Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Lazydocker on 04 July 2010, 16:48:37
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Right, we tried to book our flights for September a couple of days ago and had issues with Easy Jet's website. Finally got my money back through the bank but still have no bookings.
Cost wise, it's pretty much similar between flying into Naples a couple of days earlier than we've got the villa and hiring a car or driving straight down to the villa from home.
What would you do? Fly or drive? ::)
Again, this is just out of interest as we'll make our own decision :y
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i would fly and drive, nothing worse than going on holiday tired and stressed.
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i would fly and drive, nothing worse than going on holiday tired and stressed.
I totally agree :y
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Now I like a nice drive and have driven over to France many times rather than fly, I just enjoy it ;)
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A few years ago mind, and not to Naples but Trento (so you've another 500 miles), I drove. Found it an absolute dream - even went via the old Brenner pass. Driving in Europe is about 10 millions times better than England. So easy was the drive back we had to force our overnight stop or we'd arrive a day early for the return ferry.
Pays your money ....
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Should add, I've driven all over Europe in the past and, TBH, find it quite pleasurable.
It's just shy of 1500 miles each way, planning to do it over 2 days (with 1 night stopover) if we do drive.
Just for interest, we worked out about £100 each way in tolls and have budgeted on 15 Tanks of LPG averaging £40/tank (this should actually be at least half as much as we need again to allow for playing over the mountains etc ::) ::) ::)).
Also, if we fly into Naples we still have a 200+ mile drive to the villa ;)
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Ooo. Just check on the LPG availability - maybe far better than here, or leave you stuck in some parts (well, on petrol anyway).
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Depends whether you just want to get there and chill out and maximise every minute of your holiday or whether you enjoy driving and seeing the world on the way. If you drive then you don't have to bother with a hire car. No daft luggage limits and you would be able to bring back stuffed straw souvenir donkeys, hats and of course some cases of vino!
I would drive.
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Ooo. Just check on the LPG availability - maybe far better than here, or leave you stuck in some parts (well, on petrol anyway).
Checked... LPG fairly widely available on the main roads most of the way... Have a 300+ mile range on the tank so not a major issue with good planning :y
Depends whether you just want to get there and chill out and maximise every minute of your holiday or whether you enjoy driving and seeing the world on the way. If you drive then you don't have to bother with a hire car. No daft luggage limits and you would be able to bring back stuffed straw souvenir donkeys, hats and of course some cases of vino!
I have no issues with driving, especially in Europe where the roads are generally much better anyway. If we fly, we'll be going a couple of days earlier than our friends and visiting Pompeii and Vesuvius etc in Naples, if we drive we'll be travelling and enjoying the scenery :y
We can always do a cheap city break to Naples :-?
To be honest, if the Easy Jet website hadn't gone belly up when we booked and left us £350 out of pocket for a couple of days we'd have just flown... It just made me look at costings again and there's very little in it :-/
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i would fly and drive, nothing worse than going on holiday tired and stressed.
I totally agree :y
Whats tiring about driving an Omega?
I've driven to Amsterdam couple of times, roads in Europe are far better for long distance. Wack on the cruise control, stock up on snacks and drink from a supermarche and get the tunes on, and just see the miles fly by!
I love a good road trip, its much more pleasurable than check-in, sitting on rock hard seats which crying babies, listening to other peoples music from their crap headphones, then being herded onto a metal bus with zero leg room, zero elbow room, crap food, noise, more crying babies....
I've arrived in Holland after a 6 hour drive refreshed and looking forward to a Holiday, i've taken a 1 hour flight and be nackered the other end...
Drive, and make a trip of it, go via Milau Bridge :y
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I'd stay in england. I had 22years of going everywere. Just like it here now.
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I always fly and hire a car when going further than Belgium or Northern France. The reasons are I love flying and driving another car abroad 8-) 8-) ;)
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personally I would avoid flying if possible..
cause I'm from the group that doesnt like beating gravity ;D
(distance is not important for me anyway tomorrow I'll drive 750 km and if thats 3x I'll drive in three days)
so,if time is not limited drive in 2-3 days giving breaks
so you can see and visit many places that you cant see on a flight..and can take nice piccies for us :)
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Can't help you with this one Paul as i've never held a passport or flown. Can't help but think southeren dockers are paid alot more than their northern counterparts, given you're doing up Mini Coopers, laying drives & other groundwork/planting & you live in a fairly expensive area mortgage/rentwise & are popping over to Italy....
