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Peage France
Peage France

Tolls on our European tours

Happy New Year! After spending an enjoyable few days with our family during the Christmas holidays we decided to spend the first week of the new year in Alsace, an enchanting and diverse area of France where we are planning a tour for 2021. The region, nestled between the Vosges and the Rhine, is famous for its wine and it’s villages of brightly-painted, half-timbered houses, some of which are are classed as the “most beautiful villages in France”. It also has it’s own world famous cuisine, a remarkably rich history and welcoming and friendly people. Once we have finalised details on this tour, we will let you have more information. 

In this newsletter we wanted to give you some information about the toll roads in the European countries we will be travelling to in 2020. 

As you know we have several tours to Germany including those to, “Exciting Eastern Germany”, Germany’s Romantic Road”  the “Majestic Rhine & Moselle Rivers” and the “Breathtaking Black Forest”. In Germany there are no toll roads and if you adhere to our suggested routes to the start of each tour, you will also not encounter any tolls on the way.

In Spain many motorways have a toll system. On the Autopista (AP) you can either pay at the toll station in cash or with credit card, or  you can get the VIA-T-Box and the toll will be automatically deducted from your credit card and enables you to use special lanes. To check the tolls for different motorways in Spain you can download information on the Spanish website of Autopistas. If you book our “Spectacular Spanish Northern Coast” tour there is only a short stretch of motorway (approx. 80 km) from the ferry terminal in either Santander or Bilbao to the start of the tour in San Sebastian where you will encounter toll roads. 

If you would like to join us in Italy for our “Impressive Italian Lakes & Cities” tour, you will also encounter tolls on the motorway. When entering the motorway you will get a ticket, similar to the system in France which is then paid, according to the size of your motorhome at a toll station when you leave the motorway.  The best option is to get into the white cash lanes, as credit card payments in the blue lanes are not always possible. The exception to this is the  A36 (“Pedemontana”) around Milan. Here your numberplate will be registered and you have to pay with your credit card within 15 days at a service station. The cost of the different motorways can be found on the website of Autostrade per l’Italia.

In order to get to the start of the tour in Italy you have to travel through Switzerland where all vehicles under 3.5t are required to purchase a vignette in order to use the motorways. The vignette is valid for 14 months from the beginning of December until end of January and costs 40 CHF. For larger motorhomes (>3.5t) a PSVA (lump sum heavy vehicle charge) must be paid. There are several options for paying the PSVA but for transit to our Italian tour the best is to buy the 10 day pass (32.50 CHF), which allows ten freely chosen days during a given year. This must be bought either at the border or you can download an App called VIA which must be validated before entering Switzerland as well as at the start of each subsequent day the vehicle spends in the country.

Anyone thinking of joining us on our “Captivating Croatia” tour will also encounter tolls on the motorways which normally are to be paid when exiting the motorway either in cash or by credit card. Prices for the main motorways can be found on the Interactive Toll Calculator.  There is also a charge for using the bridge to cross onto Krk island. In order to get to Croatia, you can either travel through Italy or through Austria and Slovenia, which is the quickest route. The toll system in Austria is similar to the one in Switzerland, as it distinguishes between light and heavy vehicles. If you intend to use the motorways with a motorhome under 3.5t you need to buy a vignette. For transit probably the best option is to buy a vignette which costs 9.40 EUR and is valid for 10 days. If you use the same route for your return journey, you will unfortunately need to purchase a second one. The vignette can be bought at petrol stations close to the border, or digitally, at least 18 days before travelling, on the ASFINAG website. If your vehicle is above 3.5t you will need to buy a Go-Box for 5 Euro instead of the vignette and either load it with money or connect it to your credit card. It needs to be placed in the windscreen of your motorhome and the toll is then automatically deducted depending on how many axles your motorhome has and the emissions of your vehicle.

Before arriving in Croatia you also need to cross Slovenia, which has yet another toll system. If you are below 3.5t you can buy a 7 day vignette, which costs 15 EUR for a Class 2A vehicle (incl. motorhomes). The vignette, however, does not include the use of the Karawanke tunnel. Vehicles over 3.5t need to get a DarsGo transponder, which is similar to the Austrian Go-Box. It can be purchased online or at the DARS service stations. All details can be found on the DARS website. In Hungary, all motorhomes need an e-Vignette for class D2 vehicles which can be bought online for  26.50 EUR. So anyone joining us on our „Delightful Danube“ tour, which ends in Budapest, should take a look at the hungarian website.

If you are interested in a specific tour for 2020 and would like more information visit the detailed tour pages on our website:

Tour page: Exciting Eastern Germany
Tour page: Germany’s Romantic Road
Tour page: Impressive Italian Lakes & Cities
Tour page: Spectacular Spanish Northern Coast
Tour page: Majestic Rhine & Moselle Rivers
Tour page: Breathtaking Black Forest
Tour page: Delightful Danube
Tour page: Captivating Croatia

For an overview of all the dates and prices download the PDF of the Overview Tour Dates and Prices:

PDF: Touring Season 2020, Overview Tour Dates & Prices

We still have limited availability on most of the tours, so please do not hesitate to contact us, if you are interested in joining us. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us, we are always happy to answer your questions.

Safe travels!

Audrey & Michael

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