Journey: Taninges, France to Peschiera del Garda, Italy
Distance: 411 km
Campsite for the night: Camping Bergamini
YouTube link: Day 4

Today we set off for Chamonix on our way to Lake Garda. We had spent some time the day before deliberating whether to go up Aiguille du Midi in the cable car to see Mont Blanc. But eventually decided that the steep cost (€74 each) combined with the risk of being stuck up there for a few hours and the appalling weather forecast meant it was a no go. We’d used the mountain forecast for Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc, and I thought their thunderstorms forecast looked very menancing indeed:

Chamonix itself was beautiful nestled in the snowy alps. It was quite a bit cooler than we’d been used to and was raining on and off, but we enjoyed wandering around the huge array of outdoor shops. We found a little cafe with fancy coffee and various vegan options for lunch, which was very enjoyable and very unFrench! Just to clarify, we both love France but vegan options can be hard to find when out and the toilets get you down after a while.

We then set off for the Mont Blanc tunnel to go through the alps and as I was driving there, I remarked that I didn’t remember the area at all despite having driven through the tunnel about ten years previous on another campervan trip. Emma agreed and consulted the map… based on our route last time, there is no way we’d been through the Mont Blanc tunnel and in fact must have travelled through the Fréjus tunnel a little further south!

The tunnel was a pretty miserable experience. One lane going each way for 11km with lots of signs, flashing lights and warnings. I don’t really like driving through tunnels anyway — I always think of the sheer weight of mountain above you — but this tunnel was definitely one of the more unappealing ones.

Eventually we popped out into Italy, and it was torrential rain and tunnel after tunnel… for miles, I only saw daylight for a brief spell before plunging into another tunnel. On the plus side, the tunnels gave us respite from the rain. The motorway on the Italian side of the Alps is a lot more winding than the French side as well as having a lot more tunnels. Although the roads weren’t great, the driving was a lot better than we’d anticipated. We’d both been dreading driving into Italy because of the last time we’d been through the Mont Blanc Fréjus tunnel…

Shortly after arriving in Italy before, I had offended a lorry driver, who’d then followed us for half an hour constantly honking his horn. I only lost him at the tolls because I deliberately found a queue to hold us back. And what did I do that was so terrible? I’d driven at the speedlimit and not changed lanes in a tunnel per the signs, which had stopped him overtaking me in the tunnel. I have since realised that Italians have a fairly casual approach to matters such as speedlimits and find driving in Italy a lot easier as a result.

After what seemed an age, the landscape changed and flattened out, although the rain remained in sharp showers. The rest of the drive was uneventful other than being a bit busy around Milan, and after a brief break at a services, I continued driving on to our campsite by Lake Garda. By the time we arrived, it was nearly dark, but the lake looked beautiful.

Emma had done a great job choosing the site — the facilities were really good and clean, it was very peaceful and we’d been allocated a pitch overlooking the swimming pool and lake.

After a quick setup and dinner — Emma had cooked (again!) because I’d driven all the way — we had a wander by the lake at dusk, until the mozzies sent us back to the van, where we enjoyed a glass of wine sat outside looking at the lake.