100 Driving from the UK to Abruzzo

hi mikerry

any information you have about your trip to Lanciano would be useful because i'm going mid April to drop our car and then in summer with a van.
i've been told that France is the place to stop at a Formular 1 hotel, good value (cheap) [url]http://www.hotelformule1.com/formule1/index.html[/url]

thanks
lib

If the main instance is simply that of cost vs.time then this may not be of use.if on the other hand there are other things in life i would personally suggest you take a ferry to a Belgian port (these cost a lot less than your calais/dover folkstone ones but take longer.Enjoy excellent fish meals/sea food in Oostende or Zeebrugen then take the motorway to Germany ,straight down (no tolls and cheaper petrol) Austria ( a bit) Brennapass - Verona-Bologna - Ancona - abruzzo.. And suprise it may cost you less is absolutely direct,no tolls and nice-have a good trip (we always do)

My husband is travelling out next Sunday to go to le Marche. We thought we might take your advice but we can only see crossing from Hull to Belgium. We live in Essex, quite near Harwich. Are there any other crossing to Belgium that you know of that won't be travelling North to come South?

Hi - we drove to Southern Marche last summer. From Calais it took us 8 hours via Reims and Dijon to Chamonix. We stayed at the Novotel outside Chamonix because we had a dog. It was ok but little by way of atmosphere and too far out of Chamonix to enjoy it when feeling tired. Argentiere just above Chamonix is a small detour but worth it. We left at 8am the next morning through the Mont Blanc tunnel and south of Milan to Bologne and Rimini - then down the coast road to Pedaso by 3.30pm. The costs one way for a normal size car were as follows: Tolls 130 Euros (includes tunnel of 30 euros), Petrol 200 Euros, Ferry 100 Euros + food and hotel. It ended up pretty much around 1500 Euros (£1000 for the return trip). The journey was pretty event free, and we made sure that we stopped every 2 hours to change driver, walk the dog and swig an expresso. Total mileage on this route was 1033 from Calais to Pedaso. The only thing we are changing this coming summer is to stop at a different place overnight on the return journey. We felt more able to do more driving on the first day and wanted to get further up into France, stopping in Chamonix on the return was not enough and left a big day on the 2nd day due to the ferry and drive in the UK Hope this helps. Jane

Try [if landing at Calais]

Pop up into Belgium [about as 'high' as Dunkirk] and head inland on the motorways past Namur etc and 'down' into Luxemburg. Head due South from Luxemburg into France past Metz and Nancy.

[So far it has been all on free motorways - and its significantly shorter than heading down to Lyon]

Keep going south on free motorway/dual carriage way past Epinal and continue to Mulhouse near the Swiss border. The last bit of the route is a beautiful [non-dual carrigeway] over the mountains - a very easy drive.

From Mulhouse go [via free motorway] into Switzerland [at Basle] and go through Switzerland on the motorways into Italy [Gottard Tunnel]. The only cost so far [from Calais] is £20 for the Swiss motorway carnet [valid one calender year]

Once in Italy - usual charges apply.

There are plenty of places to overnight stop - we use Mulhouse on the way down to Italy and either Epinal or Nancy on the way back.

When in Luxemburg [the country - not the city - you bypass that] - fill with petrol [cheapest on the route], and then top up in Switzerland.

have a good trip

I was going to go that route via Metz this summer - but decided against it due to not knowing the policy for dogs travelling through Switzeerland

We have now decided to go via Troyes and Turin - I'll post up the costs after the journey if this thread is still alaive

Any advice about our getting our cat to Italy. He has his passport but what would be the best way to get to Ancona/Pescara??? Janet

Any comments on the following possible route from a Ryan!! air user .
Ferry booked to Boulogne-N42-A26-REIMS-A4-METZ-A4-STRASBOURG-A35-MULHOUSE-A35-BASLE-E35-GOTTARD-E35-MILANO-A1-PIACENZA-A1-MODENA-A14-ANCONA , have tried to stick to main roads for ease of navigation and driving (RHD) , cheers Geoff .

Just an aside to this thread.

