Belfast to Nice mid April

[diamondgser]

Going to Nice mid April. Had thought Larne Stranraer- Hull Zeebrugge....belt through Belgium then play for a while in the Alps, down to Nice via this Route Napoleon thing.........Do you think snow,ice or any other white stuff will be a problem (mid April)?
Also need to get back sharpish (wives easyjetting in and out for weekend), has anyone tried this bike on the train overnight to get back up? Might go home via channel tunnel and Dublin ferry.
Any thoughts welcome.

 

[franco]

hmm

I'd be surprised if you got much playing in the Alps at that time of year. Unless you're on a snowboard
The Route Napoleon 'should' be ok by April. If this feckin winter finally gets outta here. Supposed to be snowing this week Mind you, it's good for the ski season.
Bear in mind that it'll be slap bang in the middle of the Easter school holidays here during the middle of April, but hotels etc should be readily available, just the traffic might be higher than normal. Nothing like it is in the summer though, and there are still loads of quiet roads around for a blast.

Rob

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

Snow could well be a big problem in the Alps mid-April. Check on a Michelin map, and the high passes have the closure dates marked - generally 11-5 (November to May) for the high ones, some even 11-6.

The Route Napoleon through the French Alps is lower altitude so may well be open, but even in April you might find a cold snap will cause problems with road closures - passable with care in a car generally means "nutters only on a bike!"

Of course, you may be lucky and have unseasonably good weather, in which case it'll be lovely. If the roads are closed, you can always duck down to lower altitude, hop on the autoroute and head down towards the south coast, where there are plenty of nice roads to keep you occupied.

Never used the bike train so can't offer any advice there, I'm afraid.

 

[Norrie]

Hi DiamondGser

can't be of much help to you other than pass on this link

infotrafic.com/route (supplied by Franco)

this will tell you which passes on the route napoleon may be open,but most of the Higher ones will probably be closed until late May - early/ mid June

You could PM Franco he lives in the southern half of the RNP and is a good source of info

Norrie

As you can see he beat me to it

 

[harry]

It's too early in the season to be sure of safe roads......must you go so early?

 

[t'other dave]

Irishferries.com sail between Cherbourg and Rosslare. Dont know how time/cost compare to tunnel and ride across England.

 

[diamondgser]

Belfast to Nice

Cheers for that guys.

Yes the dates are cast in stone. Son 'studying' for a term in Nice and he will probably get caught on and kicked out by the end of April....Also his Mum and the 'girls' got cheap squeezy jet flights for those dates. Its an ideal way for us to tour....the girls fly somewhere and the boys leave a few days before and meet there.
Will probably 'stay low' and just dip into the lumpy bits where we can.

Thanks again
Marty