29-12-11, 01:12 PM
Brugge is a really nice place. I zoomed past it on the motorway many a time for 7 or so years before making a point of staying once last year. A tad expensive on hotels, but thats because its a popular place.
Agreed with others about not camping. The weather in the Alpes can be unsettled even in summer. I've always stayed hotels and B&Bs. If you avoid larger towns some of the places are very reasonable. The cheapo F1 type places are cheap, but often out of town by motorways and not pleasant settings. Non chain places in small towns can be a bargin relatively speaking. Often you dont have time to look around a big town anyway. Sometimes you have have to stop at a few to find a place with a free room if you are in a popular area.
You can also do your washing in the shower and get it dried even if the weather is bad. So you can get away with just taking 3 or 4 t-shirts etc rather than a whole weeks worth. Although I did once leave some clothes drying on a balcony overnight and the storm in the night blew the stuff all around the lawn underneath and I had to retrieve it before breakfast :o
Take the tunnel rather than the ferry, it is really easy and takes less time from checking in to getting off the other side. They let you take a train around +/- 2 hours of your scheduled one without any extra charge in my experience. Dont just turn up and pay on the gate, its €100.
Agreed with others about not camping. The weather in the Alpes can be unsettled even in summer. I've always stayed hotels and B&Bs. If you avoid larger towns some of the places are very reasonable. The cheapo F1 type places are cheap, but often out of town by motorways and not pleasant settings. Non chain places in small towns can be a bargin relatively speaking. Often you dont have time to look around a big town anyway. Sometimes you have have to stop at a few to find a place with a free room if you are in a popular area.
You can also do your washing in the shower and get it dried even if the weather is bad. So you can get away with just taking 3 or 4 t-shirts etc rather than a whole weeks worth. Although I did once leave some clothes drying on a balcony overnight and the storm in the night blew the stuff all around the lawn underneath and I had to retrieve it before breakfast :o
Take the tunnel rather than the ferry, it is really easy and takes less time from checking in to getting off the other side. They let you take a train around +/- 2 hours of your scheduled one without any extra charge in my experience. Dont just turn up and pay on the gate, its €100.