European road trip brainstorming

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
05/26/2015 at 08:00 • Filed to: None

So, next year my girlfriend and I are looking to do a week long trip to Europe which will involve driving some scenic roads and visiting smallish towns along the way. I know that most of Europe is able to be traveled without a car but it’s something I have really wanted to experience. Now we just have to figure out where to go! We are really open for anything but we prefer oceanside drives (or sea/river/Lake areas) and warm (60F+) weather. My questions are, where would be the best place to go and when?

One thing we are considering is the French/Italian riviera. During that trip we would try to visit Nice, Monaco, and other places in that area. Seemed expensive but not unreasonable. Plan would be fly out of NY Friday night and arrive somewhere Saturday afternoon, relax to get the jetlag out, spend Sunday just walking around the first location, then Monday through Friday driving places, and heading home Saturday at some point.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

DISCUSSION (10)

pip bip - choose Corrour > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/26/2015 at 08:06

you’ll need a month not a week.

Cé hé sin > pip bip - choose Corrour
05/26/2015 at 08:15

Americans don’t have holidays though.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > pip bip - choose Corrour
05/26/2015 at 09:25

I am not trying to road trip across the whole continent lol.

KatzManDu > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/26/2015 at 09:25

Pick more than just the Riviera/coast. See if you can do this, instead...

1) Fly into Paris; do this as your round-trip from NYC. Your red-eye flight should get you into Paris well before noon. Depending upon your caffeine intake, you may be able to do some Paris sights in the afternoon.

2) Day #2, Rent car in Paris. Drive south. Visit Lyon. Spend the night.

3) Day #3 Work your way south. Visit Arles and Avignon. (Roman ruins, sur le pont de Avignon, etc.) ... Crash in Arles.

4) Day #4 Hit the Riviera; Cannes and Nice. Stay in one of those two cities.

5) Day #5 Beach day?

6) Day #6 Maybe Monaco?

7) Day #7 Return rental car in Nice.

8) Fly a low-cost airline one-way from Nice to Paris. Look at Ryanair, Jetair, etc.

9) Then fly home on your round-trip ticket.

Jonathan Harper > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/26/2015 at 09:27

In 2012 I did Geneva to Monaco via Gstaad, then to Andorra, Madrid, Barcelona, Monaco again for the GP, and back the Geneva. It was amazing. Here’s some snippets of time-lapse from the trip:

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Cé hé sin
05/26/2015 at 09:30

Yeah, my girlfriend and I get somewhere between 2-3 weeks per year. And that is generally considered a good amount in this country.

Cé hé sin > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/26/2015 at 09:32

Yes, that’s America. In the EU you’re legally entitled to four weeks per year plus public holidays.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > KatzManDu
05/26/2015 at 09:50

Would a round trip flight NY to paris plus a one way Nice to Paris be cheaper than just getting a round trip NY-Nice? I am wondering also if the cost of returning the car in a different place from where we got it would be outrageously expensive. That sounds like a very nice plan though. We both know about zero French, but I think we could manage.

KatzManDu > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/26/2015 at 10:38

Read up on the language. It isn’t that bad. The one-way trip on a discount airline can be as little as 50 euros per head. The rental car issue will be key, but EuropCar should be good for you.

KatzManDu > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
05/26/2015 at 10:42

Just played with skyscanner — it’s 60 euros per person on Air France, direct flight from Nice to Paris. Same price with EasyJet.