Driving from UK to Rome

nobby24

Anybody ever driven from the UK (NW England in my case) to Rome? How did it go, was it very tiring? Any advice?

Hintza

Haven't done that trip but have done some long long treks in Africa.

Is it business or pleasure? Kendal to Rome 22.5 hours according to AA routefinder.

Plan the journey and try and find some decent places to stay, if you have the time. Think you will need at least one overnight stop but more fun if you can make it more.

nobby24

It's pleasure (well a family visit) and I need to get there fairly quickly. If you try and book a flight short notice the tickets are expensive, even with Ryanair. I'd like to do it with just one overnight stop.

Flying-High_2

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/

One of the best Euro route planners I've used... gives you tolls etc etc.

Hintza

nobby24 wrote: »

If you try and book a flight short notice the tickets are expensive, even with Ryanair.

How many travelling? Have you done your sums on this?

Petrol, Ferry/Train, Accomodation, Food etc and if the price is still close the depreciation on the car too.

pstuart

Flying-High wrote: »

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/

One of the best Euro route planners I've used... gives you tolls etc etc.

Agree, I use them when towing the caravan as well,
you can input your vehicle type ( + caravan) and what sort of route you would like to take.

Useful in the UK too!

nobby24

There are two of us going and the cheapest return flights are around £550 and add to that the airport car parking at around £60 plus we have quite a bit of stuff to take so that wouldn't be a problem in the car.

Hammyman

nobby24 wrote: »

It's pleasure (well a family visit) and I need to get there fairly quickly. If you try and book a flight short notice the tickets are expensive, even with Ryanair. I'd like to do it with just one overnight stop.

I was a lorry driver for 16 years, sometimes doing in excess of 125,000 miles a year and regularly doing 2000+ per week. When we drove from East Yorks to Blois in France, we did it in one hit. Took 13 hrs inc breaks and Eurotunnel. We set off at 3am UK time and got there 5pm local time. I was absolutely knackered even though we took several breaks and didn't get up until Midday the following day. You'd have the same to do again.

You say RyanAir are expensive and you need to get there quick. Have you been onto Autoroutes.fr and worked out what the tolls are going to be for travelling through France? I quickly worked out around €70 each way in Autoroute tolls for going the France/Italy way. If you go the Switzerland route, as well as the Autoroute tolls in France, you'll need to buy an annual Vignette, even if you only go on the motorway for an hour, which was €40 the last time I looked. Don't forget that whilst you only need to buy a Vignette once a year, the Autoroute tolls will be in both directions. And don't forget you need to factor in the overnight stops. Then there's whatever the costs are in Italy. Then there's also 1500 miles of fuel in each direction. So...€140 in Autoroute tolls plus 100 gallons of fuel working on 30MPG, so call that £500 in fuel. Then there's the Eurotunnel, 2 hotel stays, then the tolls/vignette for Italy. Comes to way more than Ryanair and you'll be dog tired by the time you've driven to Rome so you can basically write off the first day following your arrival.

RyanAir still looking that expensive?

Phantom_Flan_Flinger

Last time I done that journey, the hovercrafts were still running and there were no speed cameras to worry about.

I done Hemel Hempstead (Herts), Calais, Reims, Metz, Strasbourg, Offenburg, Basel, Luzern, Milan, Bologne, Florence, Rome and then onto Latina which is around 30 mins south of Rome.

Back then the hovercraft was £100, cost about £25 in tolls through France and the £15 for the Swiss road Tax. It is possible in a day if you're up to it. I left around 4am and arrived in Latina around midnight. I was over there twice. Once for 7 weeks and another for 11.

I'm not sure which route the travel planners take you these days.

Hammyman

Phantom_Flan_Flinger wrote: »

Back then the hovercraft was £100, cost about £25 in tolls through France and the £15 for the Swiss road Tax. It is possible in a day if you're up to it. I left around 4am and arrived in Latina around midnight. I was over there twice. Once for 7 weeks and another for 11.

I

By heck, that must've been a while ago. The Vignette for Switzerland is €40 now.

missile

I have done Niece to Aberdeen on a Honda SP1



with only stops for fuel ........... now THAT was tiring

A friend of mine travels to Venice every year. He does it in one day from Rotterdam.

If you are travelling on the Newcastle / Rotterdam ferry. I would suggest you could comfortably overnight circa Dijon and travel on to Rome the next day. You might want to avoid Switzerland, take the scenic route via Val DeIsere and over the mountain pass to Turin.