dubrock87

Hey Everyone,

I'm new to the board and looking for some input. Ever since learning about the ED program I've been putting together a dream vacation to incorporate the car pick up and a Euro road trip. Below is one of the 169223 drafts I've put together and it's by far my favorite. But is it achievable? It's covering a lot of distance and not leaving much time in each area, but my girlfriend and I are ok with destination hopping and understand most of our trip will be spent driving (but in a new S4 on the best roads in Europe, I'm sure we'll make peace). I was just wondering if anyone had done a similar route or knew the area better (considering I've never been to that part of the world) and could suggest any changes or possible hiccups along the way.


Germany - Switzerland - Italy - France (1000mi) Map
Late May/June
Leave Florida Wednesday night, arrive Thursday morning

Day 1 (Thr) - Fly into Munich (AM). Hotel by Audi (airport Hilton). Taxi to explore Munich.

Day 2 - Audi limo to Ingolstadt. Pick up S4 (tour Audi if time). Drive to Passau (2.5 hrs). Late afternoon museum tour. Hotel.

Day 3 - Drive to Neuschwanstein Castle (3.5 hrs). Hohenschwangau/Fussen Airbnb.

Day 4 - Early drive to Lucerne, Swz (3.5 hrs) lunch. St. Beatus Caves (1+ hr). Lauterbrunnen (25m). Airbnb.

Day 5 - Cable to Murren for breakfast. Drive through Lucerne (1hr 15m) to Lake Como, Italy (Bellagio 3.5hrs). Dinner in Bellagio. Airbnb.

Day 6 - Water taxi to Varenna for breakfast, Castello de Vezio. Drive to Milan (1h 30m). Airbnb.

Day 7 - Milan. (Bikes? Wine tasting? Cooking class?)

Day 8 - Drive to Monaco. (3h 45m) Airbnb.

Day 9 - Day 10 - Eze village. Return S4 in Nice (45min). Back to Monaco.

Day 10 (Sat) - Fly home. Get home late Sat.

All drive times are estimated from Google Maps with a little time added to each for road construction/traffic/etc. A few of the days are long, but it's the best I could do for the max 10 days I have.

Let me know what you guys think. I'd love some input from anyone more informed than myself. Thanks!

PKL

Hello, planning your Euro Delivery already for June of NEXT year? Guess what, me too!

I plan on driving around 1400 miles in about 13 days. And like you I went through about 1,000 different iterations of the plan.

My only question is, are you going to order an Audi Exclusive Color? I am hoping to order my vehicle in Solar Orange.

Cheers!

dubrock87

That's awesome! Wish I had more time but unfortunately 10 days will be my cut off. Probably won't be doing an exclusive color, right now I'm just eyeing glacier white with black optics. But there's plenty of time for my tastes to change!

chicagoA6

For me planning these trips is 1/2 the fun of them. Couple comments:

1) The Munich Airport is not close to downtown Munich. Allow time for the taxi, but better to take the Bahn (Germany train). You can grab the train only steps away from the entrance to the Hilton. You have the right idea because not much to do around the airport although a stop in the Audi store is always fun.

2) The drive from Lucerne to Como is a heavy one. It is doable, but based on my expereince everything slows down in Italy. Another option is go to St. Moritz rather than Lucerne. Then the drive to Como is only ~ 2 hours. In addition to that St. Moritz area has some great passes that you could explore before starting out for Como. Albula and Julierpass are two if them

3) Nothing wrong with dropping the car off in Nice. Just be aware that sometimes when dropping the car off in these less frequently used drop off locations the delivery to the US can be longer. Since they don't have the volume they have to wait until they get enough cars to do a shipment.

We will be in a number of the same locations this August. Zurich, Interlaken, Lucerne and Salzburg. I think I started planning it the minute we returned from last year's trip

Enjoy!!

dubrock87

Thanks for the advice! I agree, planning it has been really fun, but for now I just have to be patient and save haha. About the drive to Como, by "heavy" do you mean difficult? I was really hoping to go via the Furka Pass, but I don't want to get in way over my head if it's anything dangerous. Not being familiar with the area I'm afraid to pack too much into one day and get setback. This vacation will definitely end up being done on a tight schedule, which I hate, but I guess that's part of a long road trip.

chicagoA6

By heavy meaning its a long drive. My wife has a rule... Nothing per Google maps that's more than 5 hours. That allows time for stops, food, scenic pictures, sitting behind caravans and pee. That means more like 8 hours

I've found that while its great to think about hitting 4-5 alpine passes per day the reality is that with traffic its going to take longer than you think. Its better to do fewer routes and enjoy them more. On more than one occasion we did a pass and then turned around an did it again it time allowed.

If you get up early you can do Furka without much issue. Weather will be the big unknown. If its snowing or foggy it will make any of the passes dangerous. However, if that happens just bypass them and stick to the main roads.

Also don't forget the Swiss are neurotic about speed limits. DO NOT SPEED IN SWITZERLAND!

dubrock87

Ok great, thanks! A 5 hour max seems reasonable. I think 5.5 hrs might be our longest total day, with it broken up into two 2.5 hr drives and lunch in the middle.