# driving from uk to italy



## oldjerry

Ok, some of your thoughts please.. I from drive from UK to Italy about a dozen times a year,have been for ages even when we were UK based,but I still cant decide on the best route. I think I've done most of them,but recently to break up the tedium,I've been considering staying off the motorways, has anyone ever gone into the extra miles\ tolls equation?


Thanks, Jerry


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## Joppa

oldjerry said:


> Ok, some of your thoughts please.. I from drive from UK to Italy about a dozen times a year,have been for ages even when we were UK based,but I still cant decide on the best route. I think I've done most of them,but recently to break up the tedium,I've been considering staying off the motorways, has anyone ever gone into the extra miles\ tolls equation?


It's possible to avoid (most of) the tolls without adding too much to the journey, and have used it several times myself:

Calais - Lille - Belgium - Luxembourg (stop for cheap fuel) - Germany - Basel - Switzerland (40 SFr yearly vignette) - St Gotthard Tunnel (no extra toll) - Italy. Probably requires an overnight stop in Southern Germany (cheaper) or Switzerland. If you come off the A5 Autobahn anywhere around the Black Forest, you'll find lots of B&Bs and guesthouses (Zimmer frei) for around 20 to 30 euro/person incl breakfast. Similar for Switzerland, but there are fewer B&Bs and costs are higher.
As for leaving the motorway, that is certainly possible but will add a lot more to journey time, probably adding another overnight stop. Frankly I find Northwestern Europe quite monotonous for touring (there are some exceptions, such as the Ardennes or Eifel), and best touring is in Southern Germany and the Alps, plus parts of France like the Vosges and Alsace, esp if you are interested in wines.


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## oldjerry

Joppa said:


> It's possible to avoid (most of) the tolls without adding too much to the journey, and have used it several times myself:
> 
> Calais - Lille - Belgium - Luxembourg (stop for cheap fuel) - Germany - Basel - Switzerland (40 SFr yearly vignette) - St Gotthard Tunnel (no extra toll) - Italy. Probably requires an overnight stop in Southern Germany (cheaper) or Switzerland. If you come off the A5 Autobahn anywhere around the Black Forest, you'll find lots of B&Bs and guesthouses (Zimmer frei) for around 20 to 30 euro/person incl breakfast. Similar for Switzerland, but there are fewer B&Bs and costs are higher.
> As for leaving the motorway, that is certainly possible but will add a lot more to journey time, probably adding another overnight stop. Frankly I find Northwestern Europe quite monotonous for touring (there are some exceptions, such as the Ardennes or Eifel), and best touring is in Southern Germany and the Alps, plus parts of France like the Vosges and Alsace, esp if you are interested in wines.


TThanks for that Joppa,I haven't been 'round the top 'for years,probably because of the monotony as you say.Rising costs and such mean I probably can't be choosey anymore.My favourite trip has always been through the Frejus,round Lyon,past Dijon etc.I don't stop overnight,I need 24 hrs or so in the UK,and I do there and back in 4 days(from Borgotaro). Thanks again for your thoughts, Best Wishes.


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## stuartm

*Try the brenner route*

If you go through france it costs a fortune, we always either go through switzerland, luxembourg and belgium. Or you could try the brenner pass and go through austria, germany and belgium. I've always found the times to be more or less the same. Is luxembourg still the cheapest place to fill up?


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## Arturo.c

I live in the Greater Manchester area and have been pondering about taking a road trip to Italy sometimes. One of my colleagues told me that he preferred to drive from his place in Sale all the way to Hull, and from there take the overnight ferry to Zeebrugge (Belgium), then on to Germany and then all the way down through Austria and the Brenner pass. But his home was near Trento, while I will eventually go all the way to Rome, so it's gonna be another day of driving at least.

How many days you thing it's going to take?


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## Joppa

Arturo.c said:


> I live in the Greater Manchester area and have been pondering about taking a road trip to Italy sometimes. One of my colleagues told me that he preferred to drive from his place in Sale all the way to Hull, and from there take the overnight ferry to Zeebrugge (Belgium), then on to Germany and then all the way down through Austria and the Brenner pass. But his home was near Trento, while I will eventually go all the way to Rome, so it's gonna be another day of driving at least.
> 
> How many days you thing it's going to take?


For you, the fastest way would be to drive to Dover/Folkestone, take ferry or Eurotunnel to Calais, and either through French toll autoroutes A26 and A4 to Strasbourg, cross over to Germany and join A5 to Basel, or from Calais take free motorway A16 and A25 to Lille, and through A15 in Belgium via Namur to Luxembourg, enter Germany via Saarbrücken and join A6/A61 to Hockenheim and then A5 to Basel, through Switzerland (with 40 SFR motorway sticker called vignette valid a calendar year) and St Gotthard Tunnel and enter Italy near Como, then to Milan ring road and A1 (Autostrada del Sole) to Rome. If you swap with another driver, you can probably do with just one overnight stop in Southern Germany/Switzerland/N Italy, or more leisurely with two stops. It's about 1370 miles via Strassbourg, about 100 miles more via Luxembourg and Germany (but you save on tolls and get cheap fill-up in Luxembourg, and go faster on German Autobahn).
Current fuel price in Luxembourg is 0.988 euro/litre diesel (81p) and 1.137 euro/litre unleaded (93p). No need to shop around as prices are the same.


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