Drive to Sicily

[Geoff1951]

This is a request for suggestions from the seasoned Euro-travellers out there.

I was looking forward to a holiday in March when four of us (me, SWMBO, best pal of 50 years standing and his SWMBO) were to drive/ferry to Palermo to spend some time with his sister and return. Three weeks start to finish, or thereabouts. Travelling in his Peugeot Bipper Tepee (I know, I know, but he has owned several Jaguars, most recently two XJs, an XK an XF) with the aim of keeping fuel costs down, enjoying the trip, and having the space to bring stuff back to England prior to his sister's move to Normandy later this year.

Initial plans were to drive, Chunnel, drive, 20 hour Genoa ferry to Palermo, and same return. 1500 miles driving each way, with a few overnight stops. 

Things have gone awry 'cos big sis won't be out there (medical probs while home for Christmas) so it's now more of a rescue mission - get out there, empty her flat, bring stuff home. Oh, and her Peugeot 107. Of the four of us, only me and best pal will be driving. Me and him share driving out, coming back he drives the Bipper and I drive the 107.

So, do we still do it as a foursome, taking a roofbox on the Bipper, do it as a twosome, drive all the way to the foot of Italy, or change the Italian ferry leg from Genoa/Palermo to Naples/Palermo, factor in some Easyjet/Ryanair, or what?

The bare minimum is one car/two people going out, two cars/two people coming back.

Over to you!

         

[sgould]

Wow!  That's a long way.

I have never done a continental drive of any length without two drivers/car.  It paid off when I got an eye infection and couldn't drive for two days.  The two of us have done Naples and back - three days out - two days back!!  But I was a lot younger.

If you have one driver per car, I would try and maximise the time on a ferry.  Unless time is more important.  Ferries are slow, so make sure they replace the hotels, including the possibility of a longer channel crossing, so you get a sleep?

If you drive all the way, the shortest way is Calais - Reims - Strasbourg - Basel - St Gotthard - Milan - Rome - ferry - Messina - Palermo.  So you will need a 40€ Swiss motorway pass.

Is the Peugeot 107 Italian registered?  Are you importing it?  Have you prepared the documentation?

Breakdown Cover?  Insurance?

[Max Headroom]

Good grief! 

I know it's not quite the same, but just step on a jet and get there in 3 hours, then hire a car.

All that driving would be exhausting and should be shared.

Two friends of mine drove like crazy, stopping only for fuel and/or "natural breaks" and made it to Bucharest in less than 48 hours

...in a van!

[sgould]

Geoff can't fly if he's got to clear a flat!!  Think of the excess baggage!! 

[Geoff1951]

Thanks Will!
The 107 is still on original UK plates, so no problem with bringing it back. She took it out there when she went out last May.  We'll sort out all the insurance when we put me on the Bipper policy for the trip out.

We've done a lot of northern France in the past, and crossed the channel by overnight boat - Newhaven/Dieppe, Portsmouth/Le Havre, and also Dover/Calais for champagne country. We might do Dover/Calais by boat this trip rather than tunnel if it's cheaper, but it's the Italian ferry/land route which will be the tough decision - Genoa/Palermo is a 20 hour break from driving, but also the most expensive. We'll have to balance petrol/ferry costs.  Two of us will share the driving going, but it'll be solo driving back. I'm favouring a route along the line you mentioned, to Naples. 1400 miles each way. Thaks for the tip about the Swiss Mway pass.

First things first, BM's sister is in theatre tomorrow having a stent put in, once we know she's OK we'll do the planning. We'll have at least two overnight stops each way whatever route. Time isn't an issue, we count ourselves as retired.


(Just out of curiosity I told multimap to do a route without motorways - came up with 6000 miles via Poland, Ukraine, Hungary!!!)


Trenchfoot, thanks too. We have to bring a shedload of stuff back, hence BM's Bipper, we've also got to bring another car back - one of us flying out hasn't been discounted though.

[saabmale]

How about towing the 107 behind van on way back,then you could share the driving,no fuel for 107 & you could load it up with stuff? Obviously using a proper towing device like you see behind motor homes. Good luck!

[Max Headroom]

When are you planning on travelling Geoff?

[Audax]

You can get ferrys from Portsmouth to Bilbao and Santander, maybe you could ferry your way across the med with a bit of driving if you fancy it.

[sgould]

These days the cheapest crossing is with Eurotunnel, but you have to book with your Tesco Clubcard vouchers

Norfolk Line to Dunkirk are usually pretty cheap as well. Maybe LD Lines too.

If you are "retired" you should have a lot more freedom as to the day and time of travel.  Consider changing sleep patterns and travelling after hours, midweek etc.  We have often travelled late to Calais or Boulogne and gone straight to a hotel for a prompt start the next day.

When doing long journeys where delays and stop-offs may make things a bit less predictable, consider booking ahead at hotels with 24 hour reception.  We use Ibis when doing this. A booking on a credit card will guarantee the room and you can turn up at any time.  For instance, if you feel tired, stop for an evening meal on the way, rather than rushing to get there and book in and then eat.

Most hotels require you to arrive by about 6pm or ring ahead to advise your arrival time.  It's always polite to do this anyway.  And we use the opportunity to book a table for an evening meal if the hotel has a restaurant. Also consider hotels with secure car parks.  Some car parks are under the hotel and won't have headroom for roof boxes.

