LAKES AND MOUNTAINS: ITALY

Djwallace

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Some advice please....

I had spent a couple of weeks contemplating this tour to Italy in June, Discussed with the tour operator and there were 3 spots left open on Thursday, I didn't have all the passport details to had Thursday evening so could not complete the booking:blast

I tried this evening and its all booked up.:censor:

Seems like a lot of similar tours on line are booked up in June. Anyone have any suggestions where to look?

I wanted a group tour as I will be booking on by myself.

http://www.motorrad-tours.com/tours/classic-tours/lakes-and-mountains-italy/

cheers
 
Some advice please....

Why not just go on your own rather than pay some tour company to take you round ??

I've done a few Alps/Pyrenees tours on my bike but none greater than when I did the Pyrenees on my own a couple of years back, unquestionably the best biking holiday I've ever had.
 
Another one for just getting off by yourself.

There's lots of experience on this forum which will provide you with routes, accommodation, kit etc.

On a bike you always end up meeting folk so it is far from a lonely experience.

A solo trip can be quite a liberating experience.
 
Why not look at the tour itinerary and decide if their routes are the ones you really want to travel, if they are and the towns they are having over nighters suit you then go online and book ferries , hotels etc independently.

You will make substantial savings and you can make amendments to take in any sights enroute that you fancy visiting
 
Neil W makes a good suggestion. By looking at the itinerary and at the map that BMW provided, you could recreate it reasonably easily. Want some bods to go with? Advertise your jaunt on UKGSer.

Read the blurb, from which you can identify, if not the actual hotels the the stop-over towns:

Think of the Italian Lakes and you think of A list celebrities, old stone towns reflected in calm waters with alpine peaks towering behind them. You think of a mist covered lake shrouding Bellagio's Romanesque Church at the pinnacle of Como's peninsula. The beauty and drama of the Italian lakes has made them a huge draw for many years and the great bonus for motorcyclists is all this beauty nestles under the Alps.

Lakes and Mountains: Italy is an easier paced tour but it is still packed with great riding. You start with a couple of longer days as our route first heads towards Troyes. To get you in the mood our first night is spent on the shores of the Lac D'orient in the heart of the forest of the same name. We continue south to Switzerland through the Jura Mountains and on to Lake Lausanne. From here the riding days get shorter and more fun.

The Simplon Pass, once a smugglers route takes you up over 2,000m as you cross from Switzerland to Italy en route to Lake Maggiore. Considered one of the most picturesque of the lakes it is home to the tiny Borromean Islands with terraced gardens and old villas reflected in the lake. Although we are here only one night the ride in is just 170 miles so you should still have time to soak in the beauty of Maggiore. It is just 100 miles to Lake Como, but these are slow miles hugging the shore of Lake Maggiore and then Lake Como. It is a day to ease back on the throttle and enjoy the views. Tunnels and villages line the lakes. Stop for Gelato or a cappuccino and bask in the reflected beauty of the lakes. You have two nights on Lake Como. Take the day to explore the towns, or a boat trip on the lake for a new perspective?

Two nights on Lake Como are followed by two nights on Lake Garda. Italy's longest lake, like the rest of the region it was formed as glaciers flowed from the mountains a millennia ago at the end of the Ice Age. Dip your toe in the water and it feels like the ice has only just melted. More time to relax, take a boat trip or walk the shore side.

It is under 200 miles from Lake Garda to Celeriina next door to St Moritz but what a 200 miles it is. The Passo Gavia and the infamous Stelvio Pass are both en route, making it a dream day for a rider. A night close to St Moritz is the first with no lake in sight. From here we traverse Switzerland using some motorway stretches to get the miles done before a night on the Swiss German border. This leaves you just to the south of the Black Forest and the famous Schwarzwaldhochstrasse. The Black Forest High Road or B500 is one of the best roads in Europe and most of the following day is spent riding from it southern most point to Baden Baden. Through the forest with the twists and turns as it climbs and then descends to Baden Baden the B500 always delivers.

