I recently completed a bikepacking trip from from London to Tunisia, taking in England, France, Belgium, a swig of Germany, Switzerland and Italy, and this is the route I rode. I might be biased, but it’s absolutely spectacular.
It includes the phenomenal Gotthard Pass in Switzerland, the magical region of Ticino and crossing the absolutely beautiful Italian Apennines among many other delightful places. It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and what made it even better was the fact I got zero punctures. Glorious.
How I planned my route
Draw a straight line south from London to Tunisia and you pretty much get the idea for my route. I primarily used Komoot and aimed to follow cycle routes wherever possible.
That said, there were many deviations, particularly in France where they seemed to rip roads up left, right and centre, and in Italy where a landslide meant I had to hike my bike up a lot of stairs.
There were also some detours to find boulangeries, supermarkets, and campsites, plus when I cycled with people and they were taking the route round the hill rather than over the top I couldn’t help but join them.
While I did plan my route roughly before I started riding, I usually did the majority of decision making the night before or on the day as I liked the spontaneity.
Choice of ferries
I decided to get the ferry from Dover to Calais because I had never ridden from London to Dover, whereas I had done London to Brighton. Simple as.
The decision to take the ferry from Civitavecchia in Italy came about because all the other ferries were booked up from Salerno (near Naples). I discovered that very last minute (I’m not a huge planner), so my last day was pretty much a race to catch the only ferry available for a week or so. The ferry from Civitavecchia to Tunis was unglamorous but perfectly fine. It took 18 hours and I slept on the floor.
Route highlights
Day 5: A glorious gravel track
I headed out of Saint-Mihiel towards Commercy. A very steep hill morphed into a gravel track that kept going up until it revealed its summit. Always worth it.
Day 10: The Gotthard pass
I feel like the name says it all. Conquering a mountain pass with 20kg of bikepacking luggage was always going to be a challenge, but completing it was one of the best feelings in the world.
Day 11: Cycling through Ticino
Following a mixture of Eurovelo 3 and 311 I headed over cobbled streets, back roads, up the Monte Ceneri hairpins, descended through vineyards near Coldrerio and pedalled around Il Lago di Lugano. It was utterly beautiful. I think my mouth was open most of the day.
Day 15: The Apennines
Heading into Tuscany over the Apennines was a truly majestic road that follows the Eurovelo 7 (the sun route). My favourite part was from Il Lago di Suviana down to Montemurlo, which had insane switchbacks nestled in what felt like a rainforest. It was quite remote, the road was smooth and I climbed up to the most amazing view.
I was then treated to a spectacular, albeit potholed descent down to Montemurlo, which links up to Prato.
The route
The route is both tarmac and gravel, as well as a few bits of grass and cobbles thrown in along the way, especially in Belgium and Italy. Oh, and there is one small stream crossing.
It is best suited to a gravel bike – I chose the Ribble Gravel Ti Hero..
Would I do anything differently?
There was one less exciting day heading from Parma to Bologna. It was mostly on a straight main road, which made things quite boring and challenging mentally. I would change this to weave in and out of the farmland and take some other detours. Basically, anything other than staying on the same straight road with traffic whizzing past.
But overall? It was a pretty marvellous route.
Want to know more about Emma’s ride from London to Tunisia? Here’s what she packed, 7 things she wish she had known before she set off, and the bike she rode.