 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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See here for the route.
When I have done it have stayed in Lille but that isn't as far as you want.
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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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perry001, Welcome to Snowheads.
There are several routes - we usually do Dunkirk-Bruxelles ring road-Aachen-Stuttgart-Munich-Siegsdorf-Inzell-Saalfelden-Saalbach/Zell BUT beware the roadworks between Stuttgart and Munich at the moment. Check Samerberg Sue's posts for latest update on these.
Hotel on way down - Ibis Budget Aachen Nord just off the motorway in Aachen. Cheap as chips if you just need a bed and a hot shower. About 3-4 hours from Dunkirk.
Hotel on the way home - Ibis in Aalst, again just off the motorway. 2 hours from Dunkirk. Book the midday ferry and you've time for a leisurely breakfast.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We've driven to Selva via quinton's suggested route. We gave up on overnight stops and now just hit it in one. Overnight stops just dragged the journey out and caused security nightmares if using roofboxes/skis on roof. Once you've mentally adjusted to being in a car for 12hrs, it kinda goes quite painlessly and gets you to resort all the faster. It also saves the cost of an overnight stop. I bought 12v/240v inverters to allow the kids to run every electronic gadget that they owned for the whole journey without running out of battery. 
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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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perry001, Ibis Luxembourg Sud. 4 hours or less from the Ferry.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
| We gave up on overnight stops and now just hit it in one. |
I prefer that too but depends where in the UK perry001 is travelling from.
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Bode Swiller, Yup, I've got 4.5 - 5 hrs before I hit the tunnel. I've done it in one hit but 22hrs of driving hurt.
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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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quinton, where exactly are the roadworks? We are driving that stretch but will turn off at Ulm to head towards Bregenz. Are the roadworks between Ulm and Munich?
Cheers
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no roadworks listed on the usual stau info sites.
going that way next friday (not decided exact route yet, but will at least be doing Leonberg/Stuttgart to Munich ring on A8, if not Karlsruhe-Munich)
will update next weekend with my findings.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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All roads clear when I came home for Christmas, route taken, Salzburg, Munich, Karlsuhe, Luxemburg etc...hope they are all clear when I got back on Friday 
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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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Most of the biggies are tidied up for the winter as far as possible. The road widening coming up over the Drakenstein between Stuttgart and Ulm can cause problems as can the bridge replacement works at the Bergen turn off on the stretch to Salzburg. There is no real need for the hold ups that occur but people tailgating in the left-hand lane and pushing the limits to the very last minute often cause hold ups. If drivers observed the speed limits and the gaps traffic would flow more easily, but that is a forlorn hope. I usually stay in the right-hand lane with the trucks, just pulling out to overtake the slower ones before pulling back in again. Less stop start and braking that way!
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You know it makes sense.
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Samerberg Sue, I actually drive slightly under the limits - if I floor it I can practically see the fuel needle moving 
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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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As I have posted before. By far the quickest and best route is; Brussels ring road Aachen, Cologne, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Munich. It has a greater proportion of 3 lane Motorway, less undulating and avoids the non motorway section at Pirmasens. It is about 10 km longer than Luxembourg Stutgart and the fuel saving in Lux is marginal these days. 2 hrs to clear Brussels another 2 hrs to Cologne 1.5 hrs then to Frankfurt and another 1.5 to Nuremberg (7hrs to Nurenberg)
If you have never tried this route you will be surprised how good it is. Give it a go.
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Poster: A snowHead
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kevinraine, I did...and the Brussels ring road was a nightmare. Conversely I've never been held up at Pirmasens. Filling up in lux outward abd return saves about 25 euro for me. Not a deal breaker but helps. I guess it will always depend on the traffic on the day but I'm in no hurry to try the Brussels route again.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Brussels ring has always been fine for me.
12-15mins from E40 to E40 both ways almost every time without fail. Typically 14:00 on a weekday heading West, 18:00 ish heading east.
Busy, yes, and you have to pay attention to the right lane a bit more than the rest of the journey, and be aware that Liege is called something different in Flemish and German 
But Luxembourg way for me is definitely longer (no point going 20 mins the wrong way).
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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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That web site is inaccurate andrew e, there is no legal compulsion to have winter tyres in Germany. They stopped short of making a blanket compulsory rule. The wording is that the tyres on your car have to be suitable for the prevailing weather conditions. If you are involved in any kind of accident they will look at your tyres and if they are considered to be unsuitable for the weather conditions then you are culpable as well. Your insurance may also refuse to pay for any costs incurred. There are also fines for holding up traffic if your tyres do not have the traction to keep you moving. I changed to my winter tyres in early October this year due to a combination of early frosts, leaves on the road and lots of rain made the roads down from my village to the rest of the world absolutely lethal.
Austria has a compulsory rule that most interpret as O bis O (October to Easter), however many visitors do not have winter tyres and as long as they do not cause an accident they are not fined. However driving on summer tyres in the mountains in winter conditions seems more than a little stupid in my opinion as well as irresponsible with regard to other road users.
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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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[
Austria has a compulsory rule that most interpret as O bis O (October to Easter), however many visitors do not have winter tyres and as long as they do not cause an accident they are not fined. However driving on summer tyres in the mountains in winter conditions seems more than a little stupid in my opinion as well as irresponsible with regard to other road users.[/quote]
Interesting.
