Holidays & Touring

Page for Generic Motorcycle Holidays & Touring Information

 This Page is for general Motorcycle Touring Information, equipment, pannier systems, books, reference sites...  Other pages on the menu for tour operators in various parts of the world, e.g. 'Motorcycle Tour Operators in the UK', 'Tour Operators in Europe' and 'Motorcycle Tour Operators in the rest of the World'.

 

Getting wired? Here's an article on Motorcycle SatNav using a PDA

Best Biking Roads in Europe. Start dreaming of this year's motorcycle touring now.

And here is an article what we wrote as a First Timers guide to Motorcycle Touring if you have never done it before.


NEW REGULATIONS

Despite rumours on some sites, you do not need to carry a flourescent safety vest in case of breakdown in Belgium and France. In a car, you do, and you must wear it if you break down by the roadside. Actually, that's true for most of Europe. It doesn't seem to apply to motorcycles, though it might be worth sticking a day-glo bib with your tools just in case.
 

STOP PRESS

Have you heard the recent regulations for France?  Compulsory Day-Glo.  Bikes over 7 years old banned from cities....  More here: http://www.mag-uk.org/  ...Bottom Line: If you are touring France, you need to have reflective patches on your clothing, or a Sam Browne belt or something.
 
 

Auto Europe (actually the whole World)
Car hire. Yep, you need to get from the airport to the wherever you are going. Its a bugger to find who hires cars in Utter BeyondLand. These guys know loads of local and international car hire operators. Just tell them where you are going, and when, and they'll book it....
  Auto Europe (actually the whole World)
 

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Gear Zone
Good for Outdoor Kit. Tents, sleeping bags, torches, plates and wee stoves. Waterproofs, stuff sacks and dri-bags.
  Gear Zone
 

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Horizons Unlimited
THE Motorcycle Travellers Bulletin Board. One of our favourite bike web sites - if you are a motorcycle traveller or adventure biker in any way, stop in here regularly.
  Horizons Unlimited
 

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Adventure Motorcycle
Dedicated to overland travel by motorbike. Travel stories, touring news, bike reviews, forum.....
 Adventure Motorcycle
 

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Adventurers Workshop
Big range of Adventure Touring stuff, mostly for newer bikes, BMW GS, KTM Adventurer, etc. US based, but will ship.
 Adventurers Workshop
 

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Baja GPS Guidebook
Want to ride the Baja Peninsula, with a full set of GPS waypoints and routes. Here it is.
 Baja GPS Guidebook
 

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Bente Bråthen & Dag Jenssen
Married couple from Norway, dedicated to travelling. Most of Spain, a lot of Norway, and North and South America. Also photo galleries from other destinations.
 Bente Bråthen & Dag Jenssen
 

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Bernd Tesch
Professional Motorcycle Adventurer, Motorcycle-Travel-Expert, author, publisher, journalist und survival-trainer. Site sells serious expedition boxes, racks, large fuel tanks, etc.
 Bernd Tesch
 

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Caja Sahel
Adventure touring metal panniers, mounting frames, and accessories.
 Caja Sahel
 

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Caravan Bargain
Campervans and motorhomes for sale. Only useful if you can get a bike in the back, of course :)
 Caravan Bargain
 

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Caravan Breakers Parts Request
Yet another Parts Request Site. But this one is for Caravan Parts, useful if you are converting a van into a camper.
 Caravan Breakers Parts Request
 

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Caribou Cases
Tough motorcycle luggage from the US. Tougher than original equipment, but less in-yer-face than ally boxes.
 Caribou Cases
 

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Classic Britain Hotels
Over 200 of the best independent hotels in the UK - most hotels are bike friendly.
 Classic Britain Hotels
 

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Claus Possberg
Serious Adventure Tourer and Photographer.
 Claus Possberg
 

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Currency Converter
Dollars to Pounds to Euros, etc.
 Currency Converter
 

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CycoActive
US-based. Serious accessories for hardcore offroad adventure touring.
 CycoActive
 

