French Alps 11th to 22nd July 2008
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French Alps, 11th July to 22nd July 2008*, 12 days (* confirmed)
Every year I run an almost identical trip to the French Alps. This year I'm running the Alps trip a touch later than usual, to suit the preferences of some early booking customers. It does mean however, that I can run an EXTRA tour in Mid June if the demand is there.
This well-established Alpine adventure is very competitively priced, and even those on a tight budget should have no real worries when rider prices start from a mere £399 for camping or just £515 for hotel accommodation throughout. (only £475 each for couples on one bike)
Sailing outward on 11th July with P&O from Dover to Calais at 12:15, returning on 22nd July, Calais to Dover at 14:00. 2 or 3 spaces left - EVERYONE has chosen camping on this particular tour - either in tents or timber chalets on the same site. This trip should be excellent!
Still to be confirmed, but if everyone is flexible, and happy to camp by Lago D'Orta, we're considering leaving Bourg a day or two earlier to visit the Italian Lakes and run the Stelvio Pass this year.
This trip starts and finishes in England, but when we have picked up our rental bikes (where applicable), we set off to the port of Dover and head for foreign shores. A short boat crossing of 75 minutes sees us on French soil, where we head on down to the Alps, some 600 miles further south. The mountainous scenery is stunning, and the twisty roads are as exciting as anywhere in the world.
If the highest mountain passes in The Alps aren't stunning enough for you, side excursions are possible to the Mediterranean Sea, which is a further 250 miles to the South if anyone wants to add a little extra to their holiday. France has an entirely different culture and language to England, and generally much better weather as well, which is something of a bonus for us.
Costs range from £399 / 299 (rider / pillion) for the camping option, up to £475 / £699 per person for hotels (these old 2006 prices will be honoured for early bookings and existing Bike Tours UK customers). The higher rate being for single room occupancy. This includes return ferry tickets, all accommodation, breakfasts and services of a fluent French speaking tour guide (me!). The tour guide has had a mere 24 years' experience of Bourg St Maurice & its surrounding areas.
See sections to the left of this page for much greater detail. |
This early Summer tour is the same trip I run every year, using Bourg St Maurice in the French Alps as our base to spend the week. Please read these details carefully, as you may find this bike trip is a little different to what is offered by other motorcycle tour companies. It's a bit more of an adventure. It's more than just another biking trip. There's a lot more to the French Alps than just bike riding. Think of this as a motorcycle vacation in France - a fun biking holiday rather than a conventional motorcycle tour.
Perhaps the image that springs to mind on many European motorcycle trips, is one of heavily laden touring motorbikes, moving on from place to place, riders packing up each morning and riding on to a different hotel in a different location every day. This can be stressful and tiring; even though you may well cover a greater area doing this, IMHO it isn't always worth the extra effort & mileage.
This trip to France is not like that. We ride down to the Alps, taking 2 days to get there (and 2 to get back), but then we make our base in Bourg St Maurice, dump our luggage, and use our bikes as toys for the next week to explore and exploit the mountain roads to the full.
You can do as much or as little riding as you wish - it's your holiday after all. I lead a number of ride-outs to make sure you experience the best the Alps has to offer, but on other days you can explore at your own pace, or indeed indulge in many other activities, not necessarily associated with motorcycling. We then return to England, once again splitting the journey over two days.
Whilst en-route to and from our destination, we use high standard hotel accommodation. On arrival in Bourg St Maurice however, I offer my guests a choice. This is another area where the Bike Tours UK trip is a bit different to the others. Most guests go for the charming but modest La Petite Auberge hotel, but I am also able to offer a camping experience as an alternative for roughie-toughie outdoor types. Please don't think of camping as the inferior option - agreed, it makes the trip affordable to just about anyone, and frees up enough extra cash to pay for fuel & beer for example, but it can also be a highly enjoyable alternative to a hotel.
Remember, this is France, not England, so the usually hot and sunny weather makes life under canvas a far more appealing prospect!
By reading the articles and sub sections to the right and left of this page, you will find some background information on the area we go to, the itinerary, the prices, some photographs of previous trips and suggestions of some of the many varied and exciting activities that are available in the area.
If you are not sure whether this trip would suit you, by all means give me a ring to talk about it, tel 0115 846 2993. There's even a DVD of the tour you may have seen, when it was on TV.
Make sure you click on all the sub-categories to the left, and the extra articles on the right. If you want to do some private research on the roads we will be riding, check out the section on Savoie on this excellent website www.alpineroads.com You can also link through to purchase little movie clips of various mountain passes, if an armchair tour appeals to you more than the real thing. |
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