Posted on: Sunday, September 9, 2007
GPS, guidebooks help on self-drive tour of Europe
By Leigh Dyer
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
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RECOMMENDED READING
All of these guidebooks were helpful during our trip. The Rick Steves books gave the best overview and hotel guidance, but the Frommer's and Lonely Planet had better restaurant recommendations. "Rick Steves' France 2007" (Avalon Travel, $21.95) "Rick Steves' Spain 2007" (Avalon Travel, $21.95) "Frommer's Provence & the Riviera" (Frommer's, $18.99) "Lonely Planet: Andalusia" (Lonely Planet, $19.99)
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We snagged a plane ticket to Europe. The itinerary: Landing in Barcelona, Spain, then driving up through the Pyrenees mountains to Provence, where the city of Arles, France, became our base to explore the region for a few days. Then we drove back down the Spanish Mediterranean coast to Moraira, a resort town popular among Spaniards, Germans and Brits but virtually unknown to Americans.
From there, our car took us to Granada in the beautiful, olive-grove-filled region of Andalusia in southern Spain. We made a day trip to Cordoba before dropping off the rental car and hopping a low-fare flight back to Barcelona, then home.
Along the way, we picked up some pointers that might be useful for others planning European car journeys.
GPS will become your best friend. This time, our choice to venture into an unknown part of France persuaded us to shell out the extra 8 euros (a little over $10) per day for renting a GPS with our car. Or take one with you, it will be invaluable.
We also printed out Michelin maps to each destination before we left (from www.viamichelin.com), and they contained valuable information such as how much to expect to pay for tolls and gas on each leg of the journey. Also, GPS is fine on major highways but tends to get fuzzy inside old cities with cobblestoned streets. Get directions from your hotels before you go — but be prepared to cope if they're wrong.
A guidebook is helpful. We primarily used Rick Steves' books to plan the journey, and generally the advice was good. However, we were disappointed after walking into several recommended restaurants and seeing them filled with Americans with copies of the same Rick Steves book on their tables. We found a less-touristy restaurant in a Frommer's guidebook that was excellent.
Pick at least one off-the-beaten-path destination and enjoy a couple of days without pressure to sightsee.