As there seems to be many people travelling by road to various parts of Italy on a regular basis & many of us who have homes there, i thought it might be an idea for those going - with spare capacity - to let the forum know when they are going and i for one would pay for the odd item to be taken.
We have english speaking italian friends who would take delivery.
I, for one, have a single light fitting, suitcase of towels, linen for one double bed etc. Items that we have subsequently sourced in England that we could not find in Italy or were too expensive out there.

I am looking for a man and van to bring over my garden!! A free holiday and petrol paid for a kind sould who would like to do such a thing... in October. Janet

[QUOTE=geoffking39]Any comments on the following possible route from a Ryan!! air user .
Ferry booked to Boulogne-N42-A26-REIMS-A4-METZ-A4-STRASBOURG-A35-MULHOUSE-A35-BASLE-E35-GOTTARD-E35-MILANO-A1-PIACENZA-A1-MODENA-A14-ANCONA , have tried to stick to main roads for ease of navigation and driving (RHD) , cheers Geoff .[/QUOTE]

We have done that route from channel tunnel, it is worth buying the pass for Switzerland as this is an easy and fairly stress free drive south. We find Milano worse than Roma!! We live in Lazio so just continue down the A1.
Enjoy your drive.

As for Rob, amazed you need to bring towels, bedlinen and light fittings! We have sourced all these things , made in Italy and reasonably priced.

David & Linda,
I think you missed the point, or maybe i gave you a bad example, if so i apologise.
Try this one; We still live in the UK & don't leave for Italy 'till the end of the year. As such we are still using items here that we will eventually want to send to italy -personal items - treasured items, etc.
Try this one; Family relations (Grandparents) die and items have been willed to you.
Try this one; Yes, there are items italy that don't fit the bill & the item can be bought in the UK.
.....Or maybe all i was asking was "if someone was driving to Italy wouldn't it be a good idea, if they had the room, to be able to help someone, who was local in Italy, ship the ODD item out.
Try getting a broader view guys.
Rob

[QUOTE=Rob]Just an aside to this thread.

As there seems to be many people travelling by road to various parts of Italy on a regular basis & many of us who have homes there, i thought it might be an idea for those going - with spare capacity - to let the forum know when they are going and i for one would pay for the odd item to be taken.
We have english speaking italian friends who would take delivery.
I, for one, have a single light fitting, suitcase of towels, linen for one double bed etc. Items that we have subsequently sourced in England that we could not find in Italy or were too expensive out there.[/QUOTE]

Rob, we too have things we would like brought out from UK that Ryanair won't take. Soda stream refills being one exotic example. Anyone willing to help please be in touch.

[QUOTE=Mikerry]We are travelling in a couple of weeks for the first time by road to our house in bell'[b]Abruzzo[/b].

We wondered if anyone has any tips on the best route to take with a 3.5 tonne van. We have a route from the AA's website which will take us about 16 hours once we cross the channel (Calais to Lanciano).

We want to stop off maybe in the south of France/Swiss border overnight so if anyone knows of a decent guest house they could recommend it would be much appreciated.
[/code][/QUOTE]

Ah well, a bit late for you but we have two routes:

Dunkerque, Lille, Namur, Metz, Strasbourg, into Germany, Basel, Como, Milan, Bologna, towards Bari, past Ancona and into Abruzzo.

or

from Boulogne, Reims, Dijon, Lyon, Chambery, Frejus Tunnel, Turin, Milan and then as above.

We don't use Calais because the Chunnel and the ferry companies charge rip-off prices. Norfolk Line and the fast ferry to Boulogne are both very reasonable and fast services. Usually starting at the crack of dawn we can be in Strasbourg for an overnight stay or Lyon. Then the next day sees us driving the rest of the way home (a little north of you, we are near Teramo).

It's impossible to avoid all tolls unless you want to go very slowly. Believe me you don't even want to try Alba Adriatica to Pescara on the coastal Via Nazionale. OTOH it is possible to do Perugia to Abruzzo toll free, very interesting route across the Apennines with some interesting sights along the way, but very, very slow.

