Best place for diesel

10/04/2010 - 06:27

After many years of staying here in Italy, we have decided to make a grand pilgrimage to the UK this winter for Christmas, visiting new grandchildren etc. We always got the same route, up through Italy, Gotthard Pass, Switzerland, Strasbourg, Last bit of France etc to Calais. We know a REALLY cheap place to get petrol in Calais, where all the truckers go, but I was wondering if anyone has any places that they know in Italy - the whole length to the border from Marche - as we are fed up with paying high prices on the motorway for diesel. If there is a place that you know that is just off the motorway, we would love to hear it! We are particularly relying on Alan as we always follow his advice on the route, especially around Basel which makes an amazing difference.

Comment

The Carrefour at Camerano near Ancona (maybe too close to start/finish point) is usually very cheap for both diesel and petrol, not sure if there are any others as you travel north which are near to the motorway but I'm sure a look at their site would list all branches. Not sure if any are on your route!

Popped into Ikea two days ago, and looked at Carrefour while we were there. Could not believe the cheapness of the fuel! Unfortunately had an almost full tank! However, that will definitely be the place to fill up as we go past. Do you know if they are open at night? We were thinking of leaving in the wee small hours of the morning.

Should give you some idea of the average price through Europe.

"We are particularly relying on Alan as we always follow his advice on the route, especially around Basle which makes an amazing difference." The best advice on fuel prices I can give is to get off the motorways to fill up with diesel [except in Luxembourg where I believe that prices are fixed by the government] - you can save about 5% by just popping in to any supermarket [the bigger the better] - this holds for France, Switzerland and Italy [where I found prices ranged from 1.440 down to 1.306 for petrol last week] Have just driven back to UK this weekend - the Basle 'By-Pass' was great - drove through the checkpoints without stopping - although there was a biggish queue the other way [Germany into Switzerland], which I put down to the latest American 'pants wetting' on terrorist threats

Thanks Andiamo, Badger and Alan - as always, the "old faithful" for answering my questions! Yes, I think coming off the motorway and finding a supermarket is the way to go both in Italy and in France. Thank you for the link Andiamo about Carrefour. I shall study that! Is there a link showing petrol stations for something more �� like Auchan? Or has anybody got another supermarket they can suggest? It is difficult to just take off from a junction if you don't know where you are going! At least it is when I am driving! Glad to hear that the Basel route is working well Alan! I agree with you about American tourists. They just have no idea about British grit in the face of danger!It certainly isn't going to put us off!

Is this a new by-pass, or just a route that avoids Basle

no - its not a proper by pass, just a route that avoids Basle entirely. Come down the German autoroute towards Basle [if coming from France, join it from Mulhouse], take the exit to Lorrach [jcn 68] and follow this road to the Swiss border where it joins the Swiss motorway system. The road is mainly dual carriageway [the rest is being upgraded and looks pretty close to opening] and it has always been a quick route into Switzerland that avoids the delays that often occur in Basle

Carrefour petrol stations are open 24 hours, they operate the self service pay at the pump system 'out of hours'. Here is the link to the Auchan petrol stations, I assume they are open 24 hours as well: Have a good trip!

Hi, check this link for fuel prices in France : It's in French, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem ? Luxembourg was always the best for fuel when I was there. On the way to Bruxelles is a place called Martelange, last stop for the last drop. Saves a small fortune. But watch it going down the hill. HTH. poimier

Blimey, what a source of information you lot are. Particularly liking the Carrefour Ancona tip! Up North, do try to deviate through Luxembourg. At 96 cents/litre, you can make significant savings on a tankful. And for goodness' sake brim the vehicle before entering UK. Shocking, shocking price (£1.25ish per litre for diesel, and HM Govt sticks you for a premium if you dare to use 'heavy oil' in order to get better gas mileage. Cheeky stronsi). Otherwise, Alan is right - if you can be bothered to stray from the Autoroutes in France, you'll find better coffee and cheaper fuel than on the accursed things. I actually carry coffee in flasks to get me through either Germany or France. After six months of this freight business malarkey, I've refined actual coffee-buying stops down to Italy only. Germany's is rubbish and costs a fortune, Austria's and Luxembourg's, and Belgium's, is criminally bad and just as expensive. France serves decent beverages for UK prices. Ditto food. The UK is unforgivably bad, but at least you can escape from motorways in search of roadside stops or old-fashioned greasers which do passable grub for achievable money. The Costa Coffee route is only for the desperate or unwary…