Named the hottest destination by no one ever, Albania is our most adventurous destination for the 2018.
We start the season on the Adriatic coast, with a road trip from Croatia all the way to Greece. A drive on some of the most beautiful roads in the world - amongst them the famous “Magistral”, the Adriatic coast highway - through Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania before we finish with a weekend in Thessaloniki in Greece.
Albania? Are you serious? Yes, we are. And, it is going to be completely awesome. A story that you will tell your grandchildren. Here is why:
Following massive construction in 2015, 16 and 17, the highways in Albania are now in pristine condition all the way from the north to the south.
Furthermore, we are working with a private security contractor for this part of the event. We have a security detail of no less than 18 armed guards on both motorcycles and in vans protecting our cars these days.
The armed guards will pick us up on the Montenegrin border. Escort us to Tirana, where we stay in Sheraton Hotel. After securing the parking of Sheraton for the night, they will escort us south to the Greek border the day after.
The Albanian capital - Tirana - is a big city. Arriving here, you can be 100% sure that we will have everyone’s attention. We stay in Sheraton Hotel, and park our cars in their garage. This will be the most heavily guarded garage in the world this particular night. Only accessible to drivers of the event and their friends. We hear the night life in Tirana is completely nuts. What a wonderful place it must be.
We meet in hotel Milenj in Opatija (Croatia) on the 5th of May. A beautiful spring day. During the evening we have a drivers briefing and dinner on the hotel terrace facing the sea. We will have some word of advice for this slightly mental road trip with your super car.
The following days we travel. Driving on roads like the famous Adriatic coast road in Croatia and the insanely beautiful mountain roads in Bosnia and Montenegro. We visit exciting cities you might not have been to yet - like Zadar, Mostar, Budva, Dubrovnik, Podgorica and Tirana. Oh, and when was the last time you drove your own super car in Greece?
Each day will be between three and five hours of driving. Besides driving we do stops along the road for lunch, historic monuments or just to enjoy the view. The time schedule for each day is: breakfast at 9.00, start driving at 10.00, lunch en route, arrival to hotel during the afternoon and dinner at 20.00.
The event start in the coastal city of Opitaja in Croatia. Located close to Rijeka, it is the Croatian version of Monaco or Saint-Tropez. We stay in Milenj hotel, where we also have the drivers briefing and dinner.
14.00 - Check-in opens at Milenj Hotel
20:00 - Dinner with drivers briefing on the hotel terrace
Now, the fun driving begins, with what has to be one of the top ten driving roads in the world - the Magistral road between Rijeka and Zadar. The best part is after Karlobag. It is absolutely brilliant.
During the afternoon we arrive to Zadar where we stay in Falkensteiner Hotel Iadera. Dinner in the historical centre of Zadar.
10.00 - Leaving Hotel
11.00 - Driving the Magistral road
12.30 - Lunch
14:00 - Driving Magistral continues
17.00 - Arrival to Falkensteiner Iadera ***** in Zadar
19:00 - Aperitivo on the hotel terrace
20.00 - Dinner in Zadar old town
Our drive south continues. However, now we switch from the Magistral coastal road to E65. A highway. Not only "a highway" - the E65 is one of the fastest and perfectly smooth highways on the planet. It was built for one purpose only - guess what?
After about two hours of quite dynamic driving we stop in the village of Makarska for lunch. Then, we drive north east to Bosnia and Hercegovina, to Mostar. Haven’t been to Mostar? You are missing out. Mostar is, albeit semi destroyed from the war, a very beautiful place. So are the Bosnian roads. We stay at Mepas hotel in the city centre, and have dinner in Restoran Lagero right next to the famous Mostar bridge.
