Driving campervan from Calais to Milan. ROUTE RECOMMENDATION please

FrankFalcon

Hi all

This coming Friday we are taking our campervan from Dover to Calais by ferry. We depart our Ferry at noon. We need to be in Milan exactly 7 days later (following Friday noon). That gives us a whole week to make the journey. Therefore, we humbly ask for any tips or recommendations on the actual journey we should take.  Using a few different sources such as Google maps, RAC Route planner, Waze etc there are 2-3 route suggestions, including Switzerland and not Switzerland etc. We’d love your input & suggestions on our route. Are there any pros and cons with certain, specific routes/journeys?

thanks in advance all. 

Labtebricolist

I’d go via the Alsace region in France, which is lovely, then over into Germany (Freiburg), and Switzerland (Lucerne).  

Tucosalamanca

Via Michelin will show routes and offer toll costs (this is MSE after all).

Going through Switzerland and paying for a vignette will be cheaper than using one of the French tunnels.

Reims > Nancy > Colmar> Basel > Lucerne > Milan 

Luxembourg > Trier > Heidelberg (> Strasbourg > Colmar)> Freiburg > Basel > Lucerne > Milan 

This would be my preferred route as takes in the Black Forest and any number of towns to visit on-route (as well as cheaper fuel in Lux).

Reims > Dijon > Chamonix (Mt Blanc tunnel) > Milan 
This will be the quickest and most expensive route (but still beautiful and could incorporate visiting Aiguille du Midi).

One week to Milan is easy enough but to get the most out of it, you'll need to be on your toes (we usually take around a fortnight at leisurely pace).

Milan is crazy for driving and traffic, so leave more than ample time for the final leg (it's one of my least favourite places to drive). Safe travels.

Eldi_Dos

If you are wanting a road you drive rather than cruise on, the Route de Napoleon From Grenoble down to Grasse is highly recommended and at this time of the year the views of the Alps will be stunning.
You will get a real sense of achievement if you take that route, and from Grasse it is only a few hours to Milan.

FrankFalcon

Tucosalamanca said:

Via Michelin will show routes and offer toll costs (this is MSE after all).

Going through Switzerland and paying for a vignette will be cheaper than using one of the French tunnels.

Reims > Nancy > Colmar> Basel > Lucerne > Milan 

Luxembourg > Trier > Heidelberg (> Strasbourg > Colmar)> Freiburg > Basel > Lucerne > Milan 

This would be my preferred route as takes in the Black Forest and any number of towns to visit on-route (as well as cheaper fuel in Lux).

Reims > Dijon > Chamonix (Mt Blanc tunnel) > Milan 
This will be the quickest and most expensive route (but still beautiful and could incorporate visiting Aiguille du Midi).

One week to Milan is easy enough but to get the most out of it, you'll need to be on your toes (we usually take around a fortnight at leisurely pace).

Milan is crazy for driving and traffic, so leave more than ample time for the final leg (it's one of my least favourite places to drive). Safe travels.

That’s brilliant advice! Thank you so much (and the other member too) for taking the time to help us plan our journey. I should say, as we’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, money/cost is not an issue as opposed to seeing some great sites and beautiful places. Taking into account we are probably parking ‘wild’ in a few places, safety IS an issue for us. 

So, what is DEFINITELY set in stone (and can’t be changed is:

1. We will DEFINITELY be landing in Calais on Noon on Friday 2nd May. 

2. We MUST be in Milan at noon (7 days later) on Friday 9th May, because we are meeting friends to watch a Sporting event in Milan on Saturday & Sunday. As stated, that is 7 days. 

We will leave Milan at ‘approx’ noon on Monday 12th May and head towards Santander, Spain. We MUST be in Santander (3 days later) by Thursday (15th May) at noon (to catch our ferry home to Plymouth). That gives us 3 days to drive from Milan to Santander. Google says it can be done none stop on 15 hours, so we are sure that 3 days is ample to drive this home leg. 

We are really looking forward to this trip and thank anybody who contributes. 

Tucosalamanca

Route de Napoleon is a great suggestion but will be a slower journey.

Milan to Santander will be a slog in three days. Don't underestimate how far it is and allow plenty of time (I'd say at least 20% more than Google suggests)

Milan > Grenoble > Valence > Avignon > Beziers > Toulouse (possibly stopping in Carcassonne on-route) > Bayonne > Santander 
This will avoid the busy autoroutes along the coast (not great and expensive) from Genoa to Nice and the Cotes D'Azur.

You could go Geneva > Lyon > Clermont > Bordeaux It's an easy route but heavy traffic at Lyon, and more so at Bordeaux. It can be difficult and trying, even for the most patient of people.

Finally, don't buy fuel on the autoroutes and be prepared for expensive diesel in Italy.

You're planning a whistle stop tour but it will give a great taster of what European travel has to offer.

FrankFalcon

Thanks again all for the excellent advice. 

Eldi_Dos

Just a thought with it being a holiday weekend lots of routes heading south will be particulary busy Friday afternoon and evening, Lyon used to be notorious for this as many heading for south coast caused tailbacks.Might be worth your while to stop off north of any potential bottlenecks have a few hours relaxing and then continue late evening early morning.
Best of luck with the journey, I am quite jealous.