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Route Planning Where to go, when, what are the interesting places to see
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 11 Dec 2004
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6 Month Europe trip
Following the news of impending redundancy, I am thinking of taking the opportnunity to spend 6 months or so travelling Europe by bike with my other half. Plan to do mainstream countries such as France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland etc and would be interested to know what (very) roughly I would need to budget for sucha trip. Camping all the way and eating basic foods what would be a ballpark figure? Any help appreciated!

Dave
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  #2  
Old 11 Dec 2004
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Great to hear you want to grab the opportunity!

Fuel is currently around 1.10€/l. Campsites around 10-15€/night for two, more in summer in the tourist spots. If you use a petrol cooker and cook all your own meals you can probably get by on 10€/day. Meat and booze extra...

Check out www.globalfreeloaders.com for cheap accommodation.

Free camping is not really an option in the countries you mentioned, but you can always ask a farmer whether you can pitch your tent for one night in his paddock.

Prepare for periods of bad weather: get a map of youth hostels with phone numbers. In France you can sometimes get cheap accommodation in Gîtes d'Etapes; in Italy this is called Agriturismo.

If you're down here before June email us.

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.
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  #3  
Old 14 Dec 2004
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Peter,
the best on your freeloader link was:

I Should Be Working!
Trying to avoid work? Check this site out... :-)

Anyway Dave, you should laso consider travelling though the new EU candidate countries. Very interesting and lots cheaper than western Europe. Free camping is also less of a hassle.

Hans

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  #4  
Old 14 Dec 2004
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hi
I totaly agree don't leave out eastern european countries and turkey great places no hassle and cheaper

nobby
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  #5  
Old 14 Dec 2004
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Many thanks for the replies.

Could anyone out there suggest a route that they used and enjoyed? Ive not seen much of Europe outside of major cities (Paris, Barcelona etc) but would be keen to see less travelled places. If anyone has an itinerary that we could loosely follow including eastern europena states it would be much appreciated.

Thanks again.

Dave
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Old 15 Dec 2004
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Hans,

I don't understand what you write. When I click on the link I get to "The Worldwide Accommodation Network". It's got nothing to do with work or not working.

Perhaps you have a DNS problem?

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.
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  #7  
Old 20 Dec 2004
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The road from Barcelona south along the coast is fantastic, if a little busy. Just south of Valencia pick up the road to Xatavia which leas to Alicante. This is superb, twisting up over a rocky ridge and back down into a plain, then back over another ridge. Finally the coast road from Cartegena south to Aguilas is great too, mile after mile of bends and good road visibilty. There´s a motorway alternative to this one so most of the traffic takes that, leaving this road quiet.

it´s good to get recommendations, but trust your instincts. Pick out some places you want to head to and find a twisty road that links them. You´ll soon find yourself automatically choosing good roads.

cheers
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  #8  
Old 20 Dec 2004
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Six months is a good length of time for such a trip. From the UK we travelled down through France, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia then back through Slovenia and into Hungary and briefly into Rumania then back through Hungary Austria, Germany and France.
You could easily fit in Portugal and Turkey as well if you wanted. Whatever you do don't miss Slovenia. It has stunning scenery, very friendly people and is a very cheap country to visit.
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  #9  
Old 21 Dec 2004
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My girlfriend and I are planning a four month trip through Europe next year before emigrating to Australia.

We plan to leave at the beginning of April and to start in the southern part of Europe. Hopefully as we travel northwards the weather will get better in the more northern countries as the summer progresses.

The rough plan at present is to catch the ferry to Spain. Travel down through Portugal to Southern Spain across and then back up the country then into Italy then back to France, Germany, and Scandinavia, etc.

Due to time constraints we are not planning to go to the Eastern European countries.

Our intention is to go and see the sights while we can as we won't have access to them when we have moved to Oz.

One tip I have read elsewhere: On the Michelin maps the roads with a green edging are scenic routes and are worth taking.

Bon voyage.
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  #10  
Old 21 Dec 2004
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Thakns again for the info.

RM - We thought about a similar route but opted for the east european leg mainly due to cost. Scandanavia is a great place to see but it can be very expensive. Conversely eastern europe - in particular rural areas- can be incredibly cheap for accomodation and eating/drinking. We plan to include southern italy and the amalfi coast which I believe should not be missed. Time allowing, we would love to get the transporter ferry from naples across to tunis. We should try to meet up at some point in the trip as the early parts of our routes will be similar and will be around the same time.

Thakns again for the feedback.

Dave
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  #11  
Old 21 Dec 2004
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Scandinavia WAS expensive.
But I think, these days only restaurants and alcohol are more expensive then in the rest of Europe.
Food from a foodstore is maybe 5-10% more expensive.
Camping on a campsite is cheaper and you can camp 'wild' for free.


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Freek (NL)



[This message has been edited by Freek (edited 21 December 2004).]
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Old 19 Jan 2005
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im located in La Spezia, Italy. if you come through here and need any kind of help sorting out accomodation, give us a shout. always willing to help out a fellow biker.

have a good ride
luca
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  #13  
Old 19 Jan 2005
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I am planning a trip through Europe hitting some of the mainstream countries and some not.
Check out my website, www.ridingtheglobe.com
I would love to meet up for a few day or few weeks if you schedule allows.
Josh
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  #14  
Old 21 Jan 2005
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I'm aiming for Germany,Italy,France and the Netherlands. Sometime in July, i guess the weather should be pretty good then. That's the plan, but you never know what happens, might run into one of you guys on the way
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Old 23 Jan 2005
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RM - Sounds like you have the same sort of plan (and final destination) in mind as my girlfriend and I do. We are booked on to the 6th April ferry from Plymouth to Santander and are basically following the same route as you before heading east into Iran, India an ultimatley Australia in December (we plan to settle in Brisbane). Maybe we can catch up some time on the road.

Luca - Italy is on our itinery (May/June) so would love to meet up for a drink.

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