The season for the Glacier Bike Tour depends on the snow conditions, as the tour passes over three Alpine passes: Albula, Oberalp and Furka. These are closed in winter but can be bypassed by train. Consequently, the season runs from around the beginning of June to October.
The start and end point of the tour are at 1800 metres and all the passes are over 2000 metres. May is rather early for the Glacier Bike Tour. It depends mainly on the weather and temperatures in April and early May. If it is still snowing and cold, the passes could still be closed and there could still be isolated snowfields on shady northern hillsides above 1500 metres. The experience is beautiful (with spring in the valley bottom and winter on the passes) but rather cold and not everything is rideable.
The Glacier Bike Tour can still be ridden in October. However, some passes may already be closed. However, these can easily be bypassed by train. In October, warm clothes and good planning (weather, snow line) are very important.
Yes, the tour can be customised and only 3 or 4 days of the entire tour can be completed, different variants can be booked via Eurotrek or individually adapted. Ambitious riders can also combine some of the stages, for example stages 6 and 7. With 53 stops along the route, the train is a good option for shortening some of the stages.
The closures and diversions are regularly updated on the national platform SwitzerlandMobility.
Yes, the Glacier Bike Tour runs continuously along the Glacier Express with 53 stations - so you can also use the railway in between if necessary. If the offer was booked via Eurotrek, the individual train passages are not included in the price.
The route is not signposted as such, but for the most part runs along signposted SwitzerlandMobility routes.
Note: Depending on the platform, a GPS track may have deviations of +-15% in altitude metres and distance
No, the tour is self-drive, but when you book the package via Eurotrek, you get access to the navigation app, the GPS data and a road book with all the details of the route. This means you can easily complete the tour on your own. However, bike guides in Graubünden, Uri or Valais can be contacted to accompany you.
Yes, you don't necessarily have to book the Eurotrek package and can plan and travel individually.
Luggage is organised when booking the package via Eurotrek and transported from hotel to hotel so that only the equipment for the day's stage has to be taken on the bike. It is also possible to book only the luggage transport via Eurotrek without the overnight stays.
The tour is also possible without electric assistance. You can also simply customise the tour to your desired length on Komoot or simply shorten it by train.
The tour can also be done on a gravel bike. On stage 2 to Bergün, the descent is technical but can be bypassed on the road. As some of the climbs are steep and long, we recommend a mountain gear ratio of 40 / 52. Stage 10 to Zermatt is also a long and demanding climb.
The Komoot track can be downloaded here as an entire route and customised. To do this, use the menu item "Edit copy" and "Open copy in planner".
The route can also be travelled in reverse. In this case, you can't follow the published Komoot route 100%, as we rode it from St. Moritz to Zermatt (stage 2 and 3 in particular have steep climbs in the opposite direction). We did not cycle the route from Zermatt to St. Moritz.
The return journey can be made by train; the current timetables can be found at sbb.ch. A separate ticket must also be purchased for the bike (bike day pass) if it has not been hired via Eurotrek and is returned directly in Zermatt. The Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz can also be booked without a bike; seat reservations are mandatory.
The tour can be completed on your own bike (mountain bike, e-mountain bike, gravel) or, if you book via Eurotrek, you can also hire an e-mountain bike.
The packing list for the tour can be found here.
The Glacier Bike Tour was specially developed for e-bike tourers who want to combine a sporting experience with the enjoyment of nature and culture, the country and its people. The route of 370 km and 9500 metres in altitude leads over gravel, asphalt and occasionally narrow paths. The level of technical difficulty is low for experienced mountain bikers, but high for classic touring cyclists. You should therefore have mountain experience and an awareness of the alpine terrain so that you feel comfortable on (sometimes steep) dirt tracks and narrower paths.
When booking the package deal, the hotels are included and pre-defined and already booked by Eurotrek; for other hotel requests, this can be customised individually when booking with Eurotrek. The category is at least a 3-star hotel and, if possible, a hotel with the "Bike Hotel" label.
We have included a tip for each stage and links to the hotels in the region for the individual variant.
The accommodation tips per stage, see example stage 1. In St. Moritz and Zermatt, are recommended to be booked in advance. Otherwise, except in July and at weekends, bookings can also be made en route.
We recommend the official campsites, as the legal situation in Switzerland is not standardised. However, restrictions may apply depending on the canton or municipality. In addition, free camping is expressly prohibited in certain protected areas or is not possible due to trespassing bans. Further information can be found at this link (German).
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