Nokka Posted May 31, 2017 Share You can also have a look at this, it's a cycletouring friend of mine originally from Birmingham who now runs a guest house in the south of France with tailor made bike touring holidays as an add on. https://www.facebook.com/noblevelotours/?ref=ts&fref=ts St Antonin Noble Velo is the company's name, in St Antonin, France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkie 2 Posted May 31, 2017 Share In Europe you will be able to hire a bike for a better rate than paying an airline the extra baggage charge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane_Bosch Posted May 31, 2017 Share In Europe you will be able to hire a bike for a better rate than paying an airline the extra baggage chargeHUH? I just love it when people sprout UTTER BULLSH1T as fact. I've done 6 trips to Europe and organized trips for about 50 people and not one ever paid extra baggage charges. Airlines used were Etihad, Emirates and Qatar. Bike rental on the other hand costs 50-85 Euro A DAY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur1 Posted May 31, 2017 Share You gonna have to check which airline you use and what their baggage allowments are. SAA for example has a free sports bag allowance which includes bicycles. Other airlines (I know Lufthansa for once) sees a sport bag as an extra bag which normally costs in the area of 100 USD per trip to load. In most cases I still think it would be cheaper to take your own bike with. The thing to consider is what you do with the bike when you arrive on the other side. Will you be getting a rental car (would it fit in it). If you will travel by train not a problem but some train systems like in Germany you might have to buy a ticket for the bike which costs 2.50€ per day but you are not allowed to use the trains in peak commuting hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kader01 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Mistake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kader01 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Gee that sucks to HAVE to go to France!!! I've done 6 trips (Alps) and loved every second of it. Can only advise on the Alps I'm afraid. What sort of riding are you looking at doing? MTB, Road? There's lots of easy riding in the Alps. some of the resorts even have road books with suggested routes and distance, elevations in them. I took my Fiance last year and she wasn't strong and was on flat pedals (Road bike) and she was fine. There are some heavy duty climbs but you can avoid those or take your time. You aren't racing so there's lots of time. The scenery is EPIC and the cars don't treat you like road vermin. If you are looking at MTB I'd go to the Alps for sure. Morzine specifically. It's the biggest linked riding area in the world. A definite first timers destination. There's AMAZING riding for all abilities. The trails start on the ridge lines so you'd get a lift pass. You CAN ride up an Alp but.... Ski Lift. All the trails are technically graded by color. Green = Easy right u to Black = Scary as ****! A rider of OK technical ability could easily ride the greens & blues. In fact these are the most fun trails IMO. I'd suggest taking your own bike. Rentals are expensive. Think 50 Euro for a road bike and 60 Euro+ for a decent MTB. Just check out the ts & cs of your airline.Sounds realy cool. I is also looming at riding somewhere different. Can you maybe pm me info like where to stay and how to get to the bike park and uhmmm ball park cost of trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kader01 Posted May 31, 2017 Share HUH? I just love it when people sprout UTTER BULLSH1T as fact. I've done 6 trips to Europe and organized trips for about 50 people and not one ever paid extra baggage charges. Airlines used were Etihad, Emirates and Qatar. Bike rental on the other hand costs 50-85 Euro A DAY.The dimensions that emirates allows for bikes are so damn small that it get charged as oversize. Then you get charged crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur1 Posted May 31, 2017 Share The dimensions that emirates allows for bikes are so damn small that it get charged as oversize. Then you get charged crazy. Emirates is not the only airline. You do realise that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane_Bosch Posted May 31, 2017 Share The dimensions that emirates allows for bikes are so damn small that it get charged as oversize. Then you get charged crazy.Yes. Thats a recent thing tho. But they aren't doing it to be greedy. Apparently they are rolling out a new baggage handling plant and oversized baggage is a massive problem. People I know who've flown Emirates recently were not charged. But I'm not prepared to take that chance. I won't be flying Emirates again. Last year we flew Qatar. The planes are great. The airport is 10000000000% better than the horrid glorified mall that is the Emirates airport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur1 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Maybe I was just lucky but everytime I had to buy air tickets between Europe and SA, I priced between several European airlines and Middle Easter airlines. So far I always got better prices on the European airlines and SAA. I really need to save quite a bit before I will spend 5+ hours extra on a plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkie 2 Posted May 31, 2017 Share HUH? I just love it when people sprout UTTER BULLSH1T as fact. I've done 6 trips to Europe and organized trips for about 50 people and not one ever paid extra baggage charges. Airlines used were Etihad, Emirates and Qatar. Bike rental on the other hand costs 50-85 Euro A DAY.Depends on what you do and whom you book with...do a bit more research and you will actually see you can book bikes and more than capable ones at that for €25-30 a day. But to each his own, I would prefer this option than to worry about my bike getting damaged and making sure I can get the bike from the airport to the hotel at within a reasonable fee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaper Posted May 31, 2017 Share HUH? I just love it when people sprout UTTER BULLSH1T as fact. I've done 6 trips to Europe and organized trips for about 50 people and not one ever paid extra baggage charges. Airlines used were Etihad, Emirates and Qatar. Bike rental on the other hand costs 50-85 Euro A DAY.I flew air France 18 months ago and got hit USD100 each way for taking my bike. I was in the Nyons and Mt Ventoux area. There were lots of bike hire places around Ventoux and could have hired a nice carbon bike with 105 groupset for Euro 120 for 5 days... so is not all bull****. I see is now Euro 150 for 5 days http://www.bike-rental-ventoux.com/index.html You can even send them your bike setup measurements and they will have the bike already setup. Just fit your pedals and your ready to ride for 30 Euro a day or less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi-h Posted June 1, 2017 Share I went cycling there last year September and I must say I won't steer clear of the alps. The riding in the alps is a lot more spectacular than the area around Ventoux... Suffer a bit more and stay on the Route des Grandes Alpes. You won't be disappointed! I paid extra baggage to fly my bike. It was R1200 per direction paid upfront compared to around 20 to 25 euro per day to rent, so if you'll be cycling less than 7 days RENT, if you cycle more days take your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trance Dance Posted June 1, 2017 Share I'm not sure I it's already been suggested, but the canal du midi is supposed to be amazing for cycling. I've been investigating a cycling trip from Paris to Marseille. And one of the suggestions I received from a French mate was the canal du midi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane_Bosch Posted June 1, 2017 Share I'm not sure I it's already been suggested, but the canal du midi is supposed to be amazing for cycling. I've been investigating a cycling trip from Paris to Marseille. And one of the suggestions I received from a French mate was the canal du midi.WOW!! Ride from the Atlantic to the Med! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trance Dance Posted June 1, 2017 Share WOW!! Ride from the Atlantic to the Med!It's not too far actually. There are a number of companies that do organised tours over a week. My plan is to do it over more days with a max of 100km per day. The direct distance is about 800km but taking the quieter roads will probably be a bit longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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