[QUOTE=geoffking39]Any comments on the following possible route from a Ryan!! air user .
Ferry booked to Boulogne-N42-A26-REIMS-A4-METZ-A4-STRASBOURG-A35-MULHOUSE-A35-BASLE-E35-GOTTARD-E35-MILANO-A1-PIACENZA-A1-MODENA-A14-ANCONA , have tried to stick to main roads for ease of navigation and driving (RHD) , cheers Geoff .[/QUOTE]

The only changes I woud make to that are:

1. Don't use the A35 Strasbourg to Mulhouse, cross into Germany and use the A5 direct into Basel. When you get to the border, ignore all the signs and keep left, making sure when you get to the border that you select the correct lane so that you can pay your vignette. Be prepared to be robbed because the border guards take money in euro and give change in SFr.

2. To get to Abruzzo do *not* use the A1, it's a horrible road compared to the A14.

3. Be careful as you approach Ancona where the motorway rops from three lanes to two, the road becomes much more dangerous. Seen several very bad accidents around there.

A couple of things

FERRY PRICES - these have dropped significantly since the 'relative success' of the new high speed Dover - Boulogne service from Speedferries [[url]http://www.speedferries.com/][/url] - they have great deals, and its forced the main players to drop their prices.

For a Dover Calais 14 day return [last year over £200] I got a quote from P&O of £128, but settled for Sea France at £65 return [and not for weird off-peak hours travel either]

SWISS VIGNETTE - You can buy it at the border, or at the Swiss Tourist Board in London BUT the easiest way is to stop at the last services on the German autobahn just before the Swiss border [ after the turning to Mulhouse in France].
The shop at the services sells the vignette [with no mark-up], and its the way I buy it now.

[QUOTE=alan haynes]A couple of things
SWISS VIGNETTE - You can buy it at the border, or at the Swiss Tourist Board in London BUT the easiest way is to stop at the last services on the German autobahn just before the Swiss border [ after the turning to Mulhouse in France].
The shop at the services sells the vignette [with no mark-up], and its the way I buy it now.[/QUOTE]

Useful advice, thanks. I'll be stopping there next time we drive.

Hi Ya
To large men travelling from Bedfordshire to Lanciano in a red Citroen 1.1 ax fully loaded.

Channel tunnel
Evening trip £19.00
Calais – Reims – Metz – Mullhouse -Basel
Fuel 82 Euro
Toll 40 Euro

Basel – Como
Toll 30 Euro
Plus a telling off for overloading the car.

Como – Milan – Bologna – Ancona – Pescara – Lanciano
Fuel 78 Euro
Toll 35 Euro

Time taken 22Hrs

well yes its good to hear of different routes and costs but be careful not to follow every piece od advise and tie yourself into a long journey with fixed points to head for each day

we left england some time back now with a ferry booked dover calais with dog and trailer attached and arrived at the port to find the dastardley french had blocked all sailings....fine take the tunnel...sorry tunnel does not take pets without passports..... prospect of another day in england or two in the pouring rain....solution drive up to tunnel exchange tickets and dont tell them about dog.....

however this left us four hours late getting to france... had we booked a hotel a couple of hundred kilometres on we would have arrived after midnight and with no restaurant open....so you adapt.... we came down at that time of year...winter over the brenner pass.... why because they generally manage to keep it open from snow and the climb over the alps is a bit more gentle.... we stopped with child and dog wherever we chose and all hotels we used were happy to have all of us....

in general we used motorway hotels.... in the morning you just get up and carry on... saves time and petrol... and also prices are not much different...it also saves you looking around..... if we hit traffic jams we change the route.... if one day you dont feel like driving eight hours ... you change schedule....

the point ... all the routes suggested have their pros and cons....but once you start off in heavily loaded and slow vehicles then be prepared to adapt as you go... give yourself time and dont kill yourself or worry too much....

the motorway routes are safer and put much less strain on your vehicle... you can travel along at 100 km per hour all day long and nothing breaks... other routes suggested often involve towns and jams... stops and starts....and the roads are statistically much less safe...

one thing to avoid in all cases is trying to get around big cities ... ie milano or bologna at peak hour times... they are a nightmare and resemble the m25 on a bad day

be adaptable and you will end up at the end of a long journey with very little stress.... your children dogs or cats.... or whoever or whatever travelling with you all much happier than if you follow someone elses footsteps too religously

Having just comne back from la marcherto find my dog had done himself some serious damage, and worried everyone sick, i've decided i cant leave him with anyone again- far too much responsibility and dont like kennels. so i have to bite the bullet and take him on my next trip. i was interested in the replies to taking a dog to italy and would appreciate any advice regarding driving there. does it really cost a £1000?
The £1000 comes from an earlier reply on this thread, when someone was asking about what to budget.

