Bike and Barge…in France
Here’s a great big myth-of-the-week: that cycling holidays are for the Lance Armstrong types who want to sleep and eat on their bikes. How does a week of leisurely cycling on quiet roads in the heart of France’s scenic Loire Valley sound?
Even better, your accommodation will travel with you. That’s because you’ll be sleeping on a surprisingly comfortable barge (most cabins with private bathrooms) built to travel the canals of France. On board you’ll enjoy the freshest of French cuisine – and perhaps a glass of wine or two.
During the day you’ll be cycling about 50 km through small towns and villages, past castles and through vineyards. The activity level throughout is moderate.
The company also offers a Danube or Moselle by Bike & Barge tour, a Family Bike & Barge tour in Holland, and Bike & Boat tours in Greece and Croatia including cruising in the idyllic Dalmatian coast, the “Caribbean of the Med”.
Who makes these delicious tours happen? It’s UTrack, a division of an Australian-headquartered company called World Expeditions. As their name implies, they have some pretty hard-core stuff (trekking in the Himalayas comes to mind) but they also have lots to choose from on a more cultural basis, and even a series of tours specially-designed for the 55+ traveller.
Like a lot of those well-established Ozzie companies, World Expeditions was founded on a strong eco-travel basis. They carefully follow the path of responsible travel including employing locally where possible; encouraging environmentally-respectful practices by its clients; and choosing locally-owned accommodations and restaurants.