Edusport Travel’s Self-Guided Cycling Holidays

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So, you’re ready to trade traffic jams for scenic climbs, cafés for countryside picnics, and city noise for the satisfying hum of tyres on tarmac? Welcome to the world of self- guided cycling tours – where freedom meets structure, and the journey really is the destination. At Edusport, we help you cycle through Europe on two wheels with curated routes, pre-booked accommodation, and luggage transfers – all while giving you the freedom to ride at your own pace. Whether you’re cycling for the scenery, the challenge, or thecharm of sleepy towns along the way, we’ve got a self-guided tour that […]

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[milky4130]

@Matt@Nick may want to bring this to their attention.

[Nick]

53 minutes ago, milky4130 said:

@Matt@Nick may want to bring this to their attention.

Thanks! It seems that the website is having technical problems at the moment. I'll pass this on to the team at Edusport.

[white tiger]

Anybody on the forum that has used Edusport to book a bike trip.

I'm interested in doing a trip maybe Portugal.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[Duane_Bosch]

6 hours ago, white tiger said:

Anybody on the forum that has used Edusport to book a bike trip.

I'm interested in doing a trip maybe Portugal.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

 

What type of trip are you looking at doing?

Point to point
bike packing
Road
MTB?

 

If you are prepared to be in a single area you can easily do it yourself. I've done multiple trips to France. One to Italy and one to Mallorca to cycle. All self planned and all great. My other half and I are busy sorting out a trip to Spain in September. 

We're basing ourselves in Ronda and I'm planning running and cycling routes using komoot and garmin heat maps.

If you're planning a road bike trip rent there rather.

[white tiger]

I would like to do a gravel tour/road less travelled option.

Point to point trip is first price, but I'm open to suggestions.

I usually organize all my own trips, but this time around am lazy and I'm looking for a bit more comfort. 

 

 

[Shebeen]

39 minutes ago, white tiger said:

I would like to do a gravel tour/road less travelled option.

Point to point trip is first price, but I'm open to suggestions.

I usually organize all my own trips, but this time around am lazy and I'm looking for a bit more comfort. 

looks like they have a Camino option for you.

https://www.edusport.co.za/packages/cycling-the-portuguese-camino-de-santiago-9-day-self-guided-travel-package/

R22k pp sharing, gets you 7 riding days of bike hire, accomodation(8), breakfast and even luggage transfer.

I know you said you were being lazy, but did you do a basic google?

Several reputable companies offer cycling holidays in Portugal, catering to various preferences and fitness levels. BSpoke Tours focuses on scenic coastal routes and Douro Valley e-biking, while Saddle Skedaddle provides both guided and self-guided tours exploring the coast and countryside. Portugal Best Cycling, specializing in the Alentejo region, emphasizes local authenticity and cultural experiences. Exodus Travels offers guided and self-guided tours along the Atlantic coast and through the Algarve. Portugal A2Z Walking & Biking offers customizable walking and biking tours, including self-guided options. Other options include Headwater Holidays, Eurobike, and Cycling for Softies, which focus on luxury and sustainability, respectively. 

 

[Duane_Bosch]

3 hours ago, Shebeen said:

looks like they have a Camino option for you.

https://www.edusport.co.za/packages/cycling-the-portuguese-camino-de-santiago-9-day-self-guided-travel-package/

R22k pp sharing, gets you 7 riding days of bike hire, accomodation(8), breakfast and even luggage transfer.

I know you said you were being lazy, but did you do a basic google?

Several reputable companies offer cycling holidays in Portugal, catering to various preferences and fitness levels. BSpoke Tours focuses on scenic coastal routes and Douro Valley e-biking, while Saddle Skedaddle provides both guided and self-guided tours exploring the coast and countryside. Portugal Best Cycling, specializing in the Alentejo region, emphasizes local authenticity and cultural experiences. Exodus Travels offers guided and self-guided tours along the Atlantic coast and through the Algarve. Portugal A2Z Walking & Biking offers customizable walking and biking tours, including self-guided options. Other options include Headwater Holidays, Eurobike, and Cycling for Softies, which focus on luxury and sustainability, respectively. 

 

Yissie those look sick! To be fair they weren't exactly obvious on the site. The Danube bike path one looks very nice. 

