Motorcycling on the continent is not as daunting as you might think. There’s plenty of advice and checklists on the internet to help ensure that you have a stress-free holiday in Europe. To help those new to touring in particular, however, I’ve put together a few personal tips that my wife and I have picked up in ninety thousand plus miles of motorcycling over the last twenty odd years.

Planning your motorcycle trip

If you like the certainty of knowing that your bed is guaranteed and that you will be staying somewhere nice plan ahead! You can always ring your hotel if you are running late. Any unexpectedly interesting places can be revisited another time. Some people, however, prefer not to be tied down and relish the freedom of motorcycling somewhere at the last minute.

Don’t try to go too far in one day. Roadworks and traffic jams will slow you down. Pick places to stay that are nice in their own right, are not too far from each other, and make the getting there itself a fun part of the holiday.

A single night stay can be useful to break up a long journey. However, two or three single-night stays in a row, especially with long distances in between, may be wearing. Spending a couple of nights in one place will allow you to dry out gear, wash clothes and, if desired, take a day off the motorbike.

To take it a step further, consider spending 4-5 nights in each of a couple of different places. This will give you the opportunity to walk or to ride without panniers as weather and mood dictate.

Expect hot weather, even in late spring and early autumn. Learn to embrace the sweat pouring off you! It will make the evening shower and cold beer all the more enjoyable. Well vented motorcycle clothing does make a huge difference, particularly on the move.

Ideal destinations for your first motorcycle trip abroad

France

The French love motorcyclists. It is not uncommon for hoteliers to empty a garage for your motorbike, or at least point out where it will be dry and safe. In fact, motorcyclists seem to be tolerated everywhere.

Austria

The scenery in Austria is stunning and the roads are windy. The Krimml waterfall has lockers for motorcycling gear (€1) and maps showing recommended biker routes.

Assuming you’re going to end up in mountains at some point, you will find plenty of bends. All too often, however, they are hairpin after hairpin. This will become tiring so plan rest stops. As a rule, if coaches don’t use a road, neither do we. Roads to ski resorts, for example, often make good biking roads. That still leaves plenty of sharp bends!

Having said all of that, for a good mixture of tight and sweeping bends Scotland is as good a motorcycling destination as any!

Ferries

The Eurotunnel and most ferry terminals have covered areas/cafes, meaning you have somewhere dry to wait if you’re too early. The exceptions are Newcastle and Calais ferry terminals. When you arrive at Dover or Calais they’ll let you catch an earlier ferry if there’s room.

When taking a ferry we always pack a ratchet strap, although the ferry companies nowadays invariably supply them. The bike needs to be in 1st gear and on its side (not centre) stand. The strap goes over the riders seat, protected by your gloves if the ferry company doesn’t provide padding. Do that yourself if there are no crew around. More often crew will be there, and know how to do it without damaging your bike. They will often add straps to fix the bike’s frame.

The entry ramps to ferries can be steep and wet, with corrugated surfaces. My wife will often walk up and meet me at the top!

Day 1 of your Motorcycle tour

The following destinations are a 1-day motorbike ride from the ports of Ijmuiden, Rotterdam or Calais:

Ypres – stay there to see the Last Post played at the Menin Gate
The Ardennes – Givet, Bouillon (try the Hotel de la Poste)
Verdun
Rheims, Epernay – champagne country
Dieppe – its Saturday market is worth a visit
The Seine – Caudebec-en-Caux, Honfleur
Eifel Mountains – Nideggen
Koblenz
Trier
If you’re prepared for higher mileage and roadworks:
Miltenberg
Baden Baden
possibly Ulm

Unfortunately the Groenedijk Bikers’ Loft , just a few miles inland from Ostend, closed a few years ago. It was truly somewhere different.

Apart from the ferries to northern Spain there are three principal routes to the continent:

• Newcastle to Amsterdam (Ijmuiden) overnight
• Hull to Rotterdam overnight
• Channel ferries including Dover to Folkestone-Calais, Newhaven to Dieppe and Portsmouth to Cherbourg, Caen and Le Havre. (some overnight).

Depending on your ultimate destination, you need to look at the costs and relative distances in the UK and across the Channel. Motorcycling through France tends not to be difficult. However, traffic can be heavy and unpredictable in Holland and Belgium. Consider if the equivalent mileage can be ridden in England instead.

One option is to ride the initial miles in England and go out via the Eurotunnel, possibly staying the first night in the Coquelles Ibis, returning via Ijmuiden to Newcastle. It is worth anticipating that by the end of your motorcycle trip you may be tired and just want to get home relatively quickly!

We find changing the bike’s instruments from mph to kph saves a lot of mental arithmetic! We also adjust the bike’s clock to local time.

Things to watch out for

Germany is a cash economy. Many hotels won’t take bank cards, but will direct you to the nearest cash point.

In France, the boulangeries shut at noon, as do many shops. Buy your picnic lunch early!

