- Sun Jul 08, 2007 6:12 pm
#1634539
I hope everybody had a good time ? I certainly did.
Arrived home at 7pm £118 lighter thanks to speedferries. but will try to reclaim that from either the ferry company or my holiday insurance.
The main thing I am really happy about is that we all returned home safely without any incidents. nobody was stopped by the police for speeding and no crashes.
My tour highlights were the hotel in Dijon and Garmish, I have stayed at the Contel in Koblenz 3 times so its not new to me, but every year it gets better. I don't think any of the hotels were bad they were better than you would normally get on any package holiday tour sub £400. the food was good at all the hotels I only left one meal and that is only because I don't like pork.
Day 0
enjoyed our trip down from up north, we had quite a big convoy by the time we reached Dover
Dover Hotel had been done up since our last visit. I got a sea view room this time which was massive.
really enjoyed the pre tour meet up and the curry we had, it give majority of people the chance to get to meet people they didn't know. it seem so long ago.
Day 1
Dover to Dijon
Ferry crossing went ok, nobody was sick this year, Drive down to Dijon was mainly motorway, but this gave the first timers the chance to get used to driving on the other side of the road. Some of us managed to stop off at the Reims pit lane for a photo shoot, but somebody had booked it and they were setting tables under the stands getting ready for a meal. The hotel in Dijon was brilliant and the rooms out of the this world, the food was really good also.
we meet up with Ross and Craig today, they had made their own way there via Amsterdam
Day 2 Dijon to Nice
Set off about 8am and arrived about 4.30pm really enjoyed the Verdon Gorge again (the opposite way around) Hotel in Nice was OK and it had a pool and a decent restaurant but the beer was very expensive.
A few people without sat nav struggled to find the hotel and didn't arrive until very late. but I think some set off quite late.
Type R lover and his brother and mate arrived today so everybody on the tour was together for the first time.
Day 3 Rest day
Whilst most people headed off for Monaco, (I have been before) we went to St Tropez the place is gorgeous, stayed about 3 hours before we went to one of the beaches for the rest of the afternoon and admire the local talent. it was like silicon valley still managed 300 miles on the rest day ended up in Toulon.
The funny part of today was when somebody got locked on their balcony and when the sprinkler went off in the gardens whilst we were all having a drink. I did manage to persuade the hotel to give us some free drinks
Day 4 Nice to Martigny
Today was when the real driving started. set off nice and early with Daran and Julie (about 7.30am) and attacked the various passes and cols in the Alps. the weather started to worsen as we reached the alps. today was a long day the time given on tom tom differed from that on autoroute and for the first time on the tour I didn't beat Tom toms expected time of arrival. had some good fun in the tunnels with the sound of vtec aided by a gruppem Arrived about 7pm Chris and a few others had arrived before us, I don't know if they had done the full route but we did. Majority arrived about 8pm and we had our meal and went to the hotel bar which was a city centre pub. I think most people enjoyed it here.
Day 5
Martigny to Garmisch
Another really exciting day driving, Furka pass which was excellent, col issard , stelvio and quite a few others. my highlight was Livgnio the place was gorgeous and would definitely include it on a future tour, 200 benson and hedges 23 euros about £16.70 so I bought a 1000. also bought some very expensive whiskey's for a friend at work at about a quarter of the cost in the UK. we stayed here about 1.5 hours and had a fantastic meal.
we did the full route and arrived about 4pm however we did set off at daft 'o' clock but it was definitely worth it. The hotel was brilliant set beside a lake, there was a pool fitness room etc and this place would have cost about £150 a night in peak season. the beer was cheap though.
Day 6
Garmisch to Baden Baden
Majority of people had decided the long route was too tiring and took a direct route, me included. Ben however did the full route. slight **** up with the hotel here, the travel agent had given me Holiday inn baden baden and they was only one holiday inn here. so I planned that in the route, it turns out we were in rastatt about 10 miles away so after arriving at the hotel in baden baden and being told we had the wrong hotel I frantically rung everybody to tell them to change their routes.
The hotel was ok but nothing special compared to the rest we had stayed at. the bar was quite cheap and the restaurant was good.
Day 7
Baden Baden to Koblenz and the Nurburgring.
