Hello
I’m picking up a new Spyder RS from the factory the last week of August. Two weeks.

Our priorities are 1-beautiful mountain roads and 2- beautiful coastal roads, because spyder and still summer. Dealing with large cities/traffic is something we’d rather avoid.

Basic plan is stay a few days around como doing roads trips to mountains and scenic/fun spots, do the same thing in south of France, and then finish with a few days in barcelon/valencia before dropping off car and flying out from Madrid.

any recommendations on places to see and explore along that route?

my lady and I would like to do plenty of non car stuff as well, but neither of us has ever been to these parts of those countries before.

 

Como is going to be a zoo, and the driving around there is not that great. Maybe think about basing out of St Moritz instead for the mountain roads. Looking forward to what others recommend regarding a base in France. When we were looking at that option, I was thinking St Paul de Vance might be fun.

 

I’m planning a similar drop off point for SRS for later in year but may have to return trip to factory if I get stuck with snow tires.

Not sure if you are a foodie but we love Basque Country- definitely going back to San Sebastián (3rd time). Looks like there is a secure underground parking garage there, maybe more than one. Guggenheim in Bilbao is a must visit.

Lyon france is also a foodie paradise, not sure I would go back but definitely worth it for food scene. Might hit Bordeaux for a day or 2 before going to San Sebastián.

Want to end up in Gibraltar as most southernmost point…..if my ED is nov /dec at least south Spain will be pleasant temperatures.

 

Oh- the best drive I could ever have for ED would be a few sessions at Spa! Fingers crossed I take delivery in time for the last track day there in October. Pity Portimao / Algarve doesn’t seem to have events past September but that’s another amazing track.

(I’d be perfectly happy at 6/10ths and <7k rpm).

 

Please be aware that Germany now has a 6000km limit before they may keep the VAT. I know some people have been lucky, but the Porsche Werksabholungsteam have been very clear to me that if the car gets checked, there is no way to get the VAT back.

Second this! The roads along Lake Como are very narrow and late August, while just past the heaviest summer season, are still very busy. I would suggest either Silvaplana, Samedan, Pontresina or even Zuoz or Zernez as alternatives instead of St. Moritz though, since St. Moritz will be busy and expensive.

Besides the above recommendations: Look at the Dolomites (Val Gardena, St. Ulrich or Cortina d'Ampezzo). The passes will be busier than in the spring or later in fall and some areas can be quite busy in the summer. But you have many options. Also, Merano is a nice city to spend a day or two (and has a great spa!). I would recommend to stay away from Stelvio pass, unless you get there very early in the morning. Otherwise you will be frustrated behind some RV and swear at the bikers and bicyclists cutting corners (ok, you will do that in any case).

Note that going from that area of Italy to the South of France is going to be a lot of boring Italian highway miles until you hit the coastal areas. There you can drive some of the coastal mountain range roads between Genova and the French border. Tenda pass seems closed at the moment. Then driving from the French border there are many great driving roads either along the coast or in the Maritime alps (Col di Turini, Route Napoleon, Gorges du Verdon). Be prepared for a lot of traffic jams though, especially in and around the larger cities (Monaco, Nice, Cannes) and major tourist places (St. Maxime to St, Tropez, Grasse). Again, the major tourist season will have ended (normally between Aug 15 and 20), but there still will be lots of people traveling.

There are many things to do, ranging from shopping, exploring villages or cities, museums, beaches, fine dining, people watching, hiking, taking ferries to islands etc. Once you know where you want to drive, we can give more advice (also depends on what you both enjoy doing).

I have not been west of Marseilles with a car, but I know Barcelona has some interesting driving roads in the Montserrat area and then of course there are the Pyrenees. Alternatively, you can drive up the French alps (start along the Route Napoleon and then head into the mountains around Sisteron). Great views and interesting driving roads.

 

I’m aware of 6k mileage limit.

 

I would be careful cutting it this close. That leaves you about 300km for either forced detours, recoveries from getting lost/missing a turn, taking the car on fun roads (instead of boring highways) or interesting place that you did not anticipate. I ended up with 5933km while driving mainly in the black forest, Switzerland, Dolomites, Grossglockner (I drove it about 10 times in two days), Bavaria and then heading back to Switzerland through Austria and then to Sindelfingen. And yes, I was cutting it close and couldn't do two passes in Switzerland that I was hoping to do (Klausenpass and Oberalppass).

 

Yep, considered all that. Map for illustrative purposes I’m not hitting that many destinations. Not interested that much in driving back and forth through passes. Really hope to get waiver on snow tires and drop car in Madrid.

 

The Madrid drop-off definitely would be the way to go if you want to "escape" the winter and enjoy Spain and Portugal. As to the snow tires, my understanding is that they are not mandatory in Germany by law based on time but based on road conditions. E.g., the Porsche's PDF says:

Some of the other countries or areas (e.g., I think Croatia, Slovenia) have mandatory winter tires for specific time periods. See Winter tyres: where and when are they mandatory in Europe? - ViaMichelin Magazine (note that rules may change for the next season).

Porsche will not force you to have winter tires as far as I understand the documents I signed, instead they offer you the option mount them for the Eurodelivery. If you chose to do so, it is now an extra charge and you have to return the car to the factory, unlike back in 2012, where I don't remember an extra charge and I was able to exchange them at the Porsche dealer in Frankfurt before I dropped the car off in Frankfurt.

Based on this information, it looks like that if you avoid the conditions triggering the need for winter tires (or are willing to pay the fines) on your drive to Spain and Portugal, don't drive in a country or region where the winter tires are mandatory based on the time period, you should be able to avoid winter tires.

Just be aware that if you encounter snow on a road, the summer tires will be dangerously useless. I did encounter one road late this April that was having some snow slush and I drove 10 to 15mph max and it was sketchy as hell on my Dunlop RaceMaxx 2s. So at least plan to lose a few days for waiting out bad conditions (or get snow chains if they are available as an emergency backup).

 

Good point about the nav system. Always bring a backup just in case.

 

Great info here. I’m doing my SRS ED in early September and planning to go to Lake Como as well. Hopefully it’s not too busy in September.

 

I think my date is right around yours

It seems like youve done a ED or 2? Id love to reach out to you closer to the date to take some inspiration from your itenirary

 

no sorry never did ED but it’s been on my to do list for 20 yrs. So I’ve spent some time thinking about it and maybe thats reflected in my comments! Have driven in Europe in rentals on multiple occasions whilst on vacation.

happy to have chat reach out anytime, I’m sure I can learn a thing or 2 as well.

 

on the other hand….winter tires with their deeper tread blocks will provide more safety against punctures…something im probably overly concerned about.

You don’t know what sketchy is until you race at 35 deg on R compounds in a car without abs or stability control.

 

I think you can sign a waiver and not have winter tires. If I remember correctly. But if you have accident that was caused by bad weather you wouldn’t be covered. For me wasn’t willing to sign waiver. Still did Nurburgring with winter tires. I sure wasn’t pushing car hard at all.