Europe – Munich and Istanbul
Neuschwanstein Castle (King Ludwig Castle) - Germany
Fort Split, Croatia
The ISlands of Greece
Agios Dimitrios, Greece
Crossing an Old Bridge in Greece
Dodoni Theater, Greece
View of Meteora Area, Greece
Near Kalambaka, Greece
Meteora Area, Greece
Pamukkale, Turkey
The Blue Mosque - Istanbul
On the Black Sea in Bulgaria
Brasov Fort, Romania
Tour Schedule 2014
| Date | 2014 Adventures | Days | Price(USD) | Co-rider | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10 - Jun 12 | Munich And Istanbul | 35 | $22,500 | $15,700 |
At a Glance
Your Munich and Istanbul Adventure
(click on daily itinerary)
This 35-day SuperTour begins and ends in Munich, includes 14 different countries, and covers approximately 7,700 km (5,000 miles) of exceptional motorcycle travel. From Germany, the tour continues through Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania, Greece, and Turkey. After exploring Turkey, the trip returns to Germany via Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria. There is virtually no repetition of the eastbound route during the return to Munich.
(The map is for illustrative purposes only and does not always reflect the fact that we often use secondary and more rural roads.)
Highlights include:
- Historical cities and world heritage sites such as Split, Dubrovnik and the Meteora Monasteries in Greece
- Extraordinary motorcycling along such world-class destinations as the Croatian coastline, the Turkish Sea of Marmara, the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania and the winding roads of Austria’s back country
- A free day at the Plitvice Lakes in the mountainous area of Central Croatia - A UNESCO World Heritage site
- Several free days in Greece, including the Chalkidiki Peninsula and the “Green Island” of Thassos - an island located in the Aegean Sea that is famous for clean beaches, hospitality, tasty wine and magnificent honey.
- Several free days in Turkey, including Akyaka - Turkey’s “seaside secret” - a beautiful village beach resort that sits at the head of the beautiful bay of Gokova
- A free day in Istanbul, a “transcontinental city” that straddles the Straits of Bosphorus - the dividing line between Europe and Asia.
- The Transylvania region of Romania, including a free day in Sighişoara. The small town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. It’s also the birthplace of Vlad Dracula (also known as Vlad Tepes - Vlad the Impaler) who inspired Bram Stoker's fictional creation, Count Dracula.
- A free day in Budapest, Hungary - an extensive UNESCO World Heritage Site and a city that has been cited as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
The Route
The route is entirely paved, although there be some options to ride some short gravel (5% or less). Some tough road conditions (potholes, rough surfaces, animals on the road). The trip is intended for experienced riders.
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Additional Information
Price includes BMW G650GS or BMW F650GS
BMW F800GS - $700
BMW R1200GS - $2,500
Single room supplement: $3,750
If riding personal motorcycle, deduct $3,500
Includes all breakfasts, 27 dinners, ferries and entry fee to key attractions
The deposit for this "SuperTour" is $1,500 per person.
Welcome to the “beer capital of Germany”! On the official arrival day we will pick you up from the airport and transfer you to the hotel. Walk around and try out one of the famous Bavarian beergardens, before we meet for the motorcycle handover in the later afternoon. Riders arriving early can visit the BMW museum, a close by beer garden or do some sightseeing in downtown Munich. We'll have a kickoff meeting in the evening, followed by our first dinner together!
Munich – Spittal (~350 km, 220 miles). After a short ride on the German “autobahn” we turn off towards Austria and dive into the alpine mountain range. One possible option is the “Großglockner” – Austria’s highest mountain pass - or we may follow the road through popular alpine resorts, before we end up in Kärnten, Austria’s southernmost state. It is famous for its lakes and scenic beauty and Spittal is a typical and historical little city for our overnight stay.
Spittal – Ljubljana (~260 km, 160 miles). Although Slovenia is a small country, the variety of landscapes is something we can enjoy on our bikes! The capital, Ljubljana, with its well-preserved historical city center is today's destination. It's a great place to have a walk before dinner.
Ljubljana - Lakes of Plitvice (~280 km, 175 miles). Croatia is on our list today and several route options (including a section of the Croatian coast road) lead us to one of the country’s highlights: the Lakes of Plitvice National Park, where we spend two nights.
Free day at the Lakes of Plitvice. Take it easy today and enjoy these beautiful lakes on a hike in the afternoon! The characteristic of this scenic jewel are the turquoise lakes, which dot the landscape on terraces formed by travertin, a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs. A hiking path leads you to the most beautiful ones.
Plitvice – Split or surroundings (~350 km, 220 miles). Only one country today! After an early start we make it straight down to the coast and go for another twisty section of the scenic roads there. Following the coastline more inland we end up in Split; the historical city center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Dubrovnik - Durres (~300 km, 190 miles). Today it’s getting serious! Via Montenegro, with a population of well less than 1 million, one of the smaller European countries, we reach the border to mountainous Albania. Only 25 years ago it was prohibited to own a car! Our destination, Durres, is one of the largest cities and an economic center of the country.
