Always enjoy the Euro trip vids. Lots of handy tips/suggestions. For me though living 25 mins from Harwich it's a stress free sail to NL then drive south. Getting to and dealing with Dover is a nightmare in the Summer.
Lucky you and even Dover isn't that far. Tell us more about Harwich ferry, is it Stena? How long is crossing, where does it take you and how much is it usually? Must do that one day
Hi Andrew. Yes it is Stena Line. Day crossing approx 6 hours, night about 8 to give you a sleep. Prices vary as you would expect but for instance my current return trip cost £480 car 2 pax 2 Comfort Class Cabin return. In Essen at the moment then back through NL staying in Breda for 2 days first. Another nice town to spend time in.
@@volkswizard That's the ferry I use mostly. Day crossing is long and times not the best for me. You arrive into the UK at 19.45 on day crossings and into NL 17.15. Better to do a night crossing but the benefit is going into the UK the ferry docks at 4am-ish and you're off at 6.30 am. Also the cabins are pretty good and have TV/tea coffee making facilities depending on what class you go for. They are also generally cheaper than a hotel room at either end. I would recommend it.
I did the same trip on the same weekend as you. Only booked it on the Friday night for a Saturday morning departure. Eurotunnel was £111 return for a large car - seemed like great value given the speed and convenience. Duke’s Palace is a solid hotel - amazing location and with last minute deals. 4.7 Vantage averaged 27.1 mpg which I thought was wildly impressive.
Hey Rob, I probably saw your car, Aston on UK plates is cool especially abroad and I do recall one. We stayed at the Duke's Palace in 2022, it was very good. Nice car park but beyond our budget this time unfortunately. How did you get Eurotunnel for £111? What time was your crossing? They were quoting that one way for me. We booked DFDs on Wednesday and left Saturday so maybe it got cheaper just before? 27.1 mpg is very good, Aston beats the R8 for looks though :)
@@volkswizard yes, possibly a last minute price reduction. It was 10:30am Saturday outbound and 7:30pm Sunday return. Amazing how much better motorway lane discipline is as soon as you get on the continent!
Great video, we’ve done Bruges and Ghent a few times in different cars and sailing aswell as using the tunnel. I like the boats but it’s become more of a hassle which is ok if you’re not on a schedule. The food on the boats also used to be great but that’s gone downhill aswell. 😄Not sure about the cheap snack from Tesco prior to departure although as you say part of a meal deal but not exactly healthy 😊. We tend to take a stack of healthy bars with us that don’t drop crumbs and aren’t overloaded with sugar but do cost a bit more
There are some healthy options on the meal deal (there are some good bars - can't recall the name but nutty) but agree not for daily consumption and no worse than ferry food at greater expense. We had as the snack recently carrot sticks and humus to dip them into. The Costas vary from machine to machine, some Mochas are crazy sweet, others are OK - I don't add sugar in mitigation m'lud :)
Ghent is great too - we called in on way back from somewhere on a hot summer sunday and it was heaving. Parked in a multi-storey at end of dual carriageway that comes off E40, dead easy. Probably ought to go back and stay if Bruges get's a bit boring.
I used LeShuttle Folkestone Calais 02.42 Tuesday 14 May. Not pre booked. £183 one way. Booked a return eleven days prior for 21st June 22.50hrs £78.00.
I'm currently in Germany. I got here in my Citroen C2. It's the third time I've made the trip. I did use the ferry the first two times but both times there were long delays coming back. This time I used the tunnel, it costs around £60 more but the time saved is worth it to me. I would love to do a trip in a posher car like an R8 mind you 😊. Thanks for the video. Cheers
The thing about exploring is that the car is actually just the garnish, getting out there and seeing stuff is the real attraction. I'd be happy in C2 rather than stay at home :)
Glad you enjoyed it David! I've done road trip videos before but felt this one was more relevant to more people as it's not a marathon like the Alps can be and it need not be expensive. Plus Bruges is an amazingly place!
Haha, well that can be reused. I think there was a first order discount so it was £170 delivered. Was going to send it back but it works so it’s staying. Will just consider it a vegan alternative to leather 😄
You came too early. This weekend there is a massive antique Market. Even If you are not into that its interesting to see. I could have recommended some places to visit or see.😊
There is the easiest Tesco Superstore near M20 Ashford too for Eurotunnel folk. There is one road (Hythe Road) that joins 2 junctions and Tesco is half way along it, the road is short, 2 miles max so less of a detour than services!
