when people are browsing websites looking for bike holidays what do you look for , what makes places and companies attractive/unattractive, what do you like/dislike,all in /self catering,whats hot whats not ? discuss!

i am amazed that no one has any opinion whatsoever, this must be a first

I’ll tell you my opinion in July after I’ve been to Morzine for a week with flowmtb!
But to be serious, I just googled companies and locations and looked at forum discussions and reviews. Found them very useful.
Happy hunting.

Everyone wants different things. Except that most people don’t particularily want to be doing free market research 😉

Top priority is the riding and the terrain for me – I want a week of riding stuff that’s totally unforgettable. The kind of trails I think about months after the trip has ended – or basically until I return the year after. Then hosts, guides, grub, weather and accommodation. One company scores on all these http://www.bikeverbier.com If I didn’t already know about them and was wondering where to go, I’d be listening to my mates, looking at mag features in Singletrack, Dirt, MBR etc and checking feedback on here. They’d all point me to BV anyway.

Location, in terms of the riding and access to it and guiding around it, is the number 1 factor for me. Next is the accommodation, biking holidays are hard work so a comfortable chalet/apartment is important also a place to work on the bike.

For anyone going to Les Gets I’d recommend Ski Blue Ridge, chalet just outside town (and an easy downhill ride to Morzine), welcoming hosts.

wl – Member
Top priority is the riding and the terrain for me – I want a week of riding stuff that’s totally unforgettable. The kind of trails I think about months after the trip has ended – or basically until I return the year after. Then hosts, guides, grub, weather and accommodation.

+1, if the terrain doesn’t test your fitness/skill level you’ll be left wondering why you went. Find out about the area first, then if anything else isn’t up to your expectations at least the riding will have been good.
I just got back from biking in Morocco yesterday and can definitely say it was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had, biking or not. The accommodation was pretty basic but when you’re crossing mountains and staying in gites you can’t expect anything else. If you’re used to five star hotels don’t go, for me though the gites and the hammams that went with them added to experience (interesting/funny in equal measure!).

@ d45yth

did you do a solo Morocco mission, or was it guided?
where did you go?

my brother-in-law runs Surf Maroc and we go every year… I keep meaning to take my bike as well as board – the local hills and dusty tracks look great.

barn – I went with Freeride Morocco. I already knew the guide/owner from a previous trip to Spain. We started in Imlil and biked to different accommodation each day. The van carrying our spares/luggage would meet us halfway on each ride and the driver/cook would make us some lunch 8) . I’ll definitely be going back, especially if I could take a different route…it wouldn’t matter if I couldn’t though. We finished the trip with a couple of days in Marrakech, this was a bit of an eye opener as I’d never been to an Arab country before!

P.S. Anyone thinking of going to Morocco should take plenty of toothpaste and mouthwash…the mint tea is very slurpable but has enough sugar in to turn your teeth into decaying stumps fairly quickly!!! 😯

Browse websites, but mainly go on recommendations/discussions/topics from users on various forums. This is how I went to The White Room last year, and will be going again this year.

Has anybody been mtb’ing in Catalunya? I’m looking to plan a week’s biking while staying in Barcelona. Might also be heading up to the Pyrenees just south of the French border for a couple of days…this area never seems to get much coverage though, it all seems to be in the south, in Sierra Nevada… cheers for any tips!

Location,accomodation,food. oh and lots of this:

CicloMontana Vids

Got to say vlaue for money and the trails you get you cant go wrong with CicloMontana.

As said above. Looked up places and descriptions of type of riding etc then googled reviews and looked on here. We are trying the Whiteroom for my first Alps holiday. Fingers crossed.

does anyone have any experience good or bad worth mentioning about wales , scotland or lake district ?

Unless you’ve got no one else to ride with I would have thought you could do any trips in Britain self-guided? Especially if you’ve got a GPS, there’s loads of routes posted on the internet and you should be able to find accommodation to suit any budget.
Unless you’re only looking at a weekend away a lot of UK trips are as expensive as foreign ones…at least you would have the chance of better weather if you go abroad.

Always on a shoestring we do and anual trip to Scotland. 3 blokes, a van, an army bell tent, a woodburner stove, bikes, kit and a lot of whisky. We shower when we can (be bothered) and go where the weather is best. I don’t think I’d consider guides or such like when in the UK

maybe im missing something ,last two posters would use a guide in france but not in uk, are you not wasting riding time navigating?? how do you know you are in the best spots??

I wouldn’t use a guide in the UK because I know where the best places are for natural riding and trail centres are waymarked. When going to places I haven’t been before I still have the routes on my GPS, this way I don’t waste anytime navigating.
On trips I’ve had to Spain it was good to be guided so they could tailor the riding to match fitness and technical ability. Morocco was riding across mountains from A to B for five days, this isn’t something I would have wanted to do or plan by myself.
By the sound of things you may benefit from a guide wherever you go. Find a recommended trip by folk on here and go for it! You ask how do you know where the best places are…read up on it, you’re on the internet. 🙄

I’ve found what I look for in a biking/climbing holiday has changed as I’ve got older and the disposable income has increased a bit. The holidays used to completely revolve around the biking or climbing, with guiding, accommodation and ‘off the hill’ attractions/activities very much in the back seat. We’ve done both self-guided and guided holidays and have had some really good and some not so good holidays – some of the worst guided holidays we’ve had are where the guide ignores the clients preferences and drags everyone around on a ‘death march’ ride that he wants to do. If we are going to a place with guided rides, we now tend to look more at the accommodation options, quality/experience of guides and, particularly if we’re in a mixed ability group, the variety of riding available – also, what else is in there in the area if we want a couple of days off riding.

so it seems people like to have a guide when abroad but not in uk,as my forum name implies,what if the uk is abroad?

Mixture of riding, group and accommodation. Don’t want days off from riding. Enjoy having someone else lead and let me enjoy the ride. I honestly go for good weather and dry trails. Enjoyed my trips so far. Can be difficult to cater for all ability levels.

Options for solo riders (without getting screwed over on costs), pics and videos of the trails, pics of the accommodation, details of itineraries. Basically I want to know pretty much what to expect in advance.