Map says five. Plan for seven.

Because it's the best case: driving time under good conditions, with no stops. Real days include breaks, fuel, meals and traffic. In the calculator, five hours on the map with two short breaks, a meal and a modest buffer becomes about seven hours door to door — which decides whether you arrive at three in the afternoon or after dark.

It doesn't produce a live map — it can't see traffic, closures, weather or current prices. What it gives you is an ordered list of stops and overnights, with rough timings, that you paste into any navigation or map app to build and check the route.

Road safety organisations commonly recommend a break of around 15 minutes at least every two hours. Tiredness is a major factor in crashes, and driving through the hours you'd normally be asleep is especially risky. Share the driving if you can, and stop at the first yawn — coffee and open windows don't replace sleep.

Tolls and vignettes, low-emission zones, required in-car equipment like warning triangles or high-visibility vests, driving document rules including whether an international permit is needed, and — for rentals — whether cross-border travel and insurance are allowed. These vary by country, so the plan gives you a checklist to verify on official sources.

Plan charging stops with a charging app, check connector types and payment methods, and keep a backup charger in mind for each leg in case of queues or out-of-service points. Cold weather and mountain driving can reduce range, so leave more margin on those days.