The CFC Travel Advice Bureau!

[Peck of Arabia]

This idea is something rather inspired by a brief discussion on the Altered Maps thread in which Warpus posted a proposed travel route of his for some undetermined point in the future and we all ended up chipping in suggestions, or something.

I thought it'd be nice if there was a thread dedicated to that kind of advice where people can offer their expertise from either doing something similar or living in or nearby.

Besides, it's always nice to talk about travelling!


By way of an example I offer my own predicament:

I've been tasked by my friends into planning a European road trip sometime later this year on account of the fact I have the most time on my hands and have least to offer the group (with no car, unable to drive and no navigation ability I've given myself instead the title "cultural ambassador" of the group whatever that entails)

Anyway; I've never done a roadtrip before, nor am I quite sure where exactly to go.

These are two incredibly preliminary ideas that are completely up in the air (lacking set destinations, even). As far as I know, my fellow travellers are not terribly fussed where we go- giving me almost dictatorial control over the itinerary As such, I don't quite trust myself- hence why I'm seeking advice

Has anybody any tips, tricks, must-see destinations or stories to share?

Or indeed any travel plans themselves to show or open to discussion?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

It looks like you're going to end up a bit south of Jönköping in the second route...

You will be travelling by car?! In the spring/summer?

Berlin might be a good destination, unless you want a longer trip.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Looking at the first map I'd strongly suggest diverting across The Pyrenees through Andorra to Biarritz, San Sebastian and onto Bilbao. The Guggenheim there is one of the greatest buildings I've seen and I'm no art connoisseur but I spent five or six hours there and was sad to leave.

From there continue west along the coast road, it's a beautiful drive. Why not stop at Mundaka and give surfing a try (if you don't already) if not, it's another great piece of scenery anyway. Continue west for as little or as long as you like and it's such a great drive that to return on the same route is no problem at all. You should divert to Pamplona on the return aswell.

 

[Borachio]

How long have you got?

How much time do you want to spend sitting in a car?

How many people are there in your group? If there's four of you - that means people will want to spend less time sitting in the back of the car, so less time travelling altogether.

Do you just want to go from place to place with little interest in the actual journey itself?

How much money are you prepared to waste on petrol?

edit: North coast of Spain is very pretty indeed. But both sides of the Pyrennees are as well. You're really spoilt for choice. I don't think much of Clermont Ferrand though. It's a bit industrial, as I remember it. Though Auvergne is fine, generally. But I'd tend to go either further west or further east. Lyon's worth a look - if you like that sort of thing. A very strange place.

Pont du Gar is considered a must by some. Though I'm not sure why.

 

[warpus]

Or indeed any travel plans themselves to show or open to discussion?

I am for now shelving my overly ambitious Europe trip plans (the map I posted that you referenced in your OP) and am thinking about heading to just Norway (or Scandinavia as a whole) instead.

We'll see though.. These things have a strange way of working themselves out. Either a friend has time and money to go too, somebody offers me a place to crash somewhere, there's a sale on a flight, or .. something always happens that ends up pointing me in a specific direction in terms of my next trip.

I made a Norwegian friend of sorts online - I have a place to crash there for a night at least.. somewhere in Norway - I'm not sure exactly where this guy lives yet .. But he enjoys hiking and has been feeding me great information. It's that sort of thing that makes me perk up and want to go somewhere.

Anyway; I've never done a roadtrip before, nor am I quite sure where exactly to go.

It depends on what everybody wants to see and what sorts of things they are interested in, right?

There are people who enjoy the great outdoors, in which case you'd want to maybe do some hiking, see some natural wonders, maybe head into the mountains in Switzerland or something..

Is your group not that active? Maybe the majority of people going really enjoy museums instead?

It's that sort of stuff that really shapes your trip. When I plan my trips, I have an idea in my head in terms of the type of stuff I want to see and do. It has a huge impact on my itinerary.

I'm going to be following this thread to see if I can get more ideas for future trips. I have a "Future trip ideas" google doc that I update with new information, whenever I come across a place or thing that I would want to see or do. It's a dynamic document that keeps on growing - when I'm ready to go on a trip (in terms of vacation time and money), I'll reference my notes.

You could also try looking around on reddit - I get a lot of good information there. reddit.com/r/travel is a huge subreddit with a lot of people who will be more than happy to give you tips.

Having never been to that part of Europe (yet) I can unfortunately not give you many tips for this trip, but good luck with your planning! One thing that I can suggest is to try to avoid touristy traps, as much as you can. The problem is that a lot of things that people want to see ARE tourist traps, but there are things you can do to save money... Say you are visiting some cathedral that's a huge draw for tourists.. you get hungry. Do not eat at any of the restaurants in the tourist trap itself - either do some research or walk away from the trap for a couple minutes, and try to find a place where locals might eat.

 

[TomYo689]

Give me a plan for a journey to North Dakota in search of employment

 

[Borachio]

OK. Here's the plan:
1. go to North Dakota
2. look for a job

(It may need some fleshing out, I'll admit. But I think the basic structure and order of the plan is sound.)

 

[TomYo689]

Can I have a fancy google map with blue lines on it?

 

[Borachio]

I don't see why not. Google will supply one, I'm almost certain.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Give me a plan for a journey to North Dakota in search of employment

OK. Here's the plan:
1. go to North Dakota
2. look for a job

(It may need some fleshing out, I'll admit. But I think the basic structure and order of the plan is sound.)

3. Take a car that you are capable of living in, because there is no housing.
4. Take enough cash to deal with the $15 hamburgers until you land a job.

