Italy, France, Spain -- 8wk Road trip

Hi,

I'm planning at doing a road trip for around 8wks in Italy, France and a small part of Spain.
Hoping to start on the Amalfi Coast, work my way up through Rome, Florence, drive all the way through Nice, Marseille, then down through the Pyrenees to San Sebastian and then up to Bordeaux.
The idea is to go fairly slow...
Is this too much driving for the amount of things to see along the way?
Are hostels the best places to stay along the way for this kind of trip?

Thanks,
YankTrav

How were you proposing to get to the Amalfi Coast? Rome is the nearest international airport you can fly to from Australia, but it's a short hop costing €49 to fly from there to Naples airport. From there it's about an hour's drive to the Amalfi Coast. But it means you would be doubling back on yourself if you propose to go via Rome to Florence and further afterwards.

Other than that though you should be able to do the trip in eight weeks quite easily I would have thought, unless Mount Vesuvius decides to throw a spanner in the works by erupting suddenly.

This link opens the Google map with the Amalfi Coast as the starting point: Amalfi Coast Click the link called "Get Directions" at the top of the navigation menu, type "Naples" in the other field and then click the "Get Directions" button and it will plot the route for you. If you click the button top right on the Google map called "Terrain", you'll see how close Vesuvius is to your route.

Are hostels the best places to stay along the way for this kind of trip?

If you got your own car I would throw a tent and camping gear into the trunk. Cheaper than hostels and more privacy.

It can be difficult finding a place to park the car when you stay in a hostel, camping sites are more accomodating.

BTW, I hope you know what you are doing, driving a car in Rome or Florence is not my idea of fun. Italians are the worst drivers in Europe and if you are from Oz it will be the wrong side of the road for you.

8 weeks is more than enough to do the 3 countries. Just watch the cops in Italy. They stop you for no reason and if you're a bit grumpy - they get grumpier!!