Alps Road Trip Sept 26
Discussion
Am excited. Only a few weeks to go before I head off to drive through the Alps!
Plan is below - but would like to pull on your knowledge and ask "what am I missing", "what tips do you have".
Day 1 - We fly to Geneva, collect the hire car, and head to Annecy for a couple of nights.
Day 2 - Annecy. Lake cruise, etc!
Day 3 - Comet de Roseland and Petit St Bernard. Aosta, Overnight in Martigny.
Day 4 - Furka, Susten, Grimsel, Oberalp passes. Goldfinger hairpin, Schollenen Gorge, Andermatt, Steingletscheur Glacier, Overnight in Sedrun.
Day 5 - Oberalp (other direction), Julier and Maloja passes. Disentis Abbey, Ruinaulta Gorge, Overnight in Bregaglia (cheaper than St Moritz).
Day 6 - Bernina, Stelvio passes. Lago Bianco Glacier, Brusio Viaduct, Trafoi, Overnight Merano.
Day 7 - Passo Gardena, Passo Stella, Passo Pordoi. Bolzano, Ortisei (cable car?), Overnight Canazei.
Day 8 - Passo Glau, Passo Falzarego. Cortina? Verona? Overnight in Melegnano.
Day 9 - Day trip to Maranello. Fiorano, Ferrari Museum, Panini Maserati Museum, Lamborghini Museum. Overnight Melegnano.
Day 10 - Day trip into Milan. Duomo di Milano, Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle Ii, + others! Overnight Melegnano.
Day 11 - Drive to Lake Como, Menaggio, then onto Courmeyeur overnight.
Day 12 - Skyway Mont Bianco cable car, Mont Blanc Tunnel, Chamonix, Geneva for flight home.
Flying to Geneva because it's cheaper than Lyon, and flying because we are limited on days away... so flying is quicker... that's the theory anyway... despite us going to Heathrow the night before we fly, staying at the Thistle and having a go at the Pods to T5 (not done them before). Coming home speedily - we fly late afternoon and back at work the next day! This is the win here...
So - anything I need not to miss on the route? Day 7 and Day 11 are the long drives, and can be shortened if we are late away etc.
Plan is below - but would like to pull on your knowledge and ask "what am I missing", "what tips do you have".
Day 1 - We fly to Geneva, collect the hire car, and head to Annecy for a couple of nights.
Day 2 - Annecy. Lake cruise, etc!
Day 3 - Comet de Roseland and Petit St Bernard. Aosta, Overnight in Martigny.
Day 4 - Furka, Susten, Grimsel, Oberalp passes. Goldfinger hairpin, Schollenen Gorge, Andermatt, Steingletscheur Glacier, Overnight in Sedrun.
Day 5 - Oberalp (other direction), Julier and Maloja passes. Disentis Abbey, Ruinaulta Gorge, Overnight in Bregaglia (cheaper than St Moritz).
Day 6 - Bernina, Stelvio passes. Lago Bianco Glacier, Brusio Viaduct, Trafoi, Overnight Merano.
Day 7 - Passo Gardena, Passo Stella, Passo Pordoi. Bolzano, Ortisei (cable car?), Overnight Canazei.
Day 8 - Passo Glau, Passo Falzarego. Cortina? Verona? Overnight in Melegnano.
Day 9 - Day trip to Maranello. Fiorano, Ferrari Museum, Panini Maserati Museum, Lamborghini Museum. Overnight Melegnano.
Day 10 - Day trip into Milan. Duomo di Milano, Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle Ii, + others! Overnight Melegnano.
Day 11 - Drive to Lake Como, Menaggio, then onto Courmeyeur overnight.
Day 12 - Skyway Mont Bianco cable car, Mont Blanc Tunnel, Chamonix, Geneva for flight home.
Flying to Geneva because it's cheaper than Lyon, and flying because we are limited on days away... so flying is quicker... that's the theory anyway... despite us going to Heathrow the night before we fly, staying at the Thistle and having a go at the Pods to T5 (not done them before). Coming home speedily - we fly late afternoon and back at work the next day! This is the win here...
