Driving down to Barga in Tuscany - good advice please?
Discussion
Hello, Myself and family have decided to drive from Hitchin, Herts down to Tuscany for our holiday in August and would really appreciate any travel advice that may be useful to us please?
We have so far planned to leave on Thursday lunch time - ferry at dover - push down to Troyes and get a travel hotel.
Friday Troyes to Aosta after the MontBlanc Tunnel another hotel.
Saturday morning Aosta to the rented villa in Barga.
Sat Nav says 1008 miles and 15 hours all told.
Have 2 daughters aged 14 and 8 so need plenty of time for giving them a run around the park and a bowl of water....B-)
Does the stops and timings seem about right to any one who has done this trip before/regularly?
Cheers
We have so far planned to leave on Thursday lunch time - ferry at dover - push down to Troyes and get a travel hotel.
Friday Troyes to Aosta after the MontBlanc Tunnel another hotel.
Saturday morning Aosta to the rented villa in Barga.
Sat Nav says 1008 miles and 15 hours all told.
Have 2 daughters aged 14 and 8 so need plenty of time for giving them a run around the park and a bowl of water....B-)
Does the stops and timings seem about right to any one who has done this trip before/regularly?
Cheers
You've allowed yourself lots of time for that. We did Derby to Aosta in one day a few years ago, and it was a breeze (Mont Blanc tunnel excepted), so giving yourself two days to get to Aosta is an easy pace. We continued onto Rome from Aosta the next day, getting there mid afternoon. (Derby-Rome is a bit too far in one hit, but over two days it was fine).
We're going to Florence in July, and plan on leaving Derby around Friday lunchtime, getting a little way into France and then overnight somewhere, and onto Florence the next day, arriving late afternoon/early evening. We will avoid Mont Blanc though, we intend to head south east across France, then through Alsace & Switzerland.
Three days is plenty, have a good one
We're going to Florence in July, and plan on leaving Derby around Friday lunchtime, getting a little way into France and then overnight somewhere, and onto Florence the next day, arriving late afternoon/early evening. We will avoid Mont Blanc though, we intend to head south east across France, then through Alsace & Switzerland.
Three days is plenty, have a good one
I'd love to know the origins of this British connection to the completely unknown little town of Barga!!!! 
It's absolutely full to the brim with British citizens over there.... ok it's in Tuscany but there has got to be another reason why so many Brits have some sort of connection there... it's not as if it's particularly close to the most famous sights, it's tucked away on the hills near Lucca that although gorgeous, it's not a prime suspect for tourists in Tuscany....
It's absolutely full to the brim with British citizens over there.... ok it's in Tuscany but there has got to be another reason why so many Brits have some sort of connection there... it's not as if it's particularly close to the most famous sights, it's tucked away on the hills near Lucca that although gorgeous, it's not a prime suspect for tourists in Tuscany....
cartart said:
Does the stops and timings seem about right to any one who has done this trip before/regularly?
I do it every year as I have family not far from LuccaI leave London at 7pm, get the chunnel and am in piazza for a late morning coffee as I don't stop and prefer to drive through the night as it's cooler and there's no traffic
I'd agree with avoiding the Mont Blanc and do the Gt Sn Bernardo tunnel instead, also I'd stop further SE in France as Aosta to La Spezia is a reasonably short run so, to me, stopping twice is a little excessive
Edited by sleep envy on Monday 23 May 14:08
Also, the reason for driving is to try it after weighing up increased flight costs, and car hire. This way we waft down in my Jaguar and so have a lovely car to use once we get there and taking into account the tolls, fuel and mileage it should be at least one third the cost of flights.
Cheers again.
Cheers again.
Minel said:
I'd love to know the origins of this British connection to the completely unknown little town of Barga!!!!
It's absolutely full to the brim with British citizens over there.... ok it's in Tuscany but there has got to be another reason why so many Brits have some sort of connection there... it's not as if it's particularly close to the most famous sights, it's tucked away on the hills near Lucca that although gorgeous, it's not a prime suspect for tourists in Tuscany....
