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About This Tour
Where We Go
Tour Highlights
Tour Cost
Brief Tour Description
Key Dates
Minimum Number of Tour Members
How To Book This Tour

ABOUT THIS TOUR

My “Essential Alps” tour is geared towards those riders looking for a shorter tour that includes the best of the “Must Ride” routes and passes. This tour includes the routes, passes and places that I would personally ride if I only had 8 days and wanted to maximize my time with the best variety of great riding. Most Alpine motorcycle experts, including John Hermann (“King of the Alps”) consider the Andermatt region in Switzerland and the Dolomites of Italy to be the “must ride” roads of the Alps. We ride over three of the highest passes in the Alps including the famous switchback laden Passo di Stelvio, the wild and beautiful Passo di Gavia and the Umbrail pass. This tour really is all about the riding.

This tour also does a great job at double duty – you have the option to link this tour to the French Loop Tour as part of the TOP 10+ Highest Passes Tour.

WHERE WE GO

ESSENTIAL ALPS TOUR

• Day 1 – Thusis (S)
• Day 2 – Wenns (A)
• Day 3 – Corvara (I)
• Day 4 – Corvara (I)
• Day 5 – Pontresina (S)
• Day 6 – Pontresina (S)
• Day 7 – Ulrichen (S)
• Day 8 – Thun (S)

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Special Places – The Grimsel Pass – one of the most photographed vistas in the Alps looking towards the Furka Pass
• The Timmelsjoch – home to the TOP Mountain Motorcycle Museum on the Austrian side (Europe’s highest motorcycle museum with over 600 exhibits) and the high (#9), gnarly very fun pass down into Italy on the other side.
• Lunch at a high Dolomite Mountain Hut (via 5-minute cable car ride) with unforgettable panoramic views of the Dolomites
• A snack on top of one of the highest cable cars in Switzerland with panoramic views of St Moritz and surrounding area
• Major Passes – (#10), (#9), (#8), (#7) and the incomparable Passo Stelvio (#3) + more
• Smaller Passes – Pragel, Glaubenbulen and more
• More than 35 passes in total

MOTO-CHARLIE reserves the right to alter the exact route at his discretion.

TOUR COST

The cost for this tour at the current exchange rates will be:

• Single rider in a single room
• $4,040 – ESSENTIAL ALPS

• Passenger sharing a double room
• $2,440 – ESSENTIAL ALPS

• Couple riding two-up sharing a double room
• $6,480 – ESSENTIAL ALPS

These numbers cover your direct tour costs including motorcycle rental, all hotels, all meals, gas and my fee. May vary depending on the currency exchange rates in effect during the time of travel.

BRIEF TOUR DESCRIPTION

This tour focuses on two main areas with some spectacular riding in between. The first area focuses on central and eastern Switzerland, including the Andermatt area (6 great passes), the high classic passes north of St. Moritz and the lesser traveled passes near our tour base in Thun. In between Andermatt and the Dolomites we ride the quintessential standards like Stelvio, Gavia and the Timmelsjoch, all in the top ten highest alpine passes. We then head east for three days in the Dolomites (my favorite area by a whisker) with their unique look, great twisty roads and multitude of passes. The Dolomites are biker favorites because of their density of high, twisty passes, variety of pass types and that unique combination of German and Italian culture. It is a very special place.

Most people like to arrive at least one day ahead of time to help with jet lag, see the local sights or get acclimated to their motorcycle, the roads and Euro riding in general via the free 1/2-day ORIENTATION DAY offered to all Tour Members. I’ll be more than glad to help you plan whatever activity might be of interest to you.

• Day 1 – Today is a blend of smaller one-lane passes, and back-country roads complimented by high, sweeping passes like the Susten and Klausen. We have a wonderful lakeside lunch before continuing our journey along the high Obersaxon road with beautiful views to the valley below, one of my favorite high-valley roads. From there we ride past the watershed start of the Rhine River and onto our hotel for the night in Thusis.

• Day 2 – Hopefully everyone got a good night’s rest because we have a lot to see and do today. Every day provides options and today’s no different. One way is through the famous Swiss town of Davos and over the Fluela Pass into Zernez. From there we have multiple options to arrive at Bormio Italy. From there we climb the famous bucket list Stelvio Pass (#3 highest) with almost 50 switchbacks per side and a carnival-like atmosphere on top.  We spend some time at the top to enjoy the ambience over lunch and then ride down the other side. From we head north working our way over several more passes while viewing walled villages, sunken churches and more until we reach our very Austrian hotel in Wenns.

