Alpine travel guide product test

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Alpine travel guide product test
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Alpine travel guide product test

Alpine travel guide product test
Attractive mountain literary tour

With the motorcycle into the mountains – in terms of tourism and driving, it can hardly be topped. However, it is stupid if the overview is missing. In order to get the most out of the Tourendorado Alps, special literature should help. She really does?

Thorsten Dentges, Markus Biebricher

03/17/2011

The most beautiful motorcycle area in the world”, “number one on the popularity scale of German motorcyclists”, “Curves non-stop”, “very best amusement”. If you read the exuberant forewords of the various alpine guides, it will hardly keep you in your chair – fill up your tank and start off right away, off to the mountains! And anyone who already knows the Alps as a motorcyclist has to admit: They are right, these enthusiasts. However, warm words can be quickly put on paper. But they are of little use on motorcycle trips in the Alps, because the beauty there reveals itself by itself. So what about really useful information and tips that make the ascent a real experience?

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Alpine travel guide product test

Alpine travel guide product test
Attractive mountain literary tour

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Good printed works should do that, should be advisors and tour guides alike, helping with clear maps, informative photos and ingenious graphics, whether on the move or preparing for the trip on the sofa. This is where the wheat is separated from the chaff, because not every piece of Alpine literature brings the desired benefit to the motorcyclist. Even if the investment (the alpine guides presented here cost between around ten and 40 euros) is limited, a bad buy is annoying.

MOTORRAD is therefore presenting an editorial selection of eight books from the wide range of Alpine literature that had to assert themselves on the tough test. From compact, useful books that can also be used as road books, to thick hams that barely fit in your luggage. The copies with a regional focus are representative of the other books in this series. Now have fun reading and even more while traveling!


Alpine travel guide product test


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ADAC Tourbook German Alps

publisher: ADAC Verlag, www.adac.de/shop
Authors: P. Baltzer, S. Feldhoff, F. Klose
Dimensions: 125 x 185 x 12 mm
Weight: 272 g
pages: 192
ISBN: 978-3-89905-725-6
price: 14.95 euros

handling:
At first glance, the ring binder may appear to be a cheap design, but that is deceptive: when laid out in landscape format, the sturdy tour book can be easily turned over and fits neatly into the map compartment of the tank bag. Good: wipeable flap cover with overview maps that are not too small.

Routes:
Great strengths are the clarity and the huge tourist value. The so-called step-by-step route guidance combines the function of a road book with that of a travel guide – very clever. Only works with “Strolling tours” with many stops at sights, as the tour book has to be peeled out of the map compartment every 20 to 50 kilometers to turn the pages. A total of only 15 tours (lengths: from 94 to 229 kilometers), but absolutely sufficient for several weekend trips or a long holiday in the region.

cards:
In addition to an overview map with pictograms for things to see and other route information such as B. Pass heights, practical zoom maps for certain sections are added to every tour.

Travel info:
Very high density of information and many useful travel tips, as well as GPS coordinates, addresses, internet links, photos that correspond to the text, graphic highlighting – here the motorcyclist is served the most important tourist highlights in delicious snacks on the road. Great praise!

Conclusion:
Clever and personable mix of road book and travel guide. Ideal for motorcycle travelers who like to take it a little easier, in order to thoroughly experience the region to be visited. Only 15 tours, but the value is right.

MOTORRAD verdict: very good


Alpine travel guide product test


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The Alpine Passes Guide.

publisher: Bruckmann Verlag, www.bruckmann.de
author: Frank Klose
Dimensions: 120 x 184 x 9 mm
Weight: 202 g
pages: 144
ISBN: 978-3-7654-5224-6
price: 12.95 euros

handling:
Small, light, handy. And the print and image quality is just as convincing as the solid, wipeable flap envelope with overview map.

Routes:
Only ten tours on offer, poor. The clear road books with direction indicators, mileage and brief information are absolutely great. The route lengths vary from 142 to 551 kilometers, the times given are mostly realistic. The tour character is only vaguely described, listless and superficial directions do not make things any better.

cards:
For each tour there is a page-filling map on a comparatively large scale with the route drawn. Lookout points (180 ° and 360 °) as well as petrol stations, hotels, campsites, restaurants and other tourist points are marked with symbols. After all, mountain groups and mountain ranges stand out in color, the maps are generally not very helpful.

