A big tasty motorbike tour: Top breaks for foodies.

Croatian cuisine is characterised by the flavours of black pepper, garlic and paprika- taking roots from its Slavic heritage, and the culinary cultures of neighbouring Hungary and Turkey.

Picture yourself sitting in Dubrovnik, outside a restaurant in a sun filled square: there are rich colours and terracotta roof tiles contrasting with the bright blue sky.

As Dubrovnik is by the sea, the fish and seafood are second to none you can expect fish to have been caught earlier that day.

If fish isn’t your thing you can expect dishes such as Kopun (castrated cockerel in honey and wild orange), the pasticada (beef stewed in wine with prunes, served with gnocchi), or pasta with truffle cream sauce- all accompanied with fantastic Dalmatian wine.

To explore Croatia on your bike you can join us on a guided, or self-guided tour, including:

• Grossglockner High alpine road and glaciers
• The dramatic Postojna cave system with its 22km of caverns and the castle at Predjama
• Free days to explore Sarajevo and Dubrovnic
• The world famous Timmelsjoch pass & much more

One of the surprising highlights of our Austrian tour was the incredible food.

We expected exceptional roads, amazing culture and beautiful weather but the food truly took our breath away.

The food took inspiration from the Balkans, Italy and Bohemia with a huge focus on ‘comfort food’ such as Schnitzel, dumplings and amazing cheeses: Soulful carb-y food that really warms you from the inside after a long days ride.

Something that we all enjoyed thoroughly were the puddings, amazing crisp Apfelstrudel with ice cream,and soft sweet palatschinken pancakes similar to crepes with jam and sugar (these also have a savoury counterpart filled with spinach and cheese which are incredible).

To explore Austria by bike you can join us on a guided or self-guided tour, including:

• The B500 in the German Black Forest, a fast wide road across the forest ridge that constantly appears in the top 10 biking roads of the world
• Grossglockner High alpine road and glaciers
• The Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s summer alpine retreat
• The 37 cobbled hairpins of the St Gotthard pass as well as the Furka, Neufenen and Grimsel passes in Switzerland

Corsica in June is very very warm, and the only food you really want is fresh incredible produce and ice cold beer or red wine.

Luckily because Corsica is an island, the seafood and fresh veggies are abundant and you can enjoy delicious salads and beautiful food across the breadth of the island.

Whilst on tour we mostly lived on salads and charcuterie, which amazing cheeses and meats and fresh bread- there were so many other options but because of the heat this was what we really fancied!

To explore France and Corsica by bike you can join us on a guided or self-guided tour, including:

• French Alps, routes des Grandes Alps and a multitude of glorious mountain passes
• Route Napoleon, one of France’s if not Europe’s finest roads
• Gorges du Verdon
• St Tropez, Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo
• White Sandy beaches of Corsica

The first word I need to say here, is Gazpacho. This ice cold fresh tomato soup served with amazing Spanish bread and olive oil is something that truly characterises the south of Spain, and sitting in the beautiful Andalucian sun, surrounded by olive trees with an ice cold beer in hand was heaven.

There are so many other traditional foods of southern Spain which are truly incredible.

We loved Huevos a la Flamenca, which is baked eggs with vegetables, traditional ham and chorizo which can be eaten for breakfast and is a truly hearty filling meal to keep you riding all morning.

To explore southern Spain by bike you can join us on a guided or self-guided tour, including:

• Picos de Europa
• Celtic cathedral city of Salamanca
• Granada, Alhambra and tapas
• 7 different regions in Spain ridden through and explored
• Franco’s tomb in Valle de los Caídos

I don’t know if I really need to tell you about the food in Italy, we all know that it is a carb lover’s heaven. However, if you haven’t had authentic Italian food you will truly be wowed by the incredible traditional pizzas, calzones and pasta dishes: They’re so far away from your local Italian pizzaria that you’ll hardly recognise them. Part of this is because of the amazing fresh ingredients, from traditional olive oil to fresh basil and tomatoes all grown within miles of where you’re eating. I think the other element to this incredible culinary experience is the location, the Italian lakes are so picturesque and food with a view is one of my all time favourite experiences.

To explore Italy by bike you can join us on a guided or self-guided tour, including:

• The B500 in the German Black Forest, a fast wide road across the forest ridge that constantly appears in the top 10 biking roads of the world
• Timmelsjoch pass through the Austrian and Italian Alps
• The world famous Stelvio pass
• Dolomite passes Pordoi, Sella, Fedaia-Marmolada, S.Pellegrino and Karerpass

Here at Magellan we think that food is such an important element of a holiday, because its your time to chill out, relax and socialise. Whether you come with a friend, partner or alone, our tours foster such an amazing community spirit and so many lifelong friendships are formed, with most of these being cemented over beautiful food and booze in the evening sunshine.

If you want to book on one of these tours, we would absolutely love to have you.