maria_maria

My partner and I are travelling Europe for the first time between July and October 2015, and we would like some advices and tips on our itinerary.
We want to fly into Amsterdan (on the 24th of July maybe), spend 2 or 3 days there (is it enough or too much?). Catch a train to Paris where we will get our car (Peugeout Eurodrive Program). Here starts our insecurities about our itinerary. Our main focus is Spain... we want to spend most of our time there. Keep this in mind
We have to be in Dádpuszta, Hungary, on Friday the 31st of July. We would LOVE to drive through Switzerland on our way there. We know its a bit out of the way, but seems possible. We are not thinking about stopping too much in Switzerland cause we heard everything is pretty expensive, so are planning on just driving through to at least experience the beautiful drive. Then we need to decide if we will go through Austria or Slovenia (what one do you recommend?). And how long should we allow ourselves to get from Paris to Hungary in a good pace (not in a rush but not so slow). Is 5 days enough or too much? And what places along the way do you recommend us to stop for a visit (eat, sleep , etc)? We heard South of France is a lot more beautiful than the North, so maybe we don´t need to spend too much time there, we could drive through it as much as possible. Do you agree on this?

We will spend a week in Dádpuszta, Hungary, at Ozora Festival and we have 10 days to get from there to Primislje, Karlovačka, Croatia, where we will be attending Momento Demento Festival for another week. What places betweetn these 2 places do you recommend us to stop for a visit?
After the festival, 24th of August, we want to start heading towards Spain, visiting a little bit of Croatia along the way and Italy. Mainly Italy. Any recommendations?
Then we would like to head towards Cassis, France, where we want to visit Calanques D´en Vau. What road should we get to get there from Italy?
Once in Spain we want to explore the countryside as much as possible (but not forgetting about Barcelona and Madrid). We want to see the most of Spain, the most amazing small towns, etc. If we have time, we would visit Portugal, but it isn´t necessary. As long as we spend a precious time in Spain, we are happy. So any tips, advices and recommendations on this country will be very much appreciated.
We would drop the car off somwhere in France, close to Spain border, and catch a train back to Amsterdam to get our flight back to Australia.

Sorry the novel and the poor english. And thank in advance for your time.

bilboburgler

I'm sorry I got lost some where could you dig out the dates/places in sequence because I struggle to see it. What I will offer so far is

Slovenia/Austria is a fine route, if you go on Swiss or Austrian motorways (and I think Slovenia) you will need a vignette for each country.

Where do you fly into again?

Rubicund

So you arrive in Amsterdam on the 24th July and want to be in Hungary a week later. You want to spend 2/3 nights in Amsterdam and then catch a train to Paris. Allowing for the travel and car pick up, you will only have 2 or 3 days to get to Hungary. This doesn't allow much time for sightseeing along the way and if it was my trip, I think I'd ditch Amsterdam and go straight to Paris, using the 2/3 nights gained to get to your festival.

That's a heck of a lot of Psytrance by the way in a short time 0-) Can't help you with Croatia or Hungary, but once you get back towards Italy then Venice is the obvious place to stop for a couple of nights.

From there maybe the South of France, then round the Gulf to towards Perpignan and down to Barcelona. With your car, I'd stay outside to avoid the parking costs. You don't say how long you've got for this leg, so it's difficult to recommend. Do you have to return the car to Paris or can you leave it elsewhere?

maria_maria

24th to 26th July - Amsterdam
27th to 31st July - Paris to Hungary by car (going through Switzerland and Slovenia or Austria - which one do you recommend?) - And how do i get this vignette? Is that part of France worth a visit? Should we spare more days to do this part of the trip? We are flexible with dates to start the trip, but we have to be in Hungary on the 31st of July.
10th to 19th August - Hungary to Croatia
25th of August to 18th October - Croatia to Spain (stopping in Italy and France along the way)
18th to 19th October - heading towards somewhere in South France to return the car and catch a train to Paris to fly back home on the 20th of October.

bilboburgler

maria, thanks, I'd get to Hungary by driving through Austria Slovakia (to the north via Germany as that makes most sense). My BIL would do the drive in 18 hours non-stop but I suggest 3 days is the minimum logical with two nights stop say at Ulm and Bratislava. Yes Paris to say Mulhouse or Strasbourg takes you past lovely countryside.

If you go South to Croatia then Austria Slovenia (-venia not -vakia) makes complete sense with the Julian Alps for a bit of wondering. But you are now in the high season for holidays so space will be at a premium,

Good idea to Amble from Croatis to Spain, loads of places to visit which by September will be more enjoyable

You buy the vignettes at the border (which is not there anymore) or online search for the word in each country

As a general note do not leave anything showing in your car.

bilboburgler

"South of France is a lot more beautiful than the North" ??? no just different, you will see the house styles change with different roofs as the houses move from keeping the heat in to keeping it out.

PhilippeProvence

Whaou I hope you like driving....
I can only reply about the Cassis bit.
You can access France through the Alps road from Milano (motorway all way through about 7hrs drive) or from the med access to Nice (expect about 3hrs drive from Nice)
Once in Cassis you'll need to take a boat ride to the Calanque to see En Vau (together with Port Pin and Port Miou). However you wont be able to get of the boat.
If you want to go to the Calanque, park your car at the Port Miou Car Park and hike to En Vau (about 1hr walk).
Hope this will help.

PalenQ

Well for the train Amsterdam to Paris you can save beuacoup bucks by booking at www.thlays.com months early - as low as 39 euros vs a full fare of about $199! but those tickets are sold in limited numbers and sell out weeks before and are also train-specific and cannot be refunded nor changed.