European Roadtrip + Stelvio pass (very photo heavy)
Discussion
Just returned from an epic 16 day road trip through Europe and thought I'd share some of the photo's.
The whole trip came about when on a lazy Sunday morning we were laying in bed with our coffee's watching an old Top Gear episode when my wife asked my what I wanted to do for my birthday. We hadn't booked our summer holiday yet due to all the airport delay issue's, and just as I was thinking about it, the Top Gear lads were driving up the Stelvio pass, and then I thought, thát would be cool to do!
I go home (the Netherlands) by a car a few times a year, and whilst there we've done trips to Antwerp and Bruges and stuff like that, but I've not done a proper road trip like this before so I was very excited. Gone through a lot of topics on the forum here to read up about the various passes and where to stay etc.
I bought this 2011 Boxster S (987.2 model, with the 3.4 litre engine) just over a year ago, exactly to do things like this, so I started planning on getting to the Stelvio pass, with several stops on the way so we wouldn't spend too much time in the car.
In total we done 2106 miles with a total travel time of 49:04 hours, which sounds like a lot but split over 16 days it wasn't that long at all. Longest journey we done was probably 4.5 hours, with the other journeys around 2.5 - 3.5 hours long.
We manage to do the entire trip with the roof down which was lovely, and on a quiet stretch of unrestricted German autobahn I managed to get 264 km/h on my dials which was an interesting experience with the roof down...
Was also very impressed with the MPG. My daily driver is a 4.2 supercharged V8 Jag that does about 13 MPG and even on long motorway journeys to the Netherlands I've never had more then 220 miles out of the 72 liter tank however I filled the Boxster up before our trip and managed to do home to Folkstone, and then Folkstone to our hotel in Luxembourg on 1 tank, which was 352 miles, and especially with my heavy right foot I was very impressed with that!
Before we left I paid £ 207,9 per liter for Shell V power, first fill up in Luxembourg, also V power at a Shell, £ 177.4 per liter!
So the itinerary was :
- Furka pass.
- Tremola pass (the old Gotthard).
- Nuefenen pass (my favourite!).
- Furka pass again, stop for lunch in Ulrichen.
- Gotthard pass (the new one).
Out of the 9 hotels, the two that stood out most were Hotel Brienzersee which had amazing views over the lake, and is just outside Interlaken. Also the 40 minute drive from Brienz to the first Alpine pass (Grimsel) was pretty epic. Would definitely stay there again.
The other amazing one was the QC Terme Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi, which is a stunning building set right in the mountains and they have this 'thermal path' made up by like 12 different pools, a stunning ballroom for dinner.
Made friends with some German 911 owners that were doing the same Alpine passes and joined them for a while (even stopping together for photo's and then doing the next pass together), and in Reims when we visited the circuit there was a large group of French owners that invited me in for their photo shoot.
I don't have/want a dashcam, but most of the road photo's (bar a few made with our mobiles) are made with this little Go Pro I mounted next to the rear view mirror with the remote switch next to my steering wheel so anytime the road/scenery looked pretty I could just snap a picture without having to ask my wife every 2 seconds to get her phone out
Plenty of luggage, big suitcase in the front, and 3 in the back :
Luxembourg :
Baden-Baden
The B500, stunning route and as it was a week day not busy at all!
Lake Brienz, in Switzerland :
Doing the Alpine passes :
Roof is only up as we went up the hill on the right to a little restaurant with amazing views.
And then it was onto Bellagio (Lake Como), via the car ferry (10 minutes) from Griante :
Bellagio :
Saw a group of Porsche's from Germany come over by ferry as well the next day : Kinda wanted to join them for a drive but was on the wrong side of a bottle of wine
Refuelled and washed, of to the next lake (Garda) :
Sirmione (Lake Garda) :
And then from Sirmione to Bormio to stay at this epic hotel :
And after a lovely breakfast it was time to do the Stelvio pass, and despite not leaving the hotel until 10:30 ish, I was really surprised as to how quiet/empty it was!
After the Stelvio pass we did the Umbrail pass the Santa Maria, and from there we went towards Stuttgart.
The Satnav was set to include Toll roads which saved some time though when leaving Switzerland on the way to Stuttgart we stopped at this tollbooth and were told it would be CHF 34, to pass, which seemed more then previous roads, but we happily paid it and then accelerated away, only to arrive at this, without having a clue where we were, why there was a train in front of us, and where this train was going to take us...
