Frejus Tunnel
Going to be using the Frejus Tunnel in June next year. Finding it difficult to identify transit cost for a 5300 kilo tag axle motorhome of 8.6 metre length and a smidging under 3 metre high. We normally get charged class 2 toll on the French Autoroute network because the MH is under 3 metre high though technically it should be class 4. I know it’s going to hurt cost wise - Frejus Tunnel transit that is - but we are in Provence for two weeks then heading to Lake Garda for ten days and it looks like the most direct route is through the Frejus Tunnel. Has anyone used the Frejus Tunnel recently in a tag axle 5000kilo motorhome and if so how much was the one way cost. Going to be returning to Calais via Switzerland a route I am very familiar with so it’s just the one way cost I am looking to get a feel for. Google doesn’t seem to much help on this occasion.
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I jibbed at the Class 2 toll of €57 for that tunnel and towed the caravan over the Mont Cenis Pass instead. A Class 4 toll sounds scary but the road over the pass is not. After all trucks and buses always went that way before the tunnel opened - and it is very picturesque on a sunny day in June.
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Here is a link to a .PDF files with the prices for the various classes using the tunnel. http://www.sftrf.fr/InfoliveDocuments/tarifs/tariftunnel.pdf If you are tempted to use the Mont Cenis Pass I would suggest you have a look at a couple of videos on You Tube to see if its your sort of thing.
David
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The Mont Cenis Pass is certainly an option for your 5t motorhome and there are lots of motorhome sostas (aires) on the route if you decide to take in the scenery overnight. Having recently taken the coastal motorway via Nice, Genoa and La Spezia (an option for a route from Provence to Garda) I'd discount it unless you're a tunnel and twisty motorway addict. Neither tunnels nor bends don't normally bother me but the coastal motorway was something else. Interestingly we'd taken the same route in a 6m metre PVC about 5 years ago and it was a non event but in a 7.4 metre motorhome it was tedious to say the least.
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David
Thanks for the link. I have looked at this previously - but after looking none the wiser. Not very clear - at least to me that is. Being under 3 metre high to we come in the “car” category. I can’t believe that those nice French people would want to charge us £300 ish to transit their tunnel.
Ian
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Do you need to go anywhere near the Frejus tunnel?
Aix en Provence - Sisteron - Gap - Briancon - and over the very easy Col de Montgenevre into Italy is a direct and straightforward route.
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ET
Thanks for this. Hadn’t looked at Mont Cenis previously and will do a bit of research on it. A quick Google suggests that there are some challenges - tight bends - sheer drops - narrow carriageways- long uphill grinds - projecting rocks. One of our issues is we don’t bend in the middle which sometimes makes tight turns exciting. A couple of years ago near Sommieres needed a “multiple point turn” to negotiate a T junction with some very solid looking “boundary” walls. This was on a road with 9metre length advisory. Looking at some of the anecdotal “stuff” it is clear why the Frejus Tunnel was constructed.
Ian
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I used the Mt Cenis pass northbound in 2011. Hyundai Santa Fe towing 1.7 tonnes of Burstner caravan, total unit length over 12 metres. None of the bends caused a problem, although some were tight..
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ET
Thought we did but I will have a look at what you suggest. Going to be a tad south of Lyon to start the run to Lake Garda so as usual keyed it all in to MS Autoroute then visually explored on the mapping the alternatives to the recommended (Frejus) route. At a first glance (at Sisteron / Briancon) it looks like we would need to run quite a distance further south than I intended.
Ian
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I did look at the Coastal Route (Nice etc) but it looked to be the long way ‘round when starting just South of Lyon. Traffic in June was also a consideration - nothing like July / August I know - but I have been told that even in June it will slow things up. We have planned in (time wise) one overnight stop, Lyon to Salo, to comply with a few commitments we would struggle to amend. Normally we run to Garda via Switzerland often with an excursion into Germany or Holland for variety, which is not a route planning big deal - it’s the getting over/through the Alps which is the complication when you are Lyon way or further South.
ian
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peedee
Hope you are well. Did think about Austria - it was the Go-box complication that sort of put us off.
