Finale, finally.

For some reason the missus was feeling more chilled today and seemed quite up for a trip away in October half term.  Pretty much the only sun destination less than £1,000 return for all of us was Nice airport.  So we’ve booked that.  Dead excited.  Already had about 7 replies from various Bike Hotels.

Just hope the kids are up to it.  I’m sure the 10 year old will be fine but starting to worry that his elder brother might find it a bit gnarrly.

How do the shuttles generally work… do you have to arrive at the same trail foot at roughly the same time to all get the same shuttle back up?  I guess so, never done shuttles before.

Oh gawd, what have I done…

Anyone else there 20-27 October?

eek, bike bags… what’s that all about…

I’m going to need about a mile of gaffer tape.

Makes packing 4 sets of skis and boots seem completely cheap and easy

Oh dear. Transfers. Ouch. 480 euros return . Jesus.  Apparently there’s a train but bike boxes on a train sounds like stress.

Anyone taken a bike by  air with no packing at all?

The train is fine!! It’s nice & spacious, never overcrowded and a nice journey. €25 cab to the station from the airport, the €28 open return. About 2 hours along the coast, change at Ventimille/Ventimiglia. Done that journey about 10 times now, honestly, it’s all good 😀

Transfers? Wouldn’t bother.

Hire car from Nice airport cost me less than €200 Thurs to Mon and that’s with the all singing all dancing insurance, I know what Italian drivers are like. Bit of a queue at collection but otherwise no hassle, so easy and simple.

That was a Nissan Pulsar BTW.

Its really not much of a drive to Finale, either quick and easy along the motorway or pretty route toll-free along the coast

Only had.one bike in the car mind….

If youre going to do a transfer, make sure the transfer co can definitely take your bikes. We booked a transfer (about £500 return) , told them wed have 5 bikes, it all seemed fine. a few days before we were due to arrive the transfer co emailed to say they couldnt fit us and all the bikes in , dropped me right in the sh1t at the last moment. Transfer co didnt give a stuff and were pretty rude about it.

In the end i hired a long wheelbase transit from nice airport, which cost less than the transfer would have done.

Ill dig out the name of the transfer co to avoid.

For the uplift you just go to the uplift company base camp at 9am, and they take you from there.

The trails we did were all pretty full on, not sure if they have any non full on trails, i guess they must do, but most people were seeking gnarliness.

Not sure how suitable it would be for children, maybe others have taken kids and can comment with more authority?

The poor transfer company were http://www.shuttle-nice-airport.com , also on  www.transfert-aeroport-nice.com

Toughest place I’ve ever ridden, would not have thought it to be a family destination tbh, for riding anyway. The town is lovely thougj.

The train is fine!! It’s nice & spacious, never overcrowded and a nice journey. €25 cab to the station from the airport, the €28 open return. About 2 hours along the coast, change at Ventimille/Ventimiglia. Done that journey about 10 times now, honestly, it’s all good

That sounds hopefull. Have you done the journey with a bike?  Do you have to book the bikes on the trains?

The other problem is of course getting 4 bikes in a taxi from the airport to Nice station. 2 taxis, might do it.

AndrewH

Hire car from Nice airport cost me less than €200 Thurs to Mon……..

Its really not much of a drive to Finale, …….

Only <span class=”skimlinks-unlinked”>had.one</span> bike in the car mind….

Yep, that’s the problem.  Once we’ve got a big enough vehicle to fit four bikes, and paid for the full 7 days then it looks to be £500 or so.

Julians.  Thanks for the tip on the duff transfer co, I’ll avoid.  Can you recall who you hired the van through?  Got a few quotes but all coming in round 480 euros for the week, so similar to shuttle.

In reply to julians and oldtalent.  Good input on the trails.  Much appreciated.  When I see “family riding” I sort of think not that’s not what I mean.  Obviously they are family, but family rides to me brings up visions of lakeside tarmac or ‘degla blue.  They’re pretty good for their age, but as ever with kids they have good days and bad days.  I’m sure we’ll find enough for them to do, just don’t think the big one will get down stuff at anything like the same speed as the rest of the busload.  Which might mean we need to do custom days or something.  Mucho expenso.

This is the sort of thing the little one is happy on:

big one prefers much more sedate stuff like this:

Unrelated, but your post about your trip up the WHW was probably the best and most inspirational that I’ve read on here and I have it bookmarked. Hoping to tackle it next year with the boy when he turns 10 – this year we’re heading out for a long road tour up the East Coast of England instead!

Good luck with your trip!

You’ll find tracks to suit just about all abilities….

The trains ain’t too bad.

Speak to my mate Francesco at ProRide. He might be able to pick up your bikes from the station, build them up for you and hills onto the bike boxes rather than you having to store them in your apartment. His guide Enrico is also very good at tailoring a days guiding.

http://www.proridefinale.it/bike-shuttle-lift.html

Hi,

I’ve literally just booked with Proride last night (Usually use Finale Freeride but they were booked up) I get the impression they build the day around the level of the riders rather than having a set range of trails they take you on. Is this how you’d describe it Alpin? I’m a bit wary going with a different company but they seem to have good reviews.

I had an absolute blast last year – trails ranged from fun and flowy (and in some ways too easy) to proper steep and tech which were really challenging. Some of the best riding I have done. I was surprised how un-bike parky it was which I loved.

