Weather info
This tour can only be done in the months:
June and July (as a start date).
Starting later than july or earlier than June will increase the risc of closed roads and passes, not to mention the subzero temperatures.
On our
Weather page you can see more detailed weather info per region.
Itinerary
Day 1, Madrid airport
On day 1 you arrive in Madrid. We will pick you up from the airport and bring you to your hotel so you can un-pack, rest, relax and aclimatize a bit.
Day 2, Madrid
Today you receive your motorcycle. We'll give you some time to "fiddle" with it to make sure all is to your liking and all your luggage fits in the panniers.
In the afternoon there will be a briefing in which we tell you everything you need to know about the tour, the roads, the customs, etc. We give you the SatNav and show you how to use it.
Day 3, Plasencia
223 miles / 360 km (5½ hours)
Starting in Madrid, the route goes north passing lakes and mountains to Segovia and its impressive castle. It then continues south-west through green areas, passing the medieval walls of Avilla and the valley of the river Jerte until the goal of today, Placencia.
Day 4, Nerva
273 miles / 440 km (7 hours)
The route goes south, through the Monfrague National Park and passing the cerro Masatrigo that sits lonely in the middle of a lake. It ends today in Nerva.
Day 5, Gibraltar (United Kingdom)
224 miles / 360 km (6 hours)
Going south east the route takes you through the beautiful city of Seville, right past the “Royal Shipyards”, famous from Game of Thrones. Next are “the white villages of Andalusia” that sit picture postcard on top of hills and perches by lakes, the most famous being Sentenil de las Bodegas, which is molten together with the surrounding cliffs.
When you hit the Mediterranean coast the route turns west to Gibraltar where you’ll spend the night in the United Kingdom’s territory.
Day 6, Granada (Spain)
180 miles / 290 km (4½ hours)
Today the route will follow the costa Tropicana towards Malaga and then enter the mountains of the Sierra Nevada (snowy mountains). Here you can visit the Alhambra, a massive fortification filled with castles and palaces from ancient times.
Day 7, Molina de Aragon
370 miles / 595 km (7½ hours)
The route goes straight north, passing “La Mancha” and those picturesque windmills from Don Quichote (do not try to fight them) and on to the mill of Aragon.
Day 8, Artieda
205 miles / 330 km (5 hours)
Passing pretty medieval villages, scenic and desolate landscapes and even a ghost town, the route continues north towards the pyrenees.
Day 9, Rocamadour (France)
289 miles / 465 km (7 hours)
Today you cross the Pyrenees. Just across the French border you can take a walk on the “Chemin de la Mature”, an old route, carved out of the sheer cliffs. After riding through the pine-forests and vineyards of south Bordeaux, you enter the mountains again and come to rest at the amazing town of Rocamadour, which is glued against a steep mountainside.
Day 10, Niort
199 miles / 320 km (6 hours)
Leaving Racamadour the route takes you to the caves of Lascaux, often called “the sistine chapel of caves” because of its rock-paintings. Next is the frozen in time town of Oradour sur Glane, a life-size monument to the monstrosities of the Nazi occupation.
Day 11, Pontorson
267 miles / 430 km (6½ hours)
From Niort the route takes you to the Atlantic coast and “the well from hell”, a violent crack in the seaside cliff. You then get a chance to ride the Passage du Gois, a road that is most of the time submerged in the sea, but is passable for 30 to 60 minutes at low tide. It’s best not to dwindle.
Day 12, Étretat
230 miles / 370 km (6 hours)
Today, first a view on (and if you want a visit to) the Mont Saint-Michel, a monastery-town build on a pointy rock that sticks out from the sea. This is followed by a visit to Omaha beach and the D-day museum at the spot where it all happened. Then it is on to the white cliffs of Étretat.
Day 13, Bruges (Belgium)
233 miles / 375 km (5½ hours)
After an early-morning walk along the magnificent white cliffs the route takes you north again to a V2 launching site and museum. At Dunkirk you cross into Belgium and after visiting the Raversijde Atlantic wall site and museum the day ends in Bruges, one of Belgiums most picturesque cities.
