Brussels to Maranello – which route?

[t1grm]

I am doing this drive on Saturday. The question is whether to go via France and Switzerland and through the Gotthard tunnel or, via Germany and Austria and over the Brenner Pass?

Google maps has the former as 685 miles in 10:20 hours and the latter as 769 miles in 11:30 hours. That’s an average speed of 67 mph for both. However I’m thinking I could average significantly more than that through Germany on the Autobahn.

I would also save on the road tolls through France. I believe you need a motorway vignette for Austria which is about the same price as Switzerland. Also the transit distance across Austria is much less than through Switzerland where you have to drive like a granny. How are the Austrians on speeding? Are they as bad as the Swiss?

Also, what about traffic? The Gotthard tunnel can be pretty busy at this time of year. Will the Brenner Pass be as bad?

[dcb]

t1grm said:

I am doing this drive on Saturday. The question is whether to go via France and Switzerland and through the Gotthard tunnel or, via Germany and Austria and over the Brenner Pass?

Google maps has the former as 685 miles in 10:20 hours and the latter as 769 miles in 11:30 hours. That’s an average speed of 67 mph for both. However I’m thinking I could average significantly more than that through Germany on the Autobahn.

Depending on your car, yes.

>I would also save on the road tolls through France. I believe you need a motorway vignette for >Austria which is about the same price as Switzerland.

No. CH is much more expensive than A. CH is something like CHF 40, because
it's for the entire year, but A does much ten day vignettes for maybe EUR 5 - 10, IIRC.

t1grm said:

Also the transit distance across Austria is much less than through Switzerland where you have to drive like a granny. How are the Austrians on speeding? Are they as bad as the Swiss?

The Austrians seem much more relaxed than the Swiss about speeding.

Certainly 90 - 100 mph in a Brit registered car attracts no interest whatsoever.

t1grm said:

Also, what about traffic? The Gotthard tunnel can be pretty busy at this time of year.
Will the Brenner Pass be as bad?

Only foreign tourists and lorries use the Brenner. It's very expensive.

Suggest either use the old road that the toll road replaced, or
for more fun, suggest use a different trans-alpine route.

Off the top of my head, Reschenpass and Timmelsjoch would both
be more fun. I can suggest other alternatives if prompted.

Mind you, a 700 mile drive is a lot for one day. I'd strongly
suggest splitting it into two 350 mile chunks.

[t1grm]

Cheers for the tips dcb. I think I will do the Germany Austria route based on the price of the vignette and the more relaxed Austrian attitude. I’ll be doing the run in a 2 litre Alfa 156. No supercar but, a 120 mph cruise on the unrestricted autobahns and 90-100 everywhere else will be well within the cars limits and should see me make some decent time up. I’ll look to do the old pass rather than the Brenner Pass. An alpine detour or splitting the trip up would be nice but I have to be in Sicily to catch a 21:30 ferry to Malta on Sunday plus I want to be in Maranello in time for dinner at Il Cavallino! Leaving at 8:00 should see me there for 18:00. I’ve done a few all day Euro-drives so can manage– plus no complaining passengers to worry about

[t1grm]

I’m struggling to find the saving by avoiding the Brenner Pass. If I understand correctly I have to pay €8.30 for a 10 day vignette when entering Austria. I then have the pay €8.00 to join the A13 (Brenner Pass) in Austria. This doesn’t seem that expensive to me. From the Italian boarder to Maranello the Autostrada toll is €21.90. One site I found suggested taking the B182 from Innsbruck and then rejoining the A22 on the Italian side of the boarder at Vipiteno. However, the Autostrada toll from Vipiteno to Maranello is still €20.80. So, as far as I can tell, all I’m saving is the €8.00 toll for the A13 plus €1.10 on the Autostrada toll; €9.10 in total or about £7.00. That seems a lot of faffing about for a small saving – in the context of the overall cost of the journey. I can see the point when it’s €40.90 to go through the Mont Blanc Tunnel but not for €8. Am I missing something?