3875 Driving To Italy

These will give you a route, and estimated driving time.

I find the Mapquest estimated time to be more accurate than the RAC. The RAC work it out on the assumption that your average motorway speed will be 60mph. [IMG]http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/6237/drive8tj.gif[/IMG]

[url]http://www.mapquest.co.uk/mq/directions/mapbydirection.do[/url]

[url]http://rp.rac.co.uk/rp/routeplanner[/url]

Suggest trying also [url]www.mappy.com[/url] and [url]www.googleearth.com[/url] all the different map/route planners give slightly different routes, so you can look at them all and decide which looks appealing, assuming you might want to stop en-route it is possible to choose the route that passes the places of interest to you.

We are planning on driving to Marche in August, and have marked each of the suggested routes on our european map, will probably decide on the day.

Not sure if you are taking your dog - obviously you will want to plan ahead a bit more esp in terms of where to stay.

[QUOTE=johnt5152]I am planning to drive to Italy (Umbria) in September with Dog, probably from Cherbourg.
Any suggestions on best route, [/QUOTE]

Its probably worth avoiding a northerly route via Switzerland unless you are sure what the Swiss rules are on transit of dogs through their non-EEC country. Other can probably advise on this.

I travelled to Italy and back with my dog a couple of weeks ago. We travelled thro' Switzerland with absolutely no problem via the San Gotthard tunnel. We overnighted at a country farm hotel near Strasbourg and a magnificent coaching inn near Varese.

I can pm you with further details if you want.

I posted some time ago about our regular route to Rome via the San Gottard and the problem that many Italian hotels do not accept dogs. The route through Switzerland posed no problems although you could ensure you have the back up paperwork - we were never asked for it -check our my previous post on the subject and enjoy the trip

I am currently planning a route from Gloucestershire to Puglia by bike which Autoroute seems to think will require 2 overnights! The only problem is the range on the bike is only just over 100 miles, and I hear that the french petrol stations close at 18:00! So I have to get through france before that time but as I hope to arrive in France by Chunnel at midnight, I should be OK as Belgium is less than that distance - just hope their petrol stations are 24 hours!!

Travelled to Abruzzo with dog ( and wife) a few weeks ago. Stayed in Dover, Metz ( novotel in centre) and Como ( 4* ,5 mins from Lake). Travelled through England , France, Germany, Switzerland ( swiss only concerned that we had the car tax , remeber your swiss francs) and Italy and wasn't asked for passport ( dog or wife) in any of these countries. All the places we stayed gladly accepted dogs. Try expedia.co.uk and specify in criteria "accept pets". It's how we located our hotels.

i agree with most of the comments... especially those suggested by frazer... did the trip with dog... but didnt plan ahead so much just turned up at the hotels with dog in hand and it was all fine... even allowed if we chose to to keep the dog under the table in the restaurants.... of course without planning you might hit the odd difficulty... i would suggest rare...

as regards petrol stations and the bike rider... if you are on motorways then they stay open all night.... if not it will take you a lot longer than two nights of accomodation and yes in off the main road situations it is sometimes hard to find people about but most if not all stations have a sort of self service system...you place your euro note in the machine and press the amount and which pump and then you get your fill up... obviously sensible to have a supply of smaller denomination notes...

or even better... cant you get a bigger tank fitted before you leave..or is that a stupid question

the one thing above all with any dogs is that they are well behaved and the owner has good control over them ... we have a bunch of italian dogs now which i wouldnt take out of the garden let alone on a trip... but then they have mostly been battered to hell and back and have a reasonable excuse for being nervous with people..... especially for some strange reason italian speakers... and there seem to be a lot here

[QUOTE=DaveJ]I am currently planning a route from Gloucestershire to Puglia by bike which Autoroute seems to think will require 2 overnights! The only problem is the range on the bike is only just over 100 miles, and I hear that the french petrol stations close at 18:00! So I have to get through france before that time but as I hope to arrive in France by Chunnel at midnight, I should be OK as Belgium is less than that distance - just hope their petrol stations are 24 hours!![/QUOTE]

We used Autoroute to drive from Leeds to Villa Minozzo in Emilia Romagna and it took us 36 hours! The instructions were wrong and they seemed to coincide with particular hotels en route. Only took us 13 hours coming back from our house near VM to Calais using directions from a friend, Won't be using them again but hope your journey goes ok.

