eastern europe/ russia/ scandinavia expedition - any advice?

pjb120 · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Karma :

Hi, planning a 10 week expedition round eatern europe (through france - Italy - Slovenia, down to Bosnia + serbia, then up through hungary, poland, baltic states), Russia (to st petersburg from estonia) and scandanavia (finland, sweden, Norway, faroes + Iceland) this summer, but before I start booking ferries/ applying for visa's etc, would like to hear from people who have ridden in this area, and whether they can recommend/ discourage it. Im not concerned about western europe + scandanavia too much (a lot is already written on these areas), but am wondering whether the eastern europe + russian parts will be more hassle than they're worth (might cut them out yet!) My main questions are -

> What are the main roads + traffic like in the countries I have listed - pretty clear/ straightforward, or a potential suicide mission?

> What about security? Will be travelling alone, mainly camping (at sites), although I will be staying in some city hostels. Are there high rates of bike thefts/ robberies in these areas? Am I asking for trouble by travelling to these countries?

> Are there any border problems in the countries I have mentioned. Am aware I will need a visa for russia, but are there any other potential border problems.

If anyone has toured a route like this + can let me know of their experiences, and/or direct me toward a good blog, that'd be good. Thanks.

Nath · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Karma :

Natv4 did a tour of eastern Europe, and there is a thread about it on this very forum.

Have you properly looked into Russia? As far as I know it is difficult to take your own vehicle into the country, and there is still a culture of bribery instilled within the police. Seems like too much hassle to justifying going as part of a European tour, when the EU countries are so easy to get to.

I am planning a similar trip for this summer, but the opposite way around to you. I'm going to head through France/Belgium/NL/Germany to Denmark, then go up north through Norway/Sweden to the arctic circle. After riding south through Finland I will get the ferry to Estonia then go all the way down to Greece through as many different countrys as possible. For the Balkans, I am thinking Croatia/Bosnia/Montenegro/Albania is the safest route. From Greece I shall get the ferry to southern Italy, and then ride up to the Alps before once again going south through Spain to get to the Faro rally in Portugal, which is in late July. I'm allowing two months for this, but money permitting, I will stay in Europe for up to another month after Faro. We'll have to share any useful info/links with each other.

That's the second time I wrote that out. The first time I got that bastard fucking 'Server is too busy' message when I tried to preview it, and lost the whole post. I was not a happy man.
____________________
Hard livin', hard luck.

colin1 · Captain Safety Joined: 17 Feb 2005 Karma :

it might be worth using a low tech bike the the local mechanics wd be able to fix easily. even getting new tyres might be tricky

im not talking from experience though
____________________
colin1 is officially faster than god

EuropeanNC30R... · Gay Hairdresser Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Karma :

If you haven't already, the foreign office site is well worth checking out for travel advice.

i.e. Russia

pjb120 · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Karma :

pjb120 · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Karma :

mool · L Plate Warrior Joined: 02 Feb 2006 Karma :

Might be worth having a look here: https://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31

I'm sure i saw a similar thread in there somewhere, either way theres alot of info on more 'off the beaten track' places that you may find of interest.
____________________
04 Yamaha XT660R

utopian · L Plate Warrior Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Karma :

Im hoping to the same ISH trip next year look at www.horizonsunlimited.com/links/ it has lists of ALL the paper work you will need, where is good for bikers to stay, and so on. your lucky your going in summer im still looking for a bike that will do the job for next year.
good luck

pjb120 · Two Stroke Sniffer Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Karma :

Thanks for all your advice. Just had a read of Natv4's trip - a fantastic blog that seems to mirror exactly what I want out of the journey. i recommend you have a read of it if you havent done already. Really getting itchy feet now - cant wait till all this crap weather (its snowing at the moment!) goes away + it gets warm again. Cold + wet weather riding sucks.

