As a motorcyclist, have you ever dreamed of touring the European Alps? How do you plan for such a trip? What do you take along? During the fall of 1999 we took such a trip. Hopefully this article will help you plan your trip of a lifetime.

I started planning a year in advance for our trip. The first thing I needed to do was to identify a tour company. Most of the major tour companies are on the Internet, have email addresses and home pages: Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures, Edelweiss Bike Travel, AMA Tours and Bosenberg Motorcycle Excursions are some of the well-known ones. We decided to go with Bosenberg Motorcycle Excursions for a number of reasons--the time frame of their tour worked into our schedule, we could choose our favorite motorcycle brand to ride and the tour was limited to a small group (12 bikes maximum). Other things to consider when choosing your tour company are the types of motels, the number of meals provided with the tour package, how your luggage is transported and the number and quality of tour guides provided for your group.

After deciding on our tour company, we needed to choose what bikes we wanted to ride. Bosenberg on their web site provided a chart with recommended bike cc’s for the weight of a rider. For solo riders they recommended a 500-700 cc class. And for those who are larger in frame or carrying a passenger to go up to 701-900 cc class. It turned out to be very helpful and great advice for riding the Alps terrain. After searching the internet on European bike models for seat height and design we chose the Honda Deauville 650 cc for myself the Honda Shadow ACE 750 cc for my husband. We both think our selections were great and would rent the same bike again for our next tour with the exception that we would try to get a windshield for the Shadow.

Next it was time to complete our tour application and send in our deposit. By applying early (6 months prior to our tour date) we got a discount and since both of us were riding our own bikes we got another discount. My bike selection was a standard model included in the rider tour price. My husband’s bike was an upgrade to the comfort class, which cost a little more for the tour. The Tour Company also had other classes such as sport class, cruiser class, exotic class and top class all at additional pricing.

As we made our flight reservations, which you should do as soon as possible, we decided to arrive a few days early. By doing so, we could get adjusted to the different time zone and get ready for the tour. We also decided to rent our bikes a day early so we could do some riding on our own to get accustomed to the bikes. Then 90 days before our flights we could make our seat selections. I would highly recommend you do this as early as possible unless you want to sit in the middle of a row.

During the months leading up to our tour we were always looking for things that we could use. I found a tank bag on sale to use on my Deauville and a rearseat bag for the Shadow, which also doubled as a backrest. We used these on the tour to carry the cameras, riding gear, raingear and personal items. When film was on sale we stocked up and stored it in the freezer to keep it fresh. I would recommend 25-30 rolls of film so you don’t have to purchase any overseas. We took a pocket camera, a larger camera with a telephoto lens and a video camera. Plus we picked up three instant panoramic cameras to take wide-angled shots of the mountain areas.

Some safety devices and security locks for your luggage is also a good idea. Our choice of airlines allowed us to check two suitcases per person and each have two carry-ons, but always check with your airlines on their policy regarding the number and size of bags. We picked up a big suitcase during a summer sale since we needed extra room to take our riding gear along. Our carry-ons turned out to be our helmets and our tank bag/rearseat bag. We wore our riding jackets rather than try to pack them due to their bulky size. While packing our suitcases we split up our clothes and riding gear between our luggage just in case one of them got misplaced by the airline and didn’t arrive on time. The temperature range was going to be 40-85 degrees while we were there, so all types of clothing from shorts to long underwear would be needed. A good riding suit is essential and will make your trip more enjoyable. Helmets are required in Europe.

You will also need a current passport while traveling and an International driving permit. We got our driving permits from the AAA Tour office three weeks before we left. They cost $10.00 each and are good for a year. For all the countries that you travel in I would recommend that you get their respective currency from your local bank before you go. We had recommendations in our tour packet from the Tour Company to have about $50-75 per day per person in currency. This is to cover your daily expenses of gas, lunch, refreshments, gifts and entrance fees. Some hotels and gas stations took credit cards but not all businesses are set up for that. By choice we did not take any travelers checks.

Four weeks before departure we received a tour package with maps, itinerary and other pertinent information from the Tour Company. We were able to route our days on the map and give hotel information to families and neighbors. There are some good European tour and travel books on the market to help you familiarize yourself about the different countries. I highly recommend Motorcycle Journeys through the Alps by John Hermann. It is also good to familiarize yourself with the road signs of Europe.

The day finally arrived for our departure. We had plenty of reading material along and even a couple hand-held games to pass the time in the plane. Other things to consider taking along would be ear plugs, inflatable pillow buddy, jet lag or motion sickness medication and eye blindfolds. Our flights were full and it was hard to get much sleep. Or was it the excitement and anticipation of our trip?

Here are some other things worth noting. Learn some key language phrases for the countries you’ll be traveling in. Take along laundry soap to wash articles of clothing in your motel room. Be sure to have loose change in your pocket for when you encounter pay toilets. And be sure to wear your protective riding gear.

Hopefully the following checklist I used to get ready for the trip and this article will help you plan the perfect European vacation.  I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we enjoyed ours.

CHECKLIST

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.  Just send me an .