 Poster: A snowHead
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Depends on time when setting off from Calais too. Half way from Calais is only about 6 hours, and will use another whole day to get where you're going. Getting past Munich for a stopover means you can potentially grab half a day on the slopes.
Mind you when I drive that, I'm only coming from Kent so at Dover pretty early.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Samerberg Sue, I'm using the Eurohotel at Gunzburg now. Pforzheim was not close enough to the destination. It's on the motorway but very nice with a separate restaurant; the rooms are modern and well maintained - much better than the Seligweiler a few km along the A8
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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How has the smoking ban gone down? Is it being observed?
It amazed me that the French observed it from Day 1!
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A key factor is how many drivers you have. If you have, say 4 in the car, then 2 hours/driver will get you to France/Switzerland with a lot less stress than one or two drivers. It makes a big difference. Especially going down.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Hi there
We are driving to St Anton Friday week. Getting Euro Shuttle to Calais with plan to drive through the night. Have been looking at options and there seems to be a fair split of opinion whether to head down through France and put up with the tolls or go through Belgium and Germany. Am I right in thinking time wise there isn't a lot in it? Not driven to ski resort before have always flown but taking the 3 kids for the first time so decided to drive. Any views from those that have driven this route would be appreciated. Cheers.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I tried the French route once, cost a lot in tolls and no great benefit time wise. Belgium/Lux/Germany for me. Can't beat the autobahns and and night you will eat up the miles.
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Kman, the motorways aren't good in Belgium and going that route will add approx an hour to your journey but it will save you a fair bit of toll money. Personally I would save the money, 10hr v 9hr journey isn't a ball ache. I ski a lot in France but have in-laws in far SE of Germany so have driven both a number of times.
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Also, calculating to run out of fuel in Luxembourg is a smart idea, since it's stupidly cheap there. Adds to the savings on the tolls 
Personally I've not found the motorways in Belgium to be that rubbish. If you can time going round Brussels to be outside of rush hour then it'll save you in the region of half an hour, otherwise they're entirely harmless. And straight. Reallly really straight.
If you choose that side then take the Dover-Dunkerque ferry. At 2 hours it's a decent break, and if you're on a midnightish-6am crossing then they keep it relatively quiet so everyone can get a bit of shut-eye. The Tunnel is great, but it's not really a break from driving.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I agree with Call me dave, the Belgium roads aren't that bad and can be very quiet. Been a few times to Oberstdorf visiting friends so make my way through Belgium/Luxemborg to Germany. Try missing out Brussels and go the A25 to Lille from Calais, then to Mons/Charleroi/Namur then down to Luxemborg. As stated, stop off for cheap fuel in Lux.
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| Quote: |
| Try missing out Brussels and go the A25 to Lille from Calais, then to Mons/Charleroi/Namur then down to Luxemborg. |
That's the way we go.
The motorways in Belgium aren't as well maintained as the toll motorways in France for obvious reasons and a tad busier but I agree they are OK and as I said I would go that way and save the money.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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They've definitely improved a lot in the past decade. Lille would be very good if you were travelling at rush hour but it's definitely a personal choice. I like there to be the odd challenging bit to keep me on my toes
You know if you're heading to Switzerland and south to Gotthard, whats the best way of getting there? I've done it about 6 times and every time it's different, I've ended up going through the middle of Strasbourg and all sorts! There has to be an obvious way of doing it!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Thanks for that I think I'm edging toward the Belgium Germany run, already booked up the Euro Shuttle so has to be Calais. Seeing as I'll be getting on the road at midnight roads shouldn't be too busy....I also reckon it saves waking up Mrs K to pay at each toll....that's worth some brownie points  .
Quick Q on winter tyres, I knows there's plenty of threads on here already but with winter tyres on a 4x4 is it still compulsory for chains in certain conditions in Austria?
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| Quote: |
| I also reckon it saves waking up Mrs K to pay at each toll... |
Get a doofer.
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| with winter tyres on a 4x4 is it still compulsory for chains in certain conditions in Austria? |
You may be turned away on certain roads in certain conditions.
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You know it makes sense.
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I've driven to Austria in an LR Discovery the last couple of years... snow tyres are required, but all terrain tyres are also fine (with snowflake marking). I carry snow chains but haven't needed to use them yet, they're pretty good at keeping the roads clear.
Innsbruck is 1,000 km from Calais (via Luxembourg to fill up at £1 per litre diesel), so additional drivers are recommended if you want to do the trip in one journey. Yorkshire to Innsbruck generally takes 24 hours, via Brussels, Luxembourg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart and Ulm.
