Help plan my European driving holiday

EJP997 · 01:38 PM

Hey Pelicans! My name is Eric. I've been lurking on these boards for a while now, and have come to appreciate the knowledge and enthusiasm for Porsche shared by the folks here. Thought it was a good time to say hello!

I was going to post this in the Driver's Lounge, but that spot seems a little quiet.

I've been inspired by the BBC's Top Gear "Best Driving Road in the World" story. I thought it would be cool to drive on some of the same roads they featured, especially the route in Switzerland to Italy (Davos to Stelvio). Amazing roads, beautiful scenery. But aside from that, I'm open to suggestions on places to visit in that general area, with an emphasis on great roads

But, I've never driven in Europe, and have never been to Switzerland or Italy, and have no idea how long a drive like that would take, which places to see, which ones to avoid- Any suggestions, recommendations, tips, advice, etc. would be greatly appreciated!

I know I like to see pictures when folks post, so, here's a shot of me and my 05 997 enjoying some time together. Note the intense concentration!!

Eric

Monza_dh · Monza_dh's Garage

Definitly use this site for planning:

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm?ck=OK

The one region I would recommend is the Lakes Region of Italy near Como, Garda and Maggiore. Any of the roads around each lake has great spots.

The one road that is spectacular is from Lecco to Bellagio to Como. Very narrow and twisty with blind corners right on the water.

http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS314US314&q=como+italy&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl&ei=UpKgSZ6SNoqhtwe08MSODQ&oi=property_suggestions&resnum=0&ct=property-revision&cd=1

I' m sure EU locals will chime in. Good luck!

enzo1 · 02-21-2009, 05:32 PM

I love that 997!!!!

otto in norway · otto in norway's Garage

If you are planning a trip there, then maybe it would be a good idea to go to Nurburgring in Germany. I think it is near Køln. But let's say you start out in Italy, make your way to Stelvio-Davos, then go on to Stuttgart to check out Porsche's factory/mueseum, then up to the ring and have a blast...!

You will need to spend a few hours behind the wheel, but I guess that's the point...?

I'm thinking of doing a similar trip sometime.

Let us know what you settle for!

Nine17 · Nine17's Garage

Spectate the Mille Miglia Storico.

The first day driving in Italy my wife figured out, "Hey, they all drive like you!"

red67 · 02-22-2009, 03:12 AM

not sure what time of the year you are going but if its during 10-12 august then the classic grand prix at nurburgring is on that weekend if that's your kind of thing...
http://www.avd.de/ogpracing/userfiles/file/Videos2007/Folge01_Preview.swf

livi · 02-22-2009, 04:19 AM

Welcome, Eric!

Let me know if you are, by any chance, looking for some northern Sweden snow rally experience.

Fritz Peyerl · 02-22-2009, 05:41 AM

Last time I went back to my relatives, I rented a car in Frankfurth, drove down to Stuttgart visited the Porsche factory and the Mercedes Factory and Museum, from there down to Switzerland , into Austria down to Vienna and than up to Prage and back into Germany -Frankfurth.

this was a 2 week holiday with mostly back roads and mountain roads. Some of the Austrian Alps have great famous mountain roads ( Gross Glockner is one of them)

If you like history- take the Romantic Road from Frankfurth down to Munich, lot's of castles and mid eval towns ( Rothenburg sets you back 500 years)

Any more questions, just PM me.

PeterRT · 02-22-2009, 08:21 AM

Europe is a large place, how much time do you have?

imcarthur · imcarthur's Garage

One of my dealers did a one week jaunt that supposedly included 9 mountain passes & the BMW, MB & Porsche museums. He did it last June while doing a Euro pickup on a BMW.

Ian

tvanbroekhoven · 02-22-2009, 08:51 AM

Don't forget Tuscany (Italy) and Schwarzwald in Germany.

And when you go from Germany to Italy, be sure to make a detour via Belgium: we have great food and the best beers (our roads suck though).

EJP997 · 02-22-2009, 08:59 AM

These are great suggestions, keep 'em coming!

My initial thought was to spend about a week and a half, mid-June for the trip. Maybe time it so that a side trip to Le Mans is part of the fun? But the real point is to spend time driving the Alps, taking in the scenery, and some good food, maybe a spa or two along the way to make the Ms. happy!

Based on some of your suggestions I've put together a basic plan. Based on some rough calculations, a week or so should be more than enough time, no?

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US

fficial&hl=en&tab=wl

I see that Avis Europe has 911's for rent. Sixt has some other options that seem fine, but no Porsche- are there other places that will rent 911's that are worth a look?