 

[dutchfire]

For what it is worth: Denmark is expensive, and Sweden probably too.
Is the whole thing a drive-around-and-drink-beer thing, or more cultural/active/stuff? If it is about drinking beer, going to the Czech Republic and/or Poland (e.g. Krakow?) is probably your best bet.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

For what it is worth: Denmark is expensive, and Sweden probably too.
Is the whole thing a drive-around-and-drink-beer thing, or more cultural/active/stuff? If it is about drinking beer, going to the Czech Republic Land of Hotties and/or Poland Land of Warpuses (e.g. Krakow?) is probably your best bet.

ftfy

 

[Peck of Arabia]

This is a great response! I don't know where to start...

The beginning I guess.

Loppan Torkel: The second map is less well thought through, had I done so I may have realised Stockholm was as good a place to end as any...
I was just playing around with the idea as I've never been to Scandinavia or Northern Germany though in all honesty it doesn't look likely - I have little knowledge of Sweden after the Great Northern War...

RugbyLEAGUEfan: That not a bad idea, I'm relieved about the Guggenheim, I was curious but I'm really not an arty type so its good to know I'd enjoy it. I think you and Borachio have sold me on Northern Spain- aside from Barcelona, I don't know what I really be missing by heading west instead of south. Also, I've never surfed, but I suppose there's a first time for everything

Borachio: Depending on whether they're all in there should be 3 of us in my friend's car. Fortunately I think he likes driving and I don't mind long stretches in car journeys (even in the back seat) and this is as much about the journey as the destinations- we had this idea of going on a road trip, and just needed to figure out where.

Given as I think we have a 2 week time limit this might be a little ambitious but better to start big and whittle it down I suppose.

Fuel costs are an interesting one I think if we all put in £150 into a fuel fund and invite a fourth person, £600 should get us quite far (maybe not far enough if we have to drive back) and that's not much more than a cheap easyjet type flight

North west Spain is definitely making it to the final draft proposal- I'm really up for it and I could probably pitch it well, I've heard from others, too, that the south of France is beautiful I'm worried about "over-Francing" it though (The Clermont-Ferrand bit is just to get us home- but I think there's a ferry from Bilbao to Portsmouth so maybe that's an option)

warpus: We're pretty active bunch- I'm the laziest by far but even I love walking and quite fancy hiking through somewhere picturesque- I though about mixing it up a little too, I love nothing more exploring foreign cities, guidebook in hand, learning about a place and its history.

Shame about your ambitious travel plans though its true, nobody knows what the future holds. Hopefully some kind of Norwegian adventure at least. I like the idea of sharing travel plans and tips to learn from each other, I want to travel a lot while I'm young and I think this is the best way to find where's good to go.
(if all goes well this year I'm thinking about something similar down the West Coast of US- I'll be looking for advice then, too)

Dutchfire: I'd forgotten Scandinavia as a whole is pretty pricey, I might leave that for another trip. Though booze will be a frequent occurence, I'm not making it a focus for the trip- it seems like a bit of waste of opportunity and doesn't fit too well with the road trip theme


I think that's everyone. Any one else planning a trip somewhere nice, or like a trip they'd like to take someday?

 

[FriendlyFire]

Pro Tip: Secure your camera and Pants

 

[ComradeDavo]

In September I spent a week in Nice, France, followed by a 3 week road trip which went along Southern France into Spain, across to Portugal, back into Spain and then into Morocco. Rented cars, I wasn't driving. Was very enjoyable.

What are you sleeping plans for the trip? I deffo reccomend Youth Hostels. Nothing beats propping up a youth hostel bar and making friends with all your fellow travellers!

 

[eduhum]

As half of my family is from Belgium I've done the way the pic on the first post describes many times.

The landscape in Massif Central in France is very beautiful. From there to Paris there is not much to see. Still beatiful, but always the same.
Catalonia is a very beautiful, and very very diverse land. It has sea, mountains, plains, Barcelona, dry, humid, cold, hot, dunno many things

 

[Camikaze]

Subscription post.

am thinking about heading to just Norway (or Scandinavia as a whole) instead.

Have you won the lottery?

 

[dutchfire]

warpus: We're pretty active bunch- I'm the laziest by far but even I love walking and quite fancy hiking through somewhere picturesque- I though about mixing it up a little too, I love nothing more exploring foreign cities, guidebook in hand, learning about a place and its history.

I terms of landscape, northern Germany/eastern Netherlands is not ideal. It is basically flat, agricultural land. In Northern Germany, the main attractions are the cities (Bremen, Hamburg, maybe Lübeck, maybe Hannover). Problem for a road trip is that these all pretty much have the same features (Hanse/trade city) and only differ slightly (Bremen is a bit older than Hamburg, Lübeck is a bit smaller). If you're interested in such things taking a cheap flight and hoping over for a long weekend would be more efficient.

For landscape, the Belgian Ardennes and Luxembourg, and the part of Germany that borders it, are probably better.

I'll echo the youth hostel sentiment, but you can also consider bringing some tents and going camping. Camp sites usually also have lots of people visiting them. Only doing if you like camping, and only during the summer. Camping is easier if you're in the countryside, in cities youth hostels are best.

 

[Borachio]

I actually stayed on a campsite, years ago, in the centre of Paris. I wonder if it's still there.

 

[Peck of Arabia]

I fully intend to hostel as much as possible, I've not had a bad hostel experience to date- then again maybe travelling by car opens up new options (easy to carry a large tent around, for instance).

I think the probable timing of this time will be very late summer, quite a way into autumn so the that'll probably sway it the way of hostels. (I love camping, and have a pretty high tolerance threshold for petty discomforts but there's only so much camping in the rain one man can take!)

I'll probably see the friends who're up for this in about a week or so; I'll have some much better info then.