When guests plan a tour of several countries, the first instinct is often to see as much as possible. The map makes it look easy: Lake Como, St. Moritz, Lucerne and Lake Maggiore all fit on one page. The days themselves are a different matter. A tour feels relaxing or tiring mostly because of its rhythm, and the rhythm depends on how many hours you spend in the car each day. This guide shares what we have learned about pacing.
Two to three hours is the comfortable middle
In our experience, most guests enjoy days with two to three hours of driving. That is enough to move to a new place and still arrive in time for lunch or an afternoon walk. Days of up to four hours work well when the drive itself is beautiful, for example over an alpine pass, and when there is a good lunch stop halfway.
Days of five hours or more are best kept for the start or the end of a trip, when the aim is to get somewhere rather than to see things on the way. On our Dolomites tour, for example, the final drive from Innsbruck back to Milan is about five hours, and we suggest a lunch stop on the way.
Use real driving times, not distances
Distances in the mountains are misleading. Val Gardena to Cortina d'Ampezzo is only about 65 km, but the road crosses the Dolomite passes and takes close to two hours. Lugano to St. Moritz is under 200 km and takes nearly three hours. We plan every tour with Google Maps driving times for a weekday in normal traffic, and the driver adapts to the conditions on the day.
Plan rest days
A day without driving every three or four days makes a long tour much more enjoyable. On a lake, it is a day on the water; in the mountains, a day on foot or on the lifts; in a city, a day for museums. On our sample itineraries these days are marked clearly, and the car is still available if you change your mind.
Split the long stages
If a stage is longer than you would like, it can usually be broken with a night in between. Salzburg to Lake Bled, for example, is about three hours, but adding Vienna turns it into two long days, so we suggest an extra night. The same applies to a return to Milan from the Riviera or from Innsbruck.
Leave room for the unexpected
On a tour, the best moments are often unplanned: a village you want to explore, a lunch that lasts longer, a view that asks for a stop. With a dedicated chauffeur, these changes are easy. Tell the driver, and he adjusts the day. If a change affects the following days, our office confirms it in writing.
Early starts and late arrivals
An early start makes a long day shorter in practice. Leaving at eight rather than ten often means lighter traffic, an earlier arrival and a free afternoon at the destination. On the other hand, nobody wants an alarm clock every morning of a holiday. We usually suggest early departures only on the two or three longest days of a tour and relaxed mornings on the others. For arrival and departure days, we plan around your flights, so that the first and last stages are short and you are never rushing to an airport after a long drive.
Children and older travellers
Families with young children and older travellers usually prefer shorter days and more frequent stops. Let us know when you plan the tour, and we build in breaks every hour or two.
How we help
Send us the places you want to see and how many days you have. We suggest a rhythm that works, show you the driving time for each day and send a written quote. Price on request.