So - anything I need not to miss on the route? Day 7 and Day 11 are the long drives, and can be shortened if we are late away etc.
That's a heck of a trip!
Only extra thing I would recommend is Grindelwald for a look at the north wall of the Eiger, probably on Day 4. If you like mountains (seems like a safe bet) then it is spectacular. I went there when I was about 8 and was blown away. I went back when I was 30 and it was no less impressive.
Doesn't look like a huge detour but if you're itching to get at the mountain passes might not be worth it.
What car are you hiring?
Only extra thing I would recommend is Grindelwald for a look at the north wall of the Eiger, probably on Day 4. If you like mountains (seems like a safe bet) then it is spectacular. I went there when I was about 8 and was blown away. I went back when I was 30 and it was no less impressive.
Doesn't look like a huge detour but if you're itching to get at the mountain passes might not be worth it.
What car are you hiring?
TCEvo said:
From a boring/practical perspective, Geneva car rentals is usually a shambles, especially the drop-off (although I only use it during ski season).
There is a PFS at the airport (card only) & watch the b
d kerbs on the way into the hire centre.
Diagree. The Swiss side key pick-up can have some queues, but no worse than I've ever seen elsewhere, and Italian and Greek rentals desks are far worse.There is a PFS at the airport (card only) & watch the b
d kerbs on the way into the hire centre. The bus over to the multistory car park where the cars are, is punctual and only takes 2 mins.
The cars are always imaculate, and I think always less than 2 yrs old. I had a car last week that had 500km on it.
Drop off is always busy, but you don't queue and you don't even have to park in a slot (very narrow) if the blokes are there.
Drive slowly on the way in, it's no worse than a multistory at a city shopping centre or similar.
Opposite the airport in the open roads there are about 5 petrol stations to satnav to before drop off for fuel. Very easy.
And............... most importantly, I've never been hit with the scam-rental-fine-bodyworkdamage-issue there.
The French side is even easier, you just get a lift down two floors from the French check in area, No bus. The trolley from the baggage carousel can be taken to your car. Then satnav out, into the city. Drop a pin on google maps to satnav back to.
I've rented about 50-60 times from Geneva, and never had much bother.
mattyn1 said:
Thanks for the tips . Will
Look tomorrow.
Group MC (booked through budget via BA) which is Qashqai size but do plan to try for upgrade when we get to Geneva.
Smile nicely and try a little French, they just want to deal with a human, and not an angry monster.Look tomorrow.
Group MC (booked through budget via BA) which is Qashqai size but do plan to try for upgrade when we get to Geneva.
Last week we arrived expecting the Peugeot 2008 I booked for our family get away, and instantly got upgraded to a £80,000 Volvo XC60 with all the options, for free. Literally every option ticked and 500km on the clock. Seat cooling, adaptive cruise, which also steered istelf on the motorway and v flashy stereo.
It’s a bit more full on driving than I’d do on a Euro trip, TBH. It’s a bit hard to picture a lot of the days. I wasn’t sure about day 3 where you seem to reach Aosta then stay overnight on the French side in Martigny, for example. And day 9 you must be a couple of hours from Maranello etc for the overnight.
That looks like one cracker of a trip, route planning round the Alps seems a lot more complicated what with pass closures and maybe crowded roads in the summer, later in the season should be perfect.
We head to Milan in September celebrating my wife’s official retirement at the grand young age of 55, it’s a quick getaway, a few nights just outside of Bellagio (stayed at the real Bellagio many times so time to pay homage at its European namesake
) then across to Venice via the Stelvio Pass and back to Milan.
Re Heathrow hotels, we stay in Marlow, perfect for the early morning flights out of Heathrow and a half decent night out with plenty of restaurant choices.
