Next year... a whole week, via Spain?

[pikey]

This year I went down over a few days and spent a few coming back... and it was great. It was great as a) there was a bit of driving beforehand (ie. enjoyed and unrushed) and b) a chance to clean off (back to civilisation!) only 90 minutes from the circuit and then a relaxed drive back.

I had an idea for extending that next year to turn it into a driving holiday as well as a Le Mans weekend... and it was to ferry down to Spain (Saturday) and spend 5 days driving up the West coast to Le Mans. (Then leave LM on Sun for a hotel and back to Blighty on Mon.)

So 2 questions:
- Anyone had any experience of this or could recommend a place/port to aim for in Spain? And also any tips on reducing the cost for having 2 x 1 way trips?
- Would this sound like a thing other PH'ers would enjoy?

Cheers!

Ben

[tony_996hasgone]

Why stop at Spain.... we're thinking about keeping on going to Portugal to catch some of Euro'04 after the Le Mans week-end, although last time we looked the games hadn't been scheduled.

[unity1]

Now that’s an idea I hadn’t considered. Currently looking at the LM possibilities at the mo and this sounds interesting.

[burriana500]

tony_996hasgone said:

Why stop at Spain.... we're thinking about keeping on going to Portugal to catch some of Euro'04 after the Le Mans week-end, although last time we looked the games hadn't been scheduled.

You need a co-pilot Tony??? I had to leave early and missed my chance of a ride in the Diablo... gutted

Pikey - 5 days from Spain to Le Mans? I did it in 8 hours in August

[pikey]

Good suggestion, however I wanted the drive BEFORE the Le Mans weekend for a reason...

As we know, LM can be a little Dusty, Dirty, and Drunk - quite frankly after it, although I enjoy it massively I'm looking forward to going home! So, a single hotel stop straight afterwards (ie. a few hours away) is great, but I couldn't do a week after the weekend!

Picking Spain was merely because of it's location (ie. sticking an uneducated figer on a map!). Any other suggestions would be more than welcome

[pikey]

burriana500 said:

Pikey - 5 days from Spain to Le Mans? I did it in 8 hours in August

Hey - I never said I was intending to go in a straight line!!

Actually on that subject, did you know that Monaco is only 8 hours from Calais? Yep, 'tis true! I did it in a Chimaera once... I was kinda excited about picking up my new Cerbie and was in a bit of a rush!

[rob.e]

Ben

I'm also planning to make more of a trip of it this year. Plan is to drive down to the mediterranean via Route Napoleon www.beyond.fr/sites/rtnapol.html
Spend 3 nights stay at either Nice, Cannes or Monte Carlo.

Drive north from Monte Carlo via “Route des Grandes Alpes” www.routedesgrandesalpes.com/pages/home/index.php

Day or so in Paris unwinding, then down to Le Mans for the race.

I reckon 2,000 miles in total... should give the lotus a nice work out i think

cheers
Rob

[pikey]

Actually Rob - that also sounds like a great plan. I've been down there a few times and each time is unique and greatly rewarding.

In fact I even posted a review of that route on here!! www.pistonheads.com/reviews/reviews.asp?id=92&r=294&c=44

Is yours likely to be a private tour or would other PH'ers be welcome to tag along?

[rob.e]

pikey said:

Is yours likely to be a private tour or would other PH'ers be welcome to tag along?

I'd prefer to keep it low key really, just the esprit and a friend with a 550 maranello. Too many people sometimes just makes it a bit of drag for whoever has to book up all the hotels, plus larger groups tend to attract too much attention from le rozzeurs

Also, we'll probably not have the plans too firmly set in any case - ie if we get knackered early we'll stop off somewhere or we may even extend the driving a bit if we're in the mood.

We're only planning to do about half the Route des Grand Alpes as this is a monster route.. we want to have enough chillout time at the med and make it up in time for le mans start (we're going to skip fiday night beer antics but we don't want to be missing the start).

Could arrange to hook up somewhere over there though?? Col du Turini??

ps - i believe you know my mate bernard (yellow v8?)

cheers
Rob

[v12v8]

Try Dettaglio (www.dettaglio.co.uk) - they are a tour operator who specialise in booking accommodation and finding great routes for keen drivers and arrange "all in tours" with mechanics and can also do something bespoke to budget.

[gt5s_1985]

Sorry for the delay - I was out of town last week.

There are regular ferries between the UK and both Santander and Bilbao. I live 45 minutes from Bilbao and speak Spanish, so if you need help with tickets, hotels, or whatever, send me an e-mail.

I've looked into this option to do the opposite (go from Spain to the UK for such things as Goodwood) and the price is pretty reasonable. Do a quick search on Yahoo or something - "Ferry Bilbao" or Santander and you'll get a bunch of hits.

The last couple of years I've posted here looking for anyone to make a LeMans-bound convoy from Spain but there have been few takers... I've got my spot reserved for 2004, if anyone wants to meet up, let me know.

Advantaged to Spain - even less speed enforcement than France (who is getting more serious every year...) The windy, mountain road between where I live (Vitoria) and the French border I promise you is one of the most enjoyable high-speed drives you'll ever make. It is too curvy for ultra-high speed, but I routinely drive it at 110-120mph, using the various lanes available, and in 4 years of living here have exactly zero tickets.

Let me know if I can help with infomation...