The route was straight to the hotel then to the ring, we dropped our bags at the hotel at 9am and went straight to the ring, and watched the guys in their supercars who had it booked until 2.15pm. I went out about 2.30pm and managed to do over half the circuit without anybody behind or in front. I had the alfas behind me at the start but lost them. I had to slow down when the man with the orange flag was waving, a TVR had come off and the german woman with the CTR (I think she come off 3 times on the day. as the day progressed the ring got busier so I decided not to risk going out again. but I really enjoyed my lap and manage a decent time. it was a lot faster than when I went out in my CTR. I had a passenger lap with Daran which was exciting. I really must go on some sort of trackday day training so I can drive like that. I stayed the rest of the day until about 5pm and then returned to the hotel.
The meal and the bar were excellent as usual and the conversation was mainly about the ring. everybody had a good time and returned unscathed.
Day 8
We had decided we would try to catch an early ferry so we set off at 7.30 only to find the ferry canceled, so we took the eurotunnel which I had never done. so it was good experience. eventually arrived home at 7pm and covered 730 miles.
total tour door to door 3321 miles. I am not looking forward to my petrol bill but at least its split 50-50 with my passenger
Today
absolutely knackered, slept 8 hours which is very rare for me and even slept through most of the Grand prix.
Lessons learned for future tours
1) don't rely on Auto route for the times per day driving, tom tom is more realistic. some people found this too long. but unfortunately people have to understand its a driving holiday not a weeks holiday beside the pool and hotel bar, all the previous Euro tour attendees were the first to arrive at every destination. another point is that to visit the places we did in one week you need to travel long distances. other options are a longer tour with shorter distances or don't go to the Alps.
2) make sure everybody has some sort of sat nav. yes they have their little quirks but once you know how to use it it makes your day a lot shorter.
3) people need to realize that the Honda Euro Tour consists of a very diverse group of people, everybody is different and they shouldn't criticize others who differ from them. after a few days everybody usually gets into groups they feel comfortable with. 99% of people got along with everybody. I only heard of a couple of tiffs but nothing major.
As I have told a few people on the tour I am not 100% certain I will be doing the tour next year, My wife is expecting our first baby in September. But I will certainly be trying to go. I should know before xmas when we realise if I can leave her home alone for the week.
We have done the Alps twice now and personally I would like to try something different next year. the Prynees have been investigated but its very expensive on the ferry to Santander or Bilboa, But if you consider the petrol and road tolls on the way down to the south of France it will most probably work out the same. (Note its a 36 hours crossing)
Arrived home at 7pm £118 lighter thanks to speedferries. but will try to reclaim that from either the ferry company or my holiday insurance.
The main thing I am really happy about is that we all returned home safely without any incidents. nobody was stopped by the police for speeding and no crashes.
My tour highlights were the hotel in Dijon and Garmish, I have stayed at the Contel in Koblenz 3 times so its not new to me, but every year it gets better. I don't think any of the hotels were bad they were better than you would normally get on any package holiday tour sub £400. the food was good at all the hotels I only left one meal and that is only because I don't like pork.
Day 0
enjoyed our trip down from up north, we had quite a big convoy by the time we reached Dover
Dover Hotel had been done up since our last visit. I got a sea view room this time which was massive.
really enjoyed the pre tour meet up and the curry we had, it give majority of people the chance to get to meet people they didn't know. it seem so long ago.
Day 1
Dover to Dijon
Ferry crossing went ok, nobody was sick this year, Drive down to Dijon was mainly motorway, but this gave the first timers the chance to get used to driving on the other side of the road. Some of us managed to stop off at the Reims pit lane for a photo shoot, but somebody had booked it and they were setting tables under the stands getting ready for a meal. The hotel in Dijon was brilliant and the rooms out of the this world, the food was really good also.
we meet up with Ross and Craig today, they had made their own way there via Amsterdam
Day 2 Dijon to Nice
Set off about 8am and arrived about 4.30pm really enjoyed the Verdon Gorge again (the opposite way around) Hotel in Nice was OK and it had a pool and a decent restaurant but the beer was very expensive.
A few people without sat nav struggled to find the hotel and didn't arrive until very late. but I think some set off quite late.
Type R lover and his brother and mate arrived today so everybody on the tour was together for the first time.
Day 3 Rest day
Whilst most people headed off for Monaco, (I have been before) we went to St Tropez the place is gorgeous, stayed about 3 hours before we went to one of the beaches for the rest of the afternoon and admire the local talent. it was like silicon valley still managed 300 miles on the rest day ended up in Toulon.
