Travel from Uk to Italian Lakes

Motorways under rather than over  the Alps include the St Gotthard, Frejus and Mont Blanc tunnels. The first of those is pretty direct from Calais to lakes Maggiore and Como, though  the other two tunnels may be more suitable if starting from ports in western France . A good road atlas will help your planning.

Your route will depend on which of the Italian Lakes you plan to visit. For Lake Garda I suggest you use the Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany route via Stuttgart and Ulm to Fussen and the Fern pass into Austria then the Brenner pass into Italy and Lake Garda. The Fern pass is an easy, steady climb with no steep gradients. Similarly the Brenner Pass has no steep gradients. As ET says, Swiss and Italian roads normally go through the mountains rather than over them. For Como and the western lakes the best route is through Switzerland and the St Gottard tunnel. The tunnel is free but you will need two Swiss motorway vignettes, one for the car and one for the caravan. Try to avoid the Italian lakes in August, they are very busy. The motorway  routes through France and the Frejus or Mont Blanc tunnels  are very expensive.

Calais, Reims, Obernai, Basle, St. Gottard tunnel, Locarno then Lake Maggiore.

The Italian Lakes cover a large area and, as others have said, the route depends on which one you intend visiting first. We have mainly used the Fern  and Brenner Passes but did on one occasion use the Tunnel de Frejus when going to one of the other lakes but it is expensive! I note you say you have a twin axle caravan? I would suggest some research re campsites as Italian pitches are not renown for being generously sized but that does vary from site to site.

David

Which ferry will you be taking? Your signature does not indicate where you are based.

And do you want to daly a little en route?

Chris