Driving from Rome to Amsterdam mid December
 

Hi. Hoping for some advice. I m driving from Rome to Amsterdam over 7 days mid December on my own. I want to take the most scenic route as my interests are landscape photography. If I can fit in one day's skiing all the better, along with a couple of Christmas markets or visit very festive areas. Xmas in Australia isn t like what Europeans experience. Bbq and bathers at Xmas just does not feel right even after 19 yrs living here :) love it otherwise :). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Your obvious route is through Switzerland and into Germany through the Alps. That should give you lots of photo opps. Bern has a nice market, though smallish.

Just be sure your car is properly winterized and equipped as required for winter driving in the various countries. Assume you are used to driving in ice and snow - which you will definitely hit if you get into ski areas. Not that many ski resorts prefer people to book for a week minimum - so do check out options now.

What are you going to do?
this trip or the one below?
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...mberadvise.cfm
Hiring a car from one country to another is going to add costs for reparation fees.
When hiring a car in one country ensure it has winter tyres which are obligatory in others. If your car does not have them you could also be fined.

Why are you driving - because it is your own car? If not and you are renting, you will do much better taking trains.

Doing both trips. The trip from Rome to Amsterdam is a relocation camper van, so accommodation is not a concern.

I can catch a train or fly to cities at any time, travelling around the countryside you can only do when you have a vehicle.

Make sure the camper has winter tyres, is well insulated, and has a heater for the foul water tank.
Also a sticker for the motorways in Switzerland, since as Rubicund says the logical route is through Switzerland and Germany.
If you want to visit Christmas markets you will need to park the camper outside the town/city you are visiting - or hope there is room in an official camper stelplatz nearby, which could be tricky.
For many places in Germany with Christmas markets you need a green sticker to be able to drive your vehicle in to them.

For camper stelplatzen that are open in the winter, and those with services available in winter (since you will need water and to dump at least once on your trip) have a look at www.campercontact.com