Pyranees

[bernieg]

Just got back from a week in the Pyranees mountains....off roading.

Had a fantastic time, the views where breathtaking! The wife thoroughly enjoyed driving my Landy though every muddy pool she could find.

This was our first Off Roading holiday, and it most certainly wont be our last. We can definately recommend the Pyranees as a place to visit with your Landy.

We took loads of pictures, but here are just a few, dont want to bore you all!

The picture of the 2 of us was taken at 9000 feet!

We definately have the adventure bug, and now want to go to Morocco and the Sahara. Has anyone else been to Morocco, if so who did you go with.
Had a look on the web and there are quite a few companies doing Morocco. The problem is we have heard some people have had bad experiences with some, 2 in particular.

Does anyone have any good or bad stories and/or advice about who to use. So far Impala seems to be the most professional, ie based on information on their web site and answering my emails and answering my questions.

If you do not want to name a company because of bad reports within this post, then please use a PM or my email.

We just want to have as much confidence in the people we pick and hopefully have a great time.

Also please give credit where credit is due, if you can recommend a particular company. It is very difficult deciding who to go with, there are so many companies.

One more thing, we went to the Pyranees with UKLandRoverEvents, and would like to thank Colin, Ian, Bob, Gazza and Rachel for a fantastic time, and would definatley go with you guys again, and as soon as you start greenlaning a bit further south we will be there.

Cheers

Bernie

[Carl]

Fantastic pics Bernie. Looks like you had a great time!

[Stumpy Doofleer]

Great pics, Bernie, I would love to go to morroco or the pyranness, but since I only have a 2.5TD not sure whether it would make it. Sounds as though you have caught the adventure bug, nearly as bad as the land rover bug:D . I think Cannonball Bob is going to morrocco, in fact he might be there just now.

[Widget]

Great pics of spectacular scenery.

I have experience of 3 off road tour companies and would recommend Impala above the others. Neil and Louise are really genuine, caring people. Occasionally they may seem a little disorganised, but it's just a relaxed front!! Neil has amazing experience and knowledge, and he earns his keep when vehicles become immobile (I've seen him remove and straighten a bent trailing arm half way up a mountain). They also prefer not to run in a big nose-to-tail convoy. You get a road book and go and make your own way with one or two others, confident in the knowledge that you have the back-up if required.

Next July we're signed up to go to Iceland, then perhaps Morocco in 2008.

Really enjoyed reading your webpage BTW.

[westsussex4]

Amazing pictures and fantastic scenery. Is that a 'one life live it' sticker on your windscreen, if so where did you get it?
Cheers
Roy

[bernieg]

Amazing pictures and fantastic scenery. Is that a 'one life live it' sticker on your windscreen, if so where did you get it?
Cheers
Roy

We got it from a Land Rover show, usually a few stalls selling all kinds of logo's and stickers at the shows, cost about £3 as I remember.

Cheers
Bernie

[bernieg]

Great pics of spectacular scenery.

I have experience of 3 off road tour companies and would recommend Impala above the others. Neil and Louise are really genuine, caring people. Occasionally they may seem a little disorganised, but it's just a relaxed front!! Neil has amazing experience and knowledge, and he earns his keep when vehicles become immobile (I've seen him remove and straighten a bent trailing arm half way up a mountain). They also prefer not to run in a big nose-to-tail convoy. You get a road book and go and make your own way with one or two others, confident in the knowledge that you have the back-up if required.

Next July we're signed up to go to Iceland, then perhaps Morocco in 2008.

Really enjoyed reading your webpage BTW.

I must admit I like the idea of not being in a long convoy, and its good to hear they provide excellent support.
Iceland sounds good, but according to their website you need to be very experienced at off roading. We are still learning, so we thought Morocco would be the next step for us. But we will get there, no doubt about that!

Louise has been very good at answering my emails and being quite honest with her replies.

So it looks like it might be 15 days in Morocco for us next April!

Any advice on Do's and Dont's while on such tours would be greatly appreciated, especially on equipment to take and things to look out for.

Cheers
Bernie

[Widget]

Cannonball Bob is out there right now with Impala. Might be a good idea to ping him when he gets back next week.

Iceland is probably no more challenging than the Pyrenees, but Morocco is spectacular. I was going to go with Impala next month in a std. Range Rover Sport with my good pal Dom, but I'm in year 1 of a new business so declined.:(

Instant advice might be to keep weight down, don't bolt on loads of goodies - a well maintained truck is a better tool than a bling one.