10.00 - Leaving hotel
10.15 - The fastest highway in the world
12.30 - Lunch in Makarska
14:00 - Driving continues
16:00 - Border crossing in to Bosnia
17.30 - Arrival to Mostar and Hotel Mepas *****
18:00 - Welcome ceremony in Mostar
20.00 - Dinner in Mostar old town (next to that famous bridge)
10.00 - Leaving hotel
12.00 - Lunch in Neum
14:00 - Driving continues
16:00 - Border crossing back in to Croatia
17:00 - Arrival to Dubrovnik with welcome ceremony in old town
18:00 - Check in to hotel Excelsior Dubrovnik *****
19:00 - Aperitivo on the hotel terrace facing the sea
20.00 - Dinner on the hotel terrace (facing the exact same sea)
Now, we are back on the Magistral road, and we will drive it south east. Soon we will cross in to Montenegro. Montenegro is no joke. It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful countries on the planet. Forget the fjords in Norway, the bay of Kotor is number one. It is completely breathtaking. Lunch i sin Budva. Then we head to the capital of Montenegro - Podgorica - where we stay the night. Dinner in Podgorica old town.
10.00 - Leaving hotel
11.00 - Border crossing to Montenegro
13:00 - Lunch in Budva
16:00 - Arrival to Podgorica and Hilton Hotel *****
19:00 - Drinks in the hotel bar
20.00 - Dinner in Podgorica old town
Ready for Albania? You better be. We start the day by filling our cars with fuel. Making sure we do not have to stop on our way to Tirana. Then we go to the Albanian border. Today we will start a bit later - at about 11 from the hotel.
Immediately after crossing the border, we stop at the designated place by our security detail. There we will have a short briefing, and continue as one group all the way to Sheraton Hotel in Tirana.
Be prepared for insane attention from the locals and from Albanian media, especially when we enter Tirana and drive through the city to the hotel.
Drinks on the hotel terrace at about 19, and then we go to a restaurant in Tirana centre.
11.00 - Leaving hotel
12.00 - Border crossing to Albania (OMG!)
16:00 - Arrival to Tirana and Sheraton Hotel *****
19:00 - Drinks in the hotel bar
20.00 - Dinner in Tirana old town
23.00 - Evening program
Did you have a good evening in Tirana? We thought so. That’s why we don’t start until 12 this day. We have brunch in the hotel at 11, and leave the hotel at 12, together with our security detail. They will escort us out of the country going south to the Greek border.
After crossing the border to Greece, we have about three hours of freshly build motorways built by to reach the final destination of this epic road trip - Thessaloniki. We stay in a five star hotel right in the middle of the city - the classic Electra Palace.
When you have parked your car, we invite you to the hotel roof top bar for a celebration drink. You have officially made it. All the way to the final checkpoint of this insane event - Thessaloniki in Greece. Well done!
Dinner is in Thessaloniki harbour at about 21. This is a Friday. After dinner, we continue the evening in a night club in town.
12.00 - Leaving hotel
15.30 - Border crossing to Greece
18.00 - Arrival to Thessaloniki and Electra Hotel *****
20.00 - Celebration on the hotel roof top bar
21.00 - Dinner in Thessaloniki
23.00 - Evening program
Tired? No worries. During this final day have an open program. If you want to join, we will explore the coastal roads close to Thessaloniki and go for lunch somewhere close by. If you chose to stay in the city, then we will see each other for the closing dinner in the hotel.
12.00 - Mountain road drive with lunch (optional)
20.00 - Drinks in the hotel roof top bar
21.00 - Dinner in Thessaloniki
23.00 - Evening program
Thank you for joining us on this event. We hope you had a good time. If you opted for transportation of your car back home, the trailer is waiting for you at the airport.
Ready for the road trip of the decade? Welcome to a great adventure with both new and old super car friends.
This event is 4800 EUR for two people sharing car and hotel room. The cost includes everything for eight days on the road: Hotels, lunches, dinners, fun surprises, secure parking, the road book with maps, stickers, badges and of course the occasional armed guard with an AK-47.
To register, please send an e-mail to peter@granturismo.org
Rent a mental car
Don’t fancy driving your own super car all the way to Greece? Through our partner we can offer a wide variety of rental supercars for this event. The complete list of cars you can find below. Price includes VAT, and includes kilometres for the entire event. Pick-up in Opatija (Croatia), drop-off in Thessaloniki (Greece). Please note that this option is only open for owners of super cars. You still need to own a super car at home to join the event.
