A PPL course is a focussed and efficient way of taking a non pilot to basic licence holder operating standard, in my opinion there is absolutely no value in burning more hours and money flying straight and level to further flung destinations in training – the departure, cruise and arrival techniques are the same as a local leg. The student needs to be focussed on working up to pass the PPL skills test; I train and test many LAPL and PPL candidates of all ages who do this in minimum hours. High hours students are either bad instruction or the individual has some specific issues in my experience.
I agree 100%, Balliol 
However, to get a pilot who is confident to go places, something extra is needed… I don’t think anybody seriously suggests that “something extra” should be in the basic PPL because it would make the PPL unaffordable for most.
However, to get a pilot who is confident to go places, something extra is needed
Why do you think confidence is the main issue? I mean for anybody except Brits wanting to cross the assumed psychological barrier called the channel ?
It’s the same with aerobatics. Is it lack of confidence that prevents people from spending time upside down ? No, It is the lack of urge to do so. Why should this be different than “going places” ?
I have spoken to plenty of continental pilots who have a similar concern about crossing south to north. It is not a specifically UK pilot thing.
About the training for touring, it coms down to mentoring, either via threads on EuroGA or in person.
I realize my mentor was my dad, which is pretty convenient
Timothy, you initiative for a mentoring scheme in the UK is great. It is just so hard to get anything moving in European GA !!
Could be another long thread title “why is it so hard changing stuff in Europe ?”
Regarding crossing bodies of water, I know most people are nervous, except some young pilots who just dare. But when you start thinking at the risks (which come to you sooner or later), you can get this idea away from you.
My case : I won’t cross anything longer than the Pas de Calais if i can’t visualize my escape procedure which means to me
My preferred type are Diamonds, TBs and Cirrus (and then you get to the budget issue 
)
Peter wrote:
There is an old joke in the UK that the average instructor has never been past the crease in the map and I am very sure this is true everywhere.
Most instructors I know here in Switzerland are doing instructing as a hobby or 2nd job. A great many of them are airline pilots or in other capacity work as pilots for either executive flying or military or other stuff. There are such who only have their FI license with their CPL but that alone required them to do longer stuff.
Peter wrote:
If you want to come out with a PPL on which you can go touring Europe, instead of it costing 10k it will cost you 20k.
Not necessarily. There are several factors involved. First and foremost it is attitude towards flying further away. LeSving is right there: The main problem is that a lot of instructors, clubs and schools keep their people on the short leach and discourage flying further away than 100$ burger runs because it does not suit their rental schemes. There may also be FI’s who are not confident enough to do this themselves, but that would be a huge problem which needs addressing. FI’s need to be capable to fully use and demonstrate the use of their license which in most countries means CPL. A CPL holder who is too scared to fly outside his own country has a problem. But what could be done is to get rid of some theoretical ballast and inlcude intra-state flight planning into theory for starters and where possible encourage rather than forbid flying abroad during PPL training. In most places, the only real issue is the AOE thing, within Schengen not even that.
Mentoring yes. Forums, I am ambiguous, because quite a few fora do exactly what LeSving sais, they make problems and excagarate problems where there are none or where they are not significant. Look at the thread by MedEvok about taking his family to Bornholm of all places, which is as straight enough a VFR flight as it can be, and the reactions we got here. Forums can help but they also can dissuade because often enough if you ask a question you get back the sum of all fears of the forum membership. That on the other hand is very dissuasive rather than the opposite.
To learn to tour on your own, brief the route carefully (including airspace and possible alternate airports), pick a day of perfect weather and just go. Pick a destination airport that’s not “difficult” (I.e. not a short grass strip in the mountains or an international airport with lots of traffic). Weather is what complicates cross country VFR flying. Good weather trips really are easy. If you can do a 50 NM trip, you can do 500 in good weather. There’s not a lot of difference.
Long trips get complicated when you throw in low visibility, thermals, fronts, rough terrain, and diversions leading through CAS or to busy airports you haven’t briefed. Throw in a bout of “engine ruff” or an overheated iPad and a beginner will wish he’d remained in the burger-run pattern.
Perfect weather trips are within the capability of a newly minted PPL (as long as he/she has taken the trouble to plan and brief it properly—which may take longer than the flight itself ). I know, because that’s how I learned to tour.
I just went waaaay back into my oldest flight log (not that I filled them but requirements changed so I had to change them and now am in my 3rd..)
My first longer flight after PPL was at approx 60 hours total time (I finished my PPL at 36.29 total time and 193 landings) and was Altenhrein to Lyon Bron.
* a low-wing
* with a door on each side
My preferred type are Diamonds, TBs and Cirrus
If I had to ditch, I’d choose a Robin, it’d probably float like a boat, and has a sliding canopy.
I reckon that, with a 200kg lump up front, a Robin would float only if it had empty tanks, which is the most common reason why planes end up floating
