Calais to Malcesine Routes

Yes the traffic on the A8 in the area of Stuttgart - Ulm has been a nightmare over the past few years as they upgrade the road.  All I can say is that when we used it in Jun/Jul this year we did not get held up.  They must finish this work sometime!  Glad you got Via Michelin to work; we just use the satnav (TomTom being much better than the one fitted in my VW Tiguan - and more up to date), a map and common sense!  But I digress from the OP's question. 

We use either Camping St Louis in Autignes, Camping Pommiers des Trois Pays in Licques  or Camping La Bien Assine in Guines for our Calais stop.  They are all quite close together, in the right direction (ish) and in ACSI.  En route it is where we are at about 4pm, this gives us time to have a nice evening meal and relax.  We use the 3 x 2 hr driving rule - 2 hrs coffee, 2 hrs lunch and 2 hrs stop - plenty driving for this oldie and his 'young' navigator..

We visited Malcesine some years ago with our Autotrail Apache 634 but approached from the south.

Unfortunately we had not realised it was Corpus Christi (May 30 2024 in Germany) and the sites were full of Germans !

We ended up driving up a steep drive and were tucked into the only space, between fairly low trees !

Good luck

Used to visit Garda many times and found the quickest route was by autoroute to Reims, Metz then into Switzerland at Basle, St Gottard tunnel etc. Of course, there are tolls on the French autoroutes and a vignette for Switzerland. Malcesine is awkward being on the east side of the lake. There is a car crossing from West to East which we have used for the car but you would need to check whether motorhomes are allowed.

Thanks for this. At some point we would be going to the Peschiera del Garda as it seems trains are handy from there to Venice and Milan. Then either north to Malcesine or south to Peschiera depending on how we approach!

 I note you mention the Gottard Tunnel but I've read there are usually long delays there. Would the Pass be preferable?

The pass was reconstructed a few years back and is OK but quite a climb and would take longer I should think. Occasionally they close the tunnel due to pollution from congestion but over many years we were a only delayed once. 

The last time we went to Italy was in 2012, I doubt much has changed? On this occasion we first stayed at Lake Calceranica which is nearer to Trento and north of Lake Garda but the route is similar. (We stopped at Lake Garda on the way home) We carried on to Venice and Rome on that trip. I have a blog of the trip here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/arrivederci_roma.html which lists the sites we stopped on en route which might give you a few ideals.

David

I’m glad Via Michelin is working for you now. I use it regularly and it does occasionally decide that a route is not possible. The route we prefer and that we use each year to or from the north Adriatic coast is very similar to that described above. Belgium, Luxembourg ( we usually stop at an excellent Stellplatz in Remich on the Mosel for our first night), Stuttgart, Ulm, Fern Pass to Imst (Excellent camp site in Imst, Camping Fink or alternatively there are a number of Stellplatz in Fussen). Then Innsbruck and Brenner Pass towards Garda, although we leave the Brenner autoroute at Bolzano and head for Dobbiaco but that’s no good for Garda. 

There are still a lot of roadworks on the A8 around Stuttgart but delays as a result of these are becoming less.

The quickest route is, as ET suggests, through Switzerland and the St Gottard Tunnel. As ET says, Camping Gottardo in Faido is a useful stop and one of our favourites. An excellent Italian Sosta, adjacent to the A4 motorway, near Montebello (near Vicenza) is in the grounds of a hotel (Camper Park La Fracanzana). Ok, it’s between the motorway and a rail line but the noise is not unbearable, especially at night and the facilities are first class, including a reasonably priced restaurant. Get back to us if you need more info.

Garda will be very busy in August and at Whitsun time but at other times there will be no need to pre-book.

Many thanks David. Will have a look at that..

Thanks for the information. Although it might take a little longer I’m thinking the Gottard Pass might be more interesting than the tunnel?

I’m actually finding Google Maps more user friendly than viaMichelin!

At the moment we’re thinking either June or September..