European Toll Tags

I think the key is that if you are 3500kgs and under things are pretty straight forward. The vignettes for both Switzerland and Austria can be purchased at the border for Switzerland and at Service Stations as you approach Austria. Whilst we had a Tag for France we never bothered with Italy. In France toll sections distances between paying tolls is relatively short. However in Italy our experience was that you took a ticket on entry to the toll motorway and paid when you left, there were no intermediate payments needed which perhaps makes the need for a Tag not so important in my view. Obviously if you can get one that handles both France and Italy that is a bit of a win, win situation. The Tolltickets website was a lot of information about tolls and vignettes and you can purchase from them in advance but they will make a service charge which you have to balance against the convenience. 

David

In 2022, we had a two month trip to Sicily in our 7.5m 3,850kg motorhome which included France, Switzerland and Italy.  We covered about 4,200 miles travelling via Eurotunnel, Reims, Langres and Basel, crossing under the Alps through the St Gotthard tunnel.

In Italy, we skirted Milan towards Lake Garda and then drove down the Adriatic coast from Rimini to Puglia and then across to Messina where we caught the "turn up and go" ferry (cost about £50 each way).  A complete circuit of Sicily then followed (about 1,000 miles) - including stopping in a MH Aire in the very centre of Palermo where driving is not for the faint-hearted - before following the Mediterranean coast via Salerno, Rome, Livorno and Genoa.

We traversed the Alps again via the Mont Blanc tunnel (about a £50 toll for our MH) and wended our way back to Calais on the French motorway system and N roads via Macon, Nevers, Orleans, Chartres and Rouen. 

To cover the french tolls for this trip, we used our Sanef Tag (Classe 2) which bills us monthly and collects payment by monthly direct debit from our UK bank account.  For Switzerland we bought a vignette on-line using the Via App;  this included use of the St Gotthard tunnel and cost about £25 for 10 days use in a 12 month period.  In Italy (including Sicily) motorway toll booths are not so frequent so we took a ticket and paid on exit using our Halifax Clarity Card.

We also travel to Spain every year but have given up our Bip & Go tag (from Sanef) as most of the tolls down the east coast motorways have been abolished and many of the toll stations are being dismantled.  We now just use our Clarity Card for the few tolls we encounter.

Planning how to pay for tolls when travelling throughout Europe can be quite a headache but hopefully the info above will help.

Happy travels 

That summary is correct for vehicles within the size limits.

But for Switzerland heavy motorhomes over 3500 kg need to pay heavy vehicle tax instead of getting a vignette 

And for Austria those heavy motorhomes over 3500 kg need to get a GO Box instead of a vignette 

And in France motorhomes or caravans taller than 3 metres high will very likely find that a normal tag won’t let them through a toll booth barrier 

And in Italy they calculate tolls by measuring the height of vehicle above the front axle - and charge extra for twin axle caravans and tag axle motorhomes.

It ain’t simple.

"Jim, You were lucky to get away with class 2 with a 3850Kgm motorhome. I stand no chance with my motorhome and have always been billed class 3 at the booths. Perhaps the height (3.4m) is a give away rather than weight although I am aware some toll gates are equipped with rolling weigh bridges."

PD. Fortunately both my previous 4,250kg Autocruise Gleneagle and my current 3,850kg Dethleffs Advantage were/are just under 3 metres tall.  This was one of my essential buying criteria.

FG. As far as measuring height is concerned, it's done automatically as you enter the booth, but it's probably not centimetre perfect so you might get lucky and just "scrape" through as Classe 2 without needing to press the call button to get it changed.