100 Motorcycle Tours

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Warren

Hello, I’m Warren, writer and photographer of Motorcycle Paradise, a free and independent website about motorcycle travel. There is no sponsored content here, just my personal stories, written simply, of my dream to ride the worlds best roads.

Latest posts by Warren (see all)

• 100 Motorcycle Tours - December 27, 2025
• Bhutan Motorcycle Tour - December 9, 2025
• Lone Rider - November 18, 2025

As incredible as it might seem, I have posted 100 motorcycle ride reports to this blog.

I never had this figure as a goal. I actually hate air travel and have never gone anywhere just to tick a box. However I was fortunate to discover a true passion when I started travelling the world by motorcycle. I had at the time already visited Europe, North America and Japan but had grown tired of doing the regular tourist thing and had stopped traveling. Riding the same set of local roads had also become stale and my motorcycle sat idle.

Then in 2010 feeling burnt out at work I spur of the moment booked my Edelweiss Ultimates Alps Tour which showed me how much fun motorcycle travel could be and a dream of forever riding fresh new twisty roads was forming. I find that experience intoxicating and it has become an addiction that has kept me seeking new best motorcycle roads around the world since.

Now I don’t want this post to sound as if I am blowing my own trumpet like one of those YouTuber moto bloggers however having reached this milestone it did seem worthy I take a look back at some of my favourite rides (and this is the end of year when frivolous things appear on my blog).

My favourite ride destinations.

My thinking on where I like riding best is always in a state of flux but as of writing these are the countries I have ridden the most.

Thailand

I have been to Thailand many times and completed 6 moto tours there. The ease with which I was able to ride there early on before I had much experience in overseas moto touring played a significant part in giving me the confidence to try other countries and all these experiences compound.

People probably think of Thailand as a place with beautiful islands but the north of Thailand is a road riders paradise. There are seemingly endless mountain roads filled with twisty corners. It is one of the easiest overseas country to ride, no need whatsoever to join a tour. Many bike rentals available in Chiang Mai at affordable rates. Hotels are very affordable yet high quality and of course the food is great.

I made a map of what I think are the best roads in Thailand here and my previous ride reports give lots of information about how to ride Thailand but honestly you could arrive with almost no prep and just ride the extended MHS loop as a introduction and leave very happy.

New Zealand

New Zealand is a wonderful country to visit and to ride a motorcycle as I hope everyone already knows. Friendly people, safe, scenic, easy and terrific low traffic country roads with every type of corner you could wish for.

The South island is perhaps the more photogenic but the North island in my opinion actually has a larger number of good twisty motorcycle roads and has a wider riding season than the South but you cannot go wrong with choosing either for a moto tour.

I’m always amazed that many of my neighbours have never been to New Zealand despite it being just 3 1/2 hours away yet have been to many far flung places. You can view my map of good motorcycle roads New Zealand here and my previous ride reports offer further information.

Japan

I have written so much already about Japan and after posting 30+ tours riding 110,000km around Japan including it’s remote islands I have shown readers places that even most Japanese have never seen.

A group of rugged volcanic islands soaring up out of the ocean that anywhere else in the world would have limited roads, instead due to being one of the richest countries on earth has built countless mind bogglingly over engineered roads criss-crossing the sparsely populated highly mountainous interior as well some of the worlds longest bridges costing incomprehensible amounts of money and jaw dropping roads hugging dramatic coastlines.

Nowhere else in the world comes close to the road infrastructure of Japan which at times will seem impossible to comprehend while you ride the country.

Then you have affordable high quality hotels, sensational food and all the history and culture you could ever want in one of the safest countries on earth.

My best motorcycle roads of Japan map has been very popular. Also I have a guide how to ride Japan here, something I highly recommend any moto tourer do at least one time in their life.

My top three routes.

Well this seemed an impossible question – but actually there are some routes that have a special significance for me.

Venus Line, Japan.

Venus Line will always hold a special place for me as seeing a photo of it back in the early 2000’s set in motion a series of events that eventually led to me riding it on what was my first ride outside Australia. That was a rather daunting affair without a GPS, using paper print outs of navigation instructions. Trying to ride like that was too challenging and I did not attempt any more overseas until a few years later but the seed was planted.

Mai Hong Son Loop, Thailand

The Mai Hong Son loop in northern Thailand is quite well know now thanks to YouTubers and whilst not the best route in Thailand is still one of the better rides in SE Asia but for me it is special as something I rode early in my attempts at solo overseas moto touring and where I had great success. It was such an easy and fun ride which gave me a big confidence boost. After riding it I thought well this solo riding isn’t that hard and started planning rides in other parts of SE Asia.

