Friday 25 → Sunday 27 September 2026

The Great
Euro Loop

Portsmouth → Dover → Calais → Cologne → Ghent → Lille → home. Three countries, two hostels, one car, four blokes.

🇫🇷 France
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇩🇪 Germany
J
Jacques
B
Bradley
K
Kyle
C
Connor
861kmDriving loop
9.5hrsWheel time
3Countries
2Nights out
£0Tolls

Day by day

All continental times are CET — one hour ahead of the UK. Don't be the one who forgets.

FRI

The Push to Cologne

25 September · Portsmouth → Köln

~7h travel
07:00BST

DriveLeave Portsmouth

A27 / M27 down to Dover, roughly 3 hours. Early start buys us a buffer for morning traffic and check-in.

11:10BST

FerryDover → Calais

90-minute crossing. Coffee, breakfast, and the clock jumps forward an hour when we land.

13:40CET

DriveCalais → Cologne

Straight onto the French and Belgian motorways — about 3h 30m, ~400km. Autobahn on the final stretch.

17:30CET

Check inMEININGER Hotel Köln West

Drop bags, underground parking sorted, private 4-bed room. Ehrenfeld is on the doorstep.

19:00CET

Night outBrauhaus + Kölsch

Traditional beer hall, schnitzel and pork knuckle, then the student bars of Ehrenfeld — Kölsch at Wetherspoons prices.

SAT

The Pivot to Ghent

26 September · Köln → Gent

~2.5h driving
10:30CET

DriveAutobahn west

Lie-in, breakfast, then 2h 30m back across the border into Belgium. Derestricted stretches on the way out of Cologne.

13:00CET

Check inTreck Hostel, Ghent

Indoor campsite in an old brick warehouse. Free street parking outside. One room for the four of us.

15:00CET

ExploreGravensteen Castle + old town

Proper medieval castle in the middle of the city. Ghent's centre is flat and largely pedestrianised — easy walking.

19:30CET

Night outBelgian pub crawl

Treck's on-site bar to warm up, then Ghent's student pub and brewery scene. Trappist territory — pace it.

SUN

Lille & the Long Way Home

27 September · Gent → Lille → Portsmouth

~5.5h travel
10:30CET

DriveGhent → Lille

Just over an hour south into French Flanders. Park up near the Grand Place.

12:00CET

LunchCarbonnade Flamande in Lille

Beef stew slow-cooked in dark beer with a mountain of chips. Wander the Vieux Lille cobbles and the Grand Place before we go.

15:30CET

DriveLille → Calais

1h 15m to the terminal. Fill up on cheap French fuel before we board.

17:15CET

FerryCalais → Dover

Lands around 17:45 UK time. Clock goes back an hour in our favour.

20:45BST

HomeBack in Portsmouth

Three hours along the coast. Home with time to spare before Monday.

Where we're kipping

Both places do a private 4-bed room, so it's just us — no strangers, no snoring randomers.

Friday night

MEININGER Hotel Köln West

Ehrenfeld, Cologne 🇩🇪
  • RoomPrivate 4-bed — double plus bunk, or four singles. Booked out just for us.
  • ParkingOwn underground garage. Car's locked away all night.
  • VibeHotel/hostel hybrid built for groups — bar, pool tables, guest kitchen downstairs.
  • NearbyEhrenfeld's student bars are walkable. Cheap Kölsch, slightly alternative, brilliant Friday night.
  • AccessLift access throughout, step-free entrance.
View hotel
Saturday night

Treck Hostel

Ghent 🇧🇪
  • Room4-bed dorm built into the hall — or a retro indoor caravan if we fancy it. All four in one.
  • ParkingFree street parking right outside.
  • VibeIndoor campsite inside a huge old brick warehouse. Table tennis, big communal areas, on-site bar.
  • NearbyShort hop to the centre for the castle and the pub scene.
  • Heads upWarehouse conversion — worth ringing ahead to confirm ground-floor room and step-free route.
View hostel
Backups if either is fullCologne — Hostel die Wohngemeinschaft in the Belgian Quarter (public garage 2 min away). Ghent — De Draecke HI Hostel, right in the historic centre with en-suite 4-bed rooms.

The route

861km continental loop plus the run to Dover and back. No tolls if we set the sat nav to avoid the short French charged sections near Calais.

  • Leg 1Portsmouth → Dover · ~130 mi · 3h 00m · A27/M27/M25
  • Leg 2Dover → Calais · ferry · 1h 30m · +1h time change
  • Leg 3Calais → Cologne · ~400 km · 3h 30m · via Belgium, Autobahn at the end
  • Leg 4Cologne → Ghent · ~280 km · 2h 30m · derestricted Autobahn sections
  • Leg 5Ghent → Lille · ~110 km · 1h 15m · into French Flanders
  • Leg 6Lille → Calais · ~110 km · 1h 15m · fuel up before the terminal
  • Leg 7Calais → Dover · ferry · 1h 30m · −1h time change
  • Leg 8Dover → Portsmouth · ~130 mi · 3h 00m · the final slog
Open route in Google Maps Ferry times & prices
Driving abroad

Rules of the road

  • SideRight-hand side everywhere. First roundabout is the dangerous one.
  • LimitsFrance 130 km/h motorway · Belgium 120 · Germany derestricted in places but 130 advisory.
  • FuelFrance is generally cheaper than Belgium — fill up before the ferry home.
  • AlcoholLimit is 0.05% in all three — lower than England. Whoever drives isn't drinking, full stop.
Low-emission zones

Cologne needs a sticker

  • GermanyCologne city centre is an Umweltzone — needs a green Umweltplakette windscreen sticker. Order online in advance, roughly £5–20. Fine without it.
  • BelgiumGhent has an LEZ — foreign plates must register the vehicle online before entering. Free for most, but do it beforehand.
  • FranceLille has a Crit'Air zone. Order a Crit'Air sticker online (~€4) — takes a couple of weeks to arrive, so don't leave it.

Budget splitter

Drag the sliders. Everything splits four ways automatically — no arguing at the end of the weekend.

Dover–Calais, booked in advance. Goes up sharply if we leave it late.
Portsmouth → Dover → the loop → back home.
Continental fuel is often cheaper than UK — this is a safe average.
Two nights: Cologne and Ghent. €35–45 is the going rate.
Across three days. £50–70 is the sweet spot for a proper weekend.
Parking, LEZ stickers, the emergency kebab.
Per person, all in
£0
  • Ferry£0
  • Fuel£0
  • Tolls£0
  • Hostels · 2 nights£0
  • Spending · 3 days£0
  • Buffer£0
  • Each£0
Whole trip, all four of us: £0
Shared kitty for ferry + fuel: £0 each up front.
How we'll settle upOne person books the ferry and fuels the car, everyone transfers their share of the kitty before we leave. Food and beers go on Splitwise as we go — settle Sunday night.

Before we go

Tick these off. Some of them take weeks to arrive, so don't sit on them.

Documents

Paperwork

The car

Kit we legally need

Bookings

Lock it in

Practical

Worth knowing

  • MoneyEuros everywhere. Card is fine in cities but carry €50 cash each for smaller bars.
  • RoamingCheck your plan — some UK networks charge in the EU again. Download offline maps as backup.
  • AccessGhent's centre is flat and largely pedestrianised. Cologne's old town has some cobbles. Both hostels worth a call ahead to confirm step-free routes for Connor.
  • WeatherLate September: 14–19°C, decent chance of rain. Jacket, not shorts.