Euro trip to Italy - advice?

[Neuromancer11]

Hi all, looks for some advice please, apologies for the length on this...

Basically I'm planning on doing a trip over to Italy with my wife and 2 kids (6 and 11), frankly I'm fed up of the crappy weather in the UK, we've done 2 weeks in Cornwall and both times the weather hasn't been great, we are unfortunately limited to school holidays, in fact of the dozen or som camping trips we've done in 18 months in the Cali i cant' recall one that hasn't had any rain!

Anyway, we've been inspired by ABAB's trip to northern France with Harvey and really like the look of the Sandaya type campsites (they seen decent value to compared to the UK "resorts"), our youngest is disabled - severe autism and is non verbal, plus ADHD and some other stuff Having a pool with slides, play areas, bouncy castles etc are a must to keep them both occupied (and give my wife a break!). My concern with northern France is that its not that far from the UK and could still have inclement weather even in July. My wife is really keen on Italy, its one country the we've never visited despite some Italian heritage on my side (my dads mother was Italian). There is a Sandaya resort in Tuscany right on the coast with a private beach that looks perfect, however given school holiday restrictions my choices are the late May bank holiday/half term week or middle of July - we are in Leicestershire so luckily our kids breakup slightly earlier than the rest of the country, so my thoughts are this takes the pressure of the channel crossing disruptions somewhat, however I'm concerned about the July heat and the mosi's (more so the wife on the second one, she's a magnet for them). I've be really interested on people thoughts on this? its more the nights I'm concerned about.. Option 2 is end of May, but that would mean traveling out bank holiday weekend, traveling down and then traveling back the following weekend with the kids going straight back into school on Monday, put i imagine more pleasant from a weather perspective, downside crossing is more expensive, but the site is cheaper so balances.

I'm looking for advice on logistics too, we would travel from Leicester to Dover on the Friday night, stay in the Premier inn at the dock, get an early ferry to get to Calais mid morning, the travel south with a stop over Saturday and Sunday night somewhere... i have a bucket list type desire to drive through the mountains, Monday arrive in Italy, stay 4 nights at the Sandaya resort then, travel back Friday, stop somewhere Friday night to break the journey, continue north on Saturday then get a later ferry back Saturday evening say 7pm ish and arrive back home late Saturday night, giving Sunday to recover - does that sound feasible?

Anything I'm missing? also I'm maybe thinking, do both Italy in May and then northern France in July might be a good shout...

 

[colintfcolintf]

Some of the mountain passes are likely to be closed due to snow still in may…

 

[Azteccamper]

That’s a lot of travelling for a short break. Also, it’s vital that you find a site that is suitable for your 6 yr old (I’m a retired headteacher of a primary school with an ALN Unit so I am fully aware of the issues even a simple task can sometimes bring). Sites in Italy can be extremely busy in the summer and they do like their rules (eg pools can close for a period during midday, wearing of swim caps, etc).
Would you consider the French Alps, Ardeche or similar?

 

[Neuromancer11]

Some of the mountain passes are likely to be closed due to snow still in may…

yes it will be the last week in May so I'm aware there's still a risk with that, this isn't an essential part of the trip though just a nice to do

 

[Neuromancer11]

That’s a lot of travelling for a short break. Also, it’s vital that you find a site that is suitable for your 6 yr old (I’m a retired headteacher of a primary school with an ALN Unit so I am fully aware of the issues even a simple task can sometimes bring). Sites in Italy can be extremely busy in the summer and they do like their rules (eg pools can close for a period during midday, wearing of swim caps, etc).
Would you consider the French Alps, Ardeche or similar?

Thanks, useful info i will look into that, something i hadn't considered! that's more of a reason to go for the May option to Italy as i suspect it will be less busy, traveling in the van isn't actually an issue, we think its a sensory thing with the motion

this was the site we were considering - https://www.sandaya.co.uk/our-campsites/etruria

but something similar further north would work

 

[Marco Venturi]

