After a hearty breakfast we’ll continue with our Dolomites and Lake Garda guided-motorcycle-tour. Leaving Ardennes behind, we’ll follow the rural country roads towards our next destination. If you have an interest in military history, then our first port of call could be the War Memorial at Verdun.

As we continue winding through traditional villages, cultivated fields and green forests, the landscapes will gradually become more hilly and mountainous. The second part of the ride will follow on and off the river Moselle. So if we wish to stop for lunch, there are several convenient villages as well as towns. When we start feeling peckish, we’ll lookout for a café or boulangerie, and we can’t go wrong. 

Gérardmer is the gateway to the Vosges Mountains and a perfect place for one last break before arriving at our destination. We usually stop by the lake just to stretch our legs and have a quick look around. 

A beautiful and easy climb up the Col de la Schlucht will take us to our destination. Our comfortable hotel in Munster will welcome us with a cosy room and as well as delicious evening meal.

From Munster, we’ll continue our Dolomites and Lake Garda guided-motorcycle-tour along rural roads to the Black Forest. Also, the whole day we’ll be riding the open roads of the German countryside. After the Black Forest, there is not much to report regarding this part of the route. And that’s the exact beauty of it.

It will take us deep into the countryside, which is entirely off the beaten track, and not many tourists really venture through there. The bakeries are the best places to stop for drinks and snacks. As we progress, the vistas will slowly change, and the landscapes will become first more hilly and then Alpine. 

The Bavarian Alps are incredibly beautiful and are home to many famous buildings as well as castles. Even the famous Sleeping Beauty castle is claimed to have been inspired by the magnificent Neuschwanstein. Furthermore, time permitting, we might decide to swing by and visit before checking in to our hotel.

One other easy thing to do is to quickly change from our biking gear to something more comfortable and visit the Altstadt (Old Town). The Füssen town centre is a beautiful blend of half-timbered houses as well as  brightly coloured buildings. Also many of those buildings are adorned with murals.

Undoubtedly, today is one of the highlights of this great Dolomites and Lake Garda guided-motorcycle-tour. As well as that, today is the day where we ride our first alpine mountain passes. As a matter of fact, there are three of them. First, we’ll start with the Fern pass and cross into Austria. Then continue over the famous Timmelsjoch Pass. Here we can also stop for lunch and also visit the highest motorcycle museum in Europe. Finally, we’ll complete our daily mountain pass trilogy by crossing into Italy and riding over the Jaufen (Giovo in Italian) pass.

The Austrian side of the Timmelsjoch is just a sweet ride with wide and well-cambered hairpins. However, the Italian side can be quite challenging with very tight hairpins and several narrow tunnels. As it is a shorter ride today, we usually spend a few hours on Timmelsjoch. Besides, the biker restaurant is excellent and serves the best juicy burgers and chips ever. 

The second break is usually on top of the Jaufen pass. There is plenty of parking at the restaurant. And also, here we can get a brick-sized slice of strudel topped with the breathtaking views of the Alps.

We’ll arrive at our hotel in Corvara just in time to unpack, have a drink and get ready for our gourmet evening meal.

Without a doubt, today is the day when it all happens. Sellaronda is perhaps one of the most famous rides we can ride in the Dolomites. In addition to its celebrity status, it also includes four mountain passes back to back; Gardena, Sella, Pordoi and Campolongo. Moreover, if any biking route can be called a “roller coaster ride”, this is definitely the one.

There are many places to stop for drinks, take photos or even take a cable car to the top of the mountain. The Pordoi pass is perhaps the best and most popular place to have a go at the cable car ride. We can enjoy the stunning views from the plateau and take even more stunning photos of the Dolomites. This pass is perhaps the most popular amongst the bikers as well. It has a massive car park, quite a few souvenir shops as well as several restaurants.

Along with Pordoi, there are, of course, many other places we can stop. And we will. Arabba is a pretty ski resort, and then both Gardena and Sella pass is also conveniently located for breaks.

Despite the breathtaking beauty and generous hospitality, it is time for us to move on to our next location. Today we’ll leave the Dolomites behind via the Campolongo and Pordoi pass. Also, if we get our navigation right, there should be no motorway riding at all. The mileage is not great, so we’ll take our time and enjoy the ride.

We’ll pass through many ski resorts and traditional villages with plenty of restaurants and cafés to stop for refreshments and breaks. Convenient places to stop are Canazei and Pozza di Fassa’s ski resorts and later on somewhere around Lago di Santa Massenza or Lago di Toblino. 

It is worth noticing as we descend from the ski resorts towards Trento, there is usually a noticeable increase in temperature. Therefore, be prepared to shed some layers off. 

