Touring to Italy - Help

Hi.
I would like to ride my VFR 800 from London to Italy. I figure ferry or
eurostar to France then highway to Italy. Any suggestions for what I
should take, hotels along the way (it looks like it might take two days)
things to watch out for, etc. Changes to my insurance?

Any information would be a great help.

Cheers.
Bel

 

Unless you want to fly it, that would be appropriate.

It takes as long as you want it to.

Passport.
Bike docs.
Bike
Self

You don't have to use motorways, get some decent Michelin maps and you
will notice that any towns in a green border are listed on the road signs.
Makes navigation easier.

France is good for campsites, and cheap hotels.

Formula 1 are *very* cheap.
I prefer Premier Classe , or Camponile.

insurance?

Read you insurance and make sure you are covered on the continent,
normally is. You may want to increase the continental cover to fully comp
(if onbly TPFT)

For loads of info, goto http://www.horizonsunlimited.com

 

You didn't ask for route info but that's not going to stop me... My family
hails from the Friuli region of NE Italy and I've driven across France and
Switzerland a few times, most recently in July 2006. I can recommend the
following route for its scenic beauty and nice roads:-

Approach the Alps from Besancon-Pontarlier then go
Lausanne-Montreux-Martigny-Sion-Sierre-Visp-Brig. Catch the train under the
mountain from Brig to Iselle (approx every 45 mins between 6am and 10pm),
then go Simplon-Domodossola and drop down out of the mountains for a tootle
around the Lakes. The roads round the Lakes get fairly congested at the
height of the tourist season.

Whereabouts in Italy are you planning to aim for?

 

Whereabouts are you heading for? If it's Milan, I can recommend
somewhere to stay.


--
Lesley
Residing in the Capital of Culture 2008
CBR600FW
Peugeot 206 S
SBS#11 (with oak-leaf cluster)
BOTAFOT#101A UKRMHRC#12
BONY#54P BOB#18

 

Hi.
Trevi - somewhere just to the North of Rome. Are hotels/petrol fairly
common along the motorways in France/Switzerland/Italy?

Thanks.
Bel

 

Yes.

Now learn to post below the text to which you're replying, or you'll
find some people starting to get rather unpleasant.

I see you asked earlier:

Now a very little bit of research would find that this is a question
often asked, so you could just try learning to use google groups,
which will bring up threads as recent as last week with most or all of
the information you require.

As I'm feeling particularly helpful this morning, here's a starter for
ten
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.rec.motorcycles/browse_thread/thread/8ffc93bd5ac8807b

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

No, they are a totally backwards set of countries. Best bet is to stick to
the backroads and find petrol stations there. This is best done on a
Sunday or August 15th.

 

A good alternative route is to take the overnight ferry from Harwich
to Hook of Holland, which means you have a full day's riding as soon
as you get off. Then go south through Germany (we can recommend a
hotel near Wurzburg) and from there through Austria, via Innsbruck and
over the Brenner Pass into Italy.

 

or use the fabulous Timmelsjoch pass as an alternative to the Brenner

 

Bless you!

 

I've never ridden the route, but I have driven it many times. My way
was to take a late evening Chunnel, then drive overnight when things
were quiet. Even taking non péage roads, (via Lux/Metz/Nancy/Mulhouse)
you can hit the Swiss border by 6am.

P.