Brussels to Budapest road trip

[Mosee]

I know this will sound dumb. But I have a lot of travel/holiday anxiety. I am planning a surprise trip for my husband. After years of agoraphobia I am going abroad. I have book dh ticket to the Belgian and Hungarian GP as a thank you for staying beside me for years of depression and fertility issues.

Can I please ask which cities/towns you would visit over the course of 5 days (we are driving from Spa to Budapest).

i have tried three times to book hotels but get incredibly overwhelmed. I have settled on Vienna as a must see. But don’t know beyond that! Maybe Frankfurt? Heidelberg?

if you have done similar I would love to know what you enjoyed

I'd choose Würzburg as your first stop. I've been there on our road trip and enjoyed a day exploring it. You have to decide whether you want to stop at big cities like Vienna or Munich, or prefer less busy stops to avoid traffick and parking restrictions. Also to get better response maybe ask for this topic to be moved to Hoildays.

Would you consider trains instead of driving? It's much less stressful and takes you into the heart of the cities....

I absolutely would but I know dh would love to take his new car

Thanks for sharing. I think a mix of city and scenic spots is best.

That's a long journey - apporx 1400km - so you're right to look to split it up into smaller sections, to take a few days to complete the trip and to do some sightseeing along the way.

You could look at driving from Spa to Frankfurt, or if you want to push on get as far as Nurnburg on the first day, then stop for a day or two in Vienna before travelling on to Budapest.

You don't say where you're travelling from but presumably you'll also be returning. If you are travelling back to the UK you could take a different route back and stop at Salzburg or Munich, then take the A8 via Munich and Stuttgart. If your husband is a petrol head there are some great car museums along this route - BMW in Munich; Mercedes and Porsche in Stuttgart. From there drive towards Aachen and Brussels and then om to Calais, Dunkirk or Hook of Holland for the ferry or tunnel back to the UK.

Hotels - book on one of the regular websites and always book hotels that you can cancel free of charge 24 hours in advance. Staying just outside of the city centres is worth considering - Euopean city centres are not made for cars and parking can be pricey. For example, there are plenty of hotels (IBIS, Holiday Inn etc) close to Stuttgart airport and you can take the airport shuttle train into the centre of the city rather than driving in.

Fuel - Do not tank up on the autobahn (motorway) as fuel prices are extortionate. Along the way you'll see signs saying "Autohof" which are large service stations just off the autobahn and where fuel can be 50 cents a litre cheaper than on the autobahn. Alternatively tank up where you stay overnight. Again using Stuttgart as an example, there are several service stations close to the airport hotels where the fuel is far cheaper than on the autobahn.