 Poster: A snowHead
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rjs, I left that bit out as I was unsure as to where Dougie was actually coming in from. But I think most people NOT heading to the French Alps would use the A25 to Lille, not just because it is currently free, but because it is the quickest and most logical route. I once tried to avoid major roadworks and consequent delays along the A16 from Calais to Dunkerque by going cross country - never, ever again! I got hopelessly lost and it added a couple of hours to my journey. It was I hasten to add, in the days before Sat-Navs, but had I had one it would have been screaming at me to return to the motorway as well as calling me every kind of idiot under the sun! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We do the journey a lot and use the Luxembourg route mentioned above.
We usually stay in the Doubletree in Luxembourg where you can get a family room including breakfast for about £60.
As we travel from Wirral it's also about half way to Maria Alm.
Done the journey in one go a few times which takes between 19 to 23 hours.
Luxembourg stopover usually makes it 2 x 10 hour drives.
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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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This is interesting, we are heading to zell am see in February, have winter tyres already  any route planners for us? We were planning to leave Friday morning and stay overnight Friday, any suggestions most welcome. Or we now maybe heading for St Anton for a week then onto Zell a week later, still leaving on Friday for a stopover on the way.
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skimac, Last year I went via Stuttgart, but am looking at Sue's route past Munich this time.
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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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feefee, a lot depends on when in February to be honest. You can take the same route down to Siegsdorf (on the A8 Munich to Salzburg) and avoid paying the vignette by using the road through the mountains to Lofer then on to Saalfelden, Maishofen and into Zell from there.
Coming from St Anton you have the choice of using the Arlberg Schnellstrasse and Inntal Autobahn A12 (both require you to have a vignette) and looping round via the A8 to Siegsdorf. Or coming off at Wörgl, passing up the Brixental to St Johann and Kitzbühel then over Pass Thurn to Mittersill and along to Zell. Another choice is to follow the route most HGVs use which is via Saalfelden.
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Samerberg Sue, week in zell is half term 15th, but leaving on 14th, st anton is possibly the 8th, leaving 7th. What's the vignette?
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Avalanche Poodle, not an option to sleep in the car, we don't have our own skis so just luggage, last time we reversed the truck upto a wall and hoped for the best!
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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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feefee, vignette is the toll sticker required to used the Autobahns and some other roads in Austria. Buy it at the border or before from service stations in Germany as you approach. Cost is about €9 for 10 days. Fine if caught without one, which must be stuck to your windscreen.
I've usually driven non-stop between St Anton and Rotterdam on my trips here (overnight ferry between Hull-Rotterdam, much more convenient for me living up North for not that much more cost wise than the extra drive time to get to the south for a cheaper channel crossing), but this time I had an overnight at Rasthaus Seligweiler just off the motorway by Ulm. Very comfy beds and easy to find, plus only a couple of hours drive the next morning to St Anton.
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feefee, The vignette is the toll paid sticker you need to drive on Austrian autobahns and Schnellstrasse. You have to pick them up before you drive on the motorways - a 10 day one would cost around 9 Euros if you are spendin a week in St anton then moving on to Zell then you would be covered as you do not need one to get from Zell to the German motorways if you reverse the route via Saalfelden and Lofer to Siegsdorf on the A8. You can either buy one at a service area before the border or stop at the border and buy one there. The ASFINAG (the authority running the system) have vans and cameras parked along random exit roads so they usually get you there and it is a wee bit more than the price of the ticket in an on the spot fine!
The beginning of February is not a problem to be honest - some school holiday traffic at the weekends maybe and late on Friday afternoons, but the main culprits for blocking the roads do not have holidays in February that will affect you. Bavaria, Baden-Würtemberg and most of the other Bundesländer will have their half term to coincide with Fasching/Carneval (beginning of March). There are bound to be some areas on holiday but not many I think. I don't have a calendar at hand for next year but there is one somewhere as sticky I believe.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I found this site very useful, I order the vingnette online and it is posted to me in the UK. Just one less thing to worry about on the drive - by the time we get close to Austria the 'are we there yet?' phrase is being said - often - and I would possibly forget to buy it at the service station!
https://www.tolltickets.com/default.aspx?lang=en-GB&mnu=c
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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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feefee, You should be fine, it was only the skis on view and the top box that went from my mates. I have a couple of pairs and a lot of expensive climbing kit so no way would I leave that.
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| skimac wrote: |
I found this site very useful, I order the vingnette online and it is posted to me in the UK. Just one less thing to worry about on the drive - by the time we get close to Austria the 'are we there yet?' phrase is being said - often - and I would possibly forget to buy it at the service station!
https://www.tolltickets.com/default.aspx?lang=en-GB&mnu=c |
Boom! Ordered.
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You know it makes sense.