Don't know if the OP is from Scotland but there's absolutely loads of Bargese (is that right??) up here. I think that's why it's sort of well known around Glasgow, anyway...It's absolutely full to the brim with British citizens over there.... ok it's in Tuscany but there has got to be another reason why so many Brits have some sort of connection there... it's not as if it's particularly close to the most famous sights, it's tucked away on the hills near Lucca that although gorgeous, it's not a prime suspect for tourists in Tuscany....
I'm planning to do it in July with a five year old, a two year old and a six month old. At the moment, my thinking is just two days with a first night stopover somewhere in Alsace. We've done Strasbourg with a ten month old before. We've always flown to Tuscany in the past, but luggage is a drag and car hire is a pain and having three kids in child seats condemns us to a nasty Ulysse or similar, so I'd rather just take longer to get there and have a pleasant stopover somewhere in France a with a Michelin * restaurant.
Disastrous said:
Minel said:
I'd love to know the origins of this British connection to the completely unknown little town of Barga!!!!
It's absolutely full to the brim with British citizens over there.... ok it's in Tuscany but there has got to be another reason why so many Brits have some sort of connection there... it's not as if it's particularly close to the most famous sights, it's tucked away on the hills near Lucca that although gorgeous, it's not a prime suspect for tourists in Tuscany....
Don't know if the OP is from Scotland but there's absolutely loads of Bargese (is that right??) up here. I think that's why it's sort of well known around Glasgow, anyway...It's absolutely full to the brim with British citizens over there.... ok it's in Tuscany but there has got to be another reason why so many Brits have some sort of connection there... it's not as if it's particularly close to the most famous sights, it's tucked away on the hills near Lucca that although gorgeous, it's not a prime suspect for tourists in Tuscany....
in august where my father is from, listening to people in the bars, it sounds like you'd be mistaken for being in a very hot part of the welsh valleys
two mountains over from where my mum's from, everyone is from north london
it all depends where they went in the 50's and 60's as they all tended to stay together
cartart said:
we waft down in my Jaguar and so have a lovely car to use once we get there and taking into account the tolls, fuel and mileage it should be at least one third the cost of flights.
Even with BG's fuel consumption, it's cheaper than flying/hiring. And swanning around Tuscany in BG 
sleep envy said:
there's loads of italian immigrant communities spread all over the UK
in august where my father is from, listening to people in the bars, it sounds like you'd be mistaken for being in a very hot part of the welsh valleys
two mountains over from where my mum's from, everyone is from north london
it all depends where they went in the 50's and 60's as they all tended to stay together
ah, so Italians went to the UK a while back, had kids who became british who then went back to their "roots" place eventually for holidays etc.... makes sense!in august where my father is from, listening to people in the bars, it sounds like you'd be mistaken for being in a very hot part of the welsh valleys
two mountains over from where my mum's from, everyone is from north london
it all depends where they went in the 50's and 60's as they all tended to stay together
Balmoral Green said:
cartart said:
we waft down in my Jaguar and so have a lovely car to use once we get there and taking into account the tolls, fuel and mileage it should be at least one third the cost of flights.
Even with BG's fuel consumption, it's cheaper than flying/hiring. And swanning around Tuscany in BG Zod said:
ianash said:
If you've got a SatNav (if not get a Tom Tom) why not avoid the tolls and take the Route Nationale network, makes for some simply lovely driving.
Lovely once you're close to where you want to be, but not the way to go if you have 1000 miles to drive.I don't do any m'way through france at all - probably adds a couple of hours but I prefer it
OP - if you do so through CH remember to buy a Vignette before you leave the UK
Zod said:
Lovely once you're close to where you want to be, but not the way to go if you have 1000 miles to drive.
I'm new to this SatNav malarkey, but I used one a few weeks ago to get from Calais to Bruges. Absolutely brilliant, we took a route alongside beautiful canals on deserted roads. Based on that experience, I'm going to drive to and from Lucca next month avoiding all toll roads. Also the confidence it has given me means on this trip means I will be staying in B&B Chateau rather than hotels in cities, or within easy reach of the autoroute. I'll report back after my journey and fess up if it turns out to be a disaster.Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff