Winter trip to Rome
Hi I am planning to go to Rome for the rugby setting off at the end of January and taking 2 weeks with 2 nights in Rome. I was thinking of taking the ferry to Santander to cut down the driving and go through the South of France as it will be winter.
Has anyone done this trip and any advice would be welcome.
Comments
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Have you checked the mileage? It's 1696 km to Rome from Calais and 1798 km to Rome from Santander - so a longer drive. You don't even 'cut out' mountains, as the first part of your journey will be alongside or through the Pyrenees!
Added to the additional mileage is the extra cost - the ferry to Santander is not a cheap option.
However, if you do 'go for it' then good luck and have a great journey.
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As others have said its a long way just for 2 nights but if you want to do why not look at Portsmouth - Caen ferry you could still travel through France to Italy but it wouldn't cost anything like the Santander one. Crossing the Bay of Biscay in January
can get very rough, also Santander is a fair way down the Spanish coast, Bilbao might be better or cross to Roscoff from Plymouth if they are still doing that ferry in winter. If it was me and I was determined to go I would either use Calais or Caen, I think
the routes would be better plenty of Aires to use in France.0 -
Thanks. The plan was to fit in 2 weeks touring, seeing the South of France and to see the rugby in Rome while at it. I thought I might be able to not go over the mountains if I went to Santander but if it is likely to be a nightmare I might think again!
Thanks all who replied0 -
As part of your rethinking don't forget to check whether sites are open. Many sites close over the winter period in N Spain and particularly so in France. Also, look at the weather; northern Spain can get VERY cold in winter and southern France can be wet; you may be lucky, I got sun burned on my (balding) head in Languedoc on 6 Jan one year (we lived there). Central France can also be very cold in winter; I recall driving down in Jan one year and staying in Orleans overnight, it was -14 deg at 0930 when we left the hotel! You would not get much 'touring' (meaning seeing some of the great sites en route) done as all you could do would be drive to Rome, see the Rugby and drive back! Was it last winter when there were pics of caravans stuck on the motorway leading from Santander? To me it just seems a long way to go in a 2 week trip whatever the time of year. We went to Rome in April for 5 days and flew staying in a city centre hotel, flight and hotel cost less than the Santander ferry would have been. We were able to visit all the wonderful sites in that beautiful city; you could do that and see the rugby. saving a tour of the south of France for a more favourable time of the year. Good luck.
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Another option would be do the trip by train. Spend a couple of nights here and there. It recommend a web bloggers site seat61.com
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Hi Norma, Are they all trying to put you off?
It could be a great trip - just forget Santander and go out from Calais - across Switzerland via the St Gotthard tunnel, or across France to Chamonix and the Mont Blanc tunnel. Either way the winter sports folk will all be out there in the mountains in their
motorhomes, and if the sun shines the scenery will be superb. And the roads will kept clear as it 's motorway all the way. So why not?0 -
Norma
Are you thinking of a campsite in Rome or a Sosta? Alan Rogers list a few campsites open all year
here , hope the link works. If you went by a more conventional route as suggested by Eurotraveller you might be able to spend a bit more time in Rome?David
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Is this a spoof? Rome via Santander, and touring the south of France all in two weeks! French and Italian sites closed apart from ski resorts charging high-season rates; autoroute, autostradale, and tunnel tolls; set of winter tyres, alpine temperatures
way way below zero, all for one match!Presumably, you're Welsh and that it'll all be worth it.
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