Driving from Exeter to Germany, Tips?
 

Hey all,

New Ver4 Type R owner here needs to go pick up his car and get back to Mannheim Germany.

Any suggestions on the route, taking the chunnel vs. ferry? I leave for Germany today and should be picking up the car by mid to late January. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated since it's my first time in Europe.

Cheers,
Ryan

Dont speed through Belgium (even though youll want to!).

Also: take a bulb kit, first aid kit, warning triangle, fire extinguisher and high viz waistcoat which you must keep in the cars cabin.

Use the tunnel , go on the E40 past Brussels then head south.
Shame it's winter as it's only a short detour for the Nurburgring on your way home!
Take a Sat Nav for the speed cameras and keep your speed down below 90mph. Hardly any traffic police through Belgium but if you get caught they can be quite severe with their penalties.

Speed traps on the motorway leading to Calais are common though, to catch Brits racing for the ferry...

That is true, although the French being lazy tend not to be out and about in the evenings or early morning :norty:

'ring is open if you are passing. Luck of the draw on whether it's open due to the weather though, they were lapping on christmas day .. grr...

Thanks for the info, I should be able to pick a kit like that up at a local store correct?

Also I forgot to ask, what would be the best way to fly/ride to Devon from Frankfurt? Should I try to get a connecting flight to Exeter, or would a train ride from London be better? I don't need it to be super cheap, but I don't want to break the bank getting there if I don't have to.

Thanks again for all the tips.

Cheers,
Ryan

I like to use the tunnel, partly because I don't have any sea legs!

The route I normally take from Calais to Mannheim is:

Calais to Dunkerque on the A16
Then Turn off onto the E42 towards Lille, Mons, Namur then turn onto
The A4 / E411 / E25 South to Luxembourg
Fill up with cheap fuel in Luxembourg!!!!
Then A8 / E29 from Luxembourg passing North of Saarbrucken
Then its A6 / E50 to Mannheim

Mileage wise its under 400 miles from Calais to Mannheim on my route, and an easy to do route thats none to busy and plenty of chance to get ya foot down. You should do it easily in 5 hours, quicker if you wanna put ya foot down!

I do this route (but carrying on further than Mannheim) twice a year. Having tried various routes I find this the best for me.

A cheap flights option would be to use Flybe.com and work out a lot cheaper I think.

Frankfurt to Manchester then Manchester to Exeter.

For the 2 flights in total you'd pay less than £100 inc taxes if you choose the right flights.

Loads cheaper than flying via London!

Frankfurt to Heathrow with BA is 85 Euros, then National Express from Heathrow to Exeter is £24. Simple.

Frankfurt to Manchester 20 euros, Manchester to Exeter 20 quid !
Who wants to travel on a National Express bus except students, chavs and the less affluent?

;)

Thanks, I'm not a bus person if there's a plane around. But whatever gets me to my car!

Only it's not £20 is it? By the time you've added the tax, ins and bag charge it's £60 each sector.
I get your point about the bus though :D

Flybe, fly out of exeter airport, dont know all there route's though.

Nearest Flybe destinations are Hannover and Salzburg...

There is a fixed speed camera just as you approach Lille on the E42. It's on the central reservation

Like I've already said, you can go from Frankfurt to Manchester on FlyBe.com and then from Manchester to Exeter on FlyBe.com

No one flies direct from Frankfurt to Exeter, so flybe is your best bet.