Self guided bike tours

September 2019 a gang of us did Portugal Bike Tours' "Ancient Medieval Villages" tour as a supported (as opposed to self-guided) trip. (They also offer this trip self-guided.) José and Christina did a fantastic job and we had a blast. The rent bikes were good (Cube carbon fiber Ultegra disc). We were supplied Garmin 'tour' units with the routes pre-loaded, and three of us also carried GPS locators so Jose and Christian could track down someone who had gone astray.

As a 'supported' tour they set up a couple rest stops along the route with water and snacks. We also had a 'highlight' stop each day -- an ancient Roman village, marble quarry, wine tasting, cork forest, etc. Accomodations were first rate, mostly 4-5 star hotels and posadas. I could not recommend them more highly.

Cf. The same gang-of-N group did a trip to Provence in 2017 from Cyclomundo. We were a little less impressed. The rent bikes were not a good and there were fitting issues at the start. They didn't have the correct stem length for my bike, and one couple's bikes couldn't be fitted at all and they demanded (at no additional charge) rentals that did fit from a local shop in Avignon. We also had problems with the routes, and were sometimes off track, standing around reconciling paper cue sheets and Google Maps on our phones. That trip was 'self guided as a group.'

Craig,

A self-guided bicycle trip is, to my mind, one that is also self-planned without utilizing the services of a tour company. It's also self-contained, whereby you carry all you stuff on the bike. If that's what you have in mind - or even if it isn't - then Europe is ideal for bicycle touring. Doing it yourself is also a lot less expensive, more flexible and affords independence, over using a tour company. In addition to Europeans being far more accepting and respective of cyclists on the road than are Americans, each country has a multitude of quiet, lightly traveled back roads, and most have the tourism infrastructure (B&Bs, hotels, restaurants, trains, TIs, etc.) to support them.

We're toured by bike on our own all over Europe and in other places for decades with just the wonderfully detailed Michelin maps in hand and a general idea of where we want to go before hitting the road. Then each day we pick and choose our routes according to a region's scenery, historic sites, places to visit, etc. and look for accommodations at day's end. On some trips we've camped, but mostly stayed in B&Bs or small, family-run hotels, especially in Eastern Europe. If that's to your liking, then get a Michelin map for your country of choice and go. A scale of 1:400,000 (1 cm = 4 km or 1 inch = 6.31 miles) is perfect for bicycle travel. The scale will also vary a bit according to the country.

Our favorite country is Ireland, where we plan to return for our tenth trip next summer. If this is your first European bike trip, Ireland is a great place to begin. It's easy to navigate, everyone speaks English, B&Bs abound, the people are exceptionally friendly, the food is good, and the traditional music in the pubs at night is even better.

On that note, you didn't mention the country or countries in which you want to bike. If you'd like I may be able to provide some specifics. Lastly, I'd recommend a trip of at least two weeks' duration. That'll afford sufficient time to settle in to the routine, especially physically, and to acclimate to handling a loaded bicycle and really absorb the scenery and the adventure.

If you want to book a self-guided tour with a company that provides lodging accommodation, maps and route directions, luggage transport, and maybe a rental bike, Incan throw out a couple of suggestions. ( We have not used these companies ourselves, but Inhave corresponded with them and was satisfied with their professionalism and knowledge).

https://www.tripsite.com/bike/

https://www.macsadventure.com/us/biking-tours/

But do you have an idea of which country you want to tour? Riding on back lanes and country roads, or dedicated bike paths like the paths along the Mosel, Danube, Inn, and other rivers? Flat or hilly?

I'd add www.utracks.com to the list of companies that offer self-guided options but I think for the most part Mac and Tripsite and Utracks all offer mostly the same trips as they are all thirds party agencies. We've done a couple cycling trips but not self-guided. I like having the guide to give me the "story" of where we are biking.

