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  • Showing only topics in ~travel with the tag "automotive". Back to normal view / Search all groups
    1. Summer roadtrip in Scandinavia - need advice!

      Hi all, we're planning an RV roadtrip to Scandinavia in July. We'll be taking off from France and so far we're clear on the route until we get to Denmark; the issue is picking between Sweden and...

      Hi all, we're planning an RV roadtrip to Scandinavia in July. We'll be taking off from France and so far we're clear on the route until we get to Denmark; the issue is picking between Sweden and Norway for the main leg of the trip. We take off July 5th from Paris and need to be back the 26th. Ideally we would have done a bit of both countries in that time, but I don't think that's realistic (I'm the only driver) and we don't want to rush.

      I've trawled the internet for information and advice (Reddit, Youtube roadtrip sites etc), but it's only made it harder to choose. There are so many cool places to visit, and things to see and do! We're leaning towards Norway, but I'm looking for others' thoughts before making our final choice. Here's what we've considered so far:

      • We want to focus on being in nature and enjoying the outdoors. Other than spending a day or two in Copenhagen, we're not really looking to stay in the big cities.
      • We (well, my wife and kids) are pretty active. We'll probably be looking to go hiking, cycling, swimming, climbing, kayaking/paddling, etc. Between the two, Norway seems to have the most opportunities to do this?
      • The RV is fairly large, more than 7m in length, so I'd rather not find myself driving on very small, tight and winding roads. I understand Sweden's roads are more forgiving in this regard?
      • We want to avoid places that are overly crowded in the summmer. While places like Trolltunga and Lofoten are beautiful, I expect there will be a lot of tourists there at that time. We dont want to contribute to clogging roads and overcrowding.
      • I have downloaded a bunch of apps and maps that give us info on places to park and sleep overnight. I'm not opposed to wild camping, but my main priority will be my family's safety. Staying at paid campsites is not an issue, but we also want some degree of freedom to move around.
      • It seems our best option would be to stay in the southern areas of either/both, but I confess I'm tempted to visit a glacier if we can (though it's not a deal-breaker).
      • I'm a birdwatcher (I know, summer is not the best period for this), so if anyone knows interesting spots for that I'm all ears!

      I know that's a lot of information, but we'd be grateful for any thoughts that could help us make a decision and plan out our itinerary. Any tips you may have are very welcome!

      12 votes
    2. Pacific Highway trip from San Francisco to San Diego on a motorcycle

      Hi friends! I know part of the Pacific Highway are broken right now, but I was just wondering if there was any tips/places to stop at on a trip from San Fran to San Diego that I'm planning on next...

      Hi friends!

      I know part of the Pacific Highway are broken right now, but I was just wondering if there was any tips/places to stop at on a trip from San Fran to San Diego that I'm planning on next month. (More specifically for a motorcycle trip, which comes with it's own interesting routes and stuff)

      I've always wanted to do the journey, so me and a friend are planning on going from SF -> LA over 2 days, and I'm planning on taking the bike down to SD after staying in LA for a couple of days by myself afterwards!

      19 votes
    3. Advice for returning to a frozen car at long term airport parking

      I'm returning home from a trip and am on my 4th layover in a nightmarish series of delayed flights and last minute changes; when I get home it will be 5 degrees (F) which was not the forecasted...

      I'm returning home from a trip and am on my 4th layover in a nightmarish series of delayed flights and last minute changes; when I get home it will be 5 degrees (F) which was not the forecasted temp when I left, so I did not make any kind of preparations and left my car in uncovered long term parking, a 5-ish minute walk from the airport. It dipped into negative temps while I was gone and I'm terrified that I'll get back to a car with frozen locks and no lighter, lock de-freezer, hair dryer, etc, anything to help me get in. I've searched for advice but everything I've read seems to assume you're at home, not at a airport. I'm already so drained and exhausted and it will be late when I get there so I'm just trying to find something, anything that might be helpful in advance before I'm stuck standing outside in unexpectedly, dangerously frigid weather with no plan in jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie. Apologies if something like this has been posted, I couldn't find anything and feel like I'm about to collapse. Any advice is appreciated, even obvious things, I'm sure I may have overlooked something that would be clear to someone else. Posting this before I board my next flight in the hopes there may be some replies by the time I get home. Thank you for reading

      Update: made it back, took an Uber home and will pick up my car either tomorrow or the day after during the day. I should have thought of it myself and feel silly that I didn't. Thank you all so much for the feedback, really saved me some stress, I probably shouldn't have driven home even had it not been so cold out with how tired I was. Will definitely use all the advice here to be more prepared when leaving during the winter in the future, no matter the forecast.

      36 votes