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I stopped off here on my way to Austria (Zeebrugge to Filzmoos)
Romantik Hotel Zum Klosterbräu
http://www.zum-klosterbraeu.de/
It was REALLY nice, but not a lot of English spoken.
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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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I will have a look as we are looking for a stopover midway from calais to schladming, we will really need secure parking too if anyone has a suggestion. Sue's route looks good, we will be traveling on a Friday so I suspect the traffic will be grim?
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Poster: A snowHead
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blue, When are you travelling? Fridays are not too bad, although from about 15.00 onwards you do get a lot of people on the roads between major centres as they start the end of week trek home. Munich east bound can be a bit of a mare but not always. I work away from home Mondays to Wednesdays so I miss the the end of week rush!
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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 wrote: |
| blue, When are you travelling? Fridays are not too bad, although from about 15.00 onwards you do get a lot of people on the roads between major centres as they start the end of week trek home. Munich east bound can be a bit of a mare but not always. I work away from home Mondays to Wednesdays so I miss the the end of week rush! |
Hi, we arrive in Calais at about 12pm ish then hope to get as far as we can, before stopping overnight. I suspect, we will have had enough after 6 hours as, we have about 4 hours to do in the UK. We don't really want to unpack the car so, need somewhere to stay overnight with secure parking. Really appreciate your help. Ordered the winter tyres (paid for by Mr blues boss, very nice man!!!) for the 4x4 today so, at least we will be traveling in comfort in the bigger vehicle!
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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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Get as far into Germany as you can and make sure that you cover up any valuables and park close to your accommodation. Luckily thefts from cars are not as common as it seems in the UK or in France. Last time I stopped in France I was asked if I wanted secure parking by the reception as I checked in. I have to admit I had not thought much about it.
Use something like booking.com to look for accommodation along your route. Getting off the motorway systems does actually give you more choice and cheaper prices. Loads of small family run places in just about every town and most villages have at least one Gasthof (inn).
I can't remember if you said when you are travelling, but if you are aiming to travel on to Schladming on the Saturday morning the further on you can get towards Munich in the season the better. There are two main waves of traffic: the early morning one which is the day trippers setting off. This reaches it's peak around 09.00 through to about 10.30, then the next wave starts building around midday as the travellers from the north start reaching our area. That usually lasts through to about 16.00. Think it as waves of travellers and you get the picture. Timing is everything especially when the changeover day is in the peak season.
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Sue, spot on, the last time I left Stuttgart for Lofur I timed it to arrive early afternoon. Didn't have many problems letting the Sat rush hours die 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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Did the Low Countries/Germany route last year on the way down and Strasbourg on the way back as it seemed the whole of the German Autobahn network was being resurfaced! Any one done the trip yet this year and if so now are the road works looking?
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Doccam, depends on where you are heading. The A5 (which is the Frankfurt/Basel route) and the A3 are being upgraded and it is long term work. But apart from a possible short section of the A5 near Karlsruhe, there is absolutely no need to touch either of those roads if you are heading to Austria. There are long term roadworks (due to road widening/improvements) as you come from Stuttgart up onto the Swabian Alb (Drakenstein) but that moves very well most of the time.
A lot depends on when you travel as well; travelling on a Saturday is always going to be a lottery as on some key weekends it seems like the whole of Western Europe is on the move.
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Hi,
I thought we had settled on this route, as suggested by Sue
CALAIS to LILLE (A25/E42)
LILLE to MONS (E42)
MONS to NAMUR (E19)
NAMUR to LUXEMBOURG (E411)
Fill tank at the first services on the motorway when you drive into Luxembourg.
Follow signs to Sarrbrucken (A13) and continue past NEUNKIRCHEN (A
Then on A8 toward PIRMASENS turning off motorway onto A10 main road signed PIRMASENS and LANDAU and travel on toward KARLSRUHE. Join the A8 motorway after about 40km
KARLSRUHE to STUTTGART (A
STUTTGART to MUNICH (A
MUNICH to WORGL (A8/12)
But Mr blue has been led to believe it may be better to go calais e40, A3Frankfurt then A9 around Munich then E45 to Salzburg and avoid roadworks. Totally confused now and considering easyjet 
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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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blue, Do not use the Frankfurt to Würzburg A3 route if you can possibly avoid it. There are jams on it every single day, let alone on holiday changeover days when you have the added volume from the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Denmark. When you reach Nürnberg you then add all the northern German, Polish and Baltic drivers plus the traffic from Eastern Germany. The A3/A9 route also has many long term roadworks which due to the sheer volume of traffic lead to some amazing jams.
The route I gave you is the route I and all my expat friends use all the time at any time of the year to get to the Channel and back again. There was a time that I used the Frankfurt route, I even managed to get from Munich to Frankfurt in less than 3 hours once many moons ago. Last summer it took me 5 hours to get from Nürnberg to Munich because of the roadworks and it was not even a holiday weekend.