Brugge is lovely. As is Gent. Use the ferry over tunnel most times now. The £99 3 day deal is perfect for weekend euro trips. Ask at check-in booth for low car loading. I typically get it without asking. Never been up the ramp yet. I do tend to cross at off peak times mind.
Thanks for the intel Chris. DFDs are weird banning low cars from getting the £99, can't imagine them being too helpful if you turn up with one having not told them but it's worth a try. Our outbound crossing wasn't that busy, the previous one wouldn't let you have the £99 deal. I think DFDs staff you meet in person are really nice but the people who I've asked via chat and email about why the £99 doesn't apply to low cars haven't been too helpful.
I think all things considered it was excellent value for money!! One question, when you bought your gt 4 and sold your gts boxster you said you felt you were not in need of a convertible for future road trips. Would you say to get most enjoyment it's better in a convertible??
Love this trips info Andrew, thanks :-) We just used the ferry for the first time, overnight Portsmouth to Cherbourg in the Spyder the onwards to Loire Valley. . Was absolutely fine but 2 hour check in UK side. Was easy-peasy French side. The Spyder splitter got absolutely mullered in narrow French UG car parks 😞. 718 Spyder averaged around 29mpg over 950 miles.
Glad you are back OK (well apart from splitter!). The ferries can't go any faster on the sea but they really need to refine the bit from arriving at the port to setting sail. It's going to get even slower from October as we have to do some biometric checks which are going to add a fair bit of time.
Thanks! I’m off booze and while I love chocolate, got to limit intake. Having said that Jupiler zero alcohol is the best and quality not quantity with chocolate means Belgian is way to go 🤤
My Italian born dad took my English mum and two year old me from Kettering Northamptonshire to Southern Italy in 1963. What a journey. Train, Ferry from Dover to Calais. Then more Train all the way to Bari. I don't remember much. Mum hates ferries. So sea sick. Train sick. I think it was 3 days each way. Yuk. No easy jet or Euro Star in those days. Loved your video. Cheers from Australia.
@tom24057 we left December 1970. Visited in 1983. Most family are passed now. Some cousins remain. Dad used to work at Corby. We heard how it's changed for not so good. I was nine so I remember school,snow, and wicksteed park. So long ago now.
Hey Philip, thanks for your kind words and insight on your 1963 trip. Well I spent every summer of my youth being driven to Greece in underpowered cars. Luckily my dad forked out for the ferry from Italy which usually left from Ancona but if they were unlucky with timing it would be Brindisi or your favorite Bari. When they got older they got on at Venice which was relatively easy I guess. Actually one year we did it by coach which did drive all the way, OMG that was painful.
Come to Greece, my friend, I will follow you here for a long time. But don't go to Athens, visit the Greek islands . Audi S4 It would be a good choice to travel.
In the years before the tunnel I did a number of ferry crossing but, as someone who can get seasick in a puddle, I now use the alternative which recently has got very expensive. ( Which phone mount are you using as I too have an Audi (TT) and would prefer to have it positioned off the windscreen)
The alternative is very expensive and yet always busy. My mount which I have had for years in all sort of cars is a Mega Mount but beware it doesn't like the air vents in TTs.Tried it in Kate's car and took it straight out - can't recall the detail but it probably just wouldn't fit. Best to google it and see what others are doing
Another excellent video Andrew - I particularly enjoy one of your lovely cars on a road trip. Educational too, especially on the challenges of driving on and off the ferry.
I used to travel by ferry always. Until a year ago, my A8 sport had a big dent in the passenger door when I returned back to it. The car alongside door did not even reach my car so it must have been malicious damage? Eurostar for me ever time now. Ferry’s are slow and to be honest bloody expensive for what they are now, unless you have a normal boring car and get a good deal. My heart bloody skipped a beat when you were pointed up the ramp.. just not worth the stress Andrew.. 🫤 Hope you both had a lovely time though. The R8 looks beautiful by the way.
Really enjoyed this one, thanks! Informative and interesting - The only thing it lacked was the sound of that V8... but I guess planting your right foot wasn't the objective here, lol.
Thanks Malcolm! Yes indeed having bought it in the depth of winter and barely been out in the dry since, it was great to do some proper driving in it - didn't even get dirty until we saw rain when back in France
I can't tell, is this a comedy channel? Man goes to Brugge in a schporty Audi and then man stays in a hotel that is outside of why you come to Brugge, i.e. historic centre.