Blue Ridge Parkway, USA

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a national park road where no commercial vehicles are allowed that winds it’s way through gentle hills with endless curves for a whopping 750km! Just to put that into perspective imagine riding out of Sydney then you join a curvy national park/forest road with no shops or trucks and is grade separated from every other road or highway that you then ride all the way to the outskirts of Melbourne. There really is no other road in the world I know like it and for me it holds a special significance as the place I set out to ride while recovering from cancer.

My original photo of the Venus Line I took in 2008; You used to even get a certificate for riding the MHS loop; Not true that USA has no curves, it has plenty you just need to know where to find them.

Well those I the ones I chose for personal reasons. Japan has so many amazing roads. Spain or Portugal also are a stand out for having many superb roads. Then there is the motorcycle paradise that is Sardina. Those are my picks for the locations in the world with the highest concentration of twisty roads.

Most scenic destinations I’ve ridden.

Pakistan

The most spectacular region of the earth for scenery in my opinion is the Himalaya’s and the most amazing mountain scenery of that region is found in Pakistan. Ladakh, India is better known and more widely ridden however in Pakistan the mountains soar high all around you. You can gaze upon peaks that rise 6000m above your motorcycle seat. Anywhere else in the Himalaya’s to see that scale requires a week of hiking.

Norway

Norway is well known to have beautiful fiords and dramatic scenery but that is not something every visitor will get to see as it’s weather is often rain or overcast. I was incredibly lucky on my second visit to the country to get 2 weeks of perfect viewing conditions for my ride through the fiords then on north to the Lofoten islands which is where the best scenery of all exists.

Japan

Most people who visit Japan only see Tokyo/Osaka, maybe Kyoto. That’s like visiting only Sydney and thinking you have seen Australia. Even visiting riders usually never ride beyond Kanto thus have seen nothing away from the effect of the mega populous Tokyo. I think I can count on one hand the riders I know that have seen the rest of the country which is where all the very best scenery and roads lie waiting to be ridden as well the true culture that at times can seem like a different country compared to what you experience in Tokyo/Osaka.

Passu cones, Pakistan. Lofoten islands, Norway. Amakusa, Kyushu, Japan.

Most friendly places I’ve ridden

I have found many countries to be welcoming, especially when riding solo. Each of my rides in the USA I have had friendly encounters, however Europe I have never found to be overly friendly or welcoming. The most friendly people I’ve met hands down were in Asia, but with the notable exception of Japan where foreigners are politely dealt with but everyone would be much happier if borders were closed and tourism was 100% domestic. The people of the Philippines, Malaysia, Bhutan, and Pakistan were all very friendly to me but a few places made me feel like a movie star.

Nepal

The people of Nepal away from the cities are crazy friendly. Kathmandu and Pokhara get lots of tourists and are busy places however once away from them I was mostly the only westerner and blown away by how friendly everyone I met was. Even just in the mall mums want to take selfies with me and their kids, I felt like I was a rock star. I have thought a few times to go back and ride Mustang valley – but the traffic in Kathmandu was so intense.

Indonesia

Indonesia is the same – away from the big cities (and away from Bali). Visiting Flores was an incredible experience. When riding into a village everyone stops what they are doing and waves and kids yell and want to high five you. Central Java away from Jogjakarta I got the rock star selfie treatment everywhere I stopped and in North Sumatra again once away from Medan I found the people were super friendly. Indonesian domestic air travel is a nightmare as is the traffic in the cities but I might yet return and ride there a little more.

Myanmar

Myanmar sadly is no longer accessible. I was so fortunate to ride there and experience a wonderful place not affected by mass tourism. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Arriving anywhere on my motorcycle people were genuinely delighted. Mostly I was the sole foreigner but always made extremely welcome. Very special place, so sad what has happened.

Since Myanmar is now closed I will add Sri Lanka to offer three places still accessible. It was also was a country that delighted me with how friendly everyone was (away from the mainstream tourist areas). I’d like to revisit but the traffic there was intense which puts me off.

If you have not ridden these countries then do try to ride them independently not on a tour because in a group you won’t have the interactions and nice experiences that really only happen anywhere when travelling solo.

My top 3 underrated riding destinations

Well if traffic was no issue then I could repeat my three most friendly countries for the wonderful people interactions you could experience however I have chosen some other places for different reasons.

China

The few ride reports I had found for China painted a fairly poor picture of the riding experience there. Bikes not allowed to fill at petrol bowsers, not allowed on highways, congested cities. I never gave riding China much thought until I had almost reached the end of my ride bucket list and started looking at this huge part of Asia I had not seen and picked up that the Yunnan region might be a good ride.

Most of the Chinese people live in the East, there is something like 1.3 billion people there Vs 90 million spread across all of the west. The cities in Yunnan were not difficult to ride and bikes go for free on the expressway as well fuel up like normal. The smaller cities I stayed in were not crowded and the scenery was fantastic.

