Has anybody driven from England to Italy?

[goldenpeach]

We are thinking of ditching the fly and car hire malarkey this year and drive our car from London to Italy via France, stopping in France a few days both ways. Has anybody done this and which route do you recommend?

We did it a few years ago, from London to Tuscany (pre children, there's not a chance I would do it with my dcs in tow now ).

I'll check with dh and see which way we went. I do remember we went through the Mont Blanc tunnel which was stunning scenery.

My dh did it by motorbike, but he went by ferry to Bilbao in Spain (he said the ferry crossing would be GREAT for the kids) and from Spain to Italy. He loved it.

Forgot to mention, I have a daughter and she will be 16 months then

When our kids were quite small (aged 8, 5 & nearly 2) we had a 2 centre holiday between Normandy & the Jura (near Geneva). The Normandy-Jura leg took most of a day; from there you could do Chamonix-Mont Blanc Tunnel-well into N Italy in another day. Then weherever you wanted to go after that.

Most of the roads are pretty good; dunno if this link will work but according to multimap Calais to Milan is 660 miles (That route goes northish though, through Switzerland, which makes you pay 40 euros I think for a motorway pass. There is a more southerly route which looks like a similar distance but avoids Switzerland.)

I can remember driving down to the south of France at the height of summer with my father, stopping over night at Macon, and then on to somewhere in Italy with a car load, and it was very extremely tiring for everyone. I imagine it'll be even more so for a 16m old however good she might be at travelling. At least if you fly she's not going to be cooped in one seat for too long.

We drove twice from the UK to Rome - once when childless/childfree and once with a two and a half year old. Basically, we drove down to Avignon (one year, St Malo-Bordeaux-Avignon, the other Calais-Beaune-Avignon) and then along the coast through all the little tunnels behind Nice and Monaco. Very scenic but tiring, and too many hours on the motorway for my liking. PFB enjoyed the trip and slept for much of it. Husband wants to do it again but my heart sinks at the prospect.

we have often driven to and through Europe, and sometimes i hate it, sometimes i love it. DS was always great on long journeys, DD has always been a pita. i'd give it a go, especially if you can take your time. use french autoroutes rather than going through the countries to the east, for speed and ease of breaks etc.

Have done this a few times. Where are you going in Italy?

At Easter we drove from Yorkshire to Liguria. We prefer to just get on with it and get there as quickly as possible, so we did it in two days each way (with a stop in France).

On the way down (if you remember, weather was terrible at Easter!) we had a terrible journey. Snow in Mont Blanc tunnel caused 4-hour queues on the French side. Luckily we heard this on the French radio in a service station and diverted south all the way down to the Riviera and along the coast into Italy. That was is very very long, but was better than sitting in a 4-hour queue (and the weather was better than it would have been in the mountains too). On the way back, we did come via the Mont Blanc tunnel and it was a really good journey. Day 1, left about 7.30 a.m., got to the tunnel for about 11.00, stayed overnight in France (near Laon). Left next day at about 9.00 a.m., got train back to the UK and were at home in Yorkshire by about 5.00 p.m.

Have also driven to Friuli and to the Alto Adige/Sud Tirol, both via Germany and Belgium (getting the ferry Hull to Zeebrugge, which is an overnight trip so you arrive in Belgium at about 7.00 a.m. and can just get on the road. (Only convenient if you're in the north of the UK, though.)

I have two dds who are 6 and 8 now, but have done these trips since they were 2 and 4. We now have an in-car DVD which we put on when we are doing these long journeys, but we didn't have it the first time we drove to Italy (admittedly only just Italy - Alto Adige) and it was OK, though the 2-y-o found it a bit trying at times.

Quint... pre-kids we did it by motorbike too. Did a huge circular trip... France, Germany, Austria, Italy, back through France. The best bit was when we nearly ran out of petrol on the Italy-France border halfway up a mountain (it was the time when the Mont Blanc tunnel was closed) and had to freewheel down to the nearest town to fill up!

Yes - have done this a good few times and different routes, pre children and also since dd was 11 months old.. (Now 10 yo) We found its easier the younger they are as they tend to sleep more.

Have routes to the Torino area and for the east coast - Rimini and much further South. You need to watch the time of year if you're heading there via Switzerland - snow can set in in late October which makes snow chains a good idea over winter. Plus fog is a problem depending which way you go.

We're always a bit manic about the journey - share the driving and blast it - no stops ( aprt from loo breaks etc) 24 hrs driving door to door - Midlands Uk to Marche IT... but it is hard work !

Thanks for replies so far, if you have relevant routes or a good site, please share. So far we have a route from London to Calais and then maybe stop either at Arras or Troyes and then maybe stop at Dijon or Lyon and then go through Grenoble towards Asti, which is south of Turin.

It is really lovely going via the Simplon pass in Switzerland - beautiful scenery. We are going to Italy via S of France this summer but I def prefer the Swiss way. You do have to pay to use the swiss motorways though - you buy a little sticker which lasts a year.

We use the Drive Alive website - www.drive-alive.co.uk - to plan our routes. The great thing about their routes is that they flag up where the convenient hotels are.

My grandparents used to do this every year going through Switzerland and France. In fact one year when I was nearly 5 (am 43 this year), my Mum, brother (then 2.5), me, grandparents and my Mum's youngest brother (who was 6) went in one car - yes 6 of us with a trailer on the back of the car for the tent etc.

eek long journey me thinks

My grandparents used to do it over 2.5 days either side of the holiday. Set up tent, bottle of vino, nice cheese bread etc. My family in Italy would drive up to the border waiting for my grandparents to come through.

My friends back home in Scotland do it every year - their ds's are 10 and 7 now. Stopping with us in Northampton on Sat night - not too much booze apparently (yeah yeah!! - she'll let dh drive ) then dover/calais stopping in a campsite in Switzerland for 2 -3 nights before driving non stop to Tuscany. They have fallen in love with Switzerland over the years of driving through it!

My friends back home in Scotland do it every year - their ds's are 10 and 7 now. Stopping with us in Northampton on Sat night - not too much booze apparently (yeah yeah!! - she'll let dh drive ) then dover/calais stopping in a campsite in Switzerland for 2 -3 nights before driving non stop to Tuscany. They have fallen in love with Switzerland over the years of driving through it!