The Stelvio Pass from Italy into Austria

[paradad]

A fantastic journey if you ever get the chance.

We then drove up through Austria, into Germany & then up to the Nurbergring where I completely forgot the road I had learned on my Son's PS2 due to a great adrenaline rush.

If you wonder about that, look at Ian Botham with Tiff Needell at the ring on , I think 5th Gear.

My vid of the Ring is on utube.

[Oet]

it is indeed, should be doing it again this year in the mk2 golf if i can!

[Lengore]

Did the Stelvio in August plus several other passes includung the Furka in Switzerland which rivals the Stelvio - fantastic.

We started with the Dover-Calais ferry, lunch at Bruges and an overnight stay at Aachen. On to St. Anton in Austria where my wife and I have skied many times. Then through Switzerland to Italy for the Stelvio and back via the Furka and an overnight stay in Leichtenstein . Finally it was up through Germany again, often cruising around 120mph, and home vis Belgium and France. Seven different countries (excludung the UK). Despite much heavy footed driving we averaged 32mpg for the trip.

One minor correction, the Stelvio is entirely in Italy and is not far from Switzerland but quite some way from Austria.

The car, a 3 month old Octavia Hatchback vRS DSG (200PS petrol) in Race Blue. The only new car I have ever collected without a single delivery fault and it hasn't missed a beat.

[paradad]

How strange, I must have stated a few times as I was heading downhill on the northern side of the pass, that it was the Austrian side. Thank you for putting me straight.

I wonder how much longer people will be able to go to Germany to do the speeds their cars will go at.

Imagine cruising at 150mph, it's fantastic.

My top speed was governed by traffic.

[nickguzzi]

As a long time Guzzi owner, I have visited Mandello del Lario several times. It is situated on the eastern side of lake Como. From Mandello, the route home (out is usually through France for the food) is due north. There are many passes and mate MIke is very good at plotting routes to pull in as many as possible, the Stelvio, Spluga and Furka being firm favorites.

After a row with customs, immigration and the people who coerce you into buying a vingnetti, I have recently started using the Swiss byways again, and what a joy they can be,but the closer you get to a town the less informative the signs are. Getting worse as the town gets bigger. Only directions are towards motorways, which are not on my agenda.

"Sigh" is this the end of touring freedom? Will the only way to navigate be with a satnav? There seems to be a conspiracy between council/commune/kanton signage departments and map makers. If its on the map it can't have a sign and vice versa.

But I always said the best way to tour was to get lost!

[Oet]

How strange, I must have stated a few times as I was heading downhill on the northern side of the pass, that it was the Austrian side. Thank you for putting me straight.

I wonder how much longer people will be able to go to Germany to do the speeds their cars will go at.

Imagine cruising at 150mph, it's fantastic.

My top speed was governed by traffic.

 

 

thats odd, i just assumed you meant you went on to drive through austria after.

 

Stelvio is def italy, and north (a few hundred metres) is switzerland at the pass, def not austria though they do speak german/italian and romansch in this part of switzerland.

[WeirdKerr]

I fancy doing this and the Furka pass later this year, possibly some other passes too not sure yet...

[Maieth]

Visited Livigno with my brother a few years ago as part of a large group of TT owners.  We spent a couple of days going out to the mountain passes and Stelvio was a brilliant run, although we were only able to go to the top and back, not the full pass.  Can only have been early March as the passes had only just opened - after the summit the road hadn't been cleared yet and was lost under 6ft or more of snow. What made it truly fantastic was good communication between drivers/codrivers.  We essentially sent a pace car ahead  of a few TTs so they could radio back details on the traffic coming down. All the drivers knew whether there was likely to be a car coming round the next bend so they could really focus on getting the most out of the corners when they knew the road ahead was clear.   Fantastic day had by all. (Except the guy that blew his turbo through the exhaust).

Fluella was another very good run - nowhere near as technical, but just stunning as a cruise.

One of the best bits of our trip was tunnel-running the Munt la Schera tunnel - 12ft high, 8ft wide and traffic light controlled, running for 3.3km through the mountain.  Most of the tunnel is raw rock and the noise down there is pheeenomenal.   We only did it once, but it was quite an experience.