travel
Eight Great Bicycle Vacations
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BackroadsNapa Valley, CaliforniaAddress: 801 Cedar Street Berkeley, CA 94710-1800 United States Neighborhood: |
Contact Information:
Phone: +1 510 527 1555
Web Site: www.backroads.com |
| Geography:
United States
California
Napa Valley/Sonoma
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| Description:
One of the world’s leading tour operators, Backroads offers luxury bicycle vacations across the globe, but are widely considered the California experts—and having taken their trip from Sonoma to Bodega Bay, Healdsburg and Yountville through the beautiful Wine Country, I can highly recommend them. With French Laundry-style restaurants, Roman bath treatments to soothe tired joints, picnics in the Redwoods, and more challenging riding than that of Butterfield & Robinson, these trips attract a younger (40-ish) and more athletic cyclist and also offer optional longer and hillier side trips each day for real biking fanatics. Trips from $1,198; check site for travel destinations and dates |
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Butterfield & RobinsonBordeaux, FranceAddress: 70 Bond Street Toronto, ON M5B 1X3 Canada Neighborhood: |
Contact Information:
Phone: +1 866 551 9090
Web Site: www.butterfield.com E-mail: info@butterfield.com |
| Geography:
Europe
France
Bordeaux
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| Description:
The oldest and most luxurious of the genre, Butterfield & Robinson started in 1966 offering trips to France, and now features cycling tours in 24 countries across six continents. My favorite is the Bordeaux trip, which routes cyclists gently through this most beautiful and unspoiled region of France—picture-postcard villages, wonderful wine, glorious food and flowers, and chateaux hotels fit for kings, queens and princesses. Our group filled a chateau one night so that, with a tour member playing post-prandial piano and another adept at ballroom dancing, the 18 of us held our own private, glamorous and unforgettable house party in the French countryside. Check site for travel dates, destinations and pricing |
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DuVine AdventuresMendoza, ChileAddress: 667 Somerville Avenue Somerville, MA 02143 United States Neighborhood: |
Contact Information:
Phone: +1 617 776 4441
Web Site: www.duvine.com E-mail: info@duvine.com |
| Geography:
Latin America
Chile
Other
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| Description:
Award-winning DuVine Adventures is renowned for its French and European tours, but recently added a new trip to Chile and Argentina. Featuring nine days of cycling in the shadows of the Andes, white-water rafting down the rapids of the Mendoza River in the main wine-producing area of Argentina, luxury accommodations at a hacienda-style, 4-star hotel and spa, and a wine train ride in Chile’s Colchagua Valley, this is a spectacular trip with a large dose of pampering after a long day’s pedaling. Trips from $3,695; check site for travel destinations and dates |
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Spice RoadsSaigon to Hanoi, VietnamAddress: 14/1-B Soi Promsi 2 Sukhumvit 39 Bangkok, Klongtan Nua 10110 Thailand Neighborhood: |
Contact Information:
Phone: +66 (0 ) 2 712 5305
Web Site: www.spiceroads.com E-mail: info@spiceroads.com |
| Geography:
Asia
Vietnam
Ha Noi
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| Description:
The leading bicycle tour company operating in Southeast Asia specializes in immersing its clients in local cultures, languages and cuisines. Spice Roads carefully researches the region’s busy roads to find the safest routes, with staff to clean and check your bike while you sleep in unique accommodations from 5-star hotels to Buddhist monasteries. The 13-day Saffron Saigon to Hanoi vacation includes half-days of biking from beaches to mountains, taking in historic Hoi An, Myson and Hue, a boat trip through Halong Bay in a traditional junk, flights to Nha Trang and nearby islands, and time spent in the beautiful "garden" region of Dalat. Tours from $540; check site for travel destinations and dates |
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Euro-BikeBrittany & Normandy, FranceAddress: P.O. Box 990 DeKalb, IL 60115 United States Neighborhood: |
Contact Information:
Phone: +1 800 321 6060
Web Site: www.eurobike.com |
| Geography:
Europe
France
Brittany/Normandy
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| Description:
