The Beer
Italia
'If the Eagle Rally was a ten out of ten, then the Beer Italia is an eleven.' - Gary, Beer Italia 2022
The next Beer Italia will be taking place between the 29th June and the 07th July 2024, and is already full. However, if you'd like to be added to the reserve list, please feel free to get in touch.
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Fancy a trip across the Alps to Supercar Central? If so, the Beer Italia is right up your street…
We first ran this particular trip in 2022, and it became a favourite of ours pretty much immediately; an opinion our trip to Italy in 2023 confirmed. But then, we can't claim much credit for this, because let's face it - when you have the very best alpine passes and the planet’s finest pizzas around which to build an itinerary, you can’t really go too far wrong…
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So, what was the thinking behind the Beer Italia? Well, from our humble beginnings driving a TVR clean across the globe, a few years ago we found ourselves several years into this whole Pub2Pub Adventures, erm, adventure. It had been quite the buzz up until then, with our organised road trips roaming far and wide across Europe, seeking out the finest quirky destinations, the best driving roads and the most spiffing hostelries in which to enjoy a post-hoon pint. We've taken people everywhere from the Spanish Pyrenees to the far side of Germany, and from the Mediterranean coast to a mountain named 'Wank'. But there was one place we hadn't run a trip to yet.
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Italy.
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As car enthusiasts this troubled us, because we'd heard more than a few rumours that the good folk of northern Italy may have made a notable horseless carriage or two in their time, so we figured we should check it out and see whether these rumours were true. But of course, with this being a Pub2Pub trip, simply driving the best routes across the Alps and visiting Italy’s supercar heartland wouldn’t cut it. No, anyone can build a road trip around that – what makes a Pub2Pub trip truly special is the randomness you’ll encounter along the way.
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Randomness like a night in the best wine-tasting area in France, followed by a morning exploring a chateau which for no apparent reason just happens to have a collection of around 80 old jet fighter planes in its grounds. Or like the museum dedicated to the Mille Miglia, tucked away in an Italian monastery. Then there are the driving roads, which take in the some of the best tarmac the Alps have to offer, including the legendary Stelvio and Grand St Bernardo Pass for starters, and plenty more besides. There's the scenery, which ranges from Chamonix's magnificent mountain-scape to the shores of Lake Garda, viewed from the incredible road made famous by the James Bond Film, Quantum of Solace. And rumour has it, there are a few more attractions of note at the trip's halfway point.
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Attractions like the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums, the Maserati factory and even Pagani's little facility. And we'll be spending a few days visiting them all and grabbing a drink too, at the bars by the front gates which the workers frequent. And of course, this isn't the full story. This description merely scratches the surface, because as with everything else we do, we'll be making sure the 2024 Beer Italia has plenty of the attention to detail which has characterised our previous jaunts across the continent.
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So that's the plan - a fun-filled jaunt to the supercar factories of Italy and back, taking in a smorgasbord of great roads, unlikely sights and awesome evening refreshment stops. Just remember, in this country, they drive on the wrong side of the road…
The Important Information:
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Dates – 29th June to 07th July 2024.
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Distance – Approximately 1,800 miles of continental driving, depending on the route you choose.
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Vehicles – The Beer Italia is naturally the preserve of thoroughbred spots cars and grand tourers, with a large TVR contingent always in evidence. However, any interesting car is most welcome to join the trip. In the event’s inaugural running in 2022, we hosted everything from a 50-year old Triumph TR-5 to several rather shiny Aston Martins, and subsequent runs have seen everything from Mustangs to Morgans. So, as the saying goes, variety is the spice of life. Whatever interesting machinery you have sat on your drive, it’ll be welcome to join the run down to Italy.
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Route – The Beer Italia takes you from the English Channel to the far side of the Alps and back, via some of Europe’s greatest driving roads. You can expect to soar over some of the finest passes in the Alps, cruise along the shores of the Italian Lakes and overnight in some of the most picturesque places in Europe, such as the Chamonix Valley, the medieval town of Troyes, the alpine village of Sulden and the perfectly preserved French stronghold of Laon. And of course, there’s the focus of the trip – Italy’s Modena region, where Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagini and Maserati are based. To enable you to make the most of your visit to this region, we’ll be spending two nights at a hotel there, so your explorations won’t need to be too rushed.
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Attractions – As with all Pub2Pub trips, before setting off on the Beer Italia you’ll receive a full itinerary which not only details the various routes which you can follow on each day of the trip, but also runs you through all the potential stop offs you can make along the way. So, what options are there on the Beer Italia? Many, but here’s a brief run-through of some of the more notable ones. Firstly, there’s what for many will be the highlight of the trip – the supercar culture in the Modena area, where there are more points of interest to the car enthusiast than you can shake a stick at. There’s plenty of culture along the route too, if that’s your thing, from the gorgeous streets of Verona and Colmar, to the vineyards around Reims and the chateaus and monasteries tucked away in the Burgundy countryside. Scenery? Well, the Alps are on the itinerary – you can’t really go wrong with the Alps. But if they’re the main event, the supporting acts aren’t exactly shabby either. Lake Garda, Champagne’s Route des Vins, the Jura Alps and France’s little-known Massif de Vosges. Oh, and finally, there’s the small matter of ‘the best driving road in the world’, as declared by Top Gear on one of their episodes – the perfect tarmac which links Davos and Stelvio. It’s on the itinerary, too.
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As you can probably tell, we’ve spent years researching the most interesting stop-offs and the best driving roads on the continent, and brought them together in an itinerary which gives you various options for each day, enabling you to shape your Beer Italia experience into your perfect trip. This approach of having several different options for each day’s drive has the added benefit of naturally breaking the group into several smaller, much more wieldy groups while on the road, which is a definite plus. Instead of trying to proceed in a frustrating 20-car convoy which gets broken up at every junction and overwhelms every café it stops at, you’ll enjoy a much more stress-free journey, which you can undertake freely, at your own pace.
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Accommodation – While the route you follow during the day will depend on what part of the day’s itinerary appeals to you most, the whole rally will be reunited each evening. For the Beer Italia’s overnight stops, you can expect mid-range hotels with breakfast included, as befitting of such a classy, yet cost effective undertaking.
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Cost – For two people sharing a car, and staying in either a double or twin room, the provisional price is £1,525 including all accommodation, breakfasts, channel crossings via the Eurotunnel, the full trip itinerary including satellite navigation routings, the loan of a radio to stay in touch with other entrants and on-the-road support from the Pub2Pub crew's tools-and-spares-filled Chimaera, if you're unlucky enough to have any car issues. If you're based in Europe and hence won't need the channel crossings, then the price is reduced by £100, and you're welcome to join us in northern France.
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The 2024 Beer Italia is already full, but if you'd like to join the reserve list, just drop us a message at ben@pub2pubadventures.com. A £200 deposit will secure your place, with the balance payable three months before we hit the road.
'The world's best driving roads, epic scenery, new friends and superb car museums, what more do you need?' - Anthony, Team Jag, Beer Italia '22
