Favoured route to Mandello

General Discussion Guzzisti go Touring
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Hi everyone,

I’m heading to Mandello for the celebrations next year. It’ll be my 1st European run and before I plan the route and stops I thought I’d check in with the membership and seek some advice before I get the map out.

I’ll be travelling down from Aberdeenshire and meeting my chum in Chelmsford before using the Tunnel to Calais. So from there to Mandello please? I’d prefer to stay off the Motorways and keep to the less busy routes. Also, can you recommend where you stayed?

Presume the Stelvio is a must then home by another route?

Hoping to attend the Scottish Rally in May and meet some of you there.

Thanks in advance

Scotty

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I went with a friend 18 months ago, crossed from Harwich to Hook via Stenna, stopped at Arnhem and then first night near the Mohne dam. There is now a bridge over the reservoir at about Lancaster flying height! From there south on the B229 with a bit on the E35 to get some distance under us. Second night just south of Barden-Barden and on south on the B500 through the Black Forest (you have to do this bit!)

We went along the Bordensee and stopped 3rd night in Austria, Stelvio pass the next day and Mandello in the evening, with a factory museum visit the next day. Back via Switzerland, Belgium and France. Book the tunnel as if you just turn up it is twice as much!

Have fun! :+1:

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Route depends on how long you have to do the trip. When I went this summer, I took 4 days on my 1972 loop-frame.

Stafford to tunnel and then first night in St Omer.

Second day across to Luxembourg and stay near to Bitburg in Germany.

Third day was supposed to be south and onto the B500 but it was closed for roadworks but all the roads round there are great. Stay on Rhein river.

Fourth day due south, over St Gotthard pass and then across to Mandello from Lugano.

The return route was 5 days firstly going west to Sauze D’Oulx and then Col du Lauteret and north back to Calais.

On a different bike I might have done a few more adventurous passes but the drum brakes are not the best!

Ian

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Brilliant, thanks guys👍🏻

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Not too much time for my trip so I did use the motorway a fair bit on the way down. Rotterdam to Neustadt an der Weinstrasse day 1. Day 2 pick up the Swiss motorway ticket at an autobahn petrol station and down to south of Lucerne. Switzerland is not cheap. Day 3 was an easy half day through the Alps and across to Mandello from Chiasso. Went back through Switzerland to the Black Forest . Next day across the Black Forest and over to the Moselle Valley. Final day was a damp run past Liege and Antwerp to Rotterdam. Normally not rolling before 9 and in by 3/4 pm. PM me if you want to know where I stayed.

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I’m also thinking of a trip to Mandello this year. Not been there before but have lived, worked and travelled through Europe in the past. I’m up near Keith in Moray and was considering the Newcastle to Amsterdam crossing but have yet to make a plan. Probably get the wife to fly over and collect her from one of the local airports rather than either squeezing her on the back for the trip. I’ll also be looking for pointers.

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You are leaving it a bit late for going this year!

:roll_eyes:

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This coming year :face_savoring_food:

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Hello Chris, Merry Christmas. A quiet moment; the Turkey is cooling the stuffing is in the oven etc. Have to say, this looks like a really cool route. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas and all the best in 2026🍻

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Any route :heart_eyes:

August 1983, one Friday evening talking rubbish in The Half Crown pub, it came up that Marc and Sue were going to France the next day, Saturday, heading for St Tropez on their Ducati. Me and my mate Lau with his mk1 lemon said ‘ok then, we’ll meet you next Sunday, mid-day at the Green Bar, St Tropez’…. Might as well make it part of a trip onwards to the Guzzi factory.

The following week on Saturday we caught a morning ferry from Dover to Calais. Stopped somewhere in central France around Clemont-Ferrand overnight. Got going Sunday morning and headed south to the Med west of Marseille and followed the coast east to St Tropez. Made it to the bar on-time at mid-day and met them. Camped a night or two with them and left them to carry on east along the coast to Italy

Through Nice a guy in a Fiat 500 Abarth kept racing and beating us away from the lights :rofl: Guzzi’s ain’t good off the line. We made Monaco and thought we’d pop by the Casino, until a man in fancy dress and full plumage stopped us on the hill on the way in and denied us entry. Turned round and managed to get to a bar on the waterfront in the harbour via non-conventional means (pavements etc.) Than it became a slow crawl through Menton, Ventimeglia and the coastal towns to Genoa. At one hill there was a traffic jam and we weaved and overtook to get to the front of the hold up at the top. Bad move, at the front of the queue we were stopped by the Carabinieri for some reason, a bare chested middle aged bronzed Italian guy on a moped wearing several heavy gold chains round his neck stopped and chatted with police, next thing, they waived us on our way. Always wondered what he said to them.

We camped overnight in Genoa overlooking the docks. Next morning Lau’s Mk 1 wouldn’t start. He thought it was the starter motor and decided to strip it down. Sitting cross legged on the ground with it in bits, a tall German bloke in his silver BMW leathers was walking by and stopped to say ‘huh stoopid Italian motocycle’, to which Lau replied ‘huh stupid German starter motor’. It wasn’t the starter motor, just all day previous crawling along with the dual headlamps on had flattened the battery. It was worth him taking the starter motor apart for the moment. Occam’s razor come to mind.

From Genoa it was up along an unbelievably winding road via Piacenza to Lake Lecco 1st, 2nd gear for miles. We camped south of Lecco on the Lake.

Next day, first thing we made for the factory. It was shut for the summer holiday and the town was dead. If only we had the internet then.:rofl:

Still have the Mk 2 Lemon, bought it new 11th September 1980, about 4.30pm, Bikewise Leigh-on-Sea, £2400.

Mick.

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Hi Godfrey, There are two local choices for airports for wife collection / drop off - either Milan Bergamo which is in Bergamo a short ride from Lecco and with easy in / out access from the autoroute. I think its just Ryan Air that use that but please check. For better access use Milan Malpensa - accessible by road (but watch out for the automatic toll road - you need to pay online - its not expensive) or by train from Como or Lecco. Easy access and plenty of flights to the UK from there. Hope it helps

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In 20111 we crossed the Alps from the south of France and stayed in a town called Briançon, nice town with a history of clock making. The pass across to Italy was reported as being the route Hannibal took with his elephants.

Fantastic scenery, the road was cantilevered off the side of a vertical gorge, spectacular. But not a route if you are coming from the channel ports, we had met French friends and were heading to Tuscany.

There are so many routes, you cannot fail to pick a good one (Switzerland is lovely but an annual road pass is expensive). My only advice would be to keep out of the tunnels and go for the high passes if you want spectacle. If you are in a hurry go underground.

Have fun, Chris

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As others have intimated, there’s loadsa options route wise, depends on how you like to ride, how comfortable you are on your bike, how often you need to take a Pit Stop, tank range etc. I guarantee whichever, you’ll find some fab roads along the way.

Personally, I find if you blast a bit for the first couple of days, you can take more time to enjoy the more interesting and entertaining bits, ie up in the mountains.

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Thanks to all for the replies. Great stuff.

Looking forward to seeing fellow members at Mandello in September, or the Scottish rally in May. My good mate from Chelmsford has recently joined the club and is making the journey north for that very rally.

So hopefully see some of you there then later in the year on the Bonny Bonny banks of Lake Como.

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