One week to get there via the Dolomites and a week camping which is paid for and a week travelling back route not decided yet .So tips on saving the euros like filling the van up, routes to get there not bothered about time/speed .Recommend any campsites. Any food I should stock up on and any cheap but good places to eat in Torbole(lake Garda)
Ta Rich

Buy “all the aires” direct from vicarious books.

It lists hundreds of town and village aires at which you can park up for the night in a motorhome or campervan (I assume you still have the little blue vw ?)

Usually free or if it’s special it might be 7 or 8 euros.

Municipal bogs usually nearby.

We plan our routes across France using it

was planning Germany swiss/ Austria borders maybe France on the way back!……..
little blue van is now a blue T5 so hopefully a bit more reliable!

Our T4 waits until we’re in France every year to throw a wobbly.

Last year was €1500 on a new head having cracked the original.

This year it appears to have lunched a clutch master cylinder so that’s another €400 hosed.

Just as well we don’t need it while we’re in the flat.

Hopefully get it back from the garage at the end of the week as we want to go to Barolo in Piedmont next week for a few days.

V handy being based in morzine for the summer: so much of the continent more accessible than from blighty.

Have a good trip. Check out vicarious books for German equivalents BTW
https://www.vicarious-shop.com/Reise-Mobil-Bord-Atlas-2016-Stellplatze-Germany.html

That and the French one would be a very wise investment for weeks of road trip across the continent

On the way out go via Luxembourg and fill up, much cheaper than elsewhere. The Belgium/Luxembourg route to Germany/Austria saves paying French motorway tolls too.

Don’t forget you need a vignette to use any roads in Switzerland and Austrian motorways. Not sure about the Swiss one, I gather it costs a bit if all you are doing is driving through. The Austrian one is usually available from the last service stations before reaching Austria or the first one on arrival, it doesn’t cost much.

Frejus tunnel is expensive. There is a mountain pass that can bypass it, but you might end up using a stack of fuel to get over (no idea really!). Taking the route through Serre Che and past Les Deux Alpes etc… Might not be possible for all traffic as a temporary relief road has had to be built due to landslide/tunnel collapse and traffic is limited on the relief road.

Have fun! We did a similar trip last year and I’m currently planning our journey home from Saalbach which we’ll be doing over a few days.

As above cheapest (and arguably fastest) way is France / Belgium / Luxembourg / Germany / Austria / Italy. Last time I did it we were sailing in Garda and stopped off in Les Arcs on way home… Frejus tunnel is a long way around & expensive, Petit St Bernard pass bypasses it, bit steep in places but I towed two boats up it so wouldn’t worry too much… goes past top of La Thuile / La Ros lifts (dump all passengers for a free ride down) then down into Les Arcs etc. Other routes include Chamonix / Mt. Blanc tunnel – expensive + lot of tolls, Switzerland / Gotthard (free tunnel but need Swiss tax).

Toll free rote to Germany:

Dunkirk ferry then through to Luxembourg, stop at the services for fuel and coffee from the shop, not the cafe,

Head for St. Die then the Alsace tunnel to Selestat. That’s the only toll on the route to Germany, it avoids the nightmare traffic in Strasbourg and is dual carriage way all the way…. More detail if required.

Your welcome to pop in or overnight if your passing, either direction. We are in southern Black Forest, near Basel.

Nice riding, cake and schnapps ….

Rick Meister Black Forest sounds interesting any info on campsites with pool/lake? and would be up for a ride 🙂

I bought this acsi guide

http://www.campingcard.co.uk/

It was on cd and had most campsites, costs and facilities. It was great for planning where to go the night before.

You can use the card for discount and they will normally accept the card as ID rather than taking your passport details which I didn’t like to give to strangers.

Postie, ygm..

Can also go via Garmisch-Partenkirchen avoiding tolls in CH and AT.
From Garmisch over Fernpass to Imst, Landeck, Reschen, Meran and the the dual-carriageway to Rovereto.

Garmisch-Garda takes about 3,5 hours.

Wild camping in Lago Molveno.

Fill your van with diesel, food and booze before entering Italy. The only thing cheaper in Italy is pasta & olive oil.
I’ve been to the Dolomites loads but when I drove there via Austria I was shocked at the price differences

Email in profile if you need campsite help

OP – when are you going? The ACSI camping card is great but it doesn’t cover peak season for most places i.e. July-August. If you can use it on a site, you’ll save €15-20 per night.

Fill up in Luxembourg and fill up again in Austria. In 2014 we saw the price of diesel jump from €1.25 to €1.65 just by driving from Austria into Italy.

If you’re not in a rush and want to relax for a few days then the Montafon valley in western Austria is lovely. Cheap buses to get around if you don’t want to ride all the time.
Good camp site too at http://www.camping-montafon.at/

Just realised this… if you want to head in to any German cities you need to have an Umweltplakette – basically a sticker to show that your vehicle can go in to the low emission zones.

We were thinking of visiting Stuttgart on the way home to check out the car museums, but we need a sticker. We might try and get one anyway as it lasts the lifetime of the vehicle. Apparently you take your vehicle documents in to a vehicle testing centre and they sort it – or you can order one online if you have enough time before your trip.

Don’t forget you need a vignette to use any roads in Switzerland

Are you sure about this? Because not when I last went there, it was only motorways

and Austrian motorways.

We crossed Austria recently on the motorway from Germany to Garda, across borders etc completely oblivious and without being challenged.

Easiest and cheapest approach is as described above Belgium, lux, Germany, Austria. Was the least scenic tho, that I’ve done.

Austrian and Swiss motorways only need a vignette, get them at the border or petrol stations nearby.

Swiss is fixed price for a year, Austrian, variety of prices for different number of days.

If you go to livigno, it’s tax free, so great price fuel, food, booze, bike kit, the lot.

Riding isn’t bad either….