omariqy Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Has anyone attempted a road trip around Europe? We are planning on doing it in March over 5 days for our mates stag do. There is 6 of us. Any tips on where to hire a car, routes etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 8 hours ago, omariqy said: Has anyone attempted a road trip around Europe? We are planning on doing it in March over 5 days for our mates stag do. There is 6 of us. Any tips on where to hire a car, routes etc? Few years back we flew into Munich from Moscow and did a 5 day road trip zig zagging from Munich to Berlin it was along the lines of night in Munich , Hitler tour then heading to neuschwanstein via a stop off at the Munich football stadium ( worth a look ) day spent around the castle then we headed to Berchtesgaden and eagles nest ... tours and a night there then we headed up to Nuremberg home of the zepplin fields , war trials , stopping off on the way at Bayreuth ( pretty place birthplace of Wagner and home of Liszt ) ... as you’ll notice by now a lot of WW 2 theme going on here , so next stop was Colditz castle via Leipzig and zwickau ... zwickau was fairly dull but we did witness a drive by shooting as we left the pub , my first one so got to chalk that off the list ... Leipzig was quite lively bit of a student vibe in the town we briefly nipped past Berlin to Seeland Heights which was sorta Germany’s last stand , some museum there mainly dedicated to the Russians and then into a Berlin itself where we dumped the car , you def don’t need or want to be driving there whether or not that’s for you , it’s hard to say but we found plenty of drinking places , saw some cultural stuff and had some laughs along the way ... going into the spa and being shouted at by a German lady as we had our shorts on and the dress code was naked was fun , trying to name every villa player in your head whilst you sit buck naked looking at 2 of the fittest and nakedest girls I’ve ever seen sitting opposite you is also a challenge germany is great ... you could consider trains rather than car though , saves you having to prod the driver to wake him every few minutes after you’ve had a heavy session the night before !! hamburg would be a good finish point for the stag perhaps ? But very very touristy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 (edited) Ok it’s late and I’m tired and your post actually said March and not Munich so ignore the previous post .... car companies will allow you to pickup in one country and do a one way rental dropping off in another , but at a premium ... Rentalcars.com is one I’ve used numerous times in Europe and I’ve never had any bad experiences with them and their customer service is very good if you email them with questions or queries ... they are just an agent at the end of the day but I’ve only ever paid the quoted price none of this add tax and add this and that on when you return the car another option though is fly to Berlin and you can take the train to Prague in 4 hours , then Prague to Vienna (about 4 hrs) and then Vienna to Budapest( 3 hours ) .. I did this trip with my son last summer the trains were dirt cheap if you booked in advance (consider a rail pass ) you don’t get to stop off at any places en-route but you do get to take in some great capital cities ... and that might suit a stag do if you wanted it to be something different Edited February 7, 2018 by tonyh29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 8 hours ago, tonyh29 said: Few years back we flew into Munich from Moscow and did a 5 day road trip zig zagging from Munich to Berlin it was along the lines of night in Munich , Hitler tour then heading to neuschwanstein via a stop off at the Munich football stadium ( worth a look ) day spent around the castle then we headed to Berchtesgaden and eagles nest ... tours and a night there then we headed up to Nuremberg home of the zepplin fields , war trials , stopping off on the way at Bayreuth ( pretty place birthplace of Wagner and home of Liszt ) ... as you’ll notice by now a lot of WW 2 theme going on here , so next stop was Colditz castle via Leipzig and zwickau ... zwickau was fairly dull but we did witness a drive by shooting as we left the pub , my first one so got to chalk that off the list ... Leipzig was quite lively bit of a student vibe in the town we briefly nipped past Berlin to Seeland Heights which was sorta Germany’s last stand , some museum there mainly dedicated to the Russians and then into a Berlin itself where we dumped the car , you def don’t need or want to be driving there whether or not that’s for you , it’s hard to say but we found plenty of drinking places , saw some cultural stuff and had some laughs along the way ... going into the spa and being shouted at by a German lady as we had our shorts on and the dress code was naked was fun , trying to name every villa player in your head whilst you sit buck naked looking at 2 of the fittest and nakedest girls I’ve ever seen sitting opposite you is also a challenge germany is great ... you could consider trains rather than car though , saves you having to prod the driver to wake him every few minutes after you’ve had a heavy session the night before !! hamburg would be a good finish point for the stag perhaps ? But very very touristy Thanks Tony, much appreciated. We plan to either pick up the car in the UK and get the tunnel across or pick up the car in Calais. Definitely want to see the Neuschwanstein Castle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 Well the road trip did not happen because of the weather so we ended up getting a last minute flight to Istanbul for 4 nights. What an amazing place. I don’t think you need too much more than 4/5 days there unless you want to venture to the Asian side. We stayed near Hagia Sophia and the blue Mosque. 