Don’t have too much problem of a €60 ish Frejus Tunnel transit cost if that is what it is - it’s a holiday cost - one less restaurant meal - but at €300 that’s a different matter. What’s frustrating it isn’t very clear from the the available information just what we would be charged. The Kon-tiki is registered as a disabled vehicle and therefore UK road fund exempt-(Blue Badge as well) - but again no information if this impacts on the tunnel cost. May end up sending the Tunnel “operators” an Email and ask for clarification of costs.
Spain this year?
Ian
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Provence to the Italian lakes via the Frejus tunnel would require a northward diversion up to Grenoble and then round to the Val du Maurienne. We've used the tunnel many times but starting from a visit to our grandsons in the neighbouring Tarantaise valley. It's been our route through Italy to Croatia with a stop over at Lago d'Iseo.
A good overnight halt and starting point for the tunnel is St Jeanne de Maurienne and the municipal site, Camping des Grands Cols.
Fill up with diesel on the route up to the tunnel and you can be at lake Garda in one easy leg - don't know how long it would take you to go over the top if you want to save money rather than time!
Tip: set off early so you don't reach the Torino 'tangentziale' in late afternoon rush hour.
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Hi Ian, Yes we are all well and were considering going to El Delfin but they have hiked the prices up making it very expensive. Everything is up in the air at the moment with too many unknowns so I am not sure where we will end up if at all.
Even a Go Box to cross Austria could work out cheaper than the tunnel but you can avoid buying one using the route I suggested. We had no problem using the old pass road, the B182, which is well signed, There is a 3.5 ton lorry and trailer ban on it but as I understood it, it does not apply to motorhomes and the road is certainly plenty wide enough for comfortable driving. From the Fern pass, the B179, you take the B189 to Telfs the B171and B174 into Innsbruck from where you join the Old Brenner Pass road. You can avoid Innsbruck by going to Imst from the Fern Pass and using the Reisa Pass, the B180. I have not used the Reisa route but others have.
peedee
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Many thanks for this.
If we use the Frejus Tunnel Torino is just 200 miles ish from our start point so with a fair wind we should stop to overnight ( Bella Torino) around 1400hrs ish.
Re Frejus - is it manned toll booths or the automatic type much in use now throughout France.
Ian
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You can get a fair way up the Maurienne valley on the D road until Modane where you then travel on the autoroute to the tunnel. The D road takes you through all the villages following the railway and can be a bit tedious. As I recall, the peage tollbooths are unmanned automatic. The toll booths for the tunnel are manned.
We've always made it from St Jeanne to Iseo ( not far from Garda) in one go, and haven't stopped near Turin. We've stopped near Susa on the way back at an overpriced site, but only as an overnight on our way to Bourg St Maurice in the Tarentaise.
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The Simplon pass is much improved after several years of roadworks. It is a very straightforward pass via Lake Geneva (motorway), free, attractive, and leaves you on the Autostrada at Domodossola close to Lake Maggiore. If you want to go to Garda you can go around the south side of the lake towards Milan on motorways all the way.
Of course, should you choose to stay at Maggiore (beautiful) you have a much easier journey and the top end at Locarno is already in Switzerland for your return to Calais.
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hitchglitch
We shall be starting the run to Lake Garda from South of Lyon - Tournon sur Rhone to be precise. "Simplon" would add just over 100 miles to the the Frejus Tunnel route.
ET suggested " Sisteron - Gap - Briancon - and over the very easy Col de Montgenevre" - this again from our starting point [Tournon] adds significant miles but picking up on Briancon as a waypoint [A48/D1085/D1091/ Briancon / Turin / Milan/ Lake Garda] - mileage is a tad less than the Frejus Tunnel route but there has been historical issues [now sorted I think] on the D1091 with rock falls and tunnel instability. Be interested to hear if you or anyone else has traveled this route and any opinion on the viability for a largish motorhome.
Ian
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Ian, you confused me earlier by saying you wanted a route from Provence, so I suggested a route from Aix en Provence......but now you say you actually want a route from Tournon sur Rhone instead - which is a different story.