Lorraine:rolleyes:

nothing really wrong with autoroute, its all down to how the user sets it up.
as you can specify speed, what type of route and areas to avoid, so it is
pretty good.

alternative. viamichelin this gives you tolls for france as well as speed cameras.

Travelled to Italy last year, with cat in a dog cage in the back of an estate car. Purchased TOMTOM 700 before we went, and just put address in and it took us to our door, and has been such a help since we have lived in Italy. Drove 800 kms, there and back to a friends house last week, and just put the name of the Via where they live, into the machine and, it took us there no problems.They really help when there is a distance to cover, and stop that anxious feeling, we probably all get on a journey we have no experience of, GOOD LUCK PS We did not stop drove constantly, just stopped for fuel.

[QUOTE=brendon collins]Travelled to Italy last year, with cat in a dog cage in the back of an estate car. Purchased TOMTOM 700 before we went, and just put address in and it took us to our door, and has been such a help since we have lived in Italy. Drove 800 kms, there and back to a friends house last week, and just put the name of the Via where they live, into the machine and, it took us there no problems.They really help when there is a distance to cover, and stop that anxious feeling, we probably all get on a journey we have no experience of, GOOD LUCK PS We did not stop drove constantly, just stopped for fuel.[/QUOTE]

yep these sat navs are ok, and yes they can be very accurate, but really
putting your total trust in them isn't always a good thing.
yes they will get you there, but you have no way of knowing if the route
you took is the best route.
for instance used tomtom 700 yesterday, [its in my lorry] leicester to
beckenham south london. if i had left it to tomtom, then it would have cost
me a good extra hour to do the journey, were it did come in handy was when i got nearer to the address.

i also use viamichelin on my pda, but always start with a map on my computer
to look at all the alternatives, before deciding which route to risk....

[QUOTE=brendon collins]Travelled to Italy last year, with cat in a dog cage in the back of an estate car. Purchased TOMTOM 700 before we went, and just put address in and it took us to our door, and has been such a help since we have lived in Italy. Drove 800 kms, there and back to a friends house last week, and just put the name of the Via where they live, into the machine and, it took us there no problems.They really help when there is a distance to cover, and stop that anxious feeling, we probably all get on a journey we have no experience of, GOOD LUCK PS We did not stop drove constantly, just stopped for fuel.[/QUOTE]

That 'shortest route' button on these electroc=nic devices can be an absolute nightmare. Went from Abruzzo to Trieste last year and ended up taking the coast road.

Full of pot holes and lorries were swerving like F1 cars before the start of a race to avoid them. In some places you actually had to drive round the road surface whilst driving in massive pot holes. Not a good route. Looked at the map and took the motorway all the way back. Much longer, but much faster.

Best thing to do is treat sat nav as a tool. It works well, but doesn't use common sense.

Andy

[quote=Ric]These will give you a route, and estimated driving time.

I find the Mapquest estimated time to be more accurate than the RAC. The RAC work it out on the assumption that your average motorway speed will be 60mph. [/quote]

Thanks for the Mapquest recommendation. I really like the way they set out the route and the map. Only problem is I can't work out how to factor in specific places en route. Am I missing something or do you just have to set it up as if each is a separate trip and then aggregate it in your head?

[QUOTE=DaveJ]I am currently planning a route from Gloucestershire to Puglia by bike which Autoroute seems to think will require 2 overnights! The only problem is the range on the bike is only just over 100 miles, and I hear that the french petrol stations close at 18:00! So I have to get through france before that time but as I hope to arrive in France by Chunnel at midnight, I should be OK as Belgium is less than that distance - just hope their petrol stations are 24 hours!![/QUOTE]

Someone's given you duff gen there. There's a 24hr station right outside the Eurotunnel exit in Calais and petrol stations on motorways are definitely open all night. Those on A roads often close at night, but I don't think 6pm is the norm. That's some bike you must have. I drive a Lincoln with a 4.6 litre V8 engine ane even that gives me over 300 miles - but I do have a 70 litre tank.

[QUOTE=johnt5152]I am planning to drive to Italy (Umbria) in September with Dog, probably from Cherbourg.
Any suggestions on best route, good place to stay en-route (that accepts dogs), how long I should allow or any other comments would be very much apprecaited. Thanks[/QUOTE]

Worth checking whether San Gotthard tunnel is expected to be open if you go via Switzerland. It wasn't when we travelled earlier this month (something the route map from AA/RAC did not tell us), necessitating a detour via San Bernadino pass, which is itself undergoing overhaul and is the source of delay. Avoid routes (i.e.Mway) through Switzerland that take you through Basle, Lucerne or Zurich, they are pretty much all undergoing major roadworks and also add time to your journey.

