Spain 2016 porsche tour

[jackal]

Hope you're all well. Just sharing the write up of our annual road trip, this time to Barcelona and back on the Santander ferry. Plenty of route tips as well if anyone is thinking of going down that way. Certainly the best tour so far as far as consumption was concerned

http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/spain2016/spain...

[Mishima]

Thanks for posting this; I really enjoyed reading the whole account. Just looking at the colour of the sky makes me want to be there.
Sorry to hear about the monastery hotel that looked like a Parador but obviously wasn't but I've bookmarked the place in San Sebastian.
Spain's such a great country for driving - done quite a lot of it. We arrived at Alcala de Henares last year in a 993 without a/c and the temp on the post at a gas station was 46 but it was dry and didn't feel too bad (r/h side along route of oil pipes a bit warm to the touch!).
We had a fantastic drive over to Cuenca - landscape on the grand scale - then back to Santander via the Picos.
Yours was a great trip, great story, going to read it all again. Cheers.

[v8ksn]

Really, REALLY enjoyed reading that, thanks for posting. Love reading road trip stories

P.S Your 993 looks absolutely gorgeous

[rob.kellock]

Thoroughly enjoyed that write up, as previous ones. Thanks for sharing.

[ontheloop]

Thank you for posting, I really enjoyed reading about your adventures.

[CarreraLightweightRacing]

Thanks for posting Jackal, your car looks stunning, the route absolutely marvellous, great food and company, what more could you wish for. Great idea starting in Santander Not sure if you managed to do the coastal road around Tossa de Mar, which has some great views.

[mollytherocker]

I love the mask and the 'air con'. You are bloody hard core!

[Orangecurry]

CarreraLightweightRacing said:

...what more could you wish for.

Air-con

[jackal]

cheers guys, glad you enjoyed

[jackal]

Mishima said:

Thanks for posting this; I really enjoyed reading the whole account. Just looking at the colour of the sky makes me want to be there.
Sorry to hear about the monastery hotel that looked like a Parador but obviously wasn't but I've bookmarked the place in San Sebastian.
Spain's such a great country for driving - done quite a lot of it. We arrived at Alcala de Henares last year in a 993 without a/c and the temp on the post at a gas station was 46 but it was dry and didn't feel too bad (r/h side along route of oil pipes a bit warm to the touch!).
We had a fantastic drive over to Cuenca - landscape on the grand scale - then back to Santander via the Picos.
Yours was a great trip, great story, going to read it all again. Cheers.

Thanks, you will love San Sebastien I'm sure. We have yet to do a circular tour of the whole of Spain. It's on the cards for one year but we would definitely move it to a cooler month. Tossa de Mar would be lovely, as would Seville, Madrid, Almeriua and the desert.

[plop71]

Hi Jackal

My wife and I have done a couple of European road trips now and your website and reviews have been an invaluable resource in helping select good driving roads and itineraries. We really apprecIate the time and effort you take to map out your route.

We haven't 'done' Spain as yet but this thread will be very useful in planning a route. I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post and feedback.

Cheers
Jon

Edited by plop71 on Monday 3rd October 22:39

[Wozy68]

Hi Jackal

Great write up.

What did you think of the C13 south of Tremp? I've only driven it north to south, but think it an utterly amazing road...... but then again there are so many others

[jackal]

sadly, I think we shortened the route that day Woz so never got to find out

[v8ksn]

plop71 said:

Hi Jackal

My wife and I have done a couple of European road trips now and your website and reviews have been an invaluable resource in helping select good driving roads and itineraries. We really apprecIate the time and effort you take to map out your route.

We haven't 'done' Spain as yet but this thread will be very useful in planning a route. I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to post and feedback.

Cheers
Jon

Yep! I'll second that. Really useful information for me too. Cheers

Edited by plop71 on Monday 3rd October 22:39

[AnthonyR]

We have been going to Northern Spain for the last 3 years doing similar trips to this and I have to agree with lots of what Jackal has written.

The roads are outstanding, the one between Ponts and Tremp being a particular highlight, there is very little Police presence away from the major roads, they are generally very well surfaced but most importantly of all the are very very quiet. On the above mentioned road we saw 1 other car until we got a few miles outside of Tremp, you just don't get this any where else I have yet found. You can really get into a rhythm with the road without constantly having to worry about overtaking other cars.

I also have to agree that although the scenery is stunning it does lack the visual drama and sheer variety of the Alps and that is something I miss but on the flip side of this the hotels and food have largely been exceptional and much more reasonably priced than France for example.

We have always gone in early June and the weather has been lovely, not too hot.

Like jackal we are thinking about elsewhere next year but I am struggling to find anywhere that matches up, I have heard the Croatian coast for example is stunning with some lovely roads but gets really busy, on the plus side you do get to drive through the Alps to get there, I have never done Stelvio so there is that to tick of the bucket list but I can't help thinking I am going to be disappointed after so much hype.

Jackal I always enjoy your reports, please keep it up

[v8ksn]

AnthonyR said:

..... I have never done Stelvio so there is that to tick of the bucket list but I can't help thinking I am going to be disappointed after so much hype.

Jackal I always enjoy your reports, please keep it up

Stelvio IS a disappointment.... it was for me anyway. Too tight and narrow and too many people. Road surface was pretty poor too.

Best road for me is the Grimsel Pass in Switzerland......actually.....most of the passes in Switzerland are great but the locals are not the most welcoming (if they think you are being unsafe in your overtaking or generally a bit too loud they will report you to the police)

[ooid]

Great info thanks for sharing. Driving in spain is fantastic, especially on your route Barcelona, San sebastian and etc.. The roads are absolutely clean, and almost no traffic. Even in central Barcelona I do not find any congestion like we have in London, I'm sure most cars over there survive much longer too!

[jackal]

Stelvio is just a view. It's actually a real pain to drive, a fairly torturous experience IMO. Even the little run down to Bormio the other side is far better. In fact many of the most famous Euro roads are a disappointment IMO. My experience is that there are little places in Austria, Spain, Bavaria, Cevennes National park etc. that don't have a car for tens of miles are extremely well surfaced and have to be some of the best roads in the world.

Really looking forward to Autrsia/Croatia/Montenegro next year and i've already made the route. As well as revisting some amazing Austrian places (Kleinzell, Grossglockner etc.) we will be staying at Krk, Dubrovnik and the Durmitor national park in Montenegro. Kotor and Budvar will have to be long lunch stops as well as they look amazing. Never been to Belgrade or Budapest either. Just need to buy a new car in time for June !

[jackal]

v8ksn said:

Best road for me is the Grimsel Pass in Switzerland......actually.....most of the passes in Switzerland are great but the locals are not the most welcoming (if they think you are being unsafe in your overtaking or generally a bit too loud they will report you to the police)

Grimsel is nice. Some of the Swiss passes are a bit in the short side though and not fast enough. I actually like Bernina and Simplon. Again they get talked about less but are really good. A lot of it depends on the car of course. For example, when my 993 was more of a C2 I loved Klausen but went back there after the cage and other mods and it was a bit restrictive and gnarly to be honest.

[v8ksn]

jackal said:

Really looking forward to ...Grossglockner ....

http://petrolicious.com/the-grossglockner-grand-prix-is-where-you-race-a-mountain