＊Image source: Porsche Japan official website, “Porsche Travel Experience”

Porsche Travel Experience

The details and dates for the 2018 edition of a German tour for Porsche fans in Japan have been announced. First offered in 2015, the tour visits places with a special connection to Porsche. It has also been renamed, from the Porsche Travel Club to the Porsche Travel Experience.

Guests can rent a Porsche and enjoy a guided drive along special routes, as well as visit the Porsche Museum and factory. It sounds like a dream itinerary for Porsche fans.

And with Porsche celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the tour promises rare experiences, including a chance to see cars at the Porsche Museum that aren’t normally on display. I’d been thinking, “I’d love to go someday,” but I remembered hearing that it was expensive, so I’d never looked into the details. This time, I decided to take a proper look.

What’s Included in the Tour?

So, what does the 2018 Porsche Travel Experience involve?

Tour of Porsche headquarters in Germany and the Black Forest
・Travel dates Friday, October 5–Thursday, October 11, 2018 (7 days)
・Price ¥1,598,000 per adult, based on two people sharing a double or twin room
　(Plus fuel surcharge, overseas airport taxes, Japanese airport fees, and ¥90,000 for a single room)
・Requirements Drivers must obtain an international driving permit
・Group size 16 participants
・Minimum number of participants 12
・Meals 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 5 dinners
・Tour escort Included
・Tour operator JTB Corporation
・Planning partner Porsche Japan Inc.

O-one million five hundred and ninety-eight thousand yen?! ( ﾟдﾟ )彡

That’s enough to buy a car!!!

The first tour in 2015 cost ¥645,000 for a similar itinerary. Did the price skyrocket because they got so many applications at ¥600,000 and thought, “Let’s double it next year!”? Surely not… Still, I couldn’t help wondering whether the tour really was worth the price, so I decided to investigate. (Don’t you have anything better to do?)

First, What’s the Route?

The route looks like this: heading south from Frankfurt, in central Germany.

Depart Haneda → Frankfurt → Heidelberg → Baden-Baden → Hinterzarten → Ludwigsburg → Stuttgart → fly back to Haneda via Frankfurt.

(I outlined Germany in red, but that somehow made the map harder to read, lol.)
The route covers around 500 km and takes about six hours to drive. That’s roughly the distance from Tokyo to Osaka, and the tour takes five days to explore it, giving you plenty of time to enjoy Germany at a relaxed pace.

This is a bit of a tangent, but for our honeymoon my husband planned a trip to Germany with an itinerary along the lines of, “Let’s rent a Porsche, blast down the Autobahn and Romantic Road, and visit every German automaker’s museum!” We followed his plan, and this route is actually pretty similar, haha.

So, What Do You Do on the Tour?

① Drive a Porsche Through the Black Forest

The Black Forest is a picture-perfect region known as the setting for many legends. The tour promises Porsche driving on winding roads through vast stretches of countryside, with a refreshing autumn breeze in the air. Two days of Porsche driving are included. A dedicated guide leads the way, so even those without experience driving overseas can feel at ease.

② Visit Hohenzollern Castle

Known as a castle in the sky, Hohenzollern Castle is a spectacular sight. My husband and I visited during our trip to Germany, and personally, I liked it even more than the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. Neuschwanstein is understandably popular, but it was crowded and felt very commercial. Hohenzollern Castle was quieter, and we could take our time soaking up the atmosphere of this historic fortress.

One thing to keep in mind: I think it took about 20 to 30 minutes to hike uphill from the foot of the mountain to the castle, so I wouldn’t recommend wearing heels.

③ Tour the Porsche Factory

Often called a pilgrimage site for Porsche fans, the Zuffenhausen headquarters factory is the heart of Porsche, and has produced more than a million cars. The tour gives visitors a chance to see it for themselves.

④ Visit the Porsche Museum

At the Porsche Museum, famous for its striking architecture, you can get up close to historic Porsche cars and explore the company’s history. As this is Porsche’s 70th anniversary year, there will also be a special exhibition.

⑤ Sightseeing and a Stay at a Luxury Hotel

A dedicated tour escort will guide you to places where you can experience local culture, and you’ll stay in beautiful hotels.

I see—it does sound like a fantastic trip. But ¥1,598,000 is still a lot (*_*). So I tried to work out what it might cost to put together a similar trip independently, breaking it down item by item. (Seriously, don’t you have anything better to do?)

Is It Worth ¥1,598,000? A Cost Breakdown: Hotels

①Villa Kennedy Frankfurt

Around ¥35,000–¥40,000 per night at this time of year (per room for two adults)

②Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa

Around ¥50,000–¥60,000 per night at this time of year (per room for two adults)

③Parkhotel Adler
Around ¥30,000 per night at this time of year (per room for two adults)

④Althoff Hotel am Schlossgarten (two nights)

Around ¥40,000 per night at this time of year (per room for two adults)

Honestly, every one of these hotels looks incredible. That’s Europe for you. They have the kind of storybook charm you rarely find in Japan. The tour includes five nights, so the hotel bill alone would work out to around ¥200,000 per person. (I haven’t included the extra ¥90,000 for a single room.)

