Morning all Next week i am crossing the water and heading for Trieste Italy.
As this is my first time venturing accross the water on my own can i get some advice and tips and what to expect as havent a clue about driving in europe , tolls, laws etc.
What are you driving?
nedflanders:
Morning all Next week i am crossing the water and heading for Trieste Italy.
As this is my first time venturing accross the water on my own can i get some advice and tips and what to expect as havent a clue about driving in europe , tolls, laws etc.
Have you any info about load or the vehicle yet? I don’t want to know what your load is but is it dry/chilled/frozen and what is the GVW of the vehicle?
aa routeplanner says this.
Distance: 1479.4 km (show in miles)
Time: 13 hr 59 min
0.0
Start: Head west on Rue des Communes towards Rue du Pont Neuf
0.2
Turn left onto Rue du Pont Lottin
0.3
Continue onto Rue Charost
0.4
Turn left onto Rue du Temple
0.5
Take the 1st right on to Rue du Général Chanzy
0.8
Turn left onto Bd la Fayette
1.3
Continue onto Bd de l’Égalité
1.4
Turn right onto Rue du Lieutenant Jacques Faguer
1.4
Slight right onto Bd Victor Hugo
2.4
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Route de Saint-Omer/D119
3.5
At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto the A16 slip road to Saint-Omer/Reims/Dunkerque/Lille/Calais-Port/Car Ferry/Paris
4.0
Merge onto A16
Speed camera in 18.8 mi
Entering Belgium
55.1
Continue onto E40
188.1
Take exit 11-17-Groot-Bijgaarden for E40/E19 towards E411/Namen/Luik/Antwerpen/Luchthaven Zaventem
189.4
Merge onto E19
190.4
Continue onto E40
202.4
Slight left to stay on E40
207.1
Slight right to stay on E40 (signs for Luik/Leuven/Brussel)
Entering Germany
336.6
Continue onto A44
347.1
Take exit 4-Kreuz Aachen to merge onto A4 towards Köln
416.6
Take exit 15-Dreieck Heumar on the left to merge onto A3 towards Frankfurt a.M./Siegburg
818.2
Keep left at the fork
820.6
Continue onto A9
969.1
Slight right onto E45
971.4
Merge onto A99
998.3
Slight right onto E45/E52
1001.3
Merge onto A8
Entering Austria
1114.8
Continue onto A1
Toll road
1116.9
Take exit Knoten Salzburg to merge onto A10/E55 towards Villach/Salzburg Süd/Italien/Ljubljana/Slowenien
Continue to follow A10
Partial toll road
1298.8
Take the exit onto A11/E61 towards Slowenien/Karawankentunnel/St. Niklas
Partial toll road
Entering Slovenia
1320.5
Continue onto E61
Toll road
1391.4
Take exit 36-Razcep Kozarje to merge onto A1/E61/E70 towards Trst/Trieste/Koper/Postojna/Reka/Rijeka
Toll road
1456.5
Take exit Razcep Gabrk towards Trst/Trieste
Toll road
1458.0
Merge onto E61
Toll road
Entering Italy
1468.9
Continue onto Località Fernetti/SS58
1469.2
Keep left at the fork, follow signs for Trieste
Continue to follow SS58
Go through 2 roundabouts
1474.8
Sharp right onto Via Commerciale
1478.1
Turn right onto Via Pauliana
1478.4
Turn left onto Piazza della LibertÃ
1478.5
Continue onto Corso Cavour
1478.7
Turn left onto Via Milano
1479.2
Continue onto Via del Coroneo
1479.4
Arrive at Trieste, Italy
Section time: 13:59, Total time: 13:59
sorry its a 18 tonne dry load
i prob should have posted this in the euro section can i swop it over now to there
You’ll need to buy a vignette for your trip if going through Benelux/Germany. See the Euro driving forum for ALL Q&A Regarding this. Enjoy!
thanks vern
Been 4 or 5 years since i went there but will dig out info and post in a bit.
From my experience. Come off the boat/ferry and follow a truck for a few minutes.
You’ll get the gist of driving on the other side pretty quickly. Take your time, keep to the speed limits! You will see no overtaking signs for trucks. Usually with a time restriction. OBEY!
Belgium is the worse for driving standards. Check your mirrors constantly. Make sure your load is well secured (Especially in Germany!) Truck stops services are WAY better than here. Germany, if you us the toilet, will generally cost you 50-70c which you pay at a turnstile. Keep the ticket for 50c off a purchase in the shop. You can build them up!
You’ll find most people speak English, if you ask nicely. Seriously…Enjoy.
nedflanders:
sorry its a 18 tonne dry load
i prob should have posted this in the euro section can i swop it over now to there
it’s moved 
Just a few offbeat things:
Don’t tell anybody that you meet on the boat or in the services etc that it’s your first trip.
Don’t be too specific about your destination or where you intend to park overnight.
If anybody (who isn’t a uniformed official) asks you what you’re carrying, say kitchen units or something similar that is hard to move and not worth stealing.
Don’t give your passport to anyone. Some places ask for it before giving you the shower key - find somewhere else.
Don’t believe anything you hear on or in boats/trains/queues it’s, 99% of it is absolute fabrication.
Don’t be intimidated by foreign officials, treat them how they treat you.
Check your mirrors, check them again and then once more before changing lanes. Things happen very quickly on the Autobahn.
Flashing (by cars or bikes) does NOT mean go ahead, it means stay there I’m coming through.
