Guide: Route planner

Your first tour

The planner works with waypoints: a start, a destination and any number of stops. Between two waypoints it calculates one section.

• In the "Route" tab, enter start and destination as a place or address, or click the map: the first click sets the start, the second the destination, every further click a stop at the right place along the route.
• Right-click the map (on a phone: long press) to open a menu: start, stop, destination, extend route, find accommodation here, don't ride through here and note here.
• Drag points with the mouse or your finger. Dragging the line adds a stop at that spot (on a phone: hold the line briefly, then drag).
• Clicking a point offers remove, break and overnight stay, and so does a right-click (on a phone: long press). In the list in the "Route" tab you reorder or delete points.
• "Reverse" turns the tour around, "Stop" adds a point, undo and redo sit at the top left of the map (Ctrl+Z or ⌘Z).

Tips

• Distance, riding time and ascent show at the top straight away. While it is still calculating you see three dots.
• Your tour is cached in the browser as you work. "Save" stores it under a name.

Riding style and avoid options

The riding style decides how the planner rates roads. There are four styles:

• Twisty: country and back roads, large roads and towns are avoided. This is the default.
• Extra twisty: small roads, detours welcome.
• Fast: brisk, motorways allowed. When you pick this style the planner switches off the "Motorways" tick under "Avoid"; tick it again and it avoids them.
• Adventure: gravel and tracks are allowed.

Tips

• Under "Avoid" you switch off motorways, tolls, ferries and unpaved roads for the whole tour.
• "Twisty" here means the router prefers small roads. It does not rate the curviness of the line itself. The "Twisty" tile shows the share of tight bends.
• "Compare riding styles" calculates the same waypoints in all four styles and shows kilometres, riding time, share of bends, motorway, climbing and gravel side by side. Click a style to use it.

Setting sections individually

Clicking the line opens the menu for that section between two waypoints. This lets you mix styles and rules within one tour.

• Own riding style: the section uses a different style than the tour, for example adventure for a stretch of gravel.
• Straight line: the section is drawn as a straight line without routing, for example for a ferry, car train or track. The roadbook and the GPX note "straight line from here".
• Avoid on this section: motorways, tolls, ferries and unpaved roads can be switched per section. If a setting is missing, the tour's setting applies.
• Avoid this spot: the router stops riding through this point. Right-click and "Don't ride through here" does the same. Avoided spots show as red dots and can be allowed again.

Tips

• If the router finds no route without the avoided spot, the planner takes it back and tells you.

Create a round trip

The round-trip generator draws a loop around your start point. It starts at the first waypoint (set it as your start point) or, if none is set, at the centre of the map. On opening, the map shows your location; the crosshair button at the top left jumps back to it at any time.

• In the "Route" tab under "Round trip", choose whether length is set by distance or by riding time.
• Set the length (40 to 500 km) or the riding time (1 to 10 hours) and pick the direction the loop reaches out to.
• "Create round trip" calculates the route. "Another variant" gives a new loop with the same settings.
• With a time target the planner converts it to a length using the speed of the riding style. If the calculated time differs by more than ten percent, the "adjust" button fits it to your wish.

Tips

• The planner fixes unreachable points and dead-end spurs by itself.

Key figures and elevation profile

Above the tabs are six key figures: distance, riding time, ascent, share unpaved, share of bends and number of passes.

• Unpaved comes from OpenStreetMap surface data. If it is missing, tracks and forest roads count as unpaved. For imported tracks the value is not available.
• Twisty is the share of the route with tight bends (radius under 120 metres), so hairpins and tight switchbacks. The planner calculates it from the route line delivered by the router, on a 40 metre grid. For tracks you import as GPX it uses your points: if the file has only a few points (for example one every 100 metres, or after simplifying), bends are smoothed and the value comes out too low. Then it is only a rough hint.
• The elevation profile sits below the map and can be shown or hidden. Moving the mouse over it shows the spot on the map.

On the way: passes, closures, fuel, weather

The "On the way" tab shows what lies along the route.

• Passes: passes on the route show with their height. Where a pass is closed, it says so. Our server fetches closures for the Alps from TomTom every night.
• Closures: if the route uses a closed road, the planner warns at the top. "Avoid" recalculates around it, or you switch on automatic detours. You can fold the warning list, the headline stays.
• Places along the route: fuel stations, food, shops and more can be shown. Sights up to 15 kilometres off the route are in their own list. A click on an entry zooms there and marks the spot on the map with a ring and the name.
• Fuel range: enter your range and the planner marks stretches without a fuel station. Stations that are closed at your expected arrival according to OpenStreetMap (on Sundays or in the evening, say) do not count. The popup of a station shows its opening hours and whether it is open when you arrive.
• Accommodation: "Find accommodation here" in the map menu shows hotels and campsites nearby with website and Booking search.
• Weather: as soon as route and departure are set, the planner fetches the forecast for your expected arrival, about every 25 kilometres and on every pass, with the temperature at road altitude. Snow, thunderstorms, risk of ice, rain, strong wind, fog or heat appear as a warning at the top; a click shows the spot.