[ken110]

Wow!! looks fantastic!! certainly my cuppa tea!!:)

[Widget]

Look look - Zammo and Row-Land.:o

[ken110]

"Jussay NO!..da de da" :D

[Spanish Bob]

Great pics, Bernie, I would love to go to morroco or the pyranness, but since I only have a 2.5TD not sure whether it would make it. Sounds as though you have caught the adventure bug, nearly as bad as the land rover bug:D . I think Cannonball Bob is going to morrocco, in fact he might be there just now.

Get to Plymouth ferry to santander. Pootle through the Basque country and Navarra and then you can pretty much drive all the way to the med off road. Stop. Turn around. Repeat. Easy.

Ive done Morocco on my bike - no dune bashing mind - I went with two mates. Similarly riding/driving in the pyrenees. I would go with mates and the money you save paying a tour guide pays for the holiday.

bob

[Peak Times]

I am fortunate to say that we now live in a stunning part of the Pyrenees however have not as yet had the chance to head off piste with our 110 TD5.

Great photos, which part of the Pyrenees were they taken? We are in Bagneres de Luchon on the boarder with Spain in dept 31.

Regards,

Mike

[jkelly]

I am fortunate to say that we now live in a stunning part of the Pyrenees however have not as yet had the chance to head off piste with our 110 TD5.

Great photos, which part of the Pyrenees were they taken? We are in Bagneres de Luchon on the boarder with Spain in dept 31.

Regards,

Mike

Mike,
We were in Luchon last Christmas / New Year... Fantastic place/area - shame we didnt have the Landy with us, just ski's!

Whats the situation with driving "off-piste" Are all tracks in the mountains fair game or is it like the UK where we have to check 'definitive maps' etc?

[bernieg]

I am fortunate to say that we now live in a stunning part of the Pyrenees however have not as yet had the chance to head off piste with our 110 TD5.

Great photos, which part of the Pyrenees were they taken? We are in Bagneres de Luchon on the boarder with Spain in dept 31.

Regards,

Mike

We were based at Encamp. About 4km from the capital. We actually drove most of the peaks around that area, always on the Spanish side. We were in a group so dont know th names.

We did meet a lot of border patrols looking for smugglers, actually checked the vehicles once for alcohol.

As i understood it most of the tracks we used were either ski routes or smugglers routes, we were also told that most of the routes were part of a national park, and as such we had to keep to the routes, any diversion from them would have meant an instant €2000 fine.

Would definately go again, fantastic area.

Bernie

[jasper110]

spannish bob is right, do-it-yourself, save a fortune and enjoy the freedom of being alone in the mountains.

[bernieg]

spannish bob is right, do-it-yourself, save a fortune and enjoy the freedom of being alone in the mountains.

Don't have a problem doing Spain/Pyranees on my own, but Morocco and the Sahara is a bit more of a challenge.

Have heard lots of stories about getting in to and out of Morocco etc, also the idea of wandering around the Sahara on my own without any backup is a bit worrying.

Dont have any other mates with Land Rovers who want to be adventurous, so its just me and the wife. I admit £1200 average with a tour company for ~15days is a lot, but for first timers you get peace of mind, the mechanical backup and depending on who you go with the freedom to enjoy the experience as individuals or a group.

If I could go with a group of like minded people, and we all felt we could rely on each others support then I would not even be tempted by the tour companies.

Bernie

[jkelly]

Does anyone have any maps that show the smugglers routes? Ive searched google high and low and can find thousands of references to them but no charted routes???

Are the IGN Top 100 maps good enough or do you really need the IGN Top 25 maps to see them?

[K&S]

Great pics pf the scenery. Thanks for posting them really enjoyed them.

[TheBoy]

Great pics, Bernie, I would love to go to morroco or the pyranness, but since I only have a 2.5TD not sure whether it would make it. Sounds as though you have caught the adventure bug, nearly as bad as the land rover bug:D . I think Cannonball Bob is going to morrocco, in fact he might be there just now.

Stumpy

Your post stood out to me! Before I had the Tdi put in we used to go every year with the 2.5N/A, we have even done a couple of trips to the Tabbanes which is in the south of Spain. Ok it is quite a bit easier with the tdi in now but don't let it put you off.

Boy