From the Black Forest to the forests of the Ardennes and our final night in the heart of the Ardennes at one of our regular favourites. The Chateau Fort Sedan dates back to the 1,400's and now contains a hotel. A great location to spend our last night, toast a great tour and relive the rides over dinner. All that remains is 200 miles back to Calais and your train heading for home.

This, along with the other tab on the website gives you the locations to find in Google. Put them into the search engine, you’ll get a picture, some useful information and it’ll even show you where they are on a map.

Two nights at Lake Maggiorre

Two nights at Lake Garda

Great riding and endless twisties in the Black Forest and Jura Mountains

Ride the iconic Stelvio Pass

Ride the Passo Gavia and the Julier, Furka, Grimsell and Susten Passes

Stay in a converted 14C Chateau Fort

Easy mileages mixed with challenging Alpine riding

Climb the Torre Apponale in Riva del Garda

Half day cruise on Lake Como

The crude map, though it doesn’t give you the exact roads is enough (when married to everything else) for anyone to all but recreate BMW’s tour...

1230440d316d2bb612091808beab7acb.jpg
 
Got to love this forum

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm feeling the love on this forum :beerjug:

Looks like I have a busy weekend seeing if I can plan something.

Any ideas on routes and stopping points particularly decent places to stay will be welcome.
 
Heading off on your own is quite a daunting experience initially but once in to the groove it is fantastic, go where and when you want at whatever pace you want stopping and starting when you want, the only real issue is a tad lonely at times but it's not a big issue.

If you've never been to Europe my first advice is, it's huge and getting from place to place will take longer than you think. Take the 5 pass loop round Andermatt for example, it's only about 110 miles ish IIRC, it will take you all day. Lake Como and Guarda are a long way down so that means a long way back up again, it's all dependant on how long you have.
 
Just had a quick look at that first link you posted, they mention all the main places, Stelvio/Garda/Gavia/Black Forrest etc, believe me you can do all that yourself at a fraction of whatever the price they quote.

I love the Dolomites, utterly spectacular, deffo recommend there.
 
Any ideas on routes and stopping points particularly decent places to stay will be welcome.

It’s a decently long way and, as with many posts, you haven’t told us if you plan on a week, two, three or a month away. Asking for hotels is crazy, as you don’t know where you’ll be. Supposing somebody, as they inevitably will, suggests a killer hotel in some obscure town and the next killer hotel suggested for your next overnight stop is 500 miles away. What do you do then? As to routes? There are enough links to routes, examples of routes and trip reports on this forum to sink a battleship. Easy one to start with: Go to the RiDE magazine website and play about in it. There are loads of suitable suggestions. Want an easy way? Use the kurviger.de routing website, you can’t break it. Got a link, mate? Natch, mate: https://kurviger.de/en If I can do it on an iPad, I am sure you can, too:

bf249a00f88caf884e2cf5e7d962efeb.jpg


The RiDE website you can find yourself.

Near enough everything you need is on the BMW webpage you linked to. See post #7. OK you’ll need to make a bit of effort but that’s better than somebody on this site doing it all for you, line by line, road by road, hotel by hotel, cafe by cafe. Come on, we are in early March, still some two and a half months from June; you CAN do it. It’s a great way to learn - indeed the only way - and nobody will know if you screw-up. Buy a map or two, buy a guide book or flick through the pages of one in Waterstones, look at websites; YOU really CAN do it, if YOU try. How do I know? Because people did it that way before they tripped over UKGSer and well before the internet was even invented. Don’t be lazy. You have bought an adventure motorbike, try having an Adventure (with a capital A) on it. This holiday is a great way to start.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm feeling the love on this forum :beerjug:

Looks like I have a busy weekend seeing if I can plan something.

Any ideas on routes and stopping points particularly decent places to stay will be welcome.

You can get some satisfaction spending time planning the routes which really buys you into the trip.

One of the best bits of advice I obtained was getting the ViaMichelin maps. They have highlighted scenic roads which you can string together as part of your route ensuring you get to ride good biking roads.

I prefer the hard copy maps but you can access the maps online as well.