Day 14, Bruges
Today a rest day in which you can explore the canals, bridges, golden-era houses and museums of Bruges.
Day 15, Paterswolde (Netherlands)
316 miles / 510 km (7 hours)
After a relaxing day in Bruges the route takes you into the Netherlands and across the Delta-works, a string of sea-barriers with massive movable doors. The route then passes the medieval city of Muiden and its splendid castle “Muiderslot”. This is then followed by the Zaanse Schans, typical Dutch windmills, hundreds of years old and still full in operation and open for visitors. A ride across the Afsluitdijk, a 20 mile (32 km) long causeway dam that separates the Wadden sea from the Ijselmeer.
Day 16, Odense (Denmark, via Germany)
376 miles / 605 km (6½ hours)
Today’s route takes you from the Netherlands, via Germany to Denmark. You will get a chance to ride the “autobahn”, a highway without a speed-limit. But be careful, don’t hang in the fast lane as on the autobahn fast means 200 MpH (+300 KmH) and that won’t be you.
In Denmark the day ends at Odense, birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. If you want to have a look, we have the address.
Day 17, Vaxjo (Sweden)
292 miles / 470 km (6½ hours)
Leaving the island Funen via the Great Belt Bridge to enter the island Zealand. The bridge is 11 miles (18 km) long and still not the most impressive bridge of today. After visiting the Viking ship museum the route jumps to Sweden via the Öresund bridge-tunnel. It starts out as a 2.5 mile (8 km) long tunnel deep underneath the sea and then, in the middle of the sea changes into a 5 mile (8 km) long bridge. After this a visit to a medieval town that was build only 25 years ago and the micro-nation of Onnekop, and right at the end a visit to a mysterious echo-tower.
Day 18, Gothenburg
193 miles / 310 km (4 hours)
The route for today passes countless lakes and even more pine-trees. Keep a lookout for some giant silver bugs on the side of the road. At the end of the route you’ll see a “city-waterfall”, a floating museum with large and small ships, and a cold-war underground airfield with a bunch of airplanes.
Day 19, Hønefoss (Norway)
217 miles / 350 km (4 hours)
Following the coastal region of Sweden north into Norway and visiting the Oslo Open Air Museum before ending the day at Hønefoss.
Day 20, Bergen
255 miles / 410 km (6½ hours)
Going west, following lakes and mountains the route arrives in the fjord-region. At the Steinsdalfossen you can walk behind a 160 feet (50 meter) high waterfall and after a gazillion curves you arrive at postcard-perfect Bergen.
Day 21, Bergen
A resting day in pretty Bergen and if you get bored, hop on your bike and visit the destroyed tidal-power-plant of Bolgekraftverket.
Day 22, Nordfjordeid
236 miles / 380 km (6 hours)
Riding along the sheer walls of the fjords, crossing by bridge, tunnel of ferry, and ride through the longest tunnel in the world (15 mile or 24 km). So long they had to incorporate air-purification plants and use special daylight lamps to prevent driver fatigue.
Day 23, Trontheim
292 miles / 470 km (10 hours)
After a side-excursion to Kannesteinen (an impressive tree-shaped rock) the route continues to follow the fjords until it reaches the outer coastline and the “Atlantic road”, one of those typical Norwegian marvels or engineering and a dream to ride your motorcycle.
Day 24, Mo i Rana
298 miles / 480 km (6½ hours)
More and more the route brings you north, past lakes, fjords and impressive mountain-walls. You are now well into Lapland, an area that spans the north of Norway, Sweden and Finland and is inhabited by the Sámi, an indigenous culture that does not adhere to traditional borders.
Day 25, Narvik
320 miles / 515 km (8 hours)
Today you cross the arctic circle. There is a visitors centre to make it more “a thing”, but mostly you will notice the sun. It is always there, day and night, but it is tiny.
When you cross the Saltstraumen bridge, look for the vortex. It is massive and scary. The further north you come, the more the sea has invaded the land and bridges and ferries are plentiful.
Day 26, Alta
292 miles / 470 km (6½ hours)
The arctic tundra is now the main scenery. And it is astonishingly beautiful. If you pay attention you can see reindeer, moose, wolves, lynx, arctic foxes and other wild critters.