Smoking is still allowed in many bars in Austria, although non-smoking areas are often also available.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Cheers will pick up some snow chains just in case. A few people have mentioned that Luxembourg is the cheapest place in Europe for fuel.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Boredsurfin, as far as I could see in early January, Austria was ignoring the ban. Most places anyway. One of my Daughters smoke, ( and I am a recent quitter so it was hell) and she loved being able to après ski and have a smoke without having to leave all the fun.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
Innsbruck is 1,000 km from Calais (via Luxembourg to fill up at £1 per litre diesel)
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It defeats me why people going on an expensive holiday would plan their journey around saving about £8 on filling their tank with diesel (compared to France, it's a bigger saving on the higher UK diesel price and it also defeats me why people plan their journey round filling up with expensive British diesel before crossing to Calais).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| pam w wrote: |
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Innsbruck is 1,000 km from Calais (via Luxembourg to fill up at £1 per litre diesel)
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It defeats me why people going on an expensive holiday would plan their journey around saving about £8 on filling their tank with diesel (compared to France, it's a bigger saving on the higher UK diesel price. |
Er... my LR holds about 105 litres, right up to the top of the filler. With a Luxembourg price of 1.19 euros versus a French price of 1.45 euros (both prices at motorway services, accurate as of last week), that gives a saving of 26 cents per litre, or 27.30 euros for a tankful. That's about £22.50, not £8.
And Lux is pretty much on the direct route to Austria, so why throw money away unnecessarily?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| biddpyat wrote: |
| Boredsurfin, as far as I could see in early January, Austria was ignoring the ban. Most places anyway. One of my Daughters smoke, ( and I am a recent quitter so it was hell) and she loved being able to après ski and have a smoke without having to leave all the fun. |
ah, I heard that was the case,
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| pam w wrote: |
| It defeats me why people going on an expensive holiday would plan their journey around saving about £8 on filling their tank with diesel (compared to France, it's a bigger saving on the higher UK diesel price and it also defeats me why people plan their journey round filling up with expensive British diesel before crossing to Calais). |
Cause every little thing you save just through thinking about things makes a decent difference at the other end. Eg spending a while looking for exactly the right flight/hire car balance on a weekend's snowboarding pays for the lift passes. 2 trips like that and I can afford another one.
Obviously it's case by case and if you go over the top with silly little stingy bits and bobs then you end up doing something like spending £30 to save £10. And kind of like Bladder says, do it both ways and it's a £40 difference. Even on smaller cars with 60l tanks, you can end up saving an amount that represents half a tank of fuel. That puts you half a tank of fuel closer to being able to afford an extra trip.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
my LR holds about 105 litres, right up to the top of the filler. With a Luxembourg price of 1.19 euros versus a French price of 1.45 euros (both prices at motorway services, accurate as of last week), that gives a saving of 26 cents per litre, or 27.30 euros for a tankful. That's about £22.50, not £8.
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well yes, fair enough. If you drive to the Alps in a Land Rover and fill up every couple of hundred miles you certainly need to save every penny.
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Why? I'm a millionaire, obviously. 
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| Markymark29 wrote: |
| boredsurfin, smoking ban in Austria effective 1st January 2014 |
Wasn't being enforced when we were there last month!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The segregation of smokers and non-smokers is being loosely enforced by peer pressure and good manners. The rumour about a ban remains just that, although a total ban is being discussed again but so far it has never got any further. Over a certain size (I believe this starts at 80 sq.m), then there must be separate smoking and non-smoking areas. But many hut owners for example have found a simple way of discouraging smoking by not putting out any ashtrays. I spend quite a lot of time in both small and medium-sized huts in and around both the Salzburg and Tirol areas and it is amazing how small the number of people smoking inside actually is. I quite like the "live and let live" attitude that the Austrians have adopted. If I find a hut or bar too smoky then I simply move to a more pleasant smoke-free location.
I drive via Southern Belgium and Luxembourg when coming back home for several reasons: 1 it is the most direct route, 2 I not only save money on the cheap fuel in Luxembourg, I also save 40+ quid not paying for French autobahns, 3 it is motorway or fast dual carriageway almost door to door. I cross Dover to Dunquerque with an almost empty tank, fill up at the Centre Commercial de Grand Synthe which will easily get me to Luxembourg. Then I fill up to the gills to avoid having to pay the inflated German fuel prices. Living on the Austrian border means I can always fill up there for as much as 17cent a litre difference!
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