Durres – Ioannina or surroundings (~280 km, 180 miles). We continue our ride southeast through the mountains of Albania and end up at the border with Greece. Being one of the cradles of European history, we will spend several days in this fascinating country. In Ioannina, we can begin to see the Ottoman influence. You'll enjoy a stroll around the city center.
Ioannina – Kalampaka (~160 km, 100 miles). It’s only a short distance, but some quite interesting options for the route! The twisty, old mountain roads are really enjoyable – but we have to make sure to arrive in Kalampaka early enough for a visit of the world-famous Meteora monasteries!
Kalampaka – Ormilia (~330 km, 210 miles). Today we pass by the ancient seat of the gods – Olympos! Our destination, the peninsula of Chalkidiki offers nice hotels, scenic beauty and great riding options – enough reasons to spend two nights here!
Free day on the peninsula of Chalkidiki. Lean back and relax or go for a twisty ride on one of the three “fingers” of Chalkidiki: this is Greece at its best! The optional riding could add about 150 km (100 miles) to your diary.
Chalkidiki – Island of Thassos (~300 km, 190 miles). The greek mountains close to the Bulgarian border are still home to stone eagles, wolves and of course twisties! A loop well worth the effort, before we head south again and jump on the ferry that brings us to the island of Thassos.
Free day on the island of Thassos. Greece has more than 3,000 islands, so we should have a closer look to at least one of them! A restday on Thassos makes sure that we get an idea of how life – and riding - is on one of the many small paradises in the Aegean Sea. The optional riding could add about 100 km to your day.
Thassos – Alexandroupolis (~300 km, 190 miles). Our last day in Greece begins with a ferry to the mainland and brings us very close to the Turkish border. If we start early enough, we have the chance to enjoy some really nice mountain roads. We’ll have a last “Ouzo” on Greece tonight. Tomorrow the drink will be “Raki”!
Alexandroupolis – Canakkale (~ 280 km, 175 miles). After the border crossing we dive into the backcountry of Turkey! Passing by the WW I battle grounds of Gelibolu we make our way along the famous Dardanelles, which separate Europe from the mainland of Asia. A ferry brings us to the small city of Canakkale, where we have the hotel at the waterfront – right next to the original Trojan Horse from the movie “Troy”!
Canakkale – Foça (~ 350 km, 220 miles). An early start will ensure that we are among the first ones to visit world-famous Troy. There are a lot more sites to visit in this region, such as Assos and Bergama, so it’s going to be a long day full of history and good riding. A stay in an exclusive Boutique Hotel in Foça is today's reward!
Foça – Akyaka (~360 km, 230 miles). The highway around the metropole of Izmir will bring us quickly to one of the most impressive sites of Turkey’s past: Ephesus! A walk in this anchient, historical city is a must for anyone who visits the country. The afternoon is dedicated to having fun on the scenic Turkish backcountry roads, before we arrive in the resort village of Akyaka.
Free Day in Akyaka. Today we have the choice to hang out and take it easy, walk around in the village or go for a ride to explore the backcountry. You can visit Marmaris, one of the the major tourist centers of Turkey with the highest concentration of sun seekers. The optional riding would add about 200 km (125 miles) to your logbook.
Akyaka – Pamukkale (~ 230 - 370 km, 110 – 240 miles). Depending on how much time you would like to spend walking around on the famous travertine terraces of Pamukkale, you can make it a fairly short ride or start early and do almost 400 km on some wonderful roads, before you end your day.
Pamukkale – Emet (~ 270 km, 170 miles). After a late start we can fully concentrate on some fantastic riding today. It’s all about picking the small and twisty roads – no need to rush, there are no ruins to visit, just a 5-star Spa/Hotel waiting for us at the end of the day.
Emet – Istanbul (~ 250 km, 160 miles + ferry). Today we reappear on the more “busy” stage of Turkey: after playing around on some more twisty roads and a major mountain pass, we arrive at the coast of the Marmara Sea. From Yalova we take the ferry back to Europe and to Istanbul – avoiding three hours of dense traffic. We'll enjoy the evening in a nice restaurant here in the capital of Turkey - where Europe and Asia meet.
Free day in Istanbul. Welcome back to Europe and one of its oldest and most impressive cities! One day is not much time to visit this place, but with a tour around the “Golden Horn”, a boat trip, a walk through the “Grand Bazar” and the visit of monuments like the Hagya Sofia or the Blue Mosque, you can get a good impression of this busy place. Enjoy our last full day in Turkey!
Istanbul – Pomorie (~340 km, 220 miles). We better get up early to avoid the dense city traffic of Istanbul. It’s 200 km to the Bulgarian border, which we will cover on smaller country roads. Depending on how long the border crossing takes, we can add another 40 km and ride for about 50 km along the coast of the Black Sea. After crossing through Burgas we arrive in the ancient city of Pomorie, today a seaside resort and popular tourist destination.
Pomorie – Harsova (~ 370 km, 230 miles), The so-called “Golden Sand” coastline of Bulgaria is very busy with tourists and sun seekers in summer. We will get an impression of it before we turn inland towards the border of Romania. Tonight we stay in the very southeast of this country.
