Alps Tours by Moto-Charlie

THE REAL COST

This section shows what the estimated cost of a trip should be on one of my tours. Obviously, if you like to have a $90 bottle of wine with every dinner, expensive spa treatments at the end of the riding day, and be in constant telephone communication with the home office, then you should adjust these numbers upwards accordingly.

Just a few quick comments before we get to the costs below. When we are in the Alps we pay for our travel in Euros and Swiss Francs.

The value of the dollar is under water against the Euro and even more so against the Swiss Franc. This has caused the average total cost for hotels, motorcycles, food and gas to increase by approx. $40 per day ($320 - $560 per tour) over the last two years even though the cost in Euros and Francs has remained basically the same.

I work extra hard to offset the exchange rate impact by constantly finding great alpine style hotels that offer superior value for the money. I mix and match a selection of high quality hotels on a rotating basis, depending on the route, to try and keep the cost down and relatively even from tour to tour.

I am constantly reviewing the costs I post to this website. If they change significantly I'll update the website. Otherwise please figure that the actual cost of the trip as outlined below may vary by plus or minus $200 depending on the tour route and exchange rates in effect at the time of the tour.

HOW MUCH WILL THE TOUR COST?

The amounts below should cover the entire direct tour cost. That means the daily cost of the:

Motorcycle
Hotel (including breakfast and dinner)l
Lunch and snacks during the day
Gas
Fee paid to me as Moto-Charlie

TO keep things simple I show the MOST EXPENSIVE OPTION – The single rider in a single room

I show what the COST IS PER DAY.

I then take the cost per day and multiply it times the number of tour days. My tours are 8 days, 11days or 14 days.

The estimate below assumes a rented motorcycle similar to a BMW R1200R or a Honda CBF 1000, both great alpine bikes and both available with hard luggage.

AVERAGE TOURING COST PER DAY FOR A SINGLE RIDER IN A SINGLE ROOM PER DAY $330 (excluding Moto-Charlie fee – see below)

Motorcycle - $135
Hotels (Includes Dinner and Breakfast) - $130
Incidentals (Lunch and Gas per day) - $65

TOUR COST – RECON Tour - 8 Days – Max 3 Bikes
Touring Cost ($330 X 8) = $2,640
Moto-Charlie Fee ($120 X 8) = $960
TOTAL TOUR COST = $3,600

TOUR COST – ITALIAN TOUR - 11 Days – Max 9 Bikes
Touring Cost ($330 X 11) = $3,630
Moto-Charlie Fee ($90 X 11) = $990
TOTAL TOUR COST = $4,620
TOUR COST - TOP 10+ Tour – 14 Days – Max 7 Bikes
Touring Cost ($330 X 14) = $4,620
Moto-Charlie Fee ($100 X 14) = $1,400
TOTAL TOUR COST = $6,020

PASSENGER COST - PER DAY $230

Motorcycle - $0
Hotels (Includes Dinner and Breakfast) - $130
Incidentals (Lunch per day) - $25
Moto-Charlie Fee - $75

A lot of big tour companies charge almost as much for the passenger as they do for rider. I am not sure why that is but I don’t do that. I charge the same flat Moto-Charlie fee for a passenger on each type of tour and the actual expenses are shown below – here again with no mark up of any kind.

8-day tour = $1,840
11 – day tour = $2,530
14 – day tour = $3,220

Note: Some hotels offer a price discount to people sharing a room. Couples, or two riders, sharing a room may see an $8 - $10 per day reduction in their hotel costs.

THE TOUR COST DETAILS

Costing out a trip is pretty simple. There are four components:

(1) AIRFARE - NOT COVERED IN MY TOUR COST - No major tour company includes airfare. There are just too many alternatives via frequent flyer miles, charter fares, discount broker agents, etc.
(2) MOTORCYCLE RENTAL - The motorcycle rental cost is determined by you, based on which model you choose and how long you keep it (see the discussion about "Motorcycles" in the "Touring Info." section or click here for the specific models and rates).

I have used a BMW R1200R, at $130 per day, in my cost examples above. A BMW F650 GS would cost $85 per day or a Honda ST1300 would be $150 per day. The total tour cost would change accordingly. It's your choice.

