Advice wanted: Southern Europe + Morocco + Turkey.
 

Hi,

I'm planning a trip down through southern europe and possibly a little further afield. I currently live in the UK, so I'll be starting from here. I went the to the library for a good look at an atlas, and this is the very rough route I have planned at the moment.

UK
Spain
Portugal
Spain
Morocco
Spain
France
Italy
Greece
Turkey
Bulgaria
Romania
(Poss: Moldova)
Hungary
(Poland, Czech Rep, Austria - not decided really)
Germany
Nederlands

So, that's that basic plan. What I am looking for is advice form people that know these areas, or have traveled there before.

Places to see.
Places to avoid.
Ferry routes.
ATM availability.
Camping availability - mainly rough camping if I can.
Petrol availability - not going to get anywhere without the gogo juice.

Thanks for your time,
Ewano.

First, I'd advise you to go back to the library and get a few travel guides. Pick out some of the major sights that grab you. Not too many, just your "must see".

Read older posts here on HUBB. Many of your questions will already have been answered.

My general advice: avoid the Med. coast (E, F & I) and big roads and cities, where possible. Take your time. If you find you are falling "behind schedule" don't rush, just change the schedule. Better not to have been to half the countries on your list than to have raced through them all.

Contact the HUBB communities along the way.

Some of my personal favourites:

France - Massif Central, Pyrénées, Alps, Corsica

Italia - Sardegna, Abruzzo, Cinque Terre (not on weekend!)

Greece - Meteora, small islands

Turkey - Med. coast, Cappadokia

Have fun!

------------------
Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.

Hi Ewano

I did similar route in 2003, but in reverse to what you plan... but not Turkey, Greece, Hungary, Romania - I went North into Baltics, Russia and Scandanavia - but can reccomend Slovakia and CZ. So my experience might not help for Turkey, Greece, Hungary, Romania, etc - but I expect it's about the same

Places to see: Depends what you like - 'rough' camping is what I did and mainly spent time in the countryside - so head for mountains, hills, forests and lakes - I found it quite easy to wild camp in these sorts of places.
Ferry routes: Algerciras to Cuetta is a good route for Morocco - you just turn - buy a ticket in the town and your away - it's dead easy.
ATM availability: Loads around in most towns and all cities - you shouldn't have a problem. Just make sure you always have a few notes with you.
Camping availability: No problem - loads of choice - I aimed to stop between 4pm and 6pm and always found a spot which I didn't pay for.
Petrol availability - no probs - again most towns have a station, just keep it filled rather than trying to run the tank dry.

Hope this helps

------------------
Fuzzy Duck
(I'm quackers about bikes)

hi ewano,

don´t forget northern spain, the PICOS DE EUROPA. it´s amazing overthere. but wait until end of may. might be to cold further.

did that in 2003 and 2004 and had a great time in the mountains.

greetings norma

Thanks for the replies, things are starting to come together now and I'm hoping to leave in about a week and a half - assuming I get all the parts I am looking for..

Have decided on the north of spain, then down through portugal and then over to morrocco.

Anyone got any travel advice for morrocco - water / food / crime wise?