Curious where we’re headed in 2022? Frankly, so are we – but we’ve got a whole bunch of adventure motorcycle travel ideas for 2022.
With the never-ending pandemic still never-ending, we have no idea where the road may take us in 2022. We’re hoping for South Africa, planning Morocco, and currently staying in Andalusia, but what will 2022 bring is anyone’s guess.
Still, if you’re itching to go, what are some decent adventure motorcycle travel ideas for 2022?
Whether it’s cross-country, cross-continent, or around the world, there’s always somewhere to go.
“There was nowhere to go but everywhere” – Jack Kerouac
In this post, we’re sharing some sneaky adventure motorcycle travel ideas for next year. The big ones, the budget ones, the creative ones, and the zombie-apocalypse-scenario ones in case we face closed borders again.
Mix and match according to mileage and the severity of wanderlust:
Adventure Motorcycle Routes Without Shipping or CPD
Here’s the deal with long-distance adventure motorcycle travel: if you’re serious about circumnavigating the globe or hitting every continent en route, you’re going to have to:
- Ship your bike across oceans
- Get a carnet de passage
Neither thing is insurmountable. Motorcycle shipping costs around $900-$1,200 if you’re choosing more popular routes like Rotterdam to Cape Town or Hamburg to Valparaiso. A carnet may cost around $1,000 plus a deposit. Perhaps not huge, but still, it’s a chunk of change – and there are ways to avoid it.
Depending on your origin-destination, you can hit the road and just aim for the longest overland distance you can cover. Lisbon to Vladivostok is a great one, Nordkap to Dakar is another, and Alaska to Panama is a pretty cool one, too.
But you know what these routes all have in common, besides the fact you won’t need to ship your bike?
No carnet de passage required!
A carnet de passage is like your bike’s passport; some countries around the world require it (you will find an extensive CPD countries list here), and while it’s not that hard to get, it can be expensive.
For one, there’s the CPD fee itself which can vary from $700 to $1,500 and more depending on your country. For another, to get the CPD, you have to leave a deposit with the CPD issuing institution, and that deposit is usually the equivalent of your bike’s value.
If you’re riding an ancient DR650, the deposit may be around $3,000, but if you’re aboard a brand-new Africa Twin, well…It’s significantly more.
You get the deposit back once you return, but if you don’t have thousands of dollars just lying around, getting a CPD might be a tad painful.
To get a better price comparison, check out this handy CPD calculator; however, if you’d prefer to avoid bureaucracy and expenses altogether, just stick to the Americas, Europe, some of the African countries, Central Asia, and Russia. No shipping, no CDP, no worries.
Adventure Motorcycle Travel Ideas: The Basecamp Method
Alrighty, so that’s the big, long-distance expeditions. What if the borders start closing again, or if you simply can’t take off for months to ride your bike?
The Basecamp Method is your next best bet. Pick a country neighboring yours, find a scenic place somewhere in the mountains, and set up a basecamp. This can be a rustic guest house, an AirBnB, or just your tent (but be sure to hide it well). Dump your luggage, download Wikiloc or TET (Trans Euro Trail) tracks, and go explore! You’ll be amazed just how much you can see, ride, and discover this way.
We love riding without our luggage, and we’ve done Basecamp expeditions in Slovenia, Croatia, and Andalusia. Pure bliss – you don’t need to think about where you’ll be sleeping the night, you can ride more gnarly trails without the luggage, and you can stop to take in the view a lot more often since you’re in no rush.
After exploring the area around your Basecamp for a few days or a week, pick a new spot a few hundred miles away, rinse, and repeat.
The Basecamp Method is perfect just about everywhere where there are mountains, forests, and off-road riding. In Europe, think Bosnia, Croatia, Crete, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. In North America, you’ve got the TAT, and in South America, we can’t recommend Ecuador enough – it’s spectacular but compact, so you get to see the best of the Pacific Coast, the Andes, and the Amazon in the span of a week!
Pro Tip for the Basecamp Method: if your basecamp is going to be a wild camping spot, do yourself a favor and get a tarp. If it rains, your tent will stay dry under the tarp, and it makes for a great awning/bike garage/outdoor kitchen/hangout spot!
Adventure Motorcycle Rides Near You
What if venturing abroad just isn’t an option for you right now, but you’re dying to get out there and ride?