Though the alternative was a 55 minute detour, so we were happy to drive onto this little train for the 25 minutes journey to wherever...
The next day in Stuttgart we were off to the Porsche Museum :
And to break up the journey back we spend the last few days in Reims in France, which obviously also includes the famous Circuit, where there happened to be a group of French Porsche owners that invited us into their photoshoot :
Eurotunnel Porsche parking
This was definitely the most fun I've had in a car, especially in the Alps and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking about it!
The whole trip came about when on a lazy Sunday morning we were laying in bed with our coffee's watching an old Top Gear episode when my wife asked my what I wanted to do for my birthday. We hadn't booked our summer holiday yet due to all the airport delay issue's, and just as I was thinking about it, the Top Gear lads were driving up the Stelvio pass, and then I thought, thát would be cool to do!
I go home (the Netherlands) by a car a few times a year, and whilst there we've done trips to Antwerp and Bruges and stuff like that, but I've not done a proper road trip like this before so I was very excited. Gone through a lot of topics on the forum here to read up about the various passes and where to stay etc.
I bought this 2011 Boxster S (987.2 model, with the 3.4 litre engine) just over a year ago, exactly to do things like this, so I started planning on getting to the Stelvio pass, with several stops on the way so we wouldn't spend too much time in the car.
In total we done 2106 miles with a total travel time of 49:04 hours, which sounds like a lot but split over 16 days it wasn't that long at all. Longest journey we done was probably 4.5 hours, with the other journeys around 2.5 - 3.5 hours long.
We manage to do the entire trip with the roof down which was lovely, and on a quiet stretch of unrestricted German autobahn I managed to get 264 km/h on my dials which was an interesting experience with the roof down...
Was also very impressed with the MPG. My daily driver is a 4.2 supercharged V8 Jag that does about 13 MPG and even on long motorway journeys to the Netherlands I've never had more then 220 miles out of the 72 liter tank however I filled the Boxster up before our trip and managed to do home to Folkstone, and then Folkstone to our hotel in Luxembourg on 1 tank, which was 352 miles, and especially with my heavy right foot I was very impressed with that!
Before we left I paid £ 207,9 per liter for Shell V power, first fill up in Luxembourg, also V power at a Shell, £ 177.4 per liter!
So the itinerary was :
- Home (Essex) to Folkstone, overnight stay near the tunnel.
- Eurotunnel to Calais, and then to Luxembourg for a couple nights.
- Luxembourg to Baden-baden, couple nights there.
- Drive the famous B500 route through the black forest, stop for lunch in Waldshut, then onto Brienz (Switzerland) for a night.
- Brienz to the famous Alpine passes, which were :
- Furka pass.
- Tremola pass (the old Gotthard).
- Nuefenen pass (my favourite!).
- Furka pass again, stop for lunch in Ulrichen.
- Gotthard pass (the new one).
- After the Alpine passes drive to Bellagio (Lake como) for 4 nights.
- Bellagio to Sirmione (Lake Garda) for 3 nights.
- Sirmione to Bormio (at the foot of the Stelvio pass) stay in stunning spa hotel for the night.
- Next morning, on my birthday, the Stelvio pass, in both directions as it was so quiet! Followed by the Umbrail pass to Santa Maria (Switzerland).
- Then onto Stuttgart for a couple nights.
- Stuttgart to Reims for the last 2 nights.
Out of the 9 hotels, the two that stood out most were Hotel Brienzersee which had amazing views over the lake, and is just outside Interlaken. Also the 40 minute drive from Brienz to the first Alpine pass (Grimsel) was pretty epic. Would definitely stay there again.
The other amazing one was the QC Terme Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi, which is a stunning building set right in the mountains and they have this 'thermal path' made up by like 12 different pools, a stunning ballroom for dinner.
Made friends with some German 911 owners that were doing the same Alpine passes and joined them for a while (even stopping together for photo's and then doing the next pass together), and in Reims when we visited the circuit there was a large group of French owners that invited me in for their photo shoot.
I don't have/want a dashcam, but most of the road photo's (bar a few made with our mobiles) are made with this little Go Pro I mounted next to the rear view mirror with the remote switch next to my steering wheel so anytime the road/scenery looked pretty I could just snap a picture without having to ask my wife every 2 seconds to get her phone out
Plenty of luggage, big suitcase in the front, and 3 in the back :
Luxembourg :
Baden-Baden
The B500, stunning route and as it was a week day not busy at all!
