United Kingdom to Italy
The best pass driving in Europe sits at the end of this one, reached through Germany and Austria rather than Switzerland.
Direct
1360 km
845.1 mi
Scenic route
1720 km
1068.8 mi
Days
4
about 14.3 hr direct
Tolls
£150
one way, per car
The drive
The Dolomites are the reason a lot of people buy the car in the first place. From London the direct run is about 1,360 km, but the version worth driving loops through the Black Forest and Tyrol on the way in.
Going via Germany avoids the Swiss vignette and gives you an unrestricted autobahn stretch, then Austria charges a modest vignette and the Brenner toll drops you straight onto the Sella Ronda passes.
Four days each way is comfortable. Three is possible if you are happy with one very long day at the start.
June to early October. Many Dolomite passes close from November.
Worth the detour
Black Forest, Germany
Schwarzwaldhochstrasse
Germany's original scenic highway rolls along a forested ridge with panoramic Alpine views.
9.2 / 10 · 60 km
Salzburg and Carinthia, Austria
Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse
Austria's grandest high alpine road climbs to Franz Josefs Hohe beneath the country's tallest peak.
9.8 / 10 · 48 km
Trentino and South Tyrol, Italy
Passo Pordoi
Twenty eight numbered hairpins climb to the highest paved point of the Dolomites road network.
9.5 / 10 · 13 km
South Tyrol, Italy
Passo Gardena
Limestone spires of the Sella group frame every one of this pass's flowing bends.
9.3 / 10 · 12 km
Where to break the drive
Luxembourg or Trier
Cheap fuel and an easy first night from Calais.
Baden-Baden
The northern end of the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse.
Innsbruck or Zell am See
Alpine base before the Brenner.
Cortina d'Ampezzo
The obvious home for a few days of pass driving.
Questions
About 1360 km, roughly 845.1 miles, by the most direct route. The scenic version described here runs closer to 1720 km.
Around 14.3 hours of driving on the direct route, which most people split over two days. The scenic route takes 4 days without rushing.
Budget about £150 one way per car in tolls, vignettes and crossings, before fuel and hotels.
June to early October. Many Dolomite passes close from November.
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