Michael Badt wrote:
> 3. Motor-home in general: types, tips, accessories, driving tips, wet and
> dry parking, potential problems, recommended web sites and rental agencies
> in Germany and Scandinavia.
Motor homes are just big cars, you'll get used to driving one. At least
on Germany's Autobahnen, stay in the right lane. The folks on the left
ones may very well be almost twice as fast as your motor home, not to
speak of motorcycles.
Gas (i.e. LNG, liquified natural gas) and, of course, fresh water is
available at all camp sites, which are the only places where you may
dump the sewer, too. Gas will come in rental bottles of IIRC 5kg, 11kg
and larger. Usually, two bottles can be hooked up to the mobile home
with an automatic switch. If one's empty, you just take it to the dealer
and get a full one in exchange.
Prices for standard motor homes in Germany seem to be located between 70
€ and 110 € per day.
Don't trust the manufacturer's ideas on how may persons can be stuffed
into the car. For two persons it's usually ok, with small kids, too, but
watch out if you're four adults. If you're not used to it, turning the
(possibly only) table into a bed and vice versa every morning and
evening can become a pain in the ass for everybody on board. In any
case, you might want to rent an extra table and chairs, so you can eat
outside.
Beds located on top of the driver's cabin are always small.
Make sure you'll get an insurance of type "Vollkasko" (covers any kind
of damage) and that you're allowed to take the van outside Germany!
Some rentals in and near Hamburg:
http://www.knaus-riege.de/vermietung.php?type=1 (site German only)
http://www.mcrent.de/en/html/home.html (about 30 minutes north from
Hamburg airport)
http://www.travelhome.info/rent/ (about 40 minutes south from Hamburg
airport)
http://www.acc-hamburg.eu/public/wohnmobile/de/vermietung/ (site German
only)
http://www.kursawe-reisemobile.de/kastenwagen_vermietung.htm (site
German only)
> 4. Motor-home pick up: Am I correct assuming that, price-wise,
> I'll be better of by renting the motor-home in Germany (Hamburg ?),
> "stuffing it with food and products there, and drive/ferry to Sweden or
> Denmark (As we'll be flying in to Europe anyway, the starting point
> doesn't make a difference for us). How many days do I have to add the the
> "net" trip length in this case?
While Scandinavia might be more expensive than Germany, I'm not sure if
the difference is worth starting in Germany.
You'll have two / three options, directly to Oslo or via Denmark and/or
Sweden. Hamburg is the farest (uh, most far?) you'll get up north in
Germany conveniently with a transatlantic flight (there are a number of
direct flights, most go via Frankfurt/Main or Munich, though), so that'd
be your start.
The Oslo ferry leaves from Kiel, that's about one and a half hours north
of Hamburg on the Autobahn. The ferry is operated by Color Line, leaves
every two days at 14 o'clock and arrives next day at 9:30. Prices start
around 600 € for the mobile home and up to 4 persons if I'm correct. See
http://www.colorline.com/servlets/page?section=4000 for more info.
The ferries to Denmark and Sweden are operated by Scandlines. You can
choose between the short trip from Puttgarden, Germany, to Rødby,
Denmark (45 minutes) or the 7-hour-one from Rostock, Germany, to
Trelleborg, Sweden. See http://www.scandlines.de/en/main.htm for more info.
In any case, both routes meet in Malmö, so the choice is more or less
just between spending money on gas (from Rødby to Malmö) or on the ferry
fare.
Same goes for the difference between the Oslo ferry and the
Denmark/Sweden ferries. For the latter you'll have to drive the 600 km
from Malmö to Oslo yourself. Should be noted, though, that you might
save about a day if you take the Oslo ferry since it's a night passage.
I'd calculate two days for arrival in Hamburg, picking up the motor home
and going to Oslo.
Oh, and you can't use a credit card in German supermarkets, just cash or
the German ec-card, which comes with every German bank account.
> 6. Recommended camp sites/ night stays+respective web sites.
> 7. Recommended guides and maps
http://www.visitnorway.com/MWTemplates/QWArticle.aspx?id=176285
http://www.camping.no/index_eng.html
If you start in Germany, you might want to pick up a copy of the "ADAC
Camping/Caravaning-Führer - Deutschland, Nordeuropa", sort of a
campground bible by the German automobile club ADAC. It lists all
campgrounds in Germany and Northern Europe with detailed info on prices,
amenities, quality of service, you-name-it. Symbol explanations are in
English, too (at least last time I checked), and since almost everything
is described with a symbol, it's usable for non-German speakers, too.
Should be available in any bookstore at 18 €.
Agner |