European road trip 2016

[Cousy]

Oh!!! I've just seen your links! Not good, we have already paid £240 deposit with £720 due in May. The rally runs various events through the year so I'll keep an eye out to see how they get on.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Oh!!! I've just seen your links! Not good, we have already paid £240 deposit with £720 due in May. The rally runs various events through the year so I'll keep an eye out to see how they get on.

At least your exposure is capped at £240!

 

[Rashman]

Phil is certainly the man to talk to you if you want ideas on routes and destinations.
I've picked his brains recently!

I'll be doing Germany, Dolomites and Stelvio this year in July.
Looking forward to it and have been making preparations and plotting out routes for when I'm there

Did the France, Black Forest, Switzerland, Austria and the Dolomites last year.
AMG factory the year before.

I aim to do at least one trip a year.

I'm by no way a veteran road tripper but now that I've done a couple, it's no longer daunting.
Easy enough to find a location/ destination and then scope out a suitable hotel to stay in.

As long as you go well prepared and have all the basis covered, you can't really go wrong.

 

[edc]

I've done a few of these self-organised now, or rather I just tag along as another friend or 2 do the organising, the route planning, the petrol station requirements, choose a small selection of hotels in slightly off the beaten track places, identify the right crossings etc. We run fully planned out routes using itn on TomTom/Garmin, radios etc. Driving is the focus not museum stops I don't take my Merc though as it's not much of a driver's car.

 

[zipdip]

If anybody is thinking of putting together a road trip,might I suggest they include Lanslebourg/Mon Cenis D1006 from France into Italy ending at Susa from there the motorway is there for Milan or Turin this road is only open in the summer,I was once took a truck over this road it is illegal now but that is some drive.they have used it for the Tour de France.

 

[Rashman]

....... or rather I just tag along as another friend or 2 do the organising.......

I know a couple of people like that


........Driving is the focus not museum stops ....

Agreed


I don't take my Merc though as it's not much of a driver's car...


Then I suggest you have don't have the right one

 

[edc]

My C55 is a nice enough car but for sustained fast hard driving it isn't the car for me for these sorts of trips. For starters, it's too soft (but I like it like this for what I use it for), it's too heavy, it's too big, I don't want to mod it significantly, it's got a roof . My modified 550 Boxster on the other hand is just the ticket. If I could have more of the AMG power in my Boxster then it would be even better, but the Boxster is great as I can actually use all the revs a lot of the time.

 

[rsvgreg]

If anybody is thinking of putting together a road trip,might I suggest they include Lanslebourg/Mon Cenis D1006 from France into Italy ending at Susa from there the motorway is there for Milan or Turin this road is only open in the summer,I was once took a truck over this road it is illegal now but that is some drive.they have used it for the Tour de France.

+1 for this route.

We have stayed at Lanslevillard (next to Lansleborg) for our last two skiing trips and hiked the last mile or so to the lake in knee deep snow. Heading down by car in the next week to repeat the fun

The route Zipdip outlines is great fun, a real magnet for the Bikers in the summer. On Route back from Florence last year we decided to come across the top. At the top of the route is a large lake that straddles the French/Italian border with a Café Bar. Must have been 400 bikes of all shapes and sizes as well as many modified cars.

As a bonus it means you don't have to take the Modane Tunnel with long queues and a c£45 one way fee (cheaper return tickets are available).

Final tip, if you do decide on this route, is to visit Howards Bar in Lanslevillard. Rafi runs the place and serves his own hand made Burgers. Great atmosphere and good value homemade food.

Pictures of the lake Summer and Winter as well as the exterior of Howards Bar.