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You can book our Individual Tours up to 30 days before starting the trip. It is recommended, however, that you book as early as possible – hotels are often booked solid, especially during high season. Same is true for our Boat & Bike Tours: these become more and more popular, don't be too late! Concerning our Event Tours: we will keep you posted on our Web- and our Facebook-page about the booking situation. And finally, for custom-made trips we recommend that you contact us at least 6 months before the trip – the bigger the group the earlier. Otherwise our whole team might be busy or hotels may be booked out, especially during high season. For cancellation-policy: see our terms and conditions.
It is a booking-requirement that you have adequate travel insurance. Cover for medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and cancellation charges should be included. Since we're seated in Europe, we can only arrange travel-insurance for European citizens. But there should not be a problem to find the appropriate insurance in your own country, it can be obtained from most insurance companies, banks and travel agencies.
Your Individual Tour is guaranteed as soon as you get our confirmation invoice. We reserve the right to cancel or reschedule our pre-scheduled tours (Boat & Bike Tours, Event Tours), i.e. in case of unforseen events, or if the minimum number of participants is not reached. If a tour is canceled prior to departure, you can switch to an alternate departure date or alternatively receive a full refund.
All our tours are open to each kind of prequel or sequel. If you want to ride some more, or if you want to do some classic sightseeing before or after the trip: just contact us. You find optional services (extension nights, suitable transfers etc.) in the Services & Prices-section of each trip and we are ready help you with ideas, plans and services in how to continue or complement your tour.
If you do not want to bring your own bike, you can rent bicycles from us. We work together with partners who provide bikes that are well maintained. The type varies with the kind of trip – usually we offer reliable 7-gear touring-bikes with backpedal-brake (unisex/gents) or 21-gear freewheel touring-bikes (unisex/gents). For racing events and sportive tours we rent out high quality road-bikes.
You can also rent E-Bikes – on some trips there is only a limited number available and early booking is recommended. It is always possible to charge the electric bike overnight, in the hotel or aboard a ship.
You don't need to be an athlete to join a Cyclands-Tour. Most important is to assess your personal level of fitness when deciding what kind of trip you want to take part in. Take some time to look over the daily distances and elevation profiles to get an idea of what tour fits you – we offer a variety of cycling-levels and provide tours for everyone who enjoys cycling.
In most European countries, wearing a helmet is recommended, but not compulsory – in some countries, like Spain and Croatia, cyclists are required by law to wear helmets. In Italy, children up to and including 16 years of age are required by law to wear helmets, in France and Austria children up to and including 12. Best bring your own helmet with you! If you want to rent a helmet, tell us when doing the reservation.
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If you feel adventurous and like to plan the day for yourself, an Individual Tour is your choice! Hotels (including breakfast) are booked ahead and you will get plenty of material to find the way on your own – for most trips we have GPS-tracks ready to use on your smartphone or GPS-device. Your main luggage will be delivered from hotel to hotel. If you have urgent questions or if you have some kind of emergency, call our hotline and we help and support you in your own language. The most important services are all taken care of. And there are plenty of optional services to chose from – above all rental bikes, if you don't want to bring your own.
Every destination has a specific season for bike-travelling (check out the tour-pages). Inside the season, begin your trip whenever you want! There are restrictions for a few trips (which can only be started on certain days of the week) and you have to book ahead at least 30 days before arrival, but in every other respect it's your choice when to go. And with whom to go! These are not scheduled group-tours, you chose your own travel companions – be it only your partner or a large group of friends or colleagues. The minimum number of participants is usually two, but if you want to travel all by yourself, contact us about it. Theoretically there is no limit to the number of participants – the bigger the group, the earlier you should contact us to make sure that there are enough hotel rooms.
We send you the essential informations per Email and we also phone you up before the trip and clarify open questions. The main materials (map, roadbook etc.) will wait for you at the first accommodation of your trip. Same is true with the rental bikes, which you just leave at the last accommodation.
All necessary emergency numbers are written down in the roadbook of the trip, most important our hotline-number. In case of emergency you can call this number 24/7 (if you have general questions from 8 AM to 6 PM), we will answer in your language and will try to meet your needs.
Your main luggage will be transported from hotel to hotel – you have to deposit your luggage at the hotel-reception until 9 AM, it will usually be brought to the next hotel by 4 PM. What you need during the day (including repair-kit, pump etc.) you have to take with you on the bike. We recommend to bring bicycle-bags (which in most cases also can be rented out) or a small backpack. Please also take into consideration that constant handling during the tour puts a special strain on the luggage.
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Our Boat & Bike Tours are scheduled trips but still give you a lot of freedom and flexibility. There are great destinations and a lot of dates to choose from, but better make sure to book early since these trips are very popular! You stay overnight in your cabin on a boat which travels with you, you don't have to pack and unpack every day anew. During the day you cycle on your own or – on some trips – you can chose to ride with a small, guided group. Or you stay on board and be lazy! Your physical well-being is ensured: breakfast and a 3-course-dinner are served on board and everyday you take a packed lunch on your cycling trip.