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Dale Borgeson
Motorcycle Touring information for beginners. What to pack, discussin of hard-cases, soft-cases, what tools you need. From a laid back dude with the right attitude.
 Dale Borgeson
 

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Dave & Helen
Rode an Enfield Bullet from India to the UK.
 Dave & Helen
 

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David Lambeth
Overland bike preparation expert. Big tanks, bash plates, uprated shocks, luggage racks built, water storage systems, GPS, ....
 David Lambeth
 

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eBookers
Flights, hotels, packages,... Good for the independant traveller to sort out your own hotels and stuff.
 eBookers
 

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Expedia
Flights and hotels finder.
 Expedia
 

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Find a Cyber Cafe
Gotta get your email while travelling ? List of thousands of Cyber Cafes world-wide.
 Find a Cyber Cafe
 

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
International Travel Info from from the FCO. Advice is often over-cautious, and areas they say are dodgy for business travellers are often perfectly fine for an overland biker. Well worth reading for the likes of vaccination advice.
 Foreign and Commonwealth Office
 

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Gear Pac
Motorcycle touring gear. Ortlieb bags, tents, stoves, torches....
 Gear Pac
 

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Gelert Outdoor Equipment
Camping Equipment manufacturer in Wales. This is the manufacturers own site, useful for browsing stuff. Get the kit in your local or online shop.
 Gelert Outdoor Equipment
 

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Global Bike Tours
Thousands Of Tours.Hundreds Of Operators listed on one website
 Global Bike Tours
 

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Go Travel Insurance
They will cover Motorcycle Touring, but not on the standard policy. They have a new policy which definitely does cover us, you may have to ask specifically for it, I'm checking.
 Go Travel Insurance
 

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gps4touring
Tour Europe on your bike using GPS to find campsites, B&B, gites and great biking roads.
 gps4touring
 

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gps4touring
Motorcycle touring accessories plus GPS coordinates and details of campsites, B&B's, gites and great biking roads throughout Europe.
 gps4touring
 

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Happy Trails
Specialist dual-sport and adventure touring products. In US, but good for parts you can't get anywhere else. Pivoting bar risers, proper big ally top boxes, one-off pannier racks.
 Happy Trails
 

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How Far Is It?
Quite cute. Works out the distance between two places in the world. Its as the crow flies, which may not correspond to real life, but it gives you a first approximation. Brussels to Prague is 448 miles.
 How Far Is It?
 

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International Motorcyclists Tour Club
Club for touring riders. Club nights, meetings throughout UK. Organise groups to go touring together.
 International Motorcyclists Tour Club
 

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Into the Blue
Generic Exciting Stuff. Hangliding days, offroad experiences,.... and classic bike tours
 Into the Blue
 

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iSPOG
Nice site about some adventure motorcycle trips.
 iSPOG
 

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Jade Stanley Travel Insurance
They assure me their AXA policy covers Motorcycle Touring.
 Jade Stanley Travel Insurance
 

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Jesse Luggage Systems
Adventure Touring pannier boxes made in USA.
 Jesse Luggage Systems
 

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Kermit Chair
High quality wooden folding chair. Folds to 22''x4''x6''. Expensive, but quality kit. Made in Nashville.
 Kermit Chair
 

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Khyam Tents
UK Tent manufacturer. Does quick-erect and geadesic types. Sleeping bags, groundsheets and tent carpets. Carpets!
 Khyam Tents
 

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Kiwi Bob
Jesse Luggage Systems, nicely shaped ally panniers for BMWs. And BMW GS exhausts. Based in Germany.
 Kiwi Bob
 

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Mono-Trail
Single wheeled touring motorcycle trailer to tow behind your bike.
 Mono-Trail
 

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Motor Home Hire
Portal for motor-home hiring throughout the world.
 Motor Home Hire
 

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Motorbike Routes
Online resource for motorbike routes and services. Routes in various formats downloadable to your GPS.
 Motorbike Routes
 

