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RIDE Adventures Blog

Ride the World: Self-Guided Motorcycle Tours Gaining Popularity

Posted by Eric Lange on August 15, 2013
Eric Lange
Since riding his KTM 950 Adventure down to South America in 2008 and launching RIDE Adventures in 2010, Eric now resides in Oregon for most of each year. Riding is still a regular part of his work though, in that guiding tours is a passion he'll always have, and researching new routes and regions allows RIDE Adventures to continue growing and providing reliable travel services to adventure minded riders and travelers from around the world.

Not going to lie here:  The fact that people are choosing to "Ride the World" on Self-Guided Motorcycle Trips seem to be all the rage right now.

While we're very much still promoting our guided motorcycle tours, and there are definitely riders out there in the world who prefer having such ease of travel that comes with a guided tour, the overwhelming majority of our customers these days are opting for self-guided motorcycle rental packages and a "do it yourself" mindset.  (See photo below of Ryan from South Africa.  He and his riding friend, Andre decided to see Patagonia self-guided, and had such a great experience they're planning their next trip in the Andes Mountains already!)

Self-Guided Motorcycle TourIf you prefer to just ride solo or with your friends though, that's great, we're happy to help either way! Undoubtedly, there's something to be said about the "mystique" that comes with solo-type, unsupported motorcycle travel, right?  What Charlie and Ewan did in "Long Way Round" almost a decade ago serves as a reminder to us about that pioneering feeling and exhileration that comes with throwing yourself, a motorcycle, and all caution into the wind.  Well, Charlie and Ewan might not have exactly been unsupported (see my favorite mockumentary of this: Ewan & Thingy) but the spirit of adventure was captured in their voyage, and the same basic idea was forged: For some of us, the challenge is a large part of what makes an adventure.

READY TO RIDE THE WORLD? Let Us Know Where You Want To Start Your Motorcycle Travel

Self guided trip PatagoniaPlease don't get me wrong, there's definitely still an advantage to our guided motorcycle tours, and we will continue to offer plenty of them  If you're pressed for time though and just can't spare what it takes to research, plan, and execute a motorcycle trip, then a fully guided tour package is undoubtedly the way to go.  Take for example our "Patagonia Experience" tour, which allows riders to simply show up in Chile, rent our motorcycles that are already there in Patagonia, and see the very best highlights available on their own schedule.  The base guided tour price is $6,736 for this coming season with a BMW F650GS and shared hotel room with another rider.  On the flipside, you ride the same route, see all the same mountains, lakes, rivers, and valleys with sites like Torres del Paine, the Perito Moreno Glacier and Mount Fitz Roy on your own for about half that price if you really want to!  Just the bike rental with all necessary papers and one-way fees is only $1,880, so add your hotels or camping, food, flight, and fuel on top of that, and that's it.  (Above, David and Juli from Texas agreed, their self-guided motorcycle trip in the Andes was the right way to do it!)

Again, I'm not trying to suggest that our guided motorcycle tours don't have their advantages.  It's just that, the motorcycle guide, bike, hotels, food, fuel, salary, etc. plus the support truck drivers, hotel, truck usage, food, fuel, etc......that all adds up to quite an additional cost perhaps you'd like to do without.  Benefits and conveniences?  Definitely.  Whether they are necessary or not though is up to you to decide, so we hope you'll Contact Us about what type of motorcycle travel you prefer in your mission to "Ride the World!"

SEE A ROUTE YOU WANT TO RIDE? Contact Us About Doing it as a Self-Guided Motorcycle Tour

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