11 Best Motorcycle Road Trips: Ranked Riding Roads

The best motorcycle road trips are the ones built from bends: Romania's Transfăgărășan, Italy's Stelvio Pass, and France's Route des Grandes Alpes lead the list, all switchback-heavy mountain roads made for two wheels. These are drives where the corners are the point, hairpins stacked up cliff faces, high passes with clean sightlines, and coast roads that lean the bike from one turn straight into the next.

This is a ranked shortlist of eleven catalog routes, chosen for how they ride rather than just how they photograph, with real distances, durations, and best-season windows pulled straight from each route's page. Most of them are Alpine or high-mountain passes, so if you want the wider set you can browse our Mountain Passes hub. Ride within your limits, watch for gravel and melt-water on shaded hairpins, and remember that on the best of these roads the reward is the riding, not the arrival.

The 11 best motorcycle road trips at a glance

Here is the ranked table. Distances, durations, and seasons come straight from each route's catalog page, so build your trip around the open-road window for the passes you want.

If you only do one

Ride the Transfăgărășan. No road on this list packs more sustained, high-quality cornering into a single unforgettable stretch, which is why it sits at the top of so many riders' bucket lists. Over two days you climb north from Curtea de Argeș past the timed ticket at Poenari Castle and the Vidraru Dam, then hit the main event: a wall of hairpins switchbacking up to Bâlea Lake at the crest before the long, fast descent toward Sibiu. It is only open from July to October, because snow closes the DN7C the rest of the year, so plan around that window and verify the police INFOTRAFIC status before you set off, with the DN7 as your fallback. Go early in the day to beat the tour buses, keep something in reserve for the damp, shaded corners near the top, and you will understand the fuss the moment the road starts to stack up in front of you.

1. Transfăgărășan, Romania

The Transfăgărășan is the definitive rider's road in Europe's east. This S-tier, 210 km two-day crossing from Poenari to Sibiu is open only from July to October, when the snow finally clears the 2,000 metre crest. The riding is relentless in the best way: tight, well-surfaced hairpins climbing to Bâlea Lake, then a flowing descent past the Vidraru Dam. Time your Poenari Castle ticket, carry layers for the cold summit air, and check the INFOTRAFIC status before you commit, keeping the DN7 as a fallback if the DN7C is shut.

2. Stelvio Pass, Italy

If there is one pass every rider names, it is the Stelvio. This S-tier, 49 km one-way ascent from Prato allo Stelvio through Trafoi and Franzenshöhe to the 2,758 metre summit, then down to Bormio, is a moderate ride open from June to October. The north side is the icon: a dense ladder of numbered hairpins that has become the Alps' most photographed switchback. It is popular, so ride it midweek and early, watch for cyclists on the inside of the bends, and check Bormio's live alpine-pass page before you go, since events can close the road.

3. Route des Grandes Alpes, France

For a full week in the saddle, nothing tops the Route des Grandes Alpes. This S-tier, roughly 720 km, seven-day traverse runs from Lake Geneva to the Riviera at Menton, linking sixteen mountain passes including the Iseran and the Galibier, some of the highest sealed roads in Europe. It threads three national parks, Vanoise, Queyras and Mercantour, with Mont Blanc filling the early passes. Ride it from June to October when the high cols are open, check each pass on the morning you cross it, and pace yourself: this is a marathon of switchbacks, not a sprint.

4. Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria

Often called the finest drive in the Alps, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road is a rider's dream on wheels. This S-tier, 48 km one-way toll road is a rollercoaster of glacier views, waterfalls and 4,000 metre peaks, crowned by the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe lookout beneath Austria's highest mountain. The gates run daylight hours only and the road is open from early May to early November, so plan an early start to catch quiet, clear tarmac before the day-trippers arrive. The Edelweiss-Spitze spur and the run down to Heiligenblut are both worth the extra corners.

5. Trollstigen, Norway

Norway's Trollstigen, the Troll's Path, is short, steep and utterly dramatic. This S-tier day ride of about 105 km plus a ferry threads eleven hairpins up a 10 percent gradient, with the 180 metre Stigfossen waterfall thundering beside the road, before descending toward Geiranger, the country's most celebrated fjord. It opens from May to October. The surface is excellent and the sightlines are wide, but the corners are tight and the drop-offs real, so ride the hairpins with respect and pull into the viewpoints rather than gawping mid-turn. Check road and ferry status before you set out.

6. Hai Van Pass, Vietnam

The Hai Van Pass is Asia's most famous ribbon of tarmac for two wheels, a coastal mountain crossing that rewards riders with sweeping bends above the South China Sea. This A-tier day of about 120 km runs from Da Nang over the Hai Van Gate, past Lang Co and the mirror-flat Lap An Lagoon, and on to Hue, best ridden from March to August in the dry season. Foreign riders need a 1968 international driving permit plus the matching motorcycle licence, insurance, an approved helmet and real mountain-road experience, so sort the paperwork before you rent, and ride sober and defensively on busy sections.

