But getting to and from (wherever that may be) is part of the fun in my opinion.

Sure, I agree...except in this case the OP has barely time to get to and from the destinations under discussion, leaving little time for touring. With limited time, I'd rather spend it in Morocco, Turkey or the Balkans than riding across Europe (which it sounds like he's familiar with anyway).

In any case, I'm not telling anyone what to do--merely suggesting possibilities.

Mark

Hi Lee:

That's a tough question, because it all depends on what happens with the COVID pandemic.

If COVID is still a concern in the fall of next year - meaning, if countries are still at risk of imposing lockdowns & quarantines - then I suggest you don't travel to a place that would put you more than one border crossing away from getting back home to the UK. In other words, you can get directly back to the UK from Spain (ferry), France, from the Netherlands, possibly from Norway if there is a ferry service - so you might want to consider those countries, or others that allow a direct return home. I would not want to go to (for example) Turkey under those circumstances, because you would have to cross about 4 borders to get back home, and any one of them could suddenly present a impermeable barrier.

If COVID is no longer a concern, I suggest you look south. It can be cool in the Nordic countries in the fall, but it is usually very pleasant anywhere south of the Alps or Pyrenees. Warmer weather means you don't have to carry as much riding gear & clothing.

For what it's worth, this is the voice of experience speaking - I was in Tunisia in March & April when the pandemic lockdowns and border closures started, and I wound up getting stuck there for a month and barely managing to escape home to Canada on the one and only direct flight operated between Tunis & Montreal. If I had missed that flight, I would not have been able to get out of Tunisia until July 2020 when travel between Tunisia and the EC reopened. My motorcycle is still in Tunisia - I'm not sure when I will be able to go back and get it, but I suspect it won't be until sometime in the second half of 2021.

Michael

Norway
 

If you're looking for great roads and magnificent views, you could do much worse than Norway. Western and Northern Norway are among the most wonderful places in the world with winding paved roads and great scenery. Getting there is the problem. Even South-Eastern Norway (where I live) is kind of boring, unless you know the small roads. (Feel free to ask!)

The best would be to ship your bike to Stavanger or Bergen and fly in. It may cost a bit, but if you compare it with the cost of driving there yourself, including accommodation and food? Probably not the worst deal, at least for one direction.

Western Norway should be ridden across the direction of the fjords. You get a nice variation of crossing mountains and driving around fjords, or getting a coffee break on a ferry. Distances are fairly short, so a trip should be easy to plan. Avoid planning more than around 300 km per day, and make sure you have time to take the scenic route. Maybe 5-6 days in Western Norway is plenty, and allows for some backtracking to get to all the best places.

Then head north. The E6 is boring, but luckily you can ride along the coast, following county road 17. I have not yet had time, but it is known to be amazing. In the main season there are a lot of RVs on the road. Make sure you have plenty of time, maybe 4 or 5 days? If you plan to sleep in hotels, booking ahead is required in the tourist season. This is a good time to stop at a boathouse for a couple of days and do some fishing or coastal exploring.

https://www.visitnorway.com/places-t...veien/?lang=uk

When you get to Bodø, you can take the Ferry to Moskenes at the end of Lofoten. Take a couple of days exploring Lofoten, but keep in mind that it is a pretty small place! I would make sure to also explore the other islands near Lofoten.

Vesterålen is great, and I would recommend spending a night in Nyksund, which is an old fishing village that has been turned into a kind of bohemian place with hotels and a pretty good restaurant. And the view! You can do whale safari from Stø. Driving along the outside of Andøya is amazing!

From Andenes at the north end of Andøya you can take a ferry to Senja, which is a secret gem along the coast. It's like what would happen if after Norway was almost done, half of the nature was still left and had to be crammed into a small island.

If you end up going, give me a ping. I sometimes go to fish and unwind at the place where my father grew up, 50 km east of Lofoten.

Spend a week in the archipelagos. That should give you plenty of time to experience everything.

After that, there's no big point in going further north, as the distances are too great for the views to justify. Going back through Sweden or Finland is possible, but roads are mostly pretty boring. An alternative is to take a coastal cruise on Hurtigruten back to Bergen. It's not cheap, but will offer some different views, and would be a proper place to relax celebrate!

But, the most important thing: Time of year. You do want to experience the midnight sun, and to get that you need to travel in June or July. Norwegian summer holiday starts the last week of June, and from early July onwards the RVs start to fill up the roads and accommodation gets harder to find. The best time to travel is in June. Most (probably not all) mountain passes in Western Norway should be open by then. For the trip I've outlined above, I would recommend to start around June 10, which would allow you to finish by the time it gets too crowded. Most, if not all, mountain passes in Western Norway should be open by then. This year I drove north on July 1st, and the traffic was light. One week later the ferries were full, and people were queueing for hours.

Ha, did both of those over the last few years (except not on a Road Drill). Both are good trips (apart from the non stop rain in New England) but I still think the Morocco suggestion is the one. :thumbup1:

I'd suggest Spain and Morocco either in October-November or January-February. These dates provides a great extension to the normal biking pleasure months and help prevent winter blues.

Daylight hours are much longer than in the UK (currently 10:24 hrs against 8:29) and there's normally wall-to-wall sunshine in Morocco—here's the current forecast for Merzouga: https://weather.com/en-GB/weather/te...+MOXX6675:1:MO

You could organise a flight to Tangier or Marrakech for the other half so she doesn't have to endure the cold of central Spain in Jan-Feb.