Cheap foreign holiday - driving to Italy?

msrisotto

Has anyone done this? I was thinking of driving to Lake como, hoping it is a cheaper option than getting flights somewhere?

johnnyreggae

It depends on how many people and how economic a car plus it may take an extra day each way and there's the ferry cost etc etc

trolleyrun

I doubt it would be cheaper to drive due to petrol prices and (possibly) extra insurance and/or breakdown cover. There's also the ferry/Chunnel to pay, which can be expensive. You will have to do some calculations, I'm afraid. How many miles does your car do per tank of fuel? How many miles to where you want to go? How much is the ferry/chunnel? How much for a flight?

Having said that, Lake Como is lovely

Doshwaster

I don't know where you are based in the UK but the drive to Italy will be at least 750 miles. Try the route planner on Google Maps for an idea of the route, distance and costs.

There are loads of factors to consider - how many in the car, how much you like driving, whether you can change drivers, road tolls, stopping over somewhere, meals enroute, ferry price. Alternatively, Ryanair fly into Milan Bergamo and Easyjet into Milan Malpensa.

Personally, even if driving did turn out to be cheaper then I still wouldn't consider it. I drive a lot for work so on holiday I prefer to take a break from being behind the wheel. I'd much rather get to Italy in 2 hours while sipping a G&T at 30,000 ft.

However you get there, Lake Como is indeed lovely - though maybe not the best place in Europe for a cheap holiday

AlexMac

We have driven to and done fly'hire-drive many times to Italy and drove to Umbria, 300m further south, last year- where we have friends - stopping on the way there near Como, and on the way back, at a wonderful lakeside hotel on lake Como itself for a couple of nights. A magical place, even in the rain (it's rained every one of 4 times we've visited; but then it is Italy's Mountanous Lake district!).

On that trip, we worked out that it was cash neutral to either fly and hire in Umbria or drive the whole way, once we factored in the cost of ferry/fuel -v - flight/airport parking/car-hire & local fuel. We didn't factor in hotels en-route as we'd have spent several nights in hotels in France or Italy as part of the holiday.

There are too many variables- e.g some French routes can cost £50-£100 each way in tolls alone. You can do the maths (helped by the 'viamichelin' website's excellent route-finder, mileage/ fuel and toll calculator and determine whether you want a slow meander through France on toll-free roads, a hack through Luxembourg, Germany (mostly toll-free) and Swiss motorways (40-odd Euros) or the most expensive French autoroutes.

Given inflation in Italy over the 10 years we've been visiting, it's not cheap, even with the pound at its current high against the Euro. Despite their recession, hoteliers won't haggle if you just walk up and drinks and meals are as expensive as here in South East London.

Choose the drive for the experience- not the saving, because if you just want to get there, a Lakes package with someone like Riviera Travel via the Times or Telegraph advert offers can be the most economic, from £600-800 per week-(they'll get decent hotels much cheaper than you). If like us, you don't like being part of a group you can opt out of some of their the boat, rail and castle trips which are generally included in the holiday price.

Buon Viaggio

Mark_Xa

As a general rule, I would say that flying on Ryanair or Easyjet is a lot cheaper than driving, but there are several factors to take into account. Are you travelling at peak times? (half-term, bank holiday). What will you do about airport parking? Do you need to rent a car when you arrive or are you happy walking or using local public transport?

We drive a lot to Europe in preference to flying. You don't have to queue, you can take as much stuff as you like including liquids and you can take bikes on the back of the car! It is far less hassle, but it is almost always more expensive.

zerog

Also you'll need to buy breathalysers (and a reflective jacket, which more people are aware of) to drive through France.