Touring Europe

[nick crisp]

Nick,

I toured Europe with my good lady last year (in the Saab). We booked the more expensive places, like Amsterdam, Venice and Florence. That way we knew we were going to stay somewhere nice and not get ripped off. The smaller places en-route, like in the Alsace, south of Germany and Austria, we found along the way. We also took a small tent just in case we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere at silly o clock. Which we did, a few times. We also had the tablet with us, so if we found that on the day prices for a hotel were expensive in a particular town, we would go get a coffee and jump online and find the best deal for that hotel  . Did that a few times too

I would budget at least £100 per day, including your fuel. You can go ahead and add the cost of getting over the water on top of that too. We spent around £7G in 3 weeks, but we had a blast. We scrimped for 2 years for that holiday and we planned to come home with nothing more than memories and a full camera roll. Job done.

Pros of booking in advance - You now exactly how much your accommodation is going to cost and you can determine the standard you are going to be staying in as you go. 5* all the way, or budget with a treat at the end of each week, whatever you decide is best. You can also read reviews on places and pick exact locations based on things you would like to see and do whilst away (probably not everyday on the bike).
Cons - You have to find your accommodation, sometimes passing several places on the way. Some places you book online are not as central as you may have though (or they said).
Pros of finding as you go - You are totally free to do what you like.
Cons - Sometimes you find yourself passing by town after town after town without wanting to commit to anywhere (incase the next tow is better, and usually is, once you drive through it in the morning  :lol ). You have no idea how much it will cost. Getting on and off the bike to ask hotel tariffs in 40 degree heat is going to get old fast. So a few time you will probably over pay just because you are dun for the day.

I find a mix is best. A rough route with a few set places for peace of mind, and a few days of "as the wind blows".

I am off to the Nurburgring with a friend on September 13th. We are touring Holland, Germany, France and a day in Belgium. I have booked a house in Nurburg for 3 day, from which we can explore the region (Koblenz, Bonn...), an apartment I stayed in last year in south Germany (Tenningen) for 2 nights (a day at Europa park and not on the bike) and our last night in Amsterdam. The rest of it we are just hitting the road. About a 60/40 split.

Hope this helps

Looks like some good advice there - many thanks.
I'm thinking about it now to give myself as much time as possible to get the money together (although still got to spend a fair bit on the bike and some new gear yet this year), and get some ideas of how I really want to do it. I've done a fair bit of UK touring with the tent now, camping is just starting to get a bit old for me now (read I'm getting a bit too decrepit for camping!), but the idea of taking a small tent and basics "just in case" sounds like a good one. I definitely won't be able to afford the more expensive hotels, just as long as I can get a good night's kip (without having to worry about whether I'll still have a bike in the morning!) and shower facilities etc. I think I'll sit back and let this thread roll (if it will), plenty of time to pick up some more tips.
I did consider some of the guided biking tours just to get me going, but don't like the idea of having mileages pre-set for me every day, as these old broken bones sometimes just scream to me "enough for today!" and would like to have a rest day here and there when I need to.
Two weeks is probably going to be realistic for me money-wise, although if I could find a way to extend it, I would of course. Still, can't see a whole continent in one trip! The Alps and/or Dolomites would be high on my priority of areas to see (love the mountains!).
And thanks for those links Phil (just caught before posting this).