We head to Milan in September celebrating my wife’s official retirement at the grand young age of 55, it’s a quick getaway, a few nights just outside of Bellagio (stayed at the real Bellagio many times so time to pay homage at its European namesake
) then across to Venice via the Stelvio Pass and back to Milan. Re Heathrow hotels, we stay in Marlow, perfect for the early morning flights out of Heathrow and a half decent night out with plenty of restaurant choices.
LMV said:
That's a heck of a trip!
Only extra thing I would recommend is Grindelwald for a look at the north wall of the Eiger, probably on Day 4. If you like mountains (seems like a safe bet) then it is spectacular. I went there when I was about 8 and was blown away. I went back when I was 30 and it was no less impressive.
Doesn't look like a huge detour but if you're itching to get at the mountain passes might not be worth it.
What car are you hiring?
And Lauterbrunnen.Only extra thing I would recommend is Grindelwald for a look at the north wall of the Eiger, probably on Day 4. If you like mountains (seems like a safe bet) then it is spectacular. I went there when I was about 8 and was blown away. I went back when I was 30 and it was no less impressive.
Doesn't look like a huge detour but if you're itching to get at the mountain passes might not be worth it.
What car are you hiring?
That looks a hell of a trip! Note that the passes are much busier (cars, bikes and lycra) on the weekends so if you can swap stuff around to take that into account you'll have a nicer experience.
Only thing I'd suggest is some of the drive days in the passes already look quite long. Everyone's different but we find we aim for about 4.5 hours of driving (according to google maps route) to be about right if you're in the mountains all day. You get to get out of the car, take pictures, stretch your legs and actually enjoy being in the scenery rather than looking at it. Not many passengers enjoy wizzing around hairpins for hours at a time and I imagine that's even worse if you're sat in the back seat! It's quite intense driving if you're the driver all day on some of those roads too.
Plus the best bit of the day is often after checking in to your hotel - enjoying a beer with a mountain view!
Only thing I'd suggest is some of the drive days in the passes already look quite long. Everyone's different but we find we aim for about 4.5 hours of driving (according to google maps route) to be about right if you're in the mountains all day. You get to get out of the car, take pictures, stretch your legs and actually enjoy being in the scenery rather than looking at it. Not many passengers enjoy wizzing around hairpins for hours at a time and I imagine that's even worse if you're sat in the back seat! It's quite intense driving if you're the driver all day on some of those roads too.
Plus the best bit of the day is often after checking in to your hotel - enjoying a beer with a mountain view!
Looks a fab trip.
I'm heading there myself in Sept and found the whole process of researcrhing where to go and for how long etc, totally overwhelming.
And I've planned a fair few trips before. We've finally agreed on this (rough) route as the first 7/8 days.
A half day in Stuttgart for the Porsche musuem and then a half day in Monaco, with an evening in Menton.
We're then taking another 3 days coming back up on the route Napoleon into Le Havre and the overnight ferry into Portsmouth.
Enjoy!
I'm heading there myself in Sept and found the whole process of researcrhing where to go and for how long etc, totally overwhelming.
And I've planned a fair few trips before. We've finally agreed on this (rough) route as the first 7/8 days.
A half day in Stuttgart for the Porsche musuem and then a half day in Monaco, with an evening in Menton.
We're then taking another 3 days coming back up on the route Napoleon into Le Havre and the overnight ferry into Portsmouth.
Enjoy!
Edited by MattS5 on Wednesday 29th July 10:30
Thanks for all the pointers…. All noted!
We have just sat down and talked through it… day by day.
The good thing is if we feel we have over cooked it somewhat we can simply get in the motor way and head where we need to head. All comes with the planning I suppose…. I like detail so give that alternative … some who do road trips almost carefree make my teeth itch!
As for Claude… we have been through a lot together and I find myself being very polite with him. He knows what I like …. Claude has planned a six month road trip through Canada and USA so the nuances of what I like have bled into this.
We have just sat down and talked through it… day by day.