Thanks, useful info i will look into that, something i hadn't considered! that's more of a reason to go for the May option to Italy as i suspect it will be less busy, traveling in the van isn't actually an issue, we think its a sensory thing with the motion

this was the site we were considering - https://www.sandaya.co.uk/our-campsites/etruria

but something similar further north would work

Probably a good 20 years since we last went, but we used to tow our caravan to Lake Garda (Moniga del Garda) from the North West, taking a day to get to the France side of the Channel (St Omer Gandspette site at Eperleques), then usually head for Trier in Germany just over the border from Luxemburg (cheap fuel in Luxemburg in those days) for night 2, next stop Fussen for night 3, and after a day's travelling including the Brenner Pass we'd arrive at Lake Garda's Fontanelle site.
Astonishingly, some caravanners we'd talk to would do the whole journey in one go, sharing the driving.
We've also gone via the Mont Blanc tunnel and via the Gran St Bernard, and came back once via Nice, but whichever way it would be three nights out, three nights back.
Usually we'd go in July as the school holidays started, but we did once go in early June and it was very pleasant and warm. Mozzies never seemed a problem
Sorry, we've never headed for Tuscany, but I've hired a car around Naples and the driving and roads around there were an altogether 'different' experience. Think Strade Bianche and some of the roads were just that.......gravel tracks.
You'll enjoy Italy, however you get there

 

[Azteccamper]

We’ve stayed here (I know you’d like to visit Italy but Provence is beautiful).

Camping Domaine Du Verdon 5 stars - Alpes de Haute Provence

Make the most of your holiday at the camping Domaine du Verdon in Castellane and relax with the family at this campsite in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

www.sandaya.co.uk

It’s on the outskirts of the lovely town of Castellane alongside a river that gets rapids twice a week to enable adventure dingy trips down the Verdon gorge (stunning area) to the Lac-de-Sainte-Croix
It’s a big, well organised site (as are all Sandaya sites that we’ve been too).

We love Italy and have been there a number of times to various areas but not as far as Tuscany. If you need any help at all with other potential options ask away.

 

[Dyddi]

Crossing the Alps: cheapest route is via Switzerland - buy 12 months road tax (40CHF) which is cheaper than total autoroute and tunnel/pass tolls of other routes. Purchase on line - choose between windscreen sticker and ANPR. 2024 I used the ANPR register and had no problems.
Pass or tunnel - I always use the 16km/10 mile San Gottardo, great views on ascent and descent, unless it's raining, but this does have queues in high season so ... avoid school holiday dates - check on line for Italian school holidays ... (Also check on-line Gotthard is still free, included in road tax, as they keep talking about introducing charges, as I believe they have on Grand St Bernard)
Italian sites in high season are usually full so book well in advance. This is particularly the case with coastal sites offering games, activities and entertainments.
High alpine passes can be closed or intermittent until the end of May, at least - check weather forecast and open/closed on line as you go. Most are road-signed 'open/closed' at low level well in advance. (2024 we were turned back from the Grossglockner, Austria in June because I didn't have snow tyres and was told it was winter at the top.)
Routes - no tolls via Belgium and Germany but Italian autostrada does mount up. Avoid Milan and ring road at peak times but autostrada now by-passes almost completely. Have fun on the autostrada by counting the number of marked lanes and the number of traffic lines - sometimes they're the same.
En route - ACSI has reliable information for sites, Google maps for route planning, AA has information on fuel prices across Europe, cheapest is Luxembourg.
Regulations - If you have a bike rack you must use a striped warning of approved design. Usual need for fluorescent tabards for each person if exiting vehicle on main roads, dipped headlights and so on.
Have a great time.

 

[Corradobrit]

Also fill up in Switzerland before entering Italy. Should be about 10% cheaper (at least it used to be). You'll also be marveling at the billiard table Swiss roads vs those across the border which are 3rd world in comparison.

 

[Dyddi]

Just re-read your request and had the following thoughts, based on 40+ years of S. Europe camping and VW campervanning.
Mosquitoes: Carry a mozzy kit of 1) a spray-on or roll-on deterrent, 2) a tube of 'After-Bite' ammonia based roll-on for immediate relief, 3) a sting-relief cream to soothe and not scratch, 4) a plug-in repellant with replaceable tablets, for 1-2 hours before going to bed (For this it's best to seal the van/tent while you relax outdoors then turn it off on entry. I believe the fumes give the van or tent an unwelcome, to mozzies, aroma which hangs about afterwards.), and lastly, 5) a fly-swat and torch. If, despite all precautions, you wake to a whining sound turn on all the interior lights and go for the kill. You'll then sleep soundly. 5pm onwards wear long sleeves and trousers to reduce access and apply deterrent. Hope for wind, meteorological, as then they cannot fly. Most of the above mentioned deterrents and sting-relief are best purchased in local supermarkets, i.e. near where the mozzies thrive. Sonic devices and 'jungle' juices are not understood by European mosquitoes. And ignored.

