Gran Turismo Adriatica 2018

Named the hottest destination by no one ever, Albania is the most adventurous destination for the 2018, and it is going to be completely awesome. A story that you will tell your grandchildren. 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, Gran Turismo are working with a private security contractor for this part of the event. They 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 you stay in Sheraton Hotel. After securing the parking of Sheraton for the night, they will escort everyone 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.

Registering for Gran Turismo Adriatica 2018
The event is 4800 EUR + VAT and includes everything for a driver and co-driver sharing one car and hotel room:

Hotels:
Seven nights in five star hotels along the road with breakfast and safe parking for your car.

Full hospitality:
Seven dinners along the route, as well as seven lunches.

Also included:
Professional photos taken from the event. As of the 2018 season, our famous event polos are also included, for both the driver and the co-driver. Welcome pack with road book, badges and stickers for your car. Armed guards with AK-47's in Albania.

Transport option:
We have a transport available from Scandinavia to Opatija (Croatia) and back from Thessaloniki (Greece).

Event schedule
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.

Saturday 5 May - Opatija (Croatia)
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

Sunday 6 May - Drive from Opatija to Zadar
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

Monday 7 May - Drive from Zadar to Mostar
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)

Tuesday 8 May - Drive from Mostar to Dubrovnik
The following day we head south. First to the coastal city of Neum, one of few Bosnian cities that have costal access. There we have lunch. After lunch, we continue to Dubrovnik. In Dubrovnik, we first go to the old town for a special welcome by the mayor. After this, we park by Hotel Excelsior where we stay the night. Dinner is on the hotel terrace facing the sea.

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)

Wednesday 9 May - Drive from Dubrovnik to Podgorica (Montenegro)
Now, we are back on the Magistral road, and we will drive it south east. Soon we will cross into 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

Thursday 10 May - Drive from Podgorica to Tirana (Albania)
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

Friday 11 May - Drive from Tirana to Thessaloniki (Greece)
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

Saturday 12 May - Thessaloniki
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

Sunday 13 May - Check out
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.