Edelweiss Bike Tour - Grand Alps or Kings and Castle tour? Which one is better?

P

Phelan

Well-known member
I'm really debating which one to choose because they both look appealing. Unfortunately due to budget constraints and timing I can't do both lol.

http://www.edelweissbike.com/en/allTours/true/cont/eur/grand-alps-tour.html

or

http://www.edelweissbike.com/en/allTours/true/cont/eur/kings-and-castles-tour.html

I've already done the High Alpine Tour with them and had a blast 2 yrs ago so I've done the "Mother Road"/Passo El Stelvio and Grossglockner pass. But which one would be more "memorable" to do? Anyone been on either of them?
 
If you can only do one week, here's another option http://www.bmca.com/alpine-dash.html

I've done their Classic Alpine Adventure in 2009, and it was stunning.

edit: Nevermind, it looks like they don't have that on 2013's calendar, and all of 2013's look like two-week tours. One week wouldn't have been enough!
 
If budget is a constraint, can I suggest that you look into just renting a motorcycle and doing the trip without having a tour company organize it? The maps and itinerary are right there on their web site and you can tailor your accommodations and meals to fit the size of your wallet.

This will also give you the freedom to go at your own pace (speed, breaks, side-trips) without having to make concessions to what the group wants to do, or what the organizer has set up.

Just a thought...
 
^^ I totally agree with you if I was in North America. Done enough trips and such here.

However, after doing 1 tour with them, there's something to be said about having a prof. group organize it. It's the peace of mind and don't have to worry about anything. E.g. drop the bike and break a lever...no problem spare levers in the van...after a long days ride and getting to the hotel, just park and walk into your room and your bags are already in the room for you lol...dinner? no problem because the meals are top notch and within reasonable eating times...no need to make sure we arrive before the kitchen closes haha. Also if you're solo touring it, well it gives you a group of people to talk to as well :)

I ran the #'s before on it and numerous other magazines have done the same. You're really paying out $~4-500 (varies on trip) for the above logistics which imho isn't that bad. Just don't buy an Arai helmet for the yr :)
 
Phelan said:
I'm really debating which one to choose because they both look appealing. Unfortunately due to budget constraints and timing I can't do both lol.

http://www.edelweissbike.com/en/allTours/true/cont/eur/grand-alps-tour.html

or

http://www.edelweissbike.com/en/allTours/true/cont/eur/kings-and-castles-tour.html

I've already done the High Alpine Tour with them and had a blast 2 yrs ago so I've done the "Mother Road"/Passo El Stelvio and Grossglockner pass. But which one would be more "memorable" to do? Anyone been on either of them?
Click to expand...

I notice the Alps is "Tough" and the Castles is "Intermediate". I was on the Best Of Europe last year and it was only "Moderate". I was under the impression that it's probably Moderate for people used to crazy hairpins, careening tourbuses and 200km/h Autobahns.

So completely different than boring old SW Ontario - took me a long while to get used to it. Nice dining in the Alps!

IMG_0138_zpse410367a.jpg
 
Brian P said:
If you can only do one week, here's another option http://www.bmca.com/alpine-dash.html

I've done their Classic Alpine Adventure in 2009, and it was stunning.

edit: Nevermind, it looks like they don't have that on 2013's calendar, and all of 2013's look like two-week tours. One week wouldn't have been enough!
Click to expand...

Look again the 1 week tours are there. That said Beach's will give you more bang for the buck, no $300 training fee, better roads and NO repeat NO group riding unless you want it. No conforming to the herd mentality. Just all the best places to stay, support out the wazoo, and the tools to get to the best roads by yourself. I would never ride where I did not have the freedom to do what I want.

I have meet several people that were on a Beach tour after doing some of the others, and every rider said Beach was far superior!
 
The Grand Alps Tour would be breathtaking but it seems that you already covered parts of it previously. That tour would cover Europe's most beautiful, richest and some of the oldest cities and would be a lifelong memory for sure.

On the other hand - in my opinion - The Kings and Castle tour is more touristy then motorcycle touring. I only checked out the small overview map but for me anything between Vienna, Austria and Budapest is just a boring ride following the Daube, The old Hungarian royal castle in Visegrad is just a ruin. From Budapest to the Bukk National park you must ride through some of the deadliest roads in Hungary with alarmingly high motorcycle fatality rates in an economically depressed region where safety would be a concern. The Bukk national park is like PA except the caves which are beautiful.

Generally the more mountain rides we have the better the tour for us since we live in Southern Ontario which is flat. In that sense I think you would find The Kings and Castle tour a bit boring as there would be quite a few days which will be all day riding without any significant elevation. I think Budapest, Prague and Eastern-Europe are great but not for motorcycle touring.

Just my opinion.

feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

(Sources: I was born and raised in Hungary , lived in Austria , have family in Switzerland and Austria, did a 21 day Italian-Austrian-Swiss Alps tour 2 years ago.)

cheers

G.
 
Well I'm booked in for the Kings and Castle tours as I've never been to any of the countries listed minus Austria. The following year though I want to do the Gran Alps tour from the east side of the Alps to the west side. Get it all done in one go :)

You're absolutely right that the kings and castle tour is rather more touristy. Given I'm traveling solo and never been to the countries, I'll take the scenic ride as I don't expect myself to be visiting those countries again in the near future.
 
lol i was looking at that and i hope everything gets cleaned up in about a months time otherwise i'll be seeing a different side. Maybe they'll upgrade us all to bmw gs 1200s hahah
 
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