Self drive holidays in Italy: If you have a site which relates to this topic and you would like it to feature on this page then please email camp@vcampingmobilehomesholidays.co.uk

"Pardon," said my wife, "but did I hear you say ITALY"?

Oops! "Well, it isn't that far away! Anyone would think I was planning a trip to the Moon instead of a self drive holiday in Italy which is part of the Eu anyway". That was my counter punch, a solid statement to reassure her that there wouldn't be too much travelling this year as we didn't have to drive as far as the Moon after all. "Yes dear, Italy....why not?" I replied.

Her reply to all that was to the effect that she knew damn well where Italy was because you turned left at Switzerland didn't you? And it was a long way, so there! My wife loves to argue but geography isn't her strong point, in fact I long ago surmised that she was absent from school they day they discussed geography, and also the day it was explained how to tell the difference between left and right as well, but that's another story altogether.

So we finally decided that Italy it will be this year, and we are going on a self catering, self drive holiday once again, but now there are only the two of us oldies left as the kids have flown the nest we can go when we like, more or less. My wife suggested it may be a good idea to wait until Summer when she can sunbathe again, or "take the rays" as is her newest expression, and to please her I agreed that Summer is the best time of year, though I would willingly go there or anywhere else just now to escape this miserable climate which we have to endure in the Midlands, for I think that not only have we the worst Government in the world with the exception of possibly an even more corrupt African banana dictatorship, but we also have the most dismal climate, and no amount of persuasion will change my mind on either count. So there.

It may be my imagination but I have often thought that the further South you seem to drive in Italy the more friendly are the people, rather like it is here in England but the other way round, as people in the Midlands and North are famed the world over for their hospitality and friendliness - unless you visit or live in a city where you may get stabbed that is. And I suppose in a way my wife had a point when she said to turn left at Switzerland because there are more ways than one of driving to and through Italy, depending where you wish to end up of course.

Best start as we mean to go on with this self drive holiday and the best start point is to take the Dover to Calais ferry just as you would if you were driving to the South of France, which you are in this case but you will turn off just before you hit the shoreline.

In my youth I did the self drive holidays, zero catering thing with some other lads just after we had passed our driving tests and we did the Mulhouse/Basel route and had a snack in Basel station about 3am one morning. I remember it well because we had to change a tyre just there. Then you simply drive through Switzerland and into Northern Italy just as we did all those years ago, but no doubt you will have more commonsense than we had at the time because you may choose not to drive through the night as we did and miss all that wonderful scenery which Switzerland has to offer.

Alternatively, you could simply drive down through France and cross into Italy just below Chamonix taking a gander at Mont Blanc on the way. Or you could even drive further South in France and take the seaside route, crossing over the border near Menton to San Remo, but whichever way you choose to go we hope you have a lovely holiday.

There are some pages we have written which may/may not be of use to you on whichever self drive holidays you take but for the little time it takes please have a look at our page for good holiday tips, good holiday guide and most importantly of all the page about European driving laws.