Best way to get to Lake Garda in Italy
This is my first post so please be gentle
I am going the Lake Garda this year and would be interested in hearing from anyone who has travelled there. My satnav is taking me through Austria and Switzerland but someone has advised I would be best to go via Belgium/Germany as the toll cost would be substantially less. We are taking the motorhome but also an electric Tesla car so we can get out and about with ease (given electric is free to get there and it is a company car it doesn't cost me too much).
Thanks
Dave
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There are all sorts of possibilities - the shortest way , the quickest way, the cheapest way, the quietest way, the most scenic way and so on - are any of them the "best" way?
We had time to spare so allowed over a week for the journey and picked the places we wanted to visit on the way to break up the 750 mile drive. I never let a sat nav choose for me.
Take care.
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Hi Dave and welcome. When I asked a similar question to yours, on here, some years ago, I was fortunate to receive help from many contributors, some of whom will no doubt be along offering their suggestions in the near future.
Personally I go Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria travelling around 250 miles per day, but I'm towing a caravan. There's no tolls until you get to Austria and they were minimal to be honest.
We stayed at Lake Garda on the way back from Croatia and I wrote about it in the story section:
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/club-together/your-stories/jonray57/lake-garda-another-story/
Enjoy your trip 😀
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Hi Dave
Last time we went there it was France, Belgium, Germany, Austria ( Fern pass) then Brenner pass to Italy. Only an Austrian Vignette to buy and some Italian tolls.
We too are travelling there later this year, this time we are going France, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Switzerland, Italy. This requires Vignette in Switzerland and some Italian tolls. We want to try a different route and as it is shorter and the wife limits me to 250 miles a day it will be quicker to get there. If you stick to the Gottard pass there are no further costs in Switzerland.
There are so many possibilities.
Try posting what you are thinking of doing, if there are issues on the route someone on here usually can tell you.
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I have allowed 2 days to do the journey plus 2-3hours on the 3rd day. My tunnel is booked for 5:50am as i live only 20 miles away. The plan would be to stay in a hotel for 2 nights, so averaging around 350 miles a day plus 100 on day 3.
Hope this helps to give me more targeted advice.
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The route we tend to find more comfortable, certainly in the early stages of the journey is to head down the A26/A4 to Chalons and then towards Metz and the German border. This does involve more tolls but we generally find the route through Belgium to be much busier. Across Germany to the A7 autobahn to Kepten and Fussen over the Fern and Brenner Passes which takes you down the eastern side of Lake Garda. You don't say how heavy your motorhome is but if its 3500kgs and under you can use the normal car vignette which you can buy on the approach to Austria.
David
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You don't say how you are taking the electric car is it on a trailer, if so you will be more than likely be over the 3.5t limit for an Austrian vignette and will need a GoBox. I believe it will be something similar for Switzerland.
We are going to Lake Garda in May with our caravan, the route we are favouring at the moment is Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria.
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I was researching that route yesterday TG, although we are only planning to go as far as Lake Constance. Currently aiming for mid May so we may bump into you.
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I have been to Garda and further afield in Italy many times. The route we always follow is the Belgium, Germany, Austria one mentioned above. Toll free until Austria and could be toll free nearly all the way if you avoid the Austrian motorway and Brenner and go via Landeck and the Reichen Passe into Italy; your first toll road would be from Bolzano. However there are very few stopping places on the Landeck route and it is quite slow but goes through reasonably pretty countryside. So there are your 2 options and latterly we have swung away from the Landeck route towards the Brenner option and pay the vignette and toll as it is much quicker and easier driving. Note Tammygirl's point about towing a trailer and weight this may swing you to the Landeck route. There are plenty of sites for overnighting on the whole route so no need to plan that aspect just ensure you have site books and suggest you stop by 5pm to ensure you get a pitch. You will find the Club book and ACSI very useful. There are a number of sites between Imst and Innsbruck. Advice, fill up in Austria as it is much cheaper than Italy. Note also, the days of not needing a vignette to go over the Brenner are finished and you need one as well as paying the toll.
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This is the way we have always used and can thoroughly recommend it after years of going to Garda with or without Caravan. Can give you route with stops if you want. Contact me on here.
https://www.joysofeuropeancaravanning.co.uk/
cheers Dianne
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I’d second the route via Calais, Metz, into Germany and then Stuttgart, Kempten, Fern Pass then Brenner Pass.
Not the cheapest and if you’re over 3.5t the cost will be significantly more but its certainly the quickest route to Garda. The journey through France to Metz is rather boring but there’s very little traffic on the toll motorway. There’s a municipal site in Metz that’s only a short walk from the city centre and as others have said there are numerous sites in the Fussen/Imst areas for overnight stops.
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In that case, as Tammy Girl said earlier, you need specialist advice how to get a Motorhome of that size through Austria or Switzerland. They each have special regulations for vehicles like that, but some on here do know about it.
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If it were me I'd ditch the idea of taking the Tesla arrange car hire for when you get there. It would work out a heck of a lot cheaper and you would be able to travel together rather than apart.
Italian sites are not known for having big pitches.
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We used to go to southern Garda regularly and, being a bit boring, we always went the same way. Calais, Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Basel, Lugano, Milan. Very direct, beautiful scenery in Switzerland, good places to stay in Alsace (near Strasbourg). Probably not the cheapest but we like to avoid Belgium and the Austrian route is further. Just bear in mind that getting to the North of Gada is entirely different to the South. Its a long lake!
We go to Lake Maggiore the same way, just turn off at Locarno.
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You say "electric is free to get there". Do you mean on campsites or en route? Italian campsites don't have 16 Amp supplies like UK.
As to your route, the route via the Frejus tunnel is swift if expensive. We've used it often as we visit the Alpes on the way.
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Another one for the route through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria. When we stayed at Seiser Alm a few years ago we broke the journey on the way down at Rudesheim and Innsbruck and on the way back at Augsburg and Saarburg. We were personally underwhelmed by Lake Garda. The site at Seiser Alm was also 16amp on fully serviced pitches.....
without wishing to hijack the thread there are references by some posters to Lake Constance which is on our very shortlist for this year. Which sites did you use? We need dog friendly and have a t/a van.
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Guilty as charged. We are planning to visit Lake Constance but new territory so I'll have to suck it and see.
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I can send you a route to Bodensee with good ACSI Campsites enroute and on Bodensee if you email me at my websitewww.joysofeuropeabcaravanning.co.uk
Cheers DianneT
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Thanks for that offer.
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