Discussion
Before my trip I was really looking forward to completing the Stelvio Pass, mainly due to the fact Top Gear voted it the best driving road in the world, however I have to say I was little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, this this is a good road, and you definitely need to tick it off your bucket list if you are into Euro tripping. However I wouldn’t say it was the best road in the world... Not even close.
The biggest problem I found with the road is one of the reason the road is so famous, the number of hairpins, there is no flow! After the first 20 hairpins I was bored and hoped for some faster sweeping corners. The pass is also very narrow so you are very aware of the possibility of oncoming cars and in places the road surface is not ideal.
The final point I wanted to highlight for anyone else that was planning to do this road was the cyclists. This is always something you need to look out for when alpine driving, however of some reason it was very bad on this road, they were 4/5 a breadth in some places taking up the complete road, really had to watch out for them!
I completed the road from Spondigna to Bormio however if I was to it again I would make sure to do it in the other direction as I believe it would be a much better drive.
You can get some really good photos on the hairpins though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RURTSTsxGN4
The biggest problem I found with the road is one of the reason the road is so famous, the number of hairpins, there is no flow! After the first 20 hairpins I was bored and hoped for some faster sweeping corners. The pass is also very narrow so you are very aware of the possibility of oncoming cars and in places the road surface is not ideal.
The final point I wanted to highlight for anyone else that was planning to do this road was the cyclists. This is always something you need to look out for when alpine driving, however of some reason it was very bad on this road, they were 4/5 a breadth in some places taking up the complete road, really had to watch out for them!
I completed the road from Spondigna to Bormio however if I was to it again I would make sure to do it in the other direction as I believe it would be a much better drive.
You can get some really good photos on the hairpins though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RURTSTsxGN4
Yep, Ive done it twice now (by Motorbike). I actually enjoyed it more the 2nd time around as I knew what to expect. But you are right, it doesnt flow very well and it far too tight to enjoy a fast blast around.
There are far better alpine passes such as Fleulapass, furkapass etc.
That said, at least youve ticked it off the list and its definitely worth the visit to experience the road.
There are far better alpine passes such as Fleulapass, furkapass etc.
That said, at least youve ticked it off the list and its definitely worth the visit to experience the road.
CarbonXKR said:
I'm doing half of it this year as I'm coming in via the Umbrail Pass. Any views on this? Looks good on the maps....
It's about 3-4 years since I last did it, but watch out for the non-tarmac sectionat about IIRC 2000 meters. Stop press: Wikipedia says
"The road is entirely asphalted since 2015. The last unpaved section was a 1.5 km stretch on the Swiss side between altitudes 1 883 m and 2 012 m."
so it is easier than it was. Shame. Skating around in the rain on a dirt road was fun.
The pub / cafe place about 1/3 the way up takes Euros as well as CHF,
like a lot of places near the Swiss border.
The Swiss bloke stood on his own in the rain at the bus
stop near the top was certain the bus would be along in nine minutes time.
That's Swiss efficiency for you !
I thought the very same thing.
I returned from my European road trip on Sunday evening and I thought the very same thing. I found it hard work, busy and unable to link bends as I had to slow so much.
I much preferred all other passes I completed St Bernard Pass, Umbrail Pass (although I think I felt exposed on this pass), San Bernardino Pass, Furka Pass & Grimsel Pass. I think I may have completed more than this but this is all I can remember at present.
I returned from my European road trip on Sunday evening and I thought the very same thing. I found it hard work, busy and unable to link bends as I had to slow so much.
I much preferred all other passes I completed St Bernard Pass, Umbrail Pass (although I think I felt exposed on this pass), San Bernardino Pass, Furka Pass & Grimsel Pass. I think I may have completed more than this but this is all I can remember at present.
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