Hi I have just managed to book a hotel room in Garmisch and am looking for some advice on the best way to get there. I will be crossing at Dover and I presume France is the way to go. Any seasoned tourers out there with any advice on best routes?
I am travelling from Merseyside and will be stopping one night in France on the way there and back also, any recommendations on hotels etc?
Directions to Garmisch?
Moderators: slparry, Gromit, Paul
Directions to Garmisch?
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CC - route-wise do you want the most intereseting way, or perhaps the easiest/most convenient?
As to hotels - pretty much anything in France with Logis de France is very good. I prefer them to the Campanile-type places as they tend to be a little more rustic and generally have a decent restaurant attached.
As to hotels - pretty much anything in France with Logis de France is very good. I prefer them to the Campanile-type places as they tend to be a little more rustic and generally have a decent restaurant attached.
Easiest and most convenient (not to mention fastest) route is to get out of France as soon as you can. This is particularly so if you're likely to take advantage of the unrestricted nature of some stretches of autobahn...... 
Try something like A16-A18 towards Ostend, then A10, across the top of Brussels. A3, A2, across above Maastricht, A76, A4 towards Cologne, A61 past Koblenz, A5 to Karlsruhe, A8 across the bottom of Stuttgart, A7 until it runs out and then head for Seeg, picking up the ST2008 heading south, a few other funny-numbered roads (it'll be obvious on a map) to the B179, B187, B23 in to Garmisch. There are probably loads of other possible routes but that's mine - fast on the autobahns with just enough scenic, fun roads (about 40-50 miles, I think) at the end as you come towards Garmisch.
If you prefer French autoroutes to German autobahns you can do Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Stuttgart and then the last bit's the same. Given the same speed on the motorways they're not very different in either time or distance but (a) in reality autobahns are faster than autoroutes and (b) there are no tolls in Germany.
Try something like A16-A18 towards Ostend, then A10, across the top of Brussels. A3, A2, across above Maastricht, A76, A4 towards Cologne, A61 past Koblenz, A5 to Karlsruhe, A8 across the bottom of Stuttgart, A7 until it runs out and then head for Seeg, picking up the ST2008 heading south, a few other funny-numbered roads (it'll be obvious on a map) to the B179, B187, B23 in to Garmisch. There are probably loads of other possible routes but that's mine - fast on the autobahns with just enough scenic, fun roads (about 40-50 miles, I think) at the end as you come towards Garmisch.
If you prefer French autoroutes to German autobahns you can do Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Stuttgart and then the last bit's the same. Given the same speed on the motorways they're not very different in either time or distance but (a) in reality autobahns are faster than autoroutes and (b) there are no tolls in Germany.
Which day are you intending to go over? I'm sailing from Dover to Calais Thursday morning and am intending to stay overnight in Metz. I've then got two nights booked in Garmisch. Maybe we could meet up on the way somewhere. The route I'll probably take will be a bit of autoroute but mostly N roads to Metz. Then onto Strasbourg and along the top of Lake Constance, getting to Garmisch late afternoon on Friday.
Paul
Paul
Hi Paul. We are leaving Birkenhead early Thursday morning and intend to catch the ferry to Calais around midday. We intend to stop over on the way but I don't know how far my missus can handle sitting on the back. When she gets tired we will start looking for somewhere to stop. I've looked at the map and Metz looks a bit far.The furthest my wife has travelled on the back in one day was about 350 miles, so this will be uncharted territory for her. If we can make it as far as Metz on the Thursday night then I would like to meet up. I will send you my mobile number and keep in touch over the day. Cheers.
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Hi cc mac,
I've done a few long trips with my now ex-missus (
) and I know what you mean about not going too far! Metz is quite a way but if you autoroute it you should be ok. When I stayed there before I used N and D roads to get there and didn't arrive too late. Don't forget you do lose an hour crossing over to France and now Speedferries no longer take bikes the crossing will be a bit longer with P & O. However, if you don't want to get to Garmisch too late you need to get as far as possible on Thursday.
It would be good to meet up though, if not at Metz then at Garmisch. Whereabouts are you booked in to? I'm staying at the Hotel Leiner.
Cheers, Paul.
I've done a few long trips with my now ex-missus (
) and I know what you mean about not going too far! Metz is quite a way but if you autoroute it you should be ok. When I stayed there before I used N and D roads to get there and didn't arrive too late. Don't forget you do lose an hour crossing over to France and now Speedferries no longer take bikes the crossing will be a bit longer with P & O. However, if you don't want to get to Garmisch too late you need to get as far as possible on Thursday.It would be good to meet up though, if not at Metz then at Garmisch. Whereabouts are you booked in to? I'm staying at the Hotel Leiner.
Cheers, Paul.
Yes, but your body doesn't! You may arrive at 6 rather than 5 but your body will feel as if it's still 5 o'clock.paulR wrote:Don't forget you do lose an hour crossing over to France
Eurotunnel? I used the Dover-Calais ferry once and with all the faffing around with straps, luggage (not safe to leave soft luggage on the bike) and carrying kit around for the whole crossing I decided once was enough. Ever since then I've used the tunnel which, if breakfast isn't important to you (best not to eat too much when you're doing big distance anyway) is preferable for a whole number of reasons IMO.paulR wrote:and now Speedferries no longer take bikes the crossing will be a bit longer with P & O.
Why not do Garmisch in a day? That's what I do - leave home at 7am, 9.03 Eurotunnel train, arrive about 8pm local time (7pm UK) in time for food and a few beers. Get all the motorway boredom out of the way as quick as possible and then there's more time to enjoy the mountains once you get there, and you don't have to leave as soon to get home. I wouldn't do that with a pillion, though. And it depends where you live in the UK too, I guess - much further north than London and it's probably too long a day for most.paulR wrote:However, if you don't want to get to Garmisch too late you need to get as far as possible on Thursday.
For me it's about 750 miles including 100 miles in the UK from home to the tunnel terminal. So you'd be looking at around 780 miles - an extra half an hour or so.
It's a long days riding, but not a difficult one (weather permitting, of course) - worth it from my point of view to give more time at the chosen destination.
It's a long days riding, but not a difficult one (weather permitting, of course) - worth it from my point of view to give more time at the chosen destination.
I did wonder how far you were used to riding when you said that "Metz is quite a way" - if I was going the French (rather than German) route that's about where I'd stop for lunch!
I guess the question you have to ask is what sort of time would you expect to finish your 500 miles, and how tired would you be? If you've done 500 miles by mid afternoon and felt you could carry on then 750 or so is probably realistic for a day. If 500 miles gets you there at 7pm, exhausted, then it's best to split the journey across 2 days
I guess the question you have to ask is what sort of time would you expect to finish your 500 miles, and how tired would you be? If you've done 500 miles by mid afternoon and felt you could carry on then 750 or so is probably realistic for a day. If 500 miles gets you there at 7pm, exhausted, then it's best to split the journey across 2 days
It's about 290 miles for me from Birkenhead to Dover. We have been looking at the map and are thinking of staying in La Roche, It's about the right distance and it's a place we have been to on a couple of occasions. It works out at about 500 miles.
We will be staying at the Mercure hotel in Garmisch, it was the only place with free rooms, understandable at this late stage.
We will be staying at the Mercure hotel in Garmisch, it was the only place with free rooms, understandable at this late stage.
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