Hiring a company to transport your motorcycle from the UK to Europe is a brilliant way of saving time, money and your sanity. Here are the benefits, how it works, things to look out for and recommended companies.
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UK to Europe Motorcycle Transport
By Andy Davidson
Mad or Nomad - RTW motorcycle travellers
The benefits of using a motorcycle transport company
Hiring a company to transport your motorcycle from the UK to Europe is a brilliant way of saving time, money and your sanity. Here’s what we mean…
Time
Top of the list is time. If you’re planning a motorcycle tour in Switzerland for example, you’re looking at roughly 550 miles and two days of motorway riding just to get there from Calais, meaning you can’t start actually riding the good stuff until your third day. It’s the same on the way back so that’s four days minimum of just travelling to and from your destination. If you factor in crossing the Strait of Dover and actually getting to the Channel Tunnel or ferry port from your home, it may be longer.
And Switzerland is relatively close, Portugal, Spain, Italy etc are all further away and will soak up even more of your precious time. With a transport company, you can just hop on a cheap flight and be there to meet your bike in a few hours.
Money
Transporting your bike will cost you money, and so will the flight to get there. Here’s where you’ll need to do the math, consider the cost of those extra wasted nights in hotels just getting to your destination, toll roads, fuel and getting the ferry or train to Europe. The price difference is usually negligible.
Sanity
Going on a bike tour in Europe is brilliant fun – wasting days getting to the good stuff (especially when you’ve only got a week off work) is not. Add in to this that after, say two days of boring motorway riding, you get there, you’ll then be tired for the days you have left to explore the region and ride those awesome mountain roads. There’ll be no rest days either because you’ll need two days to get back home again.
Of course, some people love knocking out hundreds of miles per day and that’s part of the trip for them, if that’s you then great! Enjoy the ride. But if it’s not, transporting your motorcycle from the UK to Europe with a company is a brilliant hassle-free way of spending less time on the motorway and more time riding the roads you want to.
How shipping your motorcycle to Europe works
A motorcycle transport company will take your motorcycle, helmet, bike gear and luggage on a specially kitted out lorry or van overland from the UK to mainland Europe while you put a toothbrush in your back pocket and fly there to meet it.
You can either drop your bike off at your chosen company’s depot or, in some cases, the company will collect the bike from your house or work. It then takes a few days (three on average) to reach their destination, dependent on where you’re going. All you have to do is fly out and meet the bike at either the designated depot or hotel.
To get the bike home it’s the same deal but in reverse. Simple and effective.
Some companies work to a schedule whereby they load their vans with multiple bikes and make the runs on specific days. These tend to be cheaper. But there is the option for customised and personal drop offs and pick-ups.
How much does it cost?
You’re looking at roughly anywhere between £350 – £800 return to somewhere in Europe from the UK. The price is affected by two main criteria: the size and weight of your motorcycle and luggage and where you’re going. The bigger your bike and further afield you’re going – the higher the price.
A higher charge may also mean that company won’t charge any extra for storage, while a low cost may mean that you need to drop off your bike the day before the scheduled departure or there’ll be an extra daily charge for additional storage.
It depends on your plans and trip timeframe. The best thing to do is to get in touch with a company for a personalised quote and ask about their price structure.
But if you’re after some ball park figures, take a look at the popular transport options below.
Motorcycle security in transport
Transport companies should be fully insured and so your bike should be 100% safe with them. Their insurance should completely cover your motorcycle from the second you drop it off to the moment you pick it up and that includes any time spent at their depot. Check your company is fully insured and up to what value your bike and gear and luggage will be covered for before committing.
Things to look out for when choosing a company
Do your homework on the company. Check their website, Facebook page and reviews. You’ll want to make sure they’re a proper company and not a bloke with a van. Give them a call and have a chat about your requirements.
Check their insurance and what exactly you’re covered for. Ask who their insurance provider is and up to what value your bike and kit is insured for.
Ask about extra charges. If you need to drop your bike off a few days early, how much extra will that be or is there no charge? Same goes for picking it up at the destination and once it arrives back in the UK.
Find out what the scheduled run dates are and make sure they line up with your trip.
