Summer 2026 Trip suggestions (The Alps)

barryd

barryd

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Just starting to plan next summers trip. This year we did mainly the French Alps and Pyrenees. Next year I'm thinking, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and back through France through the northern French Alps and home. All centred around the Alps. I've been to them all before with the old van but it was before the pandemic so its been a while. Last year we found some cracking places up in the Alps at Ski stations. I'll use sites if I have to or Aires etc but I'm after recommendations for fantastic places to stay, the best each country has to offer in terms of scenery and most important the best passes and roads for trips out on the bike.

At the moment its looking like my 90 days will be June, July and August.
 
barryd said:
Just starting to plan next summers trip. This year we did mainly the French Alps and Pyrenees. Next year I'm thinking, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and back through France through the northern French Alps and home. All centred around the Alps. I've been to them all before with the old van but it was before the pandemic so its been a while. Last year we found some cracking places up in the Alps at Ski stations. I'll use sites if I have to or Aires etc but I'm after recommendations for fantastic places to stay, the best each country has to offer in terms of scenery and most important the best passes and roads for trips out on the bike.

At the moment its looking like my 90 days will be June, July and August.
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Six numbers up by any chance, any chance of a loan. ;)
 
trevskoda said:
Six numbers up by any chance, any chance of a loan. ;)
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No point in having a motorhome if you are not going to use it Trev! I think however this won't be a cheap trip. I started looking at Switzerland and its £30 a night just to park by the road with no services. That was the Jungfrau area of course. We have been there before but its 12 years ago and I had feckin Gout the whole time we were there. It was however out of this world fabulous.
 
barryd said:
No point in having a motorhome if you are not going to use it Trev! I think however this won't be a cheap trip. I started looking at Switzerland and its £30 a night just to park by the road with no services. That was the Jungfrau area of course. We have been there before but its 12 years ago and I had feckin Gout the whole time we were there. It was however out of this world fabulous.
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Go for it, i would if in a position to do so at the moment. (y)
 
Drover said:
We were in northern Italy last july/august and it was around 40c with no wind.
A little uncomfortable..
Switzerland was cooler.
We are going to Croatia and Greece for a change.
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I bet that was the same time we were caught in that heatwave in the south of France. It was horrendous until we escaped up into the high Pyrenees. Not normal though really. I Remember being 40 miles from Venice one year and it was 42c. We left in the end and headed an hour or so up into the Alps where it was 28c. The Northern side of the mountain range I found was always cooler. Getting the timing right is going to be difficult. Its mainly a biking and walking trip so you want half decent weather but then August can be brutally busy around the Italian Lakes. Might be better doing them first in June.
 
Here's a very rough plan. Down to Lake Orta the most western of the Italian lakes as early as possible in June. Do a few Italian Lakes, Stelvio pass, maybe the Italian Job locations. Up into the Dolomites end of June, Across to Austria to the Austrian lakes for a week or two, Innsbruck area, Switzerland, few more passes and lakes, Jungfrau, Northern French Alps then head back to Calais end of August / Early September.

 
barryd said:
Here's a very rough plan. Down to Lake Orta the most western of the Italian lakes as early as possible in June. Do a few Italian Lakes, Stelvio pass, maybe the Italian Job locations. Up into the Dolomites end of June, Across to Austria to the Austrian lakes for a week or two, Innsbruck area, Switzerland, few more passes and lakes, Jungfrau, Northern French Alps then head back to Calais end of August / Early September.

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And you're planning on taking 3 months? I think that @Pudsey Bear would aim to do it in the less than 3 days that was calculated! ;)
 
TJBi said:
And you're planning on taking 3 months? I think that @Pudsey Bear would aim to do it in the less than 3 days that was calculated! ;)
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Yeah I reckon it will take a month to go through the Italian lakes and Italian Alps, Two to three weeks in Austria, similar in Switzerland then whatever is left (Three to four weeks) in the French Alps plus a few days to get back to Calais. Kev could do it in a weekend :D
 
Grossglocker in the plan? Bit pricey these days but it's a great pass. Staller Mattel is a cool little road, nothing high, but has intervaled traffic lights to make it a one way, alternate way every 20 mins or whatever the interval is, but more importantly, a race track 😂

Samnaun for some duty free shopping albeit very expensive duty free,:ROFLMAO: Livigno is duty free too. Pretty sure Samnaun is still a dead end, but the road south out of Livigno is a nice enough alpine road.

90 days, you could do every pass in the alps, twice. The less known ones are pretty much as good as the more famous ones, sometimes better.

Your route appears to miss out Aosta valley which has great roads leading up the hills, many are dead end though

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mark61 said:
Grossglocker in the plan? Bit pricey these days but it's a great pass. Staller Mattel is a cool little road, nothing high, but has intervaled traffic lights to make it a one way, alternate way every 20 mins or whatever the interval is, but more importantly, a race track 😂

Samnaun for some duty free shopping albeit very expensive duty free,:ROFLMAO: Livigno is duty free too. Pretty sure Samnaun is still a dead end, but the road south out of Livigno is a nice enough alpine road.

90 days, you could do every pass in the alps, twice. The less known ones are pretty much as good as the more famous ones, sometimes better.

Your route appears to miss out Aosta valley which has great roads leading up the hills, many are dead end though

​

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Grosslocker looks amazing. I had forgotten about that but its on the list. I think its €36 for a motorcycle for the day. Ill have to have a closer look to see where we can overnight with the van and as its so high make sure we pick a good weather window.

Im not sure 90 days will be enough let alone doing them all twice! Whenever we find anywhere thats perfect we will likely stay a week or so. I've done some of the Aosta valley and I think the Italian Job road you mentioned before is down that way. The map is just a totally rough plan at the moment. Doesn't mean much yet. Over the winter it will become much more detailed.
 
barryd said:
Just starting to plan next summers trip. This year we did mainly the French Alps and Pyrenees. Next year I'm thinking, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and back through France through the northern French Alps and home. All centred around the Alps. I've been to them all before with the old van but it was before the pandemic so its been a while. Last year we found some cracking places up in the Alps at Ski stations. I'll use sites if I have to or Aires etc but I'm after recommendations for fantastic places to stay, the best each country has to offer in terms of scenery and most important the best passes and roads for trips out on the bike.

At the moment its looking like my 90 days will be June, July and August.
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Slovenia, we were there this year, you could pop into Croatia and Italy from there.
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Drover said:
We were in northern Italy last july/august and it was around 40c with no wind.
A little uncomfortable..
Switzerland was cooler.
We are going to Croatia and Greece for a change.
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Be careful, I thought there was a thread on how Greece did not like motor homes - or was it " wilding "
 
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