Update: If you fancy a driving holiday with road-trip heroes (and PH partners) Petrolhead Nirvana, this your last chance in 2011... because all other PH tours for this year are sold out, and there are only four spaces left on this Alpine South tour...
You can read the full details of the trip below, but just to give you a quick flavour, this is a tour that involves some of the best roads and most fantastic scenery in Europe. This includes the Stelvio pass, Andorra, Mont Ventoux, the Millau bridge and the old Reims circuit, to name just a few. So what are you waiting for?
The now traditional PistonHeads Alpine tour, run by our partners at Petrolhead Nirvana, is so popular that we've decided to run two for 2011, with the second - our new Alpine South tour - running from 2nd to 10th September next year.
While the normal Alpine tour is aimed at those who want to drive all day, our latest offering - the Alpine South tour - is a little more relaxed, and adds in some of our other favourites driving itineraries, including northern Spain, the Millau bridge and Mont Ventoux.
Day 1, Portsmouth - Bilbao
We begin with a relaxed cruise down to Spain while getting to know your fellow tourists as you enjoy the on-board facilities.
Day 2, Bilbao - Pamplona - 90 Miles
It's an easy start to the driving, with a short cross-country jaunt to Pamplona, leaving the ferry together to start our adventure in northern Spain.
Day 3, Pamplona - Lerida - 225 Miles
We rack up a few miles on the third day, with a trip up into the southern foothills of the Pyrenees and along the canyons and rivers that flow down from the mountains. As we drive you'll witness spectacular scenery and sinuous Tarmac in equal measure - can this really be Spain?
Day 4, Lerida - Carcassonne - 230 Miles
It's a brisk drive up through the mountains and into Andorra today, deep in the heart of the Pyrenees, before descending into southern France and heading off to the 2500-year-old walled city of Carcassonne.
Day 5, Carcassonne - Carpentras - 260 Miles
A day of back-road blasting along the challenging roads that carve through south-west France, climaxing with a trip to the stunning Millau Bridge - the Norman Foster designed architectural masterpiece.
Day 6, Carpentras - Courmayeur - 296 Miles
An early start for a dawn blast on one of our favourite routes up Mont Ventoux. This is a special stage of the Tour De France and one of our favourite stretches of road and leads up to a summit with a simply breathtaking view. From there we head to the town of Courmayeur at the base of Mont Blanc ready for the Alpine portion of the tour. Its worth mentioning that we may well pop back up for another go, as this road is too good to leave behind so soon.
Day 7, Courmayeur - Andermatt - 272 Miles
It's passes day: the Grand St Bernard, Nufenen, Susten, Furka and Grimsel passes to name just a few. The route has been carefully planned to ensure we make the best of the passes available, why settle for one when you can do the lot?
Day 8, Andermatt - Davos - 243 Miles
Today a trip to the most famous pass of them all the Stelvio pass, you've heard about it, now it's time to experience it. Before that, though, we will be warming up with the Julier pass and then the Umbrail, and Fluella passes too as we head towards our overnight stop in the lovely town of Davos.
Day 9, Davos - Offenberg - 270 miles
As we leave Switzerland we may be starting to head towards home, but the fun isn't over. We can't stay this close to Germany and not take in some of our favourite roads in the Black Forest. This is the place Ducati uses to test its road bikes, and if it's good enough for them, it's certainly good enough for us. We end the day by heading to Offenburg for an overnight stop.
Day 10, Offenberg - Calais - 404 miles
It's the homeward leg, but we've saved a bit of fun for the last day - a trip to the old Grand Prix circuit at Reims for the so often taked photo opportunity and a blast down the main straight. Finally we head towards Calais and bid a sad farewell before heading home.
The price will be £1449 per person based on two people sharing a car and a twin or double room. A
10 per cent discount applies if you book before Christmas 2010
There is also a solo driver option which is £1599 per person which with the 10% discount comes down to £1439 for bookings made before Christmas 2010.The booking deposit is £500 per person.
What's included:
One-way ferry (including twin berths) Portsmouth - Bilbao
One-way Eurotunnel crossing - Calais to Folkestone
Eight nights accommodation on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis
Two experienced tour managers in two cars to lead and chase.
Sat-nav files, licensed walkie-talkies, info packs with route notes, maps and useful info.
Lunch, food on the ferry, drinks, tolls, fuel.
European breakdown cover (for your own peace of mind we make this a requirement on all tours).
Visit the Petrolhead Nirvana website here, or call 0845 838 7363 for more information.
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