Important Decision-Driving from Austria into Italy
 

I am unable to secure frequent flyer seats into Milan or Venice for October 2007. Is it feasible to fly into Munich, Salzburg or Innsbruck and then drive over to Italy to get to the Dolomite or Lake region? We will have a car and are good drivers but are concerned about the possibility of closed passes or other problems. Would appreciate your input.

The Brenner Pass is open all year, so I do not think that snow closure would be a problem, particularly not in October. My suspicion is that you would be flying into Munich rather than Salzburg or Innsbruck, and the drive to Italy should not be too bad although you would not want to do it the day you land if you had a long flight (6+ hours).

Great advice on driving after the long flight. Spend the night where you land and get a fresh start in the mornning. You will be driving thru beautiful country.

I think Munich in October may be a non-starter because of the popularity of Oktoberfest. Probably your next closest choice is Zurich.

The Oktoberfest is in September, not October as one would expect. So not a problem.

Now that I know I can drive over the Austrian/Germany border into Italy, I have called Delta to see what FF seats they may have using those routes. They don't fly into Salzburg or Innsbruck and all I could do was get on a waiting list for Munich. Frequent flyer points are a joke anymore! That you for your help.

Most of the major passes through the alps are open all year due to the system of massive tunnels they have dug through the mountains (often 10 to 12 miles long). The major roads go through the tunnels. If you want to go over the original passes - which should not be a problem in October - you'll be using mostly older, smaller and slower roads.

Delta also flies JFK to Pisa starting April 1, 2007. Perhaps you could get Delta frequent flyer tickets to PSA (Pisa) and go north from there.

Kathy...

Actually, in 2007 the Oktoberfest begins on September 22 and ends on October 7, so if you're traveling in the beginning of October, Munich might be a problem.