The funny part of today was when somebody got locked on their balcony and when the sprinkler went off in the gardens whilst we were all having a drink. I did manage to persuade the hotel to give us some free drinks
Day 4 Nice to Martigny
Today was when the real driving started. set off nice and early with Daran and Julie (about 7.30am) and attacked the various passes and cols in the Alps. the weather started to worsen as we reached the alps. today was a long day the time given on tom tom differed from that on autoroute and for the first time on the tour I didn't beat Tom toms expected time of arrival. had some good fun in the tunnels with the sound of vtec aided by a gruppem Arrived about 7pm Chris and a few others had arrived before us, I don't know if they had done the full route but we did. Majority arrived about 8pm and we had our meal and went to the hotel bar which was a city centre pub. I think most people enjoyed it here.
Day 5
Martigny to Garmisch
Another really exciting day driving, Furka pass which was excellent, col issard , stelvio and quite a few others. my highlight was Livgnio the place was gorgeous and would definitely include it on a future tour, 200 benson and hedges 23 euros about £16.70 so I bought a 1000. also bought some very expensive whiskey's for a friend at work at about a quarter of the cost in the UK. we stayed here about 1.5 hours and had a fantastic meal.
we did the full route and arrived about 4pm however we did set off at daft 'o' clock but it was definitely worth it. The hotel was brilliant set beside a lake, there was a pool fitness room etc and this place would have cost about £150 a night in peak season. the beer was cheap though.
Day 6
Garmisch to Baden Baden
Majority of people had decided the long route was too tiring and took a direct route, me included. Ben however did the full route. slight **** up with the hotel here, the travel agent had given me Holiday inn baden baden and they was only one holiday inn here. so I planned that in the route, it turns out we were in rastatt about 10 miles away so after arriving at the hotel in baden baden and being told we had the wrong hotel I frantically rung everybody to tell them to change their routes.
The hotel was ok but nothing special compared to the rest we had stayed at. the bar was quite cheap and the restaurant was good.
Day 7
Baden Baden to Koblenz and the Nurburgring.
The route was straight to the hotel then to the ring, we dropped our bags at the hotel at 9am and went straight to the ring, and watched the guys in their supercars who had it booked until 2.15pm. I went out about 2.30pm and managed to do over half the circuit without anybody behind or in front. I had the alfas behind me at the start but lost them. I had to slow down when the man with the orange flag was waving, a TVR had come off and the german woman with the CTR (I think she come off 3 times on the day. as the day progressed the ring got busier so I decided not to risk going out again. but I really enjoyed my lap and manage a decent time. it was a lot faster than when I went out in my CTR. I had a passenger lap with Daran which was exciting. I really must go on some sort of trackday day training so I can drive like that. I stayed the rest of the day until about 5pm and then returned to the hotel.
The meal and the bar were excellent as usual and the conversation was mainly about the ring. everybody had a good time and returned unscathed.
Day 8
We had decided we would try to catch an early ferry so we set off at 7.30 only to find the ferry canceled, so we took the eurotunnel which I had never done. so it was good experience. eventually arrived home at 7pm and covered 730 miles.
total tour door to door 3321 miles. I am not looking forward to my petrol bill but at least its split 50-50 with my passenger
Today
absolutely knackered, slept 8 hours which is very rare for me and even slept through most of the Grand prix.
Lessons learned for future tours
1) don't rely on Auto route for the times per day driving, tom tom is more realistic. some people found this too long. but unfortunately people have to understand its a driving holiday not a weeks holiday beside the pool and hotel bar, all the previous Euro tour attendees were the first to arrive at every destination. another point is that to visit the places we did in one week you need to travel long distances. other options are a longer tour with shorter distances or don't go to the Alps.
2) make sure everybody has some sort of sat nav. yes they have their little quirks but once you know how to use it it makes your day a lot shorter.
3) people need to realize that the Honda Euro Tour consists of a very diverse group of people, everybody is different and they shouldn't criticize others who differ from them. after a few days everybody usually gets into groups they feel comfortable with. 99% of people got along with everybody. I only heard of a couple of tiffs but nothing major.
As I have told a few people on the tour I am not 100% certain I will be doing the tour next year, My wife is expecting our first baby in September. But I will certainly be trying to go. I should know before xmas when we realise if I can leave her home alone for the week.
We have done the Alps twice now and personally I would like to try something different next year. the Prynees have been investigated but its very expensive on the ferry to Santander or Bilboa, But if you consider the petrol and road tolls on the way down to the south of France it will most probably work out the same. (Note its a 36 hours crossing)