On the road to Italy

What route you take might depend on which of the lakes you intend visiting? If you are heading for Garda then probably the Fern and Brenner passes would be fairly direct. We once went to Lake  Maggiore and used the Tunnel de Frejus (very expensive!)  Where you stop en route will depend on how far you are willing to travel in a day and how long you want to stay. One thing about the Italian Lakes is to try and avoid the German school holidays as they tend to flock to the lakes so it will be more crowded, especially if you don't want to book. As to sites you can look at my website here http://www.davidklyne.co.uk/european_campsite_index_new_2_index.html

Scroll down to the relevant country and you will see lists of sites we have stayed at. The reviews are a bit old now but they will give an idea of whether they are suitable for your trip.

David

ViaMichelin.com will give you suggestions of routes and distances . I don’t know your start or finish points but as an example Calais to Lakes Como or Maggiore is about 650 miles so you might take 3 days, though I once took over a week.

You can get to tne Swiss border at Basel toll free if you go via Lille and Luxembourg but there’s  no escaping tne cost of Swiss vignettes for both car and caravan if you choose that route to those lakes.

Choice of overnight sites depends on your choice of route and destination.

Take care.

ET and David K have given some sound advice but a bit more info from you would help.  When are you going - you say ' next summer'?  Which crossing have you booked and time of crossing?  If you are using non motorway route this will take you a long time maybe 2 or more extra days but as you say you could visit some places en route;  it is a long way and we allow 3 days from arriving in Calais for the journey.  We have towed to Italy many times, usually in May, and our, toll free to Austria journey is as follows:

Day 1 travel from home to Dover (about 2 1/2 hrs for us), take a midafternoon crossing to Calais and stay at a site near Calais, there are some very pleasant ones within 20 ks of Calais - in the ACSI book.  This gives us a relaxing day 1.

Up early and head towards Luxemburg using the Belgium free motorways. Stop when tired.

Next day to Bavaria using the A8 in Germany Stuttgart to Ulm (yes, there are major roadworks on the A8!).  Overnight in Bavaria between Ulm or near Imst in Austria.

Next day via Brenner or Landeck/Reischen Pass to Italy the Brenner being much quicker but you need a Vignette and pay the toll for the Brenner, Landeck avoids these charges.  Having done both routes I now favour the Brenner.

This route gets you to Lake Garda area.  We do not book en route sites but stop about 4 or 5 pm and have no problems.  This year we found the Garda area very busy even away from the German holiday.  If you are travelling out of peak season you may find joining ACSI useful; if travelling in season I would recommend booking your destination stay.  Get a C Card with no overseas transaction charges.

Any more questions please come back to us.

To avoid tolls in France, the route through Belgium, Luxemburg then the A8 via Stuttgart and Ulm to Fussen and the Fern Pass is the best route to the Garda area and our usual route to Italy. Stick to the Brenner, the toll is less than 10 Euros and the Italian motorway tolls are very low compared to the French ones. As others have said, the roadworks around Stuttgart are dire and will go on until 2026. Camping West (now renamed Camping Fink) in Imst is a good stopover. Get the Campercontact App for sites on route and if you’re not going in August there’s no need to prebook stopovers, just look for a site when you’ve had enough driving for the day.

For Lake Como and Maggiore the route through Switzerland and the St Gottard tunnel is best but you’d have to buy two annual vignettes, one for your car and one for your caravan. All the Italian Lakes are exceptionally busy in August and if you’re after a super climate with a bit more space then  the north Adriatic coast is a better option. In general pitches are bigger, the beaches fantastic but the scenery is non existent. Let us know what your preferences are and we can help further.

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Went to Italy in May, overnighted at Calais - Camping Epinette, Metz - Camping Thionville  and Waldheim Switzerland - Camping Sursee then onto Lake Iseo - Campsite Covelo.

4 days to get there only had to pay for car and caravan in Switzerland at £36 each though !, but it does last a year, unfortunately for us came back via Austria so only got to use it once.

Hi, As mentioned you will get more info if you can give a bit more detail however, as with others we have towed to Italy on many occasions over the years and like them can give you our take on things.

Our latest trip was this year, initially at Lago Trasimeno, where we met commeyras,  and then on Garda before heading for Holland via Austria and Germany.

Over the years we have used most crossings and a variety of routes-so knowing which you intend to use is important-initially from Dover and then the western Channel which is more convenient for us.

This year we went out via Plymouth-Roscoff and back via Hook of Holland-Harwich.

This was over a 5 week period so, as you may wish to maximise your time in Italy, 3 weeks may see you prioritising the fastest route, which will have cost implications, such as via Switzerland.

The timing is also important as we used the A8, in early July and the queues were awful-indeed our experience of using the route from Garda via Brenner to reach the A8 was similar and its a route that we would not use again preferring the Reischen/Fern Pass  route.

So far as sites are concerned my suggestion is to decide the area you wish to visit and then use Google maps and Streetview to narrow down your choice-with 3 weeks in total you will be travelling for around a third of that time so don't want to be stuck on a site that does not suit-but if we knew when you are going that would help with recomendations for ACSI etc.

Personally we have visited some lovely places, Trasimeno and the hilltop towns this year were stunning-and the winery visits, as indulged by commeyras and ourselves-Lake Como etc but for us Garda, we always stay at the Southern end around Peschiera Del Garda, takes some beating for location.

As others have said a bit more info will help us to help you but, wherever you go, have a great trip!

 

 

Hello Alan and Jean,  we still have a few bottles of the Poggio Bertaio left!!

 

For what is is worth my thoughts on Reichen v Brenner:

Ease: both no problems towing.

Reichen free Brenner toll and vignette.

Speed:  Reichen slow, Brenner can be busy.  

Cost: Despite Brenner tolls, as it is a slightly shorter drive using motorways Brenner route is probably cheaper than Reichen.  Don't look at your fuel gauge on way up Brenner but you recover the mpg on the way down!

Time to Bolzano from Germany/Austria border,  Reichen most of day, Brenner a few hours. 

Scenery, Reichen wins but both routes have lovely scenery.

Stopping Places:  There are very few places to pull in on the Reichen route and we have struggled to find one on some of our trips.  There are a few service stations on the Brenner route - but they can be busy.

From the top of Brenner to Trento no overtaking for caravans!  But as it is downhill HGVs are usually doing 60 kph so no problems. 

As I said earlier, we now tend to use the Brenner but both are ok.

MHG are you going to come back with more details?

 

Commeyras  You are good to give such a thoughtful, detailed reply., though I myself am getting rather weary of posts saying I have decided to go to Italy, (or Spain) , but where is it, and how do I get there? 

I feel  I am getting cantankerous and might even decide to join in to tne argumentatative section of Club Together.

Happy Christmas.

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