Tips

• Closures are a snapshot and cover the Alps. Check important passes with the authorities before you leave.

Tolls, vignettes and low emission zones

In the "On the way" tab the planner summarises what applies to motorcycles in the countries on your route. These are notes, not legal advice.

• Vignette: where a vignette is mandatory (for example Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary) you see the prices for motorcycles and the link to the official seller. The planner tells you how many motorway kilometres your route has in the country. If it has none, you only need the vignette when you use a motorway or expressway.
• Distance toll: in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal the note explains how the toll works. The planner does not calculate the amount. If your route has no motorway there, it says that no distance toll is expected.
• Special tolls: if your route crosses a section with its own toll, for example Brenner (A13), the Tauern and Arlberg tunnels, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Timmelsjoch, or the Mont Blanc or Fréjus tunnel, it is named in the note with a link to the operator. The motorcycle tariff is listed there; the planner shows no prices. Where the planner cannot tell for sure (Great St Bernard, Silvretta, Gerlos, Rossfeld), a note "near your route" explains the situation.
• Noise ban: if the route uses a Tyrolean road with a ban for motorcycles above 95 dB(A) stationary noise (Lech valley, Tannheim valley, Berwang–Namlos, Bschlabs, Hahntennjoch, each from 15 April to 31 October), it is named in the note. The value is in your registration document, field U.1. The planner does not know your motorcycle and checks nothing.
• Motorcycle bans: if the route uses a road closed to motorcycles (such as Kesselberg, Sudelfeld, Schauinsland, Elmstein valley and further reported roads in Germany), it is listed in the notes. With departure and stages the planner checks whether the ban applies when you pass (weekday, season, time, direction) and warns at the top if it does. It does not know public holidays.
• Border crossing and documents: if the route crosses a border outside the Schengen area, the note for the country you enter says what you need for your motorcycle: passport or ID, vehicle registration, proof of insurance (green card or border insurance on the spot) and, where required, the Carnet de Passages from TCS or ACS. The planner checks the Carnet information against the TCS country pages. Where the TCS says nothing, the note tells you to clarify it with the TCS or ACS. Everything is in the roadbook too.
• On a motorcycle: for more than 20 countries the notes say what you must carry or wear (safety vest, first aid, gloves, protective clothing) and what applies to motorcycles there (filtering, riding side by side, children as passengers). Source and date are given.
• Ferries: if the route crosses a ferry, it is listed with the length of the crossing. Many ferries only run at certain times; for Norway the planner links the journey planner Entur, elsewhere check the timetable with the operator and allow a buffer.
• Buy in advance: for vignettes the link goes straight to the online shop so you can buy before the ride and do not have to pay on the way. For Italy there is a note on the Telepass toll box, which lets you drive through the toll lane without stopping.
• Low emission zones: per country it says whether motorcycles are affected (for example Crit'Air in France, ZTL in Italy). If the route passes close to a city with a zone, it also appears with its rule.

Tips

• Every note carries an as-of date and a link to the official site. Prices and rules change: check them there before you ride.
• The notes also appear in the roadbook. Tolls, vignettes, low emission zones and ferries exist for the 32 European countries where they are checked (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, United Kingdom, Ireland). For every other country the planner shows driving side, helmet law, driving licence and the link to the official travel advice.
• For imported GPX tracks and straight-line sections the planner does not know the motorway stretches and shows only the country's rule.

Planning multi-day tours

In the "Trip" tab you split the tour into daily stages.

• Set "Overnight" at a stop and the next stage begins there. You set a break at a stop too and give its length.
• Set the departure day and time. The planner derives the expected arrival of every stage from it, also for the weather and the roadbook.
• Set daily limits for kilometres and riding time. If a stage gets too long, the planner shows where it reaches the limit and suggests places to stay in the last third before it.
• Clicking a day card makes the map jump to that stage. The colour dot in front changes the colour of the day.
• Rest days: below each stage you set how many days you stay at the overnight place. The following stages, the weather, the roadbook and the Booking links (with more nights) move back accordingly.

Adding notes

Notes are hints at a spot on the tour that do not affect routing.

• Right-click the map (on a phone: long press) and choose "Note here".
• Write the text (up to 120 characters), pick a symbol (16 to choose from, such as fuel, food, accommodation, viewpoint, workshop or caution) and a colour if you like.
• Notes show with their symbol on the map. Clicking one edits or deletes it. You can set up to 300 notes per tour.

Tips

• Notes appear in the roadbook, as waypoints in the GPX and in the share link.

Map: layers, colours and symbols

Everything the map shows can be adjusted. Your browser remembers your choice.

• At the top right, under "Map layers", pick the base map (Classic, Light, Dark, Charcoal & Gold, Satellite, Topographic and more) and add terrain shading, twisty roads as well as cycling, MTB and hiking routes. "Twisty roads" colours main and country roads by how much they change direction per kilometre: yellow twisty, red very twisty, from zoom level 9, calculated in your browser from the map tiles. Topographic and the routes load tiles from further services, only once you switch them on.
• The colour button at the top left colours the line by road type: motorway, main road, country road, minor road, unpaved (dashed) and ferry. Clicking an entry in the legend zooms to the next stretch of that type, further clicks go on one after the other. For imported tracks the planner works out the road type from the map tiles, which takes a little while on long tours.
• Without that button every daily stage has its own colour. Change it with the colour dot on the day card, or for a single section by clicking the line.
• Waypoints get their own symbol and colour in the popup. The zoom buttons with compass sit at the top right, and Esc or the X closes an open window on the map.