Lake Brienz, in Switzerland :
Doing the Alpine passes :
Roof is only up as we went up the hill on the right to a little restaurant with amazing views.
And then it was onto Bellagio (Lake Como), via the car ferry (10 minutes) from Griante :
Bellagio :
Saw a group of Porsche's from Germany come over by ferry as well the next day : Kinda wanted to join them for a drive but was on the wrong side of a bottle of wine
Refuelled and washed, of to the next lake (Garda) :
Sirmione (Lake Garda) :
And then from Sirmione to Bormio to stay at this epic hotel :
And after a lovely breakfast it was time to do the Stelvio pass, and despite not leaving the hotel until 10:30 ish, I was really surprised as to how quiet/empty it was!
After the Stelvio pass we did the Umbrail pass the Santa Maria, and from there we went towards Stuttgart.
The Satnav was set to include Toll roads which saved some time though when leaving Switzerland on the way to Stuttgart we stopped at this tollbooth and were told it would be CHF 34, to pass, which seemed more then previous roads, but we happily paid it and then accelerated away, only to arrive at this, without having a clue where we were, why there was a train in front of us, and where this train was going to take us...
Though the alternative was a 55 minute detour, so we were happy to drive onto this little train for the 25 minutes journey to wherever...
The next day in Stuttgart we were off to the Porsche Museum :
And to break up the journey back we spend the last few days in Reims in France, which obviously also includes the famous Circuit, where there happened to be a group of French Porsche owners that invited us into their photoshoot :
Eurotunnel Porsche parking
This was definitely the most fun I've had in a car, especially in the Alps and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking about it!
Paft Dunk said:
Nice write up. Thanks for taking the time to do it. Like the GoPro idea for taking photos as well, will try that next time.
That worked great, both for photo's and video's.It's not even an actual Go Pro, it's just one of amazon. I bought one years ago and use it for underwater photography and was impressed by the quality. This one is even better, has bluetooth (connects to your phone as well), a handy remote and comes with loads of accessories.
It does both photo's and video's with the remote controle, so great for track days etc as well.
£ 90, on Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AKASO-Underwater-Anti-Sha...
I've received a few messages with questions about the hotels and driving time ect, so might as well post this up in here too :
We did 2 nights in most and that really helped. For example the drive from Stuttgart to Calais is about 7 hours, but to reims is only 3 and a bit hour, stopped there for 2 nights and it was just so much more relaxing.
I posted this in a few places and several people have asked about the route, hotels and travel time, so I thought I might as well add that.
We had 9 hotels in total and stayed for 2 nights in most, and 1 or 3 nights in a few others, that way we didn't spend too much time in the car and you can have a few drinks on arrival in the afternoon as you're not driving the next day.
Most hotels have a checkout of 11:00, but we were often up earlier, had breakfast and then left around 10:00 ish. That way even with the longer drives we'd get to the next hotel around check in time (15:00 in most places) so you'd still have half that day, plus the next day before you have to drive again.
Our first hotel was the "Holiday Inn Express - Folkestone Channel Tunnel", and even though we're only 1.5 hour away from the tunnel, I didn't fancy the Dartford crossing and M25 in the morning so this was a good option. It's cheap and cheerful, has a bar and a few shops nearby. And It means you can take the early train in the morning as the hotel is a 6 minute drive from the tunnel check in booths.
This is what we did on our driving days :
1) Calais to Luxembourg. 260 miles - 3:55 hours, then 2 nights in the "City Hotel".
2) Luxembourg to Baden Baden. 153 mile - 2:55 hour. 2 nights here in "Hotel Merkur".
3) Drive the B500 route to Brienz (Switzerland). 127 mile - 3:20 hour. 1 night in the stunning "Hotel Brienzersee".
4) This was our Alpine driving day. First Brienz Hotel to Grimsel pass. 40 miles – 50 min.
Grimsel + Furka pass to Hospental. 20 mile – 40 min.
Gotthard Pass Tremola (old) to Airolo. 15 miles – 35 min
Nufenen Pass – Airolo back to Gletch, via Ulrichen. 29 miles – 50 min.
Furka pass 2nd time (Gletch to Andermatt Lunch stop, Alp Hitta) 23 mile – 45 min.
Gotthard pass (new) to Airolo BP. 20 mile – 36 min.
