Travel advice · by motorcycle
Riding to Europe from the UK.
What the law requires (marked Law, with its source) and what we’d do (marked Tip). Checked 25 September 2026: rules change, so check the source before you go.Travelling by car? See the car advice.
Documents
- LawLicence, log book and insurance
Carry your UK photocard driving licence, the vehicle’s log book (V5C), or a VE103 if it’s hired or leased, and your insurance certificate.
Source: GOV.UK: driving in the EU - LawNo green card or international permit for the EU
You don’t need a green card to drive in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, and you don’t need an international driving permit in the EU, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein with a UK photocard licence.
Source: GOV.UK: driving in the EU - LawUK identifier, not GB
If your number plate shows the UK identifier with the Union flag, you need nothing else. Otherwise (a GB identifier, a Euro symbol, a national flag or no identifier) display a UK sticker. In Spain, Cyprus and Malta you need a UK sticker whatever your plate shows.
Source: GOV.UK: driving in the EU - TipCheck your cover before you go
Ask your insurer and breakdown provider exactly which countries and how many days you’re covered for, and whether a track day or an organised event is excluded. Keep their European helpline number in your phone and on paper.
Tolls, vignettes and town-centre zones
Switzerland and Austria charge for motorways by time (a vignette), not by distance. France and Italy use péages and cameras.
- Law · SwitzerlandMotorway vignette: CHF 40
Needed on Swiss motorways for cars and motorcycles alike. The 2026 vignette runs from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027; the e-vignette can be bought online before you go.
Source: Tolls.eu: Swiss vignette - Law · AustriaMotorway vignette (2026 prices)
Cars: €9.60 for a day, €12.80 for 10 days, €32.00 for 2 months, €106.80 for a year. Motorcycles: €3.80, €5.10, €12.80 and €42.70. Buy a 2-month or annual digital vignette online and it’s only valid from the 18th day after purchase; the 1-day digital vignette is valid straight away. Without one you face a substitute toll, then fines of €300 to €3,000.
Source: oesterreich.gv.at: vignette - Law · FranceCrit’Air sticker for low-emission zones
Many French cities require a Crit’Air sticker (€4.91 from the official site) to enter their low-emission zones; driving in without the right one can cost €135 on the spot.
Source: RAC: driving in France - Law · ItalyStay out of ZTLs
Historic centres in Italian cities are camera-controlled limited traffic zones (ZTL). Each entry without permission is a separate fine, typically €80 to €300, arriving weeks or months later.
Source: European Consumer Centre: ZTL fines in Italy - Tip · ItalyStaying inside a ZTL?
Ask your hotel before you arrive whether it can register your number plate for access, and follow its directions in rather than your satnav.
On the road in France
- Law · FranceSpeed-camera detectors are illegal
Devices that detect speed cameras are banned: fines up to €1,500 and the device can be confiscated. Turn off camera alerts in satnavs and apps.
Source: RAC: driving in France - Law · FranceMotorway limit 130 km/h, 110 in the rain
The standard motorway limit drops from 130 km/h to 110 km/h when it rains.
Source: RAC: driving in France
What the rider needs
- Law · FranceCE-marked gloves, rider and passenger
Both must wear gloves with a CE mark. Typical fine €68 and a point on a French licence.
Source: Service-Public.fr: compulsory motorcycle equipment - Law · FranceApproved helmet with reflective markings
Helmets must be ECE 22.05 or 22.06 approved, fastened, and show four reflective elements (front, back and each side). A set of reflective stickers costs a few pounds, so fit them before you go.
Source: Service-Public.fr: compulsory motorcycle equipment - Law · FranceHi-vis vest: carry it, wear it if you stop
Carry a CE-marked hi-vis vest on the bike (typical fine €11 without one) and wear it if you have to stop on the road (typical fine €135).
Source: Service-Public.fr: compulsory motorcycle equipment - Law · FranceNo earphones
Phones and earphones are banned while riding; only an intercom built into the helmet is allowed.
Source: Service-Public.fr: compulsory motorcycle equipment - Law · AustriaLoud bikes banned on Tyrol roads
From 15 April to 31 October, motorcycles over 95 dB(A) stationary noise can’t use six roads in the Reutte and Imst districts, including the Hahntennjoch.
Read more - TipFuel on the passes
Fuel stations thin out above the valleys and many close at lunchtime or overnight. Fill up before every big climb, and don’t count on card-only pumps accepting a UK card.
- TipStart early
The famous passes are quietest before nine in the morning; by midday they fill with cars, cyclists and coaches, especially at weekends.
Crossing the Channel
Border checks for car passengers are changing with the EU’s Entry/Exit System. Where things stand at Dover and Eurotunnel.