Just back, and what a fab time we had, from Edinburgh we drove down to Newcastle and got the DFDS ferry over to Holland. From there we drove straight down to Munich (took ages), we got lost in Munich as we couldn't find the campsite & the cigarette socket didnt work for my tomtom charger
We stayed two nights at Thalkirchen campsite which is a 15 minute walk from Munich Zoo, well worth a look as only €9 entry. Campsite is reccommended too.
We when drove down to Austria, the Innsbruck campsite is shut at the moment for some reason or other? So we stayed in a campsite called camping Stigger in Vols, very dear at €28 a night.
Didnt offer much for the price tag, probably cashing in while the Innsbruck campsite is shut. Though he made good pizza!
The next day we headed off for Venice, we stayed at Camping Fusina, for €31 a night. dear but worth it for the location and the 20 minute boat trip to Venice was a treat. Good food and lively with the Contiki Club 18 - 35 based there permanently. Don't let that put you off, if you camp over by the water you wont get disturbed by the noisy bar.
Titus A Duxass wrote:You can get from Germany (which is toll free) to Lake Garda on the back roads but it takes time.
The Brenner pass is an engine killer, the old Brenner is much nicer and easier (flatter) on the engine.
Reading this before I left, I have to admit, had me a bit worried! However neither me or my missus noticed we had finished the Brenner pass. It was a bit of an anti-climax to be honest. You'd never realise you were higher than Ben Nevis
Word of warning though, a proper engine killer is the road out of Innsbruck heading to Munich, we were lucky to come down it but on the way down we say a fellow T25 driver toiling up the 16% gradient with a huge que of traffic behind him!
I wouldn't avoid the autostradas as alternative routes will add on huge amounts of time, however I would avoid the Frence Autoroutes (to save money) as decent 'A' style roads can be used with little time added and often less mileage.
For lake Garda, I would give the thumbs up to: "Baia Verde" campsite, it was very quiet as its only 2-3 year old and the swimming pool was a treat with "una birra"
Anyway, if you ever visit Aosta in Italy, avoid at all costs a campsite called "Campeggio Milleluci", it's a hole of a site, with a dated dark and dingy shower/toilet block. It was dirty and dark with no hot showers or hot water. With those hole in floor toilets. To make things worse the uber dated 4 amp elec hook ups wouldnt let us boil a kettle. The place was dead with lots of old caravans dotted about with sheds attached to them. We left on the same day and drove 5 miles down the road to the Monte Bianco campsite, another 2 star campsite, but it was clean & busy and cheap at €15 a night (showers were €0.50).
The Mont Blanc tunnel was quite fun, 7 mile long tunnel. Though it cost €34 to go thru.
It's expensive driving in Europe. lol.
We found an absolute gem of a campsite in France called, "Chateau de L'Eperviere", (in between Lyon and Dijon) really well priced at €23.40 a night. It was set in the grounds of a 16th Century Chateau with Swimming pool, jacuzzi, bike hire, excellent (unisex) clean toilets and showers (free). This is well reccommended!!! We then went to Paris and found a campsite next door to a train station with a direct link to Paris, it's called "Le Chene Gris", pitches to the rear of the site are tiny and just big enough to fit a T25 in. But for €16.40 you got unlimited travel for the day which included, local trains, buses and metro (all zones).
It was then off to Belguim, and we stopped over at a campsite near Brugge called "Camping Memling", nothing special to report but ideal for travelling to Brugge. €1.60 on the number 11 bus got you to the centre. lol.
Finally we wrapped up our trip in Holland, and the final campsite was "Gaasper camping". it was a 5 minute walk to the Metro station, then a 20 minute metro trip to the centre of Amsterdam, for €11.50 you got unlimited 2 day travelling on all metros, buses & trams in the Dam. Though the couple who ran the site charged me 3 nights when we only stayed 2, they wouldnt refund me until I produced a lidl's reciept from Brugge for the day they thought I stayed.
2,300 miles later, back in Edinburgh my T25 didn't skip a beat. She was an absolute trooper. (though I did get the clutch replaced a couple months before). lol. her temperature gauge rose a tad in the Italian +30 degree heat on the way to Venice. But I can let her off for that.
Fab trip with loads of pics and memories that will last forever and anyone who hasn't dabbled in travelling abroad in the van... then go for it!
and found another hand already there 
