ItchyfeetT

Hello all, i'm new to this site and this is in fact my first post. My names Tommy and im from Ireland. Myself and my girlfriend (with my persuasion ) are planning on 2 weeks driving in europe, we plan on getting the ferry to england and the channel tunnel to france as this is the cheapest option. We'll be arriving in Calais and from there intend to go to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam we plan to travel down through Germany to Switzerland and traverse the Alps to lausanne, then back north to Paris, Calais and home! Now i know it seems ambitious but the driving is what i want to do, of all places switzerland and the Alps is what really appeals to me so i don't mind 5/6 hours a day in the car to achieve getting there! We do plan on doing a dry run around Ireland first as this will be our first driving holiday, to see how we fare out in the car for long hours! We will be bringing our own car so won't need to worry about renting them as quite frankly from what ive seen their astronomically expensive! We do intend to camp our way around as well to keep costs down, so other than the basic travellers survivor kits and documentation we're going to need im looking for any advice anyone may have, things to watch out for etc.... dangers lurking behind toll booths and the like lol

All input will be gratefully appreciated!!


Tommy

bilboburgler

Tommy, start here to get an idea of the rules for each country.
http://driving.drive-alive.co.uk/

Note that the Swiss have a vignette system, that France has toll roads and that Germany does not

Now go to the library and see if you can get the rough guide for each of the countries. I've just been comparing Lonely planet with rough guide and RG is so much better.

logos999

Sounds reasonable. There's nothing new under the sun. Most people posting here are from the US, always going the same places and doing the same "touristy" things. So maybe you read everything here and get a decent camping guide. Then decide what you want to do. It's easy. I'd worry a little about the right hand drive of your car, but since you're two people, it should be managable.

logos999

Probably the most important thing is to remember that your car has asymmetric headlights so you'll need this sticker for the left beam.

ItchyfeetT

Cheers for the replies guys!! So far i already have a link to the drive alive site saved and a link to where to buy beam benders for the headlights im on work experience today so ive had a good chance to research and plan my route

Tommy