Calais to Lake Garda
Hi
Just looking for advice please. Taking the caravan from Calais to Lake Garda in later this year. Towed before in France, Belgium and Germany but not as far as Italy.
We are in no rush 5 weeks away, two being near the lake. Scenic route preferred and starting off with first stop in Ghent. Michelin gives route roughly as, via Ghent, Belgium, Luxembourg, Merzig, Stuttgart, Innsbruck, then Trento.
Has anyone any advice on this route please? Any pitfalls, excessive climbs etc? We plan on about 200 miles per day, stopping at sites wherever we feel for a night perhaps two or three.
Thanks in anticipation of advice
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That's the most direct route and the quickest route which you have given, also it's the cheapest route and the most popular route....but I wouldn't say that pounding along the German autobahnen in a queue of lorries was the most scenic route. The last time we went we deliberately took in Alsace, the Black Forest, Lake Constance and the Tirol - prettier and more interesting, but further and slower. Enjoy your planning.
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Yes vision, that's the route we have used many times at roughly your daily mileage. I like the sound of eurotraveller's route (Austrian vignette required) which skirts Switzerland and then links to mine when in Austria. We enter Austria via the Ferne Pass and Imst; you then have the choice of buying a vignette (you buy them at any garage near the Austrian border) and going to Italy via the Brenner or going through Landeck and using the Reischenpasse into Italy. Either are no problem and there are plusses and minuses to each; on the latter route, whilst it is very scenic, and slowish, there are very few places to stop for a coffee/lunch once in Italy and before Bolzano. The Brenner is a scenic but busy motorway and you need the vignette and pay an additional toll! There are plenty of places to overnight on the route but why not spend a few days in Bavaria and/or Austria. You could do the 'Romantic Route' in Germany, or spend a few days on the Mosselle. The German autobahns are busy and have been subject to many road works over the past few years and I don't think they have finished, this is particularly relevant to the Stuttgart-Ulm autobahn less so when you turn south at Ulm. Hint, ensure you enter Italy with a full tank of fuel. it is much cheaper in Austria than Italy. So why not down a pretty way and back the more direct. You may find joining ACSI worthwhile if travelling after August.
If you want suggestions on sites please ask. When are you going? Enjoy your planning, it's all part of the holiday
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We have been to Italy many times. When we are heading for Lake Garda we tend to go down through France to Chalons and then out on the A4 towards Metz and the German border. We then head for Fussen and take the Fern Pass and then drop down to the Inntel motorway to Innsbruck and then over the Brenner and this motorway takes you down the eastern side of Lake Garda. I suspect the route taken will depend on whether you wish to minimise tolls.
David
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As Comeyras says, if you've not visited the Romantik Strasse area before then it's worth and few days of your holiday (Rothenburg o t Tauber, Dinkelsbule and Fussen in particular) and it will bring you to the Fern Pass south of Fussen which is at the lower end of the Strasse. If I were towing to Garda I'd opt for the Brenner Pass into Italy but everyone has their own preferences. The areas around Bolzano and Dobbiaco have some stunning scenery and are not a long way off your direct route. The campsite at Imst West is a good stopover for one or two nights on your route.
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Hi, we have done the route via Fern and Reisa passes, and if you travel via Landeck town you pay no tolls BUT the Landecker Tunnel is part of the motorway system so you would need a vignette.
We chose this as our travel companions have a MH and didn’t want to use a GoBox but if on our own would give eurortravellers route a go and then use the Brenner so we can stay near Innsbruck.
One point to make is that there are long stretches of Autostrada in Italy, including this route, where vehicles towing Caravans can’t overtake which may sound not much of a problem but can get very wearing-as if driving on those roads isn’t already!
Once we have tried the eurortraveller/Brenner route I think we would revert to the Fern/Reisa one and include a stop at Fussen.
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Hi Vision, Frankly we thought the places I mentioned where we stopped and looked around on the way out to Lake Garda were more interesting than Garda itself. Perhaps we went at the wrong time but Garda was simply too busy - we shuffled around in the crowds for a day or two, pulled out, and went to see some of the rest of Italy instead. Maybe you will like Garda more than we did, but if not then go and do a bit of exploring. Good wishes to you.
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Not a fan of either Innsbruck or the Brenner pass, but the run through the Reschen Pass (Passo di Resia) as mentioned above is a delight and a very easy pull on good roads. There's also a lovely little site near the top of the pass at Pfunds (Camping Via Claudiasee). We pulled in for an overnight stay and pulled out again 5 days later
. There's also a duty free area just over the border into Switzerland at Samnaun where the diesel was even cheaper than Luxembourg, if you go that way be sure to fill up before you enter Italy.Have a great trip!
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A permit to drive on toll roads in certain countries such as Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Slovakia and a few others. Google will tell you the prices and how long they are valid for.
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There is an old joke which could be restated “..if I wanted to go to Italy I wouldn’t start from Ghent” but actually I would still do my favourite route to Garda starting from Ghent and not Calais and have certainly gone Calais to Garda via Brussels.
So, if you would rather go through France and Switzerland than Austria you need to go from Ghent on the Belgium motorways to get to Strasbourg which you can do via Saarbrucken or other ways. From there you can spend time in Alsace (Obernai is an interesting town and the municipal site is excellent). You then cross Switzerland at Basel and buy a vignette at the border (two for car plus caravan). You then have a delightful drive through Switzerland and the St. Gottard tunnel to Lugano and into Italy. It is particularly good for the Southern part of Garda but if you wanted to go to the North then you are better using and alternative route approaching from the North.
This is the shortest and fastest route on ViaMichelin using Brescia as the destination but the tolls may be a bit higher although you can check this out using Via Michelin and allowing for the extra cost of the caravan. The Autoroute to Basel from Strasbourg is toll free.
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One vignette is 40 Swiss francs and you need one for the car and one for the caravan but look what you get for your money. The scenery is stunning and the engineering to create the passes, bridges and tunnels is remarkable. If cost is the only consideration then avoid toll roads all together. I really don’t think the small additional cost should be a factor considering your investment in your outfit, the fuel cost, site cost and the time you are away.
I am just offering an alternative and shorter route but it depends whether you prefer France/Switzerland to Austria.
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The total cost for car and van is over £60 so not insignificant and maybe not small.
We have done the route that you mention may times but the cost, coupled with the lack of any sites that are convenient for an overnight and not eye wateringly expensive, means that we would probably use the Germany/Austria/Italy route via the Fern and Reisa.
There is a lovely site at Prutz, we had intended to overnight and stayed for 4 days, and Camping Christopherous in Germany provided one of the best meals we had in 4 weeks away.
However, had we not done Switzerland we would certainly try it.
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