The D1091 road which you mention is still not fully open. Google will give you news of the Chambon tunnel on that road. As of today it is closed.
So I think you will find yourself paying the 57 euros at Class 2 through the Frejus tunnel, and if they try to charge you 300 euros at Class 4 then drive over the Mont Cenis pass instead.
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It looks like he only way to avoid the tunnel is to head for the coast and then to Lake Garda. If it helps, I have used the D1075 from Grenoble to Sisteron and then on to Digne Les Bains without any problem at all From Digne I guess the best route is to head to Nice via Saint Andre les Alps. I have not done this last section because I headed for Canne via the Gorge du Verdun and Grasse but perhaps someone else can advise what its like. I don't recommend tackling the Gorge du Verdun route.
peedee
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OK. Tournon is some way south. I think from Lyon the route over the Simplon is a reasonable option. Some of the routes mentioned here are a bit too scary for me!
The Simpson Pass is very under used and I have photos of our van in the large car park at the top of the pass. No other cars, no other traffic.
I must mention for anybody travelling this route from Switzerland to Italy with time to linger, if the weather is clear do a short detour (easy road) towards Zermatt. There is an ACSI site (Attermenzen) amongst the mountains a few miles short of Zermatt. Take the shuttle taxi from the site to Zermatt and go on the Gornergratbahn railway up to the top around the Matterhorn. Simply stunning.
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ET
Apologies, as you say my original post was not explicit as to the start location for Garda though in mitigation I was asking specifically about the Frejus Tunnel. I shall attempt to be more geographically correct in the future to avoid any confusion. Just for the record we are starting our Provence wanderings at Avignon in company with others and part company a couple of weeks later at Tournon when we head off to Italy.
Many thanks to everyone that has posted - I am still unsure as to the likely cost of transitting the Frejus Tunnel. As said previously I could live with €60 ish so going to Email the Tunnel operator and ask for a quote. Not sure what plan B will be if we are talking €100’s.
Ian
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Update - courtesy of Max at the overseas section of CMC who contacted the Frejus tunnel operator by ‘phone and obtained the transit costs as applied to the Swift Kon-tiki 669 tag axle.
As the 669 is a smidgen under 3 metres high it is charged as class 2 (same as car/caravan) which mirrors my experience of toll charges on the Autoroutes. Therefore from the French side, transit cost will be €57 and return €76 ish.
Whilst my conversational French is usually adequate for face to face conversations I avoid where I can “technical” discussions on the ‘phone. I am most grateful therefore to Max for ‘phoning the tunnel operators direct and extracting the required information. It’s great pity of course that the Frejus tunnel website is so ambiguous when it comes to motorhomes.
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But the return ticket is only valid for seven days. Any longer than one has to buy two single tickets.
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It’s almost as if there is a French conspiracy to prevent or discourage travellers from using the Frejus Tunnel. First high cost - second restrictive ticketing - third “ambiguous” website pricing that is written only in French without other language options. All a tad strange for cross border crossing. Ours is not to reason why.
Ian
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Hi Ian, a bit late picking up on this thread.
We would probably do the Simplon,as mentioned by Hitch, but we have a caravan and having done the Simplon, in the other direction, know that it a an easy, scenic and enjoyable route.
Now CC have confirmed cost it may be that Frejus is a practicable option but I personally would rather be travelling via Simplon than on the Autostrada via Turin and beyond.
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Allan
Thanks for this.
I can’t say I enjoy Italian motorways either, especially around the major cities - both the Milan ring road and getting by Turin is always a joy (not) but needs must and all that. It’s a couple of years since we were last in Italy and my memory of that holiday is multiple road works, crammed service area’s and where no road works badly chewed up road surfaces.
I don’t see much of alternative to the Frejus Tunnel unfortunately - that is from our starting point at Tournos - the tunnel costs but the route looks fairly straightforward and as we have just a couple of days (meeting others) to make (near) Salo the distance is just about right. We try to keep our daily runs to something around 200 miles and a mid afternoon finish, so this does restrict us a bit, but it’s not a test of endurance and we are retired and the wife keeps on saying “are we there yet”.
Ian
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return ticket, sorry was having senior moment. 