Find below answers to the most frequently asked questions.
A click on the colored title gets you to the answer. All responses given are based on my personal experience and point of view and may include mistakes.
It depends where you come from. Preferably, at least one but better two days before your tour-start. You can get accustomed to the climate and the time difference, get familiar with the local conditions, inform yourself, collect and test your chosen motorcycle and to rest your jet-lag join to be fit for the upcoming motorcycle tour.
For tours starting in Bern, Switzerland
I will book you into a typical hotel in Bern, the federal capital of Switzerland. Bern is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Together with its surrounding areas, it is a great and unique place worth to be discovered.
Book your flights only after you’ve received our order confirmation that you’ve signed!
With Twincruiser Tours, you have a very private tour-guide that awaits you when you arrive until you leave again. Your motorcycle journey is planned and organized down to the smallest details in advance as discussed between yourself and Twincruiser Tours. You don’t have to worry about the itinerary, good restaurants with great menus, and there will be a place to remember, every night.
The Twincruiser Tours guide escorts you all day long. He shows you certain places and attractions that are suited to you and that you would not have discovered on your own. He translates and informs you in your language, makes sure to surprise you daily and explains many particularities along the way.
There are no fixed packages, each tour is different as not a single tour is the same. After all, no one has the same ideas and expectations.
No hostels, no big chains hotels, no fast and junk food, no backpackers’ conditions. Instead, a professional, personal and flexible service, where each trip has special experiences and where you can fully concentrate on your discovery ride with a motorcycle and enjoy yourself! See also «about twincruiser tours».
Avoid being blind-sided! Don’t just compare apples with apples but organic Jonagold apples with organic Jonagold apples!
The devil lies in the tiny details, and that make a great difference!
With our “Twincruiser Tours Package”, you know what you get and where you may expect additional costs and at which price.
No hidden costs, but what are “hidden or undisclosed” costs?
– Transfers from your point of arrival to your hotel and back to your departure point
– Transfers from the hotel to the motorcycle renting place and back
– Some hotels or other accommodations are much cheaper because they are far outside of a city. That forces you to pay for public transport, if any, and for taxis
– Beverage and really good and healthy meals that you may choose from
– Tips and gratuities
– Mandatory services and fees at your hotel like tourist-, visitor’s, overnight-, city-, value-added-, general sales-, tourist- and other various local -taxes
– Fuel and oil for all the vehicles
– Fees for safe-garages or parking for your motorcycles. Even if it is not your own motorcycle, you are responsible for it and you have to pay in case something happens to it. Further to that, it is nice to sit on a dry motorcycle in the morning. So don’t spoil your holiday for an extra small amount of cash.
– Highway- and road-toll, tunnel- and pass-fees
– Motorcycle transport (ferry, train)
– What happens in case of a break down with your rented motorcycle? Will you get another bike? How long will you have to wait? Who pays for the extra costs in case you do not get a replacement motorcycle the same day, (hotel, the transfer of yourself and your luggage to the next accommodation, and other expenses) and what if you miss your return flight?
As a foreigner, you are not familiar with these costs and you must trust your tour-guide.
Our Starting price per rider, includes all the items as described in each tour in the section Services. On some guided motorcycle tours, I leave one or two meals out in purpose, as sometimes participants prefer to go their own way and eat in another place or simply not to eat. With my information package, you get a day-by-day itinerary that shows you all the necessary details.
I am in business since 1976 and I have not become a millionaire.
Margins in motorcycling touring are very small. I am proud and passionate of what I offer and do. I identify myself with my job and I will be very happy when you are.
In today’s world, people tend to buy a discount. The higher the discount, the better!
Quality is always bind to price! Price is always linked to a level of quality!
Before the tour, I get your ideas, I talk to you about our experience and make you a proposal and only then I design and tailor your dream holiday according to the worked-out mix. The first two e-mails offers are free of charge, thereafter costs apply as per our general terms and conditions.
Remember, I will do a lot to satisfy you. I do not do everything but I can definitely give some valuable advice that will help you to enjoy your holiday and tour, and it will save you money and time.
I prefer to lose a business, then to offer you a low standard and a service that does not reflect my standards.
They expect an impeccable personalized service from the first contact right to the end of the journey. The organization must be excellent with great individuality, extras, and positive surprises. They want to find out, see and learn something that is uncommon, that thrills them, that is new and out of the already experienced.