Lamborghini Aventador S 8800 EUR
Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster 9300 EUR
Ferrari 488 spider 7000 EUR
Ferrari 488 coupe 6300 EUR
Lamborghini Huracan 6000 EUR
Lamborghini Huracan spider 6300 EUR
Lamborghini Huracan Performante 7600 EUR
Ferrari Portofino 6700 EUR
Transport of your car
If you live in Scandinavia, we can help you with transporting your car to the start in Croatia and back from the finish in Thessaloniki with our partner Intact AB (formerly Eurotransport). This option is 2900 EUR.
Complete 2018 Calendar
Gran Turismo Adriatica (5-13 May)
We start the season on the Adriatic coast, with a road trip from Croatia all the way to Greece. We start in Opatija and drive south through Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania before we finish with a weekend in Thessaloniki in Greece.
But wait? Albania? Are you serious? Yes we are. And it is going to be completely awesome. Following massive construction in 2015, 16 and 17, the highways are now in pristine condition all the way from the north to the south.
We are also working with a private security contractor for this part of the event. Armed escort from the Montenegrin border to Tirana, in Tirana, and from Tirana to the Greek border the next day. As always, we will have a transport option to Croatia and back home from Greece.
Armed guards in Albania with my Ferrari? Where do I sign up?
>> Here: Pre-register to Gran Turismo Adriatica 2018
Gran Turismo Nurburgring (27- 30 May)
The most challenging racing track in world. 21 kilometers of fun. As always, we have two exclusive days on the track and three nights in Nurburg. The days are not confirmed yet, but we hope to go here in the end of May or in the beginning of June. The exact days will be published in the end of November. As always, we will only allow 135 super cars to join. Event is 60% booked.
>> Pre-register to Gran Turismo Nurburgring 2018
Gran Turismo Polonia (27 June - 1 July)
Gran Turismo Polonia. As always we have three days on track, and four nights of fun in Poznan. For the 2018 edition we are limiting the number of places to 144 cars. This event is already almost fully booked.
>> Pre-register to Gran Turismo Polonia 2018
Gran Turismo Baltica (24-29 July)
After six(!) years in Pärnu it is time to try something new. For the 2018 edition of this event we go to Riga and Bikernieku racing track. The track is only 7 km from the city centre, and we stay in the number one hotel in town - Radisson Blu. Three days of driving on the track. The last day (Saturday) we close down four streets in the city for a street show. While Riga has almost the same population as Stockholm you can be sure that we will have a lot of attention.
>> Pre-register to Gran Turismo Baltica 2018
Gran Turismo Hungaria (14-19 August)
Hungaroring and Budapest are awesome. In 2018 we are coming back. This time we will have three days on track - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The last day, Saturday, we organise a super car road trip through Budapest to Lake Balaton for lunch (and back).
Just like in 2017 we will be staying at a hotel on the Danube, walking distance to all the great night life of Budapest. The days we will spend on the F1 race track hungaroring, and the nights will be in town. Every evening we will have a dinner reservation at new and exciting place.
>> Pre-register to Gran Turismo Hungaria
Gran Turismo Europa (25 August - 2 September) // Fully booked
While in 2017 we tried something completely different, in 2018 we are back with the classic Europa road trip. For the 2018 Europa tour we return to Switzerland and the most beautiful mountain passes in the world. Say hello (again) to Stelvio pass, Grimsel- and Furka pass. This event is fully booked.
>> The route for Gran Turismo Europa 2018
Gran Turismo Italia (8-16 September)
Following our Tuscany event in 2017, we are organising a new event in Italy in 2018. Next year we intend to explore the beautiful southern part of Italy. Start is in the Vatican(!) on the 8th of September. Then we drive south towards the Amalfi coast and Positano, Calabria and Puglia.
There are some insanely nice places to visit in the south, and we have selected the very best for this week in September. The event ends where it started - in Rome. While the best Italian villas and boutique hotels have very few rooms, this event is strictly limited to 22 cars.
>> Pre-register to Gran Turismo Italia
Gran Turismo Spa (September/October)
You like the Nurburgring? Then you will love Spa-Francorchamps. It might be shorter than the Nurburgring, but it provides just the same levels of thrills and is also a lot safer. The true connoisseurs choice, and the F1-drivers favorite track on the planet. For many, Spa-Francorchamps is the best racing track in the world. It has become a tradition to finish our seasons on here. As always we will have two full days of driving on the track, and three nights in Hotel de la source, located just by the track.
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