The 2011 PistonHeads Alpine Tour
Join us in the Alps on 2nd - 9th July 2011 for more passes than a Sunday league game
For 2011 we have gone back to basics, but have managed to make the tour even better. We have reorganised the route and changed some of the hotels so you’ll spend more time on the twisty roads and Alpine passes, stay in beautiful hotels and, believe it or not, this tour will cost less than last year if you take advantage of our early booking discount offer.
What can you expect?
Day 1 - Calais to Offenburg - 404 Miles
We take advantage of the efficient French autoroutes to get us as close to the action as possible on the first day.
Day 2 - Offenburg to Davos - 270 Miles
After a good night's sleep and breakfast, we head into the Black Forest to drive the roads Ducati engineers use as their testing grounds. Then we head south into Switzerland towards Winterthur where we will stay in Davos for the night, surrounded by the fantastic mountain passes we’ll be using for day 3.
We head out of Davos and toward Austria, taking in the Fluellapass, up the Stelvio pass, down the lesser known Umbrail pass, out to Bormio and away towards St Moritz, ensuring we have time to run up the Julier pass before settling in for an overnighter at Andermatt.
Day 4 - Andermatt to Courmayeur - 272 Miles
Today is another ‘pass day’ as we take on the Nufenen, Furka, Grimsel, Susten and the Grand St Bernard passes. You may not know the names yet, but they will live long in your memory. We end the day in Courmayeur at the base of Mont Blanc.
Day 5 - Courmayeur to Col de Turini - 270 Miles
Heading away from Courmayeur we begin the day with the Petit St Bernard pass and continue on with the Col D L'iseran, Col du Galibier and the magnificent Col de la Bonette, which is the highest paved pass in the Alps and one of the major challenges in the Tour de France. To end the day we head to a favourite stage of the Monte Carlo rally, the Col de Turini. Our hotel for the night sits on the summit of this challenging and classic road.
We leave the Alps behind and head to the Route Napoleon with its mixture of long fast sweeping bends and tight twisty sections along with stunning views – it is truly a stunning road. We end the day at Annecy known as the Venice of France, a beautiful town with stunning views across the lake to the mountains beyond.
Day 7 - Annecy to Dijon - 237 Miles
A short dash to Geneva from Annecy, and then it’s a trip up the mountain (watch out for bikes - this is a biker paradise) and over the top, dropping down to Auxonne and on to Dijon.
Day 8 - Dijon to Calais - 345 Miles
The last day of the tour, and we’re taking a trip to the old Grand Prix circuit at Reims. For so long this historic circuit and its outbuildings was in ruins, but now they are being brought back to life. We have time to stop for a photo opportunity and a quick blast down the old straight to get a sense of what it was like all those years ago. Finally we head to Calais to end the tour.
There is a solo driver option, which is still based on sharing a room (but it means you can hog the driving) which is £1199 per person, with the 10% discount that comes down to £1,079 before Christmas.
If you would like to book, please call the guys at Petrolhead Nirvana on 0845 838 7363
What’s included?
- Return Eurotunnel crossing
- 7 nights accommodation on a 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
What’s not included?
- Lunch, dinner, 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
We're limiting numbers again just to make sure we can look after everyone again.
We get all sorts of cars on this from Civic Type r's and MX5 through to GT3's and F355/360's
It's all about having fun.
A couple of threads from 2010 tourists (i'll be doing my write up soon as well when i get the time!)
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
and Johnny's photo thread...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
any questions, you can call one of us, or ask them on this thread.
If you want to drive some of the best roads in Europe then I beg you to go on one of these trips, the only down side is you have to come back and drive on the M25 afterwards
Chambre d'Hote £10 per night.
£20.00 per day for food & drink.
What do I get for £1000.00?
Absolutely, you can do the trip on a budget if thats what you want to do,
However we have tried to strike a balance between low cost and good quality, considering that some tour operators can charge between 2 and 5k for the same trip we feel we've done that.