This depends on your prefences and on the kind of trip you take: on the tours in Holland/Belgium you can join a cycling-group every day, with a guide leading the way. Around Bordeaux you can book an extra package and join a group. In Germany the guide stays on board.
In any case: you can ride alone on your own and at your own pace with maps and directions, the tour operator or crew on board is available for emergencies by mobile phone. You will always get a detailed briefing every evening, with information about next days' routing, sights etc.
Usually you leave the ship after breakfast, around 9 AM, cycling can be up to 60km. Since you have the whole day to reach your next destination, this should be feasible for all cyclists, from very experienced to beginners and recreational cyclists with a basic level of fitness. Most of the cycle routes are classified as being easy, because most of the route follows flat paths. Of course we cannot control the direction of the wind, which can make things tougher! The boat doesn't sail parallel to the cycle route, so you can't stop cycling halfway.
Children are very welcome on our Boat & Bike Tours, but please do make sure to check if a child can cycle daily distances of 30 – 60 kilometers before booking. Of course you can always opt to stay aboard for one or more days (children up to the age of 18 have to be under adult supervision).
You are served a nutritious and varied breakfast buffet every day, after which you make your own packed lunch (sandwiches, fruit and something to drink). In the evenings you will be served a delicious three-course meal. Various drinks (such as coffee, tea, beer, wine, water, soft drinks) are available at the bar (for a fee). Coffee and tea are usually free until 4 PM. If you have special dietary wishes (vegetarian meals, lactose or gluten-free diet), then please indicate this when making your reservation. Vegetarian meals are always available, in all other cases we will check the possibilities for your selected trip. In some cases an additional charge may apply; this mainly applies to lactose or gluten-free meals.
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There are myriads of sportive events which are open to everyone in Europe: big marathons in Berlin or London, the Vasaloppet in Sweden or the Velothon Cycling Series. Every year we choose some events we like and built trips around them, either focussed on the big occassion itself or extended to make a longer trip. Check our Webpage and our Facebook-page for updates!
Events we want you to participate in are open to everybody over 18 years of age (if you want to bring your kids: ask for possible restrictions). You don't have to qualify and you don't have to show a specific qualifying time. However, always assess yourself realistically and don't put too much strain on yourself if you want to participate in sportive events!
In general we can provide all kind of services – bookings, reservations, everything related to the operation of your trip itself. We know that some slots and starting places are very difficult to get and we cannot guarantee success, but tell us what you want and we will do everything we can. If you want your whole individual/group-trip around this event to be custom-made by us: tell us as soon as possible!
If you are interested to experience sport events like the Tour de France, a football game of one of the big leagues, or a big championship up close: tell us as soon as possible and we will try to realize it. Some tickets are extremely hard to get, hotels are booked out early during some occassions, it is crucial that you show firm commitment and that we have enough time to fulfill your needs. We especially recommend to experience one of the big stage races like the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia or the Spanish Vuelta, where you could get a perfect combination of watching the pros, doing some cycling yourself and enjoying great landscapes and cultures!
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Do you want to experience Europe without rushing through the whole continent, without travelling in huge groups stopping only at the usual, worn-out photo-stops? Are you in Europe on a business trip and want to see something else besides hotels and meeting rooms? Do you want to spend quality-time with your whole family? Or do you travel with a group of old friends? Europe is too big and diverse to rush through it! Come with us, experience its landscapes and dig deep into the culture or the subject you are most interested in.
We are specialized in cycling- and active-tours and will be happy to integrate these parts into your trip – there is no better way to experience one of the big cities than on a bike, there is fantastic hiking in the Alps, tranquil canoeing along one of Europe's waterways…but, most importantly: our main objective is to travel, and to do so in a good and alternative way. You should travel at your own speed and according to your own ideas! Maybe you have a study-group and want to deepen your knowledge? Or you want to dig deep into one specific region and want to practice your language-skills? We have organized cultural- and mini-tours without cycling or hiking before, it was always big fun.
We provide services from beginning to end: if you have ideas where to travel and what to put your emphasis on, we help you to work it out and make suggestions. When it comes to organizing your trip we will work on the itinerary and make the necessary provisions, bookings and reservations. And when you arrive in Europe we will be there, from arrival to departure, if you wish so. For ground-operations we have highly qualified guides who speak your language, vans and trailers, and an extensive network of friends in the travel business all over Europe. Our ground-services are restricted to Europe, though, and all the preparations you have to do to get here (flight-ticket, visa, insurance etc.) you have to do by yourself.
Send us your idea, plan, suggestions or just ask for the service you need – we will work on it. You will get our proposal ASAP, for free and not-binding: if you like it, plans will get more concrete. If you don't like it: no harm done!
There is a whole range of travel deals in Europe we can and would never compete with, mostly in the classical travel segment with large groups and too many sights to digest. We do not take commissions and will not bring you to shops that rip you off, we won't get you to restaurants merely for tourists, where you have 20 minutes to eat your meal. Besides that, we are open to every suggestion. Basic or luxury tours, sportive or hedonistic trip: your trip should be all but conventional!