Travel info:
After a short, arbitrary introduction with a few platitudes (e.g.. “Pure variety”) consequences “Practical advice”, for example regarding the journey to the individual Alpine countries or to “Motorcycle season”. It is not only here that the banal is processed into supposedly important travel information. On the other hand, a pass table with 51 passes in the short check is helpful.

Conclusion:
Nice booklet for alpine beginners who want to get to know a few motorcycle highlights. Few tour suggestions, but the selection is well made. Advanced motorcycle mountaineers are inadequately served.

MOTORRAD verdict: Satisfactory


Alpine travel guide product test


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The Guide: “Through the Alps by motorcycle”

publisher: Bruckmann Verlag, www.bruckmann.de
author: Rudolf Geser
Dimensions: 220 x 261 x 16 mm
Weight: 800 g
pages: 167
ISBN: 978-3-7654-4393-0
price: 24.90 euros

handling:
The fold-out cover houses almost A3-sized maps that provide a great overview of the Western and Eastern Alps. Great for planning a trip on the sofa at home, but the large format and heavy weight (see information above) of the printing unit is poorly suited for traveling. The cardboard envelope is also quite sensitive.

Routes:
With very personal comments, opinions and feelings, the 40 route descriptions read more like travel stories. If you don’t like this approach, you will still discover enough interesting facts, information and tips that are useful on tour while reading it. Nice combination of travel experience and route guidance, which helps to achieve the desired tour “to feel”.

cards:
Different sizes (from 7.5 x 7.5 cm to 15 x 16 cm) and with shades that represent important topographical features such as valleys or mountain groups. However, apart from information on altitude meters at individual route points, there are no references to sights, petrol stations, inns, etc. – overall very little tourist benefit.

Travel info:
The double page with “Tips for on the go” does its job: lots of useful addresses and advice. The information on planning, clothing, luggage and driving behavior, on the other hand, are general points that at most provide really new knowledge to absolute motorcycle novices.

Conclusion:
On tour with Elvira and Rudolf: The authors pack a lot of information in 40 stories, but they have to be read with great effort. Lots of food. Nice reading book for the weeks before the big holiday in the Alps, but too unwieldy for on the go.

MOTORRAD verdict: Satisfactory


Alpine travel guide product test


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100 alpine passes by motorcycle

publisher: Bruckmann Verlag, www.bruckmann.de
author: Heinz E. Studt
Dimensions: 166 x 234 x 20 mm
Weight: 758 g
pages: 285
ISBN: 978-3-7654-4770-9
price: 29.95 euros

handling:
Wipeable cover, foldable front and back with overview maps, book is mechanically resilient and is extremely flexible bound, can almost be rolled up. In addition, the content is clear and easy to read, appealing travel images with a strong motorcycle reference, the author and publisher have clearly made an effort.

Routes:
Each pass is succinctly described on a double page: a selected highlight along the way, all important facts at a glance, elevation profile in figures and graphics, a map section and the route description. Lots of additional information and tips in the front and back of the book. Some of the individual routes are very short, but there are instructions on how to combine them with other routes. Overall high utility value.

cards:
Good clarity, topographical level, routes clearly marked, passes with altitude information, some with the position of sights, measuring strips with distance information, overview maps with all routes in fold-out cover. Useful for both planning and on the go.

Travel info:
High information density: The passports are compact but described in detail on the respective double page. From page 248 there is also an alphabetical list of the passes and then, to intensify, the character of all passes, including pictures, in short form.

Conclusion:
The Bruckmann Verlag and Heinz E. Studt have done a great job here. The work is a good choice for Alpine fans who are addicted to curves. As an extra, it offers the six most beautiful round tours of the passes. A real purchase recommendation even without GPS data.