Is It Worth ¥1,598,000? A Cost Breakdown: Meals

Prices in Europe are higher than in Japan, so food can add up quickly. On a previous trip to Germany, my husband and I decided to grab ramen for dinner. We went to an ordinary ramen shop, ordered ramen and fried rice for two, and were shocked when the bill came to €50 ( ﾟдﾟ )

I doubt the tour will be serving ramen… (Obviously.) If dinners are at hotels or traditional local restaurants, they’ll cost more. And hotel breakfasts often aren’t included in the room rate, meaning you could be paying another €20–€40 per person. Food costs can really add up.

A rough estimate comes to:

① Breakfast: ¥4,000 × 5 meals　② Lunch: ¥5,000 × 5 meals　③ Dinner: ¥8,000 × 5 meals = about ¥100,000

Is It Worth ¥1,598,000? A Cost Breakdown: Flights

I looked into the round-trip flights, and sure enough, they’re in business class. Once, when I was a student, an airline overbooked a flight and I couldn’t get an economy seat, so by some miracle I flew business class for the price of an economy ticket. It was so comfortable that I didn’t want to get off the plane (lol). Knowing the tour includes business class makes the price a little easier to understand.

The airline is Germany’s Lufthansa. I flew with Lufthansa as a student, and I still remember how they had delicious chocolate bars available in the cabin. I grabbed a whole bunch like a Japanese auntie at a bargain sale and happily ate them with my friends, lol.

As for the price, a Lufthansa business-class round trip at this time of year costs around ¥550,000–¥600,000 per person.

Is It Worth ¥1,598,000? A Cost Breakdown: Rental Car

When we visited Germany, we rented a car. Somehow, although we’d booked a Boxster, we ended up with a 911. (And I think they charged us extra for it, too…) I can’t remember exactly how much it cost, but this website lists a 911 at €249 per day.

Wow! ( ﾟдﾟ )

The tour includes two days of driving, so that comes to around ¥80,000.

Is It Worth ¥1,598,000? A Cost Breakdown: Other Costs

Admission to the Porsche Museum is €8 per adult—just over ¥1,000? That’s surprisingly affordable.

Porsche factory tours are apparently free, but if you’re arranging a visit independently, there’s no online booking form. You have to email the local staff directly in English and handle the correspondence yourself. Tours aren’t available when the factory is closed, and getting a reply can take time; you may also need to exchange several emails. It sounds like quite a hassle.

That might be fine if you’re confident in English, but if you’re not used to handling things in English, it could be pretty challenging…

This blog has more details:
→How to Book a Porsche Factory Tour: Zuffenhausen Factory, Part 1

So, What’s the Verdict?

Here’s a rough estimate of what the trip might cost if you arranged it yourself:

① Hotels: ¥200,000
② Meals: ¥100,000
③ Flights: ¥600,000
④ Rental car: ¥80,000 (for two days)
⑤ Sightseeing: around ¥10,000?
Total: roughly ¥1,000,000…!!

Even if you organize the same kind of trip independently, it still costs a fair bit.

Plus, if you go on your own, you have to book everything in English yourself: the factory tour, the rental car, the hotels—everything. The factory tour will probably be in English, too, so you might come away only half understanding what you heard. And you’ll have to queue to buy tickets at tourist attractions. It sounds like a lot of hassle.

Having a tour escort and dedicated staff take care of all of that is a real bonus. (When I was a student, I loved planning trips ourselves, even with all the hassle. But as you get older, that kind of thing starts to feel like too much work, lol.)

And above all, sharing the experience with fellow Porsche enthusiasts would make this a trip to remember for a lifetime. They’d be people you might never have met otherwise in Japan. Hearing about their outlook on life, their experiences, and their love of Porsche could be just the motivation you need to return home and say, “Time to get back to work!” You might even make friends for life.

The more I think about it, the more I start to wonder if ¥1.5 million might actually be a bargain… (Though I couldn’t actually afford it.)

After all, people spend ¥1.5 million on luxury watches and handbags. If you’re going to spend that much, this tour seems like a far better investment. Porsche has a way of making even an incredibly expensive purchase seem worthwhile—and this tour seems to capture that magic, too.

When I asked my husband, he said:

“I’d go if the Nürburgring were part of the itinerary.”

If next year’s tour includes a stop there, he might actually go for it. (With the kids at home, I’d probably be staying behind.) For more details about the 2018 Porsche Travel Experience, click here.

If you’ve been on the tour, I’d love to hear what you thought, haha.