Coast To Coast – Guided Motorcycle Tour

Depart the UK on your chosen scheduled flight to Los Angeles, California. Upon arrival, independently make your way to your hotel, where you spend the first night of your adventure.

Today you will have the majority of the day to explore Los Angeles at your own pace. You then kick-off your adventure with a “Meet & Greet” with your fellow riders and the EagleRider Support Team to go over what you can expect from the awesome journey ahead, as well as some important safety tips and information. Your ride of a lifetime is about to begin!

Since your tour is a Coast to Coast Motorcycle Tour, you will kick off your day with a southerly ride along the beautiful shores of the Pacific Ocean, before heading east on the famous Ortega Highway (a favourite among California riders.) The Ortega Highway along with Pines to Palms are the first two incredible mountain passes that you will experience on this Tour. If you love riding the “twisties” today will be very satisfying indeed! Your destination tonight is Palm Springs, a desert oasis getaway for the Hollywood and L.A. elite. Warm desert air and relaxation are the reward for a great first day of riding.

You’ll get a jump on the day and head straight for Joshua Tree National Park, a local EagleRider staff favourite day-trip out of Palm Springs. After lunch you will pick up the legendary Route 66 in Amboy, and of course ride into the ghost town of Oatman, Arizona. Oatman looks almost exactly like it did over 100 years ago when it was a booming mining town. This little town is now a “must see” Route 66 destination. You’ll end the day’s ride in Kingman and spend the night at a favourite Route 66 hotel.

Today starts with several more miles of “The Mother Road”, before turning south toward Chino Valley, the twisty roads into Jerome and the beautiful and magic rock formations surrounding Sedona. After lunch, you will be treated to a ride through the Tonto National Forest in Central Arizona where both the roads and scenery are incredible. This day is sure to be one of your most memorable experiences of the Tour.

Your route today features one of the many roads less travelled in the United States. You’ll snake your way along mile after mile of breath-taking terrain through the upper desert of Western New Mexico just north of the Gila National Forest. Stops in Summerville, Pie Town and the Very Large Array radio astronomy observatory, make the day really fun. Along the way it will be easy to daydream of the Old West – riding your steel horse through the desert today is not so different from a cowboy riding a real horse in the 1880s…only a little faster.

Today you continue to ride mile after mile of wide-open spaces mixed in with dense forest roads and the last of your mountain twisty roads. Highlights today are the Carrizozo Malpais lava flow, Lincoln County Courthouse Museum (where Billy the Kid made one of his famous escapes), Lincoln National Forest, the beautiful Inn of the Mountain Gods, Cloudcroft and some of the best mountain roads in all of New Mexico. As you come off the 8,668 foot elevation of Cloudcroft, you will be able to see the vast expanse of White Sands National Park (the newest park in the United States park system) with its landscape of rare white gypsum sand dunes.

In your final stretch of highway into El Paso, Texas, you will pass through two different missile testing ranges. Hopefully your passage will not be stopped for one of their tests.

Today it’s a very early start with a lot of ground to cover before your day off in Lajitas, Texas, on the banks of the Rio Grande River. While the first half of your day is Interstate, once you reach your turn off, you will be riding on another section of roads less travelled. It’s a long, easy ride from I-10 to Lajitas and the Big Bend National Park region, where you’ll stay for two nights to get some rest. You will ride the famous Texas Rt 170 from Presidio, TX to Lajitas. This road, which hugs the Rio Grande River, is one of the best motorcycle roads in the United States. You will have a full free day to explore one of the best kept secrets in the US National Park System. The Big Bend area offers horseback tours, ATV tours, hiking, and several other ways to explore and enjoy, or if you want, just relax by the beautiful pool and have a leisurely outdoor lunch overlooking the resort.

It’s always tough to leave the beauty and serenity of Lajitas, the Rio Grande River and Big Bend National Park behind, but you’re only halfway through the tour! As you continue eastward you will skirt the border between the USA and Mexico, and cross the massive Amistad Reservoir (Amistad means ‘friendship’ in Spanish) before landing in Del Rio.

Today you ride from one extreme to the other, from sleepy Del Rio to the modern, hip city of Austin. Austin is the capital city of Texas, home to many universities and museums, parks, and restaurants of national renown. If you love real Texas BBQ, world-class live music, and more bars than you can count, Austin is your city. With a very vibrant nightlife scene, there is something for everyone here. On the way to Austin you will stop in San Antonio, the 2nd-largest city in the state. The Riverwalk downtown San Antonio is a great place for lunch, and it’s right next to the Alamo, a Spanish-colonial mission that was the site of an iconic battle in Texas’ war with Mexico.

Today is all about riding the backroads of Texas through Houston, the largest city in the state and you will see the Gulf of Mexico for the first time as you ride into Louisiana. The Gulf will be your friend for several more days as you ride toward your final destination. Soon you’ll encounter the laid-back vibes of Lake Charles, Louisiana, a fun “Riverboat Gambler” town with a main strip lined with casinos, restaurants and every type of bar or tavern you can imagine. Rest well and save some energy, before hitting New Orleans tomorrow!

As you head south out of Lake Charles and get your first taste of “Bayou Life.” Your ride takes through some really great back roads such as Jean Lafitte Scenic Byway and the Wetlands Cultural Trail through Lake Arthur, New Iberia and Houma before setting your sights on “The Big Easy”. After a quick stop at the hotel to check-in and get cleaned up, head into the heart of the French Quarter (only one block away) and soak up all that N’awlins has to offer, your base for the next two nights! Feel free to explore New Orleans during your free day. ‘Crescent City’ is constantly voted one of the best tourism destinations in the USA, and there are a million fun things to do here.

There are usually a few riders that dont want to leave New Orleans, but more gorgeous scenery along the Gulf Coast is in store for you today. You’ll ride through the gulf towns of Pass Christian, Gulfport, Biloxi, Mobile on your way to Pensacola Beach. This region has roared back to life after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 and Hurricane Katrina and has once again established itself as one of the top tourist destinations in the American south. The deserts of the Southwest and the swamps of Louisiana will seem like a distant dream, as you ride past swaying palm trees and white, sandy beaches!

Too much of a good thing is wonderful, as the old saying goes, so let’s keep rolling along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico for another day on your way to Perry, Florida. Highlights today include Gulf Island National Seashore, Panama City, Mexico Beach (ground zero to the recent Hurricane Michael), Tate’s Hell State Forest and the insanely beautiful (and hard to pronounce!) Apalachicola National Forest. You’re in gator country now, so watch where you step when you dismount your bike!. Your final destination before we reach the Atlantic Ocean is Perry Florida.

You complete the ‘Coast to Coast’ portion of the tour today, as you arrive at the Atlantic Ocean and Daytona Beach. It’s an easy journey across the Florida peninsula riding through Ocala – known as the race-horse capital of America. Time permitting, you will can visit Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona, one of the largest Harley-Davidson dealerships in the USA, and of course the Daytona International Speedway, home to NASCAR’s most famous stock-car race, the Daytona 500. Tonight you will enjoy a famous Farewell Celebration and end this amazing motorcycle tour in style!

It’s a short ride back to the EagleRider Orlando office to return your bikes and say your final farewells. You will then make your own way to Orlando International Airport to check in for your flight back to the UK.