Teabagterry

I am planning to drive from the UK to Caulonia, has anyone here done so and could give me some advice and tips please

BRIAN 1

Hi,we live in Isca,50k down the road.We normally ferry to Dunkirk,thru Belgium,Luxembourg,refuel there,cheapest in EU.Into France via Metz,thru to Basle.Thru Swiss to Italy at Chiasso.A1 all the way to Casserta.A3 to Rosarno,turn left to Gioiosa.Turn left and Caulonia is 2 towns up.This year we did Eurotunnel and stayed in France all the way up.Quicker but more expensive with tolls and dearer fuel.Your best bet is google Via Michelin and plumb in start and finish places and all the combos come up,offering alternative routes.Mileage and fuel and toll costs are all displayed on the routes.Make sure you take a satnav,worth its weight in gold.As I am the only driver,we used to overnight twice,now we stopover 3 times.Some expats round here take 25hrs nonstop with 2 drivers. We use Expedia to sus out hotels in interesting places like the Alsace,Lugano or Como,Orvieto or Arrezo.Hope this helps,cheers,Brian.

Teabagterry

Thanks Brian I will read through the Michelin options.

BRIAN 1

No probs,We drive back to UK in December and come back in March.Will go back to the ferry route as we can chill out a bit and grab a meal.We are pensioners now so the 3 stop route suits us and we try to stop at a different place each time.Makes a minibreak of it.Any other questions,don't hesitate,cheers,Brian.

BRIAN 1

Hi,1 last thought,print off the Via Michelin directions because that's all they are.A series of signs to look for and directions.Plumb in the route on your satnav and rely on that,a lot easier and stops loads of arguments for the navigator,lol.Cheers,Brian.

GeorgeYoung

Personally, I would avoid France entirely; from Calais (or your channel port of choice), turn north initially into Belgium and come down through Luxembourg and into Germany. Go Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Ulm, Fernpass (unless in peak summer or deepest winter), Innsbruck, Brenner Pass and then down the A22 to Modena, picking up the A1 at Bologna down to Calabria.

This avoids all French tolls & the expensive Swiss vignette. An Austrian vignette costs €8 for 10 days and I think they're going to introduce a digital version which will make it easier.

Note that whichever way you cross the Alps, between November & April you will need either winter tyres and/or snow chains with you, even on the motorways.

BRIAN 1

That route is 68miles and 2 hrs longer.Via Belgium,Luxembourg into France via Metz no tolls.20euro approx toll via Srasbourg from Metz.Swiss vignette 35 euro but lasts 12 months.You can avoid tolls after Metz,but the roads do climb a fair bit,a bit slippery in December for us,cheers,Brian.

Plan B

I would recommend the French/Swiss route over the German/Austrian variant. For many years we happily took the latter route but then tried the French/Swiss route and were hugely impressed with the ease of motoring on relatively empty well maintained roads. Paying for the Swiss vignette and the French road tolls is well worth it
We have twice re-tried the Stuttgart-Fernpass-Insbruck-Brennero option, most recently this May, and have kicked ourselves for doing so. The mid-German part is swamped by massive amounts of commercial traffic which is exacerbated by the on-going major road works. Between a third and half of the Italian autostrada from the Brennero to Trento was down to one lane. The only plus to this easterly route is the cheaper petrol in Austria.
Whichever route you choose, happy motoring and follow Brian 1's advice by make a mini break of it and take your time.
(We find that Colmar in south-east France is a great place for a stop.)

BRIAN 1

Hi,yes, we have stopped over at Colmar a couple of times.All these medieval places are great in December with all the Christmas markets.We drove back to the UK in the summer of 2014.13hrs to Bologna,then 2hrs next day to Lido de Jesolo.Stayed 3 nights,watched England get beat by Uraguay in a restaurant full of Germans,lol.Perfect base for Venice,1 day travel card 30odd euro each.Bus,ferry and vaperattos all included.Fantastic beaches also.Afterwards drove back to Como and picked up the route back.Just another idea that ticked Venice off the bucket list,cheers,Brian.

GeorgeYoung

Plan B - the Brenner motorway is back to two lanes now, although they're now completely clogged with the holiday traffic!

Must admit, I've never found the German autobahns to be particularly busy (though full of roadworks) but the French motorways are usually really empty.

BRIAN 1

The only holdup with the tollfree Belgium Luxembourg route is the Brussels ring road.We were on the ferry when the breaking news of the Brussels terrorist attack was on the tv.We took a chance and no problems.

philat98