Looking for feedback on 7 month trip through the Mediterranean

Hello r/bicycletouring,

I’m looking for some feedback on this proposed route I am planning for next year. It’s been a dream of mine to do a cross-continent bike tour and the stars have aligned to make this a reality in 2025. The idea is to bike across Mediterranean Europe over 7 months, from Barcelona to Istanbul (discontinuously). I’d love to hear people’s thoughts about my planned route and timeline. Also, any thoughts about troubles I might encounter, from wild camping, to security, or climate. I have also budgeted about $10K CAD for this trip.

Here’s the link to the tour: [https://www.komoot.com/collection/2461087/-europe-2025](https://www.komoot.com/collection/2461087/-europe-2025)

So far, I have refined the route quite well based on suggested places to go, but am of course open to suggestions. With the math of about 50-70 km of cycling 4 days a week, I end up with the timeline described below. I’m curious to hear if people think this is too much time (or not enough) to enjoy the scenery, towns, and cities along the way. The itinerary will generally follow this:

* February (weeks 1-4): Cycle through Italy on the EV7 hitting Florence, Rome, and the Almafi Coast, and exiting through Brindisi to Sarandë in Albania.
* March-early April (weeks 5-9); Through Ksamil, follow the EV8 through Greece to Athens. Spend week 9 island hopping (no plans for where yet!)
* Early April to end of May (weeks 10-15) \[looking for recommendations for how to get to Istanbul area – I think there is a bus from Athens to Keşan?\]: From Keşan/Tekirdag/Istanbul, pass through Gelibolu/Çanakkale on the coastal roads, and head inland down to Küçükkuyu and Bergama, then following the EV8 (skipping Foça?), to Izmir, out to Çeşme, Aydin, Muğla, and finishing in Antalya via the hilly coastal route. Turkey is the country I am least familiar with so if there are any recommendations/preferred routes, let me know!
* End of May (week 16): Take a bus from Antalya to Istanbul, and a flight to Barcelona.
* June – first half of July (weeks 17-22): Follow the EV8 from Barcelona, crossing the French border at Col de Banyuls, continuing along the EV8 to Cannes, Nice, and Monaco. Then, head north through the alps through the following Cols: Turini, Cayolle, Vars, Izoard, Galibier, d’Iséran, Roseland, les Saisies.
* Second half of July – first week of August (weeks 23-25): Enter Switzerland and continue through the Alps, passing over Villars-sur-Ollon, through Spiez to the Alte Grimsel Passstrasse and Auffahrt zum Grimselpass to Andermatt, though Parc Ela, and exiting to Italy out of Müstair
* Second week of August (week 26): follow from Glorenza to Bolzen and do a big loop around Parco Naturale Puez-Odle, and exit Italy to Innsbruck and Munich.

by austin29684