Germany to Budapest to Barcelona
 

Hey!
This will be my first big motorcycle trip, and I was hoping that I could get some advice from the experts. Im just about to close on my bike (Im an american getting export plates for a Africa Twin) in Heidelberg. From here I want to go up to Krakow, then down to Hungry where I have some friends. Then after I have gone all the way east, turn around and head back west. From what I see on the map, the best route would be going down south and staying by the coast.

Any advice for this trip would be greatly appreciated. I am one of thoes people who like to just do things, and learn on the way, but I have already wasted a lot of time and money finding things out the hard way! One major concern is the weather and the cold. When is the latest I can hope to be able to cross over the mountains down into spain without dying of cold?

Thanks!
Tim

Hi Tim,
Get yourself a good quality map of Europe, and/or a GPS, and you can't go wrong for the general route planning - or even if you don't bother planning all that much and just ride each day.
Crossing the high passes of the Pyranees will depend on the weather situation so do a search for european weather maps/forecasts online - there are quite a few free webpages that update the forecast regularly.

If you travel on the Mediterrean coast, there is an "Interstate"/Motorway right there, Perpignon to Barcelona; open all year and more or less at the sea level of the sunny Med - no problem in other words!

Super! I was getting a bit worried that I had to head south soon to avoid the winter. I guess it was poor planning on my part, but I didnt expect it to get cold so early!

I have a GPS which I will be using, but I was more interested in good spots to hit, cool roads to travel, neat things to see, campsites, etc. on the way. Ive done some traveling in the area before (I have taken a train stop by stop from Venice to Barcelona) but figured it would be much different on a bike.

Also if anyone knows of good things I can do to earn a bit of money as I travel (picking jobs I hear are good) please let me know too!