They want premium accommodations that offer’s them at least the same but mostly better comfort than at home. The availability of the meals with their beverage must suits their levels of expectations.
I understand that the price-performance ratio has a very high priority and with Premium and Luxury, I don’t mean hi-end or five stars.
As our name Twincruiser Tours says, we cruise and discover on public and on some hidden private roads. If you are a budget traveler preferring to sleep in tents or if you prefer to «grind your knees», do «wheelies», show off, take part in competitions, or count the number of passes or miles done in a day, then you should look for another touring company, as I won’t be able to satisfy you!
Anyone who wants to escape mass tourism, who does not want to rip or blast through the country but wants to discover, to enjoy, have pleasure, loves special extraordinary «things», learn about, get to know the region with its people and that appreciates and respects Nature, is at the right place.
The various testimonials from our past participants and the write-ups from various motorcycle magazines will give you an good idea of what I live and believe in.
For Switzerland and if you want to ride over the Alps, it is different. Alpine roads closures are weather, meaning snow and ice, dependent. There are no fixed, reliable dates when alpine passes will open or close. Most passes in the alpine regions are impassable from as early as October until June. Passes can close temporarily at any time during the year, it all depends on the weather. I was once, during July, blocked for two days on the top of a pass. The weather in the Alps is unpredictable!
In the summer all vehicles drive with summer tires and with two wheels, it is life threatening to ride on snow and ice!
If you intend to ride over the Alps, take my advice and plan your trip as from the third week in June until Mid-September. It will save you time, money, hassles, and problems.
It depends on which motorcycle you are usually riding, your motorcycling-experience, your ability in driving very narrow and steep roads with hairpin bends, what you want to see and what you like to experience. Then, most motorcycling renting places want to rent for a least a week. It make sense, as you have to get used to the bike, then the local situation and the weather. Twincruiser Tours will do all the preliminary work, reservation, checking the bike, preparing the renting contract with your documents (passport and driver license) as well as the extra insurance that you request. This will save you a lot of time, but you still have to ride your motorcycle on your own and the renting contract is solely between the rental place and yourself.
Our Alpine-Motorcycling season begins in the second or third week of June and lasts only three to four months. During that time riders from all over the world want to come, see and ride. A motorcycle tour must be planned. Accommodations must be booked; rentals are scares and expensive in Switzerland.
I want you to enjoy and to bring back a good experience. Behind your arrival, leaving your luggage in a safe place, picking up your motorcycle, starting the tour, having a quiet and beautiful place to sleep with a view and a good restaurant that offers what you want, are a lot of details. I need to do a planning, to book and arrange everything before you come. These costs are not for free but divisible in the numbers of days of the tour. The longer the tour, the cheaper it gets.
Switzerland is very different to other countries in Europe regarding laws and regulations. It you don’t comply; you might have a big surprise and it will cost you a lot of money.
Switzerland is small on the map, the north-south length is about 220 kilometers (140mi) and the west-east length about 350 kilometers (220mi). But, if we would flatten it, it would reach a surface over the half of the USA. Nevertheless, most people underestimate the difference in height, the facts that you get tired much faster, the concentration, the distances, the traffic, and other local conditions.
It is better to contact me before you book your flight or holidays as I will most probably save you a lot of money and time.
I like you to enjoy your holiday and be realistic about your capabilities.
I cannot guarantee for sunny weather, therefore you must have experience and feel comfortable in riding your motorcycle in bad and wet conditions. Should you have any doubts or be unsure, contact me.
We offer an alpine training course for CHF 660.- including the rental of a motorcycle that is made for our mountain pass roads in order to make you feel confident, more secure and increase your experience before the tour starts!
I have an uncountable number of tours and can adapt any tour to your interests. Contact me, tell me a bit about yourself; your interests, hobbies and wishes, and I’ll get you a tour as you want it.
Touring days start between 08h00 and 09h30 (08:00-09:30 a.m.). Weather- and roads conditions, special interests of the participants and other factors might change our starting time. We may talk together and I will inform you daily during our briefings.
The early bird catches the worm; so why not have a moment with yourself with a sunrise on top of a mountain with a late breakfast?
In the high season, meaning July and August, I try to miss mass-tourism and traffic.
I like to reach our accommodation between 16h00 and 17h00 or 04:00 and 05:00 p.m.
In today’s rushing World, I like to allow time to «digest» what we have seen and experienced.