Stop for drinks, and then Airolo to Bellagio (Lake como). 91 mile - 2:20 hour. Stayed in a AirBnB called "Angelina’s house with lake view" for 3 nights.
5) Bellagio to Sirmione (Lake Garda). 90 mile - 1:50 hour. 2 nights in Hotel Saviola.
6) Sirmione to Bormio. 86 mile - 1:45 hour. 2 nights in the stunning "QC Terme Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi" hotel.
7) The Stelvio pass, Bormio to Trafoi. 20 mile - 0:55 min, and back up to Santa Maria via Umbrail pass. 19 mile - 0:54 min
Santia Maria to Stuttgart. 236 mile - 4:20 hour. Our longest drive. 2 nights in Hotel Royal.
8) Stuttgart to Reims. 300 mile - 4:00 hour. 2 nights in "Best Western Premier Hotel de la Paix".
9) Reims to Eurotunnel Calais. 172 mile - 2:10 hour
So by having a few hotels along the route and staying for 2 nights it really breaks up the journey and it doesn't feel like you're constantly travelling at all.
All the route were planning just using google maps and Satnav (Tom Tom) apart from the B500, as the Sat nav will try and send you along the main road which is boring, so you just pick a few towns along the B500 and add them to your itinerary. I added 'mummelsee', 'Bad Peterstal Griesbach', 'Schonwald in Schwarzwald', 'Schluchsee' and 'Hochenschwand' and that keeps you on the B500 for the entire route.
When planning the Alpine passes on google maps you might have to change the date sometimes, as when I was planning back in May it wouldn't let me create a route as some of them were still closed due to the snow, so you just change the date to 'travel at' and then it works.
There's a few I haven't done like the St. Bernards and Susten pass, so will look at adding those in next time.
Italy and France had a few toll roads, which were cheap and quite and made for a very relaxing drive. You just rock up at the booth, take a ticket, and at the end booth you pay eithe with cash or card. You can get a prepaid transponder thing but we didn't bother with that.
For Switzerland you need a vignette to use a lot of the roads, you can buy them online (around the € 40, mark) or at the border or any petrol station near a border. We bought ours from a Petrol station in Germany on the way there.
I spend quite a bit of time researching the hotels as well, as we wanted secure parking, breakfast, and to be near all the sights and attractions etc, and we were pleased with all of the hotels. I put the description (of booking.com or their own website) in a document, and this is what it says about all the hotels :
This situation means it is convenient for the free trams & busses to the city centre as
public transport is free in Luxembourg.
Daily hearty breakfast buffets are provided in Merkur’s Mediterranean-style restaurant, and the Sterntaler restaurant offers dishes from the Baden region and international dishes.
Situated right above Lake Brienz, the Hotel offers superb views from the rooms and from the lakeside terrace, the Brienzersee hotel is only a 5-minute drive away from the centre of Interlaken.
At the reception you will get the Visitors Card Interlaken entitling to free use of public transportation within Interlaken and its surroundings.
The Saviola's private beach is equipped with sunbeds and parasols. You can take drinks out in the garden. Hotel Saviola also has a private dock.
It offers over 30 wellness services across the 11,000-square metre wellness area, including outdoor baths, hot tubs, saunas and Turkish bath.
This luxury 5-star hotel is a prime example of Art-Nouveau architecture.
The wellness facilities are both indoors and outdoors, and can be reached directly from your room.
The rooms have a panoramic view of the valley or mountains. All offer free WiFi. Some suites are set in an annex, and include private parking.
The bright rooms at Hotel Royal are decorated in neutral colours, and come with a TV and a bottle of mineral water. A hairdryer and Aloe vera toiletries are provided in the en suite bathroom.
After relaxing on the sun terrace or working out in the fitness centre, guests can eat in the onsite restaurant. A continental breakfast is served daily at the property. As well as being eco-friendly, the hotel also has a bar with a private terrace.
Any more questions feel free to ask
We did 2 nights in most and that really helped. For example the drive from Stuttgart to Calais is about 7 hours, but to reims is only 3 and a bit hour, stopped there for 2 nights and it was just so much more relaxing.
I posted this in a few places and several people have asked about the route, hotels and travel time, so I thought I might as well add that.
We had 9 hotels in total and stayed for 2 nights in most, and 1 or 3 nights in a few others, that way we didn't spend too much time in the car and you can have a few drinks on arrival in the afternoon as you're not driving the next day.
