Stop over site on route to Austria ?
Stop over from Caen to Innsbruck recommendation anyone?
We’re planning to go to Natterer See near Innsbruck, Austria in late July (school holiday time) in 2019, with our three secondary school age children, and caravan. We are going to travel from Portsmouth to Caen on the ferry. Can anyone recommend a site to stop at on route for 1 night?
thank you!
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Having been to Austria several times and stayed at Natterersee three times now I am unfamiliar with the route from Caen as we usually use the Tunnel. I understand why you are using that crossing as you live in Devon. I had a look at MSAutoroute and it would appear that on their recommended route Metz is about half way so you could use the Municipal right in the centre of Metz. Details here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_municipal_metzplage.html Worth pointing out that it tends to fill up towards late afternoon so the earlier you can get there the better. If Metz was a bit too far (350 miles from Caen) then an earlier stop could be at Verdun. This is a site we have used a few times http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/camping_les_breuils.html Given that Innsbruck is about 750 miles from Caen you might want to think about a second stop?
David
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There are 3 ferries a day to Caen - where you get to on day one depends on the timing of your ferry, and then the route you choose depends on whether you are prepared to tackle one of the Paris ring roads or take a wide diversion well clear of the city either to the north or the south. Map time !
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Approximately 730 miles and the Paris ring roads and then the costly route through Switzerland (2 x vignettes required) or are you heading France/Belgium/Austria ?
It's a very long drag through France (especially now at 80kph) and having done the journey 3 times to NattererSee, I would also suggest 2 night halts. Have you decided on your route yet?
Whichever way you go NattererSee and the surrounding area is absolutely breathtakingly stunning
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It would be easy enough to avoid Paris by initially heading towards Le Harve then Amiens, St Quentin, Reims and then over to Metz. It doesn't seem to be as straight forward avoiding Paris to the south unless you go closer to the City?
David
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Thank you everyone for all your information.
We both tow and share the driving, and are generally unfazed by traffic etc - we both used to commute into London when we lived in the S.E, so are generally ok about carving people up if we have to (although I get a bit emotional if I have to tow the 'van the last 2 miles home down the narrow, windy lanes - best to leave that to hubby, then I can close my eyes!) we try to do 3-4 hours driving then then swap over (depends if there's somewhere suitable to stop, can sometimes be tricky in the summer hols).
The problem for us is that we have the best part of a day's driving to get to mainland Europe. This year we did the Eurotunnel, which was excellent, but with the summer holiday traffic and roadworks necessitated an overnight stop in the UK, before we even left the country, and that just doesn't seem right, does it?! Although the ferry pitches at Black Horse Farm CC Site were brilliant.
I've costed an overnight ferry - wow! £1250 May have to shop around!
We would definately only want to make 1 stop on the way there/back because otherwise we're in danger of spending half of our precious holiday travelling ... And with the best will in the world, and even with my excellent teenage travellers, that's torture!! Years ago, pre- caravan and b.c (before children) we used to drive to this region in Austria in 1 (long) day, so it's come as something of a shock to find it could now take us 4, each way. Hubby takes 2 weeks 'off' which really means 2 weeks working on a laptop on a campsite for a couple of hours in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening, and occasionally a bit more during the day.
The viamichelin app has given me a route: Caen, Paris, Metz, Saabrucken, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Ulm, Innsbruck It estimates 13 hours (plus stoppage time). Does this sound about right?
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The viamichelin app has given me a route: Caen, Paris, Metz, Saabrucken, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Ulm, Innsbruck It estimates 13 hours (plus stoppage time). Does this sound about right?
Yes it does sound right and that was one of the reasons for suggesting Metz as an overnight as its around half way. I have another couple of suggestions at Karlsruhe and Stuttgart if you want to press on further but that might depend on the initial part of the route from Caen and how you bypass Paris. The day of travel may also make a difference. If its at the weekend I suspect you are less likely to get holdups on the autobahns as there will be less trucks. Have you thought about the final part of the journey in Austria, will it be via Munich or via the Fern Pass? The latter is the shorter route but less on motorway.
David
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The overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre will be a bit cheaper than the service to Caen and will put you a bit closer to your destination. too. And if you can cross on a Thursday evening when the normal ferry is "Baie de Seine" then I believe there are a few six berth cabins which might suit you and your family.
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Hi,
Given your comments of wanting the minimum days on the journey and two drivers I'd stay in control and maximise the daily distance. Its roughly 960 miles Exeter, Bristol, Folkstone, Reims to Innsbruick - via Michelin.
My view would be motorway to Folkstone and use the Tunnel for the speed and maximum flexibility of the train departures and then on into France to say Reims (430 miles from Exeter) or even the Chalon area on Day 1. Day 2 to site. One overnight stop and a pretty normal 2 day run for an HGV with one driver (no kids).
However stay flexible as there's lots of overnight stopovers on the route depending on the mood enthuisiasm whinging.
ACSI in 2019 website for overnight sites - dont book ahead (except the Tunnel for savings) to stay flexible, just a quick call ahead to the chosen site maybe. Most of the overnight transit type sites are very used to late arrivals & the random turn ups - even if a bit grumpy.
Enjoy !
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Hi, In regard to costs we have returned from Roscoff yesterday and due to circumstances only made the booking shortly before we eft three weeks ago.
I had assumed that this would affect the price but having seen your post checked on the same dates for 2019 and got exactly the same price of £579 for two adults two teenagers and a 7.3m caravan and that included 4 Club vouchers worth £88. Looking at July dates for next year puts up the cost by app £150 for the same route so it seems that you may be able to save on the prices that you quoted but its clear that the later into the holiday period you go the less the cost will be.
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Thank you for the detailed response.
We need to give it some serious thought. of course, the weather can make a huge difference to journey times too - many's the time its been torrential driving through Germany.
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Thank you. We also looked at Roscoff as its our nearest port, but puts you out on a limb in France, so ruled it out. Maybe well have another look and check.
We're restricted to end July - mid August by school term times and then work commitments. OH always has to be back to work for mid August, and there's no wiggle room on that. But yes, ferries are cheaper later in the month.
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Thank you for your help.
'Stick to motorways wherever possible when towing' is OH's motto. We've had times where we've been re-routed by Sat Navs in the past due to traffic problems, and ended up with thousands of roundabouts - nowhere to pull in to take a break etc. We'll do the 'admiring the scenery' thing once we're there! so we'll be going via Munich.
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Thanks for that tip - I'll take a look!
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If your coming from the west (Metz, Stuttgart etc.) then the Fern Pass is the better option for Innsbruck than via Munich in July/ August when the Bavarian schools are on holiday. The road from Ulm to Imst via the Fern Pass is fine for caravans and will be quieter and more picturesque. In addition, there are numerous campsites along the route if you find you need a break and wish to arrive in Innsbruck before lunch.
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It seems then that you will probably need to maximise the time by your choice of crossing time.
The longer routes, like Roscoff do add to the distance so, whilst an overnight crossing maximises the travel time,not suitable.
The most convenient in terms of being able to cross at any time are the shorter Dover/tunnel crossings which are a pain to get to but again may be viable if you travel up at the end of a working day and then cross overnight, which we have done in the past, and is a lot more doable with two drivers than one.
One option that we used many years ago, and that friends used this yearl is the Newhaven-Dieppe route which gives a onward journey only a few miles more than the Dover routes.
Enjoy the planning and the holiday.
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