I had a couple of stents fitted a year ago.  I was signed off driving for a week and flying for a month.  It's usually a bit longer, but not much.  If the two of you drive out, would the sister want to fly out and back to supervise the move?

That Bipper looks very small.  Are you sure there's room in it to do what you want?  Would hiring a Transit and A-frame tow be better?

[sgould]

I also use the live Tomtom route planner on my laptop to plan a day's drive.

http://www.tomtom.com/livetraffic/

[CitTone]

Isn't there anyone out there who could organise a container transport for the flat contents, then you fly out, supervise loading into the container, and drive the little Pug back? That way at least you don't start the return trip knackered! Or are there time constraints that rule against trucking the stuff back?

My company often shifts large loads around Europe, and I would expect that, if you can find a transport co that currently has a one-way load to that area, you'd get quite a sensible price (compared to all that time and fuel!) for filling their wagon for the return trip.

[Norfolk Jim]

You beat me to it CitTone.

Its a hell of a bill for fuel for both vehicles.

Well worth a punt - Google companies looking for return loads. The load going out will have paid the brunt of the job so anything a haulage company can get is a bonus for them - you may well be pleasantly surprised!

You're looking at in excess of £500 on fuel alone for the van I'd have thought (3000 @ say 35 mpg x 4.5lt x £1.39 = £536) not sure on continental fuel prices + hotel costs going............. You may be lucky to fill truck and get home for £300.

[Geoff1951]

Well, thanks everyone for the replies so far, and any replies to come. All suggestions gratefully received.

We (me, best pal, our respective SWMBOs) are all retired from gainful employment so time isn't a factor. We were already planning a three week trip in March, from around 3rd to 27th, a leisurely few days overland to Genoa, 20hr ferry, a week or so in Sicily, then a leisurely drive back, bringing some of BP's sister's surplus stuff home. The Bipper is more than adequate for that. We did this sort of trip in the 80s around northern France. Four in a Metro!!!

The changes are now it's less of a road trip, more a mission for International Rescue - Thunderbird 2.

The latest scenario is that she MIGHT (a BIG MIGHT) have some form of recovery cover to get the 107 back, and the personal stuff will just fit in the Bipper with only two on board and a roofbox on top. But the commercial suggestions - thanks Jim and CitTone - are interesting. Also thanks, Will, for the ferry and Tesco pointers.

Also thanks audax and saabmale. The length of the Spanish route is just a bit too costly for ferries and fuel, and van hire/towkit costs would be greater than the fuel savings by not having to drive the 107.

Whatever, we'd already forecast spending big money on fuel, hotels, and ferries when it was just a holiday, so any extra spent on the 107 won't wreck the cashflow completely, and, what the hell, it's only money...

Just had a call from BP, his sister's actually had a bypass or three, with a bit of artery diversion, so she'll definitely be out of circulation (no pun intended!) for a while. Next week, when we know (GW) that she's recovering well, we'll lookat it seriously.

This one will run and run!

 

[Norfolk Jim]

Good luck Geoff and hope BP's sister recovers well. Triple BP is now so common but recovery does really take time but if she's excited about your trip she may well make a quicker recovery!!!! Best wishes on that.

Wouldn't a Thunderbird be good - imagine the neighbours gossip with it parked outside - could just imagine you walking along with strings!!!!!

Even though your trip is long I hope you have plenty of rechargeable batteries for photography as you'll be going through some fantastic scenery (can I come - I love driving). Just a thought though - if you are that early could you have problems with the white fluffy stuff in the Alps?

[Richard_C]

Regarding hotels, I use accor group (google for accor hotels) which has the real cheap ones - F1, Etap, then middling Ibis, Novotel, then posh ones like Mercure.  They are ubiquitous in Europe, and their website lets you find hotels close to a route.  They are utilitarian, the breakfast looks the same in Paris, Berlin, Bradford .... but in many years of using them I have found the online booking to easy and be 100% reliable.  Ibis and upwards have 24 hour reception so you can roll up at any time.

I wonder if it's legal to sleep in a roofbox?  If its just 2 of you you may savea bit of fuel by taking the box inside the car on the way there if it will fit.

By all means use sat nav if you have one, but add to it a map and some common sense.  I met a Merc driver who drove flat out all day but took 4 hours longer than I did from Calais to Cluses. His sat nav had taken him though 3 cities which I went round on the autoroute, then from Dijon it took him over the alps into Switzerland.  He was surprised when I showed him a real paper old fashioned map with the autoroute blanche on it.

The michelin online route planner (via michelin I think its called) is good for europe.  It has speed camera locations, works out the tolls, and seems to have good data on major roadworks so finds altarnatives if you ask it to.

For the french bit a telepeage box is useful - look on the sanef site.  You pay a E30 deposit, stick it to your windcreen and use the "T" lane.   Tolls get put on your credit card, and you don't need to wake the passenger up at toll booths.  When its busy the express lane saves you a bit of time.  At one time the French and Italian motorways were going to join up their billing so one box would do both, but I doubt it ever happened.  You keep it as long as you want - years even - and get the deposit back if and when you send it back.

I remember book about the Monte Carlo Rally from years back - when they drove 36 hour stages on the concentration run.  One driver said he gets on the ferry and go to sleep - most drivers went to the restaurant.  You can eat when you are driving, but you can't sleep ........

I suppose you could dig around at home and see if you have any old Lire, Francs, Drachma ..... might need them if the Eurozone melts.

Sound like an excellent adventure, enjoy.