Car Tavel to Italy

[julielunigiana]

I agree with Neil T and Charles Phillips - we live in Yorkshire and once a year we drive to Lunigiana. We go on the ferry from Hull/Rotterdam and go down through the Luxembourg etc to Colmar for the night and then through Switzerland (although I know you want to avoid this) . We reckon it's a 7 hour drove each day excluding stops) and just at a steady pace. We usually get to Lunigiana about 6pm after stopping for lunch on Lake Como.

[Penny]

Unfortunately, if you bring stuff in through Switzerland that is exempt from VAT (our bikes) you are effectively importing them to Switzerland and are liable to paying the VAT equivalent there. We have been stopped at the Swiss border, where they unloaded the car and wanted receipts for everything. We also have some friends who decided to buy some "cheap" radiators in Germany and also got stopped and had to pay duty on the "cheap" radiators. Guess what - they weren't so cheap after that!

Switzerland is not in the EU.

[jepsonclough]

Penny
I do realise Switzerland is not in the EU but if you look at the Swiss customs website (Transit) goods in transit (below 5000CHF - nearly €3500) can be freely transited through Switzerland; for goods in excess of this, a deposit can be paid and then reclaimed when you leave the county. Most people will not be transiting with goods in excess of this amount (don't forget that the value for customs of used clothes etc is considerably less the new price).

They also have guidance on the vignettes Motorway tax sticker

Chris

[Penny]

Thanks for the info Chris. That is useful for the future.

On this trip however, we are bringing goods worth more than 5000CHF and they aren't for personal use. They are for our business. Not even we could claim that 10 bikes are for personal use unless we invented a LOT of children. My experience is that the Swiss border guards do not have the best sense of humour so it's just easier to avoid them!

[AllanMason]

Originally Posted by Charles Phillips

I haven't done this route for ages, but have a look at Hull Rotterdam, then Holland and Germany, Austria and in through the Brennero. It was ghastly twenty years ago, but I expect they have finished the motorways in Germany by now!

I used to prefer to do make all my North-South distance on French motorways just because they're generally extremely good and very quiet but, having tried all the alternatives (including Switzerland), we've settled on the Brenner Pass route as the best one to get us from Abruzzo to Holland and back again.

We've done that journey several times over the last 18 months. (While I concur with points made about traffic on Dutch roads, unfortunately we can't avoid them since that's where my partner's family and friends live!).

The only annoying things about that route are the speed limits in Austria and the fact that you know that, it being Austria, you are being monitored with average speed systems and you will get a ticket if you go faster than you should. However, the roads are very good, the scenery is nice and the route is across the narrowest bit of Austria, so you're soon on the German Autobahn and able to put your foot down.

The German part of the route is very good. There are serious roadworks underway in a couple of places, but the contraflows are generally not too bad. The other thing we've found is that if you have a GPS which accepts traffic information and will offer to automatically re-route you to avoid problems, Germany is one place where this works very well. Our experience is that the feature is worse than useless in Italy, but you're wise to believe warnings of delays and accept alternative routes when in Germany.

We stop at an Autobahn rest area hotel just south of Munich, which splits the journey unevenly. That works for us because while the first day heading North is a long one, we hit the Dutch traffic after a not too-stressful or long second day. On the way back, we don't have to start too early and so avoid the morning rush hour(s) and, even though the second day is a long drive, we know that we'll be home at the end of it.

Al

[Jan Moscovitch]

Many thanks all very helpful, especially the bit about Switzerland as we will have a car full of all sorts !