San Gottardo/Gotthard - I should have said 'tunnel'. It's a steady 50mph and not much to look at but they do have markers every km to show progress. There is the old pass which has fantastic views but I would be wary of trying it in May.
If you need more, just ask. Bon voyage, Gute fahrt, Kalo taxidi etc.

 

[Neuromancer11]

Thanks all for the great info, lots to think about Having discussed this with the wife, we've decided to give the May option a miss and extend the July trip to say 11 or 12 nights, so current plan will be to travel from Leicester to Dover on the Thursday afternoon/evening, and get an early'ish sailing Dover-Calais. I can only book the Sandaya campsite in Italy for 7 nights from the Saturday, but won't plan to get there until Sunday, possibly the Monday (assuming they will allow this late arrival, I've emailed to check), we'll then leave the following Saturday morning head back up to Calais for a Monday evening, or possibly Tuesday crossing.

So could do with some guidance on stops on the way and for the return journey, i watched Campervantime's recent Euro trip and the Chamonix campsite they stayed at looked great but again will only allow bookings for 7 nights in July (there's a theme here) so that won't work, I'm thinking drive down through France, possibly through Mont Blanc tunnel to get into Italy, then maybe on the way back go across towards the lakes and head back up though Austria into Germany towards Calais, or is that a bad idea?

 

[JAG7001]

in our previous experience when motorhoming with the kids, we always found La Rochelle/Bordeaux area as the cut off to be almost guaranteed good weather, anything North of that, you always risk the weather, just our experience of course, and was always school holidays as my wife is a teacher, so Easter/Summer

 

[mr pg]

Thanks all for the great info, lots to think about Having discussed this with the wife, we've decided to give the May option a miss and extend the July trip to say 11 or 12 nights, so current plan will be to travel from Leicester to Dover on the Thursday afternoon/evening, and get an early'ish sailing Dover-Calais. I can only book the Sandaya campsite in Italy for 7 nights from the Saturday, but won't plan to get there until Sunday, possibly the Monday (assuming they will allow this late arrival, I've emailed to check), we'll then leave the following Saturday morning head back up to Calais for a Monday evening, or possibly Tuesday crossing.

So could do with some guidance on stops on the way and for the return journey, i watched Campervantime's recent Euro trip and the Chamonix campsite they stayed at looked great but again will only allow bookings for 7 nights in July (there's a theme here) so that won't work, I'm thinking drive down through France, possibly through Mont Blanc tunnel to get into Italy, then maybe on the way back go across towards the lakes and head back up though Austria into Germany towards Calais, or is that a bad idea?

Personally would skip paying for the Mont Blanc tunnel and using the Grand St Bernard pass instead.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks all for the great info, lots to think about Having discussed this with the wife, we've decided to give the May option a miss and extend the July trip to say 11 or 12 nights, so current plan will be to travel from Leicester to Dover on the Thursday afternoon/evening, and get an early'ish sailing Dover-Calais. I can only book the Sandaya campsite in Italy for 7 nights from the Saturday, but won't plan to get there until Sunday, possibly the Monday (assuming they will allow this late arrival, I've emailed to check), we'll then leave the following Saturday morning head back up to Calais for a Monday evening, or possibly Tuesday crossing.

So could do with some guidance on stops on the way and for the return journey, i watched Campervantime's recent Euro trip and the Chamonix campsite they stayed at looked great but again will only allow bookings for 7 nights in July (there's a theme here) so that won't work, I'm thinking drive down through France, possibly through Mont Blanc tunnel to get into Italy, then maybe on the way back go across towards the lakes and head back up though Austria into Germany towards Calais, or is that a bad idea?

Take a look at the French Municipal Sites. Some are Basic, but well maintained, often close to village or town centres, inexpensive. Some can be pre-booked but most are turn up and pay. I’ve never failed to get a spot.

