Routes & Visas FAQs

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Where does the rally start & finish?

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The rally starts on Sunday 1st August with a huge fanfare send-off on the Sunday morning. The location is not confirmed yet but will probably be in or around London and easily accessible. The rally officially finishes on the 29th of August (Baby U finishes on the 15th), although teams may want to continue travelling. Note that teams cannot score points for new challenges after the official finish date.

There will be an 'After U Party' prize-giving ceremony & celebration in October, when all teams have returned, points tallied and recoveries completed.

Concerning the issue of where you'll be on the final day of the rally - this is really up to the participating teams. If you want to head for some more remote regions (Siberia, Africa, Mongolia etc.) you may want to leave your car and fly back. Alternatively you may want to finish your challenges, but carry on travelling. Both of these are fine, just remember that the points scoring window is limited from August 1st to August 29th and all of your evidence needs to be submitted shortly after this (15th August for Baby U).

We are expecting lots of teams to want to return back to the UK as well. We are aware that teams who do not intend to get the car back in four weeks may be likely to score more points due to the pub story multiplier. In order to ensure teams are not penalised for returning their car to the UK, we are offering a huge incentive in points for getting your car back - a score of 300 U Points in fact - that we feel would balance out the scoring of teams racking up double points out east.

Will there be a party at the start & finish?

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Yes and yes. Huge and huge. Details will be confirmed nearer the time.

Don't forget that there will be an event in Bruges on the first night of the rally to celebrate our continental invasion before all setting of our separate ways. You will also be able to go to certain meet up points around the map on every Saturday of the rally to catch up and kick back with other teams.

Is there a recommended route?

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Absolutely, equivocally NO. It's a core part of the U Rally championship challenge that you devise your own route, taking account of potential point scorers. It is your adventure. You are the pioneers. We are happy to let you pioneer in whichever roundabout way you fancy. Remember, points mean prizes and you will be able to pick them up all over the place. Obviously, due to the nature of the challenges some teams will be heading in the same direction and to the same places, but we expect your paths to chop and change and we are sure you will be running into each other all over the continent.

We will be suggesting some venues across the map for teams to meet up at on each of the first three Saturdays of the rally. There is no pressure to go, but it is a good chance to catch up with other teams and plan convoys.

What's the deal with visas?

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The deal is you may or may not need them! If you stay within the European Union on your travels and have an EU passport, then there are no visa requirements. If, however, as we hope, you stray beyond this bloc then there will be a need for visas. You will be able to get some on the border when you arrive and some you may need to get before you leave, for numerous reasons. It's pretty forward to find out visa requirements for the countries you intend to visit by visiting the relevant embassy websites.

Our friends and partners at Bonheur Outsourcing, are kindly offering U Rally participants a lovely optional VISA service to sort out your visa requirements. Click on their logo to visit the dedicated U Rally page on their website:

Will there be any checkpoints/meeting points?

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Yes. There will be planned meet up points at several uber-trendy venues across the map for whichever part of the world you are in. These will take place on each Saturday of the event. There is also a big party in Bruges on the first night of the rally. None of these are compulsory if you want to go it alone!

Also, although as there is no set route, we are expecting some teams (if you want) to get in touch on a certain social face like bookish social network to plan convoys for those heading off in the same direction. Due to the nature of the event and the challenges we are certain you will be running into each other in all sorts of exotic destinations. We also expect most teams to return to the UK, but understand that others will want to get somewhere really out there and fly/train back.

We're also sure teams will be letting others know that they will be in a certain bar in a certain romantic sounding city at a certain time whilst actually on the rally, if anyone might be in town.

How long will it take?

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Once again, the most brilliant thing is that this is entirely up to you. The only constraint is that there is a maximum time limit of 4 weeks in which to score points. If you spend four weeks driving to Kazakhstan getting points that is fine, you can fly home or spend another four coming back, but will not score during this time. If you only have two weeks off work but still want to take part then check out the Baby U, the 2 week naughty little brother of the U Rally.

What happens if I can't make it back or want to go home before the end?

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Just make sure the car is properly accounted for if you're leaving it abroad (duties, selling, scrapping etc) and then get yourself home.

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