Most hotels have a checkout of 11:00, but we were often up earlier, had breakfast and then left around 10:00 ish. That way even with the longer drives we'd get to the next hotel around check in time (15:00 in most places) so you'd still have half that day, plus the next day before you have to drive again.
Our first hotel was the "Holiday Inn Express - Folkestone Channel Tunnel", and even though we're only 1.5 hour away from the tunnel, I didn't fancy the Dartford crossing and M25 in the morning so this was a good option. It's cheap and cheerful, has a bar and a few shops nearby. And It means you can take the early train in the morning as the hotel is a 6 minute drive from the tunnel check in booths.
This is what we did on our driving days :
1) Calais to Luxembourg. 260 miles - 3:55 hours, then 2 nights in the "City Hotel".
2) Luxembourg to Baden Baden. 153 mile - 2:55 hour. 2 nights here in "Hotel Merkur".
3) Drive the B500 route to Brienz (Switzerland). 127 mile - 3:20 hour. 1 night in the stunning "Hotel Brienzersee".
4) This was our Alpine driving day. First Brienz Hotel to Grimsel pass. 40 miles – 50 min.
Grimsel + Furka pass to Hospental. 20 mile – 40 min.
Gotthard Pass Tremola (old) to Airolo. 15 miles – 35 min
Nufenen Pass – Airolo back to Gletch, via Ulrichen. 29 miles – 50 min.
Furka pass 2nd time (Gletch to Andermatt Lunch stop, Alp Hitta) 23 mile – 45 min.
Gotthard pass (new) to Airolo BP. 20 mile – 36 min.
Stop for drinks, and then Airolo to Bellagio (Lake como). 91 mile - 2:20 hour. Stayed in a AirBnB called "Angelina’s house with lake view" for 3 nights.
5) Bellagio to Sirmione (Lake Garda). 90 mile - 1:50 hour. 2 nights in Hotel Saviola.
6) Sirmione to Bormio. 86 mile - 1:45 hour. 2 nights in the stunning "QC Terme Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi" hotel.
7) The Stelvio pass, Bormio to Trafoi. 20 mile - 0:55 min, and back up to Santa Maria via Umbrail pass. 19 mile - 0:54 min
Santia Maria to Stuttgart. 236 mile - 4:20 hour. Our longest drive. 2 nights in Hotel Royal.
8) Stuttgart to Reims. 300 mile - 4:00 hour. 2 nights in "Best Western Premier Hotel de la Paix".
9) Reims to Eurotunnel Calais. 172 mile - 2:10 hour
So by having a few hotels along the route and staying for 2 nights it really breaks up the journey and it doesn't feel like you're constantly travelling at all.
All the route were planning just using google maps and Satnav (Tom Tom) apart from the B500, as the Sat nav will try and send you along the main road which is boring, so you just pick a few towns along the B500 and add them to your itinerary. I added 'mummelsee', 'Bad Peterstal Griesbach', 'Schonwald in Schwarzwald', 'Schluchsee' and 'Hochenschwand' and that keeps you on the B500 for the entire route.
When planning the Alpine passes on google maps you might have to change the date sometimes, as when I was planning back in May it wouldn't let me create a route as some of them were still closed due to the snow, so you just change the date to 'travel at' and then it works.
There's a few I haven't done like the St. Bernards and Susten pass, so will look at adding those in next time.
Italy and France had a few toll roads, which were cheap and quite and made for a very relaxing drive. You just rock up at the booth, take a ticket, and at the end booth you pay eithe with cash or card. You can get a prepaid transponder thing but we didn't bother with that.
For Switzerland you need a vignette to use a lot of the roads, you can buy them online (around the € 40, mark) or at the border or any petrol station near a border. We bought ours from a Petrol station in Germany on the way there.
I spend quite a bit of time researching the hotels as well, as we wanted secure parking, breakfast, and to be near all the sights and attractions etc, and we were pleased with all of the hotels. I put the description (of booking.com or their own website) in a document, and this is what it says about all the hotels :
- Holiday Inn Express - Folkestone Channel Tunnel
- City Hotel – Luxembourg
This situation means it is convenient for the free trams & busses to the city centre as
public transport is free in Luxembourg.
- Hotel Merkur - Baden Baden (Germany)
Daily hearty breakfast buffets are provided in Merkur’s Mediterranean-style restaurant, and the Sterntaler restaurant offers dishes from the Baden region and international dishes.