Alta will be the base from where, tomorrow, you’ll reach the North Cape.
Day 27, The North Cape, and back to Alta
298 miles / 480 km (7 hours)
Today is the day. After 150 miles (240 km), from which 4.3 mile (6.9 km) is a whopping 700 feet (212 meters) below sea-level in the Nordkapp tunnel that connects the Magerøya island with mainland Norway, you will be standing at the end of the road.
From here, there is no way to get further north by vehicle anywhere in the world. You will be 81 miles (130 km) further north than you can get in Alaska by vehicle.
And yes… it is chilly.
Day 28, Saariselka (Finland)
236 miles / 380 km (5 hours)
It is nice to be heading south again. After crossing the border into Finland you can visit the Sámi open air museum to learn more about this interesting culture. Although technically the days never end here, this day ends in Kuukkeli Saariselka.
Day 29, Suomussalmi
360 miles / 580 km (7½ hours)
The route goes down south quick now, but before you leave the arctic, you get to visit Santa Claus who lives in Rovaniemi. There is a lot to see here, such as the post office that receives millions of letters for Santa every year. And, of course you can get your passport stamped to prove you were here. A bit further south you can “meet” the silent people.
Day 30 Anttola
314 miles / 505 km (6½ hours)
Getting further south it becomes wetter. Hundreds of lakes dot the scenery. In Kuopio you can have lunch in a revolving restaurant on top of the Puijo tower. After that, take a walk through the Orinoro gorge before ending the day (yes, the days end again here) at a lakeside hotel.
Day 31 Helsinki
267 miles / 430 km (6 hours)
The kummakivion balancing rock is surely worth the detour. If you can find the right spot maybe you can move a 300 metric ton rock by hand. After that it is on to Helsinki, capital of Finland.
Day 32 Helsinki
A resting day in this interesting and unusual capital. There are several interesting museums and there are fortresses and soviet bunkers to explore.
Day 33 Tallinn (Estonia)
59 miles / 95 km (3½ hours)
The biggest part of todays journey is on the ferry. The open air museum fills up the rest of the day.
Day 34 Rõuge
233 miles / 375 km (6½ hours)
Leaving Tallinn, the first visit in this former soviet country is a soviet vehicle museum. It has lots and lots of junk. After that you can have a look at the KGB prison cells in Tartu. And as if that is not enough soviet-experience, you get to ride your bike through Russia for real, for about 1 mile. Last but certainly not least, a stop at the Piusa sand caves.
Day 35 Jelgava (Latvia)
239 miles / 385 km (6 hours)
Before crossing into Latvia, the route stops at a communication and laptop museum. Mostly because it is cute and no one would think of this in our “modern world”. Then, in Latvia a visit to some top secret soviet bunkers to see what those commies had to hide. This is followed by a visit to a former Nazi concentration camp and a few very remarkable things in the capital Riga. What about a duplicate of Londons famous Baker-street? The Riga aviation museum tops it off for today.
Day 36 Nida (Lithuania)
211 miles / 340 km (4½ hours)
Today the route takes you to the coast where you can take a 1 mile walk into the sea on a narrow peer. After this, hop over to a narrow stretch of land and visit the “hill of the witches” and “the dead dunes”. As the only way out over land is into the Russian enclave Kaliningrad, it is best to spend the night and hope for a ferry back to safety in the morning.
Day 37 Ketrzyn (Poland)
279 miles / 450 km (7½ hours)
Leaving the island and skimming along the Russian enclave border into Poland where the first thing you see is a set of abandoned railway bridges. Next on the list is the old U-boat locks of the Mazurski canal. And if that is not enough, you can visit “The Wolf’s lair”. Hitlers secret underground headquarters.
Day 38 Hel
261 miles / 420 km (6 hours)
Riding along the country roads you will see the strangest way to overcome a water-level difference with a boat. Not a lock, not a lift, but a train is used here.