MOTORRAD verdict: good


Alpine travel guide product test


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Motorcycle tours western alps

publisher: Denzel Verlag, www.denzel-verlag.de
author: Harald Denzel
Dimensions: 145 x 210 x 15 mm
Weight: 478 g
pages: 304
ISBN: 978-3-85047-767-3
price: 27.00 euros

handling:
Cover made of varnished, but relatively thin cardboard – this book will only survive many journeys in cramped motorcycle luggage without damage if the greatest care is taken. However, it is handy and offers a good overview at all times when you are out and about.

Routes:
46 half-day and full-day tours (52 to 265 km), color-coded variants and detours included. And some tours even lead off paved roads (from mountain pasture roads to overgrown mountain trails). That’s a pound, because this way everyone from the leisurely tourist to the sporty cross-country hunter gets their money’s worth. The route descriptions are pleasantly detailed (information on lane widths, gradient percentages and number of bends on certain routes). The text-heavy information is, however, not very clearly arranged and comparatively difficult to filter out.

cards:
Although a double page provides an overview of the location of the individual routes right at the beginning, the map material for the respective tours is poor. Only a few vertical meters or pass heights are noted, a topographical representation has been completely dispensed with, so when you look at the map you always have the feeling that flat land is being illustrated here.

Travel info:
A total of 322 (mostly moderate) photos document almost every section of the route, with captions giving explanations. Interesting travel information is highlighted in the text.

Conclusion:
The out-of-the-way tours that unprepared alpine riders and travel enduro riders would never find are particularly good. Good guide for mile scrubbers and serpentine collectors. Tourist aspects are more of a secondary concern.

MOTORRAD verdict: good


Alpine travel guide product test


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Great Alpine Road Guide

publisher: Denzel Verlag, www.denzel-verlag.de
author: Harald Denzel
Dimensions: 130 x 220 x 35 mm
Weight: 828 g
pages: 652
ISBN: 978-3-85047-769-7
price: 39.90 euros

handling:
“The Denzel” is in a sense the bible of all passport enthusiasts. Compact in size, but heavy and thick. Aimed at drivers of all types of vehicles, including cyclists. The plant has evolved over the years. The clarity has been increased by symbols (driving ban, toll, gravel) and a country-by-country color coding system has been introduced. The sturdy cover can be wiped off, no one offers more passes.

Routes:
Harald Denzel has described in detail 720 high points in the Alps that can be reached on asphalt and gravel. Quite a few cannot be found on any commercially available card, “the Denzel” It is therefore aimed more at real passport experts who already know a lot and who can help them get insider tips. A standard work that has been valid for years.

cards:
In the graphically inexpensive maps (no topography level, no distance scale), several high points or passes are usually marked. Nevertheless, the 106 colored cards offer a good overview. GPS coordinates are missing, searching for the respective points requires a deeper study of the matter, which doesn’t have to be bad.

Travel info:
Who described in the foreword and appendix “Denzel system” internalized, receives maximum information about the accessible high points and passes of the Alps. No other author has collected and described more. But it is primarily about the paths and roads, less about sights along the way or additional travel information.

Conclusion:
Denzel number 24 is also something for real freaks. His strengths lie in the in-depth knowledge of the subject, which Eduard and Harald Denzel have acquired since 1956. Another advantage and unique selling point is the sheer abundance of high points.

MOTORRAD verdict: good


Alpine travel guide product test


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The Guide: “Passports”

publisher: Highlights-Verlag, www.highlights-verlag.de
author: S. Harasim, M. Schempp
Dimensions: 147 x 210 x 12 mm
Weight: 410 g
pages: 192
ISBN: 978-3-933385-14-7
price: 16.90 euros

handling:
Small, light and durable enough for the tank bag, wipeable, flexible cover. Often appealing images (118 photos), unfortunately some of them are of an older date, acceptable print quality. Overview good at first glance, on closer analysis there are signs of cost-saving production, no GPS coordinates, no elevation profiles, but a color coding system and description of 100 motorcycle-friendly hotels.

Routes:
It’s good that all classic routes are represented and described in an entertaining way in the scrolling text. It is bad that the brief characteristics of the passes sometimes do not include information about the start and destination. It is also not clear which criteria were used to determine the level of difficulty and what exactly they require in terms of driving ability.

cards:
The position of the passports in the cheapest overview maps is not really recognizable, useful graphics could have been placed here. The copies of original maps on a scale of 1: 300,000 suffer from the fact that the routes are not marked and are therefore very difficult to see. No distance scale. Here savings were made in the wrong place.

