Guided Cycling Holidays

What is a guided cycling holiday? Find out what to expect from a guided cycling holiday in Europe.

Your Accommodation

When you book with a provider on a guided cycling holiday you can expect that you will be based out of a single location for the duration of your stay. You may have options for the “board basis,” which may be classified as:

• self-catering, meaning you are responsible for all your meals;
• B&B, meaning you get a bed and breakfast but that the rest of the meals are up to you to arrange;
• half-board, meaning you will get breakfast and one other meal, usually in the evening;
• full-board, meaning you are fully catered throughout the day.

Many providers will make a packed lunch for you, if you ask (and pay a small additional fee).

Finding Your Way on a Guided Cycling Holiday

With a guided trip you don’t need to worry about the route! You will be accompanied on your ride by a local guide (often also the the owner of your accommodation) who knows their way around. They will usually also carry equipment that will be needed to ensure your security on the route, such as a first aid kit and bike maintenance supplies to that any mechanicals can be fixed on the road/trail-side.

Some providers will also provide you with the route information for your reference and will share this information with you via an application like BikeMap.net, Komoot, or Ride With GPS, so you can download them to your phone or personal GPS device.

Additional Services

Because you will be staying at a fixed base for this kind of holiday (versus a bike tour) you can expect to find additional services tailored to cyclists and nice to have for anyone on an active holiday. These may include:

• secure bike storage
• access to a bike workshop
• afternoon tea
• a pool or hot tub
• a “day off” for another activity or just a rest day to do what you like

If your guided trip is part of a package and on set dates usually a rest day of some sort is built in, to allow for some recover time. There will often be the option to ride on this day too – it will be up to you what you do with that time!

When booking a guided holiday you will be given information about the routes you will ride each day, including the distances, elevations, and estimated times between stops as well as the start and finish.

You can sometimes expect to be driven to a start and end point, if doing this means you can explore an interesting route that would be too hard/far to do in a single day.

Frequently Asked Questions about Self-Guided Cycling Holidays

Do I need to take my own food on rides?

Whether you are provided with food (or not) will depend on the board basis of your holiday. Many providers will supply a packed lunch on request. If not they will be able to advise on suitable stopping points for meals along with opening times, prices, etc.

Some providers may also give you a snack pack to take out each day and on a guided ride they may carry this for you. This may include water bottles, gels, or other high-energy foods to keep you going between meal stops.

Do I need to take my own bike?

When you are planning your holiday you should talk to your provider about bike hire options. You may want to bring your own bike but find that there are some excellent hire options locally which will reduce the hassle and cost (and risk) or transporting your bike and can be a nice opportunity to try something newer or better than your regular ride.

Will I get lost on a guided cycling holiday?

The answer to this is… no never! You are usually paying extra for the expertise of a local with knowledge of the roads or trails you are riding. They should be able to address any issues on the day, such as unexpectedly closed off areas requiring detours, and to get you from A to B without any issues at all. On a guided ride having the security of a guide means you don’t have to worry about this – BUT most providers will also supply you with contact numbers and your own copies of maps just in case…

Why choose a guided cycling holiday?

When you choose a self-guided cycling holidays everything is taken care of and all you have to do is get yourself and bike ready they turn up to ride each day. One of the main benefits of this is that will be with someone who knows the area intimately and can point out places of interest along the way (let them know your interests and they will tell you things that are interesting to you as well as them!) They will usually have a lunch stop in mind, whether a picnic spot or a cafe and, in case of the latter, will usually have called head to arrange tables for you and your group. An experienced guide will be able to gauge the level of the group and make any adjustments to the ride as necessary, perhaps rerouting to miss out a tough climb or dodging bad weather via an alternative more sheltered route, and so on. You won’t necessarily know that this decision has been made -because the guide’s aim is for you to have the best time you can on two wheels and for you to return to your base happy!

The advantage of a guided holiday is that usually takes place around fixed dates. Groups are often “constructed” of individuals or small groups of friends, so you will be in a mixed group. An experienced provider will have shared all the relevant information with you to ensure the guided cycling holiday you have booked a place on is suitable for your level and ability.

A Selection of Guided Cycling Holidays in Europe

Here are a selection of guided cycling holidays you can book via Cycling Holidays Europe. If you are interested in any of the cycling holidays listed below, just click the Contact This Provider button at the bottom of the holiday description page and you can start a conversation with them directly. When you find a holiday via our site you know that you are talking directly to the provider without any third-party adding expense or commission along the way.

Photo by Coen van de Broek on Unsplash