Hi karl and Janice

yes I think we can appreciate how difficult it must be fore people on islands like Malta where all the facilities are aimed at holiday makers going there, not locals wanting a holiday elsewhere!

However, is there any particular reason why you don't want to fly? easy jet [link below] fly from Malta to Milan, Rome, and several places in the UK [for the UK holiday market, i suppose].

http://flights.easyjet.com/en/maltese-isl/malta/cheap-flights

Milan would seem to be a good starting point - from there you could fly to amsterdam say, and work your way back by train through Belgium [in 12 days i might not linger there] and France, or Switzerland.

2 other points- in only 12-15 days you are going to have to prioritise a bit [you can't comfortably do all those places] and are you thinking about May/June THIS year? if so, you'll need to get your skates on!

Hi annhig,

I cant say how happy to see that somehow has replied back yet it seems this topic about holiday makers is so lively that Its no surprise to most of you yet to me it still is.

Me and Janice always took the same way out of this island by plane and like you mentioned, with easy jet and ryan air.I was searching for something more adventures and in one way risky but fun this summer. We both agreed on going overland this time. I might have to agree with you and also disagree with myself, that yes, I could fly to Rome or Milan and rent a car which will be my only transport for that period but I cant explain how I really want to do this trip with my estate that I'm keen to see how it does abroad. So 1st I thought that i might check if it would be possible then if not we go to plan B and rent.

Regarding the time aloud to stay abroad due to janice's parents and her work is in my opinion fair enough. Im hoping for a 15day trip but 12 is what she is aloud to stay. Dont you think that 12-15 days in the places I mentioned would be enough? Sorry for doubting your opinion but I though 12-15 days would be quite good to visit a few places in europe.. haha must have been mistaken since Malta is only 30min away from each point of the country.

I might be a little bit selfish here but is it possible for anyone to plan me a good well balanced 12-15 days European trip for me please. say Milan, France, Amsterdam And back passing trough Swizerland? or is that yet again too long for of a drive for a 12-15 day trip with the car?

Thanks again

I agree that flying seems to bt the fastest, easiest way to get to the mainland.

With 12-15 days I would pick 3-4 locations (not countries but places to stay) so that you have time to experience each place, and not spend most time in transit. So for example you could fly via Milan to Amsterdam, then train to say bruges, then train to Paris, and then fly home via Milan in 12days...with 15 you could add a couple nights in Milan and take an overnight train (for adventure) from Paris....

Any more locations and you spend too much time opinion transit for my tastes. I would spend more time in Paris, then Amsterdam, then Bruges and them Milan ...in descending order.

Hope this helps!!

Yes, there are ferries from Malta (Valetta) to Genoa:

http://www.viamare.com/grandi-navi-veloci-genoa-malta.html

The rest of Europe is a LOT bigger than Malta (I know you know that). But because it is so big it takes a lot of time just to travel from point to point. If you are going to camp, then you will mostly be out in the country and not in cities or near much nightlife.

With just two weeks - if you mostly want to do outdoorsy things you might want to look for 3 or 4 campgrounds all in the same country or maybe in two next door countries. But visiting some of the big cities will complicate things.

I don't know anything about ferries from Malta, so I don't know if taking your own car will work . . . but I suspect flying and renting might be easier.

but is it possible for anyone to plan me a good well balanced 12-15 days European trip for me please. say Milan, France, Amsterdam And back passing trough Swizerland? or is that yet again too long for of a drive for a 12-15 day trip with the car?>>

ok - here's my best shot - which has you driving north through Switzerland, and back through France. you could fly to Amsterdam - but then you would ave high one way hire drop off fees in Milan and this gives you the opportunity to do a different route in each direction.

my other point is this: if you are driving, you may not wish to book your accommodations in advance - but that has the disadvantage that it may be difficult to get places to stay in larger cities. however, given the cost of parking, and the penalties for driving in some city centres, it may be easier to stay outside, and do day trips into the centre.

and I'm ignoring the time it takes you to get to Milan - your choice to fly, sail or swim.

Day 1 - arrive Milan. hire car and drive to Lucerne. stay 2 nights.
Day 3 - head towards the Bodensee [lake Constance - stay one night.]
Day 4 - drive up through the Black Forest to Heidelberg - stay one night.
Day 5 - Drive to Delft - I've picked this town because it's lovely, very different fro Malta, and has very god connections to Amsterdam. i recommend the hotel Bridges. stay 3 nights.
Day 8 - drive to Reims - stay one night.
Day 9 - drive to ? [your choice in France - Annecy would be nice as it's on a lake, stay 2 nights.
Day 11 - drive to Geneva - explore the lake - stay?
Day 12 - drive back to Milan.

there are an infinite no of variations on this theme.

but it might give you somewhere to start.