Many rental companies charge less per day the longer you keep the motorcycle, especially for rentals 14 days or more. That might be something to consider if you want to come earlier or stay longer. Any of our rentals longer than 8 days include a multi-day discount.
(3) THE DAILY COST OF TRAVEL - The daily cost of travel is comprised of hotel, meal, gas, and incidental costs. The daily cost for a rider equals hotel ($130) plus gas and lunch ($65) = $195. The daily cost of travel for the passenger is hotel ($130) plus lunch ($25) = $155.
(4) THE MOTO-CHARLIE FEE - This fee is clearly stated so you know how much I am making as part of your overall trip cost. As you can see above my fee varies by tour depending on the number of people per tour and intensity of the riding.

As you can see from the section below on "How To Compare Prices" the total tour cost with some other companies can be up to $2,600 per person ($4,600 per couple) more than my cost after including my fee. In the case of the "single rider" comparison below that means their fee is as much as $2,600 or more for 14 days, given that the big tour groups usually get volume discounts on the room and motorcycles.
They have more employees, spend a lot more for advertising and marketing, and are profit oriented. I don't have that extra overhead and my profit requirements are minimal.

For additional information about my fee please click here.

HOW TO COMPARE PRICES

It can be difficult to compare tour costs from company to company. The number of days is usually different, the motorcycles can be different, there are single room supplements, low season pricing, etc.

One way to help you understand the cost difference is to figure the cost per day.

Take my 14-day TOP 10+ tour for example. The $6,020 covers all expenses for the motorcycle, hotels, meals, gas and my fee. We ride all 14 days. When you add the daily cost of travel $330 plus Moto-Charlie fee $100 the all-in Moto-Charlie cost to tour per day is $430.

There are several big tour companies that offer the R1200R for a 14-day tour (days 1 and 15 at each end are for air travel) and 13 days of touring. The average price for these tours is approx. $7,600 (some companies charge more, some less) for a single rider in a single room.

There are usually two to four days when the cost of dinner is not included. Incidental costs are also not included.

So, to get a complete tour cost you start with the basic tour price of ($7,600) then add:

---- the 2 dinners that you pay for at ($90)

---- the incidental cost of gas and lunch for 14 days ($910)

That comes out to a total 14 day single rider cost from a big tour company of $8,600 and the all-in big tour company cost to tour per day is $660.

Now you have some basis for comparison. The difference in cost per day is $230 or 54% more with some of the other companies. That means that on a 14-day tour like mine it would cost over $2,600 more to go with a big tour company. The total cost can be up to $4,600 more expensive when you travel as a couple.

The key points to remember when comparing prices are:

Be sure to pinpoint how many riding days there are. Some major tours advertise 12 or 14 day vacations but the days at each end really include air travel time.
My cost comparison above assumes a single traveler. Most tour groups charge a single room add-on of $300-$750 over the cost of sharing a room with another tour participant.
Most tours have free days where you are in the same town for more than one night. Frequently dinner is not included in the tour price for those nights in case you want to eat somewhere different than the prior night. I use an average of $40 per dinner (it costs a little more in Switzerland and a bit less in Austria, France and Italy).
Remember to add $60-$70 per day to the tour price from other tour companies for incidental expenses to cover lunch, gas, etc. (the $65/day is included in my cost numbers above).
Some tours provide a 650cc or similar displacement motorcycle as standard and they charge extra for larger displacement bikes.

Obviously you should not pick a tour company based on price alone. Key factors to consider include the reputation and experience of the tour operator, the quality and attractiveness of the hotels you stay at and the variety and reliability of the motorcycles available to you. On a Moto-Charlie tour you get more than 30 years of personalized Alpine experience, clean, friendly Alpine style hotels in great locations, and a wide choice of brand new reliable motorcycles all intended to give you the most bang for your dollar, or Euro, or Swiss Franc.

If you think that your trip will be longer, or shorter, than my tour schedule or if you have some significant cost issue that is not part of the regular tour activity and you would like some assistance in calculating your cost, please let me know.

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