You must be coining it son!!!! 8-)
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personally I would avoid flying if possible..
cause I'm from the group that doesnt like beating gravity ;D
(distance is not important for me anyway tomorrow I'll drive 750 km and if thats 3x I'll drive in three days)
so,if time is not limited drive in 2-3 days giving breaks
so you can see and visit many places that you cant see on a flight..and can take nice piccies for us :)
As said i've no experience travelling abroad but i'm used to driving for hours so this make sense to me. :y
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You have to take the family's feelings into account though, if it was up to me I'd drive to Australia and back, because the journey is part of the holiday for me, but my wife would go stir crazy after a couple of hours and the kids would be moaning after a couple of minutes ::)
It ain't much fun if you don't like travelling far in a car
Jon
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Tunnie, already done the Milau Bridge... It's amazing! But it's also in the wrong direction for the route I'll be taking ::)
Guy, I wouldn't say I'm coining it in, but pay around here is higher than up north because of the higher living costs. Plus Mrs LD works too, which makes a big difference! The mini is an ongoing project (which I haven't even started) but, thankfully, most Mini parts are quite cheap!
I, like you Guy, am used to driving 9 hours a day and think nothing of jumping behind the wheel for a long journey. Stupidly, it will probably take us almost as long to get back from Plymouth on Sunday as it will take to drive to the Italian border due to the difference in road quality and driving style... On the continent the lane discipline on motorway is superb and people don't just hog a lane, they move in and out correctly to pass slower traffic. Much less stressful and, generally, better flowing. Plus, lots of people refuse to use the Toll roads which means they are quieter than our free motorways.
I also have to agree with Tunnie, the Omega is a great place to be sat for a long journey... I frequently do 6 or 7 hour journeys without feeling stiff! Add to that the fact that flying is cramped (for a person of my height and build), even if it's a scheduled flight, and we'd end up with a hire car which is unlikely to be bigger than an Astra and will probably spend most of the week we've got the Villa parked up on the drive... That makes it expensive IMO.
Interesting to hear other opinions though... Think this poll is going to show some interesting opinions :y
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You have to take the family's feelings into account though, if it was up to me I'd drive to Australia and back, because the journey is part of the holiday for me, but my wife would go stir crazy after a couple of hours and the kids would be moaning after a couple of minutes ::)
It ain't much fun if you don't like travelling far in a car
Jon
Luckily there's only myself and SWMBO to consider and she's well up for driving down... Electric coolbox, trip to a hypermarket as soon as we hit France for fresh food and refreshments, tunes on (handily, I won an IPod thingy in a charity raffle last weekend ::)) and cruise away. A couple of years ago we did a similar road trip and it was great!
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Drive of course - 200 miles in a rental bucket YUK!
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how long are you in the villa? does the drive time eat into the holiday itself or part of the hol?
the drive can be a nightmare/ holiday. depends on your time.
drove to gibraltar= great. travelled back from barcelona on coach= nightmare.
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2010/volcano.html
http://www.france24.com/en/20100225-french-air-traffic-controller-strike-continues-disruptions-mount-aviation-flights
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Had the same decision to make earlier in the year, flew, and was glad we did. Apart from sleazyjet ripping us off at every opportunity (will NEVER use them again) we had limited time and flying meant more time at our destination and a more relaxed arrival. Yes, the mountain roads are fantastic but the rest will be tedious albeit better than UK roads. If taking a few extra days to drive is not an issue then maybe I'd decide differently. I'm not sure I could drive for anywhere near as cheap as flight costs but then if you have to hire a car out there I suppose that's an additional expense you save.
We do love holidaying in Italy though.
Kevin
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I wouldn't drive all the way there as I get very tired on long journeys these days, and, anyway, my wife hates travelling by car. Given that the she moans and complains about my driving all the time and has hysterics if go over 70mph, the tiredness may well be explained by the circumstances.
But that apart, I'm not sure you'd want to be driving an Omega round Naples - I know how manoeuvrable they are for a big car, but Naples is BUSY. On-street parking is impossible, off-street is in weirdly-shaped basements and you won't fit an Omega into the titchy little spaces.
On the other hand, Naples airport carhire is a total shambles, and getting out of there is difficult - the airport seems to be in the city. The Italians seem to favour small underpowered cars, the sort where you have to turn the airco off to overtake. And once you get outside the city, autostradas excepted, the roads are narrow and very crowded - not ideal Omega territory, especially if you are concerned about your paintwork. But trying to coax a 1.2 litre Fiat Punto hire car up a mountain road in 35o heat with 100% humidity is not much fun either. You really need to get a more powerful motor, but the hire costs rise dramatically if you do.