By the way, no need for Swiss Francs, they will happily take Euros in payment for the Annual Road Tax, (E30) at least they did from us in Basle. Try driving through the lakes area during daylight hours if you can, Milan motorways probably best negotiated after business hours; can be very busy.

[QUOTE=Poetica]By the way, no need for Swiss Francs, they will happily take Euros in payment for the Annual Road Tax...[/QUOTE]

We're talking about the Swiss here. They'd probably take Thai Bhat or Chinese Renminbi.

...Wouldn't be too sure about getting a good exchange rate, though. :D

Al

[QUOTE=AllanMason]We're talking about the Swiss here. They'd probably take Thai Bhat or Chinese Renminbi.

...Wouldn't be too sure about getting a good exchange rate, though. :D

Al[/QUOTE]

For E30 hardly worth currency shopping!

I don't know whether this has been mentioned before but [url]http://www.autostrade.it/en/index.html[/url] Very good website!!!

Ciao Ciao

[LEFT]Thanks for the website - didn't know about it and will be very useful.

Poetic - thanks for the information about the Gotthart - we are aiming to use it in a week's time so will keep a track on developments now. Understand they have had to blast rock away after a heavy rockfall.

Was the old pass still open or were you unable to use that either?

[/LEFT]

[QUOTE=Poetica]Worth checking whether San Gotthard tunnel is expected to be open if you go via Switzerland. It wasn't when we travelled earlier this month (something the route map from AA/RAC did not tell us), necessitating a detour via San Bernadino pass, which is itself undergoing overhaul and is the source of delay. Avoid routes (i.e.Mway) through Switzerland that take you through Basle, Lucerne or Zurich, they are pretty much all undergoing major roadworks and also add time to your journey.

By the way, no need for Swiss Francs, they will happily take Euros in payment for the Annual Road Tax, (E30) at least they did from us in Basle. Try driving through the lakes area during daylight hours if you can, Milan motorways probably best negotiated after business hours; can be very busy.[/QUOTE]

but the viamichelin one, would have,or rather does....

[QUOTE=Flyingpigs][LEFT]Thanks for the website - didn't know about it and will be very useful.

Poetic - thanks for the information about the Gotthart - we are aiming to use it in a week's time so will keep a track on developments now. Understand they have had to blast rock away after a heavy rockfall.

Was the old pass still open or were you unable to use that either?

[/LEFT][/QUOTE]

Sorry don't know about the pass. For the return journey we got relatives to check on the web for utd info on the status of the Gotthard tunnel and this was inaccurate, (supposed to be open but it wasn't - overrun with works). Don't know where they checked though. It's just a note of caution in case you have fixed channel crossing times and have a tight timetable. Giovanni seems to have the answer from viamichelin. Haven' tried them but will do next time. (But no hurry .... it's a long drive!)

I did some checking myself. Conclusion is for the moment that they might open up the Gotthard again middle of this week. The explosion went well, now they have to check whether everything's stable and then start cleaning the highway (which they plan to do on Monday). I hope this is going to happen because i have to go to Tuscany on Saturday. If not the alternative is between passing through Zurich and then the San Bernardino pass or do the Gotthard anyway .. passing over the two little passes (Sustenpass and the other one i forgot). If you go on the Viamichelin site, they'll give as adviced road the Bernardino and as quickest the two passes. With a caravan one should not take the passes from what i hear.
Well, let's hope they just quickly open the Gotthard again ...
Carl
[url]www.vacanzelinguistiche.com[/url]

[QUOTE=Poetica]For E30 hardly worth currency shopping![/QUOTE]

They'll accept a £20 note for the little motorway sticker thing, and give you 5 francs change which you can buy an ice cream with at the petrol station. The one petrol station I used while travelling through Switzerland also accepted sterling or euros so you should have no currency problems at all.

[LEFT]Carl

Sounds like we may be a little ahead of you - we are getting the ferry Friday evening and have concluded that if the website gives the tunnel as open we will go for it - if you would like to PM your mobile number would be happy to text you if we encounter problems - or to give you the go-ahead if its all clear. Am concerned about roadworks in Switzerland in general but cannot justify any other route cost-wise as we plan to go again in September and purchasing a one-off vignette in Switzerland is cheaper than multiple tunnel charges for the Frejus, Mont Blanc, etc.