- Hotel Brienzersee – Ringgenberg (Switzerland)
Situated right above Lake Brienz, the Hotel offers superb views from the rooms and from the lakeside terrace, the Brienzersee hotel is only a 5-minute drive away from the centre of Interlaken.
At the reception you will get the Visitors Card Interlaken entitling to free use of public transportation within Interlaken and its surroundings.
- Angelina’s house with lake view – Bellagio, lake Como (Italy)
- Hotel Saviola – Sirmione, lake Garda (Italy)
The Saviola's private beach is equipped with sunbeds and parasols. You can take drinks out in the garden. Hotel Saviola also has a private dock.
- QC Terme Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi – Bormio (Italy)
It offers over 30 wellness services across the 11,000-square metre wellness area, including outdoor baths, hot tubs, saunas and Turkish bath.
This luxury 5-star hotel is a prime example of Art-Nouveau architecture.
The wellness facilities are both indoors and outdoors, and can be reached directly from your room.
The rooms have a panoramic view of the valley or mountains. All offer free WiFi. Some suites are set in an annex, and include private parking.
- Hotel Royal – Stuttgart (Germany)
The bright rooms at Hotel Royal are decorated in neutral colours, and come with a TV and a bottle of mineral water. A hairdryer and Aloe vera toiletries are provided in the en suite bathroom.
- Best Western Premier Hotel de la Paix – Reims (France)
After relaxing on the sun terrace or working out in the fitness centre, guests can eat in the onsite restaurant. A continental breakfast is served daily at the property. As well as being eco-friendly, the hotel also has a bar with a private terrace.
Any more questions feel free to ask
pjv997 said:
To the OP - did you consider the overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland? We’ve done that about half dozen times despite being a bit closer to Folkestone than to Harwich.
I did, but it didn't work for us as my wife was still working until Friday afternoon on the day we headed to Folkstone, so it would have been a rush going for the nightboat to Hoek. Also the route through Holland would take me through/past my hometown and it would feel 'weird' not stopping to see friends & family I haven't seen for a year so we decided to go via Calais, and we're taking the boat to Hoek van Holland next month to go see them instead
NSNO said:
Wow, looks like and amazing trip with some absolutely stunning scenery and great pictures. I was planning on doing a bit of a road trip myself from Amsterdam to Menaggio next week. The plan was to hire a Z4 M40i through Sixt, however they couldn't guarantee the model and also require a deposit of €3k which I'd be worrying about getting back after reading some of the reviews on Google of customers being charged for anything that Sixt can try and think up. I'm am jealous though now that I want be doing this. Flying to Naples instead now, few nights there and then Florence or Bologna and then to Milan/Como, all on the train and doing two weeks instead of one now also, which would have also double the car hire price. Talking of which, the price of car hire has shot up, I hired a 3 series a couple of years ago for just over a week and for the same period now, it is more than double the cost.
Almost better value to just buy a little well looked after Z3 number over here and just that instead of paying a fortune on rental cars that you then can't abuse/thrash around the roads...thebullettrain said:
Amazing. I’m doing Turin to London soon. Any suggestions for the route back?
I'm afraid I haven't. But when I done my trip I just used the search options on the forum with the names of the places I wanted to go to and found quite a few topics from people having either done it or asking questions about it, which really helped.
c4gts said:
hi medic-one this is a great write up thanks for taking the time!
planning a trip this summer, although much shorter than yours..
day 1 calais to dijon
day 2 dijon to lake brienz
day 3 and 4 exploring alps/passes - mainly the andermatt loop -susten/grimsel/furka. +-nufenan.
day 5 and 6 head back to uk.
couple of questions using your experience if you didn't mind.
1. taking a f430 so was a bit worried about getting stuck on any narrow roads/passes as i know it would stress me out no end. are there any passes you would avoid?
2. the hotel you stayed in near lake brienz -hotel brienzersee. the parking there - did it look fairly secure?
3. is crime an issue? do i need to get some locking wheel nuts (ferraris rarely have them) - i don't want to wake up to find the car on bricks! am i worrying too much?
4. could i get further than dijon on day 1 from calais? dont want to tire myself out but similarly want to get to the alps as fast as i can.
5. will i get bored on the passes for 2 days?
many thanks
alan
Sorry only just seen this. planning a trip this summer, although much shorter than yours..
day 1 calais to dijon
day 2 dijon to lake brienz
day 3 and 4 exploring alps/passes - mainly the andermatt loop -susten/grimsel/furka. +-nufenan.
day 5 and 6 head back to uk.
couple of questions using your experience if you didn't mind.