Where did you get £1K from??

To travel with your dog you have to have the dog microtripped and have all vacinations up to date. These are things that it is sensible to do in the UK more so in Europe. The only other expense re the vets is the vacainations for rabbis and the test for this. The booster for the vacination has to be done exactly on the anniversary or just before the last vaccination. Testing is only important to the UK authorities and they insist that the blood test is done at least 6 months before travelling. The rabbis vac cost me £60 (including cost for passpost) and as I wasn't returning I didn't do the test. I was quoted though and I think it was about £30. Dogs then ready to travel.

Travel expenses vary. You can't travel using Eurostar and the ferry charge £15 (ish) cost for the return into Italy crossing. Using the plane is more difficult. British Airways and Aitalia are the only companies that allow you to fly with animals. British Airways flights are very expensive anyway and I think they charge quite a bit to travel with animals. Aitalia don't charge but their flights from the UK are only to Milan and Rome and their flights are an expensive way of travelling.

Good luck.

i would suspect that once you add in hotels...extra insurance to take your car and it sounds like you will be doing a return trip.... visits to vets to get the dog back in...fuel and meals... tolls .... an extra service for the car because of the amount of mileage.... you will end up well within the region of e1000... some people can do it in two days...depending on being close to dover... but realistically with dog and stops...it will be three days two nights each way... and god help the dog if you happen to pick a weekend to come down the A14 for the next few weeks... it tends to be one of those car park autostradas.... and with temps now 35 % plus i would say make sure you dont bother doing it unless you have a big car with air conditioning....

Thanks for your responses. I dont know if I can trust myself with that length of journey on endless motorways, in a right hand drive car, driving on the right, with no experience, as such.. I'm daunted by motorways, but don't want to prolong the journey any more than the currently predicted length of over 20 hours! I wonder,Is it possible to travel with dog by train, the whole journey? and hire a car for the last tricky bits. Anyone know? and how that compares organisation/comfort/cost/ duration wise. If it is possible, where is a dog accomodated etc. Driving from the UK, even with sensible stops and taking up to a week, means the journey becomes a worrysome trial of endurance and might well mean I never return home! Seriously, I intend to do that in a couple of years anyway, but want to explore italy first to find the right place for me (and my dog).

Well I 've just done some research for myself on the net and it seems, from what I've found so far, that one can travel easily all over europe/italy by train with a dog, but I cannot find the answer yet to getting to italy, with my dog from the uk, unless I have a vehicle. Is there a route to italy where I can travel without a car but with a dog, apart from air? I know airtravel is possible, but sounds like it is very stressful for the :confused: animal, let alone ridiculously expensive for a holiday, and regular travel. I read somewhere air italy dont charge for a dog. Do dogs have to go in a container in the aircraft hold? I dont recall ever seeing a dog on a plane! If anyone has ever done this, what time is involved, as compared to a normal trip. As this is what would matter to my dog- how long he is in a crate with strangers in a strange situation.
No, the foot passenger idea on ferry or train sounds best, but how?

just ran a quick check on [url]http://www.raileurope.co.uk/europeantickets/goo001.asp?source=google_adwords&keyword=trains_europe&type=PPC[/url] - London Waterloo to Milan takes about 10 hours and costs roughly £300

Cannot work out Northampton to Abruzzo you need to phone for this and also it does not say how much will be charged for dogs - but there is no problem to take the dog on the train even in the UK !!!!!!

SO it may be worth giving the your local railway station a call to find more details - Personally I'll stick to the car but there again I don't pay for the petrol :D

My impression is that you cannot take a dog on the Eurostar from the UK to France (unless it's a guide dog) but you can take a dog in a car through the Euro tunnel. If you don't want to drive, then it seems as if you'd have to go by ferry (and then train once you get to the continent) or fly.

