Germany Trip 2017: Christopher & Helen’s route

Our Bunk Campers holiday was an incredible whirlwind, which wouldn’t have been possible without the campervan – our ‘hotel on wheels’. The experience of driving a new campervan straight out of the factory is something we will never forget – the dimensions of the van will probably be engraved in our minds forever, it was pretty special cargo to get home! We enjoyed the variety of visiting cities, peaks and lakes all in the space of a week! Before we set off, however, we enjoyed a brief tour of the factory – the hospitality of the staff at Knaus-Tabbert was a lovely start to the trip.

We began our week in Salzburg, strolling through the streets of the Old Town before sampling the streusel and hitting the road towards Switzerland. Our time in Switzerland was split between Interlaken, Täsch and Geneva. A great campsite on the shores of Lake Brienz was the perfect base for exploring the beautiful area of Interlaken – the highlight being the Harder Klum observation deck. Clear, blue skies made for an amazing view of the Jungfrau and the lakes below.

The next stop in Switzerland was Täsch, just a short train journey from the car-free town of Zermatt. The train journey up the Gornergrat was spectacular, revealing amazing views of the Matterhorn. The flexibility of the campervan allowed us to travel here a little earlier than planned after looking at the weather forecast – the clouds rolling over the mountains the next morning proved we’d made the right choice. The traditional town of Zermatt also gave us the chance to sample the famous Swiss Chocolate and was the perfect base for a few short hikes.

From Täsch, our route took us around Lake Geneva, finally settling at a campsite with a clear view of the Jet d’Eau and the city of Geneva. An afternoon spent exploring the city passed very quickly as we watched the city’s old hands of chess in the Parc des Bastions. What could have been a very expensive few days exploring Switzerland became much more affordable as we used the vans well-equipped kitchen for most meals.

Our final few days were spent meandering through the central regions of France. Taking the scenic route conveniently avoided the infamous French toll routes and allowed us to enjoy all of the towns and villages along the way. And of course, during most of our stops the local Boulangerie received a visit – there’s always room for another pain au chocolat!

The journey to our ferry home included a brief stop at Le Mans to see the museum and site of the famous 24h race. As part of the circuit includes the neighbouring public roadway, we can technically say the campervan drove part of the 24h Le Mans Circuit!

Setting sail from Cherbourg on a beautiful sunny evening was the perfect end to a perfect trip – the relocation trip gave us the opportunity to explore more of Europe than we had ever imagined possible in a week and was completely hassle free with Bunk Campers taking care of all of the travel arrangements.

The route we took varied from city driving to winding mountain passes and was easily handed in the camper van, with a final total of five countries visited in a week. This is a holiday we would not hesitate to repeat!

Christopher & Helen McGhee

Want to know more about out Germany relocation trip? Read all the Germany road trip stories here!