Our biker friendly hotel will welcome us with a comfortable room as well as a delicious evening meal. If we check in early, we can walk to the town, have a drink in the square and stroll by the lake. 

Today is our day off, and you are free to organise your own agenda if you wish. Some popular things to do are various boat trips on the lake. Also, there are endless choices of visits to local tourist attractions. In addition, vineyards, as well as wine tasting houses, might be more tempting prospects.

The numerous boat excursions seem to be the most popular choice amongst our clients. The tours include visits to some of the most beautiful towns, such as Riva del Garda, Malcesine, and Limone.
Alternatively, some of us may opt for a train trip to Verona or Venice.

Verona is less than forty miles from your hotel. It is claimed a city is a place of myths, spirits as well as magic. It is also the scene of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Besides, the sight of the famous balcony is impossible to miss. Every year thousands upon thousands of romantic dreamers visit the ‘City of Love’ for this reason alone. 

The lagoon city of Venice is a little further down the rail tracks but definitely worth a journey. Venezia is the beautiful city where the Merchant of Venice fought for his wealth. The lagoon city is also where the wealthy merchant built his lavish villa. And Venezia is, of course, where Giacomo Girolamo Casanova enthusiastically entertained the wealthy merchants’ wife. This is a unique opportunity to take that ‘always wanted to do’ gondola tour along the maze of narrow city canals. 

However, if we fancy a ride, alternatively, we can go for a spin around three lakes. First, we’ll follow Lake Garda to Salo. Then, next, we’ll traverse to Lago Di Idro. And finally, we’ll head to Lago Di Ledro and return to the hotel. A round trip to Molveno, Cles, Madonna di Campiglio and back to the hotel is a good option too.

Today, we’ll leave Lake Garda’s Mediterranean hustle and bustle and head towards the edges of the picture-perfect Swiss Alps. The suggested route is not long but includes travelling through some of the most breath-taking Alpine scenery, stopping as many times as we wish and riding some fantastic biking roads. The entire ride is like travelling through one giant beautiful postcard. It will take us around the snow-capped mountain peaks and through the green valleys dotted with ski resorts and traditional villages. Early-ish breakfast and departure are recommended to make most of the ride.

The short-but-sweet Passo Duron, the trendy ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio and the scenic Passo Campo will provide a thrilling start to our journey. There are many cafés and restaurants along the routes where we can stop for lunch and comfort breaks. The whole experience of the quiet mountain serenity makes it hard not to love motorcycling in the Italian Alps, despite the occasional challenges they tend to throw at us!

On our way to Lugano, our route also includes the legendary Passo Del Tonale. The pass is often described as one of the finest motorcycling roads in the Alps. This iconic mountain pass certainly provides a setting for a day of motorcycle touring at its very best. On this section of our route, convenient locations to stop en route are the Jolly Bar in Edolo and the top of Passo Del Tonale.

Our biker-friendly hotel in Lugano is designed in 1950s American diner style. It will welcome us with a comfortable room and a delicious evening meal.

Today we’ll leave the Swiss Alps behind and ride towards the French border. If we wish to challenge ourselves one more time, we can take a slight d-tour and ride over the San Gotthard pass.

San Gotthard pass is one of the main mountain routes in this part of the Alps. Furthermore, it also incorporates no less than 24 hairpins. As well as having a perfect tarmac, each hairpin comes with its own name too. Moreover, if we don’t fancy riding over the pass alternatively, we can also take the San Gotthard tunnel. It is equally spectacular but less challenging, affording quicker progress towards our next destination in the Vosges region.

The rest of the route is a combination of highways and byways through the varied countryside. We’ll have plenty of breaks to stretch our legs and stop for lunch when we get hungry.

Today the Dolomites and Lake Garda guided-motorcycle-tour continues with another great ride. As they are so close to the Black Forest, the Vosges Mountains are often overlooked. However, it is a great biking area. Therefore, we try to include it in our transit routes as often as we possibly can. The Vosges Mountains also provide that one last “hurrah” ride before descending to the flatter landscapes.

We can ride the famous Route des Cretes. Or, alternatively, we can also take a more direct route over the Schlucht pass. There are several cafés as wee as restaurants, and they all afford fantastic views as far as you can see.

Alternatively, we can stop at the beautiful lakeside town of Gérardmer. It has quite a few cafés as well as boulangeries for a quick drink and a bite to eat. The second break is usually in Vittel (where the water comes from). Both towns have plenty of parking, so it is not an issue.

After breakfast, we’ll take a ride back to the channel tunnel for an afternoon crossing. 

We hope this fantastic Dolomites and Lake Garda guided-motorcycle-tour met your expectations and you had a great time with RideWithUs.

Thank you for joining us in Bella Italia and we look forward to RidingWithYou you again soon.