Dipping my toe in France

Tired of expensive and boring holidays in the sunshine, I'm thinking along
the lines of spending a few days touring France with a couple of mates this
summer. This will be a new experience for all of us, (bike touring, not
France itself), so any web sites, travel blog sites etc that could show us
the ropes would be appreciated.

 

Dave Walker emerged from their own little world to say

Good plan.

Lots of threads on this forum: http://www.ukgser.com/forums/

Best site for the Alps: http://www.alpineroads.com/

Good sites for hotels: http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/index.htm
Logis is a bit like a French AA. They have a grading system and most
have a bit of character not found in corporate chains like those on:
www.accorhotels.com
Of the Accor hotels I generally use the IBIS chain. Very similar to UK
Travel Inn but often located in city centres, e.g. the ones in Reims &
Beaune are minutes away from the centre of town.

You can usually find somewhere without pre-booking unless you are
planning on a trip in August to somewhere where the Frogs go on holiday.
It's handy to have a list of possibilities though.

Holiday insurance that covers bikers (most don't)
www.nationwide.co.uk

Ferries:
http://www.motorsport-travel.com/ or the new
http://www.speedferries.com/

Some of my favourite areas in France:
Alps, Massif Central (Auvergne), Burgundy, Champagne, Vosges

You might want to consider just over the border into Germany too:
Eiffel Mountains, Black Forest.

HTH, HAND

 

watched that on Sky travel... think I`ll start with something easy....

 

Thanks for all that, plenty to digest.

Didn't think about travel insurance, one of our riders is a paramedic so we
assumed he could deal with cuts and bruises, hangovers etc, and just take
our E110's - or would you advise different. Similarly, what about breakdown
cover, any suggestions?

 

Dave Walker emerged from their own little world to say

Don't rely on an E111 for medical cover [1]. Yes, you'll get treatment but
it won't get you home if you can't ride the bike. It's only £15 for a week.

Breakdown insurance: some bike insurance policies e.g. Carol Nash, provide
Euro breakdown cover as part of the package. This is a good policy that
works well so you might want to consider swapping to C Nash if your renewal
is due before the trip.

For my car I have a policy from www.Quotelinedirect.co.uk - 59 quid for a
Europ Assistance annual policy. They cover bikes too.

 

They're E111s and you need the new type that's just being issued.

And some form of extra medical insurance is a must, if only because it
usually covers theft of belongings etc.

Breakdown cover - if your bike runs fine here, it'll run fine there.
Take it out for peace of mind, but I'd rather rely on a decent puncture
kit.

 

The Older Gentleman emerged from their own little world to say

that's what I meant to put in the missing footnote

get the forms from your post office or download from
http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAdviceForTravellers/fs/en

 

Have a look at http://sportstourer.org and it's links...