The first US company to offer European bicycle tours in 1974, Euro-Bike now operates in 14 countries. I took their Brittany and Normandy trip and found that our fascination with the plethora of World War Two battle sites along this route was brought to life by the guide’s detailed maps, history talks and notes presented each morning before we set off. One of our luxury hotel stops was a French chateau that had been taken over by the Nazis during the war. Museums, cemeteries, German bunkers and memorials make this trip an emotional experience. Euro-Bike is willing to take tiny groups; ours was just three—thankfully all avid WWII history buffs. Tours from $1,740; check site for travel destinations and dates |
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Bike RidersPuglia, ItalyAddress: P.O. Box 130254 Boston, MA 02113 United States Neighborhood: |
Contact Information:
Phone: +1 617 723 2354
Web Site: www.bikeriderstours.com E-mail: info@bikeriderstours.com |
| Geography:
Europe
Italy
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| Description:
The Boston-based Bike Riders has been offering luxury bicycle vacations since 1991, and now has an extensive portfolio of destinations in New England, Canada and Europe. With guided, self-guided and wonderful guest chef itineraries to places like the Loire Valley in France, Connemara in Ireland, Maine in New England and Spain’s Andalucia—featuring off-the-beaten-track routes, luxury inns and top restaurants—the tours offer a rich slice of local culture in wonderful settings. While the tourist hordes head for Tuscany and Umbria, Bike Riders weaves guests through areas like Puglia in southern Italy, with its magical Adriatic coastline, Baroque cathedrals, white-washed villages and olive groves—peaceful, private, perfect. Tours from $2,180; check site for travel destinations and dates |
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Maine Coast Bicycle ToursAcadia, MaineAddress: 48 Cottage Street PO Box 405 Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 United States Neighborhood: |
Contact Information:
Phone: +1 207 288 0050
Web Site: www.mainecoastbicycletours.com E-mail: info@mainecoastbicycletours.com |
| Geography:
United States
Maine
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| Description:
When you’re cycling in an area where the bicycle tour company actually lives and works, you know you’re in very good hands. Maine Coast Bicycle Tours, based in delightful Bar Harbor, doesn’t offer trips to far-flung locales. It offers one destination only—the dazzling Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park—with guides who know the place like the back of their saddles. Accommodation is at upscale hotels in Bar Harbor, then for six magical days you cover a leisurely 15 to 25 miles a day on spectacular island and park routes, stopping at gourmet restaurants, cafes and picnic spots. Sea air, wonderful scenery and the freshest seafood make for bicycle bliss. Tours from $1,695; check site for 2009 dates |
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Pure AdventuresGalway, IrelandAddress: 8630 East Via de Ventura #110 Scottsdale, AZ 8525 United States Neighborhood: |
Contact Information:
Phone: +1 800 960-2221
Web Site: www.pure-adventures.com E-mail: info@pure-adventures.com |
| Geography:
Europe
Ireland
Galway/Connemara
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| Description:
What I love about this company’s approach to cycling is that it’s all self-guided—no groups, pre-set starting times or pre-determined routes—just free-wheeling at your own pace and leisure backed by expert local support and professional planning. The hotels may not be super-luxury (but always the best in the area) and you’ll have maps as guides, but you’ll be up close and personal with wonderful people and places. The Connemara trip is a case in point—a tour of the Emerald Isle to ancient castles, abbeys and delightful towns like Galway and Clifden. Not to mention a pint or three of Guinness in pubs of your choosing! Tours from €737; check site for travel destinations and dates |
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Contextual Links / Related Files:
Tags: cycling
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File Properties: Content Grade: Standard Review Type: Positive Seasonal: False S-File Type: Standard Vertical: File Geography: |
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Post Metadata:
Page Title: Eight Great Bicycle Vacations: Bicycle Tours¸ Adventure Tours¸ Bicycle Adventures¸ Cycling Tours | Suzanne’s Files Keywords: Suzanne’s Files¸ Suzannes Files¸ Spire.com¸ Spire¸ Napa Valley¸ California¸ Bordeaux¸ France¸ Mendoza¸ Chile¸ cycling adventures¸ bicycle tours¸ cycling tours¸ Description: Historic chateaux in France¸ poppy-filled fields in Italy¸ tranquil rice paddies in Asia¸ and lush vineyards in Argentina; a luxury bicycle vacation offers the chance to get up close and personal with a whole world of wonders. Book a tour with one of these top-notch outfitters and you’ll be saddling up for the ride of a lifetime. |
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