Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Czech Republic Guided Motorcycle Tour

Thirteen nights across seven countries, guided, which RideWithUs run as their flagship tour, with riders on their own bikes.

The Ardennes and the Black Forest come first on the way east, then the Salzburg region of Austria, and Lake Balaton in Hungary, the largest lake in central Europe, with a free day for Sumeg Castle or the thermal lake at Heviz, where the water comes out of the ground warm enough to swim in all winter.

Slovakia takes the middle of the trip: the Low Tatras first, then the High Tatras by way of three national parks and Banska Bystrica, in a range that is compact, steep and almost unknown to British riders. Krakow follows in Poland with a free day for the old town, Wawel Castle and the Wieliczka salt mine, worked for centuries and cut into chapels and halls below ground. Prague comes next with another free day, then Franconia and the Ardennes on the long ride home.

Thirteen nights of bed and breakfast, five evening meals and the return Eurotunnel crossing are included, along with GPX routes and the itinerary; fuel, parking, admissions and the vignettes are not. Fourteen days for this much of Europe means some long transit days at either end and three free days in the middle, which is where the trip earns its keep. The Tatras are the part that surprises people, and Prague and Krakow are both better reached by bike than by air. Summer is the season, since the Tatra passes are a different proposition in cold weather.