Have you taken a guided moto tour ?

[kballowe]

Have any of you taken a guided motorcycle tour ?

I see threads on other sites that talk about taking guided motorcycle tours to one place or another.  Many of them are "wish list".

Just wondering - how common are these ?
And, where to ?

We live off a piece of old Route 66, and see a lot of groups of foreign travelers during the summer riding season.  Most of these have a chase vehicle.

[twowheeladdict]

Haven't been myself, but iI have had some guys tour with me over the years who let me plan everything, and are just along for the ride.  I can see how those tours have an audience. 

It would be nice to just show up, pay your money, and everything else is planned for you.  The negatives are riding with people who may not have the same skills, stamina, etc. The last thing you want is someone worn out riding in a group. 

I looked into it for New Zealand and it was a chunk of money 10 years ago. 

[Guzzistajohn]

Terry Cloud took me to a place in green forest ar. That’s Run by a Guatemalan lady last fall. We had papusa’s, rice and beans. Does that count?

[Dirk_S]

I certainly see the benefit of convenience, but the sense of wonder and exploration kept me from doing it in my two overseas trips, and I don’t see that stopping. It’s too fun to take the helm at researching and planning the route and going out on my own, learning a wee bit of the language to get by. Also, it goes against my “cheap bastard” persona.

[Travlr]

Yes I have  For me the value of a guided tour is the guide.  With the internet, GPS, etc most anyone can find the hotels, the restaurants and lay out the route.  A good guide can tell you about the history, the things to see, local knowledge that is harder to find.

Mike

[JJ]

Yes...back in the 90's...the Edelweiss "Best of Europe" tour....on rented BMW's.

Fabulous and "THUMBS UP" all around..

[Wayne Orwig]

Back in the 90s I took a Beach's tour of the Alps. I was too busy helping to get a new facility going to plan anything like that, and to be honest, I had no idea how to plan anything like that.

It was NOT really a 'guided' tour. They set up the rooms, haul the luggage, and rented the bikes. They hand you a detailed guide map which tells you where you need to be the next day. It tells you what you can do between here and there. But you are on your own for the most part.

One day a couple of use where riding and stopped at a scenic spot in northern Italy, when a group of about 12 riders in a row passed by. That was another tour company. Sorry, I would not want to do a group ride like that.

I thought it was odd that most evenings I would get to the next stop pretty late in the evening after exploring all day, and everyone else was already there. Most of them took the most direct route to get from A to B.

If things were different, I would do the Beach's tour as often as I could.

[kingoffleece]

Rob and Gretchen Beach are friends of mine.  I can assure you Rob's knowledge of what he calls "Rob Roads" are things it would take dozens of trips to find.  The relationships he and his father before him have established in Europe over four decades is simple something that cannot be replaced.  Not only that, the food stops are something of beauty.  And it ain't no group ride.  Not only that, but two-up if they don't want you behind them you won't be.  That boy can RIDE.

[Moparnut72]

Get a copy of Rider Magazine, there is always a review of a guided tour. There is a good one in the February issue, Iberian Escape, it looked like a ride of a lifetime.
kk

[pehayes]

I was a support van driver for several EagleRider tours of Route-66 and the SouthWest.  What can I say?

It is worry free.  Just pay the bill and show up.  There is a lot of bang for the buck. 
You are typically group riding among people with a wide variety of riding experience and skills.  Foreign riders do not want to get lost.  Pressure to catch up and stay together often exceeds local safety decisions.  Take the highest, most-complete insurance they offer.
Do all the research you can, but you won't match the knowledge base that the professionals have developed over multiple tours.  They know the best places to stop, park, photo, eat, etc.
I stopped when the leader (my brother) got taken out by a left-turning Tacoma on Route-66 (long recovery but he still rides).

One year I contracted independently with an Italian company to escort an 'organized'  Cross Country, New York to San Francisco for three weeks.  I wasn't the organizer or leader.  I was just sweep to pick up stragglers and solve local knowledge administrative issues (i.e. Police).  25 Italians on their own bikes.  They brought their riding culture with them and there were major incidents every day.  Culminating in a high speed Harley off-road into the Arizona desert.  They created an amazing number of violations and liabilities throughout.  At the end I realized they would all fly home and leave me hanging  here as the only representative.  Bad juju.  Never again for that.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Caffeineo]

A few years ago my brother and I did an off road trip in Costa Rica. Just show up with riding gear, beer and food money. Great experience. Incredible scenery. Also got to eat dinner in the Iran Contra C130. :O
https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/costa-rica-off-road-tours.998970/#post-24792771 

[DC950]

in 98 Mrs DC950 and I did an Edelweiss Mexican tour.  9 out of 10.  I'm researching Greece now so if there are any suggestions, please relay them.

For me the problem was stopping.  It was either too much or not enough.  I can ride fast and not see things anywhere.  An expensive tour is not a race.

The thing I appreciated most was knowing where we were going to stay each night.

[wrbix]

A third strong positive for the Beach Family tours. Did five of them in the ALPS ‘80s~ ‘90s.
But we also self moto-toured NZ ….just renting motorbikes. It’s easier when no language barrier exists.
Why someone would “guided” tour their own country is unclear to me.