Here's the link to the relevant page of the Defra website:[url]http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/procedures/support-info/routes_europe.htm[/url]

Good luck.

sorry... but this will not help much with the dog bit..... but the travel bit maybe for those who do not want to fly but have time.... in my mispent youth i used to travel around with austarlians driving camping tours... later on in life i spent another year driving for a company which did all eurolines work..... from victoria you can book to go anywhere on continental europe .... eg anywhere a bus can drive to.... i remember often finding it quite amusing to be stopping in germany or france... or italy and the people trying to get on the wrong side of the bus... but if you have time and dont want to spend a fortune ...its not a bad way to travel....

as regards dogs.... you will know probably best about the in and out to the uk bit... i had not thought of trains but sounds to me like the best idea.... once you do the uk farnce part life will become very simple providing both of you carry passports and are well behaved.... i would simply book the ferry ...whichever company takes dogs as a foot passenger and then get a european equivalent of a rail rover ticket...one which allows dog to travel too and get on the train in the right direction stopping whenever you feel both of you are bored with the train trip....

travel light.. rucksack .. not suitcase ... and if you do have the need for tons of other things... arrange to dhl or whatever a large box of clothes ... say pay for a three day service to arrive just after you do....

from the sounds of it i would say that you will both arrive much more relaxed... failing all that why dont you ask on here if anyone is making the trip about the same time as you and offer to pay someone a reasonable not stupid amount to drive down with you.... if you can arrange the return trip together more the better.... might be worth a try.... i reckon if you were to offer me around three hundred euro each way...just to start the bidding...am sure you will get better offers......considering i would have to find my way to england first i would be happy... but consider that someone from england is at your starting point.... that is providing you car will do the trip

as for the 20 hour side of things.....dont be fooled by it..... i have done trips with two drivers to places like naples..... leaving london at 6 .... first day midnight france/lyon area.... or switzerland.... second day start at 7 ... arrival at hotel about midnight again.... i know busses are slower but a two day trip is hard work.... when doing it by car... its always been two and a half days with one driver... if you split the twenty housr up into working days...say 7 hrs each day you will get somewhere close....

hope some of the above makes sense and will open up other ways of doing things..... we made our trip with the dog...one way....sorry to say she died last month.... old age... nothing to do with any trip .... but she had a couple of years here.. for us the trip was easy.... but i ve spent all my life travelling and not worrying... but i know it can be hard when you are not used to things and you have that added responsability... best of luck

Travel expenses vary. You can't travel using Eurostar and the ferry charge £15 (ish) cost for the return into Italy crossing. Using the plane is more difficult. British Airways and Aitalia are the only companies that allow you to fly with animals. British Airways flights are very expensive anyway and I think they charge quite a bit to travel with animals. Aitalia don't charge but their flights from the UK are only to Milan and Rome and their flights are an expensive way of travelling.

Thanks for all the responses...I've carried on researching and taken some of the threads offered by contributors to this site...the latest is - no dogs in the tunnel apart from guide dogs....to take on hoverspeed to calais- (the only route apart from to hook of holland which actually confirmed they took foot passengers with pets when i rang)- i need to bring a crate suitable for the dog to be in foir the journey...This made me laugh as I thought 'How am I going to carry it without a vehicle' It doesnt actually fit with travelling lite does it, bringing something the size of a large dog kennel with me! and I'm only small! So I'm now back to the driving...using my car as the 'crate' on hoverspeed to Calais and going a slow route through France, avoiding motorways and spending time in France as a part of the holiday, taking a week to get there might be best! Rather than the 2 days you sprinters do. I worry a bit about driving a righthand drive car though, but I guess i'll just not have to overtake! Thanks again for the help...any other suggestions/ ideas very welcome indeed. Jackie

