European Road Trip April/May '16

[a17vts]

UPDATED BELOW - TRIP MOVED TO JUNE 2016

Good Afternoon All,

I'm planning a European road trip commencing on Thursday 21st April '16 for 11 nights, below is my initial route although a majority of the routes have been generated via google maps.



I've have a lot more to arrange, however I've composed a draft list of places we are looking at staying, which is what I want to finalise before confirming routes etc:

Day 1 - Essex to Reims
Day 2 - Reims to Lake Geneva
Day 3 - Lake Geneva to Avigliana (via Chamonix & Saint Bernard Pass)
Day 4 - Avigliana to Monte Carlo (via Col Du Turini)
Day 5 - Monte Carlo to Maranello
Day 6 - Maranello to Lake Como (via Lake Garda)
Day 7 - Lake Como to Davos (via Stevio Pass & Fluela Pass)
Day 8 - Davos to Andermatt (vai San Bernadino Pass, Furka Pass & Grimmsel Pass)
Day 9 - Angermatt to Baden-Baden (via Lucerne)
Day 10 - Baden-Baden to Luxembourg City
Day 11 - Luxembourg City to Essex

I'm relatively close to Calais within the UK so the Calais to Home part will not be an issue and I also appreciate that the mileage/time may be out on a few of the days as I still need to lock down the actual routes but the above should be the backbone of the trip. I've got plenty more research to complete before I'm happy with my final route but I will welcome any advice on routes/hotel/general advise regarding the trip.

Currently I believe the holiday will cost around £1,500 plus spending money broken down as follows:

Euro Tunnel - £158.00
Diesel - £240.00 (based on current diesel prices)
Hotels - £1,100.00 (based on an average of £100.00 per night)

I have done a more detailed summary which calculated diesel at £208.80 and actual hotel costs at £950.00 but I have excluded any toll costs which I hope to avoid on the whole but i'm sure I'll need to use them in certain places.

My main concern at present is being able to keep to a pre-planned route. I'll be doing the trip in a Mk7 VW Golf GTD which is fitted with Discover Navigation System (DNS) and I know a member on here used ITN files which I will see if I can use but any advise on this particular area would be most appreciated.

I'll keep you all updated.

Tom

Edited by a17vts on Wednesday 6th January 09:34

[CarbonXKR]

I'm sure others will pass on their wisdom too, but from my experience of two trips, give yourself two nights in some of your stops for a break. Also your costs are probably right but add £200 for parking and toll costs plus around £50 - £80 spending money per day.

[kwk]

Your lengthy French route will involve a lot of tolls and there are also tolls on the Autostradas. Don't forget the Swiss road tax.

[a17vts]

CarbonXKR said:

I'm sure others will pass on their wisdom too, but from my experience of two trips, give yourself two nights in some of your stops for a break. Also your costs are probably right but add £200 for parking and toll costs plus around £50 - £80 spending money per day.

I do agree that I may need shorter days/longer stops in order to give myself a a break. I was initially thinking of extending my stay to two weeks and spend a few days down in the Italy or the South of France but still unsure as I do not want to use up to many days of holiday!

[a17vts]

kwk said:

Your lengthy French route will involve a lot of tolls and there are also tolls on the Autostradas. Don't forget the Swiss road tax.

Do you have suggest avoiding the toll roads in France? or are they a necessary evil?

I did also forget about the Swiss road tax and I also need to look into this further as I'm not sure how much I will need to pay or how it is calculated.

[DuraAce]

a17vts said:

Do you have suggest avoiding the toll roads in France? or are they a necessary evil?

I did also forget about the Swiss road tax and I also need to look into this further as I'm not sure how much I will need to pay or how it is calculated.

You can avoid French motorways by using normal roads. there aren't many dual carriageways and most routes go through towns/villages so making decent progress takes ages.

Swiss motorways need an annual pass, 40 odd francs from memory.

