Cycling Holidays

Walking Tours

2008 brochure [8.9Mb]

Cycling Holidays

Cycling Holidays in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy

Take to your bike, enjoy the feeling of freedom and experience European hospitality at its best...

This year will be our 22nd summer of cycling holidays. Our winning formula balances freedom and independence with a high level of service and support. Our routes are the result of detailed research - we have found quiet lanes and forest paths that lead you off the beaten track and steer you around any big hills.

We have chosen wonderful hotels in excellent locations, so places of local interest are accessible by bike or on foot. At each hotel you spend two nights (except on our ‘One Night Stops’ option), allowing you time to unwind and get to know these interesting towns and villages.

Our representatives ensure that everything runs smoothly. Each is fluent in the local language and has a keen interest in the region. From meeting you at the airport to preparing the bicycles and transferring luggage between hotels, they are on hand to offer advice and insight.

Suitable for all levels of fitness

You don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to really enjoy all the benefits of a leisurely cycling holiday and the great places it can take you...

One Night Stops

2008 sees another innovative addition to our programme – ‘One Night Stops’, enabling you to stay for two nights in your first hotel followed by just a single night in each subsequent hotel. We are now delighted to introduce this alternative format for those who want the complete cycling adventure but simply have less time to spare. Available on selected dates for all tours, ‘One Night Stops’ is well worth considering.

How difficult is a Bents Bicycle Tour?

A Bents Bicycle Tour is no Tour de France! Instead, imagine a gentle potter at your own pace through the lush German, Austrian, Swiss and Italian countryside with time to savour all the atmosphere of these friendly regions.

In Upper Bavaria, we take you to the mountains but not over them. Immediately south of Munich, the rolling hills of the Alpine foreland rise up, gradually growing until they reach the Alps at the border with Austria. Once in Austria, majestic mountains are all around – however, where there are hills and mountains, there are valleys and lakes, and these are the ways we have found for you.

Switzerland is a mountainous country and certainly the scenery is spectacular. However, our routes through Appenzellerland and, from Gruyères to Lake Genèva, are no more strenuous than those in Bavaria or Austria. Gently undulating alpine meadows, meandering valleys and lakeside cycle routes are the ways we have found for you.

Tuscany is a cyclist’s paradise, a picture perfect rolling landscape of vineyards, olive groves and cypress trees. Quiet lanes and ‘Strada Bianci’ criss-cross the countryside, linking magnificent medieval towns and villages. Though there are a few hills to climb, our careful research has sought out the easiest and most beautiful routes.

Who can enjoy a Bents Bicycle Tour?

Anyone who is healthy and can ride a bike will enjoy our holidays. We try particularly hard to cater for children, so that the whole family can cycle together.

We have a range of lightweight bicycles for the over 8s, and we find that most children from this age have no difficulty in wearing out their parents! For infants and toddlers, we have the latest in child-seats from Kettler (probably the safest and most comfortable on the market) and suitable for children under five. For children aged between 4 and 10, we also have top-of-the range Burley trailer bikes which attach to the back of an adult bicycle and effectively transform it into a tandem. The child can pedal while remaining completely under the control of the adult bicycle. With your luggage carried for you, you won’t find it a chore to bring the children along.

Fit and healthy grandparents can also come along for the ride!