7. Beartooth Highway, United States

The Beartooth Highway is the American West at full altitude. This S-tier, 110 km run climbs from Red Lodge, Montana over the 3,337 metre Beartooth Pass and down toward Cooke City, past hairpin switchbacks, glacial lakes and open tundra, as one of the highest paved roads in North America. It is a two to four hour ride, or stretch it to two days with a Yellowstone northeast-entrance extension, and it is only open from late June to September. Weather turns fast up here even in summer, so carry layers, watch for afternoon storms, and check the Montana DOT and park status before you climb.

8. Blue Ridge Parkway, United States

For long, meditative miles rather than knife-edge hairpins, point the bike down the Blue Ridge Parkway. This S-tier, 755 km ridge-top road runs through the Appalachians from Shenandoah to the Great Smokies with no commercial traffic, no billboards and no stoplights, a five to six day ride of flowing curves and constant overlooks. Ride it in late spring or, best of all, in October when the hardwoods turn gold and crimson. The low speed limit and easy cambers make it forgiving, so it suits newer riders and touring bikes alike. Open the NPS road-status map each morning, as storm and construction closures shift the route.

9. Amalfi Coast, Italy

Italy's Amalfi Coast trades altitude for drama at sea level. The SS163 is a 50 km, three-day coastal road of cliff-cut hairpins, pastel villages and lemon groves above an impossibly blue sea, best ridden in May or from September to October to dodge peak-summer gridlock. A motorcycle is genuinely the smart way to see it: you can filter past the coaches that clog this narrow road and park where cars cannot. Ride it early, keep your speed sensible on the blind cliff corners, and check for the alternating number-plate periods that restrict traffic on certain dates.

10. Cabot Trail, Canada

Canada's Cabot Trail is one of North America's great coastal loops. This S-tier, 298 km ride around Cape Breton Island takes three to four days and is open from June to October, climbing over the Cape Breton Highlands, dropping to sea-level fishing villages, and tracing cliff edges with 300 metre drops into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The grades are steep and some cliff-edge curves are tight, so it rewards a confident rider with fair weather. Autumn is spectacular here as the highland forests turn, and the empty, well-surfaced sweepers make it a joy on any touring machine.

11. Vršič Pass, Slovenia

The Vršič Pass is the underrated gem of the Julian Alps. This A-tier, 45 km day ride crosses from Kranjska Gora to Trenta over Slovenia's highest mountain pass, a cobbled-and-tarmac climb famous for its tight numbered hairpins and the wartime Russian Chapel on the way up. It is best from late spring to autumn once the snow clears. The corners are steep and some are still cobbled, so brake early and stay smooth. It pairs beautifully with the Stelvio and the Grossglockner on a wider Alpine loop.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best motorcycle road trip in the world?

For most riders it is the Transfăgărășan in Romania, a two-day, 210 km crossing whose stacked hairpins up to Bâlea Lake have made it a global bucket-list ride. In the Alps, the Stelvio Pass in Italy runs it close, with its ladder of numbered switchbacks on the north side.

When is the best time of year for a motorcycle road trip?

Aim for each route's open, snow-free window: high Alpine passes like the Stelvio, Grossglockner and Route des Grandes Alpes run roughly June to October, the Transfăgărășan only July to October, and the Beartooth Highway late June to September. Coastal rides like the Amalfi Coast and Hai Van Pass are best in the shoulder months, and the Blue Ridge Parkway peaks for autumn colour in October.

Which of these routes are good for beginner riders?

The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most forgiving, with gentle cambers, low speed limits and no commercial traffic. The Cabot Trail and the touring stretches of the Route des Grandes Alpes also suit less experienced riders in good weather. The tight, exposed hairpins of the Stelvio, Trollstigen and Vršič Pass reward more confident riders.

Do I need a special licence to ride these roads abroad?

Often yes. Vietnam's Hai Van Pass, for example, requires a 1968 international driving permit plus a matching motorcycle licence, insurance and an approved helmet for foreign riders. In Europe your home motorcycle licence with an international permit is usually enough, but always confirm the rules and rental requirements for each country before you go.

Plan your ride

Eleven roads, eleven of the best reasons to own a motorcycle. Start with the Transfăgărășan if you want the definitive rider's road, compare the Alpine icons in the Mountain Passes hub, and plot your own loop on the interactive map. Wherever you point the bike, ride within the open season, respect the drop-offs, and let the corners do the rest.