AreOut · Derestricted Danger Joined: 31 Aug 2005 Karma :

If anyone comes to Montenegro feel free to inform me and we can meet here, there are beautiful roads to ride here.

chris___ · Brolly Dolly Joined: 13 Feb 2005 Karma :

Fucking hell Nath, thats ounds like an awesome trip! How you gettin the time off work though!?
____________________
Yamaha rxs100 > Kawasaki ZZR600 > Kawasaki ZX6R > Honda Hornet 600 > Honda Bros 400 > Suzuki SV650S K2
Bikepics page

EuropeanNC30R... · Gay Hairdresser Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Karma :

He's already out there, left a couple weeks ago Wink

colin1 · Captain Safety Joined: 17 Feb 2005 Karma :

Nath · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Karma :

Yup am three weeks into the trip. Don't need to take time off work as since finishing college last year I've just been doing shitty tempory work to save up money for things like this. The problem is that when I get back home I've got get a real job.

I'm going to ease up on the riding for the next two weeks as I will have to ride 3000km in 5 days after that, from the Czech republic to Portugal. There is an underground metal festival I want to go to called "Obscene Extreme", and then the following weekend is Faro. Internet access is ridiculously cheap here in Poland so you may see me posting a little bit over the coming weeks.
____________________
Hard livin', hard luck.

EuropeanNC30R... · Gay Hairdresser Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Karma :

Where have you been, spending your time so far?

Nath · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Karma :

Up to Norway from Holland was about 3 or 4 days of mile munching, then I spent about a week in Norway taking in as many small twisty roads as possible. I could have spent longer there but just as I got to the western fjords a spell of bad weather came up so I had to head north sooner than I would of liked. Unfortunately then I didn't see as much of the best part of Norway as I would of liked but that's life.

Finland was one big day of mile munching plus a couple of more relaxed days of enjoyable riding. Even though I only spent 3 days in the country I think I got to see more of the 'real' Finland than your average tourist, as the weekend I was there was "Midsummer" which is the biggest public holiday in Scandinavia. I spent the Saturday night in a really small out of the way campsite where half the people there were the family of the guy who ran it. We spent the night round a fire drinking beer until 4am at which point I got to experience the most quintessential Finnish tradition: The Sauna. You sit in the Sauna drinking beer, talking bollocks, and sweating your arse off (whilst totally naked), then you all run outside and jump in the lake. Great fun at 4.30 in the morning whilst quite drunk Thumbs Up

I've been in the polish city of Krakow for a couple of nights, and I was going to leave today but it was raining when I woke up. Instead I will leave on Monday morning and head into Slovakia where there are lots of mountains. To be honest I'm a bit bored here as I've seen the city, been out drinking, and now there is nothing for me to do - However life is so cheap here that one week of stopped in the same place costs the same as about two days of riding. Internet access is less than a pound for two hours!
____________________
Hard livin', hard luck.

natv4 · Brolly Dolly Joined: 31 Dec 2004 Karma :

I know what you mean about Krakow. If you haven't done so already, pop up the road to Auschwitz concentration camp. Its only an hour or so away, and was one of the more interesting places to visit. Though I would ensure you have something nice to do in the evening, it does show you a side of the world that is more than a little dark.

Glad to hear things are going well. I too wanted to visit Norway, but I got a little confused and will be travelling through Finland instead. Don't ask, I've been having a funny 26 years.

Russia has proved one giant pain in the arse. I still have no insurance, but am fairly confident that the border will provide (or I will be able to blag it somehow?!?!).

I leave in 3 weeks time, when are you out there till? I will be around the south of France probably the entire 2nd week in August. If you are about it would be nice to meet up.

Have a blast, enjoy Poland, I love the people there.
All the best,

Nat.
____________________
Travelling around the world...a bit at a time. Where am I now? / Visit my BLOG
Bike: Blue Honda VFR800fi (*NEW*) Mileage: 22k Countries visited: GB/F/D/CZ/PL/E/I/B/A/HR/H/Rus/E/MA
West Europe...2004, East Europe...2005, Russia/France...2006, Morocco...2007

Nath · World Chat Champion Joined: 28 Jul 2004 Karma :

May well still be in Europe till late August, whereabouts would be anybody's guess though.

Russia! Now there's a real challenge! Have you found it difficult to get a visa and invitation? I reckon you are probably right that you can get insurance at the border, but if you can't then I wouldn't risk going ahead anyway. From what i've heard, a foreign number plate basically is a big "payday" sign to the russian police.
____________________
Hard livin', hard luck.