Stopover recommendations Hook of Holland to Italy

[cleve]

Getting a bit further with planning our summer 2016 trip. So far we plan to have a week at Lake Maggiore followed by 5 days at Lake Annecy.

Think we will do Harwich-Hook of Holland with the ferry getting us in about 8am so we would have a full day ahead for a chunk of driving. Our plan atm is to allow 4 days travelling, thinking we would drive via Germany to take in the Black forest on the way. Don't mind overnighting with no facilities for odd nights but need to plan a proper stopover somewhere enroute for a bit of rest, shower and a swim for the kids would be a bonus!

Looking for any recommendations for which might be the best route to take and any overnight stops or campsites not too far from our route. Recommendations would be appreciated if anyone has done this trip before?

 

[Archie]

Cleve
We did a trip very similar in July / August 2014 staying at La Lac Bleu on Lake Annecy, which is the bottom end of the lake, but there is a cycle track and passenger ferry access to Annecy town. We then stayed at Camp Delta in Locarno on Maggiore, with a 2 night stay in Chamonix inbetween and a further night there on the return home. We didn't travel the route you are proposing however so can't help with stopovers on the way. We did Calais to Annecy in around 9 hours and Chamonix to Calais in about 9.5 both including lunch breaks. I can recommend Chamonix as a stop inbetween. There is lots to do there with the kids and free buses run into town from the camp site areas a couple of miles lower down the valley. Annecy and Locarno were both also very good but Lake Maggiore is much bigger then we realised, so you certainly need to drive out to see much of the lake. The drive between Chamonix and Locarno caught us out as this basically took a full day as well, meaning we didn't get to stop as long as we wanted at the top of the pass we went over. Annecy is a little bit further than Chamonix so allow plenty of time for the drive between the two.

 

[cleve]

Cleve
We did a trip very similar in July / August 2014 staying at La Lac Bleu on Lake Annecy, which is the bottom end of the lake, but there is a cycle track and passenger ferry access to Annecy town. We then stayed at Camp Delta in Locarno on Maggiore, with a 2 night stay in Chamonix inbetween and a further night there on the return home. We didn't travel the route you are proposing however so can't help with stopovers on the way. We did Calais to Annecy in around 9 hours and Chamonix to Calais in about 9.5 both including lunch breaks. I can recommend Chamonix as a stop inbetween. There is lots to do there with the kids and free buses run into town from the camp site areas a couple of miles lower down the valley. Annecy and Locarno were both also very good but Lake Maggiore is much bigger then we realised, so you certainly need to drive out to see much of the lake. The drive between Chamonix and Locarno caught us out as this basically took a full day as well, meaning we didn't get to stop as long as we wanted at the top of the pass we went over. Annecy is a little bit further than Chamonix so allow plenty of time for the drive between the two.

Thanks so much that's really helpful. I think we will come back through France from Lake Annecy as it's a familiar drive for us and we have a few aires marked on a google map so we can just drive until we have had enough. We too intend to stay at Le lac Bleu so interested to hear how you found it?

We think we may hire a static caravan when at Lake Maggiore as the campsite we like the look of only allows pitch bookings for 14 nights minimum but they allow you to book a caravan for anything from 3 nights which seems crazy!! It would mean we can have a few days of air con and leaving the car seats in situ and your suggestion about needing to drive more than expected around Lake Maggiore might help validate this decision. It seems a little odd to park our lovely cali next to a caravan

Where did you stay in Chamonix and which pass did you take?

 

[Archie]

Le Lac Bleu was pretty good, right next to the lake which is why we picked it for easy access for kayaking. The water is very clean and was warm enough for swimming with a nice little beach. The kids loved jumping off the jetty and snorkelling. Facilities were pretty good from what I remember and plot sizes were generous for such a prime location. A good mix of nationalities. The site is next to the main lakeside road but not too noisy as traffic speeds are low. Buses into Annecy run right past the site and the cycle path can be picked up just across the road. It's a good ride down to Annecy though (about 15 flat miles) but you can get the passenger boat back with the bikes which drops you 5 minutes from the campsite. We only stayed 4 nights but would quite happily go back for another week.
We stayed at Les Cimes in Les Bosson just outside Chamonix which was nice and basic but with a spectacular backdrop beneath the glaciers. There are several sites on the same road of varying degrees of comfort, all of which have the free bus into town but it's also do-able on bikes with kids on the back roads.
We went over the Furka Pass and dropped down to Maggiore at the top end - the only time I've ever taken much notice of the oil temp reading as it got pretty high going over fully loaded with bikes and kayaks! If you are staying at the Italian end it may be worth taking a different route as it took us a good hour to get to the bottom end of the lake when we left. We went back to France through the Mont Blanc tunnel and stared in horror at the 6 hour queues trying to get through the other way!