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By Turbo5
#1672421
I have been having a play with a first potential route for HET 2008
It involves a ferry from Plymouth to Santander then crossing the Pyrenees west to east taking in about 20 different cols crossing from the Spanish to the French Side of the Pyrenees numerous times. I am looking for a stop over in Andorra (duty free principality same as Livgno) and taking about 2- 3 days to cross the Pyrenees to get the benefit of the mountains and make sure the days aren't too long, nothing more than 250miles per day on the mountain roads 6 hours driving maximum. (plenty of time for photo opportunities) I was then thinking about a night stop over in Barcelona. from here we make our way north by taking in the Mediterranean coast line on route to the Millau suspension bridge and the Tarn valley. The days when we do motorways, we will cover the long distances ie 500 -600 miles on a German autobahn is 5-6 hours driving.
I have tried to miss out Switzerland due to the cost of the Vignette and the tunnel tolls. so I have routed us through Italy for an overnight stay in Venice. we then take in the Italian Alps before heading up through the German Alps (maybe stop at that nice hotel again in Garmisch ? ) Then no trip is complete without the necessary stop at the Nurburgring. From here depending on how long we have left we could incorporate Amsterdam before catching the ferry from Calais to Dover.
The actual mileage is 2440 miles which is shorter than HET 2007. I need to plan the overnight stop overs and each days traveling time on the route but before I go into any detail I thought I should share with you my thoughts. A website of the cols in the Pyrenees http://www.veloloco.com/map/houratate.php
On a personal note I am doing my own little Euro tour early next year, my Brother-In-Law (John, my passenger on the 3 previous Euro Tours) is going to live in Malta with his job and therefore needs me to drive one of their cars to Malta (all expenses paid by his company and flight back to the UK) I might offer a passenger ride with me. (the only thing they would need to pay for would be their flight back to the UK and their own food and drink bill) hotels if sharing with me, all fuel , ferry and hotel cost would be free. (one week in Jan or Feb)
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User avatar
By Turbo5
#1672894
A bit more work done and the days split up. If we do Venice and avoid travel up through France or Switzerland it will add a couple of days on the tour. which will involve a bit more mileage and a couple of nights extra accommodation. This is your choice ?
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/wi ... nature.htm
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Day Two Tuesday

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

Venice to Eibess 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

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Day Eight Monday

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

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Anyhow any constructive criticism is welcome
User avatar
By Turbo5
#1672919
penfish4 wrote:Looks like a great route, I may have to do my 1st HET if a non Honda is welcome :thumbup:
Yes none hondas are welcome. I am not taking bookings until xmas time. I am just getting ideas for routes etc.
User avatar
By Sacrificial Pawn
#1672921
Does look good mate.

When are you planning on going? VERY tempted to come along, depending on the time of year and time off work. :thumbup:
User avatar
By Turbo5
#1672937
Sacrificial Pawn wrote:Does look good mate.

When are you planning on going? VERY tempted to come along, depending on the time of year and time off work. :thumbup:
Haven't decided on the date yet but the last May day looks the most promising as we have a few school teachers amongst us
User avatar
By algreene
#1673080
Venice could be interesting.. You cant take cars in to it. It will be parking outside the city and getting boats in.. Not sure what car security would be like!


The rest looks awesome though.. :thumbup:
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By Coxy1984
#1673296
Looks interesting.
Don't mind if Venice was included or not, although I would like to explore the place. Just means more time off work :WOOT
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By Turbo5
#1673385
algreene wrote:Venice could be interesting.. You cant take cars in to it. It will be parking outside the city and getting boats in.. Not sure what car security would be like!


The rest looks awesome though.. :thumbup:
You could have a good point there, Venice sounds great and interesting but may be impractical due to the reasons you have given, I might reduce the tour and avoid the Venice part which will shorten the route and reduce the tour by a day or two. 9 nights accommodation would be quite expensive. The main part of the tour is the Pyrenees hence why it will take us 4 days to cross it, I didn't want a whistle through tour missing everything.
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By Coxy1984
#1673434
If venice is a no go due to what Al said, then whats Milan like as thats near by? or is that just as bad for cars traffic wise?
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By Turbo5
#1673469
Coxy1984 wrote:If venice is a no go due to what Al said, then whats Milan like as thats near by? or is that just as bad for cars traffic wise?
Lake Garda is a good alternative, its supposed to be stunning, plus we could miss all the major Italian cities and their traffic jams.
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By algreene
#1673531
Its a shame because venice was a brilliant place. Although i went in March, apparently in summer its ridiculously busy and smelly as its so hot and theres alot of fish about!!

I remember there being huge multi story car parks being built as you cross the river on the bridge. Which is where you depart vehicles, trains etc and walk then or get water taxis!
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By Captain Redbeard
#1673905
Turbo5 wrote:
Coxy1984 wrote:If venice is a no go due to what Al said, then whats Milan like as thats near by? or is that just as bad for cars traffic wise?
Lake Garda is a good alternative, its supposed to be stunning, plus we could miss all the major Italian cities and their traffic jams.
Lake Garda is lovely with some cracking roads and tunnels nearby. :cool:
User avatar
By Lady Road Runner
#1674447
Your suggestions sound really good. :thumbup: Especially starting from Plymouth.

My preference would be June or July, not sure if I would be able to get the time off at the end of May but obviously you must go with the best date for the majority.

Karen
User avatar
By Cat
#1674565
You've obviously put a lot of thought and work into this route already Dave :thumbup:

Unfortunately I'll not be able to go in May but I'll keep track of what's going on just to see if I can catch the tail-end of the Tour at the Ring. :smile:
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By Crag_O
#1676045
That looks like an amazing route, and the start from plymouth to santander is inspired!

I would love to come along, just to get some idea of costs. I'm just wondering approx how much people spent on this years euro tour? including the usual. petrol, accomodation, food&drink etc.

Nothing exact, just rough figures would be appreciated. Get saving and convince the missus! lol

Craig
User avatar
By algreene
#1676079
in total. between me and my brother we prob spent

600 accom

100 ferry and tolls

600 petrol

3-400 spends

give or take a bit..

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