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has anybody here taken a tour with these people?

Yes

We took two tours with them and enjoyed both of them very much. The first was mainly a castle tour through Austria; the second tour was sponsored by Cycle World and ended at a GP race. That tour covered German, Austria, Switzerland, Northern Italy, and back to Germany. They are first class, they handled all our issues well (our bike broke down on the second tour) and we met some wonderful people.

They encourage you to break up into small groups and go out on your own, instead of riding in one large pack. I used to live in Europe (Germany, Greece and Spain) and was perfectly happy to do this.

If this is your first trip to Europe it is not a bad way to go. However, if you have traveled a little and are not afraid of visiting foreign countries, you can also do this on your own. It could save you some money, but you could lose out on the opportunity to make new friends on the tour.
 
I've gone with them more than a dozen times. They are very good, if not quite as fun as they used to be. The tour guides used to be hard core riders trained to be guides; now it's mostly the other way around. The bikes are in good shape (but take a shake down ride before you leave the starting point to be sure; they are occasional problems that are more easily fixed at the start). The hotels are usually very, very good and good at worst. Airport transfers are well handled. I like the High Alpine tour better than the Best of Europe. I'm hoping to do the Rome Sicily tour in the not too distant future.

Feel free to PM me with any questions.
 
These guys are worth checking into. http://www.bmca.com/ They've been around longer than Edelweis and provide a very relaxed go your own way atmosphere.


+1 for Beach's A full 2 weeks not a week or 9 days, an believe me 2 weeks will seem too short. And they are the oldest tour operator in the Alps.

Beaches let you decide how you want to do it, and make it happen.. Their philosophy is it is YOUR vacation and so they don't micromanage, unless that is what YOU want.

Edelweiss is one the larger sponsors of the MOA for years. I think you will hear very good comments about them. Look in your "ON" magazine. You will see their adds every month.

May be great sponsors, but if my grape vine is correct some of the first issues of the MOA magazine were edited on Bob and Liz Beach's kitchen table. And they have given at least one full tour as a door prize for several years at the MOA rally for several years running. But that is there style, deliver a quality product, and not try to be the biggest, just the best.

I have meet a half dozen or so that have done tours with both of the mentioned operators and all have said Beach feels more personal, and the attention to detail is better.

Yes it is cheaper to do it yourself, but there is Value in an organized tour.
 
I've taken more than a dozen Edelwiess tours. All were excellent. I do agree with ccolwell's comments that they are not quite as much fun as they used to be. My understanding is that this is the result of an increasing interest in putting the safety of the riders first! Not a bad idea - but it used to be more fun.
 
I've done three Edelweiss tours..

They have all been great. First class.................

I'd recommend them to anyone wanting to enjoy a trip overseas.

jason
 
re: edelweiss

I've been on two or their tours. Alps touring Center and Western Alps touring Center. They were both great. They purchase new bikes annually, the earlier in the year your tour, the lower the milege. I had a 2005 RT with 10 miles on it on an April tour. The 2003 RT I rode during an August tour, had several trips up Passo Stevio. The clutch was well broken in.
Be prepared to ride decisively, if you tour the Alps. There generally is no speed enforcement and no yellow lines when you are outside of towns. You are expected to lane split and go to the front at automatic signals and at construction sites.
Drivers respect bikes and will give you space when you run out of daylight. No horns or one finger salutes.
 
I'm thinking I might want to see a bit of Europe on one of their r1200's this summer.

thanks
ed flanagan

Ed, whether they or anybody else are the way to go or not will depend on what you are primarily looking for in a tour.

These are just a very few of the questions you need to ask yourself...
  • Do you like riding in groups or by yourself?
  • Do you like everything to be predetermined for you or do you like to make your own decisions?
  • Do you want full control of your tour?
 
Ed, whether they or anybody else are the way to go or not will depend on what you are primarily looking for in a tour.

These are just a very few of the questions you need to ask yourself...
  • Do you like riding in groups or by yourself?
  • Do you like everything to be predetermined for you or do you like to make your own decisions?
  • Do you want full control of your tour?

[*]Do you like riding in groups or by yourself? With Beach it does not matter, they do not require group rides, want to go solo have at it.


[*]Do you like everything to be predetermined for you or do you like to make your own decisions? The only thing predetermined on a Beach tour is where you are staying every night. When you leave, what route you take, where you stop, where you eat lunch, how long you ride is all up to you. But you are assured a great room, in a great location, your luggage waiting in your room, in addition new friends ready to buy you a beer or wine if you are so inclined, a first class dinner with a bunch of new friends.



[*]Do you want full control of your tour?
Well if he is traveling with his wife or SO, there is no such thing as full control, in europe or at home for that matter:D
 
[*]Do you like riding in groups or by yourself? With Beach it does not matter, they do not require group rides, want to go solo have at it.

Yes, I realize that and we've been over this before. In fact that is the case with other tour companies as well.

But if I was going to go off on my own in the first place, I might as well go self guided at less than half the cost. See last paragraph below.

[*]Do you like everything to be predetermined for you or do you like to make your own decisions? The only thing predetermined on a Beach tour is where you are staying every night. When you leave, what route you take, where you stop, where you eat lunch, how long you ride is all up to you.

Once again...might as well go self guided in that case. Getting a room is no harder there than it is here in North America...in other words...easy.

I just did a quick check on prices...in my case single/solo on a similar bike and equal time period: US$7620 going organized tour vs US$3200 self guided and the latter even includes gas and all meals. No comparison, but yes, I know, the wall paper in the tour option is bound to be nicer. :wave And yes, they do serve a purpose for some. The question is, is it worth more than twice the price? Not everybody is loaded these days or have you not noticed the massive sell-offs of toys in the USA.
 
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