If you’re going to drop your bike off at one of their depots, make sure you know where that is first! Companies have depots based all over the UK, but you’ll want to make sure it’s accessible and close to you considering you’ll need to either get yourself home or to the airport after. Some companies will give you a lift to the airport if you’re flying the same day.
Popular UK to Europe transport routes, depots and prices
We got in touch with UK based Moving Motorcycles to ask what their most popular shipping routes are and why. Three destinations have come out on top and for a very good reason: Norway, Switzerland and Gibraltar. Giles Ernsting from Moving Motorcycles explains why:
“We offer a weekly motorcycle transport service between our Northamptonshire, UK depot and our depots in Norway, Switzerland and Gibraltar. Being Non-EU, this provides a cost-effective solution for motorcycle transport by avoiding the high EU customs clearance charges for third party transport of vehicles. With flights under 3 hours from the UK, riders can then fly into Oslo, Basel, or Gibraltar airports collect their motorcycles from our depots and ride across the border into the EU.”
Here’s why you might want to consider these destinations:
Norway
Norway is a popular Scandinavian destination for transporting motorcycles for riders looking to plan a road trip including Fjords, rugged mountains, glaciers up to Nordkapp, the Artic Circle and the Northern Lights. Riders also have the option of heading across the EU border into Sweden or Finland.
- Price: single motorcycle to Norway £675 (large groups £500 per bike)
- Direct flight: Just over 2 hours from UK
Switzerland
Switzerland is a popular destination for transporting motorcycles as it provides a gateway into Southern France, Germany, Austria and Northern Italy. Those looking to start trips heading further East will find it offers a good day and a half saving on riding each way too. Expect direct flight times of well under two hours from the UK
- Price: single motorcycle to Switzerland £763 (large groups £395 per bike)
- Direct flight: Under 2 hours from UK
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a popular destination for transporting motorcycles as it provides a gateway into Southern Spain, Portugal and even for riders looking to cross into Morocco and head further into Africa. Being a British overseas territory entry and customs formalities are simple and Gibraltar itself remains a fantastic place to visit before venturing further afield.
- Price: single motorcycle to Gibraltar £795 (large groups £550 per bike)
- Direct flight: Under 3 hours from UK
Spain
As this is such a popular route, we have a dedicated guide explaining the process with the most commonly asked questions answered: How to Transport a Motorcycle from the UK to Spain.
Romania
With weekly services between the UK and Bucharest depots (great for Eastern Europe, Turkey, and Greece), Bucharest is easily accessible by plane from airports around the UK. The Bucharest depot is a one hour ride from the Bulgarian border, 6 hours from the Turkish border or 6.5 hours from the Greek border.
Price: With larger groups of say 10 riders, return pricing is around £1,095 per bike where just two riders is £1,475 per bike return.
Slovenia
The Slovenia is located in Ljubljana. In under 1.5 hours you can be in either Italy, Austria or Croatia, with Hungary 2 hours and Czech Republic 5 hours away. Convenient for Italy, Austria, Hungary, the Dalmatian Coast, and the Balkans)
Italy
The Italy depot is located in Rome. It’s a new depot and convenient for central/southern Italy or for catching the ferries to either Sardinia or Corsica.
For Corsica it’s a 4 hour ride up the Italian Coast to Civitavecchia ready to catch the 5.5 hour ferry to Lecci, Corsica.
For Sardinia it’s a 1 hour 15 min ride up the Italian Coast to Civitavecchia ready to catch the 5.5 Hour ferry to Olia, Sardinia.
For more info on Moving Motorcycles, check out our recommended transport companies page section below or visit their website movingmotorcycles.co.uk
Recommended motorcycle transport companies
We found these companies after extensive research, sifting through hundreds of reviews and speaking to the companies themselves. We’ve listed our top, most highly rated UK to Europe motorcycle transport businesses on this dedicated page below.
International motorcycle shipping
If you want to go further than Europe, take a look at our International Motorcycle Shipping Companies Finder and also have a read of our detailed shipping articles. You’ll find loads more info on our shipping guides section.
READ MORE: Motorcycle Shipping Guides
Read more on motorcycle travel in Europe
Thanks for checking out this UK to Europe Motorcycle Transport Guide. We hope you enjoyed it! Here’s a few more articles on motorcycling in the UK and Europe that we recommend you read next.