If I think of anything else I’ll put it up later. 
Thanks all
am learning a lot as day goes on 
nedflanders:
Morning all Next week i am crossing the water and heading for Trieste Italy.
As this is my first time venturing accross the water on my own can i get some advice and tips and what to expect as havent a clue about driving in europe , tolls, laws etc.
If you head from Triest the National Road North you will come after a few Miles to “Hotel Diana” with many Trucks stopping there at Evening
Take mossy repellent and some antiseptic cream, Italian mossy’s have big teeth.
I went France, Mount Blanc for speed and minimum aggravation, just short of a thousand miles from Calais.
So Calais A26 to Reims - A4/A26 to Troyes A5/A31 to Dijon - A39 to Bourg en Bresse - A40 to Geneva & Mount Blanc.
Out of the tunnel and down the hill A4 - then A4/A5 then A4 to Novara, Milan, Bergamo, Brescia, Verona, Padua, Monfalcone.
Border crossing for Slovenia on your left as you approach Trieste.
I took cash for tolls and fuel (thought I still had costing but lost on old pc) debit card for emergencies. If you use credit or debit card for toll machine make sure you understand instructions before putting card in!
Don’t buy anything from the sharks at the Italian truck stops and keep valuable out of site and secure.
Barry
If going Mont Blanc Tunnel…Be sure to pull into the checking area before the tunnel approach.
Going via Austria avoids this hassle! And I think is cheaper, though not sure. 
Loads of fit Italian birds on the beach on the way down into Trieste town centre.
do you know what route you’ll be taking yet?
plenty of good advice already, but if someone comes upto you in italy, trying to flog video cameras, or leather jackets, don’t bother
chilistrucker:
do you know what route you’ll be taking yet?
plenty of good advice already, but if someone comes upto you in italy, trying to flog video cameras, or leather jackets, don’t bother
Also give the ‘Genuine 32 carat gold’ sellers a bit of a wide berth.
Oh,just thought about this one.Don’t know if it’s the same now-but certainly the case 10 or so years ago.If you stop at a MSA for a snack,you have to have a look at what’s on offer,then go to the till to order and pay.Go to the food counter,hand over your receipt and wait for your food.Hopefully,someone with more recent experience will be able to contribute.Also,if you’re poodling along in the inside lane,coming up to an exit.The lane marking will have a ‘turn right’ arrow.It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to move to the next lane to avoid the exit.Take care.
Sir +:
chilistrucker:
do you know what route you’ll be taking yet?
plenty of good advice already, but if someone comes upto you in italy, trying to flog video cameras, or leather jackets, don’t botherAlso give the ‘Genuine 32 carat gold’ sellers a bit of a wide berth.
Oh,just thought about this one.Don’t know if it’s the same now-but certainly the case 10 or so years ago.If you stop at a MSA for a snack,you have to have a look at what’s on offer,then go to the till to order and pay.Go to the food counter,hand over your receipt and wait for your food.Hopefully,someone with more recent experience will be able to contribute.Also,if you’re poodling along in the inside lane,coming up to an exit.The lane marking will have a ‘turn right’ arrow.It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to move to the next lane to avoid the exit.Take care.
I fell foul to this on the GRA (Rome Ring Road). The granny lane was sign posted for the next exit or two. Middle lane signed for the exits three or four up and the suicide lane was signed for the main exit North. All separate signs on the overhead gantry. I thought they meant ‘This Lane For …’. After a few minutes I realised that nothing was coming past me. Looking in my mirror I saw there was a huge tailback of irate Italian car drivers building behind me. Realising my error I quickly moved back across and normal service resumed 
In France the Autoroutes are tolled, they accept a EuroShell fuel card. There are lanes at the toll booths designated for cash payment, automatic ‘tag’ payment for cars and card/‘tag’ payment for trucks. Check the gantry signs but card/tag for trucks is usually over on the right hand 2 lanes.
Italy is also tolled on the Autostradas. I don’t know what cards they accept, but a standard debit card is almost certainly accepted, as long as it’s authorised for use in Europe by your bank.
In the stickies is a thread titled Euro Drivers Info Point. The first post is a long list of links. You’ll find a link to the French Autoroute route planner. Put in Calais (if that’s where you’re starting) to Trieste. Set the options to 18t (or 4 wheeler) truck. It’ll give you a route all the way through, with all tolls included. You could have a look through the whole thread, there’s a lot of stuff in there that’s irrelevant to you though, so filter out the stuff that isn’t about France or Italy.
If you decide to use the German/Austria route. There are a lot of roadworks on the Autobahn between Karlsruhe an Ulm, which will make it a bit slow, and a lot of ‘no overtaking’ zones which will make it even slower. German Autobahns are tolled. You have to book and pay for your route before you start. To do so, you’ll have to use a MAUT/Toll Collect machine, it’s frustratingly slow to use. Get yourself a brew before you start, you’ll have plenty of time to drink it .
Austrian Autobahns are also tolled. I’m pretty sure you’ll need a Go-Box, which is a tag. You can get one in any of the services near Austria in Germany. They cost about €5 for the actual box, it also has to be set up to pay. There are 2 methods, pay as you go where you pre-pay the same way as you pre-pay a mobile phone. If that’s the method you use (probably the best for a one off trip) there is a minimum pre-pay of (I think) €45, making a Go-Box €50 on first use.
Pay careful attention to the sticky about documentation.