Hi Folks, Looking to head to Lake Garda next summer so looking to plan it out. I know there will be a few who have embarked on a similar trip and with this in mind I would welcome some advice. Will be heading from Amsterdam, so looking to see if anyone has used this as a starting point and if so what route did you take. My second question is where is the best place to base your self on Lake Garda, hoping to stay there for around 3 nights.
It's a fabulous place, albeit a bit touristy. Start from Holland, hang a left and head over to Germany using the B48 in the black forest down the B500..take the St Gotthard pass into Italy, (this route is biking heaven) go through Lake como using the mountain road and bellagio, then into como. Try and stay as Sermione for the 3 nights, it's fantastic.
Si - Brillant been down to black forrest so looking to extend beyond here. Could you possibly send a wee bit more detail after black forrest, how many days did it take you to cover that trip down from Amsterdam to Lake Garda
We started from NW England and first stay was at Calais, next day we went through Holland and Belgium into Germany. First stop was the Black Forest and the Nurburgring. We stayed 2 miles from Nurburgring for the night. Day after was the b48 followed by the b500.... A great days riding. Next up, was Lucerne in Switzerland, it's beautiful, and the ride around the lake is stunning. We spent the night overlooking the lake in the mountains.... Brilliant. Then, next day we took the St Gotthard pass, great run, lots of twisties, fast corners, and the views are some of the best I've ever seen. Please do this pass if you can. This runs down to Italy, and the roads are something else, fast, scenic and smooth. Take the road to como, and stay there for a night if you can, it's way better than Garda. Then, you can go to Sermione, it's only 2 hrs away from Como... We took 5 days getting there, but it's enjoyable, mainly A and B roads , not full on motorways which is poo.
Si Thanks again for the speedy prompt. We did a similar trip last year in Germany was you behind me The twisties you did through the mountains and passes are they difficult as we have someone coming who has only been riding less than two years and don't want it to be too challenging. Agree hate motorways found Holland to be nightmare stat nav never picked up much alternative routes off the motorway that didn't wanted to add several hours to the trip. So you would have been 10 days travelling with 3 days based in Sernione?
Here's a thread of last years: http://1000rr.co.uk/threads/italy-2014-review-and-pics.18808/#post-287416 We've done Italy 3 times, each route different. We got back from Prague on our euro trip last week, via Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Hannover, France and then 2 nights in Amsterdam. Total 10 days... Really full on this year, and epic as always...and a bit mental LOL. Missed Italy though, I guess that's where our souls lie, with it being our first ever trip on the bikes.
Yep, 10 days all in, and it was leisurely not full on riding all the time. The passes are great, I'd recommend the St gotthard, purely because it's not full on hairpins like the Stelvio which is not a bikers road really. I hate tight hairpins with a passion, mainly because I lost the front in Wales so it's stuck with me,I used to love them.. but for a first timer, there's no worries whatsoever, as the gotthard is wide with very few hairpins, and it's good for all abilities...the surface is A1 too. You can see for miles, and it really is a must do road.....bet you love it! Yeah, as far as motorways go, we beat it from Calais through Holland using them as its flat as a fluke, but after that, try not to touch them at all....there's too many epic roads that you miss if you do.
It depends mate. Como is more "Italian" , less touristy, more picturesque and quaint. Garda is touristy, busier and more commercial.... Both are lovely, but Como is better fro me. We stayed at the Crotto del Misto in Lezzeno on lake Como...the guys a biker and the place is wonderful. Some other friends went last year on their bikes on my recommendation, and they have booked again. http://www.crottodelmisto.com Sermione in Garda is lovely too, very quaint and has lots more to do. Either way, the trip getting there is epic mate!
We didn't stay there mate, mores the pity, but there's a few places to stay.... It was all booked up.