In terms of family riding, there are some sweet trails for people who don’t have a great deal of experience, although I saw a family sessioning part of Cavatappi ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJxgJVDd2OI ) where the kid must have been about 7.

I’ve stayed in Hotel San Giuseppe in Finale the last three or four years. Maybe more towards the hostel end of things, so maybe not what you’re after if you wanted something a bit more plush for a family holiday, but it’s cheap, clean, has a buffet breakfast, bike lock-up, and a pool. And they do transfers from Nice for 160 each way. Headed back myself next month.

http://www.hotelsangiuseppe.com/en/hotel/welcome.html

If you are after a family holiday hotel I’d highly recommend “Loano 2” – 25 min drive to Finale and the shuttle spots, but great place for family. We (Me, my wife and 2 kids) hire out a 2 bed apartment in the complex and works out less than £100 a night. Loads for the kids to do, shuttle bus from hotel to the town/beach and some great swimming pools.

I do a day riding and a day off.

I’d also say hiring a car is great as you can get around. Finale is not massive but there are loads of towns to explore along the coast and in the mountains – so having a car gives you that freedom.

That sounds hopefull. Have you done the journey with a bike?  Do you have to book the bikes on the trains?

The other problem is of course getting 4 bikes in a taxi from the airport to Nice station. 2 taxis, might do it.

AndrewH

Yup – all those times, done with bikes in bike bags! Not an issue at all. If you have 4 bikes, then yeah, 2 minibus type cabs will do it.

You don’t need to book the bikes onto the trains or anything like that, and there’s no extra charges.

Hope that all helps!!

“How do the shuttles generally work… do you have to arrive at the same trail foot at roughly the same time to all get the same shuttle back up? I guess so, never done shuttles before.”

It depends what kind of shuttles you want to do. There are lots of options in Finale. You can do shuttles with a private guide where it will just be your group (not as expensive as it sounds). Or you can do single uplifts where you all get a lift to the top for €10 per person and then do a single descent (though these generally take you to the busy, full on downhill trails). Or you can get on a group shuttle day where you will be with other riders. Some shuttle operators (there are many of them) may have a variety of groups heading out. But with these you will wait till everybody gets to the bottom of the trail before getting the next lift up.

There are also plenty of non-shuttle options with less gnarly terrain – lots of fairly long climbs though (we found e bikes perfect for this!) – though, if you had a private guide you may be able to shuttle these too.

There’s generally lots of riders around in October (very popular with the Germans, particularly at the start of October).

Enjoy your ice cream by the beach after a long descent and tapas in the old town with a post- biking beer – perfect!

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“eek, bike bags… what’s that all about…”

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I have one, it’s shagged out, won’t buy another- this year I’m off to the alps with a hand-hewn bespoke Halfords Cardboard Box covered in artisan tape. I’ll try and get an Apollo one, they have really thick cardboard.

Is it worth booking the uplift tours then? I’m heading over there with a couple of friends ( cycling man and wife) and may lone wolf it for a couple of days. Give them some couple time. Good tour for some of the lesser know places?

Hi,

I’ve literally just booked with Proride last night (Usually use Finale Freeride but they were booked up) I get the impression they build the day around the level of the riders rather than having a set range of trails they take you on. Is this how you’d describe it Alpin?

Yeah. Enrico and Francesco will tailor the day to best suit you/the group. If you want to ride the same trail over and over  you can.

And my experience is that ProRide guides are there for the guests and don’t see their job as a way of getting free shuttle for their training runs, which has been the case with other shuttle outfits I’ve used.

Francesco is also a shit hot mechanic 👍

He also had the cutest Rottweiler in the shop earlier!

Shucks Daern. You’re too kind. Well worth doing the writeup when I get comments like that.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I need to get my shit together and book the hotel/apartment soon but so busy with other stuff.

Lots of good info. Cheers.

Needless to say, if anyone wants to share a Nice to Finale shuttle 20-27 October then post away.

He also had the cutest Rottweiler in the shop earlier!

Nuki.. !

Soft as a soft thing…. 😎😊

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Ahhhh Nuki! So cute!

Had a good few days out with Proride, although had a stupid tumble on DH Men’s which broke my brake lever so I lost a days riding plus some skin.

Really really enjoyed riding here again. Can’t wait to come back. Weather has been a bit changeable though with some fierce storms which stopped me riding these last few days.

Right.

HonourableGeorge. I’ve booked hotel giuseppe. They’ve organised shuttles from Nice.

Not booked any uplift yet as not sure who’s riding.

Wife and son2 Are still recovering from recent operations so it may be just me and the biggun riding. Gutted.

For some reason Hallfords now refuse to give out old bike boxes, since apparently they “Have to ” recycle them. Cretins.

Have coughed up for two silly Evoc bags but can’t stretch to a third. Anyone in Manchester area got a big bag to borrow? If not it’s down to BikeShak for a hire one.

Most importantly, are any of you lot out there wC 22 october and interested in a couple of days sport climbing?

If finale freeride still do the defender your, that would be great for the kids.

Bit more smooth and flowy than the main finale trails. Was on private land exclusive to that outfit when we rode it.

Yes quality of guiding was variable with them, one lad was great, another not so hot. So maybe just use them for that tour.