Turkiye; China; Romania

Turkiye

Every ride report I had read of Türkiye said it was just boring highways, but those riders I think chose to blast through Türkiye to Georgia and never ventured off the main roads. I hope my ride report on Türkiye shows another side, it’s actually very mountainous in the middle and there are heaps of fantastic twisty low traffic roads for motorcycle riding, then to the west is lots of fabulous backroads between olive groves and vineyards. It’s a terrific destination for riding, food and historic sites. For Australians it is the most under rated motorcycle touring country in the world given we can also visit the Gallipoli battlefields which I challenge anyone to visit and not be deeply moved.

Romania

Romania is another country that seemed to cop poor ride reports. Of course not the famous Transfăgărășan but people said there is a lot of boring roads to reach the Transfăgărășan and then not much else to ride besides the Transalpina. Well that was not my experience. I’m convinced people just don’t do any research. Google brought me to Moto Routes which is an excellent site showing you all the best roads in Romania. Food and wine were great, good hotels not expensive, and the people less reserved. I like Romania more than Western Europe.

Most overrated rides.

Stelvio

Stelvio is scenic and photogenic but IMO not much fun to ride. Imagine a series of 40 U-turns which by themselves are a pain to ride then add occasional cars or even busses in your lane requiring you stop often with steep camber difficult to get a foot on the ground. I rode it in 2010 and was nearby this year in perfect weather but even after 15 years I had zero desire to revisit it. Of course it is so hyped you must ride it once and it’s all subjective, you might love doing U turns.

Tail of the Dragon

Tail of the Dragon is not bad per se but it is just a short section of forested road lacking any views with lots of tight corners. The surveying is constant change of direction – not particularly difficult nor very rewarding. There are lots of high powered cars and bikes racing each other which makes it a high risk road to be on. Fortunately nearby there are many other excellent riding roads to enjoy so a trip to this part of the States is still very worthwhile.

Hokkaido

Hokkaido is a nice place – but it is not the best part of Japan to ride. Hokkaido prefecture is very successful at marketing. In Japan you are told Hokkaido is the source of Japan’s best crops, best dairy, best meat, cleanest air, purest water and the home of it’s best wildlife. It is an interesting place to visit with unique far north scenery. But realise it is mostly flat farming land with straight roads. Meanwhile the rest of Japan is mountainous with spectacular motorcycling roads.

Video from Kanyarfoto

Most dangerous roads.

Georgia

In much of Asia oncoming cars will pull out to pass forcing you to side of the road or tailgate and pass you close not moving fully into the other lane but Georgian drivers take it up a notch.

Motorcycles are uncommon in Georgia and it is the only place I have ridden where drivers deliberately and repeatedly tried to run me off the road. Georgian drivers will straddle the middle of a two lane road when there is no oncoming traffic then swerve into my lane towards me and force me off the road for no reason like their in a Mad Max movie. From behind they pull up beside then move across bumping me off the road. Even when parking at a shop I had angry drivers waving fists and telling me no moto parking. Not entirely sure why all the hate but the few other bikes I saw were all from nearby Russia who has also invaded Georgia and is occupying part of the country so perhaps people think Biker = Russian.

South Africa

The danger in South Africa is not from the roads or drivers but from the bystanders. The regional towns look similar to rural towns in Australia which lulls you into a false sense of security. But many are lawless. You cannot stop or risk being attacked. In some cities you have to stop well back from red lights as men with steel pipes hang around them waiting to attack. I had to run red lights couple of times. Some towns were less dangerous than others but always when asking hosts where I was staying if it was safe to walk to nearby pub they would look at me like I was insane. Malls are inside high security razor wire compounds with armed security. I let my guard down in Port Elizabeth when waiting to get into an AirBnB and very quickly was grabbed and had knife held to my throat. If not for a car coming to the apartment it could have been my demise. Some people dispute how dangerous it is but they were just lucky or were in a group tour shielded from the reality.

Taking a break from drivers trying to kill me in Georgia; The streets of South African towns look like Australia but are dangerous; Thai roads have the highest motorcycle fatality rates in the world.

Thailand

I have not had any really bad experiences when riding Thailand, the usual SE Asia driving with cars passing on blind crests or curves at high speed but nothing different to rest of SE Asia. There are many bikes on the roads thus a fair awareness of riders. However it does have the worst motorcycle road fatality rate in the world. In 2024 alone 14,000 people lost their life riding motorcycles on Thai roads. Nobody wears helmets which coupled with loose compliance of road rules is likely the cause but 14,000 is a staggering figure.

Additionally in Thailand foreigners need to be aware there is a lack of negative type blood in hospitals. Thai’s are all positive blood type so any accident needing blood for us western negative blood types can become life threatening. It is a wonderful place to visit and has amazing roads in the north but not a place to ride if inexperienced and never ride there without full protective gear – no matter how hot you feel.

