Jump to content


Planning A Trip To Germany.

Recommended Posts

Me and some pals are planning to fly to Berlin next year, then hire a car to go see Auschwitz, then Nuremberg, onto the Nurburgring, drive down to Switzerland to drive the Furka pass then drive back to Munich. Has anyone done anything similar or have any experience of driving/renting in Europe that has any do’s and dont’s apart from what I’ve already read up on?

Cheers.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What would you do in Berlin? It's a fair drive from Berlin to Auschwitz in Poland.

It's a long way from Auschwitz to the Nurburgring (which is nowhere near Nuremberg) 700 miles +.

Then around 400 miles to the Furka Pass. From there to Munich it's about 240-280 miles depending on route taken.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

First job get a map of Europe out and look to see if your planned itinerary makes sense. I’ve visited both Berlin and Auschwitch, but not in the same trip. The usual jumping off point for Auschwitch is Krakow in Poland. But it is still a three hour drive from there. Berlin and Krakow are both amazing places and worth visiting but I’ d just rethink your planned itinerary. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Watch out for the satellite speed cameras . They are very strict in both Germany and Switzerland . Stick rigidly ,as you should in any country ,to the speed limit or a speeding fine will be popping through your letter box . 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ooh lovely I am very envious! We've done two driving holidays through Germany taking our own car, and visited by plane once too. We love it there!

 

I too think your itinerary is full on. We did from the Euro tunnel down to the Austrian border at the Zugspitze and back in two weeks and it was a lot (although brilliant)

 

Driving in Germany is absolutely fine, just check on the local laws as to what to carry with you, speed limits etc. Stay out of people's way on the Autobahn, people do not lane hog over there. Public transport is good so in my experience you can easily leave your car at your hotel whilst you do local visits around cities, which means you don't need to worry too much about getting a very central hotel, which often don't have good parking. You usually need to buy a pass from a ticket machine at the platform/station, they don't have conductors like we have here.

 

Most people visiting the Nurburgring stay in and around Adenau which is a lovely little town with some nice restaurants (try the comfy corner and Pinocchio's pizzeria ). I'd advise you to plan which days of the week you go there carefully as not all of the attractions are open every day. The museum is worth a visit as is the little Nurburg castle (great view from the top) and of course Youtube Corner (this is labelled on google maps)!

 

If you are interested in cars/motorsport I'd highly recommend a visit to Stuttgart to the Mercedes museum - it's a really cracking visit.

 

Oh and if you like steaks try the Blockhouse, it's a chain with places around Germany and it's super yummy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You'll have abit of a job finding a hire company that will be happy with such a long trip AND a session on the Nurburgring.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

VW kitties thanks ever so much, just the response I was wanting, I love driving and will definitely be looking into the things you mentioned. I’m going to try to cram it into a week but thinking more 10 days.

Have you any experience of car hire in Germany apart from the usual big companies? I’m wanting something nice like an M3 BMW or Golf Gti.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Don’t forget you’ll be needing that ‘vignette’ thingie for driving on Swiss Motorways !

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
22 hours ago, geared said:

You'll have abit of a job finding a hire company that will be happy with such a long trip AND a session on the Nurburgring.

Yes you won't be able to take the hire car on the ring itself. Even taking your own car over to Germany, you must check your insurance as most have a specific clause that excludes ring use. Many people risk it or just don't realise, however if you have an accident and hit the barriers (or someone's prized Porsche!) it could cost you an absolute fortune to put right! Although we've visited the ring a couple of times we haven't taken our own car round. I was lucky enough to get a ride round with a friend in a megane RS which was really fun.

 

You can book a trip around in the ring taxi or there's specific ring car rental to have a go around in a GTI or whatever. I seem to remember there's even a ring school where you can get proper training etc, I'd love to do that one day!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.