Thinking of doing a 3 week European Road Trip next summer for when Daughter has finished her GSCE's.
We've never ridden in the Alps or anywhere like that so fancy doing something there.
We'll take the car & tent and do a bit of a tour/camping holiday.
Where's good to go for a first time in France ? - Morzine, Tignes etc.?
We'll make a bit of a trip on the way down and stop and do what ever there is to do in that area of France...
We'll also look to making our way back up through Austria and Germany so possibly hitting either Leogang, Saalbach or Kaprun and up to Winterberg.
Does that sound like a bad idea?
Anything/anywhere else we should consider?
We've never ridden in the Alps or anywhere like that so fancy doing something there.
How good riders are you? I'd suggest Serfaus rather than Saalbach
We went to Les gets last year and loved it. It's the only European MTB destination we've been to, so cannot really compare to anything, but I'd highly recommend it. Nice little town, plenty to do, pretty chilled out, lots of families there rather than just lads lads lads.
We've never ridden in the Alps or anywhere like that so fancy doing something there.
How good riders are you? I'd suggest Serfaus rather than Saalbach
I can do most of the reds at BPW.
Daughter races DH so she'll be OK lol
If your daughter is a DH racer it would be criminal to not hit Pleney in Morzine.
I actually did something very similar a few years ago.
Hull-Rotterdam
Winterberg for a couple of nights
Morzine for a week
Alp D'Huez for a week (including the Mega)
Les Arcs for a week
Calais - Dover
It was great! My highest daily vert was actually at Winterberg! It's pretty small, so maybe not enough for more than a day or 2.
Morzine is Morzine, massive network, plenty of options.
I probably wouldn't bother with AD unless doing the Mega
Les Arcs was my fave. Tons of alpine singletrack. Close to Le Thuile and even Tignes if you fancy a drive. Actual big town in the valley, with decent bike shops.
We stayed in apartments, but no reason why you couldn't camp. Bare in mind that the weather in the alps can be pretty unpredictable, even in summer. We got hit with a week of torrential rain in AD, and it would have been deeply miserable in a tent.
Leogang, Saalbach or Kaprun
I wouldn't bother with any of those. Leogang is pretty full on, Kaprun is a joke and Saalbach doesn't have all that much to offer other than one or two trails from each lift and each lift is a decent pedal through the valley.
Serfaus and Fiss are a good shot. Livigno, too.
Paganella is good for all levels. Enduro, trails, DH. €60+ a day, mind....
Nauders/Reschen up the valley from Serfaus is worth a day riding, not more.
Bear in mind it's a decent trek from the French valleys to Trentino and Tirol. They're are plenty of other, smaller, less well known parks that are closer to or within France..... Isola 2000, Reallon, la Thuile, Pila, Mont Alpet, Saint Gree
For a first Alpine adventure, I reckon straight to Les Gets/Morzine. Plenty to go at there for a week - or more. Then down to Les Arcs/Bourg St Maurice for the rest of the trip. Stay in the Bourg campsite and you can access Tignes, LaThuile and Pila without moving campsites. Drive straight home from Bourg.
If you are going into Switzerland then verbier is worth a stop. Austria is getting very expensive both for campsites and lift passes.
Looking at the route you have put up and the time you have allocated it's a lot of driving based on the amount of time we have spent riding in Europe over the years.
Luckily I've also done it with two teenage daughters. Both who are quite handy on a bike.
If it was me id keep it to the west side of the Alps and split it between Morzine, not one of my favorite places but daughters love it.
Then down to Bourg St Maurice to take in Les Arcs and the surrounding areas.
Over the pass to La Thuile and the Aosta Valley
Then over the pass to Verbier, both our girls love it. Then travel up through France on way back.
That way it gives maximum riding in top locations with minimum travelling.
Im assuming that this is more a biking holiday than a touring one.
What every you do I'm sure she will appreciate dad time.
People with a lot more experience than me posting above, but my first thoughts were your initial route looks like a lot of driving (basically what Tracey said) . But then three weeks, sounds great and has me idly wondering what I'd do.
Personally, if not wanting to drive as much id split 3-7 days something like this...
(1) Bourg St Maurice area (not sure where exactly I'd go here but lots/too many options)
(2) Over to Aosta (La Thuile, Courmayeur and Pila)
(3) Over/under to Verbier plus somewhere else off the Rhone valley (Zermatt? (too expensive/touristy?), Aletsch Arena? Zinal?
That could easily cover 3 weeks. But could also head east to Graubuenden (Lenzerheide/Arosa, Davos etc) and into Italy (Bormio, Livigno sort of area) to add a few more days. My idle daydreaming preference is for less bike park-y or DH and more "backcountry" riding so think that would suit me fine.
My idle daydreaming preference is for less bike park-y or DH and more "backcountry" riding so think that would suit me fine.
Davos
Lift assisted natural riding.
Over to Aosta (La Thuile, Courmayeur and Pila)
These are great and have the advantage of all being covered by a single lift pass so you can mix and match and get better value with a longer pass. It also includes Cervinia
I guess you can't go wrong with Morzine/Pleney.
You could do Alpe d'Huez / 2 Alpes, follow the Route du Napoleon into Northern Italy, do Finale Ligure, head back via the S coast of France and do some riding in Provence/Azur. That breaks up the scenery a bit more than just Alps Alps Alps.
There are loads of great places to ride. Don't hang up on getting it perfect.
I once organised a 2 week trip for 4 of us. We covered Les Arcs, La Thuile, Pila, Alp D'huez, Valloire, Serre Chevallier, Montgenevre, Areches Beaufort, Les.Deux Alpes plus others. We went to La Grave too which is the most schizophrenic destination for MTB.
I was too ambitious. I was the only one who rode every day. Essentially I broke the spirit of some committed riders.
It is possible to have too much of A GOOD THING.
I would keep it on the small side to start with. Long days on the trail followed by long distances on the road can be wearing.
I'd cut down the amount of destinations and driving and concentrate on a smaller area. The Aosta valley, Verbier and French side of the Alps. I'd also not want to camp for 3 weeks either personally but thats just me...
I'd also plant the seed that 3 weeks solid Alpine riding + driving thousands of miles is going to absolutely knacker you.
Thanks all - some good suggestions, will check them out.
Probably didn't make it clear in my original post that we will have the Mrs with us too - who doesn't ride, so we won't be riding every day - we plan to do touristy stuff and exploring the areas as well.
Something more focussed would be better for the riding, as said. Pretty cool trip overall though for seeing stuff. You need a couple of days to get to grips with a big uplift bike area - I did a week in Morzine with my son after his GCSEs and that was great. But there were large parts of the network that I never need to ride again in my life - takes a bit of time to figure out where the good trails for you are. If you then moved somewhere else for a week that would be perfect.
You said car - two enduro bikes strapped to the back of the motor would get tiresome (and worrisome, for security) if you're stopping in 10 different places.
As you're passing Dijon, if it makes sense in terms of timing / camping you could try a trip to Metabief in France on the way down. It could be a nice warm up to the more serious stuff later....