Trip advice for a new member

The black art of moving from A to B on foreign soil
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Nixy
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Trip advice for a new member

Post by Nixy »

Hello to all, I'm new here so be gentle with me. I'm a 50 something who has been riding bikes all my life, I've currently got a Kawasaki ZX9R,a Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird & a recent addition is my Triumph thunderbird Storm.

I've visited Scotland, Ireland & France (twice) & now I am planning an 11 day trip to Lake Garda in Italy with my wife on the Blackbird, probably taking the ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge.

Do any of you well travelled members have any recommendations for where to stay, what to see & what to avoid ? I would appreciate the input.
strimstrum
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Re: Trip advice for a new member

Post by strimstrum »

Hi Nixy

Lake Garda is very touristy in the summer - lots of day visitors in coaches etc - maybe not the quiet lake you may envisage. However, just to the west of Lake Garda (and you have to zoom in a bit on Google Earth or Google maps) is the much smaller, less busy Lake Idro (Lago d'Idro).

There is a biker meet there if I remember every Sunday at the lakeside cafes in the town of Idro if my old grey matter is working. There is also a nice road from the town of Gargnano on the lake Garda(Route SP9) which will take you over the mountain through Capovalle and down to the lake Idro.

You are close to the city of Verona - Romeo & Juliet balcony (again very touristy) and a bit further east you have the romantic city of Venice. You could find a cheap hotel at the beach resort of Lido di Jesolo and catch the ferry (cheap) from Punta Sabbioni into Venice and arrive by ship (I use the word ship in its loosest form).

Martin
spasm
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Re: Trip advice for a new member

Post by spasm »

my only advice would be to keep off the motorways. its ok for covering ground in good time when u feel the need. but you will miss all the beauty and splendour of the countryside and little pretty villages and towns. and houses.
plus if you travel on the main roads across country you will have the biggest smile, the twisties and tarmac in france, belgium, germany, switzerland, italy. is amazing for us bikers.
there are some awesome places to stay everywhere, i never plan that part, its part of the adventure discovering.
stay safe and have a great time. (thumbs)
not been to lake garda (yet). but lake como was beautiful and breathtaking views
i only need one wheel .......... the rear
Ali in Austria
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Re: Trip advice for a new member

Post by Ali in Austria »

Travel one way down through the Sud Tirol from Austria taking in the Reschen Pass, Stelvio and Garvia and then head back through the Dolomites to the North East and spend a day or two around Arabba and then come back over The Grossglockner. Classic places to visit on a first trip down.

A happy trip means keeping the Mrs happy and you are going a long way. If she wants a couple of days in the sun, factor it in. It may mean a day or two munching miles on the motorway to accommodate it. Depending on the time of year, Lake Garda can be very busy and if you want decent lakeside accommodation you might want to book in advance. The Italians can be very inflexible over bookings and often don't refund a cancellation or allow change of dates so be warned. The usual advice over reduced daily milage on Mountain Roads applies. If you have an interest in medieval towns and castles have a look at The Romantic Road in Bavaria, Germany to include in your route.

Click here for motoring and travel advice links http://www.pensionhausmaria.com/location.asp

Scroll down below the Google Map to the Foreign Office Widget and click on the icons in the areas you want to travel through to reveal various Links for those areas.

Have a look at http://www.bestbikingroads.com for decent route suggestions. There are many others, http://alpineroads.com is very useful.
DG
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Re: Trip advice for a new member

Post by DG »

I've travelled through Europe a fee times now as well as overlanding down to and through Morocco. Best tip I can give you is not to book anywhere. The reason being that if you book accomodation you have to get to the hotel/B&B you've booked.

Say you encounter a problem or two on the journey or maybe you're making better progress than you thought, you feel fresh and want to continue? You'll be stuck because you've already booked your accomodation.

Just go with the flow and enjoy, go through Austria and stop off at Werfen (where Where Eagles Dare was filmed) go through the Dolomites and enjoy!
Running Yorkshire Marathon (AGAIN!) for the National Brain Appeal Please visit my page. Thank you. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gavin-pickup1
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Scott_rider
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Re: Trip advice for a new member

Post by Scott_rider »

I can't help with the request...but that's a nice selection of bikes that you've got B) .
Suzuki GSX-S1000F...the KTM 450 EXC-R has gone
GUNDOG
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Re: Trip advice for a new member

Post by GUNDOG »

Nixy... Hmmm. ;)
Treat every situation like a dog..

If you can't hump it or eat it, piss on it and walk away.
Nixy
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Re: Trip advice for a new member

Post by Nixy »

Yes Phil,tis me
Nixy
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Re: Trip advice for a new member

Post by Nixy »

Well the ferry is booked...Hull to Zeebrugge, then who knows where.
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