Ginny Buckley and Joe Mace embarked on a continental road trip from London to Italy.

Joe and Ginny had four days to drive over 1,448.4km (900 miles) from the UK to Tuscany in Italy. Resisting the appeal of a cheap two-hour flight, they were instead curious to find out whether the journey can be as much a part of the holiday as the destination. If you plan to drive in Europe, it's advisable to carry all driving documentation with you, to purchase European breakdown cover, and to take a red warning triangle, as well as adjusting your headlamp beam to the right.

Having taken the ferry from Dover to Calais they began their road trip in earnest. They found the flat landscape of northern France not the most scintillating way to start their journey but nevertheless decided to push on with the driving, which meant spending nearly eight hours in the car.

On the road

Northern France, with its poor climate and industrial landscape, is said to be considered an uninspiring region, even by the French. However, its three main regions of Picardy, Artois and Flanders are steeped in history, and you will come across numerous monuments and relics from WW1.

Joe and Ginny stopped off in Troyes, the capital of the Aube region. Troyes is notable for its beautiful churches from the 12th and 16th centuries and the gothic cathedral of Cathédrale St-Pierre-et-Paul in the centre of the Quartier de la Cité, the area containing most of Troyes' oldest buildings.

St Bernard Pass

After breakfast in Troyes, they drove for another three hours to the Franco-Swiss frontier of Vallorbe. As it isn't part of the European Union, you'll have to stop at passport control so take your passports. Being on a road trip affords great flexibility and Joe and Ginny took full advantage of this by dropping in on the Montreux Jazz Festival en route, which was featuring such legends as BB King.

Next morning, they drove over the scenic St Bernard Pass, a historic pass through the alps to their border crossing into Italy, at a climb of over 2438.4m (8,000ft) into the mountains. By this time, they'd covered 857.78km (533 miles) from Calais and spent over £40 on tolls. From there they stopped off in Val D'Aosta in the northwest corner of Italy. This region is renowned for its stunning scenery, and is home to the renowned mountain ranges of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc.

Northern Italy

By this point, Ginny and Joe had progressed well in their journey, so relaxed for a scenic detour to visit the pretty villages in northern Italy. They stopped off in Cinque Terre - an area named after its five fishing villages, which are perched on the Ligurian coast beneath the beach and the hills, all linked by ancient footpaths.

After Cinque Terre, they finally arrived at their destination; the Norcenni Girasole Club, located in the Chianti region of Tuscany. Spread out over 40 acres, this high-class campsite had mobile homes in place of tents, swimming pools and even a beauty salon, where Joe indulged in a massage.

From Chianti, it's a comfortable day trip to either Florence or Siena but for the intrepid duo, home beckoned and so did the only downside of the trip; driving back.