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Topic: Route to Croatia from Dover/Calais

samtheman

10/4/2016 at 4:29pm
Location: Somerset
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hi
we are planning to go to Croatia in August. Our itinerary is to take 3/4 days to get there, spent a week there, then drive up to Slovenia for a further week before travelling back via Troyes ( for 3 days) then Calais and home.

We have visited both Croatia and Slovenia before but not under our own steam!

We have worked out routes and planned hotels en route allowing sensible driving times - only my husband will drive.

We know we need to increase our insurance and our breakdown cover and will ensure the car is up to the journey, but what we need to know are " requirements" for driving through various countries - ie Green Cards, headlights on , headlights adjusted, speed limits, wet weather driving, etc.

The countries we are driving through will be France, Germany , Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Lichtenstein, Switzerland and Croatia.

Any advice and info welcomely received!

Post last edited on 10/04/2016 17:30:22

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Berriow

10/4/2016 at 6:16pm
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The RAC website will help you. Click first on News and Advice and you can get the information you want for each of the separate countries in your list. Good luck with your journey.

chrisandsandra

10/4/2016 at 6:22pm
Location: Somerset
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You may find this thread or a general search on the Camping Abroad section for 'Croatia' useful.

This link also gives up to date information and country by country regulations.

For Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia you will need a 'Carnet' or similar which is a form of road tax. You can buy them at the border or before you leave. Google them for further information but be careful to get to the official sites as there are others that charge over the top prices for them.

We regularly travel to Croatia and love it. Good luck.

samtheman

10/4/2016 at 7:11pm
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Thank you Chris and Sandra,
you are only a few miles from us I guess- we are in S.M. !
We are not camping on this occasion and are treating ourselves to hotel and villa accommodation!
We are not up to camping this year as my husband has been unwell. May I ask which route you took- our journey out is over 4 days - stopping at Leuven in Belgium, Nuremburg, and then Maribor in Slovenia and on the way back from Slovenia we are detouring to Troyes in France for a few days then up to Calais and home via the tunnel.

Looks ok on paper, averaging about 350 - 400 miles on a full day. What do you think?

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Rod+Ali

11/4/2016 at 9:03am
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We've made this journey several times via the following route :

Calais - Lille - Luxembourg - Munich - Salzburg - Lublijana - CROATIA

We find this to be the most direct route. As stated above you need to buy a "Vignette" to travel on motorways in Austria (EUR 7 for a week) and Slovenia (can't remember but I think it was around EUR 30)
There is also a charge for the Karawanken Tunnel between Austria and Slovenia (about EUR 15)

Enjoy.......you'll love Croatia.

Rod

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"quando omni flunkus moritatus"

chrisandsandra

11/4/2016 at 9:21am
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Yes, you are just up the road!

We've done the journey by all sorts of routes over the years (first went in the mid seventies and have lost count of the times since).

Our favourite for the least hassle and speed is via Germany, Austria and Slovenia. How we get to Germany depends on which port we start from as we tend to try to avoid Dover-Calais.

Your route looks ok but your one driver will be driving for in excess of 5 and a half hours some days. This is do-able in fast car but will be tiring unless you're used to doing it. On top of this you need to allow stops for breaks so be prepared. When we used to do it in a car we filled a cooled box full of frozen bottles of water and snacks so that we had a cold drink and something to eat at each stop and didn't need to waste time at motorway service cafes.

You'll pass some spectacular scenery but may not really have time to enjoy it fully if you just keep going so make the most of any scenic rest areas.

We have done it in two nights in a fast car from Dover when we've been in a hurry but wouldn't recommend it.

I don't know where you are going in Croatia but of it's on the coast going through Maribor is a bit out of your way. We always go through Villach. A night in Bled or even Ljubljana is worth it if it's not too far out of your way.

Coming home you have a choice of routes to Troyes. You could see some of the Italian lakes but we found the E70 motorway form Trieste a bit of a nightmare due to long conveys of trucks travelling form the old eastern block to France/Spain etc but they were widening parts of it last time we went so it might be better now. It might also pay to check on the best way through the Alps for you as the tunnels can get bust at peak periods and vary in price.

Sorry I'll have to sign off now as I'll be at the hospital for 2 days for some treatment but if you want any more info please do ask and I'll get back to you when I can.

samtheman

11/4/2016 at 7:43pm
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Thank you again Chris and Sandra - we are not going to be towing or even having a roof box so that shouldn't slow us down. We were lucky enough last year to buy a new car so that will help too on petro; consumption. We have an electric coolbox that will be in the car with us for snacks etc as you suggested and will also come in handy for grocery shopping as we are self catering the first week. My husband loves driving but we don't take any chances and do intend to stop regularly.
We are travelling to Dubrovnik for the first week as we visited there 21 years ago and we honeymooned in Bled some 31 years ago. My husband was diagnosed with advanced cancer last Easter so this is a big holiday for is while he is hopefully well enough to enjoy it. We will of course take insurance and following the oncologist's advice. Everything has been booked with a 24 hour cancellation facility so although disappointing we would not lose out financially!

Hopefully your hospital visit is going ok - I wish you well! Hope you managed to park if you are at RUH!!

Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!

bpodd

17/8/2018 at 8:01pm
Location: Nuneaton Warwickshire
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Hi, we are planning to tour Croatia in our motorhome next September/October (2019) and wondered what overnight stops you did on the way down to Croatia?

Thanks Barry

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Bazza

Granturismo

17/8/2018 at 10:42pm
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We did a slightly different route (Hull-Rotterdam rather than Dover-Calais) but I imagine the onward route would be similar.

Did 2 overnight stops on the way down to Istria which was easy enough. Left Rotterdam around 10am and drove down past Cologne, Karlsruhe & Stuttgart all the way down to a place just west of Munich. That was a long drive to be honest (500 miles) but we were there by teatime, although we weren't towing and had quite a fast car back then so made good time on the Autobahn. Our friends were in a motorhome and didn't go quite so far as us, they went more central through Germany past Frankfurt and overnighted near Nuremberg.

Drove past Munich the following morning and into Austria near Salzburg (stop at border and buy vignette), straight through Austria and into Slovenia. We planned on overnighting at lake Bled but it was heaving so we headed up the valley to lake Bohinj and stayed at Camping Zlatorog (very nice) - overall an easy drive.

Up and off the next morning for another easy drive down to Istria (apart from long queues at border control).

If I were to do the journey again the only bit I'd change is the Germany overnight - I wouldn't go quite so far on day one.

Edit - if you have the time, Berchtesgaden in the bottom south-east corner of Germany id lovely, well worth a visit as part of the journey :)

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St Tropez 2018

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