motoring holidays

[norseman]

Not having driven in Europe for past 20 years I've been looking at the classic motoring holiday listings from various companies.
Has anyone with personal experience of these organiser's offerings feel the prices charged reflect good value, compared with just booking the ferry, packing the car & making your own way ?

nb: no kids involved, just two pensioners & a mid 'eighties classic.
Thanks in advance for any opinions.

 

[Mottie]

Go freestyle. In a classic you can take your time and not be tied to a schedule. Get it fully serviced, pack a few spares and get a good breakdown/recovery policy.

 

[Bodd]

A few year back I drove don to Cairn in my Rensult Traffic. (Not a classic one). I deliberately filled up in France as the fuel was cheaper. My French Van did not like the French fuel. It chugged & chugged. Filled it with top stuff when we hit the sunny shore of home and it was fine.

The moral of my story is use the top grade stuff.
Most of the time now for my van & car I use the the premium grade.

Hope you have a lovely time.

Bod

 

[motorbiking]

France is a fantastic place to drive.. I've just sold my motorhome as the kids have outgrown it. But we did a couple of holidays a year over there, mostly the west coast, mountains and south coast. I've not had any problem with French diesel (gasoil) but a word of warning, most of the pumps have diesel in yellow and then one or two have the super unleaded in yellow and diesel in black. Prices are about the same as UK at the moment. Get a foreign currency credit card (e.g. Santander zero) as you'll save a fair bit on currency rates.

 

[Burnerman]

If you go Newcastle - Ijmuiden expect huge traffic jams.......Hull - Zeebrugge is dead easy, likewise Portsmouth - Caen or St. Malo. Portsmouth - Santander is great but Santander very busy!
Make sure your cooling system is top notch and have a ball!
John

 

[motorbiking]

Newhaven -> dieppe is very quiet, but only 2 or 3 ferries a day due to longer crossing time.

 

[bernardgreen]

Go freestyle. In a classic you can take your time and not be tied to a schedule. Get it fully serviced, pack a few spares and get a good breakdown/recovery policy.

Definately the best experience. At times it can be stressful but for the most exciting and enjoyable. A list of main dealers for your vehicle is worth taking.

We took a Renault 19 to Newcastle, then the Newcastle ferry to Bergen and up the motorway in Norway to Yllasjarvi in Finland for a week on a semi-detatched log cabin, back via Sweden and Lillehammer to Bergen.

 

[wobs]

See how many flies you collect on the front of your car!

 

[Ian H]

What's the classic? I guessing Golf GTI

 

[gasbanni]

See how many flies you collect on the front of your car!

Read the further quotes, did 4O miles today of the motor way ....Zero flies on the windscreen, we seem to be looking at the first ripples of an ecological disaster ....reasons unknown.

 

[norseman]

What's the classic? I guessing Golf GTI[/QUOTE]

What I did say two pensioners!
30 yr.old Range Rover Vouge (V8 auto) no A/C but a sunroof, which I prefer anyway.

With the greatest respect to all who have thus far posted, no-one has yet answered my OP which sought opinions as to whether it was worth paying for a tour company to arrange the holiday?

 

[bernardgreen]

my OP which sought opinions as to whether it was worth paying for a tour company to arrange the holiday?

A tour company may have access to more "information" about routes and places to stay and visit. But now with the internet most of that information is now available to the home computor. And hotels can be booked on line or by a phone call.

It might be that the cost of the tour company is worth paying if you want to avoid the time and effort of planning it yourself.

Arriving at a hotel without a booking can be cheaper than having the hotel pre-booked via a tour operator ( risky if the hotel is fully booked ) . Phoning direct and booking direct with teh hotel gives the oportunity to haggle over the price.

 

[Burnerman]

If you are looking for a specialised tour such as the battlefields or maybe the vineyards you'll get more out of an organised tour.
If you fancy the Loire chateaux for example its just as easy on your own.
What do you have in mind?
John

 

[motorbiking]

You shouldn't be looking to pay a premium for someone else to organise your accommodation. You will be paying retail and they will be making commission on the booking. In fact some firms claim to be able to save you money. You haven't given any clue of what you want to see/experience.

mountains? Lakes? cities? coast? hot/cold? what sort of accommodation? cabins, tents, hotels, travel stops B&Bs?

 

[norseman]

If you are looking for a specialised tour such as the battlefields or maybe the vineyards you'll get more out of an organised tour.
If you fancy the Loire chateaux for example its just as easy on your own.
What do you have in mind?
John

Haven't given the specifics much thought John, just wanted to know if anyone had been on this type of jaunt & if they thought the extra cost amounted to value for money.