Euro Trip based on a set budget.
 

Just thought I'd throw this out there, see if anyone interested, or think its a good idea.

I want to do something this summer, not sure what but it will be within Europe. Anyone feel like doing something where the return date is flexible, only determined by a set amount of funds, say £1000-1500. Mostly camping and being fairly self sufficient. Supermarket beer round the camp fire rather than bar prices.

Just a thought, but I'm gagging to get something planned. Had a crappy start to the year, need something to look forward to.

Sounds like a good basis for a trip !

But I would sit down now and fix a departure date, get time booked off work and get the ferry booked. If your dates and plans match with others then they can join you. You will usually find like minded bikers on most campsites where beer often acts as a great icebreaker. Or you might just just bump into other travellers on the road - where you can tag along together if your schedules match up.

Once plans start falling into place the start of the year can be put behind you and positive thoughts for the summer will come to the fore !

Just do it :mchappy::mchappy::mchappy::mchappy:

Have a great time !

Tbh I can kind of pick a date out of the air as I'm self employed. Therefore I'd be quite happy to set a dept date that suits others ( within reason, don't want to be going in November !! )

Originally I was thinking early July, just before the kids break up. If push came to shove I would leave alone, but I'd rather have a bit of like minded company to shoot the shit with at the end of the day ( If Sandra Bullock is a member and wants to come..........:welcome:)

I would be interested in knowing roughly how long you’re planning to be away?

I’ve been thinking of getting away around the same time as you (time frame/dates are not critical to me), and would also base my journey in Europe, certainly there are plenty of places to visit.

I’ve not been camping for several years and don’t currently have any kit, I’ve preferred the cheap overnight stops such as Formula 1 etc, but I could (maybe) be persuaded if the weather was good !!!

Budget sounds about right and depending on how many beers are downed the trip presumably could last a good few weeks ???

As we’re not far apart maybe a get together could be planned to discuss the finer details.

Morning all sounds like a great idea. Like you had rocky start to the year and a summer trip would be great to plan towards. Did Grenoble last year camping and as sites so good and cheap about 10 euros makes the money go further. Do use logis de France sometimes on bigger mileage days just easier then putting tent up and down again in morning. Met some fantastic people and nothing better cooking over camp stove and chilling having a beer. I will watch and if funds available will join you. Just moved completed yesterday solo this time so low on funds and not sure what's in the pot. Self employed also so within reason very flexible. As name suggests have xl1000 perfect for lugging me and all my camping kit about reasonable speed great comfort. What countries you thinking about visiting. I have travelled France Germany Austria and Italy but only camped France and Belgium. £1500 can get you long way on the cheap. Supermarkets great prices and quality. Will keep eye on thread and confirm soon as and work improves. Take care John

I'm picking up a Vara on Saturday, funnily enough. Countries to visit I havent really made up my mind. What I would say is I'm not into loads of big mileage days on boring major roads, and would rather spend my time where the roads are good and scenery spectacular. I think 250 miles per day is enough, means you can be getting off the bike and pitching your tent at 4 pm instead of 7.
I have always had the urge to visit Auschwitz, and would like to ride the Croatia coast road. I'm sure I'll think of more in due course, but quality not quantity is where my preferences are. Also not adverse to setting a day or 2 aside each week just for chilling round a pool and generally doing something different.

Not a bad idea, where are you based ??

Oh, and for time away.......few weeks I guess. Not looking to eat boiled rice morning noon & night, but not lord it up either. I looked at booking a Eurotunnel, with the return as a flexi ticket, but it seems to be much cheaper to book a one way out, leaving the return till one knows the required date.
I havent camped for a few years, but July on the continent aint gonna be cold for sure. Also means you can get a barbeque going, so eating will be cheap to. The odd hotel might be welcome for sure, but as long as its the odd night, not most nights.

Thought I'd bump this, don't want it to dissapear. Anyone interested in something along these lines give me a shout, we can put some ideas into the hat :thumbup1:

I'm based in East Kent not far from Canterbury, so if you're in Essex we're only a river crossing apart, I'm available pretty much any day for a get together and a coffee, let me know how you're fixed and a good meeting point.

Certainly your description of around 250 miles a day, scenic routes and keeping off the main highways all sounds like my type of tour. I've not been down to Spain or Italy, or for that matter a lot of other places in Europe, and to be honest I'm not to bothered where we travel, as they say it's more about the journey, the company and the banter that's important, not the destination.

