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Alpine roads add limits that a car never notices: low tunnels, weight-restricted bridges, narrow village roads and passes that close in winter. This guide explains what a vehicle-aware route planner can check for a motorhome, what it cannot, and what to look at yourself before the climb.
AlpRoute is a free map of overnight stops for motorhome, campervan and motorcycle travellers across 51 European countries. AlpRoute Pro adds a multi-stop route planner that takes your vehicle's height, width, length and weight into account wherever map data records limits, lets you add overnight stops along the way and sends the route to Google Maps, Waze or GPX.
Who wrote this. This page is published by AlpRoute. We only describe what our app actually does. Road rules, closures and opening times are not ours: they are published by road operators and authorities.
On the main transit routes through the Alps a motorhome rarely meets a limit it cannot pass. The difference shows on the smaller roads that navigation apps like to choose as shortcuts: older tunnels with a lower clearance, bridges with a weight limit, village centres with width restrictions and hairpin roads signed for a maximum length. A satnav set up for a car does not know any of this about your vehicle.
1. Set up your vehicle. Under “Vehicle”, enter the type, height, width, length and weight. The map uses the same profile to show whether an overnight stop fits your vehicle.
2. Plan the route with AlpRoute Pro. Add your start, destination and stops. The planner takes your vehicle's height, width, length and weight into account wherever the map data records a limit.
3. Add overnight stops along the way. Pick them from the map, so each day ends at a place that fits your vehicle.
4. Send it to your navigation. Open the route in Google Maps or Waze, or export it as a GPX file for your satnav.
Navigation apps you send the route to may recalculate parts of it with their own settings. Keep an eye on road signs, and if your satnav has a vehicle profile, set it to the same measurements. For a comparison of overnight-stop apps, see our guide Motorhome apps in Europe.
A route planner can only respect a restriction that is recorded in its map data. Where a height, width, length or weight limit is mapped, the planner can take it into account; where it is not mapped, no app can know it from the map alone. Temporary restrictions are also outside the map data: roadworks, rockfall and seasonal pass closures.
AlpRoute does not show whether a pass is open or closed today. Check the road operator or the regional traffic service before you drive a high pass, especially from autumn to late spring.
Several navigation apps let you enter vehicle measurements. In AlpRoute, the Pro route planner takes your vehicle's height, width, length and weight into account wherever the map data records limits, adds overnight stops along the way and sends the route to Google Maps, Waze or GPX.
Only where the limit is recorded in the map data. Unmapped limits, roadworks and temporary closures are not known to the planner, so road signs always take priority.
Yes. You can send the planned route to Google Maps or Waze, or export a GPX file. The navigation app may recalculate parts of the route with its own settings, so compare it with your plan.
No. Opening times and closures are published by road operators and authorities. Check them before you drive a high pass.
It depends on the country and on your vehicle's weight and height. AlpRoute has a free check, without an account, that shows whether a motorhome needs an e-vignette or a toll box, with the rules per country (page in German).
The map of overnight stops, the filters and the check whether a spot fits your vehicle are free. The vehicle-aware multi-stop route planner is part of AlpRoute Pro, a paid subscription.
Open the map, set your vehicle and see which overnight stops fit it.