Last year due to the flooding we did the Brenner which worked out quite well and was quite a cheap route toll-wise. However it was longer and we want to find the quickest route through.

Penny

[/LEFT]

Thanks very much for all the info.

I was "planning" to drive from Cherbourg (mid morning) then overnight somewhere around Lyon, then via Mt Blanc tunnel to Umbria the next day.

Any comments on how feasible / sensible this is? Thanks John

[QUOTE=Flyingpigs][LEFT]Carl

Sounds like we may be a little ahead of you - we are getting the ferry Friday evening and have concluded that if the website gives the tunnel as open we will go for it - if you would like to PM your mobile number would be happy to text you if we encounter problems - or to give you the go-ahead if its all clear. Am concerned about roadworks in Switzerland in general but cannot justify any other route cost-wise as we plan to go again in September and purchasing a one-off vignette in Switzerland is cheaper than multiple tunnel charges for the Frejus, Mont Blanc, etc.

Last year due to the flooding we did the Brenner which worked out quite well and was quite a cheap route toll-wise. However it was longer and we want to find the quickest route through.

Penny

[/LEFT][/QUOTE]

really would like some info on the brenner pass way. we have time on our
side, so taking an alternative route to garda, or from garda is an option.

[LEFT]We stayed in a hotel south of Munich as we had someone to see there and then left after breakfast. You have to pay for a vignette for Austrian motorways, similar to Switzerland, but you can choose the duration so you have to decide if you want it for a return trip or not.

However, the vignette does not cover the cost of the pass. We intended to take the old pass road but left it too late and ended up at the toll booths and couldn't turn round. On the return trip we used the old pass and it was a lovely journey - very easy - would thoroughly recommend it. You will have to study the map carefully as they seem to want to funnel everyone onto the motorway pass going from Austria to Italy. Coming from Italy there was no such problem.

The other side we turned off the motorway and took old roads as we were heading for south of Venice. It was a lovely route but in hindsight for speed should have stuck to the motorways. But gave us somewhere nice to sit by a lake and have lunch!

Have a good trip.[/LEFT]

[QUOTE=Carl]I did some checking myself. Conclusion is for the moment that they might open up the Gotthard again middle of this week. The explosion went well, now they have to check whether everything's stable and then start cleaning the highway (which they plan to do on Monday). I hope this is going to happen because i have to go to Tuscany on Saturday. If not the alternative is between passing through Zurich and then the San Bernardino pass or do the Gotthard anyway .. passing over the two little passes (Sustenpass and the other one i forgot). If you go on the Viamichelin site, they'll give as adviced road the Bernardino and as quickest the two passes. With a caravan one should not take the passes from what i hear.
Well, let's hope they just quickly open the Gotthard again ...
Carl
[url]www.vacanzelinguistiche.com[/url][/QUOTE]

never a good idea to take on high passes with a caravan. on the viamichelin
site, when you use there route system, you can actually put in whether you
are towing or not....

[QUOTE=Flyingpigs][LEFT]We stayed in a hotel south of Munich as we had someone to see there and then left after breakfast. You have to pay for a vignette for Austrian motorways, similar to Switzerland, but you can choose the duration so you have to decide if you want it for a return trip or not.

However, the vignette does not cover the cost of the pass. We intended to take the old pass road but left it too late and ended up at the toll booths and couldn't turn round. On the return trip we used the old pass and it was a lovely journey - very easy - would thoroughly recommend it. You will have to study the map carefully as they seem to want to funnel everyone onto the motorway pass going from Austria to Italy. Coming from Italy there was no such problem.

The other side we turned off the motorway and took old roads as we were heading for south of Venice. It was a lovely route but in hindsight for speed should have stuck to the motorways. But gave us somewhere nice to sit by a lake and have lunch!

Have a good trip.[/LEFT][/QUOTE]

thank you for that, so there is an old brenner pass. sounds interesting.

[LEFT]Just read that Gotthard shut until at least 8/9 July or maybe longer - looks like we may be on the Brenner after all.[/LEFT]

[QUOTE=Flyingpigs][LEFT]Just read that Gotthard shut until at least 8/9 July or maybe longer - looks like we may be on the Brenner after all.[/LEFT][/QUOTE]

if its not too rude a question, is going through france to dole, near dijon,then
cross country into switz and aosta, not an option.although i have no
idea as to where in Italy you are going, so it maynot be suitable.

or even your swiss route, but then divert to chur and drop into Italy that
way. not that i have done this one, but considered it for a dolimite run i
intended to do.

