Hi, this is my 1st post on here & you guys really seem to know your onions. I’m looking for advice on a biking holiday in France with my GF. We’ve both recently taken up MTB’s after a 20 year break since I last raced road bikes & I’m loving it. My lack of fear when it comes to falling off at speed like I used to on the road bike is a worry but if you’re going to do it, expect a few dings along the way I say (and blown L3 disc etc).

Looking online there’s a plethora of holidays but the majority of them are guided tours in groups & we’d prefer to just rent a chalet & mooch about on our own but not sure where’s best in the Alps etc. We’ve already done Glentress & Innerleithen but want something bigger to try now.

Any suggestions on locations or a decent tour operator?

We are going to Les Arcs, unguided. If you use google you can find MTB trail maps (MTB is also known as VTT in France so try searching for that). Lots of singletrack in Les Arcs and not just full on DH.

A days guiding will still be a good idea though – wherever you go – as I’m sure the best trails are one the ones you don’t find on a map. It’s also important to get the local knowledge to help you stay off the walker trails.

There are lots of places to choose from though, so do your research.

Scotland? If you’re not after guides or chairlifts then it’ll be cheeper and the guidebooks are in English.

Can’t recommend AQR in the Pyrenees highly enough.
Cheap flights to Toulouse.
Superb trails quieter than the Alps, great food, quality hire bikes and I’m sure Kate & Ian could sort you out maps for days out.

Morzine would be my choice. Loads of graded trails, you can play on lifts going up and down all day or do an all mountain epic. Something for everyone. At the end of the day it’s a nice town with a pool, tennis, ice skating, nice bars, good eats, etc. It’s very easy to arrange a DIY trip. Lots of chalets and easy to find trails. Fly to Geneva or drive (especially if you live down south), book a chalet direct with the owner, go riding.

Thanks so much for all that info, that gives us something to go off. I was considering the Pyrenees as well.

Scotland is fantastic & we love it but we’re hoping for more of a warm weather guarantee as in Scotland the weather forecast is only worth listening to 5 mins ahead 😉

We want to take our own bikes too so transfers from airport etc are important too. I’ve never taken a bike abroad so this will be a new experience but I can’t wait.

Theburd went on holiday last year with “Trail addiction” in Morzine or therabouts.

I’ve e mailed AQR (thanks Danti) and Kate has sent me absolutely loads of info so I’m sure there’s something in there for us.

Thanks for the advice guys, I’ll report back once we’ve booked.

Old thread but we’re off to Luchon on 2nd Sept & can’t wait. Flight bags bought from Chain Reaction cycles & did a dry run packing one this weekend. It was simple enough once I’d figured the straps etc out. I’ll report on how they perform when we get back.

Kate at AQR has been absolutely brilliant & made all the bookings for our private accommodation & helped with transfers etc so thus far, I’d recommend them to anyone looking for a good MTB holiday company.

I’ve been on a couple of holidays with The White Room and would definitely recommend them. A great mixture of bike parks and amazing singletrack, top quality guiding, amazing food, and at a reasonable price.

Have a look at Altitude Adventure in the Pyrenees. I’ve just come back from a few days there with the gf and it could be ideal for a couple with mixed abilities.

Guided in small groups that will work with you. Have a look at the White Room, let them know hat you can/willing to do and see if that will fit with some others they have coming or a quiet week.

Guiding takes some of the stress out of the whole thing when everything is new.

also food is amazing so is the riding 🙂

Fantastic French trail and map resource: http://www.vttrack.fr/