Planning a big Trip..... Off we Go! Style
Motorcycles
Culture & Community
2026-03-31
Author
Off we GO! Karin & Paul
When you look on YouTube for how to plan a big multi-day adventure motorcycle trip, you’ll find all kinds of ideas.
Some people plan everything in detail—daily routes, hotels or campsites, fixed distances—all set in stone. Others take a more relaxed approach.
This is how we do it.
You might think it’s genius, or you might think it’s nonsense—but it’s not a how-to guide, just our way of doing things.
- Our plan… or the lack of it (depending on how you see it)
We hardly plan at all. We have a general direction and what we call a “halfway point.” For example, our rough plan for July 2026 looks something like this: Cross Germany (highway), cross Poland (somehow), ride through the Baltics (more or less via the TET), take a ferry to Finland, then head up to Vardø—that’s our halfway point. After that, we make our way back home… somehow. Maybe via Sweden or Norway, maybe sticking to the TET, maybe not. We’ll figure that out when we get there. The ride back is always easier to judge—you know your time, distance, and limits by then 🙂 - No fixed sleeping plans.
When we wake up, we never know where we’ll sleep that night. We don’t book anything in advance. Toward the end of the afternoon, we usually ask each other: “Is it beer o’clock?” If the answer is yes, we start looking for a place to stay—a campsite, a shelter, a wild camping spot, or, if we’re feeling particularly dusty and smelly, maybe an Airbnb. So far, it’s never failed us. - Never be afraid to change "the plan"
Our “plan” is just an idea, not a rule. At any moment, things can change—the weather, trail difficulty, tips from other riders, or just a stunning view that makes you stop and rethink your route. On our last trip through the Balkans, for example, we met another rider who told us a section of the TET in Hungary was amazing at that time. So we changed direction and went for it. - Start early, stop at the right time
We always try to get on the bike early, so we have a full day to ride. Around 16:00 (4:00 PM for you Americans), we start thinking about where to stay. That doesn’t mean we stop riding—it just means we decide how much longer we want to go. Sometimes we pick a spot two hours away, other times just ten minutes, depending on how we feel. This way, we avoid any last-minute stress about finding a place to sleep.
This is how we “plan” our trips—both before and during the ride.
If you’d like to see what we take with us on these adventures, check out our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTxbn8MaV_g
We’d love to hear how you plan your trips! See ya on the tracks… Off we Go!
We’d love to hear how you plan your trips! See ya on the tracks… Off we Go!
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