Well Radisson hotels decided to invest a lot of money in a hotel in that location so presume they'd done some research. Also we visited the historic centre but also 2 other towns that were a drive away and it was easier to do this from the ring road rather than threading in and out of historic centre each time so it worked perfectly for us but might not for everyone. Have stayed in Duke's Palace, Die Swaene and De Tuilerieen in historic centre and walked out to Lovers Lake so no hassle doing it the other way around.
Having that we did actually go to Holland which is a province in the Netherlands www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/04/holland-the-netherlands-dutch-government-rebrand
@@volkswizardfair point, Holland is made up of North and South, two provinces of the Netherlands, calling the whole country Holland is broadly similar to calling England Yorkshire…..
hi mr wizard, could you do a video on the specifics of driving in europe I’ve never been and planning to do so but can’t find anything up to date on RUclips already, thank you kindly
Not necessarily true. R8 Mk1s don’t depreciate and that’s the biggest cost of ownership for most cars. Just consider your £500 PCP payment going into fuelling & maintaining an R8 rather than funding the depreciation on some new mass produced car.
I took your advice on the petrol station fill before the shuttle terminal at folkestone on my nurburgring trip I will be taking my wife to bruges soon as well
Cool! If you do Dover ever, there is a Tesco at an estate on top of cliffs, you can come down via scenic route then which is great especially if you are a Midlander like me and rarely see the sea (never see sea at Eurotunnel 😔)
Always enjoy the Euro trip vids. Lots of handy tips/suggestions. For me though living 25 mins from Harwich it's a stress free sail to NL then drive south. Getting to and dealing with Dover is a nightmare in the Summer.
Lucky you and even Dover isn't that far. Tell us more about Harwich ferry, is it Stena? How long is crossing, where does it take you and how much is it usually? Must do that one day
Hi Andrew. Yes it is Stena Line. Day crossing approx 6 hours, night about 8 to give you a sleep. Prices vary as you would expect but for instance my current return trip cost £480 car 2 pax 2 Comfort Class Cabin return. In Essen at the moment then back through NL staying in Breda for 2 days first. Another nice town to spend time in.
Apologise; you arrive in Hoek van Holland. 10 min drive to the motorway network then away you go.
@@volkswizard That's the ferry I use mostly. Day crossing is long and times not the best for me. You arrive into the UK at 19.45 on day crossings and into NL 17.15. Better to do a night crossing but the benefit is going into the UK the ferry docks at 4am-ish and you're off at 6.30 am. Also the cabins are pretty good and have TV/tea coffee making facilities depending on what class you go for. They are also generally cheaper than a hotel room at either end. I would recommend it.
I did the same trip on the same weekend as you. Only booked it on the Friday night for a Saturday morning departure.
Eurotunnel was £111 return for a large car - seemed like great value given the speed and convenience.
Duke’s Palace is a solid hotel - amazing location and with last minute deals.
4.7 Vantage averaged 27.1 mpg which I thought was wildly impressive.
Hey Rob, I probably saw your car, Aston on UK plates is cool especially abroad and I do recall one. We stayed at the Duke's Palace in 2022, it was very good. Nice car park but beyond our budget this time unfortunately. How did you get Eurotunnel for £111? What time was your crossing? They were quoting that one way for me. We booked DFDs on Wednesday and left Saturday so maybe it got cheaper just before?
27.1 mpg is very good, Aston beats the R8 for looks though :)
@@volkswizard yes, possibly a last minute price reduction.
It was 10:30am Saturday outbound and 7:30pm Sunday return. Amazing how much better motorway lane discipline is as soon as you get on the continent!
Great video, we’ve done Bruges and Ghent a few times in different cars and sailing aswell as using the tunnel. I like the boats but it’s become more of a hassle which is ok if you’re not on a schedule. The food on the boats also used to be great but that’s gone downhill aswell.
😄Not sure about the cheap snack from Tesco prior to departure although as you say part of a meal deal but not exactly healthy 😊. We tend to take a stack of healthy bars with us that don’t drop crumbs and aren’t overloaded with sugar but do cost a bit more
There are some healthy options on the meal deal (there are some good bars - can't recall the name but nutty) but agree not for daily consumption and no worse than ferry food at greater expense. We had as the snack recently carrot sticks and humus to dip them into. The Costas vary from machine to machine, some Mochas are crazy sweet, others are OK - I don't add sugar in mitigation m'lud :)
Ghent is great too - we called in on way back from somewhere on a hot summer sunday and it was heaving. Parked in a multi-storey at end of dual carriageway that comes off E40, dead easy. Probably ought to go back and stay if Bruges get's a bit boring.
I used LeShuttle Folkestone Calais 02.42 Tuesday 14 May. Not pre booked. £183 one way. Booked a return eleven days prior for 21st June 22.50hrs £78.00.
