In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Belgium is good, nice fast motorways and no tolls. Then Luxembourg, and then a bit of France (down to Strasbourg), across the Rhine into Germany and down to Switz. (The Swiss m'ways are not toll free - you have to pay a yearly sum for a windscreen sticker, but I wouldn't like to not use them!)
The French bit can be done on routes nationales, though I don't know how easily.
Once you are into Italy it isn't very sensible to use the 'red' SS roads except on a Sunday, because they are very heavily trafficked in the main, especially around the major cities. But if you have time, selective use of the toll roads and then using the regional SP 'yellow' roads can get you around scenically if not very rapidly.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Calais - Lille - Namur - Luxembourg - Metz - Nancy - [all motorway] - Epinal - Mulhouse [dual carriage way and shortish length of single carriageway] - Basel - Lucerne - Italy
Only cost Swiss Carnet - valid one calendar year - costs about 40 Swiss Francs [until you hit the Italian Autostradas]
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In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=alan h;107426]Calais - Lille - Namur - Luxembourg - Metz - Nancy - [all motorway] - Epinal - Mulhouse [dual carriage way and shortish length of single carriageway] - Basel - Lucerne - Italy
Only cost Swiss Carnet - valid one calendar year - costs about 40 Swiss Francs [until you hit the Italian Autostradas]
.[/quote]
Almost the same on my trip back after Christmas except from Epinal I did Besancon-Pontarlier-Lausanne-Grt St Bernard as I live that end of Italy. No tolls apart from the Swiss sticker I had already and the tunnel (where I have a cheaper multi-pass). Cheaper fuel in Luxembourg, and although I didn't plan to I got to the Aosta valley and home in one day.
Swiss Sticker
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 01/07/2009 - 18:33In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Runs from 1 Dec to end January so you can get 14 months.
Only checks at Swiss border (on 2 return journeys) seem to be whether you have the sticker.
Chris
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Very thankful for all your replies, thank you, will plan our route with confidence!
COLLINACONVALLE
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Di niente! Just another thought to anybody coming through the pay tunnels (Mt Blanc, Frejus, Great st Bernardo etc. is to buy an abbonnamento of 10/20 tickets as it saves a lot. They are valid 1 or two years and are not specific to an individual vehicle (although obviously to type of vehicle).
Secondly, if travelling through Switzerland try and buy your pass there as they don't charge 20% VAT. When I bought my pass I borrowed a friend's pass one way and bought mine in Sw.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=sueflauto;107547].......... if travelling through Switzerland try and buy your pass there as they don't charge 20% VAT. When I bought my pass I borrowed a friend's pass one way and bought mine in Sw.[/quote]
they do appear on e-bay from time to time
at present there is only one - due to expire at the end of January - but more usually appear as the year progresses
[url]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Swiss-Motorway-Vignette-Tax-Disc_W0QQitemZ250352164276QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Tickets_Tickets_LE?hash=item250352164276&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318[/url]
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Moved to : Italiauncovered.co.uk
[FONT=Arial]I have found [URL="http://www.viamichelin.com/"]http://www.viamichelin.com [/URL]very helpful for journey planning. Their journey planner lets you enter preferences such as avoiding toll roads[/FONT].