LifeinourVan 2017 European Roadtrip Highlights – so what makes it to the top of the list?
With the clinking of glasses ringing in our ears and snow falling, we sat down as a family over the New Year to discuss the year past…. What would prove to be the biggest learning experience? Which place gave us the most fun as a family….? Which adventure did the girls love the most??
So here it is, the youngsters have wrestled control of the keyboard for today’s blog, and they’ve decided to create a New Year special about our 2017 European Roadtrip Highlights….. from Croatia to the Charente, from Prague to Poland… it’s full of ideas for great European Roadtrips.
So it’s official 2017 was our families most adventurous and widely travelled year yet! We’ve had so much fun capturing our travels and hope the adventures continue throughout 2018 and beyond. So having pretty much wrung every conceivable drop of adventure out of 2017, we’ve cruised Croatian Island, explored Eastern European Cities, discovered some of Europe’s finest family campsites & even found time to go Coasteering in Wales…Our 2017 experiences have now included 35 European countries and over 55,000 miles across Europe. So here’s a quick roundup of every place we ventured to in 2017!
We’ve now written over 750 travel articles, blogs and reviews sharing advice, tips and experiences for other families from our experiences across Europe in our motorhome. But it’s always good to spend some time at the end of the year and remember all the things we’ve experienced as a family. So here’s what happened month by month in 2017.
January
Completed a tour of the UK’s most family friendly cities including Exeter, London, Lincoln, Cambridge, Birmingham, Norwich….
February
Before heading for Bluestone Wales in Pembrokeshire.
March
Explored Eastern Europe including Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Germany including some fantastic new drone videography with Aussies on Tour
April
Before moving into Croatia & Italy including some fantastic new drone videography and outdoor adventures with Aussies on Tour
May
Starting again in Pembrokeshire, we spent time as an extended ‘3G’ holiday with both sets of grandparents before heading off to explore Southern Europe with one set (and their new motorhome)
June
Finishing off a fantastic shared journey with the girl’s grandparents, we spent time in Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg enroute to the UK
July
Explored Northern France briefly before sadly a close family bereavement brought us home to the UK
August
Continuing to explore the UK including Mid Wales, North Yorkshire and Northumberland
September
Having loved our extended stay in France with one set of grandparents, we decided to challenge them to a 21 day tour of Southern France & Northern Spain.
October
Saw us head for a weekend in Pembrokeshire before completing a full month exploring Yorkshire’s family attractions and motorhoming opportunities.
November
Broadening our UK experiences, we finished York and headed for the Midlands, UK
December
And last but not least, we focused on a Christmas theme and took the opportunity to see as many UK stately homes, christmas markets as we could…
So how does it look in sheer figures:-
- Countries Visited – 18
- Miles Travelled – 21,032
- £ Spent – £18,451
- Days on the Road – 329
- Family Experience – 141
- Outdoor Adventures – 78
- New Roadschooling Topics – 61
Countries Travelled
Outdoor Adventures
Pounds Spent/Day
RoadSchooling Topics
But what’s really impressed us in 2017?
We’ve tried to pick out a few personal highlights from 2017… so we hope you enjoy finding out what really inspired us to say “wow, can’t believe we get to do this…..
The saying’ all sorrow will leave you at the mountain top‘ is strangely true, especially as you reach the top of the Ardeche Gorge in France. The calming influence that wafts across the many people enjoying the views at the top… it’s an intoxicating view…. but it’s even better if you see it via kayak…. just imagine for a moment passing under the iconic natural arch with your kids laughing in the back as they enjoy yet another kayak adventure in Europe. It’s undoubtedly a 2017 highlight for us!
If we had to pinpoint 3 moments in the whole trip that literally stopped us in our tracks….. Croatia would have at least two of those!!! It really is that special! From the moment you see Dubrovnik’s glittering location in the Adriatic to the opportunity you climb the imposing cliffs of Split…. it’s just grabbed a special place in our hearts… So here’s just a little reminder of why Croatia has become our ‘Number 1 European ‘ country so far!
Ok, if we’re honest… we weren’t too sure what to expect from our rod trip into Eastern Europe… Would the kids enjoy it as much as they did places like Andalusia (Spain) or Eidfjord(Norway)? Would it feel dangerous at time and might we find it too bleak?Well, it didn’t take long for us to fall in love with some of the most truly special cities in this region… from the visually attentive Budapest, to the iconic sights of Berlin or Vienna… but perhaps our favourite was Prague.
A city that just seems magical to kids and adults alike!
And what will 2018 hopefully bring?
Well, we have every intention of finishing off the remaining countries of Europe so we can say we’ve visited all 42 countries (35 so far and counting!) & add more to our RoadSchooling Adventures for our girls.
But there are some places on our wish list that we can only hope we end up this year, or at least in the near future… We can all dream!!!
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