PeterRT · 02-23-2009, 03:26 AM

That link doesn't work.
The Alps should offer more than enough to fill that week...

jwasbury · 02-23-2009, 05:36 AM

My wife and I did a Euro driving trip just over a year ago. Our plan was we had no plan. We carried my laptop which was loaded with Microsoft Autoroute, and connected it to a Garmin handheld GPS. I kept the auto-routing feature set to avoid highways and tollroads. Each morning we would decide where we wanted to go, plug it in to the PC and then roll. Worked great. Begin at Paris Charles de Gaul, to Burgundy region of France, across the Jura mountains into Geneva. North from Geneva through Basel into Black Forest region of Germany, to Stuttgart (Porsche Museum, of course), to Baden-Baden, to Strasbourg, back to Paris.

I would get yourself some sort of mapping software like autoroute. It will help you plan an itinerary, and give you a sense of how much time you will spend behind the wheel from point to point.

Winter · 02-23-2009, 06:58 AM

One of the nicest drives I've ever done in Europe is from the Swiss ski resort of St. Moritz down into Italy. Magical. I did it at the end of the ski season, and left winter, dropping down, down, down into spring. You end up at the base of the italian alps, plenty of lakes and scenic villages. I was in a VW Toureg (sp?) and was stuck behind a very elderly couple in an ancient Mercedes station wagon. I didn't mind. The scenery was amazing!

But in a P car, this road would be out of control. Very curvy.

Have fun!

---

Tom '75 Targa ("stinky")

Sigurd · 02-23-2009, 07:07 AM

Please make sure that you are allowed to take the car you renting into the countries you want to visit. If you rent a Porsche from Hertz in Germany, you are not allowed to take it out of the country, a Mercedes is not allowed to be taken into Italy.

boxster03 · 04-04-2009, 08:54 PM

The 14-day total tour includes 12 nights away from our base in Thun. Of those 12 nights 7 are in Italy (I), 3 are in France (F) and 2 are in Switzerland (S). The schedule of overnight stays is as follows:

Saturday - Thun (S)

Sunday - La Thuile (I)

Monday - St. Veran (F)

Tuesday - St. Veran (F)

Wednesday - Chamonix (F)

Thursday - Andermatt (S)

Friday - Mals (I)

Saturday - Mals (I)

Sunday - Corvara (I)

Monday - Corvara (I)

Tuesday - Corvar (I)

Wednesday - Riva del Garda (I)

Thursday - Klontal (S)

Friday - Thun (S)

Saturday - Fly Home

dan79brooklyn · 04-04-2009, 11:43 PM

subscribed.

We're thinking of a similar family trip in August - Zurich, Germany and Northern Italy. 2-3 weeks. with the idea of Zurich being our base and spending a week there with the idea of moving to Zurich a possibility..

I need to check into rental car regulations and routes too...Porsche Museum (Mercedes, & BMW maybe too). Sightseeing, Eating, some shopping etc...We also have a 2.5 year old.

RoninLB · 04-05-2009, 01:24 AM

OT

I did a bus tour of Portugal and Spain.

I noticed every car driving as if they were robots in line and all doing almost same exact speed.

Is that mindset same for rest of Europe?

I'm used to the US mentality of driving as aggressive as possible without getting tagged.

Arkman · 04-05-2009, 05:25 AM

+1 Sigurd, make sure that your rental car allows travel to all the counties you want to visit.

www.sixt.com may be able to help - they are the Hertz of Europe.

I lived in Munich for about 3 years. It's a beautiful city about 30 min. fro the foot of the Alps. You can visit Schloss Neuschweinstein "fairy tale castle" easily from there on the way to Innsbruck. There is an "alpinestrasse' above GArmish-partinkierschen that is amazing. Go to Vienna and Venice (you'll have to park your car to go to Venice, unless you get one of these - HTTP://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/invaquada.html

Drivers in different countries drive differently...although the rules of the road are basically the same. German autobahn has no speed limit where indicated. Driving fast in Germany is a must.

Italian drivers drive smaller care and weave in and out of traffic like aggro NY drivers.

Don't get me started on the French...

For a driving vacation, I'd spend a lot of time in Germany. Go the the Porsche factory in Stuttgart, drive the romantic road, go to the BMW museum (and factory tour) in Munich, Check out Berlin, perhaps drive through the black forest to Prague, then to Slovakia, into Austria to Vienna then on to Zurich...I'm jealous, I miss Europe.

note - "right of way" is literal. At an intersection of ANY kind (small side street entering arterial road) the vehicle coming from the right has right of way. This includes bicycles. There is NO "right on red" unless explicity stated.

Best of luck - have a GREAT time.