[jtex]

On 7/22/2025 at 7:35 AM, white tiger said:

Anybody on the forum that has used Edusport to book a bike trip.

I'm interested in doing a trip maybe Portugal.

Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

 

HI go check out  Portugal Nature Trails they offer the best service I have done 4 tours with them. Go onto Tread Media website there is an article to read about Antonio who runs his own company .

[white tiger]

22 hours ago, Shebeen said:

looks like they have a Camino option for you.

https://www.edusport.co.za/packages/cycling-the-portuguese-camino-de-santiago-9-day-self-guided-travel-package/

R22k pp sharing, gets you 7 riding days of bike hire, accomodation(8), breakfast and even luggage transfer.

I know you said you were being lazy, but did you do a basic google?

Several reputable companies offer cycling holidays in Portugal, catering to various preferences and fitness levels. BSpoke Tours focuses on scenic coastal routes and Douro Valley e-biking, while Saddle Skedaddle provides both guided and self-guided tours exploring the coast and countryside. Portugal Best Cycling, specializing in the Alentejo region, emphasizes local authenticity and cultural experiences. Exodus Travels offers guided and self-guided tours along the Atlantic coast and through the Algarve. Portugal A2Z Walking & Biking offers customizable walking and biking tours, including self-guided options. Other options include Headwater Holidays, Eurobike, and Cycling for Softies, which focus on luxury and sustainability, respectively. 

 

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions.

I read the bit re Portugal Nature Trails. They look organizedand very nice. They just seem a bit more expensive than a few of the other options, but they look like the "most luxury'' option.

Edusport looks cheap in comparison, but it difficult to compare if you don't have the exact details regarding hotels, bikes included etc...

 

[Duane_Bosch]

Ok so now that everything is booked and paid for and visa's have been approved I can tell all of you fine cats what my wife and I are up to. We're going to Spain to do some light riding and micro running at the end of this month.

We were set on Spain pretty early on. We went to Mallorca in 2019 and absolutely loved that so we figured let's do another part of Spain. Originally I wanted to go to Girona and Andorra but my wife wasn't thaaat enthusiastic about Girona. Then my windows background showed an image of a beautiful bridge. I googled that and it was Ronda in Spain. I did also try to float the idea of going back to Morzine but that went down like a lead donut.

We are going to (mostly) the Andalusia region of Spain. Our destinations are as follows. Istanbul 2 days, Ronda Spain 7 days, Tangier Morocco 2 days, Frigiliana Spain 2 days, Home

We are flying into Malaga via Istanbul on Turkish. The price differential between spending 2 days in Istanbul vs One hit to Malaga was literally 7k each so we are going to spend 2 days floating around Isatnbul Then on to Malaga

For our first Spain leg we are staying in Ronda. We've rented a car for 11 days and we're renting bikes for 5 days. We rented bikes in Mallorca before and that was completely painless. Yes it's costing 280 euro but hacking with 2 bikes if you're going to more than 1 destination really sucks the joy out of it.

I've mapped out a few riding and trail running routes on komoot (see below) and I've downloaded the gpx files to my gps. Mostly easy stuff but this is by design. We're on holiday. I still need to do some planning ITO activities but we've got a good base to work from.

Then we've booked 2 nights in Tangier. We've booked a ferry across to Tangier. The rental car has to be parked somewhere coz we're picking that up on the way back. We aren't allowed to put it on a ferry and it's not allowed to leave Europe. We've got a day trip out to the blue city from Tangier planned.

Then it's back to Spain and a little town just off of the coast called frigiliana for 2 nights. 

Then home.

So far we've spent around 75k between the 2 of us. But everything is paid for. The only thing outstanding is food and beer. We could have done it for less if we made more use of busses and trains and didn't rent a car but it is what it is.

I'm no expert but I have done 12 cycling trips to Europe. (mostly to Morzine) and I have accompanied at least 30 people over there so I do have a bit of first hand knowledge. When it comes to going to Europe to ride these are my thoughts.

