My place is between Lakes Orta and Maggiore, and I have used Flybe in the past to fly from Birmingham to Milan Malpensa.Looking for flights in Sept/Oct, I was disappointed at the high costs - so went to the Easyjet site to look at the Luton to Tur
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Questions Asked
I have often advocated swinging up through Belgium when travelling from UK to Italy, on the grounds of the cheap petrol in Luxembourg and toll free motorways. I did this route again a couple of weeks ago, but found the roadworks on the Dunkirk-Lil
Tue, 07/28/2009 - 09:32
 I thought it might help people not break the law [or get caught breaking it] to some info on speed cameras they might come across in driving down to Italy. [This really applies to people like me who don’t have a sat-nav that tells them all the in
Sat, 07/04/2009 - 11:03
When driving to Italy, [Lake Maggiore area], from Calais, I almost always drive up towards Dunkirk and then head East towards Luxembourg.   The reasons for doing so is simple:-
Fri, 07/03/2009 - 12:52
If you are driving down to Italy, this regularly updated AA site gives you the latest info on fuel prices across Europe. Its useful for deciding where to fill up. Note - in Luxembourg, [where I always fill up - its worth the minor detour from Cal
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 05:32
.     I heard this today on Radio 4.  I take it you already know of tough and bough and cough and dough?Others may stumble, but not you,On hiccough, thorough, lough** and through.Well done!
Sat, 06/20/2009 - 16:58
.   I'm considering handing over ownership of my ½ûÂþÌìÌà Holiday Home to my kids. Does anyone know
- How easy this is to do, and how costly?
- Whether this can be done in the UK - or do I have to do it in Italy?
Fri, 06/19/2009 - 04:54
Egypt 1 - Italy 0Â Â ÌýÌý.
Thu, 06/18/2009 - 18:08
Comments posted
My Suggestion. Rheims to Chalons en Champagne [the only bit of toll road]Challons. to St Dizier - normal road [not dual carriageway, but with overtaking lanes at times]St Diziere to Nancy - dual carriagewayNancy to Colmar - dual carriageway, then normal road, but with overtaking lanes in placesColmar to Mulhouse then turn left into Germany - dual carriagewayDown German autobahn towards Basel - pick up Swiss Motorway Carnet at Bad Bellingen servicesBefore reacing Basel, take turn to Lorrach, and on into Switzerland - avoids Basel [possible traffic delays at Border] - dual carriage way throughoutTake Swiss motorway to Lucerne and on to Gotthard Tunnel [or Gotthard Pass], and on into Italy and autostrada Easy route to take- done it many times
Get a couple more quotes as a comparison. Then bargain the price down
Filter You should be able, once the listing has come up, filter the answers by specifying which year[s] you wish to see. [filter is on RHS of the answers listing page]
Probably nearer 100Km, if that - but you save a ton in toll charges and time paying toll charges (plus border queues [if you go through Basel), so the overall time diifference won't be massive. Plus cheap petrol.Still its up to you [and the route planner you use]
Standard Answer from meDover - Dunkirk [DFDS] is usually cheapestCalais -Dunkirk, Lille - into Belgium - Charleroi, Namur, and on to Luxemburg - all toll free motorway. Fill up with petrol in Luxemburg [at services entering or leaving the country - cheapest on your route. Then toll free motorway to Metz, Nancy and towards Colmar [becomes single carriageway for part ner Colmar]. Toll free motorway from Colmar to Mulhouse, then over to Germany and down towards Basle. Take turning off to Lorrach to avoid Basle [can be bad] So far, still no charges Travel through Switzerland needs a vignette - about 35 Euros [I think] at the services on the German motorway [at Bad Bellingen] - but thats the only charge [vignette lasts one calendar year - actually Dec to January (14 months)]Through Gotthard Tunnel [no charge] and down into Italy and on to ½ûÂþÌìÌà autostrada and toll charges Good luck
If all else fails - try 'Google Translate' on it has a 'listen' facilty, so you can hear how the words are pronounced, and isn't too bad on basic phrases
You could look at
I tend to go via Switzerland as it avoids french toll roads, and road tunnel charges.   I recommend cutting up to Belgium [via Lille] and on to Luxemburg, then down to Metz, Nancy and then Colmar and Basle bypass into Switzerland.It is a wee bit further than blasting down to Metz on the french autoroute, but is totally toll free and Luxembourg petrol is cheap [motorway petrol price is the same as off the motorway]You do need a Swiss Vignette [buy it at the German services at Bad Bellingen], but you have saved on French road toll charges - and it lasts until the end of Jan next yearNo further charges in switzerland [fill up with fuel before getting to Italy, on the Locarno road, just off the motorway - motrway petrol prices are high]Only toll charges will be on the ½ûÂþÌìÌà autostrada
About 750 miles - 11 or 12 hours driving time [excluding all stops] So you could, in theory, have a kip in a hotel [just] before the Mont Blanc tunnel [depending on your route] and have about 3 hrs [or so] driving left the next morningI'd probably go into Italy and leave a shorter drive [say 60 - 90 mins] in the morning
The route planner on the Drive Alive website is pretty good  It allows you to 'drag' your route to vary it, gives a running time total for the journey [useful for booking overnight stops], and also has lots of hotels/campsites etc shown on the map.The website also has plenty of additional info on driving abroad