Hi guys,

You all have been very kind to me and also I have to say that most of you especially annhig has opened my eyes to reduce the amount of travelling I should do, to enjoy a peaceful and tranquil holiday that i was most looking for. Basically this is what I came up with so far. I have shortened the distance of travelling and spending most of my time around Italy and furthest would be Switzerland as I am the most keen to see.

I made some homework today and discovered that at this time of the year there is a ferry from Malta to Salerno ( still far away but we better off not complaining) This will probably cost me 330euro each way including the car and 2 passengers.

I once again come back to you guys. Since you have been so much help for me and Janice I cant not ask the same question once again.

15 day Trip From Salerno to Switzerland.
Preferably staying in Switzerland for at least 3-4 days.
As you can see and also read from. I have nothing concrete yet but lets just hope that you guys can plan me a beautiful trip full of gorgeous scenarios, good food, nice beaches and also some physical challenges, that we most probably go for. asking for too much eyyy

Thanks
Regards
Karl & Janice

P.S remember I will have my camping gear on so camp sites could be included

I made some homework today and discovered that at this time of the year there is a ferry from Malta to Salerno ( still far away but we better off not complaining) This will probably cost me 330euro each way including the car and 2 passengers. >>

why, when your focus is Switzerland, spend €660 just to get to Salerno when for quite a lot less [and less driving] you could fly to milan, and be on the doorstep?

but it's your trip.

you'll need to allow at least 2 days each way to drive from Salerno to the Swiss border, which limits your time in Switzerland to about 10 days. i suggest splitting that into 3 sections - one for each of three areas.

do you know where in Switzerland you want to go?

Since you have changed your plan to include just Italy and Switzerland, with more days in Italy, you must have a reason to want to spend so much of you vacation in Italy. What particular places or cities in Italy interest you? Can you offer any ideas?

It would be easier for us to advise if you provide a few ideas like "We don't like cities much, but we MUST visit Florence so we can see Michelangelo's David" of "Janice dreams of riding a gondola in Venice" or "We want to hike the Val Gardena." Just a few hints would help us help you.

(Most people who participate in these forums do not do much camping, so hopefully one of the few who do will see your post and add suggestions.)

Hi guys,

Hope all is well. we finally made our 1st step towards our overland holiday. some of you, or the majority of you might not like what you read and might consider it as a wrong one but it's what I had in mind all year round and its finally being planned the way I wished to.

Even though getting out of the island and arriving to our 1st destination might have cost us more then we wished for but we finally booked it. So here it is. As i said before i was planning that I would make the trip by my everyday car that I find incredibly comfortable, my BMW 320d estate.

Saturday 26th May 5am- Depart from Malta to Pozzalo via Catamaran arrive approximately 6.30am and head to Palermo for a 5hr or so drive. Spend some time there or either Cefalu which I heard is wonderful.

11pm- catch the ferry/cruise liner to Genoa for a approximatley 1day trip via Grandi Navi Veloci which finally gets us closer to the rest of europe.

Since I always had in mind to visit most of the places in europe rather than just italy and Switzerland now I can do more, in my opinion. Even though some of you said that doing that would take most of our holiday traveling rather then relaxing which I agree and tend to not doing.

SO my 1st question would have to be. Do you think that 12days are enough to go from Genoa to Amsterdam?

I might be asking the same questions but I wanted to start over now that I have a starting point. apologies for that.

Maybe after your kind replies I will know more in detail where we have in mind to go furthest and so on

Thanks
Karl and Janice

If you are planning to drive your car rental may charge you additional $500 for being under 25, and also another similar amount if you are planning to drop it off in another country -- one way rental.

Given your circumstances and the length of your stay, it may make sense to do a short-lease for a car, these have been available to non-euro citizens for over 50 years, it's a tax free program with full insurance coverage, and you get a brand new car... cant beat it!

Two companies do this now: Renault and Volkswagen
Check out-
http://RenaultUSA.com

http://VWCarsineurope.com

Paul_M: "If you are planning to drive your car rental may charge you additional $500 for being under 25, and also another similar amount if you are planning to drop it off in another country -- one way rental.

Given your circumstances and the length of your stay, it may make sense to do a short-lease for a car, . . ."

Since he is taking his OWN none of that is relevant.

Karl-Pulo: "SO my 1st question would have to be. Do you think that 12 days are enough to go from Genoa to Amsterdam?"

Sure you could drive it in 12 days - and even see a few things. But then you have the loooooong drive back so no, I don't personally think you'd want to do Malta > Genoa > Amsterdam > Genoa > Malta in 12 to 15 days

<<it's what I had in mind all year round and its finally being planned the way I wished to.>>

Not sure why you are asking for advice.