The distance between motorway service stations can be variable. Occasionally, the one you’re counting on will be closed. On one journey, from one service station we rode 90 miles between Germany and Luxemburg before reaching the next. This problem doesn’t occur on French motorways. There the Aires are regular and well signposted (including distance to the next fuel). Do note that some Aires are just laybys with toilets but most will have all the services you need, including decent food. Petrol stations, including motorway services and supermarkets, have different systems for paying, including pre-payment. If necessary take your time to work out what to do!

Roadworks have to take place during the (sometimes short) summer, which can occasionally lead to long traffic jams. German motorways are particularly bad. You either filter or wait for hours. Choose your narrowest bike if possible as lanes can be narrow, particularly on three-lane carriageways.

Accommodation, Food & Drink

Hotel chains – Ibis usually offer good mid-range accommodation. In France, the Logis de France, a chain of independent hotels and restaurants, offers more variety. We’ve also really enjoyed staying in a couple of the motorrad hotels.

Vegetarians will find limited choice. Inevitably you will be asked “do you eat fish?”. In France, you can often get an omelette, or even a simple assiette de legumes. In Germany, flammkuchen or spätzle with a cheese sauce are options (until you tire of them). Most countries are used to vegetarians, even if they don’t cater very well for them. In France be prepared for your potatoes to be livened up with lardons, and your asparagus wrapped in bacon!

Switzerland is expensive. Going half board in hotels often costs little more than bed and breakfast.

In Austria, many supermarkets will make up sandwiches for you. Go the delicatessen counter and see if they have rolls (brötchen) there.

Language and Phrasebooks

Do try to learn even just a few words of French (also good for parts of Belgium and Switzerland, and for getting by in western Italy) and/or German (also good for Austria, parts of Switzerland and for getting by in western Czech Republic).

If someone starts speaking English to you, let them – they’ll relish the chance to show off! But ask before you start speaking English yourself. It’s their country and it’s impolite to assume they speak your language.

All the tourist hotels speak English, ditto tourist information.

Legal requirements for motorcycle touring in Europe

Your UK Driving Licence is probably sufficient for most of Europe. You can check here.

The government has informative pages here for general travel advice. Select a country and follow the advice there, particularly links to “Entry requirements” for passport rules. Recently a number of people have not been allowed to leave the country because of changes to the latter. Which? has a useful article on the new passport rules. You have been warned!

In due course the EU will be applying ETIAS and EES rules when we cross the Channel, but probably not until 2025. There is a Which? guide here, but to keep up-to-date use the EU official sites here and here.

Carnets for motorways can be bought in advance over the internet, although you may then forget to take them (DAMHIK, IJDOK?). In Austria, you might risk going without one for short distances. The Swiss make you buy one at motorway borders. Beware of fake internet sites. Go here for Austria and here for Switzerland.

The French have established a few Low Emission Mobility Zones in major cities, and to enter these you’ll need a Crit’Air certificate. You can apply for one online. The official site is here. It’s in French but you can select “EN” in the top right-hand corner. In determining your classification you’ll be asked for your bike’s EURO standard. You’ll find this under “Vehicle details” on page 2 of the V5C. Mine (2021 R1250RS) is EURO 5.

Finally, if your bike is particularly noisy, you might want to follow up on this article I came across!

Documents: carry the original V5C and your insurance certificate.

In France, carry or wear reflective gillets. All towns and villages have a 50kph limit between the entering and leaving signs. Keep to these, as the Gendarmes can be active. You can be fined on the spot, and taken to a cash machine if necessary. Speed cameras are increasingly common, many of which will catch bikes.

Don’t ride like an idiot in Germany. It’s not unknown for a road block (and the police are armed!) to be set up just for motorcyclists reported to be riding dangerously. Filtering (lane-splitting) is illegal, although it appears to be increasingly common. Overtaking static traffic is fine, but you shouldn’t cross a single white line and mustn’t cross a double one.

Lastly – please don’t be put off by all the above bureaucracy. It is easily sorted, after all!

Packing for a motorcycle trip

Only experience will tell you what you’ll need. It’s actually surprisingly little. A few changes of underclothes, and periodic washing of the same, will see you able to tour for weeks.

If you care about keeping your motorbike clean, consider taking a collapsible camping bucket and a little motorbike shampoo. You may well find that your bike will get filthy on day one of your trip and that there is nowhere to wash it for days! A chamois leather or similar is a must. Your motorbike will need drying at times.

Don’t forget a puncture repair and inflation kit. If you’re taking an overnight ferry and your bike has lockable luggage, pack a separate overnight bag to take up to your cabin.

Take a SatNav if you have one. It can be used to plan routes in advance. Also, it can be a life-saver when trying to locate your hotel in the rain and/or in a large city at the end of a day’s motorcycling. They are useful for finding fuel as well. In France (possibly elsewhere) it is illegal to have speed-camera locations on your sat-nav. You may think it’s worth the risk.

Final advice

Do it, even just for a day or two. It’s a lot less scary than you think!

Do you have any recommended destinations or motorcycle touring tips to pass on to new adventurers? We’d love to hear about your experiences.