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Buyer's Guide: Cycling Holidays & Mountain Biking Holidays

Not been on a Cycling Holiday or Mountain Biking Holiday before? Read our 3 Expert Guides, below, to help you make the right choice:

1. Self Guided vs Fully Guided
2. Point to Point vs Single Base
3. Grades of Cycle Tours

1. Self Guided vs Fully Guided

Self Guided Cycling Holidays

As the name suggests, Self Guided holidays rely on you and your party using a set of maps provided by the holiday operator to guide yourselves around an area or along a route, without a guide there in person to direct you.

The advantage of Self Guided holidays is the freedom and flexibility that they offer. You can pretty much take the holiday at your own pace, although if you are on a Point to Point tour you will still need to make the next night's accommodation before nightfall.

For anything but holidays following the simplest country lane / waymarked routes, you should always ensure that at least one member in your group is a competant map reader. As further backup, make sure before you leave that your mobile phone will work in that area, and that if in a foreign speaking country, someone should be able to speak a few basic words to get you out of trouble.

Find Self Guided Holidays/Tours using our Search Bar at the top of this page!

Fully Guided Cycling Holidays

A tour guide will be with you at all times when you are cycling on a Fully Guided holiday. The guide should have extensive knowledge of the area, and will be able to keep you on course, and on schedule throughout the holiday.

The advantage of a Fully Guided holiday is that you don't have to worry about finding your way, and can therefore focus your efforts on enjoying the riding and the scenery. The guide will also be able to show you hidden routes and point out interesting landmarks that you might never have found if you were on your own.

Fully Guided holidays can take you to places that you would never have considered riding before and can be a real experience. You will also get to meet other people in the group and potentially strike up new friendships.

One thing to consider is that because you will inevitably be part of a larger group (not always the case for shorter tours), flexibility will be limited to what the group as a whole wants to do. You will also be expected, within reason, to keep up with the group, so always check the Grading (see Grading section) allocated to that holiday and ensure it's within your limits. Speak to the tour operator beforehand if you have any concerns.

Find Fully Guided Holidays/Tours using our Search Bar at the top of this page!

Things to consider when choosing a Self Guided or Fully Guided Holiday

- Is it Point to Point or Single Base?
- If it's Point to Point, will your luggage be transported for you, or do you carry it on your bike?
- What Grade of riding is it - how far will you be expected to ride each day?
- Does the operator provide a support service if you get lost / fall ill / break down?

2. Point to Point vs Single Base

Point to Point Holidays

With a Point to Point tour you travel from A to B during the course of the holiday. Most good tour operators now provide 'van support' that doubles up as transport for your luggage, as well as a welcome rescue option if you fall ill or the hills become too much.

The advantage of Point to Point tours is that each day starts with a new route and over the course of a week or more you can experience some varied riding, scenery and accommodation.

Just be aware that each day demands a set mileage limit to get to the next stop, so ensure that you pick a tour that is a suitable grade (see the Grading page) for your fitness and cycling ability. You don't want to spend all holiday in the support van!

Find Point to Point holidays/tours using our Search Bar at the top of this page!

Single Base Holidays

With Single Base holidays you stop in the same place for the duration of the break. These sorts of holidays will be located in areas rich with cycle routes and trails so that each morning you can set off in a different direction and experience a new ride.

The advantage of Single Base holidays is that they can be more relaxed. If you don't fancy riding on a particular day there is no requirement to do so. Some companies also offer options for non-riding partners, which can be popular if you only take one holiday a year.

The downside to a Single Base holiday is that if you don't like the area, or if the riding available is too strenuous / easy there's not much you can do about it!

Find Single Base holidays/tours using our Search Bar at the top of this page!

All of the holidays on TheCyclePeople.com will be clearly marked as Point to Point or Single Base. Take plenty of time looking at the alternative options in different countries and at different grades to see which one is right for you.

3. Grades of Cycle Tours

Every tour featured on this site has a 'Grade' assigned to it. This is to help you gauge the sort of distances you are likely to be riding each day and how strenuous the riding will be.

However, this is only a guide. For example, specialist Downhilling or Freeride Mountain Bike holidays will require 'confident' bike handling skills, yet may rely on ski lifts to get you back to the top of the mountain and therefore entail very little climbing.

If in doubt, always contact the tour operator to be sure your skills and fitness levels are suitable for the holiday in question.

To see the grade table, click here