Three dumb things I have done.

Whilst I could write a novel rivalling War and Peace to list all the dumb things I have done in my life I’ll limit this to just some moto touring related items.

Oman

I try to have a plan when touring, a route I have checked working in a navigation device and some idea of what the road conditions will be. Riding Oman my planning was poor. I booked a BMW R1200GS with long range tank but that rental fell through and rather than cancel I grabbed a Harley Davidson Street 750, a bike with tiny fuel tank and I got myself into a spot of danger.

I arrived at a road closure but then realised the Street 750 had insufficient fuel to go back. I was also getting low on drinking water and it was 46 degrees. I also had not yet purchased a local sim and had no signal. Yes I was in a dumb situation. But forever the lucky guy, a car appeared and two guys from Pakistan told me I could ride through the creek and rejoin the highway then if I turned left I’d be heading back towards .

The Harley Street 750 is not a GS and quite unsuitable to be ridden down a rocky river bed but I made it then with the fuel light on and just a 2 litre reserve I ever so gently massaged the throttle and reach a petrol station on vapours. So stupid!

‘No country for Harley Davidsons’ – the creek I rode down on a HD Street 750; No mans land in Sani Pass looking from Lesotho border towards South Africa border bottom of the range; The former highest road in Philippines with my mate and all round great guy Dave.

South Africa

When I made my route for my South African tour I did not realise how challenging the Sani Pass was (or the other dangers).

A very steep descent on loose gravel with switchback corners and sheer drops. Even trying to paddle walk the bike down with feet splayed out I was crossed up sliding unable to stop and sometimes would run the bike up an embankment at a switchback to stop then back it out and continue. Real cold sweat stuff which took ages, and then just to see if I’m game for a laugh my reserve fuel light comes on in no mans land between Lesotho and the South African border posts a long way from any fuel. But again I make it to a petrol station on vapours.

The guys at the Underberg pub that night upon hearing of my adventures shouted me many South African Sherry’s and I staggered back to my B&B very drunk in pitch darkness thinking this might be stupid and in hindsight it was a miracle I wasn’t mugged. Dumb and dumber.

Philippines

We all assume we have more time. More time to live, more time to do the rides we dream about. More time to spend with friends.

My biggest mistake in all my motorcycle touring was not to seize the opportunity and spend more time riding with my best friend when he retired to the Philippines. I would often visit usually on my way to or from another destination and get the shits with the lack of internet and lousy food and put off doing the big island hopping lap around the Philippines we always talked about saying no rush lets do that later.

Sadly a melanoma, not detected until it was too late meant he was suddenly stage 4 cancer. Then Covid shut down the world and I never saw him before he passed away.

Dave was the guy who introduced me to computers back in the commodore C64 days which has since been a lifetime interest that greatly assisted my career path and also is why this blog exists. He was the guy who rescued me from couple of relationships that would have no doubt ruined my life and he was the guy who showed me how to ride solo in the Philippines which then gave me the confidence to do solo rides in Thailand which lead to every other ride I’ve since posted here.

Through the Lens

Whilst older images on the blog came from film all my tours were in the digital camera era and in total I’ve owned 20 cameras during that time starting with a 3 megapixel Nikon Cool Pix purchased for my first Australian moto tour to the Snowy Mountains. Currently am just using my phone and I think that shows.

Modern phones have enough image quality but using a phone I no longer am shooting composition focused photos. I’m not looking through a viewfinder carefully framing a scene rather I’m always shooting very wide angle and then cropping. I’m not considering available light just relying on phone computational image stacking and I’m no longer editing raw images in professional software instead using simple jpeg post processing that oversaturates.

I think this shows in my recent photos which are not as good as my older work. I’m undecided what I will do in future. I definitely won’t be shooting video. I’ve already done that in the past and it is not a format that records my travel in a way I want to revisit. And that is the purpose of this blog, it’s my travel journal not something focused on entertaining others like a YouTube channel.

I won’t rule out buying another camera, I keep hoping to see a new compact camera with decent EVF announced but I’ve been waiting a long time and meanwhile have gotten used to the simplicity of only carrying a phone while riding.

Live with a Dream

That is my motto. Keep dreaming of my next ride. I’m starting to run out of new destinations (that offer the sort of riding I like) however I have a few I will revisit.

I am heading back across the ditch to New Zealand in February because I love riding that country. Also I am working on a plan to revisit Canada.

Looking at my world map I have not ridden much of Africa but nothing else there really interests me.

I have looked at Patagonia many times. I’d like to see Torres Del Paine but that’s one day of many long ones in the saddle fighting fierce crosswinds as well 850km of gravel/mud. And it’s 50 hours flying.

Anyway I am going to try my best to keep dreaming up more rides and setting off to do them.