Driving/Walking holiday advice needed

[madaza]

Hi, I was planning on heading down to the Alps at the beginning of May for a weeks walking holiday, with some good drives thrown in as well. The original idea was to go down and stay somewhere around Bormio, or the Stelvio National Park. Having thought about it, the exact location isn't really important as much as good walking trails and good driving roads....

So, with all your collective experience, could you recommend anywhere that has both? Also any good hotel recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

[madaza]

No one? Not even some general hotel recommendations???

[dcb]

madaza said:

Hi, I was planning on heading down to the Alps at the beginning of May for a weeks walking holiday, with some good drives thrown in as well. The original idea was to go down and stay somewhere around Bormio, or the Stelvio National Park. Having thought about it, the exact location isn't really important as much as good walking trails and good driving roads....

So, with all your collective experience, could you recommend anywhere that has both? Also any good hotel recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Plenty of walking guide books available from your local library.

Cicerone Press do some good ones.

Be warned that walking in the High Alps is tricky if
you are not used to it: the air gets thinner the higher
you go.

Also, in early May not every pass will be clear of snow.

[madaza]

Many thanks for the info, dcb. I know I can pick up some walking books, I was just hoping someone had done a walking/driving tour and would have some suggestions about combining the two. Or even just some hotel recommendations. I'm not concerned about the physical side of walking in the Alps - I've done a fair bit of trekking in the Himalayas at higher altitudes than anything in the Alps.

Thanks again.

[Pothole]

Drive on the road/walk on the pavement?

[Zed 44]

Did you check out this thread?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I have picked up some ideas for my trip in June.

[sassthathoopie]

I did 12 days walking/driving round Europe with my brother back in 2008. We managed to stuff a tent, sleeping bags, bedrolls, food, stove, rucsacs and walking kit into the NSX and had an absolute blast.

Some memorable nights camping wild in the mountains (Just drive into the trees at the end of a hairpin bend as the sun is setting, and hide the tent so that national park warden types don't move you on)

We drove across the Alsace, across Switzerland, and into Italy via the Grand St Bernard Pass. Stopping to recreate the opening scene from The Italian Job

We stayed with a mate in Milan, checked out Lake Como, then over the Stelvio Pass into Austria, camping just below the summit on the Austrian side.



We spent 5 days in Austria walking mostly in the Dachstein region after a stop in Kitzbuhel.

Hallstatt is one of the prettiest towns you'll ever visit.

And it is particularly satisfying to eat an ice cream, sat with your feet in the lake and look up at the glacier which you have just walked down from having spent the night in a mountain hut.





Austrian roads are immaculately kept, great fun, and relatively quiet. We headed out of Austria into Bavaria planning to check out Hitler's Eagles Nest but couldn't be arsed with all the tourists in August. A quick blast on the Autobahn, then back into France before Luxembourg and Belgium. Last stop was Bastogne to check out the Battle of the Bulge museum and find the wood above Foy where Easy Company of 'Band of Brothers' fame were camped out holding the line.


Thoroughly recommended for a lifetime of memories. Just make sure you pick the right person/people to go with

[madaza]

Good link Zed, some reading for tonight - cheers. Sass, that looks like an epic trip, and in an NSX to boot! First time I've seen one off-road..... Think I'm going to stick with hotels this time around, but like your idea of just driving off the road in the evening for some wild camping (I hate organised campsites). Halllstatt looks like a must do. Also the mountain huts. Excellent photographs.

Not going to be much of a problem regarding space - taking the Z3M Coupe which is surprisingly practical. Also, my walking buddy has had to cancel so looks like I'll probably be going alone .........

Thanks again guys, very helpful.

[ewenm]

I did similar in summer 2010 - drove the Caterham to Chamonix to meet some friends and do some walking on the trails around there plus some driving on the French/Swiss/Italian passes (Petit and Grand St Bernard in particular).

Chamonix was good as you can do it in a day from the UK (I drove back from there to Bath in the Caterham in one day, without using autoroutes until north of Reims - 745 miles, ~16 hours), it has plenty of accommodation/food/bar options, well-marked walking trails and a good little climbing crag to play on.

[madaza]

16 hours in a Caterham!!!! Daaaamn! Thanks Ewan, Chamomix had crossed my mind, though I was going to go more off the beaten track. Having said that, somewhere like Chamomix might actually be perfect - everything there, all amenities, no planning required. Hmmmm.....

[Janosh]

+1 for the 'value' you can pack into a trip to Chamonix when driving from the UK.

I suspect some of the Swiss passes (Stelvio in particular) might still be closed in May, but almost everything around Chamonix should be open.

For a good mix: you could spend a few nights in Cham, then drive half the tour du Mont-Blanc (through Megeve & Bourg St Maurice) to the Aosta valley, stay in Italy for a couple of nights and finish up by going over the Gd. St Bernard into Switzerland for a night or 2 in Verbier or Le Chable..