Firstly, yes I know we could load all the family bikes on a plane, laden the kids down with panniers and flog them for 100km a day before sleeping under canvas..... but I'd quite like to turn up somewhere nice, have someone take my bags in a mini bus and we ride on some nice hire bikes every day before staying in a comfortable hotel at our destination.
Anyone got recommendations for cycle touring companies that would do just that, for families, somewhere relatively warm during European autumn, without breaking the bank.
A friend has used Backroads before, which seems to focus on rich Americans at a cost that would involve selling a kidney to ride. My wife has had Eurobike.at recommended via some friend of a friend of a friend, prices and locations look more attractive but I know nothing about them and reviews seem sparse.
Any recommendations?
Have you looked at CTC tours? Not sure if they do supported ones.
**** me that backroads tour is almost a thousand dollars a day!!!!!
Disclaimer: this is run by a guy I used to work with and I've guided on one of his tours so if that's a conflict of interest, I'll take it down.
https://www.viaromacycling.com/holidays/
**** me that backroads tour is almost a thousand dollars a day!!!!!
Aye, nuts. Didn't really pay attention to it when someone mentioned it a few years back, but we saw them setting up for the day in the local village when we were in France last year..... all top end Ti bikes, multiple vehicle back up and staying in the nearby 5 star hotel with Michelin star dining! Not the vibe I'm looking for 🤣
See if Peak Tours have something that will suit.
No organised tour will be cheap though.
I would think about where you fancy, then Google bike tour companies in that area. We've used Exodus a couple of times and, whilst they've been great, they always use a local company to run the tour, indeed it is the local company's tour and Exodus are essentially just reselling it with their name on it.
As for recommendations of where to go, the Balkans are beautiful, the food is great, the weather should be decent and there are plenty of cycling tour companies
No organised tour will be cheap though.
Reasonable, not cheap.
As above, some companies are upwards of £1k/person/day, Euro bike are less than that for a full week!
I used hikeandbikeholidays.com in Ronda, Spain earlier this year for some chilled mountain biking in the sun with my children.
Great location, stayed in a really nice hotel in the centre of town, some really nice routes, would definitely recommend.
I'd quite like to turn up somewhere nice, have someone take my bags in a mini bus and we ride on some nice hire bikes every day before staying in a comfortable hotel at our destination.
If you don't want or need the full guiding thing, it's worth checking out some of the known "bike tourism" destinations. Bormio (northern Italy) have (or had, when I was last there) an arrangement whereby each hotel would arrange to have your bags shuttled to the next hotel so you could have a self-guided tour, just as a family / group etc. Obviously it limited the range of hotels but there was some kind of partnership / sharing arrangement there led by the local tourism agency to be part of this "hotel chain" so people could do a week's riding at their own pace.
There must be similar arrangements in other places like Canaries, Mallorca, around the Alps etc that are known for cycle tourism.
Sardinia has this:
https://www.sardiniacycling.com/en/biking-tours.html
(no connection, I was looking at a potential Sardinia trip myself and that came up)
Maybe a bit expensive based on what you've said (but a fair bit cheaper than backroads), but these tours are amazing if you want some riding & lots of culture. I went years ago and prices were sub £1k for the Transylvania tour, so my views maybe somewhat reflective of that.
Easily the best put together tour I've been on and absolutely everything was covered - No tips here, or entry fees there - From start to finish we didn't have to get our wallets out and that included the random ice-cream or drink stops on a hot day.
Maybe one for without the kids...
Also plenty of self guided options which are cheaper, but they will still transfer the bags for you and you can set your own pace for each day as long as you end up at the right place for the night. I've not used any of these but previously looked at:
The only organised tour I ever did was the Prague-Vienna Greenways route. I semi-used these guys for accommodation and transport to/from the airport (had my own bike etc, and I only had 5 days to complete the whole route). They made a bespoke package to accommodate me - Lukas might be able to cobble something together for you: https://www.europe-bike-tours.eu/
Bike hire is very accessible and transport is excellent in some places: Vienna, for example. Excellent transport links, and bike hire aplenty. Quite easy to organise your own trip that way if you fancy it. I've ridden all the way from Passau (Germany) to Budapest along the Danube. There were some really lovely sections between Passau and Vienna. Rock up, hire your bikes, take the train out and then ride back at your leisure?
Friends of ours have done several trips with Peak Tours, having done the first they were so impressed they've stuck with them
Friends of ours have done several trips with Peak Tours, having done the first they were so impressed they've stuck with them
Did Hadrians Wall with them last year and would happily use them again. A friend has done some 2-3 week European rides with them as well. Munich to Rome looked amazing and rather different.
I have never used them but Breton Bikes have been around for donkeys so must be doing something right. They do camping or hotel based tours. Also supply proper touring bikes so you don't need to pack the family bikes.
https://www.bretonbikes.com/prices-and-booking/cycling-holiday-prices-euros
Relax Bike Tours will take your luggage hotel to hotel along the Canal du Midi. Great holiday and operator.
Saddle Skeddadle - although not sure they do family stuff.
We used saddle skeddadle last year for Hadrians wall. We would use them again. I think they do family options