Advice for Driving the Alps from Salzburg to Chamonix

Swiss vignette? IDP?

All Alpine passes should be open by early June, but the highest ones might still be closed in late May after a snowy spring. You can check historical opening dates for the ones that interest you.

Do not underestimate just how twisty and slow those roads are. From my admittedly limited experience, the main mountain roads in the US are much smoother and easier-going that their equivalent in the Alps.

You might enjoy reading “The Alps: a Human History from Hannibal to Heidi”. Author Steven O’Shea drives a muscle car through the Alps from west to east, with informative observations about geology, human history and current culture. It is well-written and often humorous, especially his nicknames for groups of motorcyclists and the bane of his travels, Dutch caravan drivers.

https://www.amazon.com/Alps-Human-History-Hannibal-Beyond/dp/0393355691/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1706799428&sr=1-2

I gave away my paperback copy, so I just bought it on Kindle so I can re-read it before our next trip.

You are talking about traversing a wide area. Are you ok with one-way rental prices?
How much time do you really have?
Are you aware that some mountain villages are car-free?
Do not use Google Maps for time estimates for driving in the Alps.

Thank you to everyone for your responses. We're taking about two weeks for this trip, staying about 2-3 days at each stop. As for drive times, we were inspired by one of the itineraries here, so we have some sense that the drives should be manageable.

I appreciate the mention of the Swiss vignette sticker -- did not know about that. And we do plan to get international driving permits. Also good to know about the twisty roads in comparison to U.S. roads mountain roads. We're Coloradans and may be a little spoiled. We are aware of the car restrictions in the Lauterbrunnen but have not looked into the car restrictions in other areas. And yes, we have considered one-way rental prices.

And finally love the reading suggestion. That's great and we'll definitely look into it.

It's not the quicket route between A and B but I'd try to include Merano as one of the 3 night stops. We were only there for one long day, popping in from Vipiteno, and have never been close enough for a return visit. Great town.

One day we spent some time driving along the 242 road between highway 22 and around Selva. My favourite drive so far was from Vipiteno heading southwest to Merano.

If you can, give the Grossglockner a whirl when you leave Salzburg. Check the weather first. My first time up it became very foggy a short way up.

just to mention a couple of money saving thoughts - unlike in Colorado the speeds are controlled by some visible and some hidden radar speed cameras, the speed limits are the number on the sign and not a fudge factor, and the speed reduction is at the sign. It is not a case of take your foot off the gas and coast down to the new speed. You may well have had your picture taken just as you passed the sign. Be especially careful in and around tunnels. The Swiss have had a few nasty experiences with tunnels and they take spacing between vehicles and speed in tunnels very seriously. If the red light is on do not enter the tunnel. Expect to lower your speed on Swiss motorways from 130kph to 80. Don't speed back up until you pass the national speed limit sign. There are cameras there too.

You won't see a speed restriction sign as you enter a town or village, just the town name sign. That sign means 50 kph unless posted differently. Don't speed up again unless posted until you have passed the end of town limits sign, a sign with the name and diagonal red line across it.

Have a great time...

Last summer we spent 3 weeks driving this route: Munich to Ortesei to Venice to Strea to Kauterbrunnen to Colmar to Vacgarach to Frankfurt.

My advice:

Have cash in hand for tolls, in case the credit card reader doesn’t work.

When driving on toll roads, you will get a paper ticket at the booth at the start of the toll section. At the end of the toll section, you put that ticket in the machine then pay the amount on the screen. Then it gives you the ticket back. Have your navigator put that ticket away, so you don’t get it confused with the NEXT ticket you get.

Know your credit card pin. We needed it to buy gas at unmanned stations.

Don’t assume the autobahn has no speed limit. (We’ll be receiving a ticket one of these days…)

Speed cameras are everywhere. Obey the speed limit (see above!)

Have a data plan to use navigation on your phone. Also download maps to use offline in case you have no service.

Add some time to whatever Google maps tells you it will take to get from point A to point B.

If you miss your exit on the freeway, it could be 20+km until the next exit.

Roundabouts are everywhere. Get familiar with them if you don’t have them where you live.

Get the zero deductible insurance.

Expect parking to be limited and expect to pay to park. Get familiar with the parking disk system for limited free parking in certain areas. They don’t typically have big shopping centers with giant free parking lots like in the US.

Gundersen, Nigel and travel4fun, and again to everyone else, thank you for your responses and for the great information you shared. I'm grateful! Cheers. :-)