Motorhoming through central Europe

We are thinking of a three-week motorhome trip through central Europe and Italy in July 2010. Our idea at the moment is to begin in Frankfurt, to Berlin, Wroclaw, Prague, Vienna, Venice, Rome, Florence, Milan, Berne, Frankfurt --%26gt; the longer legs (like Vienna to Venice and Venice to Rome) will have stops in between.

We have figured an average driving leg of 3-4 hours, and 1-2 nights in most places.

We have looked into prices of hiring motorhomes, and the prices in Germany seem to be fairly feasible (est. 1500 euro), especially when compared to car hire/hotel option.

Is this biting off more than we can chew?

Would an organised tour be more feasible?

Or a train/hostel option? I am concerned with the train option. As we are on a very limited time frame, i don%26#39;t want to risk missing a train and then being stuck somewhere for an extra day.

Any thoughts?

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You would be better posting this in another forum, possibly the France forum.

Tours is a city in the Loire Valley; nothing to do with organised tours.

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If you spend only one or two nights in each town, you are going to spend most of your time driving and not much of it in actually seeing the places you pass through.

You also need to remember that the roads in the centres of European towns and villages are much narrower than we are used to in Australia. Driving a motorhome through these narrow streets - especially on the %26quot;wrong%26quot; side of the road - will not be fun. I find it quite difficult enough in a VW Golf.

I think you are biting off more than you can chew. Go to www.viamichelin.com and have a look at the estimated driving times. Then remember that these are optimistic times for someone in a fast car. Add around 50% to get the likely time in a motorhome.

Inter-city trains in Europe are not like those in Australia. On the routes you are considering, there will be a dozen or more trains every day. If you miss one, it will be no big deal: just get on the next one.

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I agree with Nick that a motorhome is not going to be terribly practical - it will be v.difficult to park anywhere in the places you want to visit due to height and width restrictions and you will likely find yourself being obliged to park it in a campsite some way away from where you want to go. Hostels are an option, but since you seem to like camping why not just buy a tent when you get here. July weather is likely to be pretty warm and sports/camping stores like France%26#39;s Decathlon chain will sell you a 3/4 man tent for less than 100 euros (and a 2 man tent for as little as 26 euros). You can sling the camping gear in the back of your hire car and travel where you want then. At the end of your holiday you can either have it shipped back to Oz if you%26#39;ve grown attached to it, or donate it to a local scout group.

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I agree with the previous posts. You are trying to cover too much ground, and visit too many cities that are too widely spread in too little time. I also second (or third...) the suggestion that you reconsider the whole motorhome idea. On paper it may look inexpensive — until you figure in the enormous cost of fuel in Europe for such a vehicle.

As suggested the train option is much more desirable than you are allowing. Train fares in most of Europe, especially when booked in advance, are very reasonable. Or you could consider a short-term lease on a brand new (and MUCH smaller) vehicle since you are staying three weeks. You%26#39;ll find that a lot less expensive than renting. You could indeed spend some of your time camping if you like that idea or just stay in small hotels.

One other thing. Most of the places you list will be very busy and packed with tourists in July. Delightful as the idea of being foot-loose and fancy-free might seem, travelling in much of Europe in July with no hotel reservations is likely to mean that you will quite likely be paying more than you should for dodgy accommodation. And campsites are also usually fully booked in most of Europe in July.