Alps hoon...limited time and budget...ideas please?
Discussion
OK, long held ambition to take a quickish car down to the Alps. I've skied there plenty times, but really fancy seeing it in the summer with the Mrs. Really fancy taking our '02 Boxster down there for some "hills are alive with the sound of a screaming flat six" action.
Time is fairly limited...call it ideally a working week, with the weekends either end. Don't want a punishing schedule...ideally need a bit of contingency, just in case, or an ability to slow the pace and take in some nice places nearer the French coast on the way home.
Quite happy to bung a very small 2 man tent in and camp for a few nights it saves a few quid (might be a bit cold in the Alps themselves) or go budget hotels on the way down/back. Be nice to rip up some classic Alpine passes, take in a few lakes and some stonking scenery without racking up silly mileage (sales rep type so bit of a busman's holiday!)
Trying to work out costs...let's say 30mpg average...need to balance motorway tolls versus getting there quicker and better mpg. Don't want to do this on a complete shoestring, but I don't want to come back and find that we could have flown to the Carribean for the same dosh!
Thoughts please! I can't be the only one who has done this! Any suggested routes? Good hotels? Helpful websites? PH is my first port of call, but there must be loads of PHers on here who have done an Alps hoon without remortgaging or taking a month off work.
Thanks in advance!
Time is fairly limited...call it ideally a working week, with the weekends either end. Don't want a punishing schedule...ideally need a bit of contingency, just in case, or an ability to slow the pace and take in some nice places nearer the French coast on the way home.
Quite happy to bung a very small 2 man tent in and camp for a few nights it saves a few quid (might be a bit cold in the Alps themselves) or go budget hotels on the way down/back. Be nice to rip up some classic Alpine passes, take in a few lakes and some stonking scenery without racking up silly mileage (sales rep type so bit of a busman's holiday!)
Trying to work out costs...let's say 30mpg average...need to balance motorway tolls versus getting there quicker and better mpg. Don't want to do this on a complete shoestring, but I don't want to come back and find that we could have flown to the Carribean for the same dosh!
Thoughts please! I can't be the only one who has done this! Any suggested routes? Good hotels? Helpful websites? PH is my first port of call, but there must be loads of PHers on here who have done an Alps hoon without remortgaging or taking a month off work.
Thanks in advance!
Not sure if this is of help but a couple of road trips I've done in recent years with the associated routes. Hope it can give you some inspiration. 
Euro road trip in a BMW E30. France, Monaco, Italian Lakes.
Banger rally in a Rover 820. France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany and Belgium.
Euro road trip in a BMW E30. France, Monaco, Italian Lakes.
Banger rally in a Rover 820. France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany and Belgium.
Did the Route des Vins (Alsace) then crossed Switzerland west to east doing most of the best mountain passes, then the Dolomites, etc.
Tips: Shoot down to your start point using the motorways cost what they may. Will probably cost you more in fuel off them, anyway, and a lot more in time.
If you want to enjoy the proper nice bits, stopping for pics, some form of lunch on the go, etc etc, don't plan for more than 350km/day. It will take you a day to do this mileage, anyway.
I refer to the off-motorway driving where your average speed will be very low. Using the motorways 900km/day is no problem, if mind numbingly boring.
Get a pair of heel-less completely flat shoes, anything will do as long as it has no platform and the under-heel "corner" is rounded i.e. follows the contour of your heel as closely as possible, anything that lifts your foot up like your typical running shoes wedge thing will be painful after a few hours.
If you want to keep things within a budget, Switzerland is expensive, so pre-plan your hotel stops if possible and avoid sleeping there more than necessary. You are likely to be spending £120/night at a small unimposing chalet-hotel in the Swiss alps, it may be summer but possibly half of their eyewatering ski season room pricing is still expensive compared to practically anywhere else.
Don't speed in France and be careful in Switzerland too, you may be less likely to be nabbed on the mountain roads but there are still police about.
Tips: Shoot down to your start point using the motorways cost what they may. Will probably cost you more in fuel off them, anyway, and a lot more in time.
If you want to enjoy the proper nice bits, stopping for pics, some form of lunch on the go, etc etc, don't plan for more than 350km/day. It will take you a day to do this mileage, anyway.
I refer to the off-motorway driving where your average speed will be very low. Using the motorways 900km/day is no problem, if mind numbingly boring.
Get a pair of heel-less completely flat shoes, anything will do as long as it has no platform and the under-heel "corner" is rounded i.e. follows the contour of your heel as closely as possible, anything that lifts your foot up like your typical running shoes wedge thing will be painful after a few hours.
If you want to keep things within a budget, Switzerland is expensive, so pre-plan your hotel stops if possible and avoid sleeping there more than necessary. You are likely to be spending £120/night at a small unimposing chalet-hotel in the Swiss alps, it may be summer but possibly half of their eyewatering ski season room pricing is still expensive compared to practically anywhere else.
Don't speed in France and be careful in Switzerland too, you may be less likely to be nabbed on the mountain roads but there are still police about.
Depending on the definition of a 'hoon' in the Alps realistically France,Switzerland or Austria is mainly a no go area these days with ridiculously low limits and equally draconian enforcement.Which mainly leaves the German Alps in Bavaria and the Italian side of the Alps using passes like the Timmelsjoch amongst others.IE mainly something which will allow a good blast through Germany using the autobahns and then a run in the Bavarian and/or Italian Alps.Choosing the right times of day is also important with heavy autobahn traffic and the mountains often clogged by slow traffic and/or cyclists during the day times.IE you need to run through Germany overnight and the early mornings or evenings for the clearest run in the Alps.As for a 'month' I've often done events at Monza for example leaving home Friday and back home again on Monday.
Hard-Drive said:
Really fancy taking our '02 Boxster down there for some "hills are alive with the sound of a screaming flat six" action.
Trying to work out costs...let's say 30mpg average...need to balance motorway tolls versus getting there quicker and better mpg.
You would be insane to avoid motorways on a trip of at least 800 miles. Trying to work out costs...let's say 30mpg average...need to balance motorway tolls versus getting there quicker and better mpg.
Even the French toll motorways more than pay for themselves in the cost of
the time saved, unless you particularly want to spend most of your holiday
getting there and seeing every single town on the way.
Having said that, the Belgian and German motorways are free ;->
Switzerland is probably the most expensive country in Europe, so avoid.
Austria has much the same scenery and is less than half the price.
Calais to Innsbruck is about 660 miles, so that's 44 gallons there'n'back.
About £260 petrol if you avoid the silly prices at the motorway service stations.
Alpineroads.com has all the bumf on the passes. I've done dozens of
them over the years. Gross Glockner is over priced for what it is
and the Stelvio, although tall, isn't much fun.
Personal favourite is the Staller Sattel over into Italy.
Crazy traffic lights and single track road !
Have a read of the below link, it contains write ups of previous Euro road trips that other members of Pistonheads have done.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If you are limited for time, I would suggest heading to the roads around Chamonix.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If you are limited for time, I would suggest heading to the roads around Chamonix.
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