I have just driven my old camper from Vasto to Cambridge.Possibly the best route to go to Abruzzo,without paying french tolls is seafrance to Calais,then along coast to Dunkerque,Down to Lille,Charleroi,Namur,then downto Luxembourg and Metz From Metz to Strasbourg is the only toll road until Italy.It costs about 11 euros.Then on to Basel,pass Luzern on to Milan.The tolls in Italy are quite Cheap.From Vasto to Milan costs about 28 euros. I covered 2,200 km,not the shortest route but much better than driving through france.Nice open dual carraigeways most of the way.Fuel and ferry costs about £210. Hope this helps

no more than £200 [Seafrance Dover Calais £40]

I will be driving to abruzzo soon if you are interested. In about ten days. I am in cambridgeshire along the a14 from northhampton

Hi Loreto
Thank you very much for the offer. Sounds like we're going about the same time.I've actually got a plane seat booked to rome for a week on thursday, to go and have a look at le marche area again. The travel with dog was to take place next may, when he's had all the vaccinations and test necessary.
So I'm going to explore a bit next week. I looked a bit at abruzzo when i was there in may. only got as far as Aquila though. What's it like where you have settled?
Take care on your drive, Jackie

hi im new to this site, and it looks good so far.
traveling to italy by car is great,you can choose so many routes
[ as have already been mentioined] based on time price or sceenary.
over the last 10 years we have driven to italy 11 or 12 times, nearly
always trying new routes if poss.
we have done a few of the routes mentioned already, so i will now add a
couple of variants to those routes.
firstly from calais or now bologne you can go to riems, get off at junction
26, pick up the N44 which will take you down past chalons and onto the
N4, these are non toll roads with little traffic and mostly dualcarrigeway.
this will take you to under nancy, from here you again have a choice to go to
epinal [all dualcarrigeway] then across to mullhouse and the switz border.
or our choice is from under nancy stay on what is now a33,then n333 and
join the N59 [so far all dual] and over the moutains to colmar last 50 miles
not dual. and remember fuel is cheaper off the m/way.

another route is the calais to mont blanc route via riems and dijon,all
m/way. we have found to save a little of the cost and see more sceenary,
we get off at dole A39 jun6. and go cross country n5,d472 to pontarlier.
again the roads are good and quick and you end up crossing some sceenary
before joining the switz m/way heading towards lausanne and onto martigny
and st bernards, going over the top will cost you an hour extra as its
impossible not to stop and admire.
this second route means if you get an early crossing say 7am you can be in
aosta by 5pm and that also has some amazing sceenary and cheap hotels.

now the first route which takes you to basle from either colmar or mulhouse
means you are going to travel the 150 or so miles through switzerland
ending at the italian border 30 odd miles north of milan.just before this border,
there is the colderio service area.we have slept here on more than 1
occassion[in the car]as do hundreds of others its safe clean and has all the
amenities including mcdonalds [open 22 hours]and cheaper fuel than italy.
this route is my wifes fav as its when she can start hitting the cappo's.
sorry to go on,just thought i'd give a few variants on the popular routes.

We just arrived back this week after driving both ways. In previous years we have taken the route Dunkirk/Strasbourg/Basel/Como/Bologna but this year decided to try Dunkirk/Colmar/Basel then as above.

Good points: Sailed through Swiss customs checks. The back door into Basel is much easier to use than the German border crossing. Also the hotels in France are *much* better than those in Germany.

Bad points for me: I don't speak French, just German and Italian so I wasn't as comfortable with this route. That said, most people in Alsace speak German.

Bad points generally: Roadworks.

Although we had some scare stories before we left of road works in Belgium, the roads weren't too bad there. Down to one lane in places but we drove from Dunkirk to Como in a day so the holdups weren't bad and traffic flowed continuously. However on the way back there was a diversion around Luxembourg so we missed out on cheap petrol :mad: and it seemed to take forever and there were frequent radar traps.

Hi, I'm new to this site but your posting caught my eye.

We have recently done a trip from the UK to Abruzzo in a 3.5 tonne van and I can give you a detailed route if you email me.

In short we took the Euro star from Folkstone to Calais one evening and stayed the night in Calais at a cheap hotel. We started early the next day and drive down through France, Switzerland and into Italy and Stayed at a Hotel on the Milan Ring Road. This was about 700 - 800 mile and we drove fro about 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening. The last stint was down to Abruzzo (near Pescara) and we arrived at about 4 in the afternoon - about 400 miles.

