Peter Brown
Many club members like to drift slowly around Europe moving on when and to where they feel the inclination, taking many weeks for the trip. For others though, work or family commitments require them to travel swiftly to and from their chosen destination to maximise the time there.
I'm going to describe a route and some optional additions that Chris and I have used several times both outbound and on the return for visits to Bavaria, Austria and Italy.
We live near Stoke-on-Trent but for several reasons, the Channel Tunnel is our preferred crossing. If you live towards the south east of England this will not be an issue but for us we like to travel the 240 miles in daylight without stress. After trying camping at various locations north of the Thames, as well as driving straight to the tunnel and being frustrated by traffic problems, for several years now we have camped on the C&MC site at Blackhorse Farm on the night before crossing, usually being booked on a train around 0830. After emerging from the tunnel in France we follow the route highlighted on this map below. To keep things simple, I'll just talk about an outbound trip. These are good toll free roads.
On the day we traversed the tunnel we travelled 286 miles to Schweich map coordinates 49.815738,6.749486
off the motorway is a campsite https://www.kreusch-wassersport.de/camping/ The site accepts the ACSI discount card, has a stellplatz (Wohnmobilplatz) just outside the gate as well as a site restaurant.
The next day we did 317 miles to Fussen map coordinates 47.582185,10.701131
https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/marker.php?id=11444
This Stellplatz is less like an aire but rather a facilities site for motorhomes. As you turn the corner into the road the Stellplatz is on, there is another Stellplatz adjacent to a caravan accessory shop but that Stellplatz does not have the facilities and is often used for car parking at the leisure centre across the road. There are Aldi, Lidl and Edeka supermarkets very close and it's a 20 minute walk to either the lake or the town.
This is where the options start.
Fussen is just 3 miles from Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein that are top tourist attractions for the whole of Germany and it is the southern town on the Romantic Road https://www.romanticroadgermany.com/ so is ideally located as the start or end of a trip to Bavaria. Fussen is also an excellent point for access to western Austria and/or Italy.
I'm going to describe a route and some optional additions that Chris and I have used several times both outbound and on the return for visits to Bavaria, Austria and Italy.
We live near Stoke-on-Trent but for several reasons, the Channel Tunnel is our preferred crossing. If you live towards the south east of England this will not be an issue but for us we like to travel the 240 miles in daylight without stress. After trying camping at various locations north of the Thames, as well as driving straight to the tunnel and being frustrated by traffic problems, for several years now we have camped on the C&MC site at Blackhorse Farm on the night before crossing, usually being booked on a train around 0830. After emerging from the tunnel in France we follow the route highlighted on this map below. To keep things simple, I'll just talk about an outbound trip. These are good toll free roads.
On the day we traversed the tunnel we travelled 286 miles to Schweich map coordinates 49.815738,6.749486
off the motorway is a campsite https://www.kreusch-wassersport.de/camping/ The site accepts the ACSI discount card, has a stellplatz (Wohnmobilplatz) just outside the gate as well as a site restaurant.
The next day we did 317 miles to Fussen map coordinates 47.582185,10.701131
https://www.searchforsites.co.uk/marker.php?id=11444
This Stellplatz is less like an aire but rather a facilities site for motorhomes. As you turn the corner into the road the Stellplatz is on, there is another Stellplatz adjacent to a caravan accessory shop but that Stellplatz does not have the facilities and is often used for car parking at the leisure centre across the road. There are Aldi, Lidl and Edeka supermarkets very close and it's a 20 minute walk to either the lake or the town.
This is where the options start.
Fussen is just 3 miles from Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein that are top tourist attractions for the whole of Germany and it is the southern town on the Romantic Road https://www.romanticroadgermany.com/ so is ideally located as the start or end of a trip to Bavaria. Fussen is also an excellent point for access to western Austria and/or Italy.
Firstly though a word about motorways in Austria. The motorways in Austria are all toll roads, they are easily avoided if not in a rush but if you do want to use them, the means of payment must be enabled Before joining the motorway. For vehicle of 3500kg or less, the toll payment is based on time and a vignette must be purchased, since 2018 this can be done electronically. There is an exemption in that the Brenner motorway from the Innsbruck Sud junction to the Italian border can be used without a vignette as a toll is collected at a booth half way up. For a vehicle of over 3500kg, the toll payment is calculated by distance travelled and an electronic Gobox must be rented and installed for this purpose, in this case the gobox must be installed and in-service before entering the Brenner motorway and a special bypass gate used at the booth.
Because of the mountainous nature of the terrain in Austria, the motorways almost entirely follow the same route as the older A roads so are easily avoided for a small time penalty.
The quickest way to Italy via Austria is over the Brenner Pass using the motorway but to avoid paying expensive Gobox tolls there is an alternative, the Reschenpass mountain pass. It is very similar in distance but will take about an hour longer. It is a lovely route and I would recommend it even if under 3500kg unless you are in a particular rush.
This route also works for Slovenia, Croatia, Southern Italy, Greece and Sicilly.
Because of the mountainous nature of the terrain in Austria, the motorways almost entirely follow the same route as the older A roads so are easily avoided for a small time penalty.
The quickest way to Italy via Austria is over the Brenner Pass using the motorway but to avoid paying expensive Gobox tolls there is an alternative, the Reschenpass mountain pass. It is very similar in distance but will take about an hour longer. It is a lovely route and I would recommend it even if under 3500kg unless you are in a particular rush.
This route also works for Slovenia, Croatia, Southern Italy, Greece and Sicilly.
