Trip To Europe

[PQuist]

Hello all,

I am seriously thinking of driving from London to Zurich.

What is the best route avoiding road tolls?

Is it via France or Amsterdam?

What is the approximate travel time if I leave on Sunday say 11 am?

Regards

[Bazza]

sometimes it is better to use the toll roads as they are very good and have little traffic

if you have lots of time use the non toll roads much more scenic but inevitably you will get held up at some point

time depends on which route ie: point of entry

[TonyB]

I Would definately use the toll roads...

to drive to the south of France for EG, takes 2-3 times longer on non-tollroads.

and you can get to the south of France on Toll-Roads and motorways for about £45.

Have a nice Trip!! :)

[ManicMark]

Hello all,

I am seriously thinking of driving from London to Zurich.

What is the best route avoiding road tolls?

Is it via France or Amsterdam?

What is the approximate travel time if I leave on Sunday say 11 am?

Regards

If you want to avoid toll roads use the E40 through Belguim to Aachen Germany then the A61 down,60 miles longer than the shortest route but about the same amount of time, parts of the A61 have no speed limit & its a good clear road with nice scenery. Petrol is cheaper in Belguim so fill up before you hit Germany ( a bit cheaper than france)

[ManicMark]

Sorry driving time is about 11 hours + ferry you want to leave 6 am to do it in a day.

[PQuist]

So I guess it will be a toll roads then.

How much roughly will it cost for the total trip on tolls?

How long will it take on from from say Dover? I know the ferry takes about 90 min from dover to Calais

[aztech3]

I did a trip from London to Zurich a month ago, took about 6 hours from Paris. Cant remember which route ive taken, I just followed my Tomtom. Tomtom did an excellent job.

I took the toll routes, but i notice that most tolls are in France, just one or two in swizerland, but you have to purchase a "Vignette" this is a road tax for swizerland that covers for the whole year and lets you use their motorways. Its a one off payment £26. You can buy a "Vignette" from any Petrol stations in Switzerland. Its well worth it as the roads there are bloody smooth! How the Swiss do it I dont know, France and Swiss has the smoothest roads in the World.

If your using a Tomtom make sure you avoid driving up the mountains. Last time i went from Interlarken to Milan, my Tomtom took me 4000 feet up the mountains as it showed the quickest route, then snow and very thick fog suddenly appeared on the roads, very scary up there, so i quicky turned back before it got dark. So I took the motorway, for few extra hours. all was safe and well.

But dont worry, if your only driving to Zurich. you should be ok. Tomtom will keep you on the motorways.

Here are the touring tips on driving in Switerland

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touri...echtenstein.pdf

Good luck and Drive saftly.

[aztech3]

Sorry, about the cost of Toll in France, I cant remember how much i spent, it didnt cost much. but swizerland, it cost me £26! for a Vignette (Tax Motoway Sticker), thats all you need.

[ManicMark]

So I guess it will be a toll roads then.

How much roughly will it cost for the total trip on tolls?

How long will it take on from from say Dover? I know the ferry takes about 90 min from dover to Calais

Hi the route I suggested is all motorway, you do not have to buy a vigernet in switzerland if you dont use the motorways there I believe ( that applies in Austria anyhow) The route will be just as quick as driving through France a lot cheaper & is quite straight forward. the E40 is motorway & in Germany the A stands for Autobahn. hope this helps Mark

[PQuist]

many thanks for all the info which is very informative. My worry now is parking place in Zurich which could be hellish. Anyone knows a parking place for rental for say 1 month?

[ManicMark]

many thanks for all the info which is very informative. My worry now is parking place in Zurich which could be hellish. Anyone knows a parking place for rental for say 1 month?

Your best bet would be the Swiss tourist infomation office zurich. they are normally very helpfull & efficent ( bieng Swiss)

[aztech3]

many thanks for all the info which is very informative. My worry now is parking place in Zurich which could be hellish. Anyone knows a parking place for rental for say 1 month?

Becareful where you park your car in Swizerland, I got fined CHF 40 for parking with no markings or signs. System is allot difference than it is in the UK. They have different coloured Parking Bays, Do NOT park on the Blue bays, thats for local residents. Any other parking bays is OK. But just in case, ask the Local people there first to make sure its safe to park.

[Rob]

a blue bay is ok for 2 hrs with a parking card which says when u have arrived( u get these for free at any police station and for a small charge from shops) and from 1900 or 2000 until 0800. white bays u can park anytime but they are not for long term.

if you enter chocoland on a motorway you will have no option but to buy a vignette which is CHF 40.

For 1 month i would say you will have problems.... but 1 option is that many parking lots ( nearly all are underground) also offer parking spaces on monthly rentals.

best option is to call the tourist info and go from there

[PQuist]

Thanks for all your advice. parking sorted and the disk sorted. Now changing Euros and CHF and I am off this sunday

[PQuist]

I made it to Switzerland at last. Travelling time was 11hours and got fined on the A$ in France for speeding. Typical.

Thanks for all your info which really helped!

Will always drive a GS. Very smooth on the motorway and averaging 30MPG

[Rob]

where did u end up parking ???

[PQuist]

There is a block of flats in the Dietikon area marked for visitors. I spoke to the building owners and they are ok for me to park there as it is obvious that my car registration is foreign.