in planning » Rotterdam to Luxembourg in September

I will be making my annual outing Hull to Zurich early September. I know the way there Hull-Zeebrugge without the need for a map or SatNav but currently that route is freight only and I am waiting impatiently for a reply to my email of last Saturday as to when it will recommence (I have learned more from the local Hull newspaper than I have from the P & O website!)

Never ridden to/from Rotterdam. Can someone suggest a route that combines high speed roads with some country single carriageway for variety? I would want to avoid travelling directly through anything larger than a village or small town.

To give you an idea of my ideal. My normal route is Zeebrugge/Tournai/Mons on motorway then R5 and across to the N40 for variety before getting back on boring dual carriageway joining the E411 at Wellin and then on to Luxembourg eventually overnighting at Haguenau.

Suggestions combining high speed travel and interesting country roads would be much appreciated.

I would want to avoid Antwerp and Brussels.

I am wondering about A13 & A25 to Liege and Bastogne then joining my usual route but I cannot see an easy and obvious route that avoids Antwerp.

Contributions would be much appreciated as I don't think P & O will open Hull-Zeebrugge just for me!

P.S. I don't fancy an extra 500 miles or so of UK motorway to take a Channel ferry plus an extra overnight stop nearby.

Chris

Hi

for the last few years I have done Ijmuiden to Luxembourg/Germany border and will look at my routes to see what I do and if it works for you. will get back to you.

Graham

Hi

I would get across to A2 and speed down that road till Liege and then cut across to Huy and take the N66 to Trois Pont and then N68 then e421

The road from Huy to Trois Pont and all around are fun

good luck

Graham

Graham,

Very helpful. That gives me something to work with and do some reading up on.

Bike now almost ready for the trip - Luggage rack and Givi plate went on today and moved the SatNav mount to above the TFT where it should have been in the first place and also fitted a Givi screen.

However I am less ready than the bike is. I normally commute 100 miles per day. I have barely done that most months since March! So I need to put in a few miles to get myself ready.

Chris

Zitat von PlacidoD im Beitrag #5

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Graham,

Very helpful. That gives me something to work with and do some reading up on.

Bike now almost ready for the trip - Luggage rack and Givi plate went on today and moved the SatNav mount to above the TFT where it should have been in the first place and also fitted a Givi screen.

However I am less ready than the bike is. I normally commute 100 miles per day. I have barely done that most months since March! So I need to put in a few miles to get myself ready.

Chris

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11 days on and still no reply from P & O Ferries as to whether Hull-Zeebrugge might be open or, more simply, (for me but not for them) whether it might be transferable if the route opens up when I have booked Rotterdam meantime.

An identical post on the FJR website produced the suggestion of the Eifel mountains south of Aachen and maybe a stay in Monschau. That seems to chime well with your second reply and with Wessie's contribution.

Presently I am mulling over the idea of putting up with motorway all the way to Luxembourg being anxious to make progress to my ultimate destination of Zurich but maybe returning Black Forest to overnight at Haguenau then a second overnight around Aachen/Eifel once I am slightly more familiar with the region having ridden near on the way down.

I suppose it is a control thing. I quite enjoy getting lost and exploring if I am not in a hurry but hate it when I have ridden 100 miles plus and I have another 200 miles to ride!

Chris

I tend to motorway it through Holland as its pretty boring then once in Belgium or Germany look for more interesting routes - I''d stay in Bitburg (nice little place ) which is on your way but I prefer German beer and food over staying in Northern France / Belgium.
For reference, from an 8am ferry disembark from the Hook I can relatively comfortably get to Werthhiem (past Frankfurt) in a day of Autobahns and I've done Passau in a day a couple of times, but that is a bit of a haul (and it was on my K1300S)

Thanks for the input.

Wertheim looks to be 345 miles - very similar to Zeebrugge to Haguenau on my usual route. Rotterdam to Haguenau looks to be circa 390 which is doable given the shorter ferry crossing and earlier disembarkation.

Although I may be more adventurous on my return trip my thoughts so far for outbound are:

A15 across to A2
A2 to just North of Liege
E42 to St Vith
N62/Route 12 to Darrenbach
309 to Bohey
N84 to Bastogne
then E25 or take the N4 and join E25 at Arlon.

That will give me about 120 km on back roads and if it is persisting down or I hit delays I can stay on the E25 South of Liege and do boring dual carriageway all the way only making really interesting roads when I get to the Voges du Nord at circa 330 miles!

Will think on re my return route and overnight stops once I get nearer booking.

I have finally heard from P & O but it told me nothing. Hull-Zeebrugge will definitely not resume until 1st August earliest. I think 1st September or even later is more likely. They did not answer my query whether I could transfer bookings (Will likely have to wait another 11 days for a reply to that!) I can see them keeping Zeebrugge as freight only until they are bursting at the seams with tourist bookings i.e probably 2021.

Chris

Thanks for that Wessie,

I shall need to keep my wits about me. I always travel with a lightweight Dell PC. Looks like that is going to be a holiday essential rather than a luxury.

Gosh life is getting complicated not to mention expensive!

I usually book a shared cabin and take pot luck with my companion(s). Often I have the cabin to myself. Other times I am less lucky***. I also pre-book the Ibis at Haguenau to save money. This trip health considerations mean I must book a cabin on my own and now it looks like I need cancellable hotel rooms in a couple of different cities (and to pay extra for onboard wi-fi to track things until the last moment!!!) So all in all I shall need to keep my options open:

Plan A - via Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg then Germany, France, Germany then finally Switzerland
Plan B - via Netherlands - cross the border at Aachen then Germany, France, Germany then finally Switzerland
Plan C - Dover to France, pay through the nose for motorway tolls then direct to Switzerland.

I don't fancy getting stuck in Luxembourg for 14 days. But I could cope with 14 days in Switzerland!!!

***The one occasion I regretted a shared cabin there were 3 of us sharing a 4 birth cabin. One had sleep apnoea. The other two of us did not sleep fearing he was about to die!!


Chris

Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #10

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you might need to be very flexible with your routes on a daily basis - Luxembourg has high Covid 19 and there may be border controls between Belgium & Germany. News issued today:
https://today.rtl.lu/news/luxembourg/a/1549070.html

If you book a hotel, make sure it has flexibility to cancel without penalty

My party of 9 is hoping to be in Belgium, Germany and then Luxembourg from 26 Sept to 3 Oct but we might need to adapt as the situation is very fluid.

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Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #12

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plan B: do you need to go into France? I assume to stay in the Hageunau Ibis? ...

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