Has anyone driven to the Verzasca dam?
Discussion
Hi all
planning a trip to the Verzasca dam for a bungee jump and bonding session with my son so some advice needed please.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPylnfER2qc&fea...
do i
a: drive in a very noisy chimaera, but i suspect trouble with the swiss boys in blue
b: take a more leisurely drive in a jaguar
c: fly/hire a car
d: get a train all the way.
your thoughts would be welcome, and any hotel recommendations for a one night stay would be appreciated
planning a trip to the Verzasca dam for a bungee jump and bonding session with my son so some advice needed please.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPylnfER2qc&fea...
do i
a: drive in a very noisy chimaera, but i suspect trouble with the swiss boys in blue
b: take a more leisurely drive in a jaguar
c: fly/hire a car
d: get a train all the way.
your thoughts would be welcome, and any hotel recommendations for a one night stay would be appreciated
I've been to the area three times, first time to do exactly what you're proposing... Left friday night from Northampton, drove overnight to Tenero, did the Bungy Jump Saturday afternoon, drove back Sunday. All in a 306 Diesel though i'm sure the Chim would have been considerably more interesting... It's a heck of a jaunt though, there were three of us to share the driving and it was still pretty knackering to do in one go.
Second time drove down in a mates car as we loved the area so much on our brief initial visit we went down again for a 5 day trip with a more leisurely broken up drive going down. The third time I flew to Milan and hired a Fiat, then drove the hour or so to Tenero from there.
All three times i've camped here http://www.campofelice.ch/ - Brilliant high quality '5 star' campsite right on Lake Maggiore with it's own private lakeside beach, i'd highly recommend it... It's only a 15-20 minute drive up to the dam too. They have a hotel but I couldn't vouch for the quality of that, the location is amazing though.
Flying and hiring a car was easily the least draining, but that doesn't mean it was the most fun way to get there - I could be looking back with rose tinted glasses though, and if it was me going for as short a time as yourself then i'd be flying and hiring a car - It's a short flight to milan and an easy drive through the lakes from there... Hiring a car in Italy will save you loads compared to Switzerland too.
It's an awesome area, i'm gutted I won't have the chance to go back this year - The Bungy jump is awesome too, i've done a few jumps around the world and was by far the best - Spectacular scenery and if you're a bond fan a great thing to say you've done.
If you drive down you should go via Luxembourg, try and work out a fill up there, we saved a fair amount filling up on the way there and coming back (could be less of a saving now, I haven't looked it up)
Second time drove down in a mates car as we loved the area so much on our brief initial visit we went down again for a 5 day trip with a more leisurely broken up drive going down. The third time I flew to Milan and hired a Fiat, then drove the hour or so to Tenero from there.
All three times i've camped here http://www.campofelice.ch/ - Brilliant high quality '5 star' campsite right on Lake Maggiore with it's own private lakeside beach, i'd highly recommend it... It's only a 15-20 minute drive up to the dam too. They have a hotel but I couldn't vouch for the quality of that, the location is amazing though.
Flying and hiring a car was easily the least draining, but that doesn't mean it was the most fun way to get there - I could be looking back with rose tinted glasses though, and if it was me going for as short a time as yourself then i'd be flying and hiring a car - It's a short flight to milan and an easy drive through the lakes from there... Hiring a car in Italy will save you loads compared to Switzerland too.
It's an awesome area, i'm gutted I won't have the chance to go back this year - The Bungy jump is awesome too, i've done a few jumps around the world and was by far the best - Spectacular scenery and if you're a bond fan a great thing to say you've done.
If you drive down you should go via Luxembourg, try and work out a fill up there, we saved a fair amount filling up on the way there and coming back (could be less of a saving now, I haven't looked it up)
Thanks Andy, i must say good form on your jump:-)
i suppose the plane trip would be best, i live at stansted but i dread waiting in the passport queues if i fly. but if i am the only driver it might be a bit too much for 1 driver.
hadnt thought about flying to italy as i usually go via Geneva.
ive done a couple of bungees before but i want to do this before my 60th birthday in august, how much in advance did you book your trip?
i suppose the plane trip would be best, i live at stansted but i dread waiting in the passport queues if i fly. but if i am the only driver it might be a bit too much for 1 driver.
hadnt thought about flying to italy as i usually go via Geneva.
ive done a couple of bungees before but i want to do this before my 60th birthday in august, how much in advance did you book your trip?