1st night was a write-off as we arrived in the evening and only had time to have a little walk and grab a bite to eat. We made up for it for the rest of the trip and I think we managed to cram quite a bit in. - Hagia Sophia – great architecture - Blue Mosque - prayed there for Jummah (congregation prayer) on Friday which was amazing - Topkapi Palace – the museum is fascinating. I am not sure on the validity but they have Moses’ (PBUH) staff there and Muahammed’s (PBUH) sword there too. As well as one of the very first quran’s. - Sulemaniye Mosque – amazing views over the city - Taksim Square – we found a great steakhouse near there which was probably up there in terms of steaks I’ve had and cost about £25. - Galata Bridge – we had the famous fish sandwiches from there. You can see the locals catching the fish off the side of the bridge - Basilica Cistern – again pointing the amazing history this city has - Grand Bazaar – crazy place. I only really ‘enjoyed’ it when we went first thing when it wasn’t that busy - Ayub Sultan Mosque – the surrounding area seemed less touristy and more local if that makes sense - Hafiz Mustafa – we spent quite a bit of time relaxing in here and getting some amazing baklava and Turkish delight. Good for gifts for the family. - 360 – a restaurant that turns into a club with 360 degree views of Istanbul We felt safe as anything but then again we were 6 lads travelling together. Plenty of police everywhere. You do get hassled a lot in the touristy places though so be warned. Food is very good although they like their food pretty dry compared to the Turkish restaurants here. It can be a bit samey in the tourist places so maybe venture out a bit to places like Ayub Sultan where you will get more variety. Definitely try the guzelme which you will see in restaurants with a lady sitting on the floor cooking on a big hot plate. Basically like a filled pancake. All in all I am thinking of going back in the summer with the family to explore it some more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 1 hour ago, omariqy said: Well the road trip did not happen because of the weather so we ended up getting a last minute flight to Istanbul for 4 nights. What an amazing place. I don’t think you need too much more than 4/5 days there unless you want to venture to the Asian side. We stayed near Hagia Sophia and the blue Mosque. 1st night was a write-off as we arrived in the evening and only had time to have a little walk and grab a bite to eat. We made up for it for the rest of the trip and I think we managed to cram quite a bit in. - Hagia Sophia – great architecture - Blue Mosque - prayed there for Jummah (congregation prayer) on Friday which was amazing - Topkapi Palace – the museum is fascinating. I am not sure on the validity but they have Moses’ (PBUH) staff there and Muahammed’s (PBUH) sword there too. As well as one of the very first quran’s. - Sulemaniye Mosque – amazing views over the city - Taksim Square – we found a great steakhouse near there which was probably up there in terms of steaks I’ve had and cost about £25. - Galata Bridge – we had the famous fish sandwiches from there. You can see the locals catching the fish off the side of the bridge - Basilica Cistern – again pointing the amazing history this city has - Grand Bazaar – crazy place. I only really ‘enjoyed’ it when we went first thing when it wasn’t that busy - Ayub Sultan Mosque – the surrounding area seemed less touristy and more local if that makes sense - Hafiz Mustafa – we spent quite a bit of time relaxing in here and getting some amazing baklava and Turkish delight. Good for gifts for the family. - 360 – a restaurant that turns into a club with 360 degree views of Istanbul We felt safe as anything but then again we were 6 lads travelling together. Plenty of police everywhere. You do get hassled a lot in the touristy places though so be warned. Food is very good although they like their food pretty dry compared to the Turkish restaurants here. It can be a bit samey in the tourist places so maybe venture out a bit to places like Ayub Sultan where you will get more variety. Definitely try the guzelme which you will see in restaurants with a lady sitting on the floor cooking on a big hot plate. Basically like a filled pancake. All in all I am thinking of going back in the summer with the family to explore it some more. Been a few years since I was there but I used public transport for everything and it was safe a visit to a Hamam and the cruise along the Bosphorus is about the only thing I can think of to add to your list in IST - Funnily enough was telling someone only yesterday about Istanbul .... the tourism is really well run , rather than sending a coach around Hotels doing pickups , whereby you are always waiting for someone to go to the toilet or find their missing sunglasses and 2 hours after pickup you are still in the confines of the city , they send mini buses out to each hotel to pick people up and bring them to a central meeting point , they then assign you a coach based on where you are going and which one is ready to depart ... it's military precision and no waiting around , well impressed we went to