[humyum]

Hi Team,

I have just landed in Netherlands 2 days back and my girlfriend and me are planning a roadtrip from Amsterdam to either Croatia or Norway from this Friday 28th to 5th Saturday. She has her holidays starting from Friday in the 2nd half and we would want to leave right then.

I have never driven in Netherlands before but I have driven in India for 20 years around of my life and have lived in Uk for a couple of years where I have driven a few times.

We want to explore some places while we drive to Croatia or Norway. If there is a 3rd place someone could recommend, that would be amazing.

I saw car rentals online and most of them for a small hatchback with unlimited mileage are coming to 28 to 30 thousand rupees for 8 days.

Can you please help me plan this trip as I left from India with such a hectic work month that I never got a chance to plan this out.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by humyum

I have just landed in Netherlands 2 days back and my girlfriend and me are planning a roadtrip from Amsterdam to either Croatia or Norway from this Friday 28th to 5th Saturday. She has her holidays starting from Friday in the 2nd half and we would want to leave right then.

That's around 7 days road trip and Norway is quite a big country to explore, from South to North. It took me 5 weeks to explore a bit of Norway+Sweden.

Both Croatia and Norway are quite far from Netherlands for a 7 day road trip.

If at all you want to explore, Germany, particularly South Bavaria (Fussen - Neuschwanstein castle) is an amazing place to visit. In addition, can plan for nearby Austrian alps for salt mines and lovely village at Hallstatt.

It will give you good enough "drive time" and exploring few exciting places within the duration.

But if you are hellbound for Norway, Then,

Head straight to Port Hirtshals, Book a Ferry and cross over to Norway, Drive to Stavanger/Bergen/Voss and head back to Netherlands. I guess that would be possible in 7 days.


Good Luck

[dileepcm]

I have been to both of the destinations from Netherlands by road. Honestly 7 days is just not enough to have a good trip.
If I have to make a recommendation out of the two, South of Norway would be my pick. Here is my travelogue on Norway (A glimpse of Norway - a week on the roads).

I don't have a write up for Croatia but if you have any questions, pls let me know.

Alternatively, South of Germany (Black Forest area) or North of Italy are good alternatives.
Austria (Road trip during Corona times - Netherlands to Austria) is also a good destination for a week.

Good luck.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

That's around 7 days road trip and Norway is quite a big country to explore, from South to North. It took me 5 weeks to explore a bit of Norway+Sweden.

Both Croatia and Norway are quite far from Netherlands for a 7 day road trip.

If at all you want to explore, Germany, particularly South Bavaria (Fussen - Neuschwanstein castle) is an amazing place to visit. In addition, can plan for nearby Austrian alps for salt mines and lovely village at Hallstatt.

It will give you good enough "drive time" and exploring few exciting places within the duration.

But if you are hellbound for Norway, Then,

Head straight to Port Hirtshals, Book a Ferry and cross over to Norway, Drive to Stavanger/Bergen/Voss and head back to Netherlands. I guess that would be possible in 7 days. Good Luck

Okay, so we have cancelled on thinking of Norway as like you said its a ferry crossing and its turning out to be very expensive.

Hallstat my girlfriend has already visited. Is Italy a good option? Google map says Venice is 15 hours away and I have done multiple 1100-1200 km trips in India in a single day.

We want to see something which is offbeat, if it has to be a city, something like Venice which is totally off beat and if not, a town or a small village and explore areas around or visit multiple villages or towns around, where would be find something like this?

I know its a little late in the time to plan since we want to leave for Saturday but with our hectic work schedule, we just did not find the time to do it before I got here.

Originally Posted by dileepcm

I have been to both of the destinations from Netherlands by road. Honestly 7 days is just not enough to have a good trip.
If I have to make a recommendation out of the two, South of Norway would be my pick. Here is my travelogue on Norway (A glimpse of Norway - a week on the roads).

I don't have a write up for Croatia but if you have any questions, pls let me know.

Alternatively, South of Germany (Black Forest area) or North of Italy are good alternatives.
Austria (Road trip during Corona times - Netherlands to Austria) is also a good destination for a week.

Good luck.

Black Forest is what I researched and found too. Any particular place we can go in this? Where we can book some nice hotel or airbnb even.

This will sound very stupid, but like Shawn asked Twinke in Tokyo Drift, If I needed a 30 second lesson on how to drift?

My question is, If I needed a quick lesson on what to remember while driving here, what would it be? Starting from Amsterdam as with the trams, buses, cyclist and different lanes for trams and roads while them merging sometimes and add left hand drive to that, looks overwhelming but I don't know how it will feel from behind the wheel. I have been driving since 18 years now and want to drive here.

The map of Europe looks very overwhelming, hence we are not able to plan this like we would have say in India because we knew a lot more

[libranof1987]

To be honest: looks like you have a lot going on, and you want to accomplish a further lot in this short time. Understandable But it doesn't seem practical.

First, forget Italy. It is a good way across the continent, and you'll spend your time to and fro, rather than in Italy. I suspect the main objective is for you two to spend time together, rather than go on a whirlwind sightseeing tour?

