wine produce)? Has anyone done anything like this before – Lessons Learned? Is it even possible?
Any thoughts are appreciated.
:lol: 