# how to get to hamm sept from birmingham by ourselves not on a coach trip -any help



## arwen (Jan 9, 2008)

as said above really , we're planing on driving over to hamm in sept but can anyone talk me through where to start at organising it and which way tunnel/ferry and where from would be quickest do you think ?
we going from birmingham 

thanks
suzanne


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## Austin Allegro (Oct 5, 2008)

There must be a few on here that are going and who have been before so should know the way. Ask if you can follow them. it could be the start of the Hamm convoy.


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## cacoonkitty (Aug 10, 2008)

hiya, i personaly take the ferry over from harwich to hook of holland hwen we go to Hamm (we are in bournemouth south west) we get the ferry at 09.00 on the friday the 11th and we get to holland at 4.00, we then drive down to hamm from the post which is another 3 hours stay over night in the hotel, the show is on the Saturday and we stay in the hotel the sta night and the return ferry is on the sunday,the animals are fine provinding you take the correct measures and spray and heat pads etc, and the driving time is less compared to when you go on the train from dover , try speaking to stenna line ferries about there trips over to see where the nearest to you is and you can do an AA route finder for the E.U and U.K. its relativly straight ..we are going by can in september.:2thumb:


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## kato (May 12, 2007)

I too am driving to Hamm for the first time this September. I don't have a clue which way we are going yet but am travelling from Yeovil in Somerset. I was going to go via the Chunnel as I would quite like to stop off in Belgium for some Chocolate. But I am open to travel suggestions????

Also, does anyone know of any Hotels/Hostels next to where the Show is? Any help would be appreciated and may be rewarded with a Belgian Chocolate.

All I know is that I am leaving here on the Friday.


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## vetdebbie (Jan 4, 2008)

We'll either be chunnelling or ferrying dover to calais, depending on which is cheaper at the time! Hook of holland was way more expensive last time we looked, and overall time was longer, although agreed driving time is less. We will be staying in the Netherlands on the way through, so can't help with hotels. But route wise, we pretty much use the google maps route. It's ok, just can get a bit confusing round Antwerp (traffic = rubbish!), Eindhoven (major case of digging up the road and satnav doesn't work) and Duisberg (just enormous nightmare of interlinked motorways)


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## arwen (Jan 9, 2008)

hi, thanks for help still not sure of driving over though it seems really complicates plus going from birmingham we have no ports or tunnel anywhere close to us 

keep all help coming though

suzanne


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## pankthesnake (Sep 29, 2007)

kato said:


> I too am driving to Hamm for the first time this September. I don't have a clue which way we are going yet but am travelling from Yeovil in Somerset. I was going to go via the Chunnel as I would quite like to stop off in Belgium for some Chocolate. But I am open to travel suggestions????
> 
> Also, does anyone know of any Hotels/Hostels next to where the Show is? Any help would be appreciated and may be rewarded with a Belgian Chocolate.
> 
> All I know is that I am leaving here on the Friday.


I believe that the Mercure is popular with traders and visitors.



arwen said:


> hi, thanks for help still not sure of driving over though it seems really complicates plus going from birmingham we have no ports or tunnel anywhere close to us
> 
> keep all help coming though
> 
> suzanne


I would drive to Dover or Folkstone and take the Tunnel or the ferry to either Calais or Dunkirk, whichever is cheaper. From there it is a short drive to the duty free place in Belgium (about 30-40 minutes), then straight on to Hamm, although its a fair drive from there (about 4 1/2 hours according to Google Maps from Calais, a bit less from Dunkirk)


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## incrisis (Jun 15, 2008)

I am driving over...

Going to Folkestone to Calais through the tunnel..

Then a bit of France, Belgium, Netherlands and into Germany.

Roughly 9 hours drive with no stops...

The only thing that is confusing me at the moment is the Germany low emissions zones...

There are 32 cities that require you to have a badge, Hamm doesn't seem to be listed, but I am not sure if I will be driving through any that does...

It is only 6 euros, but seems to be a bit of a pain to get as you have to download a form, fill it in, send it back with a scan of your log book, and then they send you the badge.... (I think)....


ETA: The hotel we are staying in is about 20 minute drive from the show.


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## pankthesnake (Sep 29, 2007)

incrisis said:


> I am driving over...
> 
> Going to Folkestone to Calais through the tunnel..
> 
> ...


This site has a map showing the zones:

http://gis.uba.de/website/umweltzonen/start.htm


Hope this helps


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## cacoonkitty (Aug 10, 2008)

hiya, I lived in germany for 5 years as i was in the armed forces , but was based about 45 mins from hamm (so a litttle further away) , i used to drive from sailsbury to dover (3.5 hours) and then dover to calais via the tunnle (45 mins) and drive up throught france and germany past hamm (7 hours) and this was solid driving..and was rediculus and very tireing i can tell you that!!...it was at the qickest from calasi to hamm 7 hours solid , so i would strogly recomend spending a little bit more money(or perhaps sharing the cost between 3 people and going to hamm from holland.....it will cut the drive time of the journey down to 3.5 hours from holland to hamm...the ferry takes a while (7 hours from harwich to holland) but you get to relax and have a chat and some food and even watch a film (or sleep if over night) so i think this is definatly the way forward...i cant understand why people go via calais as this is so much more complictaed and confusing...especialy if you arnt used to driving the E.U way.
my friend booked the ferry a few months back through stenna line and we are paying 45 pounds each between three of us return leaving at 9 in the morning on friday the 11th and returning on the sunday at 2.30 in the afternoon, we are staying at the hotel dietrich 5 mins from the show grounds, 75 euros per night for a double room and breakfast. we use the aa route planner for the e.u to map the roads, but its pretty straight driving from holland...just follow the route 2. ands get a e.u map too ist easier to see where you are. daunting the first time but easy the second.:2thumb:


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## nuttybabez (Jul 21, 2007)

I drove to Hamm last year from Staffordshire so not far from you in Birmingham. 

We got the route from the AA website and printed directions and maps. Also its best to organise travel insurance, european car breakdown cover, tickets for the eurostar and hotel booking before you leave the UK.

We set off on the day before the show, drove to Folkestone, got on the train and went to Calais through the tunnel. Then drove through bit of France and Belgium and stopped off in Bruges to stretch our legs and buy some chocolate. Yum.

Then through the Netherlands (where the roads are just fab!) and into Germany.

It was a bloody long drive. We had plenty of toilet stops, petrol stops, lunch in Bruges and finally got to the hotel that evening where we had some tea, a shower and collapsed into bed. I drank my weight in red bull on the journey which was fun lol.

The following day we went to the show and then my fiance drove us back to the UK. There is no way I could have driven to Hamm and then back the next day, I was exhausted and although I had to read the map to get us back to Calais, I then promptly fell asleep on the train and the sat nav took over (my sat nav only works in the UK).


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## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

arwen said:


> hi, thanks for help still not sure of driving over though it seems really complicates plus going from birmingham *we have no ports or tunnel anywhere close to us*
> 
> keep all help coming though
> 
> suzanne


Thats cause we live in the middle of the country :Na_Na_Na_Na: We are going on the coach trip with Tarantulabarn from Birmingham  We thought about driving but it was going to work out a fair bit more cost wise and I hate driving for much more than 2-3 hours I have problems with my back and it gets really uncomfy driving.


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