I'm currently in Germany. I got here in my Citroen C2. It's the third time I've made the trip. I did use the ferry the first two times but both times there were long delays coming back. This time I used the tunnel, it costs around £60 more but the time saved is worth it to me. I would love to do a trip in a posher car like an R8 mind you 😊. Thanks for the video. Cheers
The thing about exploring is that the car is actually just the garnish, getting out there and seeing stuff is the real attraction. I'd be happy in C2 rather than stay at home :)
Always enjoy your road trips, great angle to try and do it on a budget
You just have to watch out for the Alcoves 😂
I really enjoyed that video Andrew, different from the normal ones and full of information and costs…… 👍
Glad you enjoyed it David! I've done road trip videos before but felt this one was more relevant to more people as it's not a marathon like the Alps can be and it need not be expensive. Plus Bruges is an amazingly place!
Impressive mpg, same as my Diesel Amarok 😂
The budget trip paired with the £200 plastic duffle bag made me chuckle
Haha, well that can be reused. I think there was a first order discount so it was £170 delivered. Was going to send it back but it works so it’s staying. Will just consider it a vegan alternative to leather 😄
@@volkswizard sure you’ll get your moneys worth out of it eventually 😀Great video.
You came too early. This weekend there is a massive antique Market. Even If you are not into that its interesting to see. I could have recommended some places to visit or see.😊
Cool, got no room in R8 for antiques but recommendations always welcome …👍
That Tesco just before the crossing is the best for fuel. Done that a few times!
Also FYI if you book a low car service with DSDF they don’t do nothing 😂 wouldn’t even refund me for the extra I paid!
There is the easiest Tesco Superstore near M20 Ashford too for Eurotunnel folk. There is one road (Hythe Road) that joins 2 junctions and Tesco is half way along it, the road is short, 2 miles max so less of a detour than services!
Brugge is lovely. As is Gent. Use the ferry over tunnel most times now. The £99 3 day deal is perfect for weekend euro trips. Ask at check-in booth for low car loading. I typically get it without asking. Never been up the ramp yet. I do tend to cross at off peak times mind.
Thanks for the intel Chris. DFDs are weird banning low cars from getting the £99, can't imagine them being too helpful if you turn up with one having not told them but it's worth a try. Our outbound crossing wasn't that busy, the previous one wouldn't let you have the £99 deal. I think DFDs staff you meet in person are really nice but the people who I've asked via chat and email about why the £99 doesn't apply to low cars haven't been too helpful.
I think all things considered it was excellent value for money!!
One question, when you bought your gt 4 and sold your gts boxster you said you felt you were not in need of a convertible for future road trips.
Would you say to get most enjoyment it's better in a convertible??
Love these videos, thanks 🙏
Really enjoyed it 👍
Love this trips info Andrew, thanks :-) We just used the ferry for the first time, overnight Portsmouth to Cherbourg in the Spyder the onwards to Loire Valley. . Was absolutely fine but 2 hour check in UK side. Was easy-peasy French side. The Spyder splitter got absolutely mullered in narrow French UG car parks 😞. 718 Spyder averaged around 29mpg over 950 miles.
Glad you are back OK (well apart from splitter!). The ferries can't go any faster on the sea but they really need to refine the bit from arriving at the port to setting sail. It's going to get even slower from October as we have to do some biometric checks which are going to add a fair bit of time.
Your road trips are a joy. I lived off beer and chocolate while I was there.
Thanks! I’m off booze and while I love chocolate, got to limit intake. Having said that Jupiler zero alcohol is the best and quality not quantity with chocolate means Belgian is way to go 🤤
My Italian born dad took my English mum and two year old me from Kettering Northamptonshire to Southern Italy in 1963. What a journey. Train, Ferry from Dover to Calais. Then more Train all the way to Bari. I don't remember much. Mum hates ferries. So sea sick. Train sick. I think it was 3 days each way. Yuk. No easy jet or Euro Star in those days. Loved your video. Cheers from Australia.
Don’t come back to Kettering; it’s not got any better 😂
@tom24057 we left December 1970. Visited in 1983. Most family are passed now. Some cousins remain. Dad used to work at Corby. We heard how it's changed for not so good. I was nine so I remember school,snow, and wicksteed park. So long ago now.
