The Alps - Austria + Switzerland + Holland

[MW2K8]

Evening folks

Sorry its been a while since i last posted.

I'm now riding a 650 Dragstar, and off to mainland Europe in August. Ferry to Amsterdam firstly, so can anyone recommend a 'bike friendly cheap youth hostel?

Then from there i want to cover as many of the principal passes of the Alps

Principal passes of the Alps - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Austria + Swiss essentially... I'm saving the Italian passes for 2012

Can anyone recommend more cheap hostels in the Alps? A route that will incorporate as many passes as possible. Surely someone on here has done this before? Any tips welcome...

Thanks

Matt

[Robertsmits]

Hi Matt,
Have a look at the site campingzeeburg.nl, they offer a wide range of accomodations like cabins etc. the site says it all, great location close to city centre..

Rob Smits

[MW2K8]

Originally Posted by Robertsmits

Hi Matt,
Have a look at the site campingzeeburg.nl, they offer a wide range of accomodations like cabins etc. the site says it all, great location close to city centre..

Rob Smits

Thanks Rob chug

[backofbeyond]

Originally Posted by MW2K8

Then from there i want to cover as many of the principal passes of the Alps

Austria + Swiss essentially... I'm saving the Italian passes for 2012

Can anyone recommend more cheap hostels in the Alps? A route that will incorporate as many passes as possible. Surely someone on here has done this before? Any tips welcome...

Thanks

Matt

Hi Matt

Have a look at this site: Alpine motorbike touring in the European Alps. Alpine passes, travelogues and motorbike hotels. They look like they've done it before Lots of info.

Or you could have a look through here: "www.AlpineRoads.com - The Best Biking Roads In The Alps" Pretty much the definitive site for biking in the Alps.

[PanEuropean]

Originally Posted by MW2K8

Can anyone recommend more cheap hostels in the Alps? A route that will incorporate as many passes as possible.

Matt:

So far as Switzerland goes, visit this site for hostel information: Swiss Youth Hostels. The hostels are not restricted to youth, all ages are welcome. They are inexpensive (by Swiss standards), provide breakfast in the morning, and almost always offer a secure area to park a motorcycle in.

The nice thing about Switzerland is that it is small. This means that you don't have to plan out a formal "route" to cover (for example) 5 different passes in 5 days. Instead, you just head towards the middle of the country, and you will find that the passes kind of head out in all directions from the center. So, you go out on one pass one day, come back on another pass the next day, and then repeat the process using a different set of passes on the next couple of days.

My suggestion to you is that you buy a high-quality map of Switzerland, ideally one that does a really good job of showing topographic relief, and then you will be able to figure out what I am getting at above.

When you move west into France, or east into Austria, things become more linear. But in Switzerland, passes are pretty much a 'hub and spoke' kind of thing. I used to live in Zurich, and on any given morning, I could go out and ride my choice of about 10 different passes, and still be back home in the evening... and Zurich isn't even in the mountains.

Michael