Here is an example of a bike path tour on the Danube trail from Passat Germany into Austria:

https://www.vbt.com/tours/germany-austria-the-danube-river/?utm_source=TacNews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2021.07.14+VBT+Warm+Winter+Chile+PR&utm_content=Prospect&PID=453284&PN_email=ZfVuJnTSFcHUVU0oEZoMj5OwkGDx9lQLYfzRDPpL%2B%2BxmcHaz53mGBLgb51yLrmb7I5l0CQCfQa0uitvhJjDNE6DUaMRTFlZ%2F2ASr78Vqr2A%3D

This is another company offering self-guided tours as well as guided. The company is VBT or Vermont Bicycle Tours.

We did two one-week self-guided but supported bike tours 10+ years ago in Germany. A one week loop of the Mecklenburg-Seenplatte and a oe week loop of the Stralsund-Rugen regions. The tour was self-guided but supported. Supported in the sense that the tour company booked all the overnight acommodations and provided maps, guidebooks and route instructions from inn to inn and importantly luggage transfer service. It was self-guided in the the arrangement did not include a guide.

We did have a guide in the form of a German friend. Our German friend did the bookings and arrancements and used Wikinger Reisen, a German touring company. While their service and selection of accommodations were very good, they do not provide English language information.

We rented bikes through the touring company and were extremely pleased with the equipment provided. Bike paths and roads in norhteast Germany can be rough ranging from cobbles and graded unpaved roads to smooth as a baby's bottom pavement. We were grateful that the tour compay rented wide touring tires and that we did not bring our 23mm wide road tired bikes. We did bring our own saddles and pedals to match our bike shoes.

I did self guided trips in England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein. That was back before there were very many bike paths. I liked France, I did mainly the Loire but also some in Normandy and Alsace. Sticking to the white roads on the Michelin 1:200,000 maps make for a great ride. Germany now has a great network of bike paths that are well signed. The Rhine, Mosel, and Lahn rivers make a nice trip as does the Romantic Road.

I almost always rode without reservations, but I wouldn‘t do that now. As a bare minimum, I would have a way to make a reservation a couple of days in advance. In Germany the town tourist information office can often find you a place. I was staying in Bacharach and one of the other guests ( cycling ! ) had found out about the place from the TIO.

In Germany Bett und Bike ( bed and bike ) is an association of hotels that are bike friendly and are supposed to be able to transport bags to the next place. I have no first hand knowledge of this service, however. www.bettundbike.de

I don’t think companies like Tripsite and VBT can be properly characterized as third party agencies. That term legitimately applies to companies like Viator, which is a listing agent for lots of tours but does not operate any themselves. They simply book you on a tour with a separate company that provides the bus, the guide, the itinerary, etc.

Tripsite, VBT, and other companies operate guided biking and hiking tours themselves, using guides they hire and itineraries they develop. Their self-guided options take that template and use the same itinerary, but without the guide and the group aspect. I have been aware of Tripsite since they started running a few bike tours in 1999, although I have not actually done a tour with them.

Edgar helpfully described this type of self-guided tour as “supported”. They create the route and itinerary for you, book the hotels and luggage transfers, and provide maps and route notes. That is a lot of research work if you try to do it yourself. They are very good at smoothing out any kinks and avoiding complications in a given itinerary.***. They are also available if you need help along the way. This is very different from booking with a “third party” agency, which acts as a booking agent and just takes your money and signs you up with someone else.

My experience with Mac’s Adventures demonstrates they are not a third party agent either. I was corresponding with them about a village-to-village hike above the French Riviera, and they came up with various customized itineraries based on my requests. They definitely were not just matching us to an existing itinerary with a separate provider. In the end we could not book the trip as we could not manage to get enough time, but I am very appreciative of the time they spent helping us and I intend to use them if we ever want a self-guided trip. So far we have either done completely independent travel (Switzerland and Alaska) or chosen a fully-guided trip where the logistics appeared complicated (Patagonia, Japan, and others). Plus we enjoy meeting others and like the small group experience.

Thank you all for responding to my question.
BTW, I’ve used MacsAdventures for the TMB and UTraks for the Via Francegia; both were “self-guided” walking tours. And, both were a good value for the money (not perfect but NO major gaffs) and I would use them again.
For this upcoming adventure, I’ve been trying to uncover the names of the “local tour operators” that Macs, Utraks, etc. rely upon for local expertise, etc. My results are mixed but now I gathered a few more names and routes for my possible itinerary and travel company.
Be safe!