The car we hired had something wrong with the steering - never worked out what - but it just didn't go where I pointed it, with the result that I managed to scrape three cars just getting out of the city, before I worked out it wasn't my driving that was the problem. Fortunately, no-one cared, and I'd paid for the no-excess option - highly advisable there.
Italy is wonderful - I love it. But the driving is a nightmare.
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I wouldn't drive all the way there as I get very tired on long journeys these days, and, anyway, my wife hates travelling by car. Given that the she moans and complains about my driving all the time and has hysterics if go over 70mph, the tiredness may well be explained by the circumstances.
But that apart, I'm not sure you'd want to be driving an Omega round Naples - I know how manoeuvrable they are for a big car, but Naples is BUSY. On-street parking is impossible, off-street is in weirdly-shaped basements and you won't fit an Omega into the titchy little spaces.
On the other hand, Naples airport carhire is a total shambles, and getting out of there is difficult - the airport seems to be in the city. The Italians seem to favour small underpowered cars, the sort where you have to turn the airco off to overtake. And once you get outside the city, autostradas excepted, the roads are narrow and very crowded - not ideal Omega territory, especially if you are concerned about your paintwork. But trying to coax a 1.2 litre Fiat Punto hire car up a mountain road in 35o heat with 100% humidity is not much fun either. You really need to get a more powerful motor, but the hire costs rise dramatically if you do.
The car we hired had something wrong with the steering - never worked out what - but it just didn't go where I pointed it, with the result that I managed to scrape three cars just getting out of the city, before I worked out it wasn't my driving that was the problem. Fortunately, no-one cared, and I'd paid for the no-excess option - highly advisable there.
Italy is wonderful - I love it. But the driving is a nightmare.
Too much vino lubrication? ;D ;D
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I wouldn't drive all the way there as I get very tired on long journeys these days, and, anyway, my wife hates travelling by car. Given that the she moans and complains about my driving all the time and has hysterics if go over 70mph, the tiredness may well be explained by the circumstances.
But that apart, I'm not sure you'd want to be driving an Omega round Naples - I know how manoeuvrable they are for a big car, but Naples is BUSY. On-street parking is impossible, off-street is in weirdly-shaped basements and you won't fit an Omega into the titchy little spaces.
On the other hand, Naples airport carhire is a total shambles, and getting out of there is difficult - the airport seems to be in the city. The Italians seem to favour small underpowered cars, the sort where you have to turn the airco off to overtake. And once you get outside the city, autostradas excepted, the roads are narrow and very crowded - not ideal Omega territory, especially if you are concerned about your paintwork. But trying to coax a 1.2 litre Fiat Punto hire car up a mountain road in 35o heat with 100% humidity is not much fun either. You really need to get a more powerful motor, but the hire costs rise dramatically if you do.
The car we hired had something wrong with the steering - never worked out what - but it just didn't go where I pointed it, with the result that I managed to scrape three cars just getting out of the city, before I worked out it wasn't my driving that was the problem. Fortunately, no-one cared, and I'd paid for the no-excess option - highly advisable there.
Italy is wonderful - I love it. But the driving is a nightmare.
Too much vino lubrication? ;D ;D
That's the other thing wrong with a driving holiday. No vino. :( :( :(
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To answer a few points... The journey there and back will replace the 2 days before and 2 days after the villa is booked for. We were going to spend these in Naples and then drive the 200 miles or so to the villa but if we decide to drive down it will be straight to the villa. So the time isn't a major issue.
The reason the costings work out about the same is because of the hire car at the other end which will spend most of its time parked up. The thought of doing the journey in a small car doesn't appeal so it would have to be Focus/Astra size as a minimum. Then you need to add on the excess protection etc...
As for Vino... Once we get to the villa there are very few plans to go anywhere. Unusually for both us and the friends we're going with the intention is for a lazy week doing very little. No sightseeing planned, perhaps a day or 2 at the beach but other than that, few plans. The villa has a private pool, a fair bit of land, outdoor BBQ and Pizza oven... What more can we need?
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Regarding the hire car being parked up - is the train workable? We have found the trains in Northern Italy to be pretty good for getting about.
Kevin
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Furthest I've driven is South coast of France, but would have no hesitation driving to Naples. I like driving in Italy, as the locals are Radio Rental on the roads ;D
But then I'm not a fan of cramped, smelly aircraft, and hanging around crappy airports for hours.
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Regarding the hire car being parked up - is the train workable? We have found the trains in Northern Italy to be pretty good for getting about.