There probably are trails, cool little backroads, and all sorts of fun routes in your area. If you’re looking for adventure motorcycle rides near you, hit up these resources:
WikiLoc – you’ll be amazed just how many trails you can find here
Trans Euro Trail – a fantastic resource for off-road riding in Europe
Google Earth: yes, good old Google Earth to spy the off-road trails and curious little backroads you didn’t even know existed
Calimoto – a scenic route app that offers up roads with the most curves in them!
WolfPack App – a rideshare app where you can create and share routes with other motorcycle nutcases; it’s essentially like Facebook and Google Maps together, but for riders. Plus, it’s got some nifty comms features while riding, too!
If you’re lucky enough to live in a country that’s big and mountainous, explore the local trails with the Basecamp method. Head somewhere more remote, set up the Headquarters of Awesome, and ride locally – it’s fun to be a two-wheeled tourist in your own country.
Adventure Motorcycle Routes Next Door
We all want to go on big, long overland rides, forever free and unchained, but that’s not always possible. What about riding…next door?
Here’s a confession: I’ve never been to Belarus. Ever. And it’s right next door to my home country, Lithuania. Why have I never been to Belarus? Because it’s right there, right over the border, and I always figured I’d get there at some point. For now, I’ve got more exotic destinations in mind.
But if epic expeditions just aren’t on the menu, for now, ride next door. Pick a neighboring country you’ve never ridden before and hit the road with an open mind – you never know just how awesome (or at the very least, adventurous. Same thing, really) it may turn out to be.
For me, one such gem was Poland – I had no idea Poland was so beautiful, so diverse, and had so many incredible off-road trails. I know better now. If I was stuck back home right now and wanted to go into the wild wide world, I’d go to Poland.
What’s next door for you? Go and find out!
Adventure Motorcycle Travel Ideas for When You’re Stuck…
This is all good and well provided the borders – some of the borders – are open. What if they close again due to another virus strain or a global zombie apocalypse?
Us, we’re planning to build a rugged overland vehicle and turn it into a Zombie Outbreak Response Unit. Until then, we’re going to mix and match the Basecamp method with the Graham Jarvis’ Shed Method. Here’s how it works:
-If you can’t leave your home country and ride off into the sunset, apply the Basecamp method even if it’s just fifty miles from you. You’ll still be somewhere new, ride somewhere new, and have a bit of an adventure.
-Turn your back yard into an Adventure Obstacle Course like Graham Jarvis:
-Get lost on purpose. Ride some fifty or sixty miles West (or any preferred direction – West just sounds cool), then locate the nearest dirt trail and try to find your way home. No GPS allowed.
–Design your own roadbook for local trails and play Rally Dakar.
-Find a motocross track or an enduro park near you and hone some skills.
…And When You’re Really, Really, Really Stuck.
If it’s too cold, too pandemic-y, or just too damn hard to go out and ride, there’s still plenty you can do right in your living room. This spring, Lennart and I went stir-crazy being stuck in a lockdown, so we stripped our bikes down to the frames and rebuilt the engines.
Okay, so the engines needed rebuilding, but if you’re going nuts being locked up, spending time tinkering on your loyal steed might offer a bit of hope and sanity.
While you’re at it, shop for some farkles. It’s not that we encourage or endorse unbridled consumerism (consumerism is bad, mmkay), but what bike couldn’t use a few mods? For inspiration, check out my Suzuki DR650 mods I’ve done over the years – the bike ended up looking like a Mad Max Chic on wheels, but man has it got bite. And torque. And balance.
Then, there’s always planning. So you can’t travel now – but what about traveling Someday? Plot your escape early: the very act of planning a big adventure motorcycle travel project can help move the needle forward. Now is a good time to figure out your budget, find a way to save up for the big miles, or start a side hustle so you can fund your future adventures on the go.
Read More: How Much Does It Cost to Travel the World?
Read More: How to Fund Your Motorcycle Trip from Zero
This is also a good time to dream big: what’s the one destination you’ve been dying to see ever since you remember? How can you get there? What will it take? When you take a dream and make it a plan, lo and behold…it becomes reality.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to” – Bilbo Baggins
Got some kickass adventure motorcycle travel ideas for 2022? Share them in the comments below or shoot us a message – we always reply to you, you bright-burning adventurous souls!
