Driving across europe

[Hawkesybaby]

Hi all,

new to the forum, have put my newbies intro post up on there for car details etc!

Any guys on here done the UK to Germany trip? Me and the missus will be doing it end of Feb, Tamworth to Dover then over to Calais then through Kassel in the middle of germany to visit some friends.

Just wondering if there is any "inside" knowledge anybody has, any hints and tips and any experiences doing the trip?

Will also be making the pilgrimage to Wolfsburg when im over there as its about 2 hours from Kassel, rude not to going all that way ha!

Thanks in advance guys! 

[AndyBrown]

Not sure of you know this but in France you have to have two breathalysers (disposable ones) in the car and a high viz for each person in the car.

[Deako]

And a full DIN first aid kit. Replacement/spare bulb kit too.

Good luck.

[Golfgirl]

Hi Viz (in the car, not in the boot), spare bulbs, first aid kit, warning triangle.  Turn off the speed camera alerts on your sat nav (highly illegal in France).

[Golfgirl]

See this thread for a discussion on driving in France.

[AndrewJB]

Not sure of you know this but in France you have to have two breathalysers (disposable ones) in the car and a high viz for each person in the car.

I went Spa in 2014 and from what I read on the internet they are phasing this out now and the fine was only 11 euros anyway if you didn't have one. I took my chances and didn't get stopped.

[Hawkesybaby]

All very interesting! I didn't read owt on the web about high viz so that's good to know!

Anyone drove on autobahn?

[th3_f15t]

@DANBOY66 did this trip a while back. Don't forget about car insurance and break down cover plus have loads of cash for tolls along the way.

[Oggy172]

No tolls from Calais to Kassel.

It's a relatively easy drive. France is about 35 mins from Calais -> Belgium, Belgium can get busy at the Antwerpen Ring & Gent but otherwise fine (always seems to rain though!) - Netherlands is straight forward and Autobahn in Germany is great, just remember they have cameras in the tunnels & they're 80kmph. If the limit on the A4 changes in Germany, it's usually for a reason (bridge/deep bend or tunnel) - so slow down.

[GT170]

You need 3mm on M&S spec tyres in Germany this time of year. Also, not sure where Kassel is but the road rolls through Belgium are cheaper then go through Luxembourg.

[dajonic]

Just back from Germany and winter tyres are needed through till easter I think. Driving through France Belgium Netherlands and Germany is a dream. Keep an eye on the speed limits and a lot of the autobahn is "not" unrestricted like you might think and even on the speed limit free sections, junctions and bridges are restricted. Keep your eye's open in the mirrors and get the hell out of the way of a lot of cars that will be flying a lot faster than you, they're not racing you...they really do just get a shift on. Lane discipline is far higher abroad than here. As others have said make sure you carry high viz jackets for every person in the car, bulb kits, warning triangles etc. The worst part is getting off the ferry back in the UK and facing the absolute disgrace of most of the motorists over here.

[wigit]

apart from the stuff in this thread my big recommendation is you take a credit card that does not charge a commission if you use it abroad and withdraw cash, based on recommendations i picked up a Halifax card so took a lot less cash and exchange rate always better than you get in UK for cash transactions

i much prefer driving on the continent

[Cr33D]

Agreed with Dajonic. Winter tyres are a must have at this time due to their law. Regarding travelling via Belgium / Netherlands, I've done this trip 5 times already, and best time is a night time.
I always got ferry at 8PM to get me on the continent around 11PM. Then fly through Belgium and Netherlands which can get really busy.

There is a lot of speed cameras in Belgium so be careful there. Also some roads in Belgium are not in a great condition.

Also I would suggest a ferry to Dunkerque it's slightly closer to Belgium than Calais.
Antwerpen ring might be quite confusing, first time I drove with the map only and it was a nightmare.

Regarding trip I would go:
Dunkerque, Gent, Antwerpen, then E34, Venlo, Dortmund and Kassel. There is no toll charges on this route.

Hope you will enjoy your trip :)

[Tfsi_Mike]

I rememebr doing a couple of circles on the Antwerpen ring my 1st time driving back from Germany lol

[Cr33D]

Brussel is not easier neither... and Antwerpen is less traffic I think. Driving with the map we got stuck as we had a different road marking on the map and different on road signs....
We've ended up in some little town and had to mkae up 70km to get back on the motorway :)