Calais to Venice via Reims, Nancy, Basel
Distance: 1285.53km (1172.68 km on motorways)
Time: 13H48
Cost: 181.41 EUR (Toll 54.9 EUR | Fuel 126.51)
http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/routes.htm
Thursday 12th May 2016
Left home 7.20.am, 5.5 hours, 3 stops, arrived 12.50. Busy but no major hold ups. M6, M42, M40, M25, M20.
14.50. Eurotunnel Folkestone to Calais, arrive 16.25
13.50 train but didn’t depart until 14.05, arrived 15.40
A16 towards Lille, Reims, Bruxelles then E15/A26 towards Reims to Chalons-en-Champagne, A4 towards Chalons-en-Champagne then N44 (exit 27)
Autoroute des Anglais, toll road all the way to Chalons, arrived 19.30, 318 km
Stayed overnight at B&B Hotel, Chalons-en-Champagne
Breakfast 6.15 Euros each – good value and OK.
Restaurant Le Pataterie opposite the hotel – OK – 27 Euros (10% discount)
Friday 13th May 2016
D3 towards Verdun, turn right onto D994 towards Bar-le-Duc. Then N1135/N135 to N4
Close to Nancy take A33 towards Luneville, Strasbourg.
Then N59 towards Selestat, A35 towards Colmar & Mulhouse, then Basel and enter Switzerland.
N.B. Motorway tax in Switzerland CHF40 valid for 1 year (1CHF = £0.74). Buy at border.
Directed to take A3 then A4 towards Zurich instead. Very busy all the way in Switzerland and heavy rain but dry and sunny when we emerged from the Gottard Tunnel.
Stayed overnight at Ibis Hotel, Como, 7.5 – 8 hours driving in total (670km)
Arrived 8.30.pm – queued for 1 hour to get through Gottard and then more queues towards Como due to heavy traffic and road works
Very good stop over. Restaurant open till 10.30. pm – 22.50 Euros for meal and 17 Euros for breakfast (for both of us)
Saturday 14th May 2016
A9, A8, A4 to Venice, about 3 hours drive
Stayed overnight near to Venice –Autohotel Venezia
Arrived 1.30. pm, functional rooms. Restaurant next door. Nothing else in the locality.
Heavy rain, thunder and lightening in the evening.
Went to the restaurant next door – Venexia. Very good but very busy. They managed to find a table for us – I had mixed fried fish, Mel had pizza.
Sunday 15th May 2016
ANEK LINES ITALIA, FUSINA FERRY TERMINAL
Ferry to Igoumenitsa, 12.00
Only 20 mins drive from hotel to port. Checked in and embarked, left at 12.00. Lovely day – sunny and dry.
Had lunch in self service restaurant – 19.70 Euros. Evening meal in A La Carte restaurant, 20 Euros each, 45.40 Euros total with drinks.
Good night’s sleep. Sunny morning, calm seas. Breakfast in Self Service restaurant – 12 Euros.
Monday 16th May 2016
Arrive Igoumenitsa 14.30, drive to Vass, arrive 17.30.
Return journey
25th July
Ferry to Venice, 06.30 from Igoumenitsa
26th July
Arrive Venice, 07.00. Drive to Switzerland, stay at Ibis Hotel in Lucerne
27th July
Drive to Chalons-en Champagne, stay at Ibis Hotel
28th July
Chalons to Calais, Eurotunnel 14.50. 4 hours, leave 9am.
Drive home from Folkestone, 5 hours, arrive 19.30.