Never been abroad before!

Charvey30

Hi everyone

Me and my partner are looking to go away in June for a few days. We want to do a roadtrip from boarding the ferry at hull and driving down through Europe to Italy. We have never been abroad before so asking for your advice for what documents to take, best way to get/spend money, places to stay etc. Any information would be greatly received.

Thanks
Tracy

oldernonethewiser

This should help get you started

https://www.theaa.com/european-breakdown-cover/driving-in-europe/what-do-i-need


Ferry tickets, passports, credit/debit cards, travel insurance.


Look at a map work out a route then you can decide where you want to stay and for how long.


Best way to get money is from an ATM with a card that charges no fees.

Katiehound

If you only have a few days why drive all the way to Italy? That is quite a trek and means you will be driving pretty much all the time. Part of the fun of having a car is being able to go a little off the beaten track and see what the coach trippers miss, stay B&B and meet the locals..

If you only have a few days as you can go Hull- Rotterdam or Hull-Zeebrugge (I assume those routes still exist!) you could happily explore parts of Holland. Of course there is Amsterdam, but also Haarlem, Leiden, the small villages and the witch weigh house at Oudewater, Arnhem open air museum, Hoorn.......
.
Or Bruges and parts of Belgium

Or tootle down to France

The world is your oyster

Credit card- Halifax clarity. Use for purchases not in ATM, no commission on shopping.
Check your car insurance for cover in Europe, breakdown cover too

EHIC?

Look here for a (long!) checklist
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/driving-abroad/checklist/

Charvey30

Thanks for both of your replies. My OH is 40 and wants to have pizza in Italy for his birthday (long standing joke). He is a petrol head so wants a roadtrip. We were thinking of going Hull to Rotterdam and drive from there.

maman

Can you only manage /afford a few days? As others have said, it's a long way to drive to Italy if that's your priority.

waamo

For a couple of days I would fly. Driving will mean you pull up at a place, eat and head back.

You can always hire a car in Italy if you really want to drive.

Carrot007

Katiehound wrote: »

Credit card- Halifax clarity. Use for purchases not in ATM, no commission on shopping.

Indeed this.


Most places take cards. (Take Iceland for instance, cash is pretty much only for tourists (though beware idiots that think they are doing you a favour by chargins in GBP, cancel and ask to press the buttons yourself!) yes evne for a bar of choccy (though it is expensive there))


But should you want cash for some reason it is also good.


The best ATM fees (should you be in a country that does them (say Spain)) tend to come from local banks with a name you are unaware of and the worst are the big international names.

John259

Good idea to drive, and see the countries en route. The journey is often far more important than the destination.

But some people prefer to stay in one place, occasionally venturing from the bar as far as the beach....

Grumpelstiltskin

What you want is way too much for a novice driver in Europe.

Get a cheap flight into somewhere like Pisa, get your pizza and enjoy, but to get an authentic pizza you need to head to Naples, no chance of driving that far unless you are either experienced or have 2 plus weeks to spare so you can use the back roads rather than motorways.

Edit Rotterdam to Naples is approx. 1800 km.

John259

I love the idea of a "novice driver in Europe"!

It takes about five seconds to get used to driving on the right, and that's it.

elsien

When I was a child living in Naples parents used to drive us back to England via the Mont Blanc tunnel and through France to the ferry. Took about a day and a half if I remember rightly but that was sleeping in the car while they alternated the driving.
There are much pleasanter ways of doing the trip, but I have no idea where your two weeks comes into it.