nigeldunkley

Hello -

I have a house near Citta' di Castello that I am restoring and I will be bringing a load of stuff over from the UK in the Winter. Im scheduled for departure on 13th of February, but Im struggling to figure out the best/fastest route for this particular time of year.

My main interest is to avoid bad weather potentials or hazards, and whatever is most economic within this spectrum would be ideal. Ive done the drive before years ago, but it was summer, and we went through Switzerland which was lovely - However, with possibility of snow Id like to be as prepared as possible.

I'll have a VW van that will be loaded with around 700kg of things (predominantly a very heavy wood stove), leaving from London.

If anyone does the drive frequently and might know of smoothest/fastest route thins time of year, Id be very grateful!

Thanks very much in advance.

N

fliss59

Do you have winter tyres? Perhaps the best way may be down through France to the riviera and along the coast? In theory the weather should be milder??

GeorgeYoung

I live in the north and have always driven over the Brenner Pass, through Austria and Germany to get to the channel ports. Austrian motorways require the use of a "vignette", costs about €9 and is valid for up to 10 days. I avoid France because of the tolls and there's not much in it time-wise. If you come through France, you'll either have to go through Switzerland, Mont Blanc tunnel or via the Riviera, none of which are great options. Switzerland's vignette is more expensive than Austria's, the Mont Blanc tunnel is very costly and the route via the Med is a long way around.

Whichever way you cross the Alps, you will need to either fit winter tyres or have a set of snow chains, these are mandatory between mid November and late April. Judging by the news, you'll need them once you get to Umbria anyway!

Last January, we came back from the UK on the Hull ferry to Zeebrugge, then went Brussels-Luxembourg-Saarbrucken-Karlsruhe-Munich-Innsbruck-Trento.

This route is almost entirely motorway (between Sarrbrucken & Karlsruhe you can "cut a corner" on a Landstrasse (A-road) or go a little bit further round on the motorway) and the only tolls are the Brenner Pass and the Italian motorways. It also avoids any high mountain passes (the Brenner tops out at 1,300m and is well-maintained throughout winter).

Hope that helps.

Margaret M

I would certainly avoid Switzerland with a van - they are likely to want to check everything in it.

arjacey

I would think that is the issue. Our removals (a small private remover, 2 x Luton vans) got refused entry to Switzerland unless fees paid in excess of €2k. Maybe a larger remover would have ploughed on and passed on the charges but ours, God bless 'em, retraced their route and used Mont Blanc. A lot of time added to their journey but nothing to our invoice. I think they may be looking for a holiday this year!
The Swiss are quite good with snow and ice, not saying you wouldn't get delayed if there was a sudden blizzard but it would be dealt with fairly quickly, I would have thought.

nigeldunkley

Hey

Thanks so much for this reply, its really helpful. Its great to know the easiest route and this seems quick (is this the fastest route? How long does it take you?) , Issue is, my girlfriend who will be in the passenger seat is disappointed that it will be all motorways as she has never done the drive and was dreaming of seeing all these different places along the way- do you think it is just a bad idea to try and take a mountain road at this time? I don't really mind if it costs a little more toll wise - its more we don't want to walk into to very bad and silly situation.

If we wanted to go a slightly more scenic route, a compromise one could say, do you think the mont blanc tunnel would be the next best option? Rather than driving all the way along the riviera and right out of the way, that seems silly, but if we were willing to pay a little more and get the Vignette? It might be worth it as ill need her help building once I arrive so i need her on my side!

Super useful to know about the snow chains thank you! We will hire them here then.

Maybe we should just listen to you and go from Hull and then do a scenic drive on the way home once the van is unloaded!

I suppose the point is, we dont want to waste money but at the same time we arent just trying to get from A-B as fast as possible - it would be nice if we could take our time and enjoy the ride

GeorgeYoung

If time is not entirely of the essence then one more scenic but not-too-costly option would be to head to Karlsruhe and then continue down the Rhine to Friedrichshafen on Lake Konstanz. There you can find a nice spot for a meal on the lake before a nice drive into Austria picking up the road to Bregenz and thence onto Innsbruck. That's some motorway and some A-road and no high passes. All the high passes over the Alls will be closed in winter so you're limited to just a handful. This website is really handy but is in German (not difficult to work out which ones are closed or open though).

http://www.alpenpaesse.co

A friend of mine did this route last year but tried one of the high passes only to discover it was still closed when he got to the summit! The Austrian side had been cleared but not the Italian. D'oh!

fliss59

Lake Constance is beautiful and Meersburg is a lovely scenic place to stay and an easy drive then through Austria.

teresavandre

Hello Nigel - I need to move some of my belongings from the UK to Rome in early March. I'm not sure if you are all set with your dates to drive over in Feb but - if you could wait a couple weeks and - if you had room for my stuff - possibly I could split the expenses of driving across. Let me know. I wouldn't need to ride with you and I could collect my stuff from Citta.
Also - I have two wonderful friends from the UK living just outside of Citta di Castello. Lucy and Marcus - I wonder if you know them?
Cheers,
Teresa

Thairetired2016

During wintertime I would use route Munich-Rosenheim-Innsbruck-Brenner motorway. Least chance of getting stuck due to weather. And it still scenic if this is important.

PSG2014

I fully understand that some peeps here might not approve, BUT the Brenner pass has one of the most scenic McDONALDS locations that I have seen, superb ! Check it out !


https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mc...w=1366&bih=622


PSG

Geordieborn

Yep, I love the one of Captain Picard! Seriously, I would like to think I would never be seen dead in one of their places, but that might be an exception, superb views for a glass of water...

nigeldunkley

Hi! Unfortunately I have a set date of the 14th, as I only have a two week margin and need to get back for work. This is a bit of a winter reckie on the house, then back fro summer. If you would be able to get some of the things together by the 14th, I have about 1/3 of an empty VW transporter left, so could potentially work?

I havent met Lucy and Marcus I think, as previously I was always living near Cortona or Magione - Where abouts are they exactly? Feel free to introduce!

Thank you!

N

nigeldunkley

Brilliant - Fine cuisine and viewing combined

nigeldunkley

That I will defintiely do!

I have enough problems with import export there with my business! Dont want to get stuch in one of those offices!!