Touring Planning next years euro trip anyone ?

Discussion in 'Rideouts, Trackdays, Touring & Spotted' started by andypandy, Nov 5, 2016.

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  1. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
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    #41 thebiglad, Nov 13, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2016
    Hi Eric, I'm planning on doing it late May next year and currently planning doing it on my own.
     
  2. Tigcraft

    Tigcraft Unheard of Member

    Mar 29, 2014
    2,620
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    I see.....................
     
  3. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
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    Good......................................................................:D:D
     
  4. toad

    toad Active Member

    I'm off to Sardinia next year - twice... Once on the bike, once in the back of a Mercedes Sprinter. The rest of the time I'll be frolicking around the Alps:cool:

    Was all over Sardinia this year but with a VW camper van:mad: Boy, do they have lovely roads there!

    Corsica will have to wait 'til 2018...
     
  5. old git

    old git Well-Known Member

    Jul 4, 2016
    194
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    Aberdeenshire, Scotland
    Sorry about the length of time to reply.

    It took us roughly about 10 hours from Kemnay (Inverurie) to Portsmouth. We did allow 12 but got there well early. We had 2 fairly brief stops on route and from what I remember there were no real traffic hold ups. Much as I hate the trip to and from the channel ports, if I have to do it I'd rather be on the bike than in a van. The real bummer is tyre wear - around 1300 miles for the round trip to the channel ports. Given that I struggle to get much more than 4.5k tyre life on the FJR when touring (around 2.5K on local roads), it's a fair chunk of rubber wasted on British motorways. This does piss me off a bit but next year we're getting the boat to and from Spain rather than to St. Malo and home via Ijmuiden. Hopefully plenty of rubber for the good roads. Going to split the journey up from channel port on the way home - our daughter lives near Manchester so might stay there.
     
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  6. Tigcraft

    Tigcraft Unheard of Member

    Mar 29, 2014
    2,620
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    Yes back to the tyre ware factor, anything lost here in the U.K. Makes me feel ripped off too as I despise using hard earned, over taxed, tyres wasted here when I could be rolling around proper slaloms in nice weather with nice scenery than this over packed shit hole of a country!!
     
  7. Tigcraft

    Tigcraft Unheard of Member

    Mar 29, 2014
    2,620
    800
    Holmfirth West Yorkshire
    Part of me wants to follow you in your rear view mirror!
     
  8. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
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    You'd be more than welcome mate :):):):)
     
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  9. crispey

    crispey crispey creme de la creme

    Nov 6, 2014
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    Anyone thought of doing a pitstop and getting tyres re
    Anyone thought of doing a pitstop and getting tyres replaced whilst out in Europe. I know it doesn't keep tyre wear down but if it's timed for when you normally have a tyre change. At least you'll be on the twisties with new rubber and used the old rubber on the motorways
     
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  10. old git

    old git Well-Known Member

    Jul 4, 2016
    194
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    Aberdeenshire, Scotland
    I got tyres fitted in Istanbul in 2012 - cost me nearly £500! Same trip and needed another set in Salzburg - €480. I thought about changing tyres in Germany last year and they were a bit more reasonably priced but I couldn't wait for 3 days till they arrived.
     
  11. crispey

    crispey crispey creme de la creme

    Nov 6, 2014
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    Pre order?
     
  12. roadrider

    roadrider First Class Member

    Jul 26, 2013
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    Must be a pain worrying about tyres before you even get there.What about changing just before you get on the ferry(I expect you've already thought of that) then it's a fresh set to go with.
    Though I'd rather be on the bike rather than a van,it's the journey not the destination etc.
    We had a gut turn up last year for a 1300 mile trip with a tyre with no more than 500 left in it,wasted half a day getting it sorted in France :mad:
     
  13. Yorkshireman

    Yorkshireman Crème de la Crème

    Dec 12, 2015
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    Is it best to book definite sailings or can you just rock up and get on.
     
  14. toad

    toad Active Member

    No definite answer to that one, Yorkshireman, as everything always depends on your circumstances :)

    As a rule of thumb I tend to watch prices and if they don't go up I wait for as long as possible. After all, it is nicer to not have to worry about definite times...
     
    • Like Like x 1
  15. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
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    #55 thebiglad, Nov 27, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2016
    Hi Yorkshireman, on that particular crossing Newhaven/Dieppe, the tickets seem to stay pretty-much the same price until the week before, but if you just rock up and buy at the port, it'll cost you more because it's not an internet price, at the port, I'm sure. It's worth knowing that I've bought tickets in the past and arrived early or late for my crossing and they just let me through.

    Just be a bit careful about peak holiday periods when stress levels are a bit higher.
     
  16. Yorkshireman

    Yorkshireman Crème de la Crème

    Dec 12, 2015
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    Thanks for the heads up. I'm in the very early stages of planning a trip next year to hook up with a pal who lives in Spain. If I go to his gaff I'll probably sail to Santander, if we meet in France down the west coast then probably use the above route. Cheers.
     
  17. Tiglet

    Tiglet Vintage Member

    Mar 28, 2016
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    Yorkie, if your sailing into Santander with Brittany ferries, get your ferry booked sooner rather than later.

    Brittany Ferries operate a fluid pricing system, their prices go up the closer to a departure date.

    Dave
     
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  18. Dougie D

    Dougie D Crème de la Crème

    Jan 30, 2016
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  19. andypandy

    andypandy Crème de la Crème

    Jan 10, 2016
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    So this is my proposed route for June :-
    https://goo.gl/maps/WQkBdUiUH2z
    1 night on the ferry
    1 night in the Eiffel
    1 night in the Black Forrest
    3 nights in Interlaken
    3 nights BF/Efl/Ferry on way back
    Any tips for roads, sights, cheap hotels would be welcome.
    Interlaken was a place I visited as a kid and I have always meant to go back, that's why it's the destination.
     
  20. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
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