gunnerheskey:
Thanks for that simon & toby, i’ll bear that in mind.
Thought that it’d be a right rigmarole going simplon, not that i’m dismissing it !
No rigmarole and free passage through France, well until the Vignette kicks in.
Out in the country i found it hard to find a decent place to have a nice meal, most close early, and limited at the weekend.
Plenty of fast food outlets when passing through the small towns, fast pizza and so on.Not run or owned by Italians.
The meals on the motorways are very good, lots of choice, so if i knew i would end in the rural areas it would better to have a late lunch or early dinner.
The road signs do not make sense, there are low balconies on the houses which can be hit by the trailer when you turn, worse at night.
If you make an error, you can take hours to turn around on a steep winding mountain pass, or get stuck in small village with no place to turn around.
MD0117:
r slicker:
SHOULD ANY DRIVER REQUIRE ANY INFORMATION TRANSLATION IN ITALY OR REGARDING ITALY OR ITALIAN LAWS, PLEASE CALL BRIAN (R SLICKER) ON . AT ANY TIME DAY OR NIGHT IS NO PROBLEM.
(PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NORTH OF ITALY IS MY FORTE)Hi i am moving to southern italy later this year do you know of any italian companys taking on english drivers. Want to try and find employment now so i can get on there national health scheme. Any help or tips would be appreciated, cheers…
Try Arcese. My mate had a spell with em for about 4 years. They gotta depot in the UK so they do a lot of to and fro to each depot.
I know the basics of Italian convoi exptionel but could anyone tell me a web site I can get more information ?
Can anyone tell me if Naples really is as dangerous as people say? I’ve got a delivery there in the morning and deliberately parked up 50 mile north. As we have a regular customer there I thought it a good idea to find out
You should be safe to park where theremany trucks as safety in numbers,Napoli is controlled by criminal gangs,I spent a few days there in a hostel and found it safe walking around.
There were rumours of truck hijacking by armed men and the truck stolen with high value loads,but they never harmed the driver. A drivers myth of being tied with rope to a tree, wearing his pants, and ground glass in his eyes.
Makavelli:
Can anyone tell me if Naples really is as dangerous as people say? I’ve got a delivery there in the morning and deliberately parked up 50 mile north. As we have a regular customer there I thought it a good idea to find out
If I were you I’d be speaking to my customer tomorrow about safe parking.
I’d also be confirming anything with my insurance company as well.
toby1234abc:
You should be safe to park where theremany trucks as safety in numbers,Napoli is controlled by criminal gangs,I spent a few days there in a hostel and found it safe walking around.
There were rumours of truck hijacking by armed men and the truck stolen with high value loads,but they never harmed the driver. A drivers myth of being tied with rope to a tree, wearing his pants, and ground glass in his eyes.
That’s a good point about safety in numbers.
The rest is drivers rumour and Tobyism. Not that there is no truth in drivers rumour (or Tobyism), as long as you understand the source 
Thanks for the info. Made it here with the truck still in tact but it appears that any road rules don’t apply in Naples!! Every man for himself 
Makavelli:
Thanks for the info. Made it here with the truck still in tact but it appears that any road rules don’t apply in Naples!! Every man for himself
I’ve heard that, although I had kind of expected it. As you head further South into Italy, this driving style becomes more and more apparent. For instance, on the Eastern side of the GRA during rush hour, the two lanes and hard shoulder markings are ignored. I found myself among 4 lanes of cars 
Is this man Brian still around to give advice off to Rome thursday in avan looking for some safe parking as will prob be there for the weekend thanks in advance.
A van should be no problem to park in a secure hotel car park.
Most have Cctv, and all night security man on guard.
Empty the valuables, open the glove box to show it’s empty.
In rural areas, it is quite safe, enjoy the scenery and the Lavaza coffee.
Need parking in Firenza for a couple of days.
Id like to spend some time sight seeing so not too far from town or public transport.
Cheers
Dave
Truly a helpful gent you are…
I take it brian is no longer about well guys and girls am off on a tour in a van which includes running from swiss on a carnet and running down to palermo any info and advice would be welcome has anyone ever crossed at como into italy on a carnet if so where do you get it stamped ? never done sicily but looking forward to it im doing the shortest crossing to sicily how much is the crossing in a van thanks in advance>
Harbour Shipping used to pretty good for all the ferry routes, especially the more unusual ones. As for the rest of your questions im afraid I cant help, I`ve been out of the game to long now. Sounds a nice run though, post up some pics! 
well m8 crossed como over the years you will see the sign parking trucks pull in there dont go thru without carnet completed if your crossing down in reggio calabria /messina u got a nice drive down there i done uk 2 taormina sicilly few times not sure on prices now but just google it and u will get price, just watch where u park especially south of naples gd luck
stevejones:
well m8 crossed como over the years you will see the sign parking trucks pull in there dont go thru without carnet completed if your crossing down in reggio calabria /messina u got a nice drive down there i done uk 2 taormina sicilly few times not sure on prices now but just google it and u will get price, just watch where u park especially south of naples gd luck
Nice one fella have done carnet many times just not at that boarder and thanks for the parking warning had heard it was dodgy and in bandit country below rome keep the info coming pls as iv always said your never to old to learn and if you think any different you may learn the hard way 
no probs m8 happy travels
I went to Sicily in a van 3 years ago, but I was empty and collected there. I went on a ferry from Livorno to Palermo. I never paid, the co I worked for at the time organised it. And it was bleeding hot there!