In our questionnaire you can express your wishes and special eating needs or habits. Normally we have a salad to start with, then a main dish and a coffee or a dessert. Besides fish and meat dishes, there are also vegetarian dishes and meals without pork.
Each restaurant is carefully selected and tested.
I attach great importance to fresh local ingredients and products with an honest taste and production. The kitchen should be of a high quality and light with a flair for creativity, but no pretended delicacies and high end. We give the cook enough time to prepare our dish with the necessary care, love, and delight.
One bottle of water, that we pay is served at the table with the meals. Alcoholic and any other drinks are for your own account.
In general, longer days are followed by a shorter day or a longer stay at the same accommodation, where we may sleep over for two or more nights with day-tours opportunities from the hotel.
The mileage depends also very much on the country; 150 to 220km in one day, is a good average in Switzerland with its alpine roads, tunnels, narrow and inclined roads, many hairpin bends and steep curves and high-altitude differences. You’ll get tired faster than you think. Remember, we are not on a racetrack and don’t need to «escape» from anyone. We are on holiday and touring, not competing!
In South Africa, Canada, the USA or in Australia, a ride between 500-800km per day are easier manageable.
My itineraries are designed to provide a good combination of the participants’ interests; sightseeing, photo-stops, breaks and riding. There is time to relax, take pictures, visit some agreed attractions, and enjoy your motorcycle holiday.
In prior agreement with your tour-guide, you may together with at least one other participant-motorcyclist, and one fully loaded mobile-phone, ride your own way on some stretches. Very important is that you follow my instructions, take the agreed itinerary and that you keep to the times and meeting points agreed upon.
It is known in the motorcycling world that riders wearing motorcycle-protective-clothing fitted with impact protection pads, are less likely to be injured in a crash, while those who are injured are less likely to be hospitalized.
I can help you out with motorcycle gear at a cost. The motorcycle-gear is used and basic. The helmets do not have any communication systems or specials features.
Taking your own motorcycle-gear has many advantages. You know it, you used it, you are comfortable and familiar with it. Particularly, motorcycle helmets must fit 100%. They must not hurt you, have any pressure or pinching points even after a few hours, as it might give you a headache. Further all helmets must meet the standards of the countries, the tour we travel through.
Always take a fleece-jacket with you. You can wear it under your motorcycle-jacket as the weather can change rapidly, especially in the mountainous regions. The temperature, can drop within a very short time by 20 or more degrees Celsius. Depending on the region and the altitude, you may meet the sun and the snow on the same day. The fleece-jacket is also ideal to wear in the evening or in the restaurants.
I do not use communication systems on my tours, we talk to each other.
Don’t forget a good, preferably two-piece waterproof suit. If you don’t need it, well bad planning but you’ll be thankful if it rains or just to wear it over your normal protective-motorcycle-gear in the chilly mornings in the Alps.
While in these hotels (as from two nights), our tour-guide also offers day-tours with our motorcycles. That means we start from the hotel and return to the same hotel at the end of the day.
Most of the times, we discuss the matter and choose together the tour that appeals to the majority. Each individual may choose whether he wants to join the motorcycle-day-trip with his bike or have a break from motorcycling and do something on his own, to rest or to enjoy the hotel.
It is the ideal solution for your partner or friend, that does not want to ride every day or that just want to have a break from riding, but still enjoy a holiday together with you.
At Twincruiser Tours riding a motorcycle does not mean low class or “that is good enough for bikers”. You won’t sleep at camping places, motels, low costs hotels, basic hotels, hostels, Airbnb, large hotel-chains, hotels that cater for charter- tours (buses) and mass-tourism and you will also never sleep in the cheapest hotel in town.
I invest a big effort in the selection of the lodgings that I offer. Most places have been known to me since years and each accommodation is or has been thoroughly tested. I support smaller, family and owner run properties with a special flair and a local charm, often with historical values that actively support the environment and local farmers. The establishments are known for their professional and personal service and outstanding quality, where guests are called by their names, where genuine warmth and friendly connection still counts. It is authentic hotels with charm and character at distinctive and outstanding places.
In short, I keep it small, and I am loyal and faithful to my selected places.
Here a few of the numerous details that come into my planning of my guided and personally tailored tour with a motorcycle:
– Accommodation is mostly outside the urban area! Not close to a busy road or highway, as we sleep mostly with our windows wide open and avoid unhealthy air-conditioners.