Travel info:
Good: useful hotel tips, pass table at a glance, quick check with height, length, opening time and degree of difficulty of the passes as well as tips and information in the cover pages. Bad: advertising disguised as information at the end of the book.

Conclusion:
According to the text on the back of the book, this alpine guide wants to be a standard work. A goal that he clearly missed in the MOTORRAD check. Despite good approaches, the all too often apparent need to save has a destructive effect on use and assessment.

MOTORRAD verdict: Sufficient


Alpine travel guide product test


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The Guide: “Motorcycle tours in the Alps”

publisher: Tappeiner Verlag, www.tappeiner.it
Ed: Alps motorcycle hotels, Dolomites bike
Dimensions: 165 x 213 x 12 mm
Weight: 500 g
pages: 175
ISBN: 978-88-7073-519-2
price: 16.90 euros

Furnishing:
Wipeable cover, tank bag-friendly format, CD-Rom with GPS data included in the book. Two hotel associations, the Alpen Motorradhotels (www.alpen-motorradhotels.com) and the Partner Hotels Dolomiten Bike (www.dolomiten-bike.com) have created this travel guide with photos from various origins. Tours are clearly presented with scrolling text, technical data and general information.

Routes:
A total of 30 motorcycle tours in the Alps are described. The focus is on 20 routes in South Tyrol and the Dolomites, the remaining ten are spread over Vorarlberg in the west, the Salzburger Land in the east, Oberjoch (Allgau) in the north and the Drei Zinnen in the south. Which has to do with the location of the hotels involved.

cards:
The maps impress with their good print quality and clear route marking. They also contain direction arrows as a travel recommendation. The boundaries are also clearly marked. What is missing is a distance scale and a topography level. An overview map for orientation is also missing.

Travel info:
Each route description has route information including stages with kilometers. In addition, information is provided about starting and ending points, how to get there, route length and altitude, road conditions, pass opening times, sights and accommodations. Very helpful.

Conclusion:
The hoteliers convince in their alpine guide with a high density of information and a CD with useful GPS data. The photo material from various sources seems uninspired, an overview map is missing. Nevertheless, the work scores with utility.

MOTORRAD verdict: Satisfactory

Conclusion


Alpine travel guide product test


archive

The final rating table of the travel guide comparison.

The smart ADAC Tourbooks win the race because of their good travel guidance and clever reader guidance. Unfortunately, the other travel books lack a well thought-out and elaborate preparation of information, even if their content is often much more comprehensive. But it does not apply: the more tour suggestions, the greater the alpine experience. Books that get you on tour really well are better.


Alpine travel guide product test


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Alpine connoisseur: Daniel Lengwenus, flesh-and-blood tour planner at the MOTORRAD action team.

It’s nice that there are so many extroverted people among us who share their tour experiences in writing with other travelers. Admittedly: I personally can’t do much with it. Does a touring rider really need the prior knowledge of a more or less knowledgeable author? These books are sure to make you want to travel to the Alps. But don’t you have that anyway? And don’t you want to discover the Alps yourself instead of seeing everything in pictures beforehand? For me, a good map is enough to read off the most beautiful routes and put them together into a tour. In addition, there are enough virtual tour planners on the Internet that can be used to work out daily stages. Information about hotels and sights is usually up-to-date on the Internet. However, a well-made book can help to avoid failures. And route recommendations from an experienced touring driver don’t have to be bad. The usefulness of the books depends on your own thirst for adventure and existing experience. The alpine guides are sure to ensure that you are looking forward to the tour.

This is how MOTORRAD tests


Alpine travel guide product test


jkuenstle.de

Reading about the Alps is nice – riding a motorcycle there is nicer.

