Planning a European Road Trip

Our carbon footprint, and three things we would do differently...

Last summer, we spent nearly six weeks on a European road trip, driving over 10,000 km… that’s more than driving across the US twice. We have shared tales of many of our stops. Today, we share our full itinerary, what we would do differently, and wonder “Could we have used public transportation?”

Image by Pixels from Pixabay

Our 2024 Summer Roadtrip

It wasn’t the heat that made us want to take a road trip in late July and August.¹ It was tourism. In 2024, the population of Albufeira increased from just under 50,000 to nearly 300,000 in July and August. We don’t see that large an increase in Vila Real de Santo António (VRSA) … but it seems to double in August. While we are too far from the Faro airport to attract many northern European travelers, we get our fair share of Spaniards and Portuguese. We thought it might be nice to avoid the crowds, so we planned a road trip.

When we owned our motorhome, we planned each stop along the way.² We were glampers, not campers. We typically stayed in campgrounds that offered hookups for electricity, water and sewer, and wifi. In the six years we owned OLGA³, we never spent a night in a Walmart parking lot or a truck stop. There are pluses and minuses to planning a trip this way.⁴

We followed this tradition of careful pre-planning last summer as well. You can see a portion of the spreadsheet we prepared below. The full sheet includes hotel addresses, comments like free parking on site, etc.⁵

Happy Accidents & What We Would Change

As you can see, we didn’t follow a straight line from Point A to Point B.⁶ We could have driven from Berlin to Munich in 5.5 hours. However, Prague is one of Denise’s favorite cities. Prague led to stops in Karlovy Vary and our visit to Terezin. I can honestly report that we enjoyed something about every city we visited. However, there are some things we would do differently:

1. We won’t plan another European road trip in August. First, everyone in Europe is on vacation in August. Prices are higher, and hotels, roads, and attractions are more crowded. Second, given our hotel standards and the fact we were traveling with a dog, it was difficult to be spontaneous during peak season. Had we decided to spend more time in a city, it would have thrown off the whole trip. In addition, VRSA offers 2 or 3 nights of live entertainment on our town square every weekend in August. We missed the Queen tribute band!

2. We will never plan a one-night stopover again. For example, we only spent one night in Bilbao. Yes, we visited the Guggenheim … but that’s about it.

3. We would stop more often. While a 6-hour drive was não faz mal in our 50’s, it is not as much fun in our 70’s. Onix is not crazy about it, either. We typically drive in 2-hour shifts … so in the future, we will aim for no more than 4 hours of driving in a single day.

In summary, we are retired and should slow down. We will likely plan other extended road trips … but aim for April/May or September/October.

Calculation by co2.myclimate.org

Our Carbon Footprint

It was not until after our return that I considered our carbon footprint. I wondered if we could have done the entire trip using public transportation. So I jumped on Omio and Rome2Rio and the answer is a qualified yes. Portugal is not connected to other European cities by rail. However, for less than €40 a piece, we could get from Guimarães to Bilbao by bus … less expensive than driving but a 9.5-hour trip. There are times when public transit is both cheaper and quicker, e.g. Berlin to Prague. And the fact is we never used our car when in a major European city. And, in case you are wondering, you can take your dog on most European trains.

If you do not own a car, you could take public transportation most of the way … renting cars, for example, in Bourdeaux and in Copenhagen to tour western Denmark. And as we learn, on nearly every trip we take, we always take too many clothes. A small carry-on and a day pack is all you really need.

For many who immigrated to Europe, travel was a big part of the draw. Now is a great time to ask yourself, “Am I traveling as much as I hoped?”

And for those in the US, it’s a good time to see how the rest of the world lives. If you are coming to Europe, when asked by a passerby, say you are Canadian. (Just kidding?)

Can you name this city?

Boas viagens, até à próxima semana,

Nanc

A Question Should You Wish to Offer an Opinion: Does Donald Trump realize he is a Russian agent?

Just in Case: There will be a Hands-Off demonstration in Lisbon (Praça do Comércio, 1100-148 Lisboa, Portugal), Saturday at 11:00. More information available on Democrats Abroad Portugal.

1. We lived in Florida for 17 years and the California desert for 3 years. We like warm weather.

2. In planning the distance between stops, our golden rule was never to drive more than 6 hours or arrive at the campsite after 6 pm.

3. Our motorhome was named Olga … Old Ladies Get Around.

4. We once took a 6-week European vacation with another couple. Though portions of the trip were planned, others were not. We once booked our Athens hotel reservations for the next night while sitting in our Barcelona hotel. We changed airline reservations on the fly when we decided we didn’t want to return to a certain city. Of course, this was 10 years ago and in the off-season.

5. The drive time estimates are fairly accurate. Two major exceptions: Denise wanted to stop in Biarritz for lunch en route to Bilbao. Getting in and out of the city took more time than our lunch. And, a road closure made our trip from Geneva to Brive take nearly 9 hours.

6. Had we taken the most direct route from VRSA to Copenhagen it would have reduced our travel time and km driven by 50%.