Stelvio Pass,Help Please.

[7Heaven]

Hi Guys,

Can anybody give me some advice on a route to Stelvio, I am going mid September in a Caterham heading to Lake Como.

Ideally want to do the drive Hampshire on a Sunday and Monday then stay with friends on Como and head back on Friday. Can you recommend a route don't mind some hard motorway miles to get down there a bit quicker.

Suggested accomodation would be appreciated also any tools spare parts you woud recommend. The car will have a mot/service a new set of boots before we set off and I am sharing the driving.

Thanks in advance.

7

[Jeffmaniac]

Hi have just come back from Stelvio a week ago in a £200 15 year old Toyota Carina E as had just finished the Crumball Rally.

Guessing you are not camping if you are taking the Caterham.

First day we went from Boulogne in France to a great place called Thun in Switzerland (approx 8 hours solid drive) just passed Bern. We didnt stay at this hotel but others did. It has a very good public car park next door. Just to warn that all hotels in Switzerland are very expensive!

http://www.elitehotel.ch/start_e.html


Guessing you can make Como from here.

A great hotel just 45 mins from Stelvio that we stayed at is at the top of the Tonale Pass. Great roads all around here that a Caterham would love! Its a winter resort so is dead in the summer. We turned up and managed to get rooms for 35 euros pppn.

http://www.hotelgardenia.net/en/

Hope this helps!

Oh, would recommend extra engine oil, type pressure monitor, water and coolant. Also take lots of regular breaks as your brakes will need it!

Also check the AA website for Euopean travel as you will need a fire extinguisher, warning triangle, yellow luminous shirt and spare bulb kit + if you go through Switzerland on the Motorways you need a Motorway Pass sticker that costs 40 euros!

Email me for any info you might need!

Edited by Jeffmaniac on Wednesday 4th August 22:41

[ewenm]

I drove in a Caterham Kent => Dolomites (N Italy) a few years ago, splitting the route in Colmar, Alsace. I'd recommend taking the autoroute from Calais to Reims then head off-peage to your overnight stop.

[Viper]

mid sept in a caterham is going to be chilly, friend got back a few days ago and there's already snow on the ground

[7Heaven]

Is it to ambitous to hope to make it to Zurich or even further.

Going for an early start on a Sunday no trucks on the road in France and a hard punt down.

Drive round Como should make up for missing some prime French roads.

[Jeffmaniac]

depends if it is just you driving. I would personally stop in switzerland and get a good nights sleep and head off fresh the next day.

[snoopstah]

7Heaven said:

Is it to ambitous to hope to make it to Zurich or even further.

Certainly possible. I did Lyon to Hampshire on Monday in about 14 hours, including Channel Tunnel crossing, one quick stop for lunch, and one longer stop for dinner. Zurich is a similar kind of distance.

[Asterix]

When you give it a go, do it very early in the day. I did it as part of the journey from Bolzano to Lake Como, mid afternoon, and it was hell! Camper vans and cars full of mongs completely clogged it up. Luckily, they all seemed to stop at the top for an icecream and the run down the other side to Bormio was brilliant - much better road tbh.

[stuckmojo]

Asterix said:

When you give it a go, do it very early in the day. I did it as part of the journey from Bolzano to Lake Como, mid afternoon, and it was hell! Camper vans and cars full of mongs completely clogged it up. Luckily, they all seemed to stop at the top for an icecream and the run down the other side to Bormio was brilliant - much better road tbh.

Or very late in the afternoon, around 8PM, while everyone is having dinner. I am originally from the area (Valtellina) and feel qualified to reply.

Many more awesome roads around there.

[7Heaven]

Thanks for your help guys some great help.

There will be me and a mate sharing the driving so we hoping to knock 600 to 700 miles out then stop in Switzerland or Liechtenstein then be frsh Monday for the pass finishing down on the Lake with a large amount of vino.

The route I have planned is down to Ashford, tunnel then Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Colnar, Mulhouse across to Zurich. Does this sound possible in a hard days drive?

[BigBen]

7Heaven said:

Thanks for your help guys some great help.

There will be me and a mate sharing the driving so we hoping to knock 600 to 700 miles out then stop in Switzerland or Liechtenstein then be frsh Monday for the pass finishing down on the Lake with a large amount of vino.

The route I have planned is down to Ashford, tunnel then Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Colnar, Mulhouse across to Zurich. Does this sound possible in a hard days drive?

Possible but not that much fun. Don't fixate on the Stelvio either, whilst it is the big name in Swiss passes there are lots of equally good roads around the Alps that should not be missed.

I am heading that way tomorrow, stopping somewhere well across France en route and making it to Merinigen (near Thun) on Saturday. Then again the Atom is absolutely rubbish for motorway travel so we are going on back roads all the way.

Ben

[IainT]

Viper said:

mid sept in a caterham is going to be chilly, friend got back a few days ago and there's already snow on the ground

More likely to be a case of still snow on the ground!


Only been there once and there was about 4 metres of snow on the ground. Which was handy for a ski holiday. Not so good for driving.

