UK to Italy - any tips or advice
Discussion
Hi all,
Visiting my folks holiday home in Italy and decided I am going to drive. Will take Euro tunnel to Calais and drive down through Switzerland and then into Italy. Total Journey time 17 hours.
The wife and I will do shifts in driving, we have young children, therefore plan to drive overnight for the majority of the journey.. I have driven in France and Italy before, however only in a native car...
Does anyone have any good advice?
Visiting my folks holiday home in Italy and decided I am going to drive. Will take Euro tunnel to Calais and drive down through Switzerland and then into Italy. Total Journey time 17 hours.
The wife and I will do shifts in driving, we have young children, therefore plan to drive overnight for the majority of the journey.. I have driven in France and Italy before, however only in a native car...
Does anyone have any good advice?
Its a good trip down to italy where are you aiming for?
I usually go via Reims, Strasbourg Basel etc. Just watch out for speeding during the short time you are in switzerland - they take it very seriously and there are camara's almost as soon as you cross the border.
Strasbourg is a nice stop over gets you past half way there.
I usually go via Reims, Strasbourg Basel etc. Just watch out for speeding during the short time you are in switzerland - they take it very seriously and there are camara's almost as soon as you cross the border.
Strasbourg is a nice stop over gets you past half way there.
Despite hearing a few horror stories of driving in Switzerland, and their over zealous approach to speeders, we didn't have any problems there. Also, the price of petrol in Switzerland was cheaper than the other European countries we drove through on our trip (also to Italy), which surprised me.
Having done the Mont Blanc tunnel route on a number of occasions now, the route through Switzerland is much nicer to drive, but if your driving at night and looking for the shortest journey time, the tunnel may be your best option.
Having done the Mont Blanc tunnel route on a number of occasions now, the route through Switzerland is much nicer to drive, but if your driving at night and looking for the shortest journey time, the tunnel may be your best option.
Lambochick said:
Despite hearing a few horror stories of driving in Switzerland, and their over zealous approach to speeders, we didn't have any problems there. Also, the price of petrol in Switzerland was cheaper than the other European countries we drove through on our trip (also to Italy), which surprised me.
Having done the Mont Blanc tunnel route on a number of occasions now, the route through Switzerland is much nicer to drive, but if your driving at night and looking for the shortest journey time, the tunnel may be your best option.
Thanks..Having done the Mont Blanc tunnel route on a number of occasions now, the route through Switzerland is much nicer to drive, but if your driving at night and looking for the shortest journey time, the tunnel may be your best option.
Hi all,
Did my drive to Italy, got back Monday afternoon, still a little tired after 20 hours of driving... I have to say, I was pleased to take the route via Switzerland, as we got there first thing in the morning on our outbound journey and the scenary was breath taking!! Unfortunatly driving through Switzerland at night on the way back, was not as great.
Sleeping at service stations I found very difficult, therefore got around 1 hours sleep max in the 20 hours of driving, the same could be said for the return home. The wife did a good 6-7 hours of driving during the trip, which help me out.
I found driving across France quite easy, the roads were good and you could make up good ground, this is also due to less traffic on the road. Switzerland of course allot slower, however once through the tunnel into Italy the pace could be picked up again.
The Italian motorways are great, down through Milan to Bologne, then onto Pescara was pretty hassle free. The majority of the drive was done close to the Adriatic coast. From Rimni to Pescara, which was great. Highlight of the trip for me and my son was following a bright yellow Diablo VT for a good 30km up towards Pescara.
It was quite ironic that after driving 1,100 miles through three countries, I encountered no traffic, however back from Folkestone on Monday, found myself sitting on the M25 for a good 1.5 hours.. Welcome back to the UK!!
All in all, it was a good trip and I would recomend it. However a stop over in Northern Italy or Switzerland would probably make things allot easier. I travelled down in my A6 and was very pleased with it. It did not miss a beat and just eat up the miles, with four up and a boot packed full of stuff. It peformed fantastically.. A great experiance.
Did my drive to Italy, got back Monday afternoon, still a little tired after 20 hours of driving... I have to say, I was pleased to take the route via Switzerland, as we got there first thing in the morning on our outbound journey and the scenary was breath taking!! Unfortunatly driving through Switzerland at night on the way back, was not as great.
Sleeping at service stations I found very difficult, therefore got around 1 hours sleep max in the 20 hours of driving, the same could be said for the return home. The wife did a good 6-7 hours of driving during the trip, which help me out.
I found driving across France quite easy, the roads were good and you could make up good ground, this is also due to less traffic on the road. Switzerland of course allot slower, however once through the tunnel into Italy the pace could be picked up again.
The Italian motorways are great, down through Milan to Bologne, then onto Pescara was pretty hassle free. The majority of the drive was done close to the Adriatic coast. From Rimni to Pescara, which was great. Highlight of the trip for me and my son was following a bright yellow Diablo VT for a good 30km up towards Pescara.
It was quite ironic that after driving 1,100 miles through three countries, I encountered no traffic, however back from Folkestone on Monday, found myself sitting on the M25 for a good 1.5 hours.. Welcome back to the UK!!
All in all, it was a good trip and I would recomend it. However a stop over in Northern Italy or Switzerland would probably make things allot easier. I travelled down in my A6 and was very pleased with it. It did not miss a beat and just eat up the miles, with four up and a boot packed full of stuff. It peformed fantastically.. A great experiance.
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