Hi All. Myself and swmbo are starting to plan a trip to Lake Garda and surrounding area for this summer. I've never taken the bike abroad so i'm looking for a few pointers.
I've got approx 16 days for the round trip and stop offs. i'm in the north west uk so here goes
Is ferry better than tunnel ? if so which ferry ?
Depends, we use the tunnel as it is easy enough for us to get to and the crossing is quick, a mate of mine further north takes a late night ferry instead and gets some rest before arriving early the following morning.
Look at the timings and see what works best for you, if you lived in Dover the Tunnel would be a no-brainer, but you may find a ferry works better.
Don't want to use too much motorway if possible -a bit of twisties and scenery preferred - so route suggestions.
Two schools of thought here, either avoid motorways like the plague, or use them to get the boring bit out the way and buy an extra day or two in the nice areas - I lean towards the latter.
Assuming arrival in Calais I would spend the first day on the motorway, that Northern bit of France is not the best, imagine wanting a Holiday in Scotland from the south of England, the M1 / M6 would get you there in a day, or you could avoid the motorways and trawl through one suburb after another getting stuck caught up in congestion around Oxford, Birmingham, Notingham, Derby, Manchester etc etc taking an extra day (each way, so two days of your holiday blown) and not really seeing anything particularly nice, or riding any particularly great roads.
The difference is France is far less congested, but I still blast day one to make sure by lunchtime I am in the Mountains.
You need to work out what crossing you will be taking before looking at these options as how far you will get on day one will be entirely dependant on where you land and at what time.
Your destination is at least two days away, possibly three, especially if you want to take in some great mountain roads on the way - which is where I agree with avoiding motorways, the fastest route would skirt around the Alps
I reckon a day of motorway followed by 2 days on rural roads would work well, by lunchtime on day two you could be riding Swiss or French Mountain passes.
Friendly hotels / b&b needed
www.hotels.com
or look up the regions tourist information websites, or just grab something wherever and whenever you feel like stopping - or a mix, book the hotels in areas you plan to stay for a few days and leave the in between bits flexible.
What laws are in force in different countries etc
Millions, following the ten commandments will probably keep you free of both criminal and cultural problems, following speed limits around towns and in villages will probably take care of motoring concerns.
I have never read the UK statute books and I sure as hell ahve not got enough time to start translating those of several European countries before going on a Holiday.
I assume when you "Thomas Cook" it you always request an English copy of the statute books of the country you are visiting
I know its a lot of info required but i'm sure your collective experience can point me in the right direction.
Book crossing, service / check over bike, pack gear, get going - it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.
I like to research the best roads and places of interest to come up with some Utopian holiday plan, which gives me something to deviate from
In reality I normally have 2-3 places I definately want to stay at, and will get them booked up, this year I have 14 nights.
The first few nights travelling are not planned, I may book something last minute when I can obtain reasonably accurate weather forecasts, otherwise I will just make it up as I go along.
I then have 4 nights in the Dolomite and 3 Nights in Austria, these are pre-booked as it was my primary destination with some particular passes I want to tick of my list.
For the way back I have 1 night of stopping when I feel like it and the last 3 nights are booked as we want to re-visit some old favourite haunts on the way home with a stop in the Black Forest for two nights and a stop in France as I can't be bothered to do the 14 hour Journey from there back home in one hit.
I also have a lot of routes mapped out, I like to have a fantastic route for the "perfect day" and an optional route for poor weather, I may sometimes have a variation in between, or some "Optional" way points in my perfect route that can be deleted to shorten the route a bit if I decide I want a shorter day, or the weather turns part way throught the day.
Many folk will tell you to just make it all up as you go along, you may prefer that, I just would hate to ride 3,000 miles and get home to find out I missed the five best passes in the area
I have known people who have just hopped from town to town and gone under nearly every decent pass on their route in tunnels