Harsova – Brasov (~300 km, 190 miles). We are entering Transylvania on roads that lead us into the Carpathian mountains! In some villages it seems that time stood still and on our bikes we seem to come from a different world.
Brasov – Sighişoara (~330 km, 210 miles). After a visit the castle, which is marketed today as the home of the titular character in Bram Stoker’s Dracula we continue our ride towards one more highlight: the Transfagarasan Highway. It's a spectacular mountain road - the second highest paved road in Romania. It connects the historical provinces of Transylvania and Wallachia.
Free day in Sighişoara. Sighişoara is considered the most beautiful and well preserved inhabited citadel in Europe, with an authentic medieval architecture. In Eastern Europe, Sighişoara is one of the few fortified towns which are still inhabited. Enjoy the medieval atmosphere and go for a walk – or enjoy one more riding day in Transylvania.
Sighişoara – Cluj-Napoca (~200 km, 125 miles). It’s a short riding day today, so we can take our time and go for some extra loops. Cluj-Napoca is much larger than last night’s Sighişoara and is considered to be one of Romanias “Technopolis” – what a difference a day makes!
Cluj-Napoca – Budapest (~410 km, 260 miles). Today we leave the mountains of Romania and ride across the huge Hungarian lowlands. Again it’s a different culture and history. There is no better place than Budapest to experience it.
Free day in Budapest. Cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Budapest's extensive World Heritage Sites includes the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes' Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, the second oldest in the world. And there are many more highlights to discover.
Budapest – Bratislava (~260 km, 160 miles). It’s a fairly short ride to Bratislava – if we want, we can simply follow the river Danube and use the afternoon to walk around the beautiful capitol of Bratislava. The city is strongly influenced by people of different nations and religions like Austrians, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Slovaks, and Jews.
Bratislava – Gmunden (~370 km, 230 miles). Back to Austria! We pass by Vienna, Austria’s capital and dive into the small back country roads. Lovely scenery, hills and mountains welcome us and the region around Gmunden is famous for its lakes and natural beauty – a nice change from the larger cities that we visited during recent days.
Gmunden – Munich (~270 km, 170 miles). Welcome back to Germany! Crossing our last border on this tour, we leave the mountains and arrive back in Bavaria. We use the autobahn again for our last kilometers and then - time to celebrate! After 34 days and more than a dozen countries we have touched Asia, we were back in the middleages, we’ve ridden adventurous roads, tasted exotic food and we are stuffed with experiences. So let’s lean back and just cherish the return from the Adventure of a lifetime!
Breakfast and airport transfers. We hope to see you on another Adventure soon.
Model | Specifications |
|---|---|
 BMW G650GS | Seat Height: 780 mm / 30.7 inches Dry Weight: 176 kg / 388 lb Fuel Capacity: 17.3 Liters / 4.6 Gallons Displacement:652 cc Damage Deposit: Africa (except South Africa and Swaziland): $3,000 South Africa and Swaziland: $1,500 Alaska/Canada: $2,500 Argentina: $3,000 Chile: $2,500 Europe (except Spain and Portugal): $1,500 New Zealand: $1,500 Spain and Portugal: $3,000 |
Model | Specifications |
|---|---|
 BMW F650GS | Seat Height: 820 mm / 790 mm Seat Height: 32.3 inches / 31.1 inches Dry Weight: 171 kg / 377 lb Fuel Capacity: 16 Liters / 4.2 Gallons Displacement: 798 cc Damage Deposit: Africa (except South Africa and Swaziland): $3,000 South Africa and Swaziland: $1,500 Alaska/Canada: $2,500 Argentina: $3,500 Chile: $2,500 Europe (except Spain and Portugal): $2,500 New Zealand: $1,500 Spain and Portugal: $3,000 |
Model | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Seat Height: 880 mm / 850 mm Seat Height: 34.65 inches / 33.46 inches Dry Weight: 178 kg / 392 lb Fuel Capacity: 16 Liters / 4.3 Gallons Displacement: 798 cc Damage Deposit: Africa (except South Africa and Swaziland): $3,500 South Africa and Swaziland: $1,750 Alaska/Canada: $2,500 Argentina: $4,000 Chile: $2,500 Europe (except Spain and Portugal): $2,500 New Zealand: $1,500 Spain and Portugal: $3,000 |
Model | Specifications |
|---|---|
 BMW R1200GS | Seat Height: 870 mm / 850 mm Seat Height: 34.25 inches / 33.46 inches Dry Weight: 199 kg / 439 lb Fuel Capacity: 20 Liters / 5.3 Gallons Displacement: 1170 cc Damage Deposit: Africa (except South Africa and Swaziland): $3,500 South Africa and Swaziland: $1,750 Alaska/Canada: $2,500 Argentina: $4,500 Chile: $2,500 Europe (except Spain and Portugal): $2,500 New Zealand: $3,500 Spain and Portugal: $3,000 |
The single supplement applies for riders who request single occupancy. It also applies for cases in which a rider wishes to share a room with another rider, but there are no riders available or willing to share a room.