• The sandpit airlines are generally cheapest and you don't pay for a bike. Emirates, Qatar, Etihad
• The price of airline tickets seem to be heavily influenced by school holidays. Much more than pre covid IMO so try to fly outside of school holiday and euro summer holiday times.
• The organized stuff like Edusport takes the hassle out of it but that does come at a price. If you aren't the type to scour maps and figure out routes and obsessing over aibbnb's then an organized thing is best.
• Getting around costs so staying in one place will save you a ton of money
• Figure out if you are going on a riding holiday or a holiday that will involve some riding. If you're going on a holiday that involves some riding then you should definitely rent.
• If you do rent a car try to make it for as short a time as possible
• Bars and restaurants are going to kill your budget so try to rather airbnb so you can cook your own food on most nights
• Plan your riding. If you're planning on Ventoux for example plan to hit it early when you are still fresh and you can also reschedule if you have bad weather or a mechanical. I planned to do the Joux Plane with my other half in 2016 and one broken spoke and no bike shops open ended that
• If you're going mountain biking don't try to turn yourself into Greg or Alan Hatherley before the trip. You're just going to injure yourself.
• If you're going road riding consider renting. Mountain biking is a different story IMO

That's all I can think of right now.

Edited August 5, 2025 by Duane_Bosch

[mrmed]

I spend a fair amount of time in Spain, but never been to Ronda, looks like a great place to visit and I'm certainly going to add it to my list of places to bike. Thanks for sharing

[Duane_Bosch]

Ok Report back time.

My other half and I got back from (mostly) Spain yesterday where we did a bit of riding whilst on holiday. So not a full on riding trip. For the part of our trip where we did some riding we were based in Ronda. Ronda is about 100km inland from Malaga in the Andalucía region of Spain

Some 100% opinion based feedback

The Riding

As a pure road riding destination I'd rate Mallorca higher. There's much more climbing and more known/famous routes in Mallorca. But Ronda was a better holiday location where you can take the family and still smash out some road rides.

The roads were quiet. Even the A roads were super quiet and the Spanish drivers were VERY courteous and respectful of cyclists. I've never felt safer on a road than in Andalusia. We had 1 gps fail but the routes I planned were by and large great. There are no massive Alpine cols in this region but there's more than enough climbing to get the legs burning.

It was super hot and my other half is a proper rooikoppie so we had to get out early and make sure we were back by 11 before the heat of the day became unbearable.

The bikes

We rented bikes from cyclesronda (highly recommended) The bikes were their low end bikes which were Ali framed, 105 equipped Stevens bikes. They were super well maintained and I literally had to raise my saddle by 5mm. That is all of the setup we did. We took our own pedals, gps's and lights. The owner of the shop gave us gpx files for routes that he recommended. We used those and the ones I'd put together to map out rides. 

General feedback

• The way we navigate in the world has changed in the past 5 years. If you're traveling into Europe it's best to set up an Esim from a company like Airolo before you go. You can get regional sims which will work all over Europe. Or if you have a phone from the stone age like me you can do what we did and buy a sim on arrival. This worked out more expensive than the airolo option and it was quite stressful knowing I had to source a sim basically at the airport
• Turkish airlines is ***. If you want to pre book seats even in economy you have to pay. I've never had to do this before. Also somehow the seats are super uncomfortable and the legroom is non existent. Even for a midget like me.
• We could only access our airbnb in Istanbul in the afternoon. We had to find a place to store our luggage and we were super tired. Looking back I should have just rented the place from the day before so we could get in. Have a nap and a shower and store our gear before hitting the city. The lesson is if you arrive in the morning just book the accommodation from the night before so you have a base to work from on arrival
• Getting around is expensive. We rented a car from a website called doyouspain.com. I specifically booked an automatic VW golf because I didn't want to faf with gears whilst driving on the wrong side of the road. What they gave us was a Seat Cupra wagon. OMG what an amazing car!! The car was great but parking, petrol and tolls will quickly eat into your budget. The lesson is rent a car but do so for as short a time as possible.
• Istanbul was great but I don't need to go there again. It's a great city but it is siff and people are getting in your face the entire time. The street food is amazing but the touristy spots like the blue mosque are overrun by sheeple following tour guides. If you do go get an istanbulcard at the train station at the airport. That pretty much makes getting around the city free. Don't go on one of those bosphorous cruises for 10 Euro but rather use your Istanbulcard and catch the normal ferry to the Asia side for around 2 Euro. It's pretty much the same thing.

Edited September 15, 2025 by Duane_Bosch