Switzerland - Gotthard Tunnel

[Adenauer]

I'm driving from Germany through Switzerland and into Italy this summer (Adenau to San Ginesio to be precise), and have been warned that I will have to drive through the Gotthard tunnel and that it's a one way tunnel and if you time it wrong you can have up to a two hour wait?

Anyone know if that is really true please? Or is some funny German pulling my leg?

TIA

[Big E 118]

Some of the best passes in Europe and you want to go under them??

Gotthard, Furka, Susten and Grimsel passes (can't remember the order) are fantastic and a stop off at the Rhone Glacier for the views.

Sorry, no idea about the queues!

Edited to add, Wikipedia throws up this "Traffic flows through only one tunnel, which carries traffic both ways, with each direction allocated only one lane. The tunnel's speed limit is 80 km/h (50 mph).

Heavily used, the tunnel often has traffic jams, on both the north and south ends."

Edited by Big E 118 on Wednesday 23 April 13:53

[Adenauer]

Thanks.

I was lead to believe that the best/quickest way was to go through the tunnel?

It's a 1300km drive and I want to do it in 12 hours, so whilst I (of course) would rather take the scenic route it might add too much time to the journey.

Or don't you think that would be the case?

[Big E 118]

To be honest I've only ever been over the pass so I don't know what the tunnel is like.

I just Google mapped the route and it says 22mins by tunnel and 33 mins by the pass. The (current) Gotthard Pass is a fairly wide and modern road not a tight track like some other passes and you can get your foot down.

[Adenauer]

Thanks Big E, that's my mind made up then, the pass it is, brilliant

[Adenauer]

I'm terrified of heights, feck!!!

[Allyc85]

Don't look down then

It is a great road, and well worth doing IMO

[XJ Flyer]

In general for the eastern side of Italy it's better to run down to Garmisch and use the Brenner or Timmelsjoch.Which is the route which I'll be using on the run to Misano in May.That will probably take less than 15 hours even allowing for the 75 mile run to Dover and a channel crossing to Calais and the run to Aachen let alone just from Adenau.

[Adenauer]

I've looked at that and IMO, the traffic side of things in Germany is a lot lighter if I just go straight down the A61 to Karlsruhe and then to Lörrach, rather than having to go over Frankfurt, Münich, etc. I reckon I should be in Switzerland well within 5 hours (I regularly drive to Lörrach).

[Fuchs]

The problem you have is that to get to the exit for the pass from the m-way you will probably have to sit in trffic for a while anyway.....the exit to the pass and the entrance to the tunnel are very close to each other.

Sometime they report on the Swiss news that the tunnel has queues of up to 10 kilometres long in the summer.

I would find an alternative route maybe through Austria / Germany as has been suggested by another poster.

[Adenauer]

Crap, really?

[Adenauer]

I'm at a bit of a loss here, chaps. So what would you say would be the best route to drive from Adenau in Germany, to San Ginesio in Italy please?

Oh and I HATE the new layout on Google maps

[XJ Flyer]

Adenauer said:

I've looked at that and IMO, the traffic side of things in Germany is a lot lighter if I just go straight down the A61 to Karlsruhe and then to Lörrach, rather than having to go over Frankfurt, Münich, etc. I reckon I should be in Switzerland well within 5 hours (I regularly drive to Lörrach).

You don't need to go to Munich for the Austrian route into Italy.You still use the Karlsruhe route but then head for Ulm,Kempten,Garmisch and Innsbruck instead of Basel etc.As for German autobahn traffic levels you obviously need to be running through there over night to make the best use of the network.

Edited by XJ Flyer on Thursday 24th April 17:25

[dcb]

Adenauer said:

I'm at a bit of a loss here, chaps. So what would you say would be the best route to drive from Adenau in Germany, to San Ginesio in Italy please?

Google has two routes. I'd pick the Eastern one. More Germany
is faster and you don't have to pay the daft Swiss motorway taxes.
Austrian motorway taxes far more reasonable.

Run East from Adenau, pick up the A61 to Speyer & Walldorf, A6 East to Heilbronn,
South to Stuttgart.

Don't go South to Karlsruhe and turn East, that way's always busy.

Ulm, Kempten, Fussen, Innsbruck, Bozen, Trento, Verona, Modena, Bologna, Rimini.

1,200 km and about 12 hours. I'd say that's a two day job and you
need to stop halfway.

[Jodyone]

Here's what we drove into when we popped out of the Gotthard tunnel in february!



It was dry and spring-like at the other end..! From the wet road near the end of the tunnel we thought it might have started raining. No queues though

[sleepersix]

Avoid the tunnel at all costs. We headed that way en route to our honeymoon on Lake Como in 2001. Missed the exit for the pass and endured a dreadful 40 minute transit through the tunnel on one lane at 40mph, almost suffocating from the fumes... It may be better these days but I doubt it.

Returned and drove the old pass in 2008 - much more fun!

[Adenauer]

Thanks a lot chaps, I shall put my trip planning hat on.

[ssaf]

Adenauer said:

I'm driving from Germany through Switzerland and into Italy this summer (Adenau to San Ginesio to be precise), and have been warned that I will have to drive through the Gotthard tunnel and that it's a one way tunnel and if you time it wrong you can have up to a two hour wait?

Anyone know if that is really true please? Or is some funny German pulling my leg?

Yup, pick the wrong time and you are in a world of traffic jams. 2 hours is NOTHING for a traffic jam at Gotthard. I think the worst we counted one August was a traffic queue that was around 10 miles long on the north side of Gotthard. At 6 cars per 30 seconds, it was way more than 2 hours. Almost felt sorry for them queuing. But there were French people in the queue so we didn't.

In the event you find that there are long queues heading south before you get there, then head for Lucern and then Sarnen. Go over Brunigspass, then Sustenpass and then St Gotthard (or Grimsel, Furka and St Gotthard). Probably won't save much time, but it's a great excuse.

Or, come off for Andermatt if you can (bit of wandering down the hard shoulder for a couple of km), and go over St Gotthard pass that way. Or, come off for Andermatt, go up Oberalpass, and then over Lukmanier pass.

In the event you are heading northbound though, come off at some place beginning with B (name escapes me), avoid the local McDonalds (13E for a Big Mac Meal!!), and head over Lukmanier from the south, then down Oberalp, then over the Devil's Goat Gorge at Andermatt, and you'll be just north of the St Gotthard tunnel.

[Adenauer]

Cheers ssaf, very helpful