We had a good van (Mercedes Sprinter) which drove well - we found this quite important as the journey would be been quite arduous with a van with a top speed of about 65.
We also split the journey unevenly so that there was more driving on the first day, when we were fresh, than the second.

For the route we used the help of a Laptop with AutoRoute (which plotted the route) and a GPS receiver which told us where we were. This meant that although we didn't actually have Sat. navigation, we new immediately when we went wrong. The receiver only cost about £40.

As far as tolls are concerned, we paid the most in France. About 50 Euro in total if my memory serves me right. At the Swiss border you will need to purchase their Motorway tax. This is about £18 and lasts a year (fine the the return journey) It must be stuck to your windscreen (we forgot this part!!) In Italy I think there we two tolls to pay one about 12 Euro and the other about 6 Euro.

Another thing to watch if you want to make good time are your breaks. We found that stopping for ten minutes can easily turn into half an hour and then nearly an hour. This cuts into the day a lot. We tended to stop for literally 10 minutes to stretch our legs when we really needed it and only about ¾ hour for lunch.

Hope this helps

[In reply to Farindola]

I'm not sure if your message was for me, but thanks. We've been driving to Abruzzo since about 1992 when we first rented a flat near Alba Adriatica. In years past when ferry fares were much higher we used to take the ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo just to get the overnight service and a decent sleep on the way over. However Brittany Ferries charge far too much now (can be around £500) and we decided to make the crossing via Dunkirk. The Chunnel is too expensive and it doesn't actually save a lot of time compared to the ferry. also the waiting area at the Chunnel sucks IMO.

After that we pretty much follow the route that you do except that we use Belgium/Luxembourg to reduce the motorway fees and also so that we can fill up on cheap fuel. At present we use a large (yank tank) 4x4 that's not much smaller than a Sprinter, because we live in the mountains and have a long trip down an unmade private road to get to our farm.

This trip we stopped in a Motel on the superstrada from Como to Rome, in years past we stopped in Como itself, but it's getting harder and harder to find rooms in Como especially if there's an event at Monza. Our timings are similar to yours, errm you do know that there's a lower speed limit for vans than for cars, don't you? Because the French plod are keen on bagging British drivers, especially van drivers.

One thing to watch out for is closures of the Gotthard tunnel, they happen all too often in Spring and Summer, especially since it has been down to just one lane in each direction for what seems like years.

Lotaresco,

Sorry, no I was replying to Mikerry but I'm new to this forum.

By the sound of things you have done the journey many times and seen to know the route well. We have only done this once and although it was not to taxing, I wouldn't do it again in a hurry. We prefer to fly can have found that the Ryanair route can be cheaper than driving down (even when you include car hire).

We didn't have any trouble with the French coppers on the way back to the Calais, but we saw them and they were in full swing knicking us Brits. We went past their speed trap at 70 mph in a long wheek base van (if that helps anyone else). We were lucky as I had only just slowed down and were taking the last half an hour before the toll booth easy. It looked like they zapped you at the speed trap and stopped you at the toll booth.

[QUOTE=Farindola]We went past their speed trap at 70 mph in a long wheek base van (if that helps anyone else). We were lucky as I had only just slowed down and were taking the last half an hour before the toll booth easy. It looked like they zapped you at the speed trap and stopped you at the toll booth.[/QUOTE]

That sounds standard behaviour. We drove from Colmar towards Luxembourg but hit a major diversion around Luxembourg that dropped us off on the autoroute to Namur just a few miles from the Belgian border. At the last toll booth in that direction there were gendarmes standing one to each section of the toll booth. They were directing some drivers over to a waiting area after they paid their tolls. Lots of Germans including one who passed us as something like warp speed 9 on the way towards the toll booth, so I guess there had been a speed trap further back. If there was, I didn't see it. But we tend to travel at exactly 130kph as registered on the SatNav in the car, this is fast enough on the motorway, it corresponds to an indicated 90mph on the speedometer, because the speedo over reads a bit. It's probably the same with the sprinter, 70mph on the speedo is likely 110kph, so you would be OK.