My Enyaq: tips for summer trips (not only) by electric car

If you’re planning on exploring Europe this summer, a few tips from experienced drivers will definitely not go amiss. Enyaq owners share their recommendations for places with attractions worth seeing, good food and drink and high-quality charging infrastructure.

13. 7. 2023 eMobility

Let’s stay in Carinthia, moving a little further west. The picturesque mountain saddle of Nassfeld in the Carnic Alps lies between the Gail River valley in Austria and Val Canale in Italy. The road winds its way up with spectacular views up to an altitude of 1,530 metres. On the Austrian side of the mountain range is the ski resort of the same name, the largest in Carinthia. It boasts 110 kilometres of pistes and up to 850 hours of sunshine a year, making it one of the resorts with the most hours of sunshine in the Alps. And it’s definitely worth a visit even in summer. “There are plenty of AC chargers down in the resort. Nassfeld is a favourite with my family, it’s a lovely big resort that’s suitable even for the little ones. It has one of the longest cable cars in Europe, and the zigzagging saddle into Italy offers beautiful views of the peaks and valley, through tunnels cut into the rock.”

Even in summer, it’s not unusual to come across a glacier in the Alps.

And one more tip from the building firm owner from Brno. “Schönachtal also has several AC chargers. There is a Czech hotel in the town of Hainzenberg, about ten minutes drive from the slope. They were even willing to pass me an extension cord through the open kitchen window! Fearing for the cook’s health, I gratefully declined,” Kroča laughs.

Next we are heading into the Slovak mountains. “At Štrbské Pleso, I want to draw attention to the convenient Powerpass charging stations at the edge of the paid car park. You normally pay two euros per hour for this, but there is no parking fee when you’re charging your car. That makes it worth coming with a discharged car battery!” he points out, adding that parking in the Hungarian capital Budapest is just as enjoyable: there, too, you don’t pay a parking fee when charging your electric car.

At Štrbské Pleso, you don't pay for parking while you charge, so it’s worthwhile arriving with a discharged battery.

To round off his electric travel tips, Lukáš Kroča mentions the charming Slovenian lake Bled. “There you can find AC chargers on the edge of the promenade next to a wonderful pizzeria and café, and it’s definitely worth recharging here as parking places in this area are quite hard to find. A nice walk to the castle or a boat trip to the island with the church will definitely generate a lot of extra kilometres on the AC charger.”

Slovenia’s charming Lake Bled offers convenient charging as well as views and walks.

Martin Thirolf from Frankfurt am Main, Germany, has already covered a lot of distance in his Enyaq – among other things, he has set himself the goal of visiting as many places as possible within driving range of home from home on a single charge and he has already driven through Switzerland and France all the way to the Côte d’Azur. Along the way, of course, he’s come across a plethora of interesting places that would make a great travelogue. So today Martin picks out a few gems that have stuck in his mind the most. He shared a few excerpts and notes from his travel diary with us.

Thuringia

Erfurt – an amazing city that probably won’t be at the top of your list. Which is a shame. The cosy old town with its picturesque Krämerbrücke bridge is worth a visit. And don’t forget to meet Bernd, the grumpy bread!

Erfurt’s Krämerbrücke bridge

Eisenach, Wartburg Castle and Drachenschlucht. At Wartburg Castle the sense of history is stronger than in most other places. To clear your head, I recommend a nice hike through the Drachenschlucht gorge – you can charge your car in the car park by the trail

Alsace – Besançon

No (fast) charging infrastructure – this is a completely new experience for us. Encountering a stork with absolutely no fear of humans at the only Ionity charger in the entire area.

Surprisingly long range due to low speed. This made us realise that the lack of charging infrastructure was not actually a problem. On French country roads we achieved up to 500 kilometres on a single charge – great!

Although the French countryside is not full of fast charging stations, you don’t use up much energy while driving through it.

The source of the River Lison – as it was too hot to visit the town of Besançon at midday (...where we had a fantastic dinner later that day), we headed off to rural villages and the source of the River Lison – amazing!

Source of the river Lison

And if that weren’t enough, this great guide has now been tailored for electric cars. The recommended routes are modified so that there’s always enough juice in the batteries – and the car’s occupants don’t have to stand around waiting while the car charges.

There’s a mobile app with all the points and routes, charging stations, accommodation with chargers and car parks to top up at during the stops. The tour is divided into eight stages with detailed descriptions, including the length of the vertical metres climbed and descended.