enginmanap Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hi All I am a proud owner of MT-09 Tracer and have around 8k kilometers on it. Me and My wife will be spending a week on Italy end of August, and I wanted to ask for any tips and tricks, especially about country specific tips on riding. I would appreciate any and all help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member wessie Posted August 5, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted August 5, 2015 If you are going for a week, have you picked a region? Italy is a marvellous place, I love it but it gets vurry 'ot to mimic Mr Rossi. The mountains in the north, and the lakes may be bearable for someone with a mixture of Celtic and Anglo Saxon roots like me in July or August but I would not go further south on the bike until September or October. I visited Naples in January and thought it was quite mild when the locals were wrapped up in Puffa jackets and moaning about the cold! Traffic in the urban areas is manic but I quite like it. It is chaotic but as long as you go with the flown and NEVER stop you will be fine. On the bike I stick to the rural areas and I have yet to venture further south than Verona. Other places I have visited by fly-drive or use public transport. You can spend a week without covering all of the roads in the Dolomites. I suggest you don't try to be too ambitious. The views from the mountain roads are fantastic. Take your time to enjoy them but the Italians do not make roads to Germanic or Swiss standards so it can take time to get from A to B. Lake Garda, especially Riva del Garda or Malcesine especially are my favourite places to stay. Great places to use as a base for a few days. Hotel Benacus just outside Malcesine is good. http://www.benacushotel.com/eng/ The roads around Naples are great too, but go out of the coach tour season if considering the Amalfi Coast. Progress will be pedestrian, even on a bike. This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcophil Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 A tip from me would be to look out for the short arm bike friendly toll barriers on the autoroutes, where they have them you just ride through the gap at the end of the barrier, unike us who took tickets and paid till we sussed them! Also wine is around half the price of beer in bars. Its one of the best places to visit for people, food and fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginmanap Posted August 12, 2015 Author Share Posted August 12, 2015 Thanks for all the tips. I am traveling with my wife, so route is not up to me, she wants to see cities About the toll barriers etc. Everybody says the autoroutes are pretty expensive, but nobody says how much, are there any ideas about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member wessie Posted August 12, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted August 12, 2015 If you plot your route on Viamichelin.com it will tell you the toll rates - remember to set it to bike in the route properties I've only used Italian motorways to get around Naples and Milan and I don't remember them being that expensive, but the distances weren't far and it was a few years ago. Fuel up before leaving Switzerland or Austria as there is a huge difference in petrol costs, perhaps 40c per litre higher in Italy. Fortunately, the loop I did last year through the Dolomites, between two destinations in Austria, was managed on a single tank. This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skid Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Not on a bike, but spent a week in the dolomites near Venice last year. Would go back in a heartbeat. The views (check the video on the Dolado restaurant website below) and roads were amazing (although we were in an Alfa Guiletta hire car which was frankly disappointing) and a secondary benefit is that Alpinestars (and others) have their factories and outlet stores in the same area. Stayed in Venice with friends then headed towards the dolomites.. beware we weren't holding back so these aren't cheap options. If the wife likes cities; Venice, Treviso, Vicenze, Verona are all lovely italian cities in the area. Highlights for us outside Venice were.. - a hotel in Asolo called Villa Cipriani www.villaciprianiasolo.com - amazing old school luxury where the movie stars used to hang out though not cheap. - Quirky Michelin starred Restaurant and (much more basic B&B) Ristorante Albergo Dolada in Pieve d'Alpago.. the chef did George Clooneys wedding. http://www.dolada.it. - Alpinestars and Dianese are near Montebelluna - and finally a bit weird but an amazing piece of architecture was the tomba brion. free and i was surprised how much i liked it as i'm not usually into this kind of stuff. the roads around the edge of the dolomites are crazy.. but if you get tired of the hairpins, the roads at the bottom are flat and smooth.. There's a windy monster outside Valdobbiadene up to pianezze and down to colmellere - check google maps. Nice views but the wife might not like being on the back. Finally we stayed at a nice place called the quercia belvedere http://www.querciabelvedere.it for a bit of piece and quiet but a walk from Bardolino on lake Garda Hope that helps a bit.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suncoaster Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 If you're in the north of Italy in late August, and want a unique evening, book a night at the opera with your wife at the open air Roman amphitheatre Arena di Verona. Stay the night in Verona, it ends late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enginmanap Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Thank you all for your comments, we had a great vacation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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