Gallipoli , Troy and Ephesus during our stay - our guide in Troy was probably the best tour guide I've ever had , mind you he has written countless books on the place and it's his passion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 4 hours ago, tonyh29 said: Been a few years since I was there but I used public transport for everything and it was safe a visit to a Hamam and the cruise along the Bosphorus is about the only thing I can think of to add to your list in IST - Funnily enough was telling someone only yesterday about Istanbul .... the tourism is really well run , rather than sending a coach around Hotels doing pickups , whereby you are always waiting for someone to go to the toilet or find their missing sunglasses and 2 hours after pickup you are still in the confines of the city , they send mini buses out to each hotel to pick people up and bring them to a central meeting point , they then assign you a coach based on where you are going and which one is ready to depart ... it's military precision and no waiting around , well impressed we went to Gallipoli , Troy and Ephesus during our stay - our guide in Troy was probably the best tour guide I've ever had , mind you he has written countless books on the place and it's his passion Yup I was going to go for a Hamam on the last day but present buying got in the way. Save it for next time. It was far too cold for a cruise but definitely next time. We used Uber everywhere because of how cheap and easy it was. However, their metro and tram system is very good and cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 I really didnt enjoy istanbul...found it a bit boring if im honest, its a massive place with loads of stuff there but found it samey, after 4 mosques i was done, same with the markets and more than anything else the looky looky men did my head in and made everything harder than it should be, especially food Would be interested to know how 6 lads found it for drinking, there were loads of restaurants and bars but i found it a bit awkward when i told the looky looky man at the front door i just wanted a beer What it doesnt sound like you did from thay list is the palace opposite besiktas stadium (really nice stadium, club shop is mental, on par with barcas, ive also done munichs allianz (agree with tony well worth a visit) and besiktas club shop is miles better than theirs too) its a good palace walking round yeah its all nice but ive seen these before...then you go in the ball room...jesus christ!!! Its well worth a look And i did the cruise on the night as an all you drink thing, thats worth doing, the big bridge lit up is worth seeing Food wise best i had was a kebab that was pretty much donner kebab meet in tomato soup served with flat breads and yoghurt it was beautiful but i cant remember what that was called either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 19 hours ago, villa4europe said: I really didnt enjoy istanbul...found it a bit boring if im honest, its a massive place with loads of stuff there but found it samey, after 4 mosques i was done, same with the markets and more than anything else the looky looky men did my head in and made everything harder than it should be, especially food Would be interested to know how 6 lads found it for drinking, there were loads of restaurants and bars but i found it a bit awkward when i told the looky looky man at the front door i just wanted a beer What it doesnt sound like you did from thay list is the palace opposite besiktas stadium (really nice stadium, club shop is mental, on par with barcas, ive also done munichs allianz (agree with tony well worth a visit) and besiktas club shop is miles better than theirs too) its a good palace walking round yeah its all nice but ive seen these before...then you go in the ball room...jesus christ!!! Its well worth a look And i did the cruise on the night as an all you drink thing, thats worth doing, the big bridge lit up is worth seeing Food wise best i had was a kebab that was pretty much donner kebab meet in tomato soup served with flat breads and yoghurt it was beautiful but i cant remember what that was called either! Iskendar I think. Only 2 out of the 6 drank and we had one night out on the Saturday. We went to 360 and paid c£100 between 6 for a table but that paid for all our drinks for the night and bar snacks. Obviously 4 of us were drinking soft drinks but still not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 3 hours ago, omariqy said: Iskendar I think. Only 2 out of the 6 drank and we had one night out on the Saturday. We went to 360 and paid c£100 between 6 for a table but that paid for all our drinks for the night and bar snacks. Obviously 4 of us were drinking soft drinks but still not bad. Iskender Kebab. Surprised you didn't like the 'bul. Although I did live there for 6 years. There's lots of great streets and various bars to drink in without paying horrendous tourist prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 6 hours ago, AVFC_Hitz said: Iskender Kebab. Surprised you didn't like the 'bul. Although I did live there for 6 years. There's lots of great streets and various bars to drink in without paying horrendous tourist prices. Me? I loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC_Hitz Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 9 hours ago, omariqy said: Me? I loved it. Sorry, mixed up posts and posters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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