1. taking a f430 so was a bit worried about getting stuck on any narrow roads/passes as i know it would stress me out no end. are there any passes you would avoid?
2. the hotel you stayed in near lake brienz -hotel brienzersee. the parking there - did it look fairly secure?
3. is crime an issue? do i need to get some locking wheel nuts (ferraris rarely have them) - i don't want to wake up to find the car on bricks! am i worrying too much?
4. could i get further than dijon on day 1 from calais? dont want to tire myself out but similarly want to get to the alps as fast as i can.
5. will i get bored on the passes for 2 days?
many thanks
alan
1) None of the passes or 'fun roads' were that narrow that worried me. The only route that had some narrow bits were the actual normal roads around the Italian lakes between little towns when trying to find a petrol station.
A couple of those were narrow enough to make me nervous, and I drive a 6 ton van at speed through traffic and narrow gaps (on blue lights) for a living
I wouldn't say the Furka was that narrow I'd get worried in a wider car (aka f430) and it was a great road to drive. There's plenty of video's on youtube of people driving up/down the entire road with a dashcam so you can check it out for yourself I guess.
2) Yes, I was quite happy to leave my car there.
There's a couple spaces at the front of the hotel, right in view of reception (seen in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWwym6gMoME at 00:59 minutes in and then my picture above is car park on the other side, which leads right upto their terrace so all cars are well within view and because it's up a little ramp (not too steep) it's not really visible from the road.
The actual hotel is also off a smaller road from the main road, so you can't see the car park from the villege or main road, so it's secluded and secure.
I haven't got a Ferrari but if i did I'd be happy to leave it at that carpark.
3) I reviewed every hotel I stayed at, and looked on youtube and google maps in the area and out of my trip the only place that had some rough area's was Stuttgart but my car was safely locked up in the hotel's private garage there.
I wouldn't worry to much about it, in summer there are plenty of people about and the hotels and tourist area's don't want a bad name so they all have their security measures and CCTV etc in place.
4) Depends on your passenger I guess. It's well doable but my wife would probably moan
5) Definitely not, and I would have happily had a 3rd day there.
Some of the passes I done a couple of times, and you obviously have various amount of traffic on them, but by doing them again you get a bit more confident, you get the know the bits for good/easy overtakes and it's just fun.
On one of my runs i stopped at one of the viewing points and ended up chatting to a group of 4 German Porsche owners and ended up going with them for a little spin which was great fun, so 2 days is definitely not too much.
I'm not sure how different August is to July, but none of the routes (B500, Alpine passes, even the Stelvio) weren't busy at all and never really got stuck behind anything to long or couldn't enjoy the roads, but all depends on how parts of the countries also have their holidays in August I guess..
omniflow said:
August all over Europe is massively busy - particularly around the middle weekend of the month. Most of Europe takes the whole of August off as holiday. We made the mistake of going to Italy in August in 2020, as we wanted to be in Como for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. We got stuck in a couple of hideously bad traffic jams. Lesson well and truly learned.
In that case definitely go the month before if you can. We went the 2nd week of July, and ended up doing the Stelvio pass twice (on my birthday, which was the 12th) just because it was still so empty!
elpichichi said:
Hello. Just popping in to say how much this thread inspired me to do a euro road trip. Currently in Baden-Baden staying at the Merkur. Not to say i have copied your itinerary to the tee but i have just come from here via Luxembourg in a 987 Boxster and we will be heading on to interlaken and then the Italian lakes. Unfortunately I couldn’t book the hotel you used at Brienz so found another option but must say this trip has been fantastic so far. Baden-Baden is a lovely place!
Quick question.. You mention about stopping for somewhere for lunch in Waldshut. Don’t suppose you can remember the name of the place?
By the way, I don’t think I’m the only Boxster owner replicating your trip!
Great to see it's inspired some people! Quick question.. You mention about stopping for somewhere for lunch in Waldshut. Don’t suppose you can remember the name of the place?
By the way, I don’t think I’m the only Boxster owner replicating your trip!
We stopped in a little place called 'Waldshut-Tiengen', which was a lovely little village with a big underground carpark. I can't remember the name of the place we had lunch but we spend a couple hours in there and there's various places to eat in the centre.
Gassing Station | Roads | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff