Italian Lakes - which tunnel??
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Tammygirl. Don't give up! If you fancy doing the trip outlined your OP just go for it! Toll free route from/to Italy is Calais, Belgium, Germany, Ferne Pass into Austria (nice site n Imst), Reichen Passe into Italy. Sites in Germany/Italy/France tend to be cheaper than UK out of season. The scenery is to die for. Fuel is probably cheaper, was in France and Germany last week, Austria it is cheaper than Germany, and in Luxemburg it is always cheaper. The 10 day Austrian Vignette is quite cheap and more than justifies a stay in that beautiful country (Vignette not necessary if just passing through on my route above). I think you are in danger of over planning! When we go, and it is usually in May/June, all we book are the ferries and we have a good idea of where we want to end up and the route. But we never book sites and are prepared to change our outline plan if necessary. A few years ago we where staying on Lake Maggiore and it stated to rain and rain and rain, forecast for Garda area was fine so just upped steadies and went there. Typically we get an afternoon ferry to Calais, stay at one of the attractive sites about 20 mile from Calais. Next day up early and head towards Germany/Luxemburg. About 6 hours later find somewhere to stay etc.
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North of the main Italian Lakes in the area around Trento/Bolzano is Lago di Caldonazzo. Not as large but much quieter and quite a few campsites in the ACSI book. There are other smaller lakes nearby.
David
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Thanks for the encouraging comments.
ET & DK will look at the areas you mention.
comeyras, previously we have done just as you do, have a rough outline plan but be ready to change it if needs be.
This time as its an area we are not so familiar with, we are gathering as much information as we can so if we need to change plans we have an idea of where to head for. Although we do like to be on the coast we are not ones for sitting on a beach all day.
We prefer to go for bike rides rather than walk as I'm not able to walk for long but can ride a bike for hours.
Cities are a real no no for me, just can't be doing with crowds, shops and the noise, I will put up with some cities if they have something worthwhile seeing but otherwise its a no.
We are not ones for eating out on a regular basis or sitting in cafes drinking coffee. Lovely views and things to do are more our thing, I do like watching things going on, like sailing, the canal boats, folk surfing that type of thing.
This year we really enjoyed the mountain areas in France and managed to find some lovely places around lakes with cycling and trips out in the car, to wonderful waterfalls and natural areas of beauty. We like to take a picnic with us go up a mountain and sit at the top enjoying the views. I'm no longer able to ski but I love the views.
Will look at your suggested route via Austria. Might be we drop off Maggiore and do some of the other suggestions.
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We generally stay at Valle Romantica which is set in a former tropical gardens. There is a walk into town of about 1 mile or a good shop on the site. We stay in May or June and it has always had spaces (albeit a little small like most Italian sites). The sister site is Riviera which is right on the lake and very close to the town but a little busy for our liking.
Unfortunately these sites are quite expensive - around 33 Euros a night. There is an ACSI site further down the coast which is quite spacious with outstanding facilities and is also right on the lake. The location is nothing special which is why we stic to Cannobio.
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The site that I was referring to is Conca d’Oro. As I mentioned earlier, this section of the lake is in a flatter area and should be OK for cycling. Excellent ferry links from Verbania (Intra).
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Many thanks H, it looks a lovely site.
Thinking about after stopping at Maggiore/Cannobio, is it possible to tow down that side to the bottom of the lake or would it be better to go back around the top and down the motorway or the East side of the lake.
Things are coming together with all the info we are getting, we will have a choice of routes and places to visit should be decide to change from plan a to plan b or c
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If you're passing the southern end of lake Garda, Sirmione is worth a visit. It's a short cycle ride from camping tiglio.
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The road after Cannobio is quite narrow all the way to Verbania but we used to tow that route all the time. Take it slow and you will be OK bearing in mind that buses, lorries and coaches use it all the time. It’s a heck of a long way round going back up to Locarno and the East side of the lake is inferior but if you wanted to do that you can use the car ferry back to Verbania/Intra.
We think that Cannobio is the nicest town on the lake and the site is beautiful. Sunday there is a very big market in the town. You can do a few trips from there by ferry, across the lake to the market at Luino or down the West side to Cannero Riviera. Get a timetable from the ferry terminal in Cannobio and study it very carefully. It will be accurate but there are all sorts of notes of exceptions on different days etc., especially market days (it’s in English as well as Italian).
After Cannobio move down towards Verbania which is a good ferry terminal for crossing the lake or visiting the must see small islands off of Stresa (Isola Bella etc.). Villa Taranto at Verbania is well worth a visit. Good trips inland from Stresa and Lake Orta is a nice car trip.
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Sirmione is also accessible by pedestrian ferry from Bardolino and Garda on the eastern shore.
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Morning TG, been away from CT for a few days as we have our MH buddies here for a few days to plan our 2019 holidays! Just looked over the last few days posts and noticed the comments re prices and wondered if you are looking at the ‘ACSI’ main site or the Campingcard site as the dearest on there is €19?
At the time of your trip almost all Campingcard sites will be available, their 2019 dates are not yet available but we are using this years dates to get an idea for planning, Like others we would not rule out other sites but all the ones I mentioned before are, or rather were, Camping Cheques or ACSI-Campingcard.
Re your request for confirmation it is worth it I can only repeat what I said earlier that if we had to pick one site for the rest of our holidays it would be Bella Italia but equally it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
We have done many trips that are similar that what you are thinking of with stays in the West on Maggiore and also at Garda and used both tunnels and Swiss motorways which is not cheap but after the first trip doing this always felt it was worth it.
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Hi A&J, hope your planning is coming on well. I have been on both the Acsi sites looking at what is in the areas we are hoping to visit. I am also looking at Google.
Nice to hear you say that the area is worth the visit. We will have 4 of the C&MC vouchers to use but looking at the brochure none of the sites around the lakes are listed so no use there. Switzerland we might decide to spend a week or so in if we decide to get the vignette and travel through that way, there are a few sites in Switzerland that we can use the vouchers, although looking at all options.
Its really the lack of decent cycling that's putting me off a bit, I'm so used to France, Spain and Germany having such great cycling it will disappointing if we take the bikes and don't get the opportunity to use them.
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Lazise and Bardolino are also nice spots on the eastern shore of Garda with cycle ways between.
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I would rather stay home than spend time on a campsite like this one at Lake Garda
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You and me both ET, did places like that in Italy when we had the boys with us 35 years ago, not looking for anything like that now.
Lazise and Bardolino are also nice spots on the eastern shore of Garda with cycle ways between.
Thanks chasncath, I'll look at that. I saw your post on Lake d'Iseo it looked nice too, I've read a fair bit about it and fancy a stop there.
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We've always had a soft spot for Iseo: it's an 'Italian' resort with a smattering of Brits and Cloggies. It was always our first stop descending from the Frejus tunnel on our way to Croatia.
Some more photos. The Leon d'Oro just by the pier was our favourite restaurant. Looking north from Iseo you can't see the cement factory on the western shore!
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Hi TG, looking at somewhere different for a stay on Garda recalled a site that a club centre ran a rally on a year or so ago.
The site was Fornella but looking on Google maps shows that there are a lot of sites in the area between Desanzano and Salo which may be suitable for you.
I usually just type 'camping' into the address box but also found that simply zooming in and then following the lakeside shows up sites that dont come up using that method.
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Hi TG, was looking just now for bike trails and came across as site called komoot. This is one of the rides as an example;
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but you never know how things work out do you.