Motoexplorer

Here’s a few insights and ideas – I am happy to help you explore further east.

Steve Hotson MOTOEXPLORER

Steve Hotson: Overland Motoexplorer, since 1989 . . . and even earlier, by classic car & on foot!
More about Motoexplorer

adventure motorcycle riders
Silk Road – heading east

Motor exploring adventures evolved from the quest to trace my families origins back in Budapest. It’s an intriguing adventure, which unfolds in the new PressGo venturers book and including sharing everything I learned along the way, in an easy to use venturers journal – all useful things for your own ventures.

My own overland adventures evolved ever further east, eventually stretching right through the Silk Roads to the far eastern shores to China and central / south east Asia.

motorbike touring group

If you prefer to do your own spontaneous road trip, I’m happy to share insights from my own experience. A good place to start will be my book (when it’s finally printed!) until then, here’s a few ideas; If I was new to eastern Europe, the first route I would explore would be taking a steady drive through Germany, if you just follow the smaller country roads through the Eifel region, go by the Rhine river on B9, then keep heading south towards the Black Forest, (which isn’t dark, but is fresh and vibrant) with fabulous driving or motorcycling roads. After southern Germany, every surrounding region is fabulous motoring, but can be expensive and sometimes quite busy. Hence, myself I prefer to go faster east and arrive at the Czech border, now known as Czechia.

Czechia is much quieter, big landscapes and far cheaper than is neighbour Germany. The border is really border-less nowadays and you’ll see plenty of german vehicles crossing to buy the lower priced commodities! Everywhere in the more rural parts of Czechia is interesting to drive and explore. Brno not my favorite, hence we tend to jst drive by the city and soon return to the forests and more characterful villages which dot the border with Slovakia.

Slovakia, is my own favourite, (actually Romania also:) they’re still a part of Europe which has retained its own unique identity, you can breath the purest air and enjoy constantly changing views from colorful villages to spectacular Tatra mountains. Nowadays, you’re never far from all the high quality facilities and the routes alongside the new European expressways have plentyful services and good hotels are never far away.

I always used Slovakia as my preferred base to regroup before we crossed into Ukraine, or on EU trips, drive down into Budapest, which has a few really nice route options and again is today borderless into Hungary, although you will need to convert from the familiar Euro to Hungarian forints, which you can still do on some of the soft borders. Driving into the city of Budapest, on the Pest side will be more hectic, but generally easy enough if you can avoid the busier times.


Photographer & moto explorer

I’ve spent the last decade exploring overland and photographing along the Silk Road by van, truck and motorbike. I’m now writing the Press Go book, sharing my experiences and always happy to help other overlanders and tour riders experience these evocative regions east of europe.

Overlanding

From 2020 whilst in lockdown, I had some time to start editing photographs and writing up some of the spontaneous combustions from the roads. Writing and exploring some new formats for publishing the work are in progress.


Flexible free-spirited motorcycle adventures

Regions and road touring – available to explore – assisting your own ride or travel group
Slovakia Tatra mountains | Ride to Budapest | Balkans | Silk Road | UK to-Albania-Istanbul

motorbike riding mountains route

Regarding Ukraine

The current world turmoil is deeply upsetting for us all. For Ukrainians it is beyond belief.
It’s a country through which I have covered many miles in all directions, often travlleing the width between both borders, west and east. I have experience travelling with the wonderful Ukrainian people, plus in all honesty – the ordinary everyday Russians have also been good to me. Prior to the invasion it was also a relatively pleasant and easy country to overland. I will write some more and find ways to also do what I can to help some way in Ukraine, but for now I can just wait and pray for a peaceful outcome.


MotoXplorer – trucking east

never to old – 40 years – 1million miles and counting

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