It's a long way for one driver in one go that's for sure, but I suppose it depends on your experience/attitude of/towards long drives, I suppose there's people on here that might guffaw at driving non stop for 12 hours... Others would consider popping to the coast as daunting a proposition as flying to Fiji... In my experience such lengthy road trips are a lot more fun when you're looking forward to them or looking back with nostalgia... It's hard work maintaining any sort of conversation for that long and if you're trying to get down there quickly the autoroutes and motorways offer little in the way of visual stimulation.
Those passport queues would concern me too, though I flew to Munich from Stansted back in April and had no problems at all, I appreciate of course if you're going in the next few weeks things could be very different.
I think the journey from Milan is considerably shorter than from Geneva, from my memory it's closer to 4 hrs from Geneva and just a little over 1 hour from Milan so well worth considering... You get the pleasure of driving around Lake Como and Lugano that way too.
The first trip when we did the bungy we only decided to do it the Tuesday of that week before we left on the Friday - I rang to book the Bungy and the bloke pencilled us in and seemed pretty nonchalant about a booking process, when we turned up they noted our booking but it seemed we just waited our turn like everyone else - This was a Saturday in October and I think we had to wait about an hour before we did the jump - Peak Summer might be very different of course, but it's a pretty niche activity with a lot more people watching than jumping and I doubt you'll have any problem getting a Bungy slot with a weeks notice.
The other two trips were planned at least a month or two in advance.
Where have you done your other Bungy jumps?
If you fancy a bit more adrenalin when you're there, and the weather is good (it has been excellent every time i've been) then head up a parallel valley to a spot called Ponte Brolla - It's a natural swimming area in an alpine pool, they have held the cliff diving championships there in the past and it's a great spot for a cool off swim or if you fancy it a rock jump or dive - There's rocks of varying different heights and the water is plenty deep and crystal clear. Great fun and only 10 minutes outside of Locarno.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Ponte+Brolla,+Loc...
Those passport queues would concern me too, though I flew to Munich from Stansted back in April and had no problems at all, I appreciate of course if you're going in the next few weeks things could be very different.
I think the journey from Milan is considerably shorter than from Geneva, from my memory it's closer to 4 hrs from Geneva and just a little over 1 hour from Milan so well worth considering... You get the pleasure of driving around Lake Como and Lugano that way too.
The first trip when we did the bungy we only decided to do it the Tuesday of that week before we left on the Friday - I rang to book the Bungy and the bloke pencilled us in and seemed pretty nonchalant about a booking process, when we turned up they noted our booking but it seemed we just waited our turn like everyone else - This was a Saturday in October and I think we had to wait about an hour before we did the jump - Peak Summer might be very different of course, but it's a pretty niche activity with a lot more people watching than jumping and I doubt you'll have any problem getting a Bungy slot with a weeks notice.
The other two trips were planned at least a month or two in advance.
Where have you done your other Bungy jumps?
If you fancy a bit more adrenalin when you're there, and the weather is good (it has been excellent every time i've been) then head up a parallel valley to a spot called Ponte Brolla - It's a natural swimming area in an alpine pool, they have held the cliff diving championships there in the past and it's a great spot for a cool off swim or if you fancy it a rock jump or dive - There's rocks of varying different heights and the water is plenty deep and crystal clear. Great fun and only 10 minutes outside of Locarno.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Ponte+Brolla,+Loc...
my other bungee jumps have been crane jumps in London
ive spent a bit of time in annecy, canyoning and doing the via Ferreta, done a bit of parachuting
it might be an idea to turn the trip into a longer one, but im not sure as you say whether i would enjoy driving while the passenger was sitting there doing nothing for hours on end :-)
ive spent a bit of time in annecy, canyoning and doing the via Ferreta, done a bit of parachuting
it might be an idea to turn the trip into a longer one, but im not sure as you say whether i would enjoy driving while the passenger was sitting there doing nothing for hours on end :-)
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