[a17vts]

DuraAce said:

You can avoid French motorways by using normal roads. there aren't many dual carriageways and most routes go through towns/villages so making decent progress takes ages.

Swiss motorways need an annual pass, 40 odd francs from memory.

Thanks for that information DuraAce.

I think I'll stick to the quickest route to Reims on the first day, as I will not want to tire myself out early on the holiday, plus the wife won't mind doing the 'easy'. Plus I can always get back to norther France for a short break should I so desire. However I may review the second days driving to see what options are available.

Regrind the swiss tax, I didn't even realise an annual pass was required for Switzerland. I certainly need to spend a little more time looking into these sort of smaller details, as I also read about buying a dart type device to lower the cost and also speed up time, which I believe can be used in France but as said I need to look into all this but any help/advice would be welcomed.

[XTR2Turbo]

I would be mindful that end of April some of the passes could still be closed with snow.

[DuraAce]

You'll only need the Swiss ticket if you use their motorways. I've visited before and not used them. Get caught on the motorway without one though and its a big fine. They only sell year tickets unlike Austria who will sell week/month tickets.

Almost all passes will still be closed in April. Some won't open until late June depending how severe winter is.

Personally I wouldn't bother getting a French toll tag. Its hardly a pain to stop for a few seconds to swipe your card. I'd get one if you go several times a year but not for the odd trip. I've never queued more than five minutes at a tall booth. Usually less than one minute.

Edited by DuraAce on Monday 4th January 23:08

[Wozy68]

a17vts said:

I think I'll stick to the quickest route to Reims on the first day, as I will not want to tire myself out early on the holiday, plus the wife won't mind doing the 'easy'. Plus I can always get back to norther France for a short break should I so desire. However I may review the second days driving to see what options are available.

I drove from Evesham 35 miles north to BHX to drop my wife off for a flight, drove a further 200 plus miles from there too Dover for the ferry to Calais, and from Calais took the minor roads towards Reims. Spent an hour at the old GP circuit and then drove right into the centre of Reims to find my hotel. I was sat with a beer by 8PM. This was in a 20 year old 911 not a modern car.

In other words, you'll piss it from the UK to Reims in the day , autoroute or no autoroute. I strongly suggest you keep off the autoroute if you can, France like Spain compared to the UK, a lot of the country roads (unless trunk roads) are pretty damn empty, and you see so much of the countryside. Enjoy the trip

[a17vts]

DuraAce said:

You'll only need the Swiss ticket if you use their motorways. I've visited before and not used them. Get caught on the motorway without one though and its a big fine. They only sell year tickets unlike Austria who will sell week/month tickets.

Almost all passes will still be closed in April. Some won't open until late June depending how severe winter is.

Personally I wouldn't bother getting a French toll tag. Its hardly a pain to stop for a few seconds to swipe your card. I'd get one if you go several times a year but not for the odd trip. I've never queued more than five minutes at a tall booth. Usually less than one minute.

Edited by DuraAce on Monday 4th January 23:08

It didn't even cross my mind that the passes may be shut.

I'll have to look into this a lot further as I was going to book my shuttle crossings today, in a worse case I'm sure I can still make an enjoyable trip, let hope the poor snowy conditions continue in the alps!

Does any one have any previous experience of going on this sort of trip in late April early May?

Edited by a17vts on Tuesday 5th January 09:14

[kwk]

Switzerland is worth a visit anyway and there are a number of ways in without using the passes. I have visited at various times of the year, from Italy, usually through the Gothard tunnel. and the roads are usually clear even when the weather is very bad. The low price of the road tax is well worth it for the convenience of being able to use the motorways and I have found them to be quite insistent at the borders anyway.
April can be qute awkward with the weather so beware of the German winter tyre rules. There are no longer specific dates but the rules state that they should be fitted when the weather conditions dictate. Not very clear but, you could have insurance problems if involved in an accident and you are on the wrong tyres. I go to Germany 3 or 4 times a year. In my own car, I leave it on the standard tyres but in the winter I would take my ML 4x4. When I have flown, the hire car has always had winter tyres.
Take a look at the Tolltickets website to purchase your switzerland tax before you leave, although they are easily available at the borders. They also supply a TAG for the French autoroutes and a seperate one for the Italian Autostrada. Much more convenient than paying at the booths.

