Driving from Manchester to Italy

ILOVEHOLIDAYS

Hi,

I have searched but havent really found any answers

we are looking at booking 3 weeks of work and driving through france/switerland into italy. We will not be stopping apart from sleeping until we get to probably venice. we do know that the journey will be long but we are used to driving long distances in a short amount of time we have drove to toulouse and back in 2 days!

what i am looking for is has anyone done this? looking at driving down east from venice then probably down towards rome and then back up the west stopping at different towns on the way. How is the best and probably the cheapest (know its not going to be cheap) but is it easy enough to stay at guest houses etc without booking and what places what you recommend we must do. or would it be cheaper to buy a camper van and live in that for 3 weeks but as i havent been is it easy to park places etc?

we are looking at going end of september is 3 weeks long enough? as if we cram alot in we will stay in switzerland on the way back

Many thanks

richardw

A multi-stop plane and train trip would be possible and just as adventurous, possibly more relaxing, do you really need the car?

joedenise

I wouldn't try and do that amount it 3 weeks - you'll see the inside of the car and motorways more than any of the countries visited!

Denise

mgdavid

so many negative waves !
it's funny how when you ask a question you get umpteen people telling you "you don't want to do that!"
Sounds a great idea to me, distance no problem - we went to Monza a couple of years back and only took two days in a camper van with trailer and race car behind. From Manchester best to allow a third day. (we're only 2 hours to Dover so usually go in the late evening, take a 10pm cheap ferry and kip in the Calais car park along with dozens of others, gives us a head start at 7 the next morning).
End of September - outside of main summer season & school hols - should be fine to go on spec for guest houses and cheap motels/hotels.
good luck
<envy>

zagfles

Rather than drive through France have you considered getting the Hull-Rotterdam ferry and driving through NL, Germany & Austria? About the same distance on the continent, 200 miles less in the UK, and no French tolls (think the only toll will the the Austria vingette but that's only about 7EUR IIRC). The ferry will be maybe £100-150 more expensive than the tunnel but you'll get a nights sleep and it could save you a night's hotel, plus the saving in petrol and tolls, would almost certainly make it cheaper.

Bob_the_Saver

In the 1970's I went from YORKSHIRE (much closer to Italy than Manchester) to Naples via Venice, Milan, Turin, Florence, Rome and lots of other places (in a Triumph Spitfire 1296cc) not a problem apart from the numb bum.
In those days hotels were dirt cheap, Italian petrol was subsidised for tourists, you bought vouchers in 20 litre blocks - you needed some planning with only a 6 gallon tank!
There was also some sort of discount or free passage on the Italian toll roads. I even learn't how to say my number 3 spark plug isn't working, in Italian. It always worked fine so that was a bit of a waste of time really.

So doing it today - no problem

SUESMITH_2

we drove to Venice non stop (apart from a night in a hotel) for a two week holiday. we live in york.

on the way there we did france and the frejus tunnel and across Italy, Milan takes ages to get round.

on the way back we went through Switzerland as it was cheaper to pay their road tax for a year than do the frejus again and it avoided a lot of the motorway tolls, plus the scenery was draw dropping beautiful, then we had another overnight in france.

we went camping so we couldn't fly! plus it was too expensive as we are tied to school holidays.

ignore the ones that say it cant be done, of course it can.

zagfles

Yes, we did a similar drive last summer to Istria (the part of Croatia just across the sea from Venice), it's easily do-able. Stopped in Austria near the Slovenian border for a few days which was lovely.

Voyager2002

As the first few posters have made clear, getting to Italy by air or rail would be a good deal more pleasant, and cheaper, than driving all the way. Yes: you could spend a pleasant couple of weeks driving slowly across France and Switzerland and eventually arriving in Italy, but there is no sense at all in dashing across these beautiful countries in a couple of days.

greenface

Voyager2002 wrote: »

As the first few posters have made clear, getting to Italy by air or rail would be a good deal more pleasant, and cheaper, than driving all the way. Yes: you could spend a pleasant couple of weeks driving slowly across France and Switzerland and eventually arriving in Italy, but there is no sense at all in dashing across these beautiful countries in a couple of days.

But flying over it in about 40 minutes is ok. Think the op wants to take a motor . I would take one big enough with room and space ,and not cram all & more into a car.

mcfisco

As the first few posters have made clear, getting to Italy by air or rail would be a good deal more pleasant,

I'd disagree strongly, road trips are superb

If it were me [wish it was] I'd get myself one of those pop-up tents and wild camp my way down and back again
As for hotels/B&Bs, I never had any problem at all finding somewhere suitable and within budget, just turning up on spec