I'm away in June so would want a few weeks at home before departing, mid to end of July would be my preferred departure time, getting back to the UK (when the money runs out) approx end of August, how does this fit with your ideas?

I have a post up for a trip to Spain Portugal in May, come back June. Cost are about £150 in petrol down. Flat approx. £12.50 a night each. Food I buy local and cook in the flat. a lot cheaper. Cheap hotel's down F1 about 30 euro's a night for two. Some you can get cheaper. I've done the trip a few time's, so it show's it's a nice place to ride round. Well worth the money. Let me know.
John933

My phone would route France Germany Austria Slovenia into Croatia. I too have dreamed about riding the croatian coast road. Have watched videos on YouTube. And read items on various touring sites. Shows about 1250 miles only thing I would add is riding through Italy. The old Brenner Pass scenery out of this world riding along side the river with the mountains either side. Have promised my self return to southern Austria / Italian border. There is a small biker pension the rooms look down the valley into Italy breathtaking. Not sure if do able on the budget you suggested but hoping others will give advice. How would that sound to you looks like I may have work ahead so fingers crossed

Croatia is great !
 

I did a trip in August last year down Italy to Bari and across on ferry to Dubrovnik, Croatia. 7-8hrs crossing leaves midday & arrives 7pm ish. It is indeed a a great coastline to ride. But do go inland as the country is quite different in both areas. Camp-sites are easy to find on the coast road in most places. Technically your EU insurance does not cover you in BHi, but we had no issues at the border crossing on the main coast road out and back into Croatia, it's a short bit to cross. Riders on American plates were pulled over though, as expected.

You may not manage 250 miles in a day everyday, as some roads are much harder work and more tiring than others. I did about 4500 miles in 24 days there were 3 big mile days of circa 500 miles beginning, middle & end leaving less than 150 miles to do each day on average. Some days were 0 miles days. That left plenty of time for exploring on and off the bike.

I will have a word with Sandra Bullock when I see her next........... :rofl:

That would be much appreciated Tim.

What about this....FR,DE,POL( Auschwitz) SLOV,HUN,SERB,CROATIA.......Sorry for shouting, I shall now be quiet somewhere :oops2:

Lee tar
 

Hi there I am in the south of France near Avignon if you need any help a place to shower wash clothes spend the night etc let me know , I think we should have enough room to take a couple of tents and enough room for parking .
Martin

Thats awfully decent of you old chap. I'll bear that in mind, thanks :thumbup1:

Hi leevtr
I am heading of this week on a sole trip around Europe taking in france Switzerland Italy Greece Bulgaria Romania Serbia Croatia Italy and back to Calais then home. 21 to 30 days depends on where the road takes me
I am the same camping and a beer around the camp site chillout
If it helps ill post some good and bad stays along the way

That would be great, cheers. Good luck and enjoy !!

For that kind of money. You could come with me down to Portugal in May, Still come back with change. Leaving on the 14 from Dover. Have a place booked. Nothing like a roof over your head. Secure bike park as well. Let me know if you want to come along.
John933

Appreciate the offer mate but I want to be going in the other direction if I'm honest.

good idea
 

what do you think about greece?
might be a great tour for about september.

Lee, just sent you a pm, apologies for not getting back sooner.

Rough guide
 

Just did a very rough outline of something, shoot me down in flames if I'm way off;
Route; France/Germany/Poland/Slovakia/Hungary/Romania/Serbia/Montenegro/Croatia/ Slovenia/Italy/Home

Based on £1500 budget


Duration away...3 weeks/21 days.
Days Riding 15 ( 2 days off per week )
Total mileage ( Approx ) 4000
Miles per riding day 270
Fuel cost £ 500
Camping £ 300
Balance £ 700/21 days = £33.00 per day for food/drink/whatever.

Would like to do Auschwitz, Transilvanian Alps ( Transfagarasen ) and The Croatia Coast road. Other than that, as long as motorways/dual carriageways are kept to a minimum, I'm open to suggestions.

Again, I did use google earth for mileages, and added some in for a margin.

Do able ???

Time frame and numbers seem about right, only problem might be insurance in certain countries you've listed.

