Looking for (Euro) roadtrip advice

Kinja'd!!! "Out, but with a W - has found the answer" (belg)
07/18/2016 at 11:57 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!0 Kinja'd!!! 18

So Oppo, Alps or Pyrenees?

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The top of the Penserjoch, one of my personal favourites

I’m currently planning a roadtrip for the middle of September, but I can’t decide where to go: Pyrenees, Alps or somewhere else. I like mountains and decent weather (i.e. as little rain as possible). Any advice?


DISCUSSION (18)


Kinja'd!!! Cé hé sin > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
07/18/2016 at 12:01

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Alps, they’re nearer to you.


Kinja'd!!! bob and john > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
07/18/2016 at 12:05

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alps. have your route pre-planned. GPS dont work for SHIT in there


Kinja'd!!! Ash78, voting early and often > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
07/18/2016 at 12:06

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I always though attempting to seek political asylum in Andorra would be a fun exercise. Pyrenees for me. But that's partly because it's closest to the parts of Spain and France I want to visit most.


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > Cé hé sin
07/18/2016 at 12:08

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Any experience with Swiss vs. French Alps?

Switzerland is a whole lot more expensive, but might have better weather at the time? I read somewhere that the French Alps begin to see regular rain from September onwards, which is why I was also considering the Pyrenees, since they’re supposed to be more stable.


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > bob and john
07/18/2016 at 12:09

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Will do. Wasn’t so bad in Italy last year, but doesn’t hurt to be prepared.


Kinja'd!!! BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
07/18/2016 at 12:11

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Why not look into the Austrian Alps? I think they get less rain than the French, since they are further east like the Swiss, and generally looking Austria is way cheaper than Switserland.


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > Ash78, voting early and often
07/18/2016 at 12:11

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Haha, it’s apparently not that fun of a town/city/country, but it’s got lots of petrol stations. They’re the furthest away from me, but might have better weather, hence the conundrum.


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
07/18/2016 at 12:15

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They’re a possibility as well, though I did most of the closest ones (i.e. east of the Grossglockner) while interning in Munich last year, so it’d be quite a drive to get there.

The most ambitious plan involves driving through Austria and Italy to Croatia, but I doubt my bank account would like such a long trip.


Kinja'd!!! BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
07/18/2016 at 12:20

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That is quite ambitious indeed. Though not as ambitious as 3 of my friends are doing right now, they are starting in the Netherlands and are going to drive to St. Petersburg through all of Scandinavia and the Baltic states, after which they will drive back to the Netherlands via Poland and Germany.


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
07/18/2016 at 12:24

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Damn impressive. I’m guessing they’re swapping drivers regularly? I’ll probably be going solo, so I’m limiting it to about 6 hours of driving per day.

A dream of mine is driving to the North Cape, perhaps even in winter, but that’ll have to wait for funds and time.


Kinja'd!!! BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
07/18/2016 at 12:29

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Yeah, they plan to swap around a lot.

6 is indeed plenty if going solo. I’m always negatively impressed by people saying they drive to Italy or Spain in one go, while only driving themself, because their wife is afraid to drive on unknown roads or something like that, they are endagering themselves and everybody else by such behaviour.

Driving to the North Cape would be cool, maybe some Oppos could join you, I know I would!


Kinja'd!!! Cé hé sin > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
07/18/2016 at 12:35

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Sadly, no. I’ve never been near them - too far if you take the ferry to Brittany!


Kinja'd!!! Cé hé sin > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
07/18/2016 at 12:42

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I had the idea in 2013 of driving all the way north through Norway until I hit the Arctic and then going back down through Sweden but then I looked at the map and the distances and the lack of places to stay once you get north of Tromso and I decided to stop at Trondheim instead and go due west to Östersund and south from there. So I hired a car in Sweden (much cheaper there!) and did Oslo, Bergen, Ålesund, Östersund, Uppsala and Stockholm.

Norway is very slow to drive through - endless fjords so you either drive the whole way around or take a ferry.

Very expensive place too - not so much for accommodation as food and drink.


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
07/18/2016 at 12:42

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Longest I’ve ever driven, breaks included, was about 10 hours, coming home from Munich (lots of traffic), and I’ve never been so happy to arrive.

I remember reading a report or seeing a picture of people driving their convertibles to the North Cape, top down, in the middle of winter. Seemed amazing then, and still seems amazing now!


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > Cé hé sin
07/18/2016 at 12:44

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Yeah, I was amazed to read a lot of Pyrenees travel reports on UK forums, but it makes sense, since you can take a ferry to Northern Spain.


Kinja'd!!! BvdV - The Dutch Engineer > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
07/18/2016 at 13:07

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Well, you’ve already got a convertible! So you’re partially there already, though I don’t think a MR2 would be very practical.


Kinja'd!!! Out, but with a W - has found the answer > BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
07/18/2016 at 15:59

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Probably not, but let’s call that part of the challenge.


Kinja'd!!! Jobjoris > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
08/17/2016 at 08:33

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No difference between French or Swiss Alps in my experience. Roads in Swiss are probably better. You could be lucky with the weather, then again the chance for that in Spain is about 400% bigger.

Don’t forget Austria. It’s not way further than Swiss, a 2,5 hours drive (Basel-Bregenz) should settle that easy.

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