Kevin
Trains are good, but the routes not so great imho, meaning getting from A to B takes a while if you have to go via C and D to get to B...
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Regarding the hire car being parked up - is the train workable? We have found the trains in Northern Italy to be pretty good for getting about.
Kevin
We did look seriously into getting the train all the way but IIRCC it just wasn't practical time wise... I could drive it quicker ::)
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As most people know, I was at La Manga (Club Resort, not the strip) all last week.
Satnav reckoned, door to door was 1397m, 20hrs. Experience shows I could easily knock 2-3hrs off that time, so easily possible in a 'long day'.
Now, I had to leave home at 6am ish to go and sit in a shitty departure lounge, to get on a cramped Airbus, then spend ages arguing with the hire car company at Alicante who had chosen to cancel the hire car for a reason they couldn't explain, then sit in a shitty Corsa for over an hour to get to the villa. Did manage to catch the back end of the England/Germany game (due to 'making up time' on the spainish roads ::)), wished I hadn't bothered, useless bunch of girls.
So that was probably around 9hrs door to door, and I bet I was more tired/stressed than if I had driven myself all the way.
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Now, I had to leave home at 6am ish to go and sit in a shitty departure lounge, to get on a cramped Airbus, then spend ages arguing with the hire car company at Alicante who had chosen to cancel the hire car for a reason they couldn't explain, then sit in a shitty Corsa for over an hour to get to the villa.
Have you used Lara cars? Never had a problem with them, and they are laid back enough not to care what mangled, thrashed heap of junk you return. :y
Kevin
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Now, I had to leave home at 6am ish to go and sit in a shitty departure lounge, to get on a cramped Airbus, then spend ages arguing with the hire car company at Alicante who had chosen to cancel the hire car for a reason they couldn't explain, then sit in a shitty Corsa for over an hour to get to the villa.
Have you used Lara cars? Never had a problem with them, and they are laid back enough not to care what mangled, thrashed heap of junk you return. :y
Kevin
Freebie cars that James Villas always throw in, so stuck with their company. We always pay extra for the collision/excess waiver, only 3 or 4 euros per car per day. Worth its weight in gold last year when one of our party decided to have an argument with a beaten up beemer, and spend most of the day with the police ::)
I suspect the Corsa I had will need new tyres - the villa was at the top of a steep hill, and the bloody thing kept stalling (yes, I stalled a diesel daily!!) on hill starts. In the end, sod it, redlined it, dumped the clutch. Sometimes it stalled, sometimes the tyres gave in ::)
Nice car (for a small car), hopeless engine (CDTi, presumably the 1.3)
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i would fly for a holiday! my cousins live in greece and they used to drive over to the uk for a holiday now and then, but when they got here they were knackered and were dredding the trip back home. they fly now
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i would fly for a holiday! my cousins live in greece and they used to drive over to the uk for a holiday now and then, but when they got here they were knackered and were dredding the trip back home. they fly now
They need a better car then. I'm far more refreshed driving to South of France, than flying. And driving is quicker/cheaper ;)
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i would fly for a holiday! my cousins live in greece and they used to drive over to the uk for a holiday now and then, but when they got here they were knackered and were dredding the trip back home. they fly now
They need a better car then. I'm far more refreshed driving to South of France, than flying. And driving is quicker/cheaper ;)
i'll admit he's not he best driver in the world and he had a SEAT colorado or something
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If you have the time .. make the trip PART of the holiday .. not an annoying add-on. So drive and plan a couple of stops on the way at places you might wish to see. Have a day out, a nice meal, then drive on the next day.
All very relaxed and civilised rather than crammed in a metal tube eating cardboard and getting hot and frustrated.
:)
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Just to throw another spanner in the works I have priced up different flight options and can get it about £300 cheaper than driving, including a hotel before we go and one before we fly home, but it's with the one airline I cannot stand... Ryanair!
SWMBO did point out that if we drive I'll have to pass Monza Circuit (which normally allows access to the track much like Nurburgring ::)) on the way :-/
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If you have the time .. make the trip PART of the holiday .. not an annoying add-on. So drive and plan a couple of stops on the way at places you might wish to see. Have a day out, a nice meal, then drive on the next day.
All very relaxed and civilised rather than crammed in a metal tube eating cardboard and getting hot and frustrated.
:)
This was pretty much the plan. Probably a stop just off the ferry, then a stop at the Italian Lakes (probably Como) and on to the villa. Then a stop somewhere near the French/Luxembourg Border on the way back perhaps. :-/
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Look you have an Omega - a definate mile muncher.
To put it bluntly.