When participants wish to combine their Twincruiser Tours journey with a city tour, I prefer to enjoy a hand-picked upper-class hotel in the city close to the points of interests. The landmarks can be reached by walking from the hotel. The time that we would have to spend riding in the work-traffic, the stop and go patience, the searching, and the heavy costs for safe parking plus the costs of the taxi, would not justify an accommodation outside the urban area.
– Quality.
– Cleanliness.
– Facilities.
– Professional services.
– Pleasantly decent size bedroom for the respective country we are traveling in and of course with a view.
– A safe or a place to keep your valuables.
– A hairdryer.
– En-suite bathrooms with a shower and / or bath and toilets, some even with a bidet.
I check and test the kind of meals and the quality that is offered, no fast food and no long menu card lists. After all, we like a cuisine that we can trust and that is healthy. I do my best that we do not have to take our motorcycle for dinner. Thus, everyone can still have a drink without having a bad conscience.
For stays longer than one night, I try to choose accommodations with a wellness area and, or a swimming pool (depending on the season and climate).
In case of real bad weather, I check which other optional and not included in our package, services or programs could be offered by the hotels.
A private, safe as possible and covered parking, away from foreign eyes does costs something, but everyone appreciates it when you do not have to drag all your luggage into the hotel room but just what you need for the night.
Normally once a week, we stay at a place that offers a 24 hours, gentle and thorough laundry service.
After a day in the saddle, rides through dust, sun, rain and mud, a quiet, clean room with a view and a bed without parasites (especially in Africa but always more in Europe too) and vermin (rats, mice, bed bugs, mosquitoes, scorpions, snakes, etc.) is surely more than welcomed!
From a certain group size it is better to book with Twincruiser Tours, as we get a better price that we pass on to the participants.
A tip:
Due to the dynamic fare management (flights are becoming in general more expensive the closer the travel date comes), book as early as possible!
Obviously, I will gladly help you, give you important tips and even book your flight. The flight ticket will be invoiced and issued immediately after receipt of the amount due.
Pay our invoices in CHF (Swiss Francs) with Bank transfers (IBAN). It is also possible to pay a part in € (Euros).
Each trip is tailored and personal, nothing come off the shelf, no two guided motorcycle tours are identical because no two requests are ever the same. A Twincruiser Tour must be something special… just like you!
A good personal feel of what our participants want and a regular contact with them, has made that most of them have become very good friends. Over 70% comebacks proves that we are doing things right!
Creating value through appreciation! Twincruiser Tours offers you a new dimension of traveling with motorcycles; see what is on the right and the left of the road we travel.
Not simply faster and more of everything, but the things I offer, in a different quality. You will not be able to measure and be conscious of this quality immediately, but it is noticeable, and you’ll remember it. You will learn and experience deeper and therefore, understand better and ultimately know more.
I offer tailored guided and escorted tours with motorcycles for individuals that want to see and discover a region in a country deeply with a local tour guide. Within one to three weeks, you will not be able to see everything, but I will, depending on your requests and interests, show you what you want.
My tours are – Made in Switzerland in a Swiss quality with a Swiss tour guide that speaks the languages and knows the country. Our alpine itineraries run truly within Switzerland, and we sleep more than just one or two nights in Switzerland. That has an impact on the price but also on the quality.
Fine quality with high standards, just like a Swiss watch. I like to look for the extraordinary, the special and I identify myself with what I do.
As an example, we don’t eat in a restaurant where waiters and staff strive to smile to get a bigger tip, where the service is fast and hectic, so that the table gets free as soon as possible for the next customers. We are not on an assembly line and neither on a pit stop! We take the time to relax, to enjoy and to eat in peace.
There are no standard tour or routine motorcycle programs, that I can repeat over and over.
Each tour is different and tailored to your specific interests. With my time management, I try to avoid as much as possible mass-tourism, crowded tourist attractions as well as heavy traffic. I am multi-lingual, experienced, have a great local knowledge and love what I do. Even if you know or have visited the country or region before, I will guide you through areas and visit places, you’ve never seen or heard before.
My itineraries – on open roads and the roads less traveled – lead us through interesting parts of countries, regions, landscapes, nature, flora, and fauna. Along the way, we learn about the people in their daily life, their traditions, their history, know their customs and their local cuisine.
A motorcycle is just a vehicle to travel. If we want it to give us a certain sense of calmness and relaxation, we need to go other ways than most.
My aim is to surprise you positively, to delight your senses, to exceed your expectations in a unique journey and to leave you with an unforgettable memory for life.