• Day 3 – Today we go over two of my favorite passes plus more as we head into the Dolomites. After an enjoyable half hour ride, we reach the town where we start our climb up the Timmeljoch Pass. The Austrian side climbs continuously through ski villages and fun sweepers on nice 2-lane roads until we arrive at the TOP Mountain Motorcycle Museum, the highest motorcycle museum in Europe with one of the largest collections housing 580 motorcycles covering more than 150 years of motorcycle history. From here it is a relatively short climb to the top where we stop to enjoy the views. From here we cross into Italy and the fun starts, the switchbacks are more numerous, and the pace quickens as we ride the long and entertaining descent to the bottom. At the roundabout we start all over with the beginning of the Jaufen Pass, another very fun pass with loads of switchbacks and scenic views. These two passes require all our concentration. At the bottom of the Jaufen the Dolomites come into view and we have several options to enjoy for our ride to Corvara where we will stay for 2 nights.

• Day 4 – The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage site with a unique look. They were part of Austria prior to World War II, so the region is an interesting mix of Germanic and Italian cultures. There are more passes in this area than we will be able to ride. So, we mix it up. Today we ride my favorites including the classic Sella Ronda route, which look like a figure 8 on the map. We’ll also do Passo di Giau, one of my all-time favorites and view the gorge at Sottoguda.  If the weather is good, we can enjoy a mountain hut lunch via cable car at more than 2,700 meters with spectacular 360-degree views of the Dolomites. I never, ever get tired of these mountains.

• Day 5 – Our route has a number of different options all of which are guaranteed to give us some great riding and outstanding views. Various passes can take us over roads that travel through high vineyards and orchards that spread as far as the eye can see, ultimately bringing us to the Tonale Pass. From here we can ride up the Passo Gavia (#7), one of my all-time favorites for its incredible wild views and then over several more passes, or we can continue onto and over the Aprica Pass and then up the Bernina Pass. The Bernina starts in Italy and is a high, wide open classis Swiss Pass that brings us down and into Pontresina, where we spend two nights.

• Day 6 – Pontresina is a short ride away from St. Moritz, so Tour Members are welcome to visit this famous town. We also have free access to the Corvatsch 3303 cable car, with stunning views overlooking St. Moritz, Silvaplana and much more. There are also more than 6 high classic Swiss Passes to ride in this area, so plenty of super riding and/or sightseeing to enjoy – your choice.

• Day 7 – Today we work our way back towards the Andermatt region, perhaps the single most famous riding area in Switzerland. We have the possibility to ride 5 or 6 high passes starting with the Maloja Pass, unique because the pass starts at its highest point at over 1,800 meters and goes down from there. The descent is one long fun ride down into Italy, where the temperature difference is frequently 20 – 30F warmer in Italy. We often delayer to cool down, but not for long as we immediately start climbing the Splugen Pass, another one of those wild and wholly Italian passes. The northwest side is famous for its section of perfectly layered switchbacks – looks like ribbon candy. There are two more wonderful passes including the Nufennen (#9) before we reach our biker friendly hotel in Ulrichen.

• Day 8 – It’s our final run back to Thun. However, we’re in no rush, so stay and play in Switzerland’s premier motorcycle playground. You want fast and smooth; there’s the incomparable Grimsel. Want wild and untamed, plus the unique landscape that the Furka provides, we’ll ride this one for sure. There is also the “new” Gotthard Pass or the Tremola Road (the “old” Gotthard Pass), Switzerland’s longest historic road and a unique riding experience. There is LOTS of great riding here, some of the very best in the Alps. We then head back to Thun surrounded by great Swiss mountain scenery. We go back to the hotel, unload our gear and head to the rental shop to turn in our bikes. We wrap up a great tour with a group dinner at a lively old-town riverside restaurant and say our farewells, until the next tour 🙂 to our newfound friends.

• Next Day – Many possibilities – Rest Day before next tour, continue on with other Euro travel plans, fly home

KEY DATES

• If you would like to come sooner, or stay longer, hotel and motorcycle arrangements can readily be made to suit your schedule.

• When to book your reservation obviously depends on your schedule. As a rule, I suggest at least 3 months in advance to ensure that you get the motorcycle that you want and to secure a place on the tour. There is a limit of 7 motorcycles or 10 people, whichever comes first, per tour.

• The final cut-off date is technically 30 days before the tour starts. If someone contacts me to sign up with less than 30 days to go every effort will be made to accommodate you. The issue will usually be the motorcycle availability.

MINIMUM NUMBER OF TOUR MEMBERS

5 riders or 7 Tour Members

HOW TO BOOK THIS TOUR

Please “Contact Me” by telephone or e-mail to book your spot on this tour. I am not a paperwork intensive person. So, the process of making a reservation and getting what I need for my records is pretty simple.

Feel free to contact me to ask any questions about my tours in particular, or the Alps in general. If I can be of help in any way, I’ll be glad to do so.

Final Thought – “Essential Alps” – The tour to pick if time is short and you want to enjoy the two best ridng areas in the Alps. I’ve put together my personal favorites on this tour. We ride the motorcycling paradise that is the Andermatt region, enjoy the most famous highs of Passo Stelvio and Gavia and partake in the beauty and unmatched riding of the Dolomites. All of this comes with a variety of additional passes, big and small, designed to show you why an Essential Alps ride is on every motorcyclist’s must-do list.