Some of our tours have been designed to be shorter, so that people with limited time availability can still find time to ride in Europe.  This is one of those tours, where in just six days, you can cross the channel with us and ride fabulous roads, set in fabulous scenery.  We leave on a Monday and you will be back in the UK on the following Saturday evening.

This tour is all about the riding and staying in wonderful place, mainly in châteaux. We have specifically chosen roads that we are sure you will love to ride – twisty and scenic!  Many riders do not get to experience these types of roads and with little traffic, they are a joy to ride.

The tour is in 4 counties – France, Belgium and Luxembourg, plus a small section in Germany.  For much of the time, we will be in the Ardennes, which is a region of forests set in rolling hills.

The accommodation we will be using is all 3 or 4 star, with safe parking and good food.

This is a round-trip tour and the price includes the channel tunnel train to and from France.

Depending on where you are from, you could ride your own bike on the tour, or rent one (see ‘Rentals’ tab at the top of this page).

Day One – Monday 22 July

We catch a Eurotunnel train from Folkestone to Calais early on the Sunday morning.  The aim of today is to get to the great roads further east, so we use some motorway to get there. We eat lunch in the magnificent town square in Valencienenes.  After lunch, we move onto smaller roads and ride through the L’Avesnois National Park, a lot of which means riding fabulous forest roads. We then cross the border into Belgium and the highlight of the day is the last part of the days ride, on magnificent roads in the forest as we approach Dinant.  We stay the night in a rather grand Chateau with splendid gardens.

Day Two – Tuesday 23 July

Day 2 is about riding alongside magnificent rivers as they twist and turn their way through wonderful countryside.  The Meuse is a stunning river set in splendid scenery and we ride along its banks first thing today.  We pass by the picturesque city of Dinant and stop to look at the cliffs cut by the river, before entering and riding through the Ardennes National Park.  This is a wonderful place to ride a motorcycle and we continue alongside another glorious river, the Semoy. We have lunch in a terrific location with wonderful views before crossing back into France and heading for a 4-star medieval fortress, where we stay the night.

Day Three – Wednesday 24 July

Day 3 is a relatively easy riding day of just 100 miles, in 3 different countries – France, Belgium and Luxembourg.  We will be in the Ardennes all day, which is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges, all of which make it a great area for motorcycling.  We go to the town of Bastogne, famous for the WW2 battle that took place there and featured in the TV series ‘Band of Brothers’.  We of course look at the Sherman tank in the town square.  In the afternoon we cross into Luxembourg and tonight we stay at a wonderful 4-star majestic listed castle.

Day Four – Thursday 25 July

This is a terrific day of riding, spent mainly on scenic roads.  We start by riding south along the banks of the River Our on wonderfully twisting roads that hug the line of the river. We will stop in Vianden to admire the castle perched high on the huge rock cliff. After hugging another river (the Sauer) we cross the border and enter Germany and ride north on more terrific riding roads before entering Luxembourg and then Belgium once more.

We stay the night in what is called a spa-castle near Liege, known for it’s thermal pool.

Day Five – Friday 26 July

More great roads follow on day 5 as we take a loop to ride the best roads in the area, before riding along the River Meuse and visiting the citadel at Namur where we look down on the river, from the fortress originally built during the Roman era.  We then make our way to our accommodation for the night, one of the many forts and castles in the Upper Meuse valley, nestling in 25 hectares of country estate.

Day Six – Saturday 27 July

The last day is about getting back to Calais to catch the Eurotunnel train back to the UK.  Today’s ride is 140 miles and we try to avoid motorway for most of the day.  We use a combination of Route National roads and more interesting country roads including riding alongside some canals.  We will arrive back in Calais at around 4pm to catch a train back to Folkestone.

• Crossing the English Channel (normally done by Eurotunnel train)
• Three and four star accommodation in terrific locations
• Breakfast every day
• 1 evening meal
• Well researched routes to provide you with fantastic roads to ride
• Experienced tour guide to lead the tour
• A back marker / sweep
• Tour1 T-Shirt
• Comprehensive tour itinerary
• GPS routes for your sat nav
• Tips for riding in Europe guide

What’s not included….

• Accomodation before the tour starts, or after it ends
• Petrol (gas) you use
• Motorway and other road tolls
• All other meals and drinks
• Motorcycle rental, should you need it (we can help arrange this – see RENTALS tab at the top of this page)

Our group sizes normally range from 10 to 14 motorcycles.

Each day, we normally start riding at 8.30am or 9.00am and cover in the region of 120 – 185 miles.  We try to avoid motorways wherever possible and only use these when there is no real alternative.  We take mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks and of course find somewhere for lunch.  Our plan is to normally arrive at that evening’s hotel by around 6pm.

We use good quality hotels – not super luxury and not bottom end, but mid-range – normally 3 or 4-star.

We ride at a pace to suit all of the riders.  We stick to all speed limits in towns, but in rural areas we ride at, let’s call them ‘more appropriate’ speeds.  We generally ride in staggered convoy on straighter roads.

As we have pre-booked hotels and a schedule to stick to, we ride in all weathers.  During any exceptionally inclement weather, we will pull over for short periods.  We could experience a range of different types of weather, so bring waterproofs, just in case.

We like these tours to be about having a real adventure, riding on great roads with like-minded people. For that reason, we do not use a support van, but we always have a back-marker.

*Ride Rating

Each of our rides has a difficulty rating and this tour is rated as ‘moderate’.  That means this tour is not recommended for new riders.  You should have at least four years of riding experience on large motorcycles.  You must have ridden on the right-hand side of the road before and you must be comfortable with travelling in a group of riders and be able to keep a good pace within that group.  We do not ride fast, but at the same time, it is better if riders do not go too slowly.  While there is not much motorway riding on the tour, as a guide, the group will be riding at speeds of 75mph on motorways.  You must be confident of riding in rain and on wet roads. Each day’s riding will be around 9 hours, with breaks.  You should be able to ride all day.  If you are at all unsure if your riding ability is good enough for this tour, then you must contact us by telephone to discuss.