Portugal Trip - 2017

[GraemeW]

Alex mentioned this elsewhere in the forum, reminded me that I raised the prospect of this trip earlier in the year. 

I have suggested organising a Portugal trip and I would really like to organise one of these for Atom/Nomad owners.  Three reasons really;

1. I am new to the Atom experience, and plan to make the most of it in 2017 (and beyond!)
2. Ive enjoyed organising a number of group car tours in Europe and UK, but haven't yet for the Ariel club.
3. As far as I know, there hasn't been a trip organised to Portugal for the club?  I have lived and worked in Portugal, speak the language (enough to get around), and know some great roads for the Atom (or Nomad).  Not to mention the sunny weather.

WHEN:
I would suggest either late June/early July,  or September 2017.  It would be 10 to 14 days depending on peoples interests, budget and how far south we went.

ROUTING:
Probably best to do the Portsmouth Santander ferry crossing, then I was thinking a due south drive through Spain to the North eastern side of Portugal, down into Portugal to the Douro river valley, a great drive along the river, down to Oporto (voted by some, as one of the best driving roads).  Perhaps a day or two in Oporto, where I lived.  I am imagining a great Atom photo opportunity by the old bridge Eiffel built. Similarities with the Atom frame.

After that I could plan it according to what people wanted or are interested in.  We could route down to Lisbon inland or coastal.  Perhaps down one way and up the other?  We could then continue to the Algarve.  Although its a small country the Algarve is quite different to the north or even Lisbon.  One thing I've learnt from other tours, its quite good to have short break from driving in the middle.  Perhaps on the Algarve? 

THINGS TO INCLUDE

Throw in a track day on the Algarve circuit ( http://www.autodromodoalgarve.com/Default.aspx?lng=en ) where the Grand Tour episode one was filmed?  Or alternatively the Estoril circuit where the Portuguese GP is held.  The Algarve circuit is generally cheaper, but we would have to book soon as a lot of car manufacturers do promotional work there.

Perhaps meet up with some Portuguese owners if there are any, or even do some promotional work for the brand in Portugal if Ariel would want that?  Or perhaps Spanish owners could join in?

There are dozens of things we could include, depending who is going and what they are interested in, but apart from the driving, include plenty of good food, wine, swimming, etc.

LOGISTICS
Although I have planned trips before, I haven't for the Atom club, so will take advice from Steve Gibson or other seasoned Atom tourers to make sure items unique to Atoms are covered.  I think initially if people state if they are interested first to gauge numbers.  I think a minimum of 3 cars would be good, but the more the merrier.  Then we can meet up somewhere before Christmas or early in the new year to discuss in a bit more detail?

It will not be the cheapest trip given the ferry crossing and the time we are away, but generally speaking Portugal is much cheaper than other European countries, apart from the Algarve which is priced for tourists.  I think once we have a draft itinery we can construct a budget.  The dip in the pound is not good for us.  If its a goer, I normally setup a temporary web page for info etc for the tour group.

Im in Portugal for a short trip in April so could do a recce of some sites.

[GraemeW]

If anyone wants to come from the "North", I could put some people up at my place in the "South" to save costs then we could travel down to Portsmouth together

[Alex Brandon-Smith]

This sounds like a great idea Digger. I would certainly be interested but may have to do an abridged version of it due to family but I'd be happy to work that out with you and maybe come up with a second shorter loop.

Similar, I'm an hour from Portsmouth so if I could get the green pass from Lady B-S I'd happily put people up the night before.

[IanG]

Hi digger
Sounds a great idea
Could only do September as work in June/July stops play. 
In Oxfordshire so could put some one up in needed.

[Sir Nick]

I believe the obligatory list is in order!:

Sir Nick

[Alex Brandon-Smith]

I believe the obligatory list is in order!:

Digger
Sir Nick
Alex (abridged most likely)

[Steve Gibson]

Definitely interested in this one. As long as Nick speeds up a bit.

I have an event on 22 June and 1-2 July I can't escape, but otherwise flexible.


Digger
Sir Nick
Alex (abridged most likely)
Steve

[GraemeW]

That's good, we've already got a small molecule.  I really wanted to attend club dinner tomorrow where we could have had an initial chat about this.  Unfortunately I can't,  so will come up with a plan to discuss later.

[Bruce Fielding]

Missed out big time last time, so absolutely up for this. Happy to advise along with Steve on Atom-specifics.

One piece of advice upfront. No to trackdays. You don't want people having to be shipped home and missing out on half the holiday...

Also, best not to plan to run the same daily distances as other car tours. It's harder work in an Atom (but more fun!). Think more Classic Car than supercar.

Digger
Sir Nick
Alex (abridged most likely)
Steve
Bruce

[deepdiver]

If im not working 

Digger
Sir Nick
Alex (abridged most likely)
Steve
Bruce
George

[Alex Brandon-Smith]

[quote="Bruce Fielding"]

Also, best not to plan to run the same daily distances as other car tours. It's harder work in an Atom (but more fun!). Think more Classic Car than supercar.

[/quote]

Have to agree with Bruce here. Similar to bikes as well really. Especially once in the twisties. You will be lucky to do more that 150 miles a day in the mountains. It's hard going but brilliant fun. Short sharp stints are the way forward. Autoroute running a bit easier of course so can push on a bit there.

[GraemeW]

Yes I have learnt that lesson sometime ago, re the miles per day. 

My non Atomic tour this year (NC500 in Scotland) we did a leisurely 80 to 100 miles a day.  The year before when I did a Pyrenees trip we did about 200 miles a day, which on the face of it doesn't seem too much, but it was, when you want to stop off at various points of interest etc.  Steve what was your average per day on your  last Pyrenees trip?

At either end of the tour we've usually had longer trips on motorway just to get to tour location.

Re track days Bruce, yes noted.  I was actually thinking about it the other day that it might be risky being so far from home and having an incident on the track.  Its bad enough on Portugal's normal roads. The track may be safer  .  The normally mild mannered Portuguese transform when behind a wheel  .  They have the highest accident rate in western europe.  Don't let me put you off though, we just need to be careful.  I can brief you more on that later.

[Steve Gibson]

[quote="Digger"]
Steve what was your average per day on your  last Pyrenees trip?

[/quote]

We tried to keep it to 80 in the morning and 80 in the evening at the most. Very occasionally we breached that when it couldn't be avoided. Sometimes we did below that (100-120 in a whole day). Some days we did no driving because we stayed put.

[reg]

[quote="Steve Gibson"]
We tried to keep it to 80 in the morning and 80 in the evening at the most. Very occasionally we breached that when it couldn't be avoided. Sometimes we did below that (100-120 in a whole day). Some days we did no driving because we stayed put.
[/quote]
I read that in isolation, thought you were talking about speed...

[Steve Gibson]

[quote="reg"]
I read that in isolation, thought you were talking about speed...
[/quote]

Limited mileage. Unlimited speed.

Where legal, officer.