to be thinking about driving alone from Switzerland to Geneva with 2 DC and a dog?

[MmeLindt]

Would you attempt it?

Approx 8 hours to Calais, over with Tunnel or ferry, then 9 hours.

How many overnight stops?

Thanks all, will probably take the ferry to Rosyth, then I only have an hour to drive home.

DC get a DVD player for the drive to Amsterdam

And I just realised, I can pick my friend up on the way up, she is in Cologne.

Ah, being in the hold, probably not very nice for her, no.

No, August.

Although that does not mean anything in Scotland.

I like driving.

Yes, I am in the German equivalent of the AA and they will rescue us everywhere if need be.

Still to convince DH that it is a good idea.

I wouldn't do it, but then I embrace an 'easy life' and I am completely stress averse. I did it without children and it was hard work.

I would fly and then hire a car personally

I would!

So long as you are confident, have a map and AA cover, you will be fine.

Just make sure that wherever you decide to stop over you manage to get a good sleep.

I drive regularly from just outside London to Glasgow with 3 dcs and dog (takes about 7-8 hours depending on loo breaks) and its not a problem. I think if I was stopping off for a sleep overnight, I could do the same again the following day.

Hope you have a fab time.

and I drive 6-7 hours to Scarborough N.Yorks to see parents - would rather walk on hot coals than do it two days running

Am pretty confident of driving, have driven in many European countries/cities. Have GPS and breakdown cover.

Going to go for it but will try to do the ferry to Scotland rather than the short crossing. Think that the dog will survive that.

Thanks all.

I've done it with DC from Bern to Devon then eurotunnel (or vice versa) many times with not much difficulty! We used to stop near Mulhouse or Namur (depending on direction of travel and time of day and, of course, the route) for an overnight stop BUT we never had a dog with us.

Maybe it would be good to stop just inside england. Do Premier Inns take dogs?

Good Luck with your very long journey!

PS: Are you resident in switzerland? (just being nosy)

Drayford
Yes, we live near Geneva. Are you still in CH?

It took us 7 hours from Belgium to Geneva with dh's fast driving.

Make sure you have plenty of travel sickness tablets!

Hurrah - ML you've found a way with the collective power of MN.

orienteerer are you who I think you are - did we know each other in Wien? Am now in Geneva!

Hmm, the doggies are outside in a kennel which has a small plastic roof, according to the woman at NorfolkLine. She is sending me a photo.

I've done the Ijmuiden - Newcastle ferry before, it leaves from about an hour north of Amsterdam (bad traffic sorry... not much can be done about that) at around 6pm and gets in to Newcastle at 9am. It's a very pleasant crossing and the boat so civilised compared to the pleb-carriers nipping across the English Channel at Dover.

As far as the drive goes it took me exactly 8 hours from the south of holland (NL-BE border) to Geneva but I did go the "wrong" way around the lake at Lucern I think it was... oh, and didn't have a map - it was very much "left at Mulhouse" type thing.

I did the Aosta valley home once which was 12 hours and I should've stopped somewhere. Because the traffic up through NL could be awful I'd consider staying overnight with your friend in Dusseldorf just to catch your breath.

Thanks Skihorse. I have been on pretty much every ferry to Scotland/England at some point in time but never with such a long drive first. Might do the drive up in two days though, you could be right.

I have emailed all the ferry companies to find out details about the dog accomodation. From the website, the Newcastle ferry looks best. Or the Hull ferry, cause it is shorter.

Daft question I know, but do you have accommodation lined up at the other end because dfdsseaways have been doing some amazing deals lately. I can help you with the dutch site if you need to book it the other way around.

If you do end up taking the long ferry be warned that food on the boat is generally very expensive - in future we'll grab some ready-made sarnies/salads from a supermarket. The cabins on the dfds were really much better than I expected with a good sized shower, sometimes they can be smaller than wee.

I ought to add, my family did Lerwick-Aberdeen many years ago with the animals. It ended up being 16 hours in horrendous weather. The animals were actually fine although the cat basket had turned upside down during the night and the cat had been sick... the dog of course had eaten it up.

Funny thing was, when we were queueing to get on the boat my dad decided last minute to stop and take out extra insurance. As he did so, someone pushed in front of us in the queue. The next morning on the car deck it was discovered this other guy's car was a total write-off because one of the containers full of herring had broken loose and smashed in to the car.

The animals were both fine although it can't have been a pleasant night for either of them but I'm sure they were happier in the car with "their smells" than in an anonymous kennel.

Yes, we used to take picnics on board too. The food is not great on any of the ferries that I have been on, but they have a captive audience.

Depending on which ferry we take I probably will not need accommodation in UK as we will drive straight through to my parents. Even Hull - Dundee is doable in a day.

Our dog is an extremely sociable, pampered pooch, I do not think she would do well on her own overnight, especially outside on the deck. She gets cold, the poor dear.

I've done it loads from Zürich to Kent/Dorset. (with 3 kids no dog) Have stopped overnight once, near Calais, prefer to go straight through. Am lucky kids are good travellers though.

Mind you, it's a bit of a bugger having to shag up to Scotland. Gonna cost £££!

warning, the return journey is much worse than the outward one ime

Have pretty much decided on the ferry to Newcastle, will drive through France/Belgium rather than Germany as the traffic going up the A3 is often dreadful. Will look for a hotel around Metz, I think..

I've stayed at the Formule1 in Metz... it's as to be expected.

Coming up through France/Lux/Belgium will be as easy as pie - you just head for Liege and from Liege it's one motorway all the way up to Ijmuiden, well it changes name at Amsterdam but it still heads north - as it's a pretty narrow strip of land up there it's pretty hard to get it wrong!

There are no shops near the ferry terminal at Ijmuiden - unless you fancy a bit of raw fish - so it'd be worth picking your picnic up elsewhere. e.g., at the start of the E25 (A2) at Liege there's a massive Carrefour.