Cc wants you to enjoy the landscape, people and culture as much as we do and strive to make your 2 wheel trip a memorable experience. What is a Day in the Life of Cycling Country? Now, we all know from life there are never typical days but what we can say is that each day on a Cycling Country tour is planned to be filled with as much as possible for you to enjoy. That could mean enjoying a feast of fresh goat´s cheese, almonds picked off the tree roadside, lovely views and awe inspiring vistas, lung filling fresh air and exercise (that means “some climbs”!), a good laugh, being shown the curious, the quirky and the fascinating about each place visited and relaxing in a welcoming place to lay your head at the end of the day.   When that end of the day comes… You’re only here for a short time, beauty sleep is important as is taking in as much of the country as you can, which is why we chose our hotels carefully, providing you with friendly and centrally located lodgings. Many hotels are found in historical buildings and are spots you can take a safe ramble from and see some sights before settling down for some Zzzzzzzzs. See each tour section for a gallery of its special hotels.  

If you have a good level of fitness consistent and ongoing and an active life-style then you should be fine.

It is not a race, you have all day and taking your time to enjoy the scenery and traverse the landscape is exactly what our tours are all about. Unless you are on a sports tour which is a little more about doing the Miles of course!

Our routes are also graded from Easy Going to Challenging, so do expect hills and longer days on the harder routes.

For our All Levels tours we recognise each cyclist has different experience and fitness, thus days are planned so the route is anywhere from 25 – 75 km and those feeling more energetic can choose to cycle more on most days. Our guides are also around to ride with those keener to add on more miles or we can provide some loop ideas / notes… A good holiday option for couples or friends with different riding abilities.  We also have an ebike option which helps even up those abilities too!

For all our tours, we recommend on road training rides beforehand. Some tips would be to start keeping track of your mileage with apps like Strava to chart your fitness progression. Please do ask us if you have any questions or are unsure of the grade of each tour – we have years of experience in helping you choose the cycle tour that is right for you.

Southern Spain has one of the warmest and temperate climates in Europe throughout the year.

Our tours take in several different areas including the heights of the Sierra Nevada (snow covered from October until May) and rolling plains of Cordoba and Seville. Our schedule tours are in the temperate part of the year – spring and autumn – when there are many sunny days and daytime temperatures are of high to low 20s with cooler evenings (although we ride all year round). To check what the day will hold whilst you are on holiday, use the Weather Channel’s App to get up to date and correct updates. Aemat is Spain’s Meteorological dept.

This holds true with Portugal´s Alentejo region which can be very warm in the summer months as well with the Algarve having a very sunny disposition and temperate weather through the year, though the Atlantic side can be a bit temperamental during the winter months. The national weather page for Portugal is the  Instituto Português do Mar e da Amosfera or IPMA.

England, Northern Spain and France are green for a reason, and a lovely lush change from Southern Iberia – summer is the time to go!

Our Facebook Page and Trip Advisor are great resources for information, photos and other Cycling Country traveller experiences.  We also have many reviews up on Google Reviews as well as Bike Tour Reviews.

We have thought carefully about your comfort and pleasure when being transferred, and our customised vans are made for the job. As the guided tours are fully supported, the van is an integral part of the trip.

The van will be out on the road everyday, sweeping the route, offering supplies and refreshments. If you don’t like the look of the next hill or have just had enough for the day, jump in the van and watch the countryside whirl past from a relaxed, airconditioned setting.

It is possible for those non-cycling partners or friends to come along and ride in the van each day.

Each van is equipped to carry your luggage, bicycles, spares and of course you, giving you the ability to travel in style and comfort when necessary. Although this is a cycling holiday, we have not forgotten about those times when a transfer is unavoidable.

It is compulsory to have adequate travel & health insurance to cover any medical or travel emergencies you might experience whilst on tour. Please note that if you have an accident on your bike whilst on tour, you are responsible for the bike as well.

• EU Citizens please ensure that you have adequate coverage and do not rely on the EHIC card (Formerly the E111) as your sole form of insurance.
• Those relying on insurance provided by credit cards please ensure that there is adequate coverage (and make sure that cycle touring is covered).

There are no obligatory health-related requirements, but it is strongly recommended your standard vaccinations such as Tetanus and Polio are up to date.

You should contact your doctor at least 3 months prior to travel to obtain any vaccinations needed and a health check to ensure fitness.

• If you have severe allergies or asthma please carry necessary inhalers or epi-pens and notify us about your condition. We do not stock such items in our first aid kit (this also includes any antihistamines creams, ibuprofen or other medications which you may need or want).

 Good question! Due to the A to B nature of our tours and the difficulty of babysitting bike boxes and bags, we don’t allow bikes on our trips aside from La Vuelta Tours. Please note that on this tour there could be a supplementary cost due to bike boxes / logistic issues – please ask.  We cannot assume responsibility for the safety of or damage to your personal bike whilst on tour. Please make sure your bike is in excellent maintenance upon arrival and you have any particular spare parts that may be used during the trip (in some cases it might be difficult to source, at short notice, spares for certain brands).  As well please assemble your bike upon arrival and disassemble it upon departure, though of course we will help you in whatever way we can! We require helmets to be worn whilst on all our tours, so please bring your own. However, if you don´t have one or can’t fit it in, we will source one for you. In Spain you must wear a helmet by law when travelling along roads and as much as we love a great tour soundtrack, no IPods please whilst on the bike.

Not a problem at all.  If you are used to riding with clip in pedal systems (Shimano SPD or Road / LOOK / TIME etc) we recommend you bring them and your shoes and we will put them on your bike at the beginning of the tour.  If not, all bikes will be fitted with a standard flat pedal with mini plastic toe clips being available as well. We very strongly recommend that riders who plan to bring in clip in pedals have prior experience riding this way before their tour.  With saddles, a bike trip with a sore bum, is not a pleasant one (!), and although we do carry a variety to try out, we do recommend to bring your own saddle if you prefer.  Generally we will fit the saddle rather than seat post as well due to seat post widths being different between models.

There are no obligatory health-related requirements, but it is strongly recommended your standard vaccinations such as Tetanus and Polio are up to date.

You should contact your doctor at least 3 months prior to travel to obtain any vaccinations needed and a health check to ensure fitness.