allanb wrote:

I am planning a trip from the UK, down through Italy, to the Greek mainland. I want to use free motorways and main roads, so can anyone tell me where they are?
The only restriction is that we must travel through Schengen member countries.

OK here goes

Free Motorways == Good luck for Routes through France which is all I can tell you with certainty most are not on the Eastern side so you would have to use the Route Nationales The German motorways have more free parts to get down towards the area you are looking at

Whats with the Schengen countries the treaty is now reduced to an agreement as most EU countries don't do passport checks when you're driving across their borders

There are quite a few sections of free motorways in France and there are also many RN roads that are very much like the Autoroutes and that is what I am looking for.

Also if the Germans are now charging for motorway use, I would like to know where, as they all used to be free. Essentailly accurate and up-to-date information, before I set off.

The reason for the Schengen Treaty countries restriction is because I have a girlfriend from a non EU country, who will be travelling on a Schengen visa.

Ah a light dawns LOL

as for autoroutes then there are quite a few French websites with full info and traffic /weather showing you how much it costs as does the Mapping website http://www.Mappy.co.uk where you can plot a European route from your own front door

and tell it that you do not want Peage and it will take off the toll sections

and it is regularly updated and it provides printed route options that show how the actual road signs look so it is a great help for 1st timer travellers

Yeh, looked at it and others and don't find any of them much use.

I guess I'll just borrow my son's TomTom, served me well in the past, until my sister lost mine, but it would just be nice to plan the journey now, while I am out here.

It is sad really, thousands of people all doing the same trip and no way of exchanging up to date info.

It is funny we get a lot of info when we talk to people on the road, so it is out there.

There must be an "adventurous camper" website out there somewhere, maybe something the younger Ausi/Kiwi sorts use. I am not being ageist, (well maybe I am) I am 59 myself, but not between the ears, I guess.

The A35 from Strasbourg to the Swiss border is toll-free. So is the A5 down the German side of the Rhine.

To avoid paying tolls from the Channel, it's a good idea to go down the motorway system in Belgium and Luxembourg, and then head to Metz, Nancy and St Dié, crossing the Vosges at the Col de Bonhomme, Kaysersberg, Colmar and then the A35 to Basel.

There's no getting away from tolls in Switzerland because the motorways are the way to cover the country - you'll need to buy a vignette at the border but that lasts up to December. Italy has tolls, but they are fiddly little things ... make sure you have plenty of change and there's a very sneaky one just after the border just after Como South! Mind you if you take the non-toll roads in Italy you'll find your journey lengthens exponentially!

Mid March to May means the free Alpine pass roads in Switzerland could still be shut anyway. Some are simply closed from October to May and others can close due to weather without warning, for example the Simplon Pass is supposed to be an all year road but at the moment is closed to vehicles with trailers.

As far as I'm aware the German charges only apply to HGVs. But some cities have pollution zones and vehicles need the appropriate certification for those which has resulted in a windscreen sticker that gets mistaken for a UK style tax disc or Swiss vignette. What sort of vehicle are you going in?

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