Edited by kwk on Tuesday 5th January 09:30

Edited by kwk on Tuesday 5th January 09:36

[a17vts]

XTR2Turbo said:

I would be mindful that end of April some of the passes could still be closed with snow.

I've been looking online tonight to see when the passes open and it appears most passes start to open around early June, so I'm thinking it is worth pushing back my trip? It doesn't suit so well with work or personal life but I don't want to go on a european trip where I'm not covering the roads I would ideally like to cover.

However on the other hand I will hopefully be doing this sort of holiday again in my life time so I'm sure I'll cover the roads at some point in my life.

Opinions welcomed.

[akadk]

Yes go when the passes are open

You can order the vignette online and it arrives in the post

[a17vts]

UPDATE - TRIP NOW MOVED TO 16th JUNE 2016 - 25th JUNE 2016

Upon being advised by you guys that most, if not all passes will be closed during my initial dates I have now decided to move my trip back to June 2016.

I'm now a day down so I'm planning on updated my routes etc. Thanks to Zed44 I'm now using https://www.motogoloco.com/map/ to plan my route, which is really simple and easy to use and can be transferred to TomTom devices easily. Although I have heard reports that newer TomTom devices do not allow this feature.

One final question, I know you can't say for sure but is it save to assume the passes should be open by 18th June 2016 onwards?

I'll keep you all posted on my new plan.

Tom

[London424]

Looking at your route I'd pop in to Pisa for lunch as you're so close. I did something similar (but going the opposite way to you) and it's not far out of the way and you can see everything you'd want in an hour and grab a decent Pizza.

[Zed 44]

Quite welcome a17vts. Yes, motogoloco is very good.

With respect to vignettes, I have been twice and didn't need one as I didn't use the autoroutes. It should be possible to plan your journey and avoid them.

I think you did right to postpone your trip. You don't want any of this.

[a17vts]

London424 said:

Looking at your route I'd pop in to Pisa for lunch as you're so close. I did something similar (but going the opposite way to you) and it's not far out of the way and you can see everything you'd want in an hour and grab a decent Pizza.

Thanks for the advice London424.

Zed 44 said:

Quite welcome a17vts. Yes, motogoloco is very good.

With respect to vignettes, I have been twice and didn't need one as I didn't use the autoroutes. It should be possible to plan your journey and avoid them.

I think you did right to postpone your trip. You don't want any of this.

I'll be booking my crossings today/tonight, and then planning a rough route, which I believe will take most of my time and then book hotels up accordingly.

The main things which scares me is planning to many hours into a days driving. I plan on doing a long day on the first day as I've had to reduce the trip down by a day going in June, but with the passes I want to complete I need to really confirm these before booking the accommodation.

I should have more updates later today.

[Zed 44]

a17vts said:

I'll be booking my crossings today/tonight, and then planning a rough route, which I believe will take most of my time and then book hotels up accordingly.

The main things which scares me is planning to many hours into a days driving. I plan on doing a long day on the first day as I've had to reduce the trip down by a day going in June, but with the passes I want to complete I need to really confirm these before booking the accommodation.

I should have more updates later today.

How long you drive is an interesting question. Depends on factors like are you on your own or with a Ms.a17vts. Personally, I figure 150ish miles in the mountains and 200 on more open terrain. This usually translates into 7-8 hours allowing for food/coffee breaks, toilet breaks, filling up, getting lost, arguing and taking photographs.

But then I am an old geezer. Age matters.

[Davey S2]

From Reims take the 'old road' the D996 to Dijon rather than the autoroute.

Brilliant road and usually very quiet.