Moto-Charlie
New member
I came across this thread while doing an Internet search. I know it’s old but I want to respectfully correct “beemerdons” and his comments in post #18 regarding my Moto-Charlie Alps tours. He states that the cost of an Edelweiss “Extreme Alps” tour beats the cost of a Moto-Charlie tour “hands down”. That is simply not correct.
I was one of the first, if not the first, person to offer stripped down guided tours starting 18+ years ago. Every tour members pays for their own expenses – so there is no mark up of any kind. The only amount paid to me is a daily fee as guide for arranging the motorcycle rental, hotel reservations and providing daily guide service based on 30+ years of Alpine riding. The whole point of my tour business is to provide new, trouble free bikes, great hotels, experienced like-minded riders and great roads – all at a cost to tour members that handily beats the big tour companies like Edelweiss.
Beemerdons provides a link to the Edelweiss Extreme Alps tour. It is an 8-day tour with 6 days of riding (day 1 and 8 are coming and going). A single rider, in a single room riding a BMW F800 costs $3,210. That does not include gas, lunch and incidentals, which average approx $65 (based on year after year experience) times 6 days means an additional $400 or approx $3,600. Divide that by the 6 days and that equals $600 per day.
My shortest tour over the last few years (excluding RECON tours) has been the “Alps Select” tour. It is an 11-day riding tour and costs approx $4,620, the same amount it has been for several years. That includes the BMW F800, all hotels-single room, all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), gas, snacks and my fee. Cost $4,620 divided by 11 riding days equates to $420 per day – “hands down” cheaper than Edelweiss. A 6-day tour with me would be $2,520 vs. $3,600 with Edelweiss.
I’ve had numerous prior tour members comment on how the Edelweiss “Ride4Fun” type tours appear to mimic my offerings except at 40% more cost. I do not recollect communicating with beemerdons back in 2012. Maybe he did so by a different name or got me confused with someone else, or perhaps misunderstood my pricing, for which I apologize. But at the end of the day I have always been much cheaper than Edelweiss, Beach’s etc. That’s the whole point.
I was one of the first, if not the first, person to offer stripped down guided tours starting 18+ years ago. Every tour members pays for their own expenses – so there is no mark up of any kind. The only amount paid to me is a daily fee as guide for arranging the motorcycle rental, hotel reservations and providing daily guide service based on 30+ years of Alpine riding. The whole point of my tour business is to provide new, trouble free bikes, great hotels, experienced like-minded riders and great roads – all at a cost to tour members that handily beats the big tour companies like Edelweiss.
Beemerdons provides a link to the Edelweiss Extreme Alps tour. It is an 8-day tour with 6 days of riding (day 1 and 8 are coming and going). A single rider, in a single room riding a BMW F800 costs $3,210. That does not include gas, lunch and incidentals, which average approx $65 (based on year after year experience) times 6 days means an additional $400 or approx $3,600. Divide that by the 6 days and that equals $600 per day.
My shortest tour over the last few years (excluding RECON tours) has been the “Alps Select” tour. It is an 11-day riding tour and costs approx $4,620, the same amount it has been for several years. That includes the BMW F800, all hotels-single room, all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), gas, snacks and my fee. Cost $4,620 divided by 11 riding days equates to $420 per day – “hands down” cheaper than Edelweiss. A 6-day tour with me would be $2,520 vs. $3,600 with Edelweiss.
I’ve had numerous prior tour members comment on how the Edelweiss “Ride4Fun” type tours appear to mimic my offerings except at 40% more cost. I do not recollect communicating with beemerdons back in 2012. Maybe he did so by a different name or got me confused with someone else, or perhaps misunderstood my pricing, for which I apologize. But at the end of the day I have always been much cheaper than Edelweiss, Beach’s etc. That’s the whole point.