Swiss, Italian & Austrian Alps

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Day by day of the Swiss, Italian and Austrian Alps motorcycle tour

Day 1: We start our Swiss, Italian and Austrian Alps motorcycle tour by heading to Lake Maggiore, ride by Stresa, renowned for its opulent villas along its lakeshore.  Lake Maggiore was a prime destination for the rich Milanese looking for a summer retreat so the villas here are amazingly rich. after lake Como we tackle our first alpine pass of the tour, the Simplonpass, or in Italian passo del Sempione SS36. It’s an easy introduction to alpine riding. Less so the Furkapass that awaits at the beginning of the Rhone valley and that will lead us into Andermatt. Scene to the Goldfinger 007 movie, the Furkapass will stick into your mind for being narrow and breathtaking.

Day 2: We take the loop ride of 4 of the Big Six. In sequence we ride up the Gotthard pass then down the old Tremola to Airolo, back up the Neufenenpass (Passo della Novena) and back down to Gletsch to start the Grimselpass. Finally the Sustenpass back into Andermatt. 4 passes with endless views, amazing corners and so many bikes around. An incredible pass-hopping day!

Day 3:  We leave Andermatt and complete the 6th pass, the Oberalp pass. At the top of the pass is a surprise, but we’ll tell you about it when we get there. Down the Oberalp pass and then over the Lukmanierpass (Passo del Lucomagbo into Ticino, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. We have lunch in Bellinzona and visit its beautiful castle. From Bellinzona we ride the San Bernardino pass into the Grison region, and after a short stint to the top of Splugen pass, we follow the Rein river to Thusis ride the Julierpass and then the Berninapass. Half way down the Bernina, we ride over the Forcola di Livigno and reach our next double night stopover in Livigno.

Day 4:  Our loop ride out of Livigno takes us back into Switzerland. We can’t miss the Albula, Fluela and Ofen passes before moving on to Stelvio and the Italian Alps. We also pay tribute to two great Swiss ski resorts, Sankt Moritz and Davos, also known for being the base for the World Economic Forum in summer. The riding is very nice. The roads in perfect condition. We will also ride through the quaint Engadine villages with their painted houses. Spectacular day and well worth doing.

Day 5: We head for Stelvio but when in Bormio before we climb the south side of Stelvio we dedicate a couple of hours to riding up and down Gavia pass on the northern side just to warm up a little. We then tackle the Big One. Reach the top and enjoy lunch at the altitude of 2800 meters at the Tibetan restaurant with a spectacular view of the switch backs that await. We then run down the Umbrail pass (the third road to Stelvio and back up the northern side with the (in)famous 48 tight switchbacks that made this pass famous. We then climb down Stelvio and reach Merano for the night.

Day 3: We set off to tackle the Italian side of the Passo del Rombo or Timmelsjoch (German). We’ll park on this side of the toll (avoiding it) and visit the highest motorcycle museum in Europe. We return back down the Rombo pass and tackle the Passo del Giovo which will take us to the Brenner pass (SS12) in Vipiteno. We follow the Brenner pass all the way nearly to Bressanone. Here we join Val Pusteria which we follow all the way to Dobbiaco. In Dobbiaco we shall stay 3 nights and enjoy two amazing loops. You’ll also get dinner included for these 3 nights care of the hotel with excellent local dishes and fresh produce.

Day 4: We ride to Austria and enjoy the private Grossglocknerstrasse. At the cost of 28 euro per bike you get 50km worth of perfect mountain roads and the view over this alpine milestone. Another one for the bucket list.

Day 5: A full day dedicated to the Dolomites. We start by heading towards Lake Misurina then pass Cortina d’Ampezzo and ride the magnificent Passo di Giau. From here we tackle the Passo Fedaia with a great view of the Marmolada glacier, or what’s left of it. We then take on the Pordoi and Falzarego passes before returning to Dobbiaco with a short stop in Cortina. There are two opportunities to catch cable cars on Pordoi and Falzarego. The views are amazing from the top if weather and time allow.

Day 6: We head back to the Falzarego pass in the opposite direction then head into Val Badia and take on the other side of the Sella group by doing the Gardena and Sella passes. We then reach the legendary Carezza lake. From here we cross the Brenner pass and reach the Dolomites of Brenta ride along the Molveno lake and reach our last overnight stop before returning to Milano in Riva del Garda by Lake Garda.

Day 7: We run along the west coast of lake Garda and ride the Strada della Forra, an incredibly tight road carved in the rocks to reach the Terrazza del Brivido where you get a fantastic view over Lake Garda. We then ride west to Lake Iseo and join the highway A4 to make good time to return the bikes in Milano.

other motorcycle tours in Italy and Europe

any questions or doubts about this motorcycle tour feel free to contact Francesco on tours@cimt.it or via whatsapp on +39 335 793 8218