Hello all,

just looking for information on hiring a motorhome in Frankfurt. Companies, hints to hiring, hints to making the whole thing enjoyable.

We (myself, wife and two children aged 9 and 11) will be travelling from mid September through to mid October. Ultimately we would like to get to Greece and then return for drop-off.

Along the way we would like to visit areas in Italy and France. Should catch a ferry from Italy to Greece or drive the entire route??

I understand that this may be approaching the latter part of the holiday season if not the finished. Would be interested on suggestions for travel route and facilities along the way.

Alternbatively if it all gets too hard we would look at hiring a car or using rail and hotels. Not very keen on lugging luggage around though with the family in tow.

Interested on any comments.

Thanks in anticipation,

Therio05

For Italy you are going to need a detailed strategy from experienced people who have done this. There are websites where such people chat (try googling), plus the Italian Touring Club website may provide you with some leads.)

Travel by motorhome is going to be difficult if you want to see any of the major cities - since you will have to leave the home on the outskirts and travel in and out by public transit. (Thousand year old cities have centers that are very small, crowded and often have limited car access - never mind motorhomes.)

If you want to see primarily countryside this may make sense - but I would definitely run the number versus car lease (for 21 days or more) and budget lodging. Plus, there may be restrictions on taking either one on the land route to Greece.

you have one month - that is not as long as it might seem. And especially not long enough for Germany > France > Italy > Greece > then back to Germany in a motorhome.

IMO, you really have to re-think the scope of your trip. Even driving a car - that itinerary is VERY aggressive.

therio05 - Once when we were young we hired a motorhome from a company in Frankfurt. I had never travelled overseas in my life so it was all a big adventure no matter what was thrown at us! Also with us was our two year old son.
Having just spent two weeks in Israel followed by another week on the island of Skiathos we flew to the UK for a few days before embarking on our motorhome trip.
Leaving Frankfurt, we drove through Switzerland and over the Alps into Italy, along the Italian Riviera into the French Riviera, turning off at Marseilles we drove inland through little towns and villages (like where they make nougat)then into Paris itself........yes, nothing frightened us, not even driving up Rue Madam in this little motorhome and parking there for three nights while we took a break in the Hotel Perryve.
Then into Germany driving alongside the rhine and finally back to Frankfurt. This took approx. 10days but could have been a bit longer - fading memories you see!

The negatives were: The motorhome was oldish and the shower water leaked beneath the flooring and only disgorged itself when we went down a steep hill - what a pong!
We don't think the toilet had been emptied when we set off so had to refresh that as well.

The campsites on the Italian Riviera were putrid to say the least.
They improved slightly in France but were superb in Germany & Switzerland.

We were not used to driving on the righthand side of the road so this was a bit nervey. No GPS in those days but we didn't have a plan A or B or even C!

I suggest you find out how old the vehicle is - These days when hiring in the UK we go for the latest model.

It was a wonderful wonderful time for us and thinking back I can't believe we were so brave!
Today things must have improved a lot in the camping world so I think you are going to have a ball!

For the Italian Riviera, I think things have improved, especially for motorhome travelers. But I do think you need to be in touch with people who done it recently to get the best tips.

Tod, I'll bet you had fun!

Thanks for all your input.

Some good ideas and I think I need to look into things a bit more.

Thanks all

We looked into renting a motorhome for a trip in 2006. Did a lot of reading and searching the internet. In the end it came down to cost. We found it was less expensive to stay in B&B's and a lease car from Puegoet Open Europe. First there was the expense of renting the RV, next the cost of fuel with reduced milage per liter due to the size of the vehicle You also will have to pay for camping spots. The only savings came from preparing you own meals. We really enjoyed the B&B's and are glad we chose to go that route. You can read about our experence here on my blog:

http://tinyurl.com/yhrkzam

Campervans are not exactly new. Almost any RV rental company in Germany has those as the smallest vehicle in their fleet.
The downside of those vans is the lack of height inside. Many other models use the same vans as frame but add more height so you can stand inside but have the same width and length as the original van.
Renting any RV can be a pretty tricky business. Most sell packages that include the rental plus so or so many limited kilometers. You can top up those by pre-paying additional kilometers. Or pay per km at the end (which is usually much more pricey). Add costs for gas/diesel.
Eventually, a trip with an RV is not necessarily cheaper than just renting a car and paying for a hotel/pension every night.
And if hauling luggage is an issue: smaller RVs like campervans to not have storage for tons of luggage. I would not expect to be able to stow in a campervan more clothes etc. than I was able to carry (calculated for 2 persons).

Thanks to all for your input.

Given we will be travelling in the shoulder/off season we have chosen to lease a car and stay in B&B's for all the reasons you noted above.

Thanks for your input, we leave in a couple of days for our big family adventure holiday.

hello friend that to all of u
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