A visit to the massive castle Malbork is next and this is followed by a chance to explore the shipwrecked battle-cruiser Grom. Today ends in Hel. (yes, really)
Day 39 Lodz
301 miles / 485 km (6½ hours)
Crossing the Polish countryside you encounter some more unusual stuff, like a half finished castle. And what to think of an “upside-down house”?
Day 40 Olomouc (Czechia)
274 miles / 440 km (5½ hours)
Today there is only on item on the agenda. A visit to the Auschwitz extermination camp. We think you’ll need time to process this horrible place and sitting on a bike, mile after mile is a good way to do this.
Day 41 Weyregg am Attersee (Austria)
264 miles / 425 km (5½ hours)
The route takes you out of Poland and into Austria, passing Gipsy cave-dwellings, and the deepest sinkhole in Europe, called “The Stepmother abyss”. You also can visit a chapel that has a bunch of mummies on display (they rest in glass coffins). The last curiosa to visit in Czechia is a system of underground tunnels that connect the houses of Znojmo.
In Austria you get to visit Döllersheim. A ghost town that has an interesting occupant in its graveyard.
Day 42 Cernadoi (Italy)
224 miles / 360 km (5½ hours)
Today the route goes into the Alps. This means curvy roads and breathtaking views. First past the Edelweißspitze (if you want, you can ride to the top) and then the Großglockner pass. The route takes you along green valleys, steep mountains, alpine lakes and curve after curve of the best riding available.
Day 43 Como
233 miles / 375 km (6 hours)
First you climb up to 9,050 feet (2,758 meter) to cross the famous Stelvio pass. Then ride along the spectacular road on the shore of lake Como that was mostly carved out of the mountains. At the end of the day you can rest at Como.
Day 44 Nice (France)
245 miles / 395 km (6 hours)
The route goes south, from the Italian lake district to the mediterranean coast and then turns west, following the beautiful coastal road, passing white sandy beaches with turquoise waters, marinas with billionaire's yachts and inviting terraces that serve amazing cappuccinos. It even takes you along the Avenue Princesse Grace in Monaco and through the tunnels of Monte Carlo. The last stop of the day is in picturesque Èze, a truly stunning medieval town on top of a hill.
Day 45 Cavaillon
183 miles / 295 km (5½ hours)
First ride across the boulevard of Nice. Then walk the postcard streets of Saint-Paul-de-Vence before riding the gorges du Verdon with it’s steep cliffs and vertical drops. Smell the lavender fields of Valensole and amaze at the roman aquaduct Pont Julian. Before ending the day at Cavaillon you can visit Gordes and its surrounding ancient villages with houses completely build from rocks.
Day 46 Carcassonne
208 miles / 335 km (5½ hours)
From Cavaillon the route passes Saint Remy, where Vincent van Gogh painted his best works. If you look at the scenery you might recognize some of his works. You are in for a surprise when a medieval tower suddenly appears in the middle of the road. A pink salt-lake riddled with flamingos is the last you’ll see from the mediterranean coast. As you travel further inland you get to enjoy Minerva, a marvelous medieval town in an amazing ambiance. The day’s route ends at castle-town Carcassonne.
Day 47 Ulldemolins (Spain, via Andorra)
273 miles / 440 km (7 hours)
Today’s route brings you across the pyrenees, but not before you’ve seen the “pulsating well of Fontestorbes” and crossed into Andorra via the highest paved road in the pyrenees. Arriving in Spain the route follows lakes and valleys and ends in Ulldemolins.
Day 48 Madrid
308 miles / 495 km (6 hours)
The last day of riding takes you along beautiful scenery, picturesque villages, rugged mountain ranges and crystal clear lakes. Specially spectacular is Margalef, a town that is build in and around rock crevasses.
A while later you can walk into the old cave-houses of Civica.
At the end of the day you will arrive back in Madrid.
You have made it. You are now a member of the elite club that rode a motorcycle from the rock of Gibraltar to the North Cape and survived. You’ll receive a T-shirt and a certificate, but most of all, you did something not many others have done and you have seen things most only see on television or in their dreams.
Day 49, Madrid airport
Today we take you to the airport, help you find the right checkin-desk and say goodbye, untill next time.