European Road Trip - Lake Como

[Doc883]

Just booked up with DFDS Ferries for Newcastle to Amsterdam at the beginning of the school hols. Sadly not a Lotus epic trip but a more sedate family cruise in the 2.2 TDi S-Max (auto) but 200ps should allow brisk enough progress Current plan is to spend 3 days driving through Holland, Germany and Switzerland to Lake Como in Northern Italy. 10 days staying in the Lakes then another 3 day drive back to Amsterdam possibly via France this time. Any recommendations on route and where to stay and more importantly not to stay
Distance wise it's roughly 650 miles each way so was looking at approx 200 miles per day with 2 nights stopover on the way to Italy and back again to Amsterdam.

[robin]

I would avoid Switzerland ... but then I would be driving in a spirited fashion that is not socially acceptable in Switzerland

If you have the time to consider the detour via Austria then you can approach the Italian lakes from that direction and do the Stelvio and Rombo (Timmelsjoch) passes - start at Obergurgl, cross into Italy and head for Merano, then turn west towards Bormio. From Bormio you have your pick of the Italian lakes. Spectacular scenery all around this route, though of course the kids don't care. Possibly slow going due to car sickness and camper vans

Clearly it's going to be quicker to barrel down the motorway.

As to where to stay - I cannot help with specifics but have been there on various Stelvio trips and it's always been acceptable, even the odd place that was a bit rough. I should have thought anywhere on lake Garda or Como will be nice, and depending on how you plan to book it, you can always play it by ear (tough with the kids in tow - you probably want to know that you have somewhere to sleep each night before you leave!).

En route you won't need to stay in Holland in either direction, unless you want to?

An obvious petrolhead stop off point for the first leg would be to visit the ring ... Adenau is a nice town and we know that the Sonnehof is a good hotel and will be nice in the summer with kids, etc., for a night.

I think you need to look at a longer hop the second day - perhaps to the north shores of Lake Constance (Konstanz).

The third day will be slower going whichever route you take, so best to make that shorter - Konstanz-Como is about 200 miles.

Cheers,
Robin

[Doc883]

I would avoid Switzerland ... but then I would be driving in a spirited fashion that is not socially acceptable in Switzerland Cheers, Robin

Thanks for the info Robin, I'll don pipe and slippers mode if we go through Switzerland and agree Holland wont be a stopover merely a pass-through. Kids have TV's in the back and the beauty of having the S-Max is we can pack as much crap as they need

[Scotty C]

if your going through France, I love Annecy but its 625 miles from the amsterdam so might be to far for 1 day.

[donaldosaurus]

Try the train from Den Hag to either Alexandria or Livorno with car

[Mr Momo]

Was there in November, visiting rellies.

Visit Moto Guzzi on Lake Como ( never been though )

Brunate funicular railway

Bellagio - touristy, but pretty.

Just settle into Italian life and enjoy.....


(p.s. enjoy the Italian driving)

[douglasgdmw]

Did the whole European jaunt a couple of years ago in the Evora.

Depends how car focussed you want to make it but the highlights for me were:
Stuggart: Mercedes/Porsche musuem

Stop over at any Meilenwerk in Germany: http://www.meilenwerk.com/meilenwerk/english for a bit of car culture. Seemingly have some good hotels attached (Saw a 50yr old Maserati MC-12 driver and his georgeous 20 year old female "friend" checking in)

Mille Miglia Museum : http://www.museomillemiglia.it/en/museum.aspx
Pagani factory visit (Need to pre-book and may be dependant on how old the kids are, u don't want to pick up the bill if there's any damages)

[greido]

I stayed at Crotto Di Gittana at Lake Como and it was absolutely stunning, the hotel has 3 rooms so it's possibly more of a restaurant with rooms but the food and views were incredible, definitely one of my favourite places I've ever stayed.
We were there for a long weekend,flew in an out of Milan Malpensa and hired a convertible Golf Diesel (requested a BMW but that's another story), on the Sunday we drove upto the Stelvio pass which was about 2 hours drive from the hotel. The road and scenery were epic, unlike the golf! - I'd definitely recommend going via the Stelvio Pass on your way to Como, you can come in from the Switzerland.
I booked Crotto Di Gittana thought booking.com: http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/crotto- ... _confemail - The pictures on the website don't do it justice.

[Fluoxetine]

Holy thread resurection, Batman!

In keeping with one of my targets on Campbell's 2014 Goals thread, I've started thinking about a Euro trip in August.

I presently don't own a Lotus, but would take my fJCW mIni, as it should be fun over the passes with a decent handbrake & over a couple hundred horsepower melting the front tyres. (Good on the boring bits too, as it has cruise / climate etc).

Anyway - Thinking Lake Como, specifically Cernobbio, and aiming for mid-to late-August.

Around 14 days there and back, heading to Rotterdam on the Geordie express.

Current thinking is:

Rotterdam -> Stuttgart -> Innsbruck -> Merano (via the Rombo pass) -> Cernobbio (via Stelvio) -> Annecy (via Chamonix) -> Adenau then back to Rotterdam to catch the ferry that day.

Longest driving day is just over 6 hours, but the bulk are around the 3-4 hour mark - Would have a rest day in Stuttgart, and three full days at Lake Como.

Route is here - http://goo.gl/maps/VxiZr

Would welcome any past experiences, thoughts or tips!

[H8OAG]

Will watch this with interest........... also a (2014 goal)
I need to achieve this within seven days holiday this year, so may have to can the idea of taking my own convertible from the UK.
I am liking greido's idea of flying to Milan and ragging a rental around the Lochs and Glens

[douglasgdmw]

Similar to the trip we did in 2010 in the Evora. Will post up some details in the next couple of days as to where we stayed.

George

[Dark]

Also interested - we've just booked 2 weeks in Lake Garda in July!

[hendeg]

I've driven from Como to Chamomix but went over the Simplonpass. It's good except half of it is through Switzerland which is to be avoided at all costs!

[squid]

Did this last year in the wee Elise. Didn't fancy the outside lane of the autobahn, so we took the overnight Autozug train from Dusseldorf to Bolzano. On the surface quite expensive, but probably gave us an extra 48 hours in Italy, saved on our hearing and, as the train was 3 hours late arriving, we got a 50% refund back from DB. Stelvio was a quick run from Bolzano, and we were on Lake Como and drinking wine by late afternoon. Stayed in Varenno this time, Tremezzo last time, preferred the former as there were more options for eating and good rail connection for day trips further afield.

[Dominic]

As per other's comments, I can't recommend a trip to supercar valley enough! If you are staying at the lakes, it's well worth making the journey (a couple of hours). Pagani was the highlight for us, (advance booking essential). Some pics from out trip;

http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... =9&t=31449

It will be busy with tourists at the lakes at that time, but still a great part of the world to visit. We stayed near the south end of Lake Garda. Gave us a good base to explore the mountains as well as other trips (Verona, Venice, Supercar tours)