Having a sat nav is a recommend so you can upload the trips and with some comms you get clear guidance which helps you stay on track.

Also comforting to have that female voice telling you where to go... :D
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm feeling the love on this forum :beerjug:

Looks like I have a busy weekend seeing if I can plan something.

Any ideas on routes and stopping points particularly decent places to stay will be welcome.
You’ll quickly realise that the planning is just as enjoyable as the tour itself :rob
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I have never done this totally solo so all the suggestions on how to approach this are welcome as they will give me a great starting point to make my own plans.

At 54 years old solo life is rather unexpected and daunting yet somewhat exciting at the same time
 
I absolutely guarantee you will love it. The freedom to do as you wish out there is just brilliant though that also depends on the person, I'm great seeker out. Have you done the Alps before ?

If not try and get a copy of Motorcycle journeys through the Alps and beyond, brilliant book for knowing where to go. There are hundreds of proper mountain passes but you need to know how long you are away for, where are you sailing from, tunnel ?? You also need to decide where it is you want to go cause you ain't going to be able to do it all. Dolomites and possibly Swiss passes or the French Alps, you may wish to go to Austria, then you can more or less rule out France unless you're very keen, come man, give us a clue.
 
All these questions are threat at helping me think this through thank you.

Ok, 10 to 12 days leaving mid June.
I’ll get the tunnel.
I love Italy for the food, culture and food
I love riding in the mountains
I don’t want to do many days with more than 200 miles as I like to get out and walk in the places I visit.
I’m past the point in life where I like to camp and prefer a little comfort in hotels. Own bathroom essential.

Other than that it’s a open book.

Speaking of which I’m off into town to find some maps and books
 
I would suggest you look at a few places you would like to spend a day and plan to stay there 2 nights.

This gives you a break from the bike and lets you explore the town/city.

A few ideas from my experience.

Lake Lucerne is a brilliant colour. You can stay in Weggis with steamers back into Lucerne or a train up the mountain.

Riva del Garda on the north of the lake is a hive of activity.

Going further east the Dolomites are an amazing scenic area. Plenty of places to stay. My fav is Cortina.
 
All these questions are threat at helping me think this through thank you.

Ok, 10 to 12 days leaving mid June.
I’ll get the tunnel.
I love Italy for the food, culture and food
I love riding in the mountains
I don’t want to do many days with more than 200 miles as I like to get out and walk in the places I visit.
I’m past the point in life where I like to camp and prefer a little comfort in hotels. Own bathroom essential.

Other than that it’s a open book.

Speaking of which I’m off into town to find some maps and books

That is a perfect itinerary. Make sure you get these type michelin maps, yes there are others but I've found these to be best..

Motorcycle_Journeys_Through_Western_Europe_The_Band_of_Brothers_Motorcycle_Tour_Michelin_Maps.jpg


If it's Italy then I suggest heading to Austria and use either the Timmolsjoch pass or the Grosslockner pass, both of which are tolls but superb passes, the Timmelsjoch crosses the Austrian/Italy border which takes you towards Merano/Bolzano area which is a nightmare with traffic but does lead you to the Stelvio pass but taking this route takes you away from the direction of the Dolomites.

If you head for the grosslockner pass that heads you in the direction of Cortina/Corvara/Arraba/Canazei which is the Dolomites, which in turn then has you heading in the direction of Bolzano/Merano. If you take that option you'd have two choices, go high or go low to Bormio area. The lower road takes you to the Gavia pass the northern route takes you to the Stelvio. Garda is a bit south from Bormio but sure you can manage that if you really want to, Como may be a stretch to far if you wish to fit all the above in as well....others may have a different opinion or thoughts on wat I've said but it's a start.

Google maps is your friends for planning but ignore times and distances it shows up as they will have no relevance to doing mountain passes.

HTH
 
My other piece of advice is just bomb it down via motorways once over the channel, fuck this farting around trying to find good roads in the north of France/Germany. It's a ballache to do but you will be glad you did and gives you more time in and around the mountains.
 


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