[QUOTE=Flyingpigs][LEFT]Just read that Gotthard shut until at least 8/9 July or maybe longer - looks like we may be on the Brenner after all.[/LEFT][/QUOTE]

Hi

Can you clarify where you read that please!!!! I'm planning on going through it on Saturday so I need to know urgently!!!!!!!!!!

The official website implies it is open!

[QUOTE=Official Web Site][url=http://www.gotthard-strassentunnel.ch/webseite_e/0e_frameseite.htm]ANNOUNCEMENT

The Gotthard road tunnel will be closed for traffic as follows:

- June 12 to 13 2006 (2 nights) from 8.00 pm to 05.00 am
- June 19 to 22 2006 (4 nights) from 8.00 pm to 05.00 am
- September 11 to 14 2006 (4 nights) from 8.00 pm to 05.00 am
- September 18 to 21 2006 (4 nights) from 8.00 pm to 05.00 am
- September 25 to 28 2006 (4 nights) from 8.00 pm to 05.00 am[/url][/QUOTE]

However..............

The webcams don't show any cars passing through!!

This message is currenly only appearing on the German page:

[QUOTE]VERKEHRSSPERRUNG

Die Transitachsen am Gotthard sind aus Sicherheitsgründen infolge Felssturzgefahr für jeglichen Verkehr gesperrt. Die Durchfahrt ist nicht möglich.

Die Wiedereröffnung ist für Freitag, 30. Juni 2006, vorgesehen.
[/QUOTE]

....which Babelfish is translating as:

[I]TRAFFIC BLOCKAGE The transit axles at the God hard are closed for safety reasons due to rockslide danger for any traffic. The passage is not possible. The reopening is intended for Friday, 30 June 2006.[/I]

Edit: It's also on the Italian page, but not on French or English........

[LEFT][URL="http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2068702,00.html"]http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2068702,00.html[/URL]

This says that it won't open until 8/9 July at best and September at worst!

We probably won't decide a route until we are on the ferry. Quickest route is through Mont Blanc or Frejus tunnels but they work out very expensive. Route down to Frejus is very quick - we skied there this winter.

Last year we did Brenner, because everywhere else seemed to be under water and were surprised how quick it was - came back that way too, but we are heading for the East coast.

All options welcomed. In the past we have probably done every single swiss pass - the passes are not the problem - its the roads leading to them that are so slow - fine if you are sightseeing but not if you have to get down to Puglia!

We'll all have to compare notes on our return - every year we have the same trouble over which route to go.

Safe driving everyone.[/LEFT]

[LEFT]Re-reading the article it says July 9 and doesn't mention September - must have seen that somewhere else - have been to Sainsburys in the meantime and mind on other things! I definitely read somewhere that it may be September.[/LEFT]

Seems this is the horrific reason it closed:

[IMG]http://img322.imageshack.us/img322/4076/capt2b98f99241df4a90809c38dfd9.jpg[/IMG]

[url=http://www.worldtravelwatch.com/archives/2006/06/switzerland-st-gotthard-tunnel-closed.shtml]This site says closed until June 25th[/url].... maybe I'll have to give them a ring? :confused:

edit: I think it will be opened tomorrow as per their website. They've had a week to clear up the debris after the [url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/search/detail/Rock_blast_clears_way_for_Gotthard_traffic.html?siteSect=881&sid=6839669&cKey=1151157610000]controlled explosion[/url]. Video of news article including the blast [url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/multimedia/index.html?siteSect=15002&video=y&ne_id=6842677]here[/url].

[LEFT]If you find out anything, please post - we leave at around 2pm. However, I think most information is not being updated - look at the dates of reports. Also the standard traffic information giving details of closures for roadworks seems to be prepared months in advance and not updated. For Gotthard the Swiss info on one page was detailing closure due to the blast but further down on roadworks was listing the nights it was going to close - implying it was open the rest of the time. On the tunnel listings it was also shown as open - think that is meant only to indicate open/shut for summer/winter.

Grateful for any further info as really would be our best way to go.[/LEFT]

It's open!

Check the webcams: [url]http://www.gotthard-strassentunnel.ch/webseite_e/0e_frameseite.htm[/url]

There is now traffic passing through!

[LEFT]Great - quite a relief. Thanks for the info.

Have a good drive.[/LEFT]