The Mrs and I are planning on going on a nice holiday next year, somewhere warm after only having a few days in wet Wales this year due to redundancy.

We want somewhere we can spend some time chilling out, lots of nice places to eat but also some good walking and – ideally – somewhere I can hire a bike (and maybe guide) for a day or two and get some proper riding in.

We’re looking at places like Lake Garda or Tenerife as possibilities. Needs to be somewhere we can get away from the tourist rat race and do our own thing a bit.

Any suggestions?

Lake Maggiore / Lake Lugano

Good food, great walking.

Not sure about hire bikes but there are a few of us UK lads who live out here and could show you some good riding spots.

Garda is also awesome and has plenty of bike hire possibiities

Cheers, I shall check those out. Garda was definitely high up the list, and Lavatrax on Tenerife sound pretty good too…

We have a holiday cottage near the town of Coin about 20 km from the Costa del Sol but a very different world.Pm for details.

Hi, check us out on http://www.bikingandalucia.com, we offer flexibility ie you can rent one of our houses and use our services (guiding, bike hire etc) as and when you wish. There is plenty to do in the Sierra Nevada and Granada which are close by. We have a swimming pool and only 30 minutes from the beach. Also we have the best climate in mainland Europe.

Basque country. San Sebastian/Bilbao and the places in between are great. Excellent beaches, mountains, fiestas, good food and drink. Doug at http://www.basquemtb.com can sort you out bike/guide wise.

Iceland? Away from the tourist trail and a great place to visit.

Iceland… Now there’s a thought. We were thinking somewhere warm, but it doesn’t have to be I guess!

Bhmartin – will chuck you an email tonight.
davidisaacs – will check out the site.
Mackem – had actually thought of BasqueMTB too, heard amazing things about the food near there (and the trails!).

Or a beach Holiday?
http://www.neilson.co.uk/beach

Cape Town?

Loads of fantastic road and off-road riding along with plenty of walking available.
The food over there is incredible as well and pretty cheap.

I hired bikes and guides from these guys:

http://irideafrica.com

I can thoroughly recommend Garda.
Outdoorsy stuff is all at the North end of the lake. Torbole is a good base.
http://bikemagic.com/mountain-bike-trails/mtb-travel-guide-lake-garda-italy.html

Iceland is a great place. Went for a long weekend 10 years ago. One of my favourite holidays. It’s expensive, but very different.

Iceland gets my vote. Great country with stunning views – most of the women are jaw dropingly gorgeous. You can hire bikes at Myvatyn and cycle all over the area, which is fun. Did it ten years ago, and still wince at the cost, but you soon learn not to drink alcohol, fill up on yogurt, and avoid little fish things on rock hard bits of bread. Chinese food was spectacularly cheap for some reason. We did ten days and it was utterly brilliant. We also came back with tans due to the thin air, such that people thought we’d been to Spain.

Interestingly I have a mate who lives in SA. Closer to Durban I think, but that could definitely be a shout. Plus, Durban, not that far from Pietermaritzburg

Hi just got back from 10 days in Lake Garda. It really ticks a lot of the boxes for somewhere to chill, walk , ride. Lots of bike hire and up lifts.
Great cycle ways all around the town. Good food etc.

All Mountain Venture I can be flexible on the amount of riding you want to do. I am based in the north east part of Cadiz, definitly off the tourist trail and great biking within easy reach in Cadiz and Malaga.

My lake garda report here

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lake-garda-holiday-report-bike-related-photos?replies=1#post-5286800