Olgavictoria

Next October we will be landing in Dusseldorf, where we have a car already booked and we will drive thru Cologne, Heidelberg, Munich, Salzburg, Liechtenstein, Constance, Strasbourg, Belgium, Amsterdam and back to Dusseldorf. It is planned to be around 1,500 miles in 18 days. I am sure we will enjoy it, even must people could think it is not a good idea. My husband loves driving and I am a good co-pilot, planning ahead, gathering info and searching for little towns with good local food and drinks. It will be a 2 couples trip and we are excited about it!

nytraveler

Well - you've said it's what you want to do - so go for it.

But as a veteran of many road trips in europe I can tell you that 10 cities in 18 days gives you about1/2 a day in ech plae to see anything.

Also - you say you want to see little towns - but have listed only cities (or countries). When will you have time to stop in the little towns?

nytraveler

Also, sorry - but you will be in western, not central, europe.

Olgavictoria

Thank you for clarifying, I tend to think of France as the end of west, and I know that's veeery wrong. We have done this kind of trips thru Spain, France and Italy (each in different occasions, thru Spain several times). This will be the first one including different countries in the same trip but the length will be approximately the same we have done in the past. There are all kind of tastes for all kind of people. May be I can get some positive input, from people with the same interest or experience. Thanks anyway for your opinion.

nytraveler

Oh I think the trip sounds wonderful. But it would take us 5 or 6 weeks to do it. Nothing to do with driving time - which we share pretty equally - but due to wanting to stop a lot of small places and spend more time in larger ones.

Sassafrass

Hope this is positive advice: Map this out carefully in writing, showing what you wish to see in each place and how long that will take as well as travel time. Be generous with the travel time because it will probably take longer than estimates.

Make a copy for the other couple and go over it with them. Don't let them say, "Oh, anything you want." Have them see it all written out. Make sure they are absolutely on the same page as you about how much time they will actually have in each city. You don't want grumpy travel companions after a few days.

OMHO, it is best to have some time (a few days even, or a day now and then) apart from traveling companions during such a long period of time. It may be impossible with such a fast pace, but if you can make changes to allow that, it would be a good idea.

Olgavictoria

Google map has been a wonderful tool in preparing this trip. It gives you driving instructions, travel distance and time. The longest travel in any day will be 3 and 1/2 hours from Heidelberg to Munich, the longest stay will be 3 days in Amsterdam, for which we already rented a boathouse (http://www.houseboats.nl/). We have being working on the itinerary; probable stops, listing hotels that are within our budget and researching things to do since May. I even prepared a spreadsheet showing all the places in the route, the distances and driving time between them, and things to see/do. No doubt all this preparation is fun in anticipation and our friends are being an active part of it.
We did together our last driving tour in Spain that included leaving Madrid to Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Tarragona, Barcelona (where we stayed for 3 days, the longest stop), Zaragosa, Logroño, Pamplona, Burgos and back to Madrid. We also did together a 5 days driving tour in Puerto Rico where we did not stay for more than one day in any town except for San Juan (nothing compared to this one trip, I know). We have also being driving together in US and Canada.
It will be a challenge and the good thing is that we are tied to nothing; the only reservations are the car, the first 2 nights in Cologne and the last 3 in Amsterdam. We will be free to make changes on the way and we are a seasoned well assembled team.
We are 50 days away from starting the adventure!!!!

Sassafrass

Sounds as if part of your experience is not just sight seeing, but all being together for the fun. It is for sure not my kind of travel, but it seems you have a good handle on it and with all of you looking for the same kind of vacation, you should have a great time.

Olgavictoria

We are back!!! What a great trip, we had lots of fun, saw beautiful places and enjoyed a superb experience.
I'll try to make a day by day report, based on notes that I wrote every night (almost).
Driving throu the Alps, from Salzburg to Constance with stop in Innsbruck and night stay in Vaduz was beautiful, but still hard to define what was best...Bruggs? Strassbourg?? Munich? Amsterdam??? Everything was nice and fun, staying in a boathouse in Amsterdam was amazing. Some places I haven't heard about before, like Boppard and Gutachtal were nice to stop for pictures and snack. Feel free to ask questions, I would love to brag about this experience!!!!

bilboburgler

Thanks for letting us know. Boppard is "cute" and a nice stop for a snack.