@@philipguacci6452I live 5 mins from Wicksteeds. Not many nice bits left😂🥲
Hey Philip, thanks for your kind words and insight on your 1963 trip. Well I spent every summer of my youth being driven to Greece in underpowered cars. Luckily my dad forked out for the ferry from Italy which usually left from Ancona but if they were unlucky with timing it would be Brindisi or your favorite Bari. When they got older they got on at Venice which was relatively easy I guess. Actually one year we did it by coach which did drive all the way, OMG that was painful.
Come to Greece, my friend, I will follow you here for a long time. But don't go to Athens, visit the Greek islands . Audi S4 It would be a good choice to travel.
In the years before the tunnel I did a number of ferry crossing but, as someone who can get seasick in a puddle, I now use the alternative which recently has got very expensive. ( Which phone mount are you using as I too have an Audi (TT) and would prefer to have it positioned off the windscreen)
The alternative is very expensive and yet always busy. My mount which I have had for years in all sort of cars is a Mega Mount but beware it doesn't like the air vents in TTs.Tried it in Kate's car and took it straight out - can't recall the detail but it probably just wouldn't fit. Best to google it and see what others are doing
Another excellent video Andrew - I particularly enjoy one of your lovely cars on a road trip. Educational too, especially on the challenges of driving on and off the ferry.
Thanks so much Jim 👍👍
I used to travel by ferry always. Until a year ago, my A8 sport had a big dent in the passenger door when I returned back to it. The car alongside door did not even reach my car so it must have been malicious damage? Eurostar for me ever time now. Ferry’s are slow and to be honest bloody expensive for what they are now, unless you have a normal boring car and get a good deal.
My heart bloody skipped a beat when you were pointed up the ramp.. just not worth the stress Andrew.. 🫤 Hope you both had a lovely time though.
The R8 looks beautiful by the way.
Really enjoyed this one, thanks! Informative and interesting - The only thing it lacked was the sound of that V8... but I guess planting your right foot wasn't the objective here, lol.
Money well spent and nice to see R8 in the sunshine 👏 🇧🇪
Thanks Malcolm! Yes indeed having bought it in the depth of winter and barely been out in the dry since, it was great to do some proper driving in it - didn't even get dirty until we saw rain when back in France
Really interesting video, thanks for the tips.
My pleasure, thanks for watching & commenting 👍
You just know already that bloody Clubsports gonna steal this show!
I can't tell, is this a comedy channel? Man goes to Brugge in a schporty Audi and then man stays in a hotel that is outside of why you come to Brugge, i.e. historic centre.
Well Radisson hotels decided to invest a lot of money in a hotel in that location so presume they'd done some research. Also we visited the historic centre but also 2 other towns that were a drive away and it was easier to do this from the ring road rather than threading in and out of historic centre each time so it worked perfectly for us but might not for everyone. Have stayed in Duke's Palace, Die Swaene and De Tuilerieen in historic centre and walked out to Lovers Lake so no hassle doing it the other way around.
Always enjoy your Road Trips. Can't wait until the next one.
Thanks so much Robert, next one shouldn’t be too far away 👍
Always enjoy your road trip videos, Andrew. What’s your favourite restaurant in Bruges?
Well worth the trip
👍👍
Wish you would not call the Netherlands, Holland….
I did wonder if Holland was right. Must look into history because when I was a kid it was Holland but car stickers were NL
Having that we did actually go to Holland which is a province in the Netherlands www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/04/holland-the-netherlands-dutch-government-rebrand
@@volkswizardfair point, Holland is made up of North and South, two provinces of the Netherlands, calling the whole country Holland is broadly similar to calling England Yorkshire…..
hi mr wizard, could you do a video on the specifics of driving in europe I’ve never been and planning to do so but can’t find anything up to date on RUclips already, thank you kindly
Beautiful place thank you Andrew :)
Glad you enjoyed it JB, it is very special as per its Unesco World Heritage status
Great, informative video. Keep up the good work
Thanks so much Andy!
Great video - very helpful 👍
Glad you think so Ian, thank you
Try to save money? Don’t buy an R8.
Not necessarily true. R8 Mk1s don’t depreciate and that’s the biggest cost of ownership for most cars. Just consider your £500 PCP payment going into fuelling & maintaining an R8 rather than funding the depreciation on some new mass produced car.
That’s a fair point.
If you had room for a stowaway you could have made a profit........🤐
That's the next video storyline :)
I took your advice on the petrol station fill before the shuttle terminal at folkestone on my nurburgring trip I will be taking my wife to bruges soon as well
Cool! If you do Dover ever, there is a Tesco at an estate on top of cliffs, you can come down via scenic route then which is great especially if you are a Midlander like me and rarely see the sea (never see sea at Eurotunnel 😔)