Euro Trip
 

So I am planning a 48 day trip around Europe for my wife and I and would love to hear any tips or routes that anyone could suggest. I am planning to ferry from N. Ireland to Scotland and head down to the Channel Tunnel to France. I will be trying to hit as many of the following countries as possible along the way and will be camping and couch surfing my through them.

France
Spain
Portugal
Morocco
Italy
Greece
Turkey (visa and carnet info appreciated)
Bulgaria
Romania
Hungary
Slovenia
Austria
Czech Republic
Germany
Switzerland
Netherlands
Belgium

Any help/advice would be appreciated!

Hello from Austria
 

Sounds a bit like the old joke about American tourists in Europe " If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium"

Anyway, you lucky *.*.*s, 48 days away on a bike!

If what the pair of you want is 48 days riding,touching on as many countries as possible then good luck to you. There are a few more you could add to the list. Whatever you do you will have a fantastic time..Just don't expect to actually learn anything about the amazing variety of cultures that still exist in Europe.

A large part of Europe has, scenery apart, a surface sameness now, people wear the same clothes,listen to the same music,watch the same films.(although for some the the actors mouth movements don't quite match the words).
One thing I have learnt from moving here to Austria is that beneath this (plastic) veneer there are fascinating differences in traditions, attitudes and outlook. There are also places of real interest that those rushing to the next place simply pass by. I suppose what I am pleading for is the small experience, the local festival of whatever, the half forgotton ruin that turns out to have played a part in a major historic event,the side road that leads to nowhere, the sort of nowhere that leaves you gasping for the words..

So my advice is don't just go for the obvious places. If you have only a short time in each country at least try to seek out some off the beaten track ones too, there you will find experiences that will linger in your memory for ever.

If I can help at all with information about southern Austria/Slovenia/NE Italy let me know (click on my user name for contact details)

Please don't think I am saying don't go for as many coutries as possible, it's your holiday, work out whatyou want to do and go for it.

Have a great time whatever you do,ride safe

John

Turkey information
 

If you are a British citizen,
you can get your visa stamp at the border for yourself for 90 days.

For motocycles,

6 months. if you are retired 1 year staying time.motors will be stamped on passport page.When leaving turkey, u must clear it.
Only insurance needed for turkey. not more than 15 euros for 1 month.
also available at the border.

papers of the motor and driving licence needed. ıf you will ride back to europe
no carnet needed, if u will ride to east countries such as syria, iran etc. carnet needed.

wish you all the best.

Welcome to the HUBB!


Good call John. I fully agree with these comments.

Unlike any other place on earth Europe is extremely rich and dense with cultural diversity. I am living in Switzerland at the moment and here from one valley to the next the culture changes, the language is different and the produce is unique. But to a passer-by it all blends into one and then you are left with nothing but Switzerland = Cheese and Toblerone. Admittedly on a short trip like 48 days, you're unlikely to appreciate the subtle diversities if you don't speak the local language but still worth a detour.

Of course you need to see the most popular tourist destinations especially if you don't think you'll come back.

So a very quick and non exhaustive list of must do places by motorbike.

In France do see Provence, Gorges de l'ardeche, Gap, Pont de la Garde.
In Switzerland do Gruyères, Valais and Engadine.
In Austria, the Gros Glockner, Salzburg
Slovenia, the Emerald loop including Bled.
Italy the dolomites
Germany, Bavaria and the Egles Nest
Hungry, Lake Balaton
Croatia, head inland to Plitvice Jezera NP.
Romania, Transylvania (more for the roads then the actual castles)
Bulgaria, Rila Monestry
Turkey, all of it! We loved Turkey.


Also have you considered going to Scandinavia. The roads up there espcially in costal Norway are a biker's paradise. Just a thought.

Enjoy what I'm sure will be a great trip.:scooter:

If you pass by Lac Léman in western Switzerland drop me a PM, we could meet up for a beer.

HU communities
 

You can contact local HU communities in the areas you are planning to visit and ask for the nice interesting places to visit.

I agree with TurboCharger that Norway is one of the best places in the world to enjoy a motorcycle.

In the area I live, near Bergen op Zoom in the netherlands, I can recommend a visit to Antwerp, a trip around Zeeland including the Deltaworks (the dams build to keep the see out after the flooding of most of Zeeland in 1953) and the city of Bergen op Zoom.
In Goes you can have a nice trip in an old steam train that is very nice.

Here are some of my trip reports of short trips in this area
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jkrijt/trips/z...ur/index.shtml
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jkrijt/trips/okt2004/index.shtml
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jkrijt/trips/antwerp/index.shtml

Euro Trip
 

Thanks everyone for the replies so far. I get the deal about cultures changing from area to area. I have been living in Ireland for the last 4 years and the same is true here. I have traveled in Europe a little bit and have experienced some of these culture changes and my wife lived and studied in Belgium for a while and saw the same thing.

Our schedule has some flexibility to it so 48 days is just the guideline that we gave ourselves. If we find a spot we love and want to explore more we will stop for a couple of days.

To clarify our focus for this trip...

We aren't overly interested in hitting all of the big cities and tourist destinations along the way. I can find those places with a Lonely Planet book. There are a few of these that we will hit along the way of course but seeing things like the Eiffel Tower aren't on our to do list. We love the off the beaten track hidden gems that the locals know about. We look for the roads to nowhere, the isolated beauty spots and the awe inspiring scenery.

What I want to know is are there any of these places that you have found in your travels that shouldn't be missed? We will be camping for most of the trip so if you can suggest a good campsite somewhere that would be appreciated as well.

Will definitely be emailing some of the communities and if we come close to you along the way a friendly pint and banter would be welcome!

Would love to make it up to Scandinavia at some point but budget and time make it impossible on this trip.

istanbul bisiklet motosiklet - Thanks for the information on Turkey. Do you know if the same rules apply to a USA passport?

inf. for riding in turkey
 

same for usa citizens. multiple visa at the borders available for 90 days.
here is the list of the countries who are in the same group.so you have started to learn some turkish.

Sınır Kapılarımızda 90 Gün İkamet Süreli Müteaddit Girişli Bandrol Vizesi Verilebilecek Olanlar:

A.B.D (diplomatik pasaportlara da bandrol vizesi verilebilmektedir), Avusturya, Avustralya, Belçika,
Brezilya, Hollanda, Hong Kong (İngiliz Pasaportları), İngiltere, İrlanda, İspanya, İtalya, Kanada,
Portekiz,

Making a route; your likes,dislikes,hobbies are important for a wonderful journey.If you like, riding in nowhere places and discovering as we do, please check our photo albumes in our face book page.Some of them are with foreign guests.

You can always contact us for inf. help,tools even search and rescue.(hope noone needs the last one) all free and visit our club for friendly drinks and talks about adventure riding. As Andon from South Africa, Kazunori from Japan,Jurgens from belgium did recently. If its sunday we can share an off road in the forest, too. (Andon has nice memories about that.
2wherever.

Wish you all the best and wonderful rides 2wherever you ride.

istanbul bisiklet motosiklet ihtisas klübü | Facebook

My wife and I are heading to Europe this summer. It is our intent to miss the big cities, for the most part, this time. Therefore, I found Toby Ballentine, Motorcycle Journeys Through Western Europe (2010), very helpful. He sets out back road routes to take in scenic, local and medieval history. His book is well done, current, and has clear road maps. He his time camping. Maybe that can help. Also, and we intend to make it, Horizons Unlimited is having their Great Britian meeting in June. Based on this site, it looks like it will be well attended.