My girlfriend and i are planning next year's trip across the Alps through Switzerland,Italy,Slovenia,Croatia,Romania and on to Romania then after a while back via Hungary,Slovakia,Austria,etc...for roughly 5 weeks on our bikes(XL600 and Pegaso 650).Any up to date-ish info would be appreciated on borders between Croatia,Bosnia and Romania(specific paperwork requirements/bribe attempts/etc...) and more importantly camping situation in these countries as we're not rich enough to hotel it! I'm quite an old-hand at wild camping and can usually find somewhere to hide but would like to know the legal/accepted ways in these countries.Also,the Rough Guide to Romania(2004 issue) says the speed limit for motorcycles is 30kph in built up areas and 50kph EVERYWHERE else......is this still correct??? Seems a bit dangerous as all other traffic is allowed 90kph on open roads.We are both rather fond of unsurfaced roads and tracks so any reccomencations of good,long,interesting mountain trails would be gratefully recieved.....
Regards to all......Jon and Angharad.

__________________
Just going for a short ride on my bike....

Hi,

my name is Mihai and I live in Romania.
The speed limit is the same for the EU (city 50 km/h, outside 90 km/h, expresway 130 km/h).
If you have any questions about Romania don't hesitate to contact me.

Mihai

Camping in the wild is no problem in Croatia and Romania. There are lots of empty backcountry areas where you'll always find a nice spot for a night. In Croatia it might prove difficult in the northern coastal region (Istria), but further south as well as in the mountainous bachcountry this isn't a problem. Besides that there are alot of nice official campsites along the coast.

Romania offers superb landscape and very nice dirt roads, usually well gravelled. In the Carpathians you still find lots of pists crossing the mountains going well over 2,000m asl. One pass that immediately comes to my mind is the Urdele Pass (2,228m) turning off from the 7A roughly 34 kms east of Petrosani, leading south to Novaci on the 67C.

Make sure to buy a detailed and up-to-date map. The best currently on the market is IMO the road atlas of Freytag & Berndt (freytag & berndt) 1:250,000

As Mihai says, the speed limit is identical for motorbikes and cars. Just make a point of driving carefully - nobody takes an oncoming biker seriously when busy overtaking. So you should always be ready for an emergency stop or a detour onto the green ;-)

Rooms are abundant and fortunately quite cheap, whereas official campsites are scarce. But then I never had any problems finding a nice retreat for a night.

Austria and Switzerland are more of a challenge, but even there I usually found a nicely secluded spot just for me & my tent.

Hans

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

Just be little careful if you go via Bosnia, Serbia (not sure about Croatia) as there are supposed to be lots of personnel mines still not cleared up. So I believe it is recommended not to go off piste in these countries if you value the use of your legs..!

Rod

You obviously never visited mentioned countries! Where will you find mines in
Serbia ? Answer is simple - nowhere. In Croatia and Bosnia mine fields do exists,
but you need to explore very out of paved roads to find mines. As long as you stick
to roads , no problems at all.

To JonStobbs - be my guest !

__________________
AnteK

Rod

in Croatia I have only seen mine alert signs on one piste across a mountain pass. There of course you shouldn't aleave the road - even for a pee ;-) For Bosnia I cannot say, because I haven't just been passing through several times.

Dangerous areas are all signed out, so that shouldn't be a problem anywhere on the Balkan and shouldn't stop you from visiting this beautiful part of the world.

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)