Euro trip tips

Some pointers for VW freaks planning to travel Europe

Some people have been asking me about tips for a trip to Europe, so I decided to make a page out of it.

I am planning a trip round Europe in it with a friend of mine. Now I am looking for a site that may give me some information and more details on traveling around Europe in a camper. Good routes to take, Places to go, that sort of thing.

There are a few items to think of:

• Come before mid July or in September, as I guess that visiting one or more VW meetings will be a plus. The middle of the summer some how has no meetings (organizers think that everyone is on vacation, but they seem to forget that the are plenty of VW loving tourist in the area) for the dates of events check out my events calendar
• Holland and the UK have the biggest shows. Germany only has smaller shows (the size of the country results in lot's of small/local clubs. Holland has some good national clubs => bigger events)
• The top shows: Hessisch Oldendorf, European Bug-In, Bad Camberg, VolksWorld Show, Stanford Hall, BVF, Bug Jam, Wanroij (used to be @ Budel)
• Other points of interest are:
  Wolfsburg: You can visit the plant (not in July/August), the VW museum and the city museum. The later is the only one that tells about the plant during WWII (closed on Monday). For more info; see the wolfsburg section
  There are plenty of aircooled VW specialist shops through out Europe. Buy a copy of Ultra VW, VolksWorld or VW Scene. They are loaded with ads of these shops. It's the easiest way to get there address

Non VW tips:

• Petrol is a LOT (4 to 5 times) more expensive than in the USA. so take that in account when you are making a budget. Also be ware of toll-roads, especially in France
• Most young (12-40 yrs) people in North Europe speak English. Especially Scandinavians and the Dutch. The further south you go, the less English speakers you find. France, Italy, and Spain are especially difficult for English only speakers. Pick up a "Berlitz" or similar phrase book to help you get around.
• Camping on the side of the road is NOT allowed in most countries (scandinavia has some exceptions) most countries have plenty of campsites. If you are in a tourist area, make sure you find a campsite pretty early. or try to book one in advance