How about focussing on nearby cities / countries? Perhaps Belgium and north-eastern Germany? Or even the UK - if your visa allows entry. You've specifically said road-trip; if that isn't a hard criteria - train / bus / flight travel will open up all of Europe!

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by humyum

We want to see something which is offbeat, if it has to be a city, something like Venice which is totally off beat and if not, a town or a small village and explore areas around or visit multiple villages or towns around, where would be find something like this?

Looks like you have too much on your plate, Italy is around 1000kms from Amsterdam, if that’s the country you want to explore and need offbeat places, look at “Cinque Terre“, but I won’t advise any other place. Roads in Italy are quite narrow and travel time would considerably increase with distance.

There are some lovely Airbnb’s available and few hiking spots too, if at all that interest you.

A better advice has been send across by our Mod above. Do consider that.

Cheers

[dileepcm]

Originally Posted by humyum

Black Forest is what I researched and found too. Any particular place we can go in this? Where we can book some nice hotel or airbnb even.


My question is, If I needed a quick lesson on what to remember while driving here, what would it be? Starting from Amsterdam as with the trams, buses, cyclist and different lanes for trams and roads while them merging sometimes and add left hand drive to that, looks overwhelming but I don't know how it will feel from behind the wheel. I have been driving since 18 years now and want to drive here.



The map of Europe looks very overwhelming, hence we are not able to plan this like we would have say in India because we knew a lot more

-- Black forest has some typical tourist places like waterfalls and so on - but in my view, being in some remote village combining with some hikes or drives is what the experience is all about. Airbnb is the best place to look for stay options.

--Like others already mentioned, I personally suggest taking all it a bit slower. There is a lot and especially given you have been driving in India for long, there are several things to unlearn first. Take a rental car for a day or two and try driving smaller distances around to get familiar with roads, round about, other general rules etc. Taking 1-2 driving classes would be even better.

[kraft.wagen]

Like others mentioned, 7 days is very short to enjoy a long road trip even to Italy (though doable). How bout country side of France? There are some really nice wine regions like Epernay or Alsace which are easy drive.

Also it really depends what you want to do- do you want to drive a lot of kms or experience a city or countryside and what do you like to experience in a specific place. This will help you narrow down.

[chanz2015]

I know, I am late on this as you may have already started your trip.

If I where you, I would be following the below plan.



But instead of driving in a stretch to Venice, I will try to stay in multiple cites en-route. My Itenary would be as below:

• Day 1: Start from Amsterdam and drive to Munich, enjoy the autobahn and use the full advantage of it. I would then drive towards the Austrian border stay in some nice Airbnb in the Alps. (8-10 hrs of driving )
  
• Day 2: Drive leisurely through Alps and will spend time to enjoy the scenic beauty, may be visit Innsbruck and outskirts and then travel to Venice. (5hrs of driving)
  
• Day 3 & 4 - Spend time in Venice . Drive to Milan on Day 4 evening .(3hrs of driving)
  
• Day 5 - Spend time in Milan
  
• Day 6 - Drive towards Black Forest and once again enjoying Alps - 6Hrs of driving
  
• Day 7 - Drive back to Amsterdam via Luxemburg and Antwerp - 8hrs of driving
  
• You can also skip Milan and drive directly to Black Forest on Day 4 or 5 and Spend more time there. This will be an 8hrs drive

Planning for a vacation is actually easier here in Europe than India (my personal opinion) Relay on Waze for driving and Booking.com for booking stays. I feel booking.com has more options and better rates than airbnb (again from my personal experience). And as you are driving, you can opt for stays outside the city which will be cheaper.

Enjoy your vacation

[humyum]

Hi Team,

Sorry for the late reply. We did go for a roadtrip, but after listening to all the advice, we planned a short one this time and a longer one when I visit next. We went to Cochem and stayed at this Airbnb in a town called Zell

We rented a car and it take me like 15-20 minutes to get used to the left hand drive drive with shifting the gears from the right hand. We got an almost new Manual Toyota Aygo from Hertz which had done 3200 odd kilometers.

The only folly that happened right after we got the car in the next two turns was, I drove on the wrong side on the main street in Amsterdam as it was early morning and the road had no dividers until a van came barreling down the opposite side flashing its lights and I moved back to the right side ( literally). If a cop would have seen it, I would be behind bars probably.

After that for a couple of kilometers, I followed cars around so I was sure of the rules and mannerism of the people who drive in Netherlands. Once I got used to everything, it was a cake walk. .

People on the highways in NL follow traffic and speed rules to the T but as soon you enter Germany, suddenly highways are a race track and everyone is barreling away. Awesome fun.

Post all about the trip and pictures in the coming days. Thank you everyone who helped me with all the data and details for planning a trip.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by humyum

Hi Team,

Sorry for the late reply. We did go for a roadtrip, but after listening to all the advice, we planned a short one this time and a longer one when I visit next. We went to Cochem and stayed at this Airbnb in a town called Zell.

Good choice! Cochem is a lovely little town on the river Moezel. Lots to see and do nearby too!

Jeroen