First time trip. Ideas/advice on where to go ?

I would say yes for a SatNav. There's nothing like them if you get lost in a city, but plenty folk manage just fine without them.
The SatNav function on many phones is better than many SatNavs. If you have a place to stick it - use that.
I wouldn't save Spain for July/August unless you want to be a boil in the bag biker. November is ideal time for Spain. Just keep heading South until it gets warm.
You might be ok in Scotland but you won't know what the weathers going to be until a couple days before.
Suggest you get a card for fuel etc that does a good exchange rate. I have 'Starling' debit card, and the exchange rate is about 10% better than using my normal bank card. Plenty others are available.
Don't need panniers, especially if you're not camping. Get a bag & strap it to the back seat.
 
I managed touring until about 2003 using just maps and directions written on paper

As said above they are very handy in cities, especially the ancient ones with tortuous one way systems.

Funds: use cards where possible. Get one that does not charge commission on the exchange rate and always pay in local currency. Every hotel I stayed in offered to charge my card in £ but at a rate that favoured them. I use a Post Office credit card for petrol, hotels etc. Some cash is handy for coffee and snacks. I usually take 200 euros from a UK source (Sainsburys last month) and get cash from an ATM as needed, again using a debit card that does not fleece me on the exchange rate. Your bank may offer this already but there are numerous pre-load cards.
I suggest you go to MSE and read all about travel finance as this will detail your insurance needs as well as cash. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/
 
For me health insurance is a must. Other countries do not have health care that is free at the point of delivery, also your E111 card won’t cover you for repatriation should you need it.

Money wise I would simply find the best cash exchange rate in this country and change say £1.5K into euros. Yes you might come back with some but they’ll be in your drawer for your next trip.

I still say that weather is one of the biggest factors to a bike trip, especially a short one, 5 days of riding in the rain might be the adventure you want or 5 days of sunshine the holiday you want - so bear it in mind.

If I was going on my own, that time of year it would definitely be Spain over France.
France is very quiet socially and everywhere will be closed by 9pm.
The bars and restaurants in Spain however, are always buzzing late into the evening.

Whatever you decide enjoy :beerjug:




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Anyone who travels abroad without good quality Travel insurance, whether for one day, a week, a fortnight or longer is a chimp of the first order. Anyone who ventures abroad without Breakdown insurance, whether provided as a part of their warranty (mainly applicable to new motorcycles) or bought separately, is also a chimp.

I have seen the lack both directly affect not just the individual but those around him, unable to then help.

Which and what to buy? There is lots of choice. Do a search here or through Google; Everyman and his dog has their favourite.
 
More great advice :)
Breakdown cover and insurance both worth the money.
Most seem to advise Spain rather than France.....................so Spain it is.
Thanks to the guy/s that tipped me off about the card/money side of things, had a read on the website and my credit/debit card crappy for spending o/s. So organised a better one. :thumb
Don't need panniers ( thanks mate). Good to know.
Phone and maps will suffice ( tf for that)
learning more everyday, just going to make things so much better.
 
So just to be clear
It is not just advice on where or where not to go in November but the full on what I need to know on my first trip ?
 
If you are going to Spain, get the RiDE ‘Special’ - see the Spanish section of UKGSer, it’ll save you a lot of faffing about.

You can get it ‘free’ via the Readly app.

That being said, if you are going in November, you might need to check the sailings before you ‘plan’ (or not) your Adventure.
 
Anyone who travels abroad without good quality Travel insurance, whether for one day, a week, a fortnight or longer is a chimp of the first order.

I would agree with this. Also make sure your policy covers you for rising a larger bike. Some travel 'holiday' type policies have a cc limit or say no bikes.
The Post Office do a good, reasonably priced, policy that allows bigger bikes.

Above and beyond the travel policy its worth getting your E111 card. You can get them online for free. If the site tries to charge a fee - its a bogus site.
 
If going alone the best plan is no plan. The best biking holiday I've ever had was alone to the Pyrenees though I wouldn't recommend it in November. Sat Nav are brilliant but often you tend to use them to much, get some michelin maps of the area you're going to and go with the flow but if you're going to go up the mountains be aware it will be cold.
 
I (like many on here) have a "favourite" route to the Sun. It avoids most of the motorways (other than a few miles out of Calais), saving you tolls, but also allowing you to enjoy the scenery and villages on route:
roure%20to%20annecy.png

https://goo.gl/maps/vhDu9jQFpnk

Did it earlier this year (must have done this route at least 15 times on motorbikes and in cars!). A few motorway miles gets you out of the humdrum and industrial areas in the North, and once at St Quentin, it's lovely tree-lined roads for a lot of the way.

Troyes is well worth a viewing. Dijon also has some nice areas. Lake Annecy is a peach!

It's easy here to push on to the Med for some sun, head for a nice inland area like the Ardeche (beautiful river with fantastic gorges), or make a route towards the Pyrenees (my favourite is Lourdes... fascinating and beautiful).

Ardeche https://en.ardeche-guide.com/
Lourdes https://en.lourdes-infotourisme.com/

If you do Lourdes, you can explore the Atlantic coast on the way back North... Maybe get a more "Southern" ferry from Caen, Dieppe etc to cut the miles in the cold North (easier back to Salisbury I guess).
If you do Ardeche, maybe whizz over towards Germany on the way home. We stopped at the Nurburgring on the way home, found the roads near there to be amazing...

Enjoy whatever you do!
 
Cheers for all the tips and advice, MartinK...........spent a bit of time and effort with your reply and it's very much appreciated. Big thanks. :)
 
Lots of good advice here. Don't try and over plan it, things change, attitudes change, as does weather, beer, company, everything else. Pick an area that is likely to be nice - probably Spain - get the ferry, head off. If you like somewhere, stop for a coffee, wander in to a hotel and ask a price, go as you feel. Plan and book ahead if you like but do it day by day. Most importantly, don't give yourself a timetable to achieve because, a few days in, you will probably hate it because you just passed a really nice looking bar and you want to stay there, so fuking what if it is only 2pm!
You will always find somewhere to eat, drink and sleep.
 
Some big snow in Asturias at the moment, apparently. Maybe head further south if you can. The further you go, the greater the chance of warmer/drier weather. There's great riding along the Spanish/Portuguese border in Extremadura, in the Sierra de Gredos, and especially around Guadalupe. Good hills but not so high: at this time of year you want to avoid anywhere that has ski-lifts...
 


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