Calais to Lake Garda 2024

If you are ending up in Pisa (as you yourself said) then your direct route home will be through Switzerland. A  Swiss vignette will do for both journeys,  so you might as well use it for the outward journey as well. Why slog along the German autobahns in their notorious slow traffic -  on a route which is longer? 

Then you may have to contend with the Gottard tunnel an even more notorious bottleneck unless you go over the top. The only traffic problems I have encountered is around Hamburg or at road works of which there were none last year on the Germany/Austria route. Even travelling through central Germany last year, Essen/Dortmund heading for Dresden was no problem.

peedee

P.S. The Gottard tunnel has got so bad they are thinking of introducing tolls in addition to the vignette to try to reduce the traffic

Back in the day, we used to travel to Garda via the Frejus tunnel. For speed and simplicity ( and don't mind the tolls) travel down the A26 from Calais then head down past Reims and Dijon to Beaune. Overight stop at Les Bouleaux at Vignoles having topped up with diesel at Intermarche after leaving to autoroute. https://campinglesbouleaux.wixsite.com/lesbouleaux (in ACSI guide).

Next stop at Saint Jean de Maurienne and Camping Des Grands Cols. http://campingdesgrandscols.com/en/ . The following morning head up the valley to the Frejus tunnel and then into Italy above Turin. Along the autostrade towards Milan and you'll be at the south end of lake Garda by afternoon.

The tunnel is expensive! https://www.sftrf.fr/uk/index.aspx , but we always found it worthwhile.

Hi Chasncath,

Thank you for the replies.

I will certainly consider your advice.

Not been into Italy before but Southern Spain i dont need a map or a sat nav for the way i go.

Thanks

Mark