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Cheers for this, been looking for an easy explanation for a while now. guess it makes more sense than sitting on a straight autobahn knocking out hundreds of miles. cheers
Hi, no problem! Glad you found it helpful. Here’s an article on Recommended UK to Europe Motorcycle Transport Companies in case you’re looking for someone to take your bike.
Cheers,
A lot of food for thought here. I guess it makes sense to transport a bike to the continent if it saves all that time, especially when we’re tight for time. I think i’m going to give it a try in the summer.
Hi Mike,
Excellent! Let us know how you get on and enjoy your European tour!
For summer 2022, air freight from USA to UK is more than $5K dollars; and congestion at the shipping ports is causing delays, and will take 3 to 4 months for the motorcycle to arrive via ship.
Hi Ramses, yes you’re right, air freight is incredibly expensive at the moment.
This page though is for transporting bikes from the UK to Europe – and that’s done via trucks.
If you’re after shipping from the USA to the UK, check out the Shipping Companies Finder page: https://www.madornomad.com/international-motorcycle-shipping-companies/
Cheers,
Andy
Hi,
I have a more generic question – I’m going too work on Crete for 12 months from Jan 24 and fancy taking my 1200RT with me rather than buying a run around out there as they all seem over priced. Does anyone have any suggestions about how to insure for this or how long you can ride a UK bike abroad ?
Thanks in advance ..
Hi Mark,
That’s brilliant you’re off to Crete for 12 months! And great idea taking your own bike.
Taking your UK registered bike to Europe for 12 months will be difficult and you will struggle to find an insurer that will allow you to do that.
And even if you did, your bike will most likely have to be back in the UK to reinsure it and if you’re there for 12 months you won’t be able to get it back in time.
This is really more of a question for your insurance company I’m afraid. Different insurance companies will insure for different amounts of time, and you may find one that allows for 365 days of European cover.
I would call your insurer and ask, and I would also try the ‘UK Bikers Touring in Europe’ Facebook Group, ask the question in there too.
I hope this helps, cheers
I’m sad that motorail trains seem to be a thing of the past, and the few that remain aren’t exactly convenient. Bikes are pretty space efficient so shouldn’t be too difficult to get onto a train with only minor modifications. The costs with shipping by van/lorry are substantial so you’re better off just hiring a bike at the other end.
Hi Sam,
Yeah, it’s a shame and yes you’re right, it can be expensive sometimes to ship via lorry. But if someone is going for a week or two, the costs of renting can quickly add up. I guess it’s all down to budgets and what you want out of your trip.
Cheers Sam!
Andy
This is actually really good to know. Didnt know about weekly services. Do we have to wait for the transport to be full or do they go every week?
Ta
Hi Jamie,
Yes the transport between our UK and European depots is weekly to help you plan your trips.
Please request a quotation here: https://movingmotorcycles.co.uk/bike-transport-travelling-from-the-uk-to-europe/ and the team will be able to work on pricing and information for you.
Kind Regards
Giles
Moving Motorcycles
Tel: +44(0)1933 448 555
email: info@movingmotorcycles.co.uk
web: http://www.movingmotorcycles.co.uk
Hello, I’m planning on doing the ‘MotoGiro d’Italia’ this year driving there with my classic bike in the back. What are the rules now ( after Brexit ) on taking friends bikes with me in the back.
Cheers.
Joe.
Hi Joe,
Officially you should be okay providing you are carrying the original V5’s for the motorcycles and you have written declarations from each rider, however in reality it entirely depends on the EU Customs official you get on the day you cross.
You may also need to prove you are not carrying out the transport commercially. Vans over 2.5 tons on commercial business now require operators licensing for journeys in the European Union.
Kind Regards
Giles
Moving Motorcycles
Tel: +44(0)1933 448 555
email: info@movingmotorcycles.co.uk
web: http://www.movingmotorcycles.co.uk
Hello Giles,
thanks for the update my friend. That’s how it used to be before Brexit.
I was driving to EU with bikes for many years up to Brexit, since then, with all the
mis- information out there about needing Carnet and other documentation I thought
sod that for a caper. Thanks to you the water is now a bit clearer.
Cheers.
Joe.