Tips

• Red is reserved for closures. Colours and symbols are in the share link, and in the GPX every day gets its own coloured track.

Export, print and share

Everything to take along is in the "Tours" tab under "Export".

• GPX: track (the calculated route, for most sat navs and apps), route (waypoints only, your device calculates itself and may differ) or both.
• Garmin Zumo / BMW Navigator: one route per day, your waypoints as announced via points, plus shaping points about every two kilometres along our line so the device stays on it when it recalculates. More than 29 via points on one day are split into several routes. The track is included for comparison. Set the route preference on the device to "Faster time".
• Roadbook: "Roadbook A4" or "Roadbook tank bag" opens a document with key figures, overview map, elevation profile, stages, sunrise and sunset, sections and a ride list with times. Print it from that page or save it as PDF.
• The tank-bag format is A5 portrait with large type. When printing on A4, "pages per sheet: 2" fits two pages on one sheet.
• Share link: the link contains the whole tour including notes. Whoever opens it gets a copy to keep planning.
• Open as Route Film turns the tour into a map video in one click.

Tips

• The roadbook ride list names waypoints, passes with height and closure, all closures, fuel stations including gaps when a range is set, notes, weather, the nearest sights and straight-line and gravel sections.
• The roadbook fetches the weather when it is created. If there is no forecast for your days yet, a note appears at the top.

Saving, loading and importing tours

Your tours stay in this browser. With an account you can also keep them there.

• In the "Tours" tab under "My tours", give the tour a name and click "Save". The same name updates the tour, a new name creates a second one.
• "Start a new tour" begins empty. You open saved tours from the list.
• GPX import: load your own GPX file. If it contains a recorded track you are asked: "As track" keeps the line unchanged (1:1, nothing is re-routed, not even after a reload), "As route" keeps up to 50 waypoints that the router connects again. Only what you change afterwards is recalculated.
• Several tracks in one file become days and appear in the "Route" tab with tick boxes: switch them on and off one by one. Routes in the file that join tracks are calculated by the router, duplicate tracks (such as a complete track next to the daily stages) start switched off. Waypoints in the file come as notes with name and symbol.
• R&R Signature Tracks are published tours by Ride & Reflect to ride yourself. You open them as your own copy.

Data, privacy and limits

Routing runs on our own server in Switzerland with BRouter and OpenStreetMap data. Waypoints are only stored if you share a tour by link or keep it in your account.

What applies worldwide and what only where we have checked it: routes, elevation profile, road type, fuel stations, places to stay, sights and weather are available worldwide. For every country on the route the planner shows driving side, helmet law, driving licence (is an international permit needed?) and the link to the official Swiss travel advice (FDFA). Tolls, vignettes, low emission zones and ferries exist for 32 countries in Europe, motorcycle rules with compulsory equipment for 21 European countries and for 37 selected touring countries worldwide (marked as research there, not official), pass closures for the Alps, motorcycle bans for Germany and Tyrol. Where we have nothing checked, the note says so.

Riding times are estimates. The planner knows neither traffic nor roadworks beyond the closures from the free data source. Your browser loads map tiles from OpenFreeMap, search uses Photon and weather comes from MET Norway. All sources are listed at the bottom of the map.

The planner does not replace planning on the ground: check weather, closures and road conditions before you leave.

Frequently asked questions

Does the route planner cost anything or need an account?

No. It is free and runs in the browser without an account. You only need an account if you want to keep tours there.

How do I get my tour onto my sat nav?

Export it as GPX in the "Tours" tab. A track suits most sat navs and apps. If you pick "Route", your device calculates between the waypoints itself and may differ.

Can I change the riding style along the way?

Yes, per section. Click the line and choose another style, a straight line or your own avoid rules for that section.

How do I plan a ferry or a car train?

Set waypoints before and after the crossing and switch the section in between to a straight line. The roadbook points out there that you navigate yourself.

Why does the planner show a closure although the pass is open?

Closures are a snapshot from TomTom, updated overnight. Check important passes with the authorities before you leave.

Why does the roadbook show no weather?

Forecasts exist only for about the next ten days. If your departure is further out, a note appears at the top. Re-create the roadbook shortly before you leave.

Do I have to buy a vignette in Switzerland or Austria?

Yes, if you ride on a motorway or expressway there, also on a motorcycle. The "On the way" tab shows prices and the link to the official seller. Buy only there, not from middlemen.

Does the planner show toll costs?

No. The planner explains where tolls or vignettes apply but does not calculate amounts, because operators' tariffs change and depend on entry and exit.

Where do I find my saved tours?

In the "Tours" tab under "My tours". They live in your browser storage and disappear if you clear browser data. With an account you can keep them there as well.