We have two times during our upcoming trip that we will have a 5-7 hour drive between destinations while in Germany and Austria. I was thinking of leaving one evening driving halfway, stop, pick up the rest the next morning. Some family members are suggesting that we just leave in the morning and drive it straight through to our next destination.
Suggestions? Thoughts?
One thing I like to keep in mind is that the view is all part of the vacation. If you speed through it in the dark or when you're tired, you're missing a lot.
I like to try to drive no more than 3 or 4 hours or I find I just want to "get there" and I forget to appreciate where I am now. Also as others have mentioned, things like traffic jams are much more nerve wracking when you're tired. If you only plan a few hours driving a day, you're more flexible.
When is your trip? Is it this month? Traffic on the autobahn can be horrific in August. If it's September or later, that shouldn't be an issue.
Trip is in early September. Thanks!
I try to keep my travel time down to 3 or 4 hours per day. With packing, checking out, driving, eating, seeing a site or two, checking in, unpacking - it ends up being a full day. If it's a seven hour drive, I'd probably split it into two days. If it's five, I might push it.
Either way. I like to get up early, pack, check out, eat breakfast and start driving. I like to break up the trip with stops for a site or two and pick up food and drinks (usually at a grocery store) while stopped.
Ideally, I prefer to be in my new lodging by late afternoon so we can have a little time to get oriented before dinner (while it's still light out).
we are "get up and go" people. I'd leave at 6:00 am. No reason to piddle around.
Mary: There are a lot of unknown variables that make it difficult to recommend something for you, but I personally like to get from point A to point B quickly when driving, so I would choose to drive straight through. For me, five hours on the road isn’t taxing, especially with a rest stop on the way. And, unless I pre-build it into my schedule, I won’t normally stop to sightsee along the route. Start early in the a.m. for longer drives. On one occasion, I drove from Paris to Sankt Goar on the Rhein with a 2-3 hour stop in Trier. Total actual drive time was about 6 hours. Short trips, such as from Munich to Salzburg, can easily be done in a single drive without stops any time of day. On another longer trip, I drove from Vienna to Rotheburg ob der Tauber without stopping for anything but a diesel and toilet break. This was also about 6 hours worth of driving. So, 5-7 hours for me is no big deal. The longest stretch I’ll do is 10 hours per day driving across the western U.S. Those are long days, and I’ll usually feel pretty wiped out at bedtime.
I will fill in the blanks - first drive is from Mosel Valley to Salzburg and second drive is from Tirol back to Mosel Valley.
We just need to figure out what it is that we want to do. Not easy for us for some reason - haha. Thanks for the suggestions and thoughts!
I would warn you about trying to purchase fuel late in the day. Most of the self service pumps I have run across do NOT accept North American credit cards. The stations with an attendant on duty generally do. The European Master Card, Visa, etc. have an extra electronic chip embedded on one end. We were almost on empty near Le Mans and couldn't find a station with an attendant. Finally decided to wait for a friendly looking French person and had them pump fuel using their card, for which we very gladly paid them in Euros. Just be careful to watch the fuel gauge closely if doing a very long drive.
I don't like adding one-night-stays at hotels if I don't need to. But it shouldn't be difficult to find a point about half-way on your drive to spend a couple of hours experiencing another touristy sight and get some exercise at the same time.
Even with small kids in tow we would do up to about 10 hours driving per day. With a nice lunch break. Example: we drove from NW Germany to Brittany with total driving time of about 10 hours. But at lunch time we stopped in Amiens and visited the cathedral for a couple of hours. And we still arrived before dark in time for dinner at our final destination.
Some suggestions for your trip:
On the drive from the Mosel region to Salzburg you could stop in Nuernberg. On the way back maybe stop in Stuttgart. That may not be the most direct or fasted route but one that offers you some different points of interest.
First place, I would never drive. Going by train might sometimes take a little longer, but it is so much easier, and definitely less expensive. It gives you the freedom to sit back, relax, watch the scenery if you want to, read, write in your journal. The time can be used for something more productive than watching the cars around you and the road.
On my planned trip to the Alps end of this month, I have a long day (6 hrs) planned from Hallstatt to near Innsbruck. I will be "on the road" from 9 AM, and get to my destination around 4 PM. I will devote my day to travel and enjoying the Alpine scenery (Zell am See).
We do it like Brad. I would never leave for a drive in the evening. My husband likes to take a late afternoon nap, and I like to go to bed early. I think drives go much faster in the morning than the afternoon and evening. Depending on where you are going and when, the evening has the disadvantage of possibly being dark. I like to see where I am going and enjoy the scenery.
Mary: You weren’t asking about driving versus using rail, right?
Michael - no, we are driving because mainly because of our first and most important stop in the Mosel Valley which I believe has little to no train access. (I could be wrong but our other destinations in that area are not accessible by rail, I believe). I had considered rail but think that a car will serve us better this trip.
I visited (three days) the Mosel valley last November, and used only public transportation. I had no problem getting around - Cochem, Bernkastel-Kues, Zell am Mosel, Beilstein, Treis-Karden. There is a rail line the entire length of the Mosel and frequent buses to neighboring towns.
Using www.mappy.com I requested a route from Cochem to Salzburg. It estimated a 7 hour, 15 minute drive. I would enjoy this drive during the day; however, I would make an overnight stop in Rothenburg or a bit further south. Have a great trip.
You’ll enjoy the laid-back and easy driving of the Mosel and Rhein valleys…very pretty country. If you weren’t already planning a visit to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, I like the suggestion of breaking up the journey to Salzburg with a one-night stay here.
