Travel itinery for a family of 4.
Jan 25th, 2015, 09:05 PM
#1
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Travel itinery for a family of 4.
We are a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids aged 5 years and 2 years). We will be traveling to Europe for a 6 week holiday in April. We plan to hire car seats for each part of our travel. Our rough plan is:
1. Fly into Paris and spend 1 week there
2. Hire a motor home for 1.5 weeks traveling around Normandy and Belgium returning to town outside Paris (eg Sens).
3. Spend 12 nights in Southern France and Northern Spain [car hire]
4. Spend 8 nights in Lucca [car hire]
5. Spend 4 nights in Rome
6. Fly out from Rome
Now regarding car hire:
I thought we could hire car from Sens and drop off at Toulouse (12 day car hire).
Then perhaps catch a Train from Toulouse to Pisa.
Hire car from Pisa and then return to Pisa (8 day car hire)
Catch train from Pisa to Rome
How does this look? I am worried that we have too many days of picking up cars and catching trains but I'm unsure how to fix this.
1. Fly into Paris and spend 1 week there
2. Hire a motor home for 1.5 weeks traveling around Normandy and Belgium returning to town outside Paris (eg Sens).
3. Spend 12 nights in Southern France and Northern Spain [car hire]
4. Spend 8 nights in Lucca [car hire]
5. Spend 4 nights in Rome
6. Fly out from Rome
Now regarding car hire:
I thought we could hire car from Sens and drop off at Toulouse (12 day car hire).
Then perhaps catch a Train from Toulouse to Pisa.
Hire car from Pisa and then return to Pisa (8 day car hire)
Catch train from Pisa to Rome
How does this look? I am worried that we have too many days of picking up cars and catching trains but I'm unsure how to fix this.
Jan 25th, 2015, 10:23 PM
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Hi Jayne, just a remark about the motorhome. Research this carefully. I live in Belgium, you don't see many motorhomes. You are going to have to plan your itinerary around the motorhome and find campings where you can park it and stay overnight. You will not be able to enter any cities with it. It's more common to see caravans attached to a car - you can leave the caravan on a camping site, and use the car to get around for sightseeing.
The Dutch word for motorhome is 'camper'. www.campersite.be lists places where you can park. It's in Dutch, but you may find some useful links there.
The Dutch word for motorhome is 'camper'. www.campersite.be lists places where you can park. It's in Dutch, but you may find some useful links there.
Jan 26th, 2015, 12:15 AM
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***I live in Belgium, you don't see many motorhomes.*** All I can say is you don't get out much then.;-)
http://www.kapaza.be/nl/motorhomes
http://www.2dehands.be/caravans-kamperen/campers/
To the OP yes there is time spent on changing vehicles. But what maybe the a small point you have not thought about is the amount of time allowed for each stage. If you are not reserving any overnight stays/accommodation and going with the flow then it will be fine as you can cut short any plans if you run out of time allocated for that section.
The idea above about towing a car behind the camper is not allowed in Spain. All cars have to be on trailers or flat beds when they are not being driven on the road. Plus this means double hire fees.
Check that camping sites are open in April. it maybe too early for some.
In Europe there are special areas where you can discharge your waste water and fill up with clear water. This website is in France but does give you a list of such places.
http://www.eurocampingcar.com/ffcc.php
If you use a GPS ensure it is specifically for campers. If not you could end up down roads which are not suitable for campers.
http://www.kapaza.be/nl/motorhomes
http://www.2dehands.be/caravans-kamperen/campers/
To the OP yes there is time spent on changing vehicles. But what maybe the a small point you have not thought about is the amount of time allowed for each stage. If you are not reserving any overnight stays/accommodation and going with the flow then it will be fine as you can cut short any plans if you run out of time allocated for that section.
The idea above about towing a car behind the camper is not allowed in Spain. All cars have to be on trailers or flat beds when they are not being driven on the road. Plus this means double hire fees.
Check that camping sites are open in April. it maybe too early for some.
In Europe there are special areas where you can discharge your waste water and fill up with clear water. This website is in France but does give you a list of such places.
http://www.eurocampingcar.com/ffcc.php
If you use a GPS ensure it is specifically for campers. If not you could end up down roads which are not suitable for campers.
Jan 26th, 2015, 01:34 AM
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It must be the area where I live then. You see caravans, but I don't know anyone who uses a motorhome, nor do you see many on the roads. And try driving one in Brussels or Antwerp.
You don't tow a car behind a camper or motorhome - you use a caravan towed behind a car. You see plenty of those on the ringroads around Antwerp, usually towed by Dutch cars on their way to Spain...
You don't tow a car behind a camper or motorhome - you use a caravan towed behind a car. You see plenty of those on the ringroads around Antwerp, usually towed by Dutch cars on their way to Spain...
Jan 26th, 2015, 02:19 AM
#5
Lucca centre is more or less car free (inside the walls), in fact Top Gear (a UK TV show) had a competition to see which of the numpties could drive out of the centre (one failed), so given the age of kids choose your hotel carefully for access or clossness to external carparks.
Jan 26th, 2015, 06:43 AM
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I don't think OP intends to tow a car behind a motorhome but to first hire a motorhome, and then a car.
Unless you have a burning desire to hire a motorhome I would stick with a car. Campers (motorhomes) are nowhere near as big as in the US, and you could soon get fed up with each others company. Fuel is expensive and campers are thirsty beasts, even small ones. They are a pain for visiting towns, unless you have bikes so you can't park outside and cycle (or catch a bus) in to the centre. You will need a fairly big camper for the four of you, which will make it even more of a pain.
In France especially they are very prone to being broken into as well.
Most camper rentals are for a minimum of two full weeks in the summer so you would be paying for days you don't use if you return it early.
Official campsites can get expensive too, and special camper sites would not offer anything for your children - they are basically carparks with an electric hook-up if you are lucky. Some don't even allow you to sit outside the camper!
I'm not really trying to put you off, just telling you how it is in Europe with a camper.
Unless you have a burning desire to hire a motorhome I would stick with a car. Campers (motorhomes) are nowhere near as big as in the US, and you could soon get fed up with each others company. Fuel is expensive and campers are thirsty beasts, even small ones. They are a pain for visiting towns, unless you have bikes so you can't park outside and cycle (or catch a bus) in to the centre. You will need a fairly big camper for the four of you, which will make it even more of a pain.
In France especially they are very prone to being broken into as well.
Most camper rentals are for a minimum of two full weeks in the summer so you would be paying for days you don't use if you return it early.
Official campsites can get expensive too, and special camper sites would not offer anything for your children - they are basically carparks with an electric hook-up if you are lucky. Some don't even allow you to sit outside the camper!
I'm not really trying to put you off, just telling you how it is in Europe with a camper.
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