on route to Garda and overnighting in Luxembourg & Switzerland

[Michael_374361821]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and have stayed overnight on service areas in France many times. This year our first main stay is Lazise, Lake Garda then we are on to Nice, Barcelona, Geneve and home. For the first leg to Garda we arwe looking at route from Calais, thru Belgium,Luxembourg,Germany,Switzerland.

Can anyone advise on staying on service areas on the way? We should hit Calais tea time so our first night will probably be in Luxembourg between Namur and Mamer. Our 2nd night should be between Basel and the Gotthard tunnel, near Seedorf in Switzerland, with hopefully then leaves a short (relatively speaking) 220 mile final leg to Lazise.

Any other advice on this trip (or should I say trek?) would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Michael

 

[Lutz]

From your post I gather that you intend to stay overnight at a service area rather than a campsite. All I can say is that Belgium and Luxembourg are probably safer in that respect than France.

 

[Michael_374361821]

Thanks for that Lutz - and the swiftness of your post. Your answer is what I thought. I assume its legal to stay on service areas in Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland? Are they free like in France or do they cash in like the UK?

Michael

 

[Lutz]

A one-night's stopover at motorway service areas is permitted in Belgium and Germany, but not in Luxembourg. I don't know about Switzerland.

 

[Lutz]

I just checked up what the position in Switzerland is regarding overnight stops and it appears that they are officially not allowed but equally officially they are tolerated.

 

[Michael_374361821]

Thanks once again Lutz, though the legality issue does raise some qusetions about our travelling plans. I will look at the route again based on your helpful info.

And by the way - a post at 4am? do you work nights or are you an insomniac?

Cheers

Michael

 

[Tim2]

Hi Michael

We have travelled the route you mention towing in both 2006 and 2007. We have been stopping at aires on the Continent for years without any problems - despite the horror stories one hears. I'm not up on the legalities of this but we have joined other caravanners and truck drivers overnighting in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy without any legal challenge or other mishap. We are teachers and so have to holiday in July/August.

Legalities apart. The French service areas are frequent and usually have ample dedicated caravan bays. Belgium is okay too.

In Switzerland we have found that the service areas tend to be much smaller with less caravan parking spaces. We have overnighted at Airolo immediately after the St Gotthard tunnel, southern end. There are a limited number of caravan spaces there but it does tend to be rather busy and noisy, even at night.

Italy too tends to have smaller parking areas for caravans and again the whole services tend to be smaller. On our journey to Rome last year we struggled to find a service area with any room to stop overnight.

We travel geared up for stopping at aires- bed made up, a little water in the onboard tank and loo and the 'van floor free for access. We drive until we are tired and then just legs down and get a good night's sleep. No unhitching and no leaving the autoroute to find campsites. We use commonsense in choosing aires - we don't stop at deserted ones but only at ones where there are other caravanners overnighting. We, also, have a cheap Aldi intruder alarm on the 'van door which sounds if it opened.

Sorry I can't remember any specific aires by name.

We'll probably overnighting at aires again this summer.

Best wishes

Tim

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Michael,

I sometimes drive the A4 (from Rotterdam through Belgium and Luxembourg) to visit clients in Basel, and the only thing I can add is about the service stations and aires.

There is a massive Shell fuel station / service area about 5km inside the Luxembourg border - and the prices are lower than Belgium - so there are no service stations on the Belgian side of the border for quite some distance.

I think the last service station is near Dinant / Namur - so just make sure you have enough fuel if you blow past that station.

And instead of service stations between Namur and Luxembourg, there are frequent aires on the A4 - but driving solo I've never investigated them.

Robert

 

[Lutz]

By the way, petrol prices in Luxembourg appear to be regulated. At least, I have come across any differences between prices at motorway service areas and those in town, so there is little point in leaving the motorway thinking that it'll be even cheaper elsewhere.

I have spent a night at an aire near Arlon and can't say that there were any problems.

 

[Michael_374361821]

Thanks to all for the comments.

Probably go Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzertland. Stop over Belgium border first night and then hit Itakiand Border for stop over near Como the following night.

 

[7of9]

Michael,

We are off to Lake Garda again this year and will probably go through Austria as opposed to Switzerland. I have looked at various routes, and this appears to be the best interms of minimising toll charges. It is a little longer, but the only tolls are the vignette for Austria, and those in Italy. The Swiss vignette is