Nurburg, Germany, Austria, Italy round trip?

[StuartFZR400 0]

Hello old and new, I'm appealing to those that may have driven over to the ring and beyond. I know a lot of you will have driven over to the Nurburg Ring. Questions:

 

1. Is it easy to drive over there in a single day?

 

2. Any odd German road laws to watch out for?

 

3. Any tolls or roads worth avoiding? Or using?

 

We're planning on driving on a bit more after that. Possibly Stuttgart. Then through Austria onto northern Italy. The pass through Austria looks limited, there seems to be a lovely windy motorway - beautiful scenery - but bound to be a toll; I notice a small road beside it.... are these smaller roads in Austrian north italy rubbish, pot-holey, slow etc, or good? (you been that far south Tempest?)

 

4. ibis tends to be basic. I prefer a Campanile where possible; will often arrive late and nice to have meals on site. Therefore what equivalent they have in Germany? Or much better to venture into town and find a bar?

 

5. Any good spots worth stopping, staying, sleeping?

 

Many thanks in advance :)

[bristolbaron 10]

cant offer too much in the way of road trip advise as i've never got round to driving out that way however i would say if possible, try and time it around worthersee if you're dropping through austria. defo worth getting into germany as soon as possible, loads of tolls if you go the france way.

 

if you do get down to worthersee then the malta pass is well worth hitting up too. awesome road to nowhere..

 

edit - you want to end up here:

 

http://goo.gl/maps/9RC37

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lnbrein_Dam

Edited September 4, 2012 by bristolbaron

[StuartFZR400 0]

Wicked, I'll have to look this up. But I wanted to go semi close to Innsbruck or at least the Neuschwanstein castle, and into Italy. I think your route migth add a day - but worth a look see to see if it will fit (i was thinking stuttgart to Vicenza was ambitious. More tips like this welcome :)

[bristolbaron 10]

Unless you were adding a day at worthersee i wouldnt go out of your way to get to that road. it is awesome and being that it only goes to a cafe and the dam at the top means its empty empty, but there are loads of others around the alps. If you get to stop at worthersee then its worth the trip.

[MattPc 0]

Driving to the ring is easily done in a day, I got the 0200 train then drove to the ring with a couple of long stops along the way. We stayed at the main ring campsite in the centre of the track, only to be woken the following morning to the sound of 911's blasting round the track. I can recommend the piston klaus resturaunt, very good home cooked food at very reasonable prices. you could spend a couple of days here easliy looking around the local town Adenau where the track passes over the high street, and at the end of eah day head back to the track for the evening public sessions..

 

I would also as above try and coenside the ring trip with worthersee. and you won't be dissapointed by any of the mountain roads around southern Germany.

 

Matt

Edited September 4, 2012 by MattPc

[Jim 2]

How's it going Stuart? :)

 

You can get to the ring in a day no problem and it really is worth the visit but make sure you research what days it's open if you intend to take your car round as it's not open for public use every day.

 

If you want a fantastic guesthouse right near the Nurburgring I can highly recommend the Guesthouse Pitzen: http://www.fewo-pitzen.de/ - it's immaculately kept, and very well run but the only thing is the language barrier so you may need to use an online translation system to email and book with her should you decide to!

 

Good luck with your trip - it sounds excellent :)

[poll250 0]

The 'ring is about 4.5-5 hours from Calais so easily doable in one shot. The 'ring campsite is very handy and not TOO expensive, they charge per 12 hours which can be quite handy too if you're there for a day and a bit (as you don't really want all your camping gear in the car while you drive round. There are lot's of nice places to eat in Nurburg and Adenau.

 

One bit of advice would be to drive the track on a computer game as much as possible before going. I thought I'd remember most of it from playing GT5 a couple of years ago but got really lost after the Carousel. Luckily the guy I was with new it really well so was able to guide me round a bit!

 

Good luck!

[StuartFZR400 0]

Hello, hello, hope you're all well. I'm glad the site is still going strong, as it truly is the best car site i've come across; practical, informative.

 

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking of thumbing through GT5 just to get an idea of where we should be backing off; I'm guessing its not forgiving, and takes a long time to learn. I've vowed not to time or compare times etc; sounds chicken I know, but the main reason for this trip is to road trip, not grass/fence/wall trip.

 

Ok, glad it's doable in a day :) Thereon, not sure if Stuttgart or similar is ambitious in same day. Probably. And also curious if the Autobahns are worth using (mate is adamant we try one) or if there are some nice flowing twisties. Maybe we'll aim for what 'looks good on a map' and see how that goes until we reach southern boarder with austria. I hear you need a pass or tax card or something to use their roads - or is that just the motorways?

 

I'm well ta Jim; you've moved closer I see. I'll keep an eye out for your C then; I'm still in my hairdresser car for now; I'm torn between saving up for a modern tt or going small hot hatch, or Scirocco; its all money money.

[Jim 2]

I'm just down the road from where your folks live now mate! My Corrado is not on the road much any more, but keep an eye out for my daily which is a blue Octavia VRS Estate :)

 

Regarding the ring, the only advice really is just drive within your limits, don't try to keep up with other people, and make sure you watch what's coming up behind you at all times... you wouldn't believe how quickly fast cars catch up with you and are all over your chuff! And remember if you crash, insurance won't touch you... and you'll have to pay for any damage you cause to the track which can be very very expensive. I'm not trying to put you off but just mentioning things that I never gave any consideration to the times when I went round, and which might have made me think twice before going on had I known!

 

I think to be honest those who are going for the very first time are in the best position as generally they give it the respect it deserves and don't just go at it flat out... I think a few laps gets you feeling comfortable and perhaps familiar and that's when mistakes are made!