🚴 Bike & Motorcycle Travel Q&A
Is bike or motorcycle travel safe for beginners?
It can be, with certified protective gear, a training course, short daily distances and easy well-surfaced routes before you attempt anything remote or mountainous.
Answered by the RealTripGuides editors. We check what we can against official sources and say when something varies by country or operator.
- Wear a DOT, ECE or SNELL-certified helmet, plus an armoured jacket, gloves and proper boots. Gear is the one part of this budget not to trim.
- Take a recognised rider training course before a long trip, even if you already hold a licence.
- Build up. A few day rides, then a weekend, then a week — fatigue is the risk that beginners underestimate most.
- Check the forecast every morning. Rain, crosswinds and cold do more to end trips than traffic does.
- Confirm your licence is valid in the country you are riding in, and that your insurance covers the engine size you will be on. An International Driving Permit is required in many places.
Gentler routes to begin with
- Europe: the Loire Valley, Tuscany's secondary roads, Ireland's Ring of Kerry.
- USA: the Blue Ridge Parkway, or the quieter sections of the Pacific Coast Highway.
- Asia: the Mae Hong Son loop out of Chiang Mai, or Vietnam's Ha Giang loop with a guide.
One caution about the popular Asian loops: they are beautiful and they are also where inexperienced riders most often get hurt. If you have never ridden on gravel or in mountain traffic, hire a guide or ride pillion for the first day.
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