Pryenees

[Turbo5]

I am planning my next little jaunt (2008) around Europe for my Honda buddies (mainly type R's) and a few other choice cars. This is the route I have put together with the help of a knowledgeable biker who gave me majority of the Pyrenees route. (I just added Andorra)
Any constructive criticism would be appreciated. This will be our 4th tour

Day zero Sunday catch ferry at 16.00 from Plymouth to Santander 20.5 hours crossing .

Day One
arrive at Santander at 13.30 local time Monday 217 miles drive which should take 4 hours. arrive at Reinosa for overnight stay. this route takes in an area called Picos de Europa which is an national park and a well kept secret more info here http://www.iberianature.com/material/wild_nature_sites/wild_asturias_cantabria/picos_de_europa_nature.htm 


Day Two Tuesday

Reinosa to Arette 256 miles 5 hours 30 minutes taking in lots of passes and cols in the mountains


Day Three Wednesday

Arette to Andorra 284 miles 6 hours 18 minutes
Andorra is a tax free principality same as Livgno fuel is half price fags about £17 for 200 bottles of spirts about £5 and electrical goods and cameras about half price. The route again is mountains and cols and passes


Day Four Thursday

Andorra to Tossa del Mar 174 miles 4 hours 12 minutes and a mixture of mountains cols and coastal roads leaving you plenty of time to sun bath go to the beach etc.


Day Five Friday

Tossa del Mar to Grenoble 437 miles 7 hours 44 minutes but mainly motorway so we should kill that time. The reason we are heading in this direction is to get to Venice, we could cut up through France straight to the ring and miss out about 2 days, the choice is yours.


Day Six Saturday

Grenoble to Venice 392 miles but all motorway so agian we should kill the 5 hours 53 minutes. and have plenty of time to look around Venice, if we had an early start here we should be there for lunch.


Day Seven Sunday

Venice to Eibess (Garmisch Partenkirchen) 280 miles 4 hours 22 minutes, again motorway but the hotel we stayed at on HET 2007 was out of this world. this gives you a chance to spend more time in Venice or get to the Hotel in Garmish




Day Eight Monday

Eibess (Garmisch Partenkirchen) to Koblenz 342 miles all Autobahn 5 hours 2 minutes but shouldn't take that long unless you are going 70mph so you could get to the ring by 2pm if you want.


Day Nine Tuesday
(This depends on the tourist days, I wont find out until very early next year, otherwise the route will be changed to ensure we get a full tourist day, preferably a mid week day which should be empty)
A full day at the Nurburgring and a night out in Koblenz need I say more


Day Ten Wednesday
Koblenz to Calais
Alas time to go home unless you want to stop another day or two at the ring. 304 miles 4 hours 17 minutes (its never taken me that long :lol



Anyhow any constructive criticism is welcome

[rsv gone!]

The routes look great but I'd be inclined to cover less mileage (maybe miss Venice?) and take the odd day off.

[Turbo5]

rsv gone! said:

The routes look great but I'd be inclined to cover less mileage (maybe miss Venice?) and take the odd day off.

Thanks, the other feedback I have received also suggested missing Venice, due the problems with traffic around Milan and leaving your car out of Venice.

[dcb]

Turbo5 said:

I am planning my next little jaunt (2008) around Europe for my Honda buddies (mainly type R's) and a few other choice cars. This is the route I have put together with the help of a knowledgeable biker who gave me majority of the Pyrenees route. (I just added Andorra)
Any constructive criticism would be appreciated.

I have a couple of suggested optimisations.

1. Going over the Brenner Pass is ok for a first timer,
but it is dull and expensive.

Suggest when you get to Vipiteno, go west on road 44 to
Saint Leonardo in Passiria, go NW on the 44b
to Obergurgl, and head N to Oetz, down the Oetztal.

Cracking road. Budget about an hour to make V to S.L.P.

2. Karlsruhe to Koblenz you picked the A61, aka
the Dutch caravanners route. The A61 is speed limited
to 80 mph and you will be lucky to get that fast.

[VTECMatt]

I hope you don't mind if I pinch some of your routes I am planning something similar next year but mostly around Spain.

Thanks

[F308 MAN]

hello,

i think you should seriously add/allow more time to cover most of your routes above.

possibly by about half as much again.

good routes, but too many miles and no rest days.

(sorry, but you did ask for C&C)

d

[blondemoment]

F308 MAN said:

i think you should seriously add/allow more time to cover most of your routes above.

possibly by about half as much again.

good routes, but too many miles and no rest days.

Hi David

Agree with Dave - and IMHO spend a lot less time on Autoroutes - they become mind-numbing! The roads should be fun to drive - autoroutes are a means of getting there, but don't miss the fantastic D road next to it just because you have stretched your driving time a little too far. Driving tours are about the roads, the scenery and a decent hotel to stay in - try not to arrive after 5pm - you need to recharge those batteries! Allow time for lunch, fuel, coffees - add this to a 7 hour drive, and it becomes a nightmare.

Rest days are important, otherwise your tour just becomes a haze of roads and tiredness. Leave options open, for example, if you want to drive on a rest day, make a small 2-3 hour optional drive-out, and make sure there's a pool and decent bar for those who want to relax.

Cut out Venice, try Lake Como instead, giving you time to drive the Stelvio.

Tossa del Mar - three sides around a square - perhaps stay near the Millau bridge instead.

All in my humble opinion of course!!

If you want a hand, drop me a line

Jo

[theboyfold]

Sat at a mates house trying to plan a trip through the Alps in May, which isn't going to happen as too many of the roads are closed. So we've come across this thread and stolen the Santander to Andorra routes

The full route being (Each line being a day's drive):

London -> Plymouth
Plymouth -> Santander
Santander -> Reinosa
Reinosa -> Arette
Arette -> Andorra
Andorra -> Monaco
Monaco -> Dijon (taking in the Col de Turini and Route Napoleon)
Dijon -> London (Home)

Has anybody done this sort of route before and can they offer any advice. I've got auto route files if somebody can help me with the finer points.

Cheers
tbf