The good thing is if we feel we have over cooked it somewhat we can simply get in the motor way and head where we need to head. All comes with the planning I suppose…. I like detail so give that alternative … some who do road trips almost carefree make my teeth itch!
As for Claude… we have been through a lot together and I find myself being very polite with him. He knows what I like …. Claude has planned a six month road trip through Canada and USA so the nuances of what I like have bled into this.
Do be careful about how many miles you aim to do each day in the mountains. Many of the roads are narrow, and rough, and it can become a bit of a chore to keep pushing on and adding passes when tired.
I’d suggest keeping an eye out on options to bail out each day and take the fast road to your destination.
I did the Route des Grandes Alpes then on to Monaco a year back and despite having done it a few times before still put in a few days that left me pressing on for a bit longer than was enjoyable. Better, I think, to plan a route that gets you in to your destination not long after lunch and so lets you stop and enjoy places if the fancy takes you.
I’d suggest keeping an eye out on options to bail out each day and take the fast road to your destination.
I did the Route des Grandes Alpes then on to Monaco a year back and despite having done it a few times before still put in a few days that left me pressing on for a bit longer than was enjoyable. Better, I think, to plan a route that gets you in to your destination not long after lunch and so lets you stop and enjoy places if the fancy takes you.
We did Geneva and hire car recently to drive down to Annecy.
The actual car hire process was very easy and as efficient as you’d expect the Swiss to be. Getting out of the airport and making sure you avoid the Swiss tolls…..not so much! Next time I think I’d pay for the tag and just avoid worrying about it.
Two other things; the new EU passport thing is a shambles, so when heading back to the UK don’t assume you can walk from the terminal to the gate 30 minutes before departure! It took us 45 minutes to get through!
Getting the car back to the French drop off is also a bit of a pain in the tits. Leave an extra 15-30 mins fudge factor.
They gave me a brand new Qashquai. What a miserable way to drive some of the best roads in the world!
(It was, in all honesty, an absolute heap of steaming ste! A horrible thing to drive.)
The actual car hire process was very easy and as efficient as you’d expect the Swiss to be. Getting out of the airport and making sure you avoid the Swiss tolls…..not so much! Next time I think I’d pay for the tag and just avoid worrying about it.
Two other things; the new EU passport thing is a shambles, so when heading back to the UK don’t assume you can walk from the terminal to the gate 30 minutes before departure! It took us 45 minutes to get through!
Getting the car back to the French drop off is also a bit of a pain in the tits. Leave an extra 15-30 mins fudge factor.
They gave me a brand new Qashquai. What a miserable way to drive some of the best roads in the world!
(It was, in all honesty, an absolute heap of steaming ste! A horrible thing to drive.)SchillingTwo said:
Do be careful about how many miles you aim to do each day in the mountains. Many of the roads are narrow, and rough, and it can become a bit of a chore to keep pushing on and adding passes when tired.
I d suggest keeping an eye out on options to bail out each day and take the fast road to your destination.
I did the Route des Grandes Alpes then on to Monaco a year back and despite having done it a few times before still put in a few days that left me pressing on for a bit longer than was enjoyable. Better, I think, to plan a route that gets you in to your destination not long after lunch and so lets you stop and enjoy places if the fancy takes you.
I echo this. We didn't know but we did it end of June - it was the col d'iseran pass that was closed - we got to the top - then signs saying road closed) - and had a snow landslide that they cleared on the day we were travelling - had a 4 hour detour (due to where our hotel was).I d suggest keeping an eye out on options to bail out each day and take the fast road to your destination.
I did the Route des Grandes Alpes then on to Monaco a year back and despite having done it a few times before still put in a few days that left me pressing on for a bit longer than was enjoyable. Better, I think, to plan a route that gets you in to your destination not long after lunch and so lets you stop and enjoy places if the fancy takes you.
You should be ok doing this at this time of year though - we were early in the season - I was frantically checking everyday for when it would open.
More importantly enjoy your trip.
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