Laral

I am taking my first trip to Europe in one month. It came as a surprise and I do not have a lot of time to prepare for it. I will be driving. My concern is the initial descent from Sweden to the Germany. It seems like there are mixed feelings as whether to drive or take the ferry. I will be leaving from Gothenburg Sweden and would like to arrive in Berlin. Has anyone made this trip and can they tell me whether it is worth the $300USD to take the ferry or if the drive will be better?

Also, the plan is to take this road trip from Gothenburg Sweden to Berlin Germany, to Krakow Poland, to Budapest Hungary, to Vienna Austria, to Prague Czech and then back to Sweden. All in 12 days. Can this be accomplished while still having my night to see the cities and possibly a couple days to explore my father's home of Budapest?

Any suggestions are more than welcome!

janisj

Do you just want to drive and stop for the night - or actually see something? That loop has got to take at least 50 hours behind the wheel- basically 2.5 days just driving. So that leaves 9 days to see 6 cities.

I haven't been to any of those except Berlin and Vienna so can't help that much, but I'd guess a car is useless in most of them.

nytraveler

With your plan you will be on the road all the time - way too much territory for the limited time you have and essentially no time for sightseeing. It would be bad enough to do the trip in one direction and drive back - but to drive both ways in 12 days is close to madness.

We are veterans of MANY road trips through europe - and the key - if you really want to see anything - is to limit your driving 4 hours per day - on the days you drive. For major cities - like the ones you're talking about - you need at least 2 or 3 days (3 or 4 nights) in each one to actually see something.

I'm curious - what sights do you want to se in the towns you are going to visit - or it it all just drive-bys.

nytraveler

Sorry - one further note. When you rent the car you have to tell them what countries you will be taking it to. If you take into another country without approval - your insurance is invalid.

Laral

I'm purchasing a car in sweden and the insurance is covered for 15 days after pick up. My father is from a remote village right outside of Budapest. I would like to see the area. This is not a trip where we will be visiting museums and other touristy places. The one place we do want to visit is in Krakow (well near krakow) and that is the WW2 concentration camps. We are used to driving long distances as the nearest large city to us is 350 miles away. We bargain for a good drive and just enjoying the country. Seeing the small villages and meeting the people outside of the big cities will be a big highlight. Our nights we will be in the larger cities to see their culture when everyone is off of work. I have planned out a map that takes us from gothenburg through these countries and plan on spending a full day in most of the cities. I may have to skip Vienna and just see the sights there over a lunch. I'm just curious to know if anyone has driven from Sweden to Germany before and if it is worth the drive or if I should take the ferry. This may be our only trip to Europe for awhile and I want to see the country and maybe save the history of the country for future visits when I have more time.
NYTRAVELER - mostly drive bys and walking around the city centeres at night. Maybe one major tour or event during the day in the city.

Thank you for your help!!

StCirq

I simply don't understand the logic behind this. Are you an American (buying a Volvo or something)?

Why would you subject yourself to that expedition when there are other ways to skin the cat? Fly to Budapest. Visit your relatives for a few days (get there in a rental car or public transportation); then take the train to Krakow and do whatever you need to do there. Then fly to Sweden, check out the car and fly home. (I don't know how these car purchase deals work, but you get the drift). At least that way, you'll get to visit a handful of places.

janisj

"<i>Our nights we will be in the larger cities to see their culture when everyone is off of work. I have planned out a map that takes us from gothenburg through these countries and plan on spending a full day in most of the cities.</i>"

Your trip is semi-ridiculous. You will have a heck of a time driving into/through most of those cities. You just don't arrive in a major European city, find parking near where you are sleeping, and have a day to see things.

You have two main purposes -- one picking up your car, and two visiting the ancestral village. Do them both -- but why drive all over hell and gone just to put miles on the car?

Either take longer for the trip (at least a week more)

- or -

Take care of the family village bits, then fly to Sweden pick up the car and drive a bit around Sweden/Scandinavia/northern Germany

nytraveler

You are talking about meeting people in the smaller villages. I had assumed you were taking the autoroutes the whole way. If you are going to be driving all over the countryside on local roads you can double the driving time indicated on vimichelin.com.

For instance - Goteborg to Berlin is about 9 solid hours of driving - about 11 hours with stops for fuel, food and leg stretching. That is the fastest route. If you are going to wander around the countryside it will take you 2 days to get from Goteborg to Berlin. And would take you most of your total 12 days just to get to Prague.

Agree that the only ting that makes sense is to fly to Budapest, see what you want, hop a train to Krakow, see the concentration campa and then train of ly to Sweden to get yuor car. There is plenty to see in just Sweden and Denmark for at least 10 days of travel.

I don;t know if yuo have been to any of these places before - but I have - all of them - at lest once and some several times. And beleive me, this trip makes no sense whatsoever. (It's like spring break when 2 guys get in a banger and drive straight through from NYC to FL - changing drivers every 4 hours or so. But they're doing it because they have no money for plane fares - and they're 19.)

Laral

Yes, first time in Europe. Yes American. That is helpful! I'll do more research and find out the cost of flying versus driving. Just to clarify, there is no parking in the city near the city centers? The hotels I've been looking at state they have parking, is this not the same as american hotels in large cities? They have all been located in the city centers. It is helpful to know what to expect. Thank you.

Michael

For cheap flights within Europe, look at this site:

http://www.flylc.com/directall-en.asp

If Krakow turns out to be inconvenient, Munich and Berlin have nearby concentration camps that can be visited.

nytraveler

If you are looking at large hotels with parking in city centers there are a couple of points:

Parking typically costs $30 to $40 per night in the hotel garage

Center cities of some town are pedestrian only - and if it's one of them you have to get a special pass from the hotel or face fine of hundreds of dollars (they get you lic plate on camera) for each infraction

I assume you have checked out the costs of these hotel - since central hotels with parking garages are typically upscale and quite expensive