Road-tripping round Europe
As an Australian living in England, the fact that one can hire or buy a car or van and pop over to Europe on the Ferry is mind boggling!
That so many countries are so close up here in the Northern Hemisphere makes road tripping a whole different kettle of fish!
My last two summers have been spent travelling around Europe with my life and my bed all neatly packed up in a van.
A brilliant loop of Europe in the summer starts with a quick trip down the western coast of France stopping wherever takes your fancy- we chose La Rochelle and did not regret it (although we couldn’t help but spend a couple of nights in one of the paris hostels)! From there you can head to Pamplona in Spain to enjoy the spectacle that is the running of the bulls. After a manic time there, head down into Portugal, particularly Lagos for some sun and relaxing with a hint of hedonism! From the southern tip of Portugal it is a very short drive and then boat trip to Morocco, so drop off your trusty vehicle and treat yourself to a night or two of luxury in a hotel in Morocco.
Back into Europe and off up to Madrid and Barcelona for a spot of Spanish culture. From this point on the daily drives become shorter stints, but remember if you have more time stop more places and save yourself big days of driving. There are some of us though who love nothing more than a good long drive through ever changing scenery with some good tunes on the stereo.
Next is the French Riviera, lovely to see but definitely a shorter part of your journey unless you have serious cash reserves.
From here you can either head straight back up through France and home to work, but if you have the time, the cash and the commitment I suggest you do as we did and carry on!
The itinerary is as follows but it is by no means set in stone! Italy (Cinque Terre, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Milan, Florence and Venice, then leave the van in Bari and hit the Greek Islands or head straight over to Croatia with your trusty van. Next stop Slovenia particularly Lake Bled, and on to Austria. From here you can hit the three main cities of Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest in a ridiculously short time. Head up from Budapest to Poland making sure not to miss Krakow (a brilliant often underrated city) on the way to Warsaw. From there hit Berlin, nip into the Czech Republic for Prague and down to Munich for the world famous Oktoberfest in September.
This is all possible in the three months between end of June and end of September and makes for a brilliant life experience to remember forever.