I was reliably informed by an Austrian residence that its not compulsory as we all thought and its the same rule as you described earlier in Germany.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Fromt eh Austrian Tourist Information Website
"Driving in Winter
Between 1st November and 15th April of the following year drivers of private cars and goods vehicles up to 3.5t must be suitably equipped for winter conditions. That means that drivers using the roads in wintry conditions during this period must have winter tyres fitted. Drivers of goods vehicles over 3.5t and buses must comply with a winter tyres requirement. That means that the vehicle must always be fitted with winter tyres during the prescribed period, whether there is snow on the roads or not. This requirement applies to goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes from 1 November to 15 April and to buses from 1 November to 15 March. Find more information at www.bmvit.gv.at"
but this from ASFINAG http://www.asfinag.at/documents/10180/12493/service+booklet+2013/21964e94-d23a-458e-987c-8e5afa809ddc
"SNOW
• Prepare your vehicle for winter in good time.
• From 1 November to 15 April, buses and vehicles
over 3.5 tons must be fitted with winter tires. This
applies to all cars in the event of winter driving conditions.
Cars and vehicles up to 3.5 tons may also
use summer tyres with snow chains. Chains must
be fitted on at least two drive wheels."
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I understand what you are saying, but just like in Germany, they have stopped short to say that its compulsory to have the W Tyres on. SS above was implying it was compulsory. I totally agree that its ludicrous to NOT have them, but on the main roads in March for example, you could in theory drive without them if the roads are clear of snow/ice and mud and are dry. And you wouldn't be committing a road traffic offence
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IMHO If anyone thinks they're a smart ar$e and goes over there without them and then causes an accident I literally hope they get the whole statute book thrown at them, fined to bankruptcy and jailed for good measure. 
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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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jafa, I am showing conflicting advice from 2 organisations - 1 says it is compulsory durign wintery conditions so effectively compulsory - folk aren't going to change tyres depending on the forecast throughout the winter!, and in March you could just as easily have snow as dry weather so the chance of committing an offence exists. Personally I have all weather tyres wtih M&S markings whcih are legal
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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[quote="Samerberg Sue"]That web site is inaccurate andrew e, there is no legal compulsion to have winter tyres in Germany. They stopped short of making a blanket compulsory rule. The wording is that the tyres on your car have to be suitable for the prevailing weather conditions.
SS reading that web site again, its confusing because the map shows Germany as compulsive, then the narrative below clarifys it accurately. As you described.
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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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| holidayloverxx wrote: |
| jafa, I am showing conflicting advice from 2 organisations - 1 says it is compulsory durign wintery conditions so effectively compulsory - folk aren't going to change tyres depending on the forecast throughout the winter!, and in March you could just as easily have snow as dry weather so the chance of committing an offence exists. Personally I have all weather tyres wtih M&S markings whcih are legal |
Let me be clear, I think its stupid NOT to have WT on. But clearly the Law states that you are only breaking an offence when there is snow/ice or mud on the road. I would hazard a guess that a VASTE proportion of Austrian cars change over in November (quite rightly ) and change back again to ST in April.
But the point in question from SS was that it was compulsory to have them, when even though we all thought it was, they stopped short of making it so.
This is why Austrian Car Hire companys can now get away with charging for WT. Technically you can hire without but would be stupid to do so.
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jafa, Sure, I wasn't suggesting you thought otherwise. I have never come across any Austrian car hire company charging extra for winterisation - who is doing that? The trick here is to make sure you don't pay extra for it through a broker without checking first - I nearly did but on checking was told the car would be winterised as standard (and it was)
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You know it makes sense.
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Argus car hire give many options with and without winter tyres .
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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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jafa, OK, they are a broker, not an austrian car hire company
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Poster: A snowHead
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Yes I know that, but they show you after you press the next button who the provider is, then you can see who is or not giving WT as part of the package. They use for example Europecar/Sixt etc
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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yes, but IME if you call the broker and ask they will tell you that the car will be winterised as standard. don't know about Argus specifically as I've never used them, but I've certainly hired from Sixt via another broker, checked whether wintersation would be standard in Austria, told yes so didn't pay for winterisation, asked Sixt at the counter (Salzburg airport) and they confirmed winterisation was standard
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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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Im 100% convinced and this was the same hiring from Munich that all the cars are with WT from Nov to April. But in Munich when they asked you if you were going into Austria, they insisted that you had to have WT and then got charged for them. Id never take the risk not having them. But it was usually a game of cat and mouse whether they would ask or not and then when you checked upstairs in the garage to ensure they had the M & S on the rim you knew youd got away with the extra charge. Similarly in Austria, now that it isn't actually compulsory, technically you can hire without them. As Ive said previously, not my advice, but some providers, yes again initially sourced as most of us do through a search engine, do charge additional for WT.
I don't know if anyone else has had this issue. Im arr into Innsbruck on Sunday. Booked thru Auto Europe who have issued me with a voucher showing Megadrive are open on Sundays. Then later they say I should also pay them "an out of hours fee". I asked how could they be out of hours at the same time as being open???? I cant complain too much about Auto Europe as the price has gone down by £20 for the same car since I booked and they've credited my card the difference.
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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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| Quote: |
when you checked upstairs in the garage to ensure they had the M & S on the rim you knew youd got away with the extra charge
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but did they have that snowflake?
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FAQ
Interestingly, to fly to Selva for us, via Gatwick/Innsbruck always takes roughly 22hrs door to door, we've driven it in 18hrs. 