Firstly, the hotels are chosen both for their location, car parking and mix of good value and style.
So we do spend a little more than 10 per night, we get decent discounts from all of them and pass the bulk of that on to you so even with the other expenses you would find it tough to do exactly the same trip for the price we charge.
We have full event insurance covering the trips
You get the benefit of two tour managers who know the roads very well indeed, one will lead the group whilst the other will chase to make sure nobody gets lost so you are properly looked after. We provide full drivers info packs with maps, route notes, numbers and other info so you don't have to rely on your Tom Tom and if you want to go off on your own (which is rare) you can do that too.
All the routes are carefully planned to make sure you get all the best roads and yet don't over do it.
Some people make the mistake of thinking that 500 miles in a day is easy but in reality it is very wearing and you don't get the benefit of your surroundings.
Having walkie talkies (powerful licensed ones) really adds to the fun factor but also the safety level as you always know whats around the corner.
On that note, driving as part of a group, without worry about where you're going next or where you're staying that night is a lot of fun, you can't underestimate what a difference it makes.
Hope that helps?
How many spaces are there usualy on a trip like this?
we're limiting the number of cars on this trip to just 20 so we can make sure that the group is manageable.
Chambre d'Hote £10 per night.
£20.00 per day for food & drink.
What do I get for £1000.00?
Being part of a group has its benefits, because if for example you decide to try drifting up a mountain pass and get it wrong you suddenly feel all alone and need the help of the tour managers and the rest of the group to get you back home and still enjoy the rest of the trip.
I could never had organised such a trip, I had never really driven around Europe before or had any such knowledge of the passes and quirky little places we stopped off. In my opinion the the sat nav files are worth the cost of the trip alone.
I think the price is very reasonable, granted its not a cheap trip when you factor in tolls and fuel but in comparison to the amount of miles you do and the number of days you are away its is very good value for money. You could get a nice holiday in the sun for a few weeks for the same price, however, petrolheads don't need sun.........just tarmac
Or better still stop and get out and wander up to the church. It's a wonderful spot.
Chambre d'Hote £10 per night.
£20.00 per day for food & drink.
What do I get for £1000.00?
Absolutely, you can do the trip on a budget if thats what you want to do,
However we have tried to strike a balance between low cost and good quality, considering that some tour operators can charge between 2 and 5k for the same trip we feel we've done that.
Firstly, the hotels are chosen both for their location, car parking and mix of good value and style.
So we do spend a little more than 10 per night, we get decent discounts from all of them and pass the bulk of that on to you so even with the other expenses you would find it tough to do exactly the same trip for the price we charge.
We have full event insurance covering the trips
You get the benefit of two tour managers who know the roads very well indeed, one will lead the group whilst the other will chase to make sure nobody gets lost so you are properly looked after. We provide full drivers info packs with maps, route notes, numbers and other info so you don't have to rely on your Tom Tom and if you want to go off on your own (which is rare) you can do that too.
All the routes are carefully planned to make sure you get all the best roads and yet don't over do it.
Some people make the mistake of thinking that 500 miles in a day is easy but in reality it is very wearing and you don't get the benefit of your surroundings.
Having walkie talkies (powerful licensed ones) really adds to the fun factor but also the safety level as you always know what's around the corner.
On that note, driving as part of a group, without worry about where you're going next or where you're staying that night is a lot of fun, you can't underestimate what a difference it makes.
Hope that helps?
If truth be told I would come along, I toured the continent for a year back in 2003, most of that in France, (albeit in a motor-home) and swore I'd do it a la "Top Gear" some day... we'll see, it'd be a blast I'm sure!
How many spaces are there usualy on a trip like this?
we're limiting the number of cars on this trip to just 20 so we can make sure that the group is manageable.
Cant wait to tear up some of those roads, been looking at the last runs pics and got a chubby hahaha - hopefully you'll see me there
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