My insurance company, Carol Nash, will cover me in all countries apart from, "Romania/Serbia/Montenegro/Slovenia", not sure why or if they do cover any other countries, just looked at what's listed on the policy and these countries are not mentioned. So not sure what would happen if a problem occurs in any of these places - Separate insurance ???

Certainly the route looks fantastic, although I'm not sure what the roads would be like in certain countries? All tarmac? Gravel? Dirt?

The only thing not listed is costs for getting over to France and back to the UK, If it's Euro-tunnel I'm not sure what costs would be for one way tickets as I presume you wouldn't want to book a return crossing until back in France ??? This could cost a couple of hundred quid !!!

Hi Lee,
Im interested in joining you on this trip depending on deperture date, im away until 4th July. The route sounds great, I too would like to visit the places you have mentioned. Re getting to France, the tunnel, depending on time of travel, off peak and book a little bit in advance costs £39 one way. Look forward to your reply.
Peter

80 quid return..... as for insurance I'm sure it's not too difficult.

Sorry, my reply was a bit short, but I was at work and using my phone.

Personally I would be happy to book the return ticket on this, for these reasons;
The daily mileage isn't a stretch, and if you factor in the 2 spare days per week, even if there was a problem day or 2, theres plenty of scope to make it up. This being the case, doing the trip in the allocated time isn't an issue. Obviously theres always a possibility of a big problem, but I think all you can do is your best to avoid that, and be covered for that unlikely event.
Insurance for the countries mentioned will need to be addressed, but with that many people doing RTW's, this must be nothing more than a phone call to the right broker.
As for the roads, I'm sure it would be all paved....I bloody hope so, as my bike weighs a ton and I've never done any off roading.
Funny you mention July 4th, as I was looking to go around that time, but nothing fixed in my head really. Would be good to have a meet, discuss things a little further. I dont want this to end up as another trip that was just talked about tbh.
I think thats it for now :confused1:

Hello Peter. The more the merrier ( within reason I think ).

:welcome::welcome:

Just contacted my insurance company (Carol Nash) who tell me my current insurer will not cover or upgrade for countries outside the EU.

The only option they have given is to cancel my existing policy (only recently taken this out) and set up a new policy with an insurer who will cover other countries - Obviously at a cost !!!

Is there anyway of avoiding this, ie is there an insurance company that will cover countries outside the EU for a short period of time ???

I have read that it's possible to buy insurance at borders but this may not be the most cost effective or even worth the paper it's written on, so I would prefer to have this sorted in advance.

I'm with Carol Nash to, you just saved me a phone call !!

It depends on which company the policy is with, (you should be able to see this on your insurance documents), the company that covers me is "Market Study Insurance Group".

Carol Nash list countries covered as:

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic Ireland, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey.

I believe these countries are standard cover for Carol Nash, but you would need to check with them as it does depend on the actual insurance company.

Not sure how you would get to Greece, if you wanted too, (unless by boat), as you would have to pass through a country that's not covered on the insurance !!!

I just did a bit of digging and it looks like you can buy it in person from an ADAC office in Germany. I just send an email to the relevant person, and will hopefully be able to update you on Tuesday over breakfast.

Originally Posted by Desperado01 View Post
Some good news for those driving to Serbia: since January 1, 2012, as per the Multilateral Agreement signed with EEA member states, Serbia is a member of the International Motor Insurance Green Card System under section III.

What does this mean for you? From that day, anyone having an insurance policy from any EU state (+ Andorra, Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland) can travel to Serbia without needing the Green card itself. The national vehicle registration plate substitutes the green card. The same applies to Serbian drivers going to EU + above states.

Under the Multilateral agreement, insurers from the above countries MUST provide insurance to Serbia. It is no longer optional for the insurer to provide coverage for Serbia, but an obligation.

The insurance coverage for Serbia (identified as SRB) does not apply to the region of Kosovo/UMNIK (UN resolution 1244).

From January 1, 2012, Montenegro has become a member of the Green card system. It is identified as MNE. The green card policy with code SRB no longer applies to Montenegro. If traveling to Montenegro, you DO need the green card, and you MUST check with your insurer if they cover your trip to Montenegro or not.

Just a quick update for anyone remotely interested. I called Carol Nash today, and for £41.80, they will add Serbia and Montenegro onto my cover for 1 week. These were the only 2 countries not already covered automatically, so problem solved.
Now....Eurotunnel booking here we come !!!! Anyone fancy it ?