No, we did not personally drive every described tour in order to compare textual statements with reality. And unfortunately we didn’t have a Marcel Reich-Ranicki on board as a critic either. Our humble literary quartet consisted of four editors with motorbike travel and alpine experience – and enough experts’ voices to avoid subjective judgments as far as possible. Obvious route errors, incorrect information, etc. were subject to the grading, but a far-reaching in-depth analysis would have exceeded the scope of the test – and we benevolently assume that the authors of the present Alpine literature have taken sufficient care in their research. Should connoisseurs nevertheless notice particularly large errors in the content of the tour descriptions, we would be happy to receive feedback afterwards. In order to evaluate the individual Alpine guides, a catalog of criteria was defined in advance, which we have in turn summarized into four major main aspects.

handling: How handy is the book, can it be stowed away in the luggage or even in the map compartment of the tank bag? How sensitive is it during daily use (wipeable cover, binding and cover quality, etc.)? In addition, features such as extra cards or info CDs were rated.

Routes: Points were awarded for the selection and total of the routes described as well as for the reliability of the information as well as the preparation and presentation (bonus points for road books, overview tables, GPS coordinates).

cards: Not only the quantity, but above all the quality was the focus. Do the maps help you navigate and plan your tours? How are topographical features and sights mapped? There were plus points for catchy pictograms and neatly laid out legends.

Travel info: Do they have to be laboriously filtered out of the tour descriptions or can they be seen at a glance? The info density counts when grading. Books with only a few tours but a large amount of useful information can achieve good grades.


Alpine travel guide product test


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Tour planner (here from the bike portal “qualdich.de”) also help motorcycle fans.

Books have faced stiff competition from the new media. Those who prefer to browse the net than stick their noses into bound paper can fall back on a wide range of internet services on the subject of the Alps. Numerous portals offer information on travel routes, sights and accommodations, tour planners enable the compilation of individual routes, other providers allow you to download completed routes to your own navigation system, subject-related apps and fast additional material. The analysis of websites relevant to the Alps will soon be the subject of a separate story in MOTORRAD. Not only the Internet, but also satellite navigation competes with the classic travel guide. Many travelers now consider the interaction of the road map in the tank bag for an overview and the navigation system to determine the location and route guidance to be the ideal solution. You should always compare the planned route with the specifications of the navigation system. Because the navigation system does not always lead you on the paths that you have carefully worked out beforehand. Books are less vulnerable here.

Alternative books


Alpine travel guide product test


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In addition to the books tested, the book trade offers alpine fans further literature of different quality. Let yourself be inspired by our selection.

With this alpine guide comparison test, we cannot claim to be complete. Our focus was on literature that is present on the market, which already in the title indicates a treatment of the entire Alpine region. Numerous other books have Alpine countries or parts of the Alps on the subject. We would like to briefly introduce you to the ones that are most present in bookstores: Book 1: The Tirol Guide (ISBN 978-3-933385-54-3) from the Highlights publishing house describes ten tours. Its advantages lie in its small size and low weight. For the price of 9.90 euros, the work only provides basic information. 2 and 3: The ADAC Tourbooks Switzerland (ISBN 978-3-89905-727-0) and Austria (ISBN 978-3-89905-725-3) connect like our victorious one “German Alps”-Test copies at a price of 14.95 euros each have the function of a road book with that of a travel guide and are also compact and light. Book 4 is a Bruckmann product (ISBN 978-3-7654-3955-1). Author Heinz E. Studt describes 30 tours through Switzerland in beautiful pictures for 24.95 euros. More a work for connoisseurs than for utility value fans. Even Book 5 comes from Bruckmann and Studt. He presents 20 weekend tours in the Alps (ISBN 978-3-7654-5357-1). In this work there is a high information density for 19.95 euros, even if it does not match the level of the Studt work tested “100 alpine passes” comes up. Book 6 (ISBN 978-3-7654-5492-9) is another delicacy for Switzerland fans, again published by Bruckmann and written by Studt. The travel guide describes ten one-day or multi-day tours through all the cantons of Switzerland from Basel to the Alps. Well researched and beautifully photographed for 19.95 euros. Book 7 comes from Denzel Verlag: With 353 historical photos, Harald Denzel gives an insight into the eventful past of the Alpine roads (ISBN 978-3-85047-770-3, 29.90 euros). Fascinating!

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