[Huntsman]

We did it last year, Southampton to Tunnel after work, through tunnel and in the Campanile in Lille by 10pm our time.

Next day headed down through Belgium, Lux, Germany, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and stopped over night at Meersburg on the shore of lake Konstance, its very very lovely there.

Next day up over the Stelvio and down to the lakes.

[stuckmojo]

stuckmojo said:

Asterix said:

When you give it a go, do it very early in the day. I did it as part of the journey from Bolzano to Lake Como, mid afternoon, and it was hell! Camper vans and cars full of mongs completely clogged it up. Luckily, they all seemed to stop at the top for an icecream and the run down the other side to Bormio was brilliant - much better road tbh.

Or very late in the afternoon, around 8PM, while everyone is having dinner. I am originally from the area (Valtellina) and feel qualified to reply.

Many more awesome roads around there.

May I add, try the other roads such as:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernina_Pass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maloja_Pass
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavia_Pass

you could do all these in 2 days (1 day if you're flying) and sleep over somewhere very cool like here

http://www.valgerola.it/salmurano/

Edited by stuckmojo on Thursday 5th August 11:01

[ol]

We did Stelvio 3 weeks ago, and I have to say I wasn't impressed. Too busy, too many motorbikes coming the other way to go quick, and there are far better roads nearby.

I would recommend the San Bernardino pass. It was Top Gears best driving road in Europe, and definitely one of the best roads we found after spending 2 weeks driving the best roads we could find. Here are some videos of San Bernardino from when we went...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9GGtol05u8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYEyu8ofUb8

[7Heaven]

An Atom makes my Seven seem like a luxury limo and about as slow!

BigBen said:

7Heaven said:

Thanks for your help guys some great help.

There will be me and a mate sharing the driving so we hoping to knock 600 to 700 miles out then stop in Switzerland or Liechtenstein then be frsh Monday for the pass finishing down on the Lake with a large amount of vino.

The route I have planned is down to Ashford, tunnel then Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Colnar, Mulhouse across to Zurich. Does this sound possible in a hard days drive?

Possible but not that much fun. Don't fixate on the Stelvio either, whilst it is the big name in Swiss passes there are lots of equally good roads around the Alps that should not be missed.

I am heading that way tomorrow, stopping somewhere well across France en route and making it to Merinigen (near Thun) on Saturday. Then again the Atom is absolutely rubbish for motorway travel so we are going on back roads all the way.

Ben

[BOR]

I can second the suggestion of the Maloja Pass from St.Moritz down to Como.

Driving round Lake Como may not be as much fun as you think. Roads very narrow, lots of local traffic etc.

From Calais down to Zurich should be an easy 10hrs. I generally assume an average of 60miles per hour so a 1400 km journey takes us 13-14hrs depending on stops. It will be demanding if you drive the whole stint yourself.

Don't forget to carry yellow safety vests for Italy.

[Whitean3]

BigBen said:

Don't fixate on the Stelvio either, whilst it is the big name in Swiss passes there are lots of equally good roads around the Alps that should not be missed.

I am heading that way tomorrow, stopping somewhere well across France en route and making it to Meiringen (near Thun) on Saturday. Then again the Atom is absolutely rubbish for motorway travel so we are going on back roads all the way.

Ben

The Stelvio is in Italy, not Swtizerland! But yes, there are far better passes than the Stelvio (in my own personal opinion) near by. If you can make it to somewhere like Meiringen in Switzerland, you'll be right by the Furka, Grimsel and Susten passes; not to mention Nufenen and Gotthard. Hotels should be a bit cheaper here than the major Swiss cities too. Have a look on the Switzerland part of this forum to see the best/quickest route towards Zurich from Calais.
Other alternatives- if you can make it to Basel, there are plenty of hotels here- somewhere like the Dorint (formerly Novotel) is usually pretty affordable and has a secure garage. but you'll be a couple of hours further from the mountains if you stop here. It would be about a 2.5 hour drive to Chur from Basel, and from there, the fun can begin! Fluela and Ofen passes are both pretty good, heading towards the Stelvio.

[7Heaven]

I know I need the vests and a triangle are there any other Euor laws I should be considering.
Stayed in Como last year and drove a friends 4 by 4 round the lake, this year it will time to wake up the neighbours!
At least you feel the Italians appreciate decent cars.

BOR said:

I can second the suggestion of the Maloja Pass from St.Moritz down to Como.

Driving round Lake Como may not be as much fun as you think. Roads very narrow, lots of local traffic etc.

From Calais down to Zurich should be an easy 10hrs. I generally assume an average of 60miles per hour so a 1400 km journey takes us 13-14hrs depending on stops. It will be demanding if you drive the whole stint yourself.

Don't forget to carry yellow safety vests for Italy.

[ewenm]

I got nothing but smiles, waves and appreciative comments in the Caterham in the Alps a few weeks ago. They definitely like interesting cars.

Stuff you need:
Hi Vis
Warning triangle
GB sticker/GB Euro-style numberplate
Spare bulbs