[twowheeladdict]

in 98 Mrs DC950 and I did an Edelweiss Mexican tour.  9 out of 10.  I'm researching Greece now so if there are any suggestions, please relay them.

For me the problem was stopping.  It was either too much or not enough.  I can ride fast and not see things anywhere.  An expensive tour is not a race.

The thing I appreciated most was knowing where we were going to stay each night.

A local group of riders came up my way to ride.  Since it is my back yard I said I would ride sweep which meant riding behind the slowest rider.  I saw so much more scenery than I ever have riding these roads!  LOL!  Slowing down and enjoying the day is why I am considering a Royal Enfield Classic.  Sometimes you have to have the right bike to enjoy riding slower.

[kingoffleece]

Fast enough to be entertained, but slow enough so as to avoid tunnel vision.

[Gino]

We did a Nepal Himalayan trip to the Mustang valley on royal Enfield bullets, first time ever my wife and I did a guided tour, terrible experience and very expensive, never again, I’ll take my chances in future doing my own thing.
I can understand the peace of mind having backup but that’s part of the trip for me, the planning for eventualities. Everyone to their own, in our case time was against us so we just paid the money and took a chance

Gino

[twowheeladdict]

Here is a thought. If you have a group of riding friends that you know are compatible then booking a tour for just you and your friends would be a better option.

My wife does this with equestrian tours. This way everyone knows the skill level of all the riders and the guides lead accordingly.

[LongRanger]

I’ve done seven tours with Edelweiss, all in Europe. They do an excellent job and even though their tours are relatively expensive, for me they’re an excellent turn-key value. Absolutely first class accommodations, restaurants, and riding experience. No need to ride with the group as long as you show up at the hotel that evening. Highly recommended unless you would prefer to locate a bike and piece the details together yourself, hit or miss.

I still consider my first Edelweiss tour, in 1999, High Alpine Adventure, to be the best week of my life.

[Motormike]

I've taken several guided tours.  The problem I've found is you never know what the pace will be.  Is it a leisurely site-seeing tour, or a hard-charging sport bike, knee pucks on the pavement ride?  I've had much better luck on the "self-guided" tours where the tour company sets up your routing and overnight accommodations, gives you a bike and a GPS and says have a good time. 

[Canuck750]

Never been a tour, just does not interest me with the exception of perhaps taking a tour of the Himalayans.

Now I have ridden with a couple guys who have shown me places I perhaps would have never found on my own.

[calfruit]

I, too was on the Sept 1999 Edelweiss High Alpine tour——- Disneyland for Adults. In 2021 i did the Adriatic Rivera tour, Slovenia,Croatia and Bosnia with Adriatic Moto Tours—— again Disneyland for adults and for those here old enough——-8 days of E ticket riding.
It is not really fair to compare the two, as they were 24 years apart and things do change. What i enjoyed about the AMT tour was dinner out each night in local restaurants, as compared to Edelweiss, where we ate most dinners in the hotels.

Both tours were great and currently signed up for AMT Top of the Alps tour in Aug of this year

[LongRanger]

I, too was on the Sept 1999 Edelweiss High Alpine tour——- Disneyland for Adults. In 2021 i did the Adriatic Rivera tour, Slovenia,Croatia and Bosnia with Adriatic Moto Tours—— again Disneyland for adults and for those here old enough——-8 days of E ticket riding.
It is not really fair to compare the two, as they were 24 years apart and things do change. What i enjoyed about the AMT tour was dinner out each night in local restaurants, as compared to Edelweiss, where we ate most dinners in the hotels.

Both tours were great and currently signed up for AMT Top of the Alps tour in Aug of this year

Wow, small world. If I’m not mistaken, on the Sept 1999 Edelweiss tour you were riding an RT and I was riding a R1100S. I’ve got photos somewhere. We later met up at Laguna Seca to watch some racing but somehow lost each other. I’m sorry the Laguna meet-up didn’t work out the way we hoped. I’ve since left San Diego for a quieter life in Colorado.

[Huzo]

The thing I appreciated most was knowing where we were going to stay each night.

Funny thing that..
The thing I appreciate is NOT knowing where I’m going to stay that night…

[Canuck750]

Funny thing that..
The thing I appreciate is NOT knowing where I’m going to stay that night…

Exactly!!!
The fellow I rode with a bit in Italy asked on the first day leaving Rome where we were going, I said north /west unless it rains otherwise north/east. He asked where we were staying that night and I said we will decide by 2:00 and find rooms on line. And that’s how it went for nearly three weeks and we rode together for about half that time off and on. By the end of the trip I think he got it and appreciated just goi g with the flow but it was hard for him at first.
It’s a lot less stressful not sticking to a time and destination each day.

[DC950]

Funny thing that..
The thing I appreciate is NOT knowing where I’m going to stay that night…

my wife doesn't particularly appreciate floundering around at the end of the day trying to find a place to stay, especially when you don't know the language.  For me, it's not that big of a deal but I've met some awfully nice people that I wouldn't have met except while trying to find a place.  I also got charged out of season rates in Germany precisely because it was late, I was wet, and at that point in a 3 week trip couldn't even ask for a room in German.