Another disadvantage of the Frankfurt route at the moment is the need to pass around Brussels and Liege, putting into some serious roadworks as well. Take a look at www.tomtom.com/livetraffic to see what I mean.
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We always use the route through Belgium, Luxembourg via Pirmasens. Then onto Munich via Stuttgart and then into Austria. No need for any other route as this is tried and tested many times by us.
We normally stop here
http://www.iq-hotels.de/00.html
for a cheap, clean and modern stopover on the way home after skiing for the day, leaving resort about 4pm. This will get you back to Calais next day in the afternoon.
It's right on the motorway and has secure parking.
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Wed 18-12-13 20:29; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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A5 frankfurt-karlsruhe was fine in October. The real problem was South of Karlsruhe, which shouldn't really affect many skiers (just those going to Bern area). But the massive roadworks after roadworks after roadworks was mostly gone.
Will be travelling Frankfurt-Brussels on Monday (not much choice, really), so can give an update then.
AFAIK A8 between Pforzheim and Munich is OK now? the worst rebuild has been open for ages, and last time I went that way, it was hard to drive less than 160.
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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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We have made definate plans now and will be booking an earlyish Friday crossing from Folkestone to Calais then driving to Zell am See, hoping to get as far as we can then stay overnight, arriving maybe 7pm? Any ideas how far we would get and suggestions of where to stay would be great, is aiming for Munich reasonable?
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You know it makes sense.
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feefee, how early is your crossing? Munich might be pushing it by 7 but you won't be far away
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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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feefee, how early is your crossing? Munich might be pushing it by 7 but you won't be far away. I'd suggest checking where you can get a room and aim for there. My favourite stopping places have been full for a while, inc for my (low season) 10th Jan trip which I booked some weeks ago
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Poster: A snowHead
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It normally takes us about 10 hours to get to Kirchberg from Dunkerque. So depends on what time you are thru the tunnel, where you will be at 7.
And as I have said previously, the Namur Luxemburg route is by far the easiest as far as traffic is concerned. We always come off the motorway at Mondorf Le Bains and take a suck of fuel. Much cheaper than the service station and only a mile extra on the journey. And its just before you cross over into Germany so have travelled the furthest distance from England taking on board the most fuel.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 19-12-13 11:21; edited 1 time in total
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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: |
So depends on what time you are thru the tunnel
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and don't forget to add the hour - it's easy to forget, when you are planning.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Good point re; adding the hour! haven't booked the tunnel yet as we were going to count the time backwards form arriving at the overnight stop, could probably go anytime? we've only a short journey to the tunnel if that helps.
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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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We normally get a tunnel train on the Thursday night and drive through, making sure we are timed to pass through Luxembourg as much before 6 am as possible as we got caught once during rush hour adding extra time to the journey. We get to the resort in time for lunch on the slopes. Get our lift tickets for the next day (if same as final area tickets) and check into our accommodation (normally book a one night hotel stay in resort that offers night skiing) Then we can have a quick rest before après time and night skiing if it's available then next day onto our chosen resort. We buy an 8 day ticket and ski till 4 pm on the following Saturday and then as my post above.
Tiring but perfectly doable.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Thu 19-12-13 11:30; edited 1 time in total
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Powderseeker, that sounds like a good plan. Yes, tiring but people do equally tiring journeys for just 6 days skiing - and probably hit more traffic, travelling on Saturdays.
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pam w,
Yes your right. Doing it this way means the bulk of travelling is on a quieter Friday (going down) and an even quieter Sunday coming back. Just the little bit into our chosen resort (as we normally night ski in another resort) on the Saturday but timed to get to the 1st lift. Leaving at 4pm (or just before) normally avoids all the 6 dayers as they are normally long gone.
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Sounds good but not an option to go Thursday, early Friday is the plan, the suggested routes all look good though its just how far we can get on Friday and wheres best to stay, then we can get the tunnel booked and start looking at overnight accommodation.
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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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feefee, seriously, start to find accommofation first....
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Anyone intending to travel down this weekend, the routes to and around Munich and then on to Austria are on red alert this weekend because of the expected volume of traffic. I've been listening to them rabbit on about it all day on the local radio during the shows as well as on the traffic reports. I'm assuming they are talking about non-German tourists as majority of the Federal states start their holidays until Monday for some weird reason (Hamburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony being the exceptions). Saturday and Sunday are being touted as being the "peak flow" days and the A99 eastbound and the A8 as far as the Inntal Dreieck (A93 interchange near me at Rosenheim) being the points where all the traffic merge.
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FAQ
Loads of small hotels near motorways on the edges of towns, or just use the service ones for convenience. The only reason I sleep in my car is because it would take me about 5 or 6 trips to empty it (a mate had his stuff robbed at a motorway service sleepover and I wouldn't leave that much kit in the car overnight), it's so full there isn't even room to recline the front seat 
