Thanks to a sudden schedule change by Alitalia/Air One - we find ourselves driving from Munich to Milan in mid August (the alternative Lufthansa flight was too expensive).
Due to existing hotel bookings, we are unable to break the journey overnight. Also, we will be travelling with our 4 and 6 year olds and would appreciate any tips or suggestions re routes, pit stops, roadworks, tolls, speed traps etc.
Thanks in advance!
Driving from Munich to Milan
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Hi sharon,
according to my favourite routeplanner - viamichelin.com - it's 500kms and should take about 6 hours.
if you put in your date and time of journey, they should be able to tell you any scheduled roadworks, tolls, etc. and they give 3 different variations. you can also select places to look at restaurants/sight-seeing breaks, etc.
there are other options - eg Mappy - but I prefer michelin.
What day of August are you travelling? This can make a difference to finding the optimum route.
The direct route leads you over a small section of motorway through Austria and then a few more small sections of motorway through Switzerland. For both countries, you need to buy a permit (Pickerl, Vignette).
Alternatively, you can bypass the motorways and drive the regular highways. Especially in Switzerland, you might take the scenic byway via Davos, Tiefencastel and St. Moritz. You will drive some passes and be able to enjoy the great alpine scenery.
Be aware that the rental car company will charge a hefty fee if you do not return the car in the same country where you picked it up.
Thank you for your replies! I love the website recommendation. Do you know where the permits for Austria and Switzerland can be bought in advance or is it possible to purchase at the borders?
We are travelling on 16 August.
Oh yes - even with the extra fee for the different country return, it is still much cheaper than the extortionate Lufthansa airfares!
I would not drive the highways in Austria and Switzerland. If you start early (let's say before 9 am) you could drive via Garmisch - Fernpass - Imst - Landeck - St. Moritz - Chiavenna - Lecco to Milan. It's a very scenic drive, major roads but a few windy roads, too.
Slightly more than 8 hours. Avoid the toll highway between Imst and Landeck, take the parallel running road instead - just a few miles.
The "normal" route would be south to the Brenner pass and then down to Verona before heading west to Milan.
However, since you have two young kids why not head south west from Munich in the direction of Fussen and make a short detour to Neuschwanstein Castle (the original Disney castle) and then enter Switzerland after passing Bregenz (Austria). Then head towards Chur and aim for San Bernardino then Bellinzona, Lugano and on south to Milan.
If you use Viamichelin to plan your route you can insert intermediate stops to get the route you need rather than the standard route suggested by them.
For the autoroute/motorway stickers you get these at the customs when entering the various countries or generally at any garage near thye border.
I am not sure whether the short section of motorway in Austria on the route I have suggested requires a sticker but Viamichelin will say whether this is the case or not. If so, for such a short stretch it may be worth taking the normal roads skirting the bottom of Lake Constance.