European road trip advice


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Hi there, I am looking to drive with a few friends round Europe in October from the 20th to the 29th. I am planning to pick my girlfriend up from Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland. So far here is the plan:


 


Day 1: Drive from Surrey and get the ferry to Calais/Dunkirk, from there drive as far as possible East. (I was thinking of avoiding the toll roads and driving into Belgium and Luxembourg)


Day 2: Drive the rest of the way to Lauterbrunnen.


Day 3: Drive to Lucerne, Switzerland


Day 4: Drive to Monza and Brianza, Italy then on to Monaco and stop inMarseille, France.


Day 5: Drive to Barcelona, Spain


Day 6: Stay in Barcelona


Day 7: Stay in Barcelona.


Day 8/9/10 Drive back home through Le Mans, France and catch the ferry back home.


 


I've had a look on google maps and it's about 2700 miles. I am looking to minimize toll roads if possible so if anyone had any tips that will be really useful.


 


I have never driven on the wrong side of the road before and I've been trying to think of a list of things I will need. So far all I can think of is:


Warning Triangle


Hi-vis jacket (Is it one per person?)


GB sticker as I don't have a European number plate.


2x Breathalyzers


Headlight deflectors


European breakdown cover


240v inverter


lots of music.


Satnav


 


Will I require anything else? Do i need snow chains in my car? I'm a bit confused if I will need them for northern Italy or Switzerland.


 


The country's I will be driving in are England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco and Spain. Any law's/tips I need to know about these countries?


 


I've already brought a roof box and a 12v electric coolbox for the car in preparation!


 


Thanks,


 


James.


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What a lucky guy. When I lived in Surrey (Farnham) I always dreamt of driving. But I could drive only up to Amsterdam and quickly got distracted by the beauty.

It took me few hrs to acclimatise driving on the wrong side. But nothing you can't manage. You can even hire car in France if you want to be totally sure of being in a compatible car.

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I don't mind driving my car, I should always have a passenger in the front so they can tell me when it is clear to overtake. I would hope that I don't get too distracted on the drive, I think i'll just have some days of constant driving which i'm fine with especially since I drive a diesel and recently got cruise control retrofitted. 

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I would love to go to Nuremberg but it's a bit too far out of the way. I think the fact that I would be driving through Monza, Monaco and Le Mans will make up for it!  

 

 

post-114190-0-40971800-1411494195.png

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I take it theres no room in your budget to hire a left hand drive car? It makes it a lot easier to stay on the right side of the road. Although to be fair after a while it should be easier, it just takes concentration.

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You will need vignette when entering Switzerland, costs 40 CHF for a year. You will be able to buy it at the border. There are road signs which informs you about the need for chains, but I doubt you gonna need those. For the future, only summer tires are allowed in Italy till October 14. Even universal/all-year-round tires are not allowed. For the toll roads in France, it's something like ~10EUR per 100km.

 

Warning: Switzerland is strict about speeding. Serious speeding can get you in jail from 1 to 4 years (new rules since 2013).

 

Also remember that in France highway is 90kmph or more, Switzerland - 80kmph.

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In Luxembourg, you can go 130km/h on most moterways, sometimes it's 110km/h. Be mindful of tunnels, it's always 90km/h there on every kind of motorway. The police usually lets you go 10% above the speedlimit (e.g. 140km/h) but don't rely on that too much. Best you stick to the rules. (In Germany, depending on where you are, you can go as fast as your car lets you. It's amazing going 190km/h and getting overtaken by an Audio R8 going at least 230km/h xD)

 

 

We only have 4 major motorways, so if you happen to get stuck traffic (usually happens between 15:30 and 19:00 what with tens of thousands of people leaving the country to drive home to Germany, France and Belgium) leave the motorway as soon as you can, go for a drink, go for a walk and then drive on. Once traffic locks up here, it's massively painful and very slow to clear up since everything locks up at once everywhere.

 

No need for vignettes here. Also, there's no toll anywhere and no stationary radar posts.

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You will need vignette when entering Switzerland, costs 40 CHF for a year. You will be able to buy it at the border. There are road signs which informs you about the need for chains, but I doubt you gonna need those. For the future, only summer tires are allowed in Italy till October 14. Even universal/all-year-round tires are not allowed. For the toll roads in France, it's something like ~10EUR per 100km.

 

Warning: Switzerland is strict about speeding. Serious speeding can get you in jail from 1 to 4 years (new rules since 2013).

 

Also remember that in France highway is 90kmph or more, Switzerland - 80kmph.

 

Is that for real? What on earth....

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Is that for real? What on earth....

 

I believe david has it slightly wrong. The rule in italy is that during summer months, the speed rating of the tyres used must exceed both 160km/h and the top speed of your car.

 

So - if your car has a top speed of 140km/h, you have to have tyres which are rated for at least 160km/h. If your car has a top speed of 200km/h, your tyres must be rated at least 200mk/h. The law is to stop people using "winter" tyres which are rated lower than a car's top speed (e.g. for snow) in summer.

 

E.g. My car has a top speed of 140mph. During winter, I can use any tyre I like in Italy. During summer, I would have to have tyres rated at least "V". If I entered italy with tyres rated "H" I'd be braking the law.

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Crazy, just getting used to this summer tires stuff myself. Sounds like a fun trip this.

Oh and swing on by to N?rnberg, that's where I am! Lol. OK well yeah you said its out of your way but hey I'm worth it! :p

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