"It would be rude not to"
;D ;D ;D ;D
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Just to throw another spanner in the works I have priced up different flight options and can get it about £300 cheaper than driving, including a hotel before we go and one before we fly home, but it's with the one airline I cannot stand... Ryanair!
SWMBO did point out that if we drive I'll have to pass Monza Circuit (which normally allows access to the track much like Nurburgring ::)) on the way :-/
Don't even get me started on Ryanair, they're cheap for a very good reason, as I'm sure you know, I'm never flying with them again
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Just to throw another spanner in the works I have priced up different flight options and can get it about £300 cheaper than driving, including a hotel before we go and one before we fly home, but it's with the one airline I cannot stand... Ryanair!
SWMBO did point out that if we drive I'll have to pass Monza Circuit (which normally allows access to the track much like Nurburgring ::)) on the way :-/
Don't even get me started on Ryanair, they're cheap for a very good reason, as I'm sure you know, I'm never flying with them again
This is it... Last time we flew with them the "Cheap Flight" ended up very expensive >:( >:(
Vowed I wouldn't use them ever again but sometimes you may need to think about it ::)
Still seriously thinking of driving... The distance doesn't concern me as the Omega will just swallow it and ask for more but, as SWMBO pointed out, we'll have our week's holiday and then have to drive 1450 miles home.
Interesting to see the results though... Virtually a 50/50 split ::)
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If it was a possibility, I would take the train. There is no finer way to travel, imho ofc. Once out of UK trains become an efficient pleasure. ;D
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If it was a possibility, I would take the train. There is no finer way to travel, imho ofc. Once out of UK trains become an efficient pleasure. ;D
We did look at the train but, TBH, it's not a lot cheaper than the other options and it's 28+ hours non stop travelling... Plus we need a car at the other end to get to the villa and shopping etc.
Just re-done the costings as I'd well and truly over-estimated things so done them more accurately now. Still left plenty of margin for error on Driving and less on flying though :y
Looks like to Drive, return trip including hotels, meals, ferry, tolls etc is about £100 more than to Fly, Park, Hire a plastic rental heap, and stop at the airport the night before each flight (because they're at 06:30 :o)
Hmm.... I think I sense a road trip coming on. Don't fancy being at the airport for 04:30 each day for a crappy Ryanair flight anyway. Add to that the fact that at 6'4" I struggle to fit behind any seats on a Ryanair plane (have to sit bolt upright and still not enough room for my legs without ramming them against the upright seat back in front >:()
At least if we drive we're on our own schedule and can do a bit of shopping to bring back without worrying about weight limits :y
My thinking is to get an afternoon/evening Ferry Dover-Dunkirk, then stay in a hotel near the port (after a supermarket stop for supplies for the next 2 days). Then leave off fairly early (about 7am) and drive via Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland (thanks for putting me right on the best route Jim :y) to Lake Como, stop for the night and then set off, again fairly early, the following day for the 550 miles or so to the Villa.
On the return, probably a mirror of the journey down.
Suppose the other option would be to buy ourselves a cheap little tent and camp for the night by the lakes in each direction ::)
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asda do a four man tent with bags and roll out mattressesx2 for £50
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If it was a possibility, I would take the train. There is no finer way to travel, imho ofc. Once out of UK trains become an efficient pleasure. ;D
Put the car on the train. Ferry to cheese-eatingland, then on the train to (say) Munich overnight. Wake up with the interesting bits of driving ahead of you having bypassed the boring.
We took the train to Milan once with car on back as well, IIRC.
Last time I checked it was cheaper to fly, and buy a decent car once you've arrived though. ;D
Kevin
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Silly question to ask at this point, but will you be sharing the driving wth your wife or will you be doing the lot?
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Silly question to ask at this point, but will you be sharing the driving wth your wife or will you be doing the lot?
There is the option to share but I'll probably do most of it... I'm used to driving 9-10 hours/day anyway and she's more use on the left as she speaks good French and German so can translate signs if needed :y ;)
I expect she'll do some of the motorway driving but isn't as comfortable as me doing the fiddly town/minor road stuff. I've done a lot of Continental driving in the past and it's as natural as driving in this country for me whereas the only times she's driven on the Right (wrong!) side is in a LHD car.
Still weighing up the options at the moment but (thanks to a potential offer of a stopover from a member on here) it's starting to look like a road trip is on the cards :y
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Interesting poll results.
Had a long think about it and we have decided that driving is the best option as we'll enjoy the journey :y
Thanks to a very kind offer from a member en route it's probably now cheaper too :y :y