CAMPINGS MUNICIPAUX FRANCE I Retrouvez les Campings Municipaux en France sur cartes

www.camping-municipal.org

Choose a municipal campsite for your holidays - When it comes to booking - CampingFrance.com

Fancy a traditional camping holiday? Then municipal campsites are for you: there are campsites all over France, often offering a low-price stay in an authentic open-air atmosphere.

www.campingfrance.com

 

[5i1ver8ack]

Take a look at the French Municipal Sites. Some are Basic, but well maintained, often close to village or town centres, inexpensive. Some can be pre-booked but most are turn up and pay. I’ve never failed to get a spot.

CAMPINGS MUNICIPAUX FRANCE I Retrouvez les Campings Municipaux en France sur cartes

www.camping-municipal.org

Choose a municipal campsite for your holidays - When it comes to booking - CampingFrance.com

Fancy a traditional camping holiday? Then municipal campsites are for you: there are campsites all over France, often offering a low-price stay in an authentic open-air atmosphere.

www.campingfrance.com

Agreed. Generally easily accessible, relatively cheap and with more than adequate facilties. We use them all the time.

 

[pluc99]

Personally would skip paying for the Mont Blanc tunnel and using the Grand St Bernard pass instead.

... or alternatively the Little St. Bernard pass.

 

[mr pg]

... or alternatively the Little St. Bernard pass.

Either are way better than paying for a tunnel.

 

[Neuromancer11]

Okay so slight change of plans, we've decided that Italy's probably a bit to ambitious for our first euro trip especially as the dates for the campsite in Tuscany don't quite work, my wife spotted that the Sandaya Campsite near Millau has a "private sanity" plot available, so we've booked that for 5 nights from the the Sunday. The plan now will be to drive down to Dover Friday PM, get an early crossing on Saturday, head towards Millau but stop somewhere near the halfway point, I'll investigate the municipal sites/Aires for this one night, then head to Millau on Sunday, leaving on the following Friday. I've booked a late afternoon but fully flexible crossing on the following Tuesday, and Lac D'Orient Campsite (after seeing a recommendation on here) near Troyes for the Sunday and Monday nights, which leaves an easy run to Calais on the Tuesday.

So the current plan is when we leave Millau on the Friday head over towards and then hopefully into the alps to do some mountains over the remaining Fri/Sat/Sun AM before heading up to Troyes - yes there's a bit driving involved, but that's part of it at least we'll have rested before and have a couple of chilled days in Troyes, we would like to cross into Italy but if that's not realistic stop somewhere in the mountains the French side for the Friday and Saturday night, not sure how much snow there will be in July, but the kids would love to have a play, my lads never seen snow!

 

[Caliconfidential]

Good idea to tweak your plans. We went to Tuscany and Elba last summer via Germany, Switzerland and it was just way too hot and humid to sleep in the van. We decamped to hotels and had a better, cooler but much more expensive time! One night I spent most of it awake and sweating whilst searching for small air con units on the internet!

Most except me in the family come out in insect bites and we have found that the same wherever, I saw a tip on a heat pen / smartphone attachment that I am going to try this year. We actually also went through Millau when driving to Valencia last Easter and I think you will have a brilliant time there.

 

[Azteccamper]

Okay so slight change of plans, we've decided that Italy's probably a bit to ambitious for our first euro trip especially as the dates for the campsite in Tuscany don't quite work, my wife spotted that the Sandaya Campsite near Millau has a "private sanity" plot available, so we've booked that for 5 nights from the the Sunday. The plan now will be to drive down to Dover Friday PM, get an early crossing on Saturday, head towards Millau but stop somewhere near the halfway point, I'll investigate the municipal sites/Aires for this one night, then head to Millau on Sunday, leaving on the following Friday. I've booked a late afternoon but fully flexible crossing on the following Tuesday, and Lac D'Orient Campsite (after seeing a recommendation on here) near Troyes for the Sunday and Monday nights, which leaves an easy run to Calais on the Tuesday.

So the current plan is when we leave Millau on the Friday head over towards and then hopefully into the alps to do some mountains over the remaining Fri/Sat/Sun AM before heading up to Troyes - yes there's a bit driving involved, but that's part of it at least we'll have rested before and have a couple of chilled days in Troyes, we would like to cross into Italy but if that's not realistic stop somewhere in the mountains the French side for the Friday and Saturday night, not sure how much snow there will be in July, but the kids would love to have a play, my lads never seen snow!

Lovely town and a great campsite (plenty to keep you active). The gorges and locality are beautiful - you can watch the paragliders from the site descend from the mountains overlooking the town. You’ll enjoy.