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MotorTouring.com
Roadbooks and GPS routes. Site in Dutch only.
 MotorTouring.com
 

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Off Road Skills
Ride around the world like Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Simon Pavey is the guy who taught them off-road skills in South Wales. He can teach you to survive the Dakar as well.
 Off Road Skills
 

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Overland Solutions
Rally and Touring Equipment and Bike preparation. Jerry Cans, Zega Boxes, Mondo Enduro DVDs.
 Overland Solutions
 

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P&O Ferries
Dover-Calais; Hull-Rotterdam; Hull-Zeebrugge; Portsmouth-Bilbao.
 P&O Ferries
 

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Pottertons Cases
Long established British company make various containers & cases - including nice waterproof Aluminium Boxes which work great as a top-box. That and a set of soft panniers, you are good to go. Based Leicester.
 Pottertons Cases
 

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Revpack
Tough and stylish throwover bags for touring.
 Revpack
 

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Rohan
Functional travel clothing. Lightweight, non-iron, roll up small stuff that will fit in your panniers easy, and look smart when you go out. Or do you want to live in the sweaty leathers you have been riding in all day?
 Rohan
 

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Rough Guides
The well-known Travel Guides, some online information on site.
 Rough Guides
 

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Teambuctou
Andrea Mayer Reisen
 Teambuctou
 

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Ted Simon - Jupitalia
The seminal Jupiter's Travels author does it again.
 Ted Simon - Jupitalia
 

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The Tent Guys
Bikers supplying fellow bikers with lightweight tents sleeping bags & camping epuipment.We only offer products that we have tried and tested.
 The Tent Guys
 

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Touratech
Serious luggage. Ally boxes, tough stuff sacks, ...
 Touratech
 

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Touratiger.Org
Touratiger.org - Motorcycle Adventures. Raising Money And Awareness For Charity.
 Touratiger.Org
 

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Tourist Offices
Partial, but useful, list of national Tourist Offices. Lists the ones that have offices in the UK. French tourist office, German Tourist Office, Japan Tourist Office, .....
 Tourist Offices
 

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Toursareus Motorcycle Events
Motorbike holidays in the regions you desire to explore. If you are looking for a spectacular, one of a kind, motorcycle adventure holiday
 Toursareus Motorcycle Events
 

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Trans-Atlantic Bikeshare
Club whose members are willing make their bikes available to other club members - worldwide.
 Trans-Atlantic Bikeshare
 

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Transworld Surplus
Ex-army surplus. Very useful, rugged quality, and incredibly cheap, stuff for camping.
 Transworld Surplus
 

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Travel by GPS
GPS Maps for on and off road sightseeing, free downloads of waypoints and stuff. Mostly for hikers and backpackers.
 Travel by GPS
 

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Travel-Dri
Waterproof roll bags, torches, all sorts of cool touring stuff.
 Travel-Dri
 

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Trophy Tec
Ruggedized navigation and comms equipment for serious off-road and overlanding.
 Trophy Tec
 

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TwistyRide
Motorcycle route planner which takes on the best recommended biking roads from your home to your destination. Motorbike itineraries, most scenic roads, riding directions, GPS roadbook, maps.
 TwistyRide
 

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Wall Maps
Wall Maps of France, Italy, Germany, Spain, ...all EU countries. Or define your own area and they'll print it. Various world wall maps. All Printed, laminated, or with hanging-it-up things,... Perfect for hanging on the wall and dreaming about travelling :)
 Wall Maps
 

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Wolfman
Soft luggage for motorcycles and recreational vehicles, particularly for Adventure touring. Smarter choice than ally boxes.
 Wolfman
 

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Zen Overland
UK distributor for AndyStrapz Expedition Panniers. Soft-luggage alternative to overlanding metal boxes. Seat-bags, bar-bags, etc. And the webbing straps are excellent.
 Zen Overland
 

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If you know of other sites, or any other links we should list:- use this page to tell us.