What do you look for in a tour?

[Festina_Lente]

I'm starting a little company and I would like to know peoples experience of cycle tour companies. What do cycle tourists look for in a tour provider? Is a flashy website important? What are the common mistakes made in delivering these tours, the things that stand out as irritating about this type of holiday? What extras justify the extra £ over just doing it yourself?

 

[jay clock]

Your title and your post clash with each other. Most of the fun I have is planning, and then doing everything under my own steam. So asking "what do you look for in tour provider" is "nothing"

 

[andym]

Hmm a wee bit OTT there. Supported tours are just as much touring as the wild-camping-don't-wash-for-a-week-live-in-a-hammock expeditions of the Bear Mears wannabes. Different strokes for different folks.

I started off touring on supported tours and there's a lot to be said for them if you are inexperienced, you don't speak the language, etc etc. Or you're so busy and so stressed out by your job that you want to go on holiday and let someone else do yhe worrying. No matter how good your research you can't beat the knowledge of a good local guide. Supported tours are also good for people who want to cycle with others but don't have partners/friends who like cyclin. And having someone carry you luggage - what's not to like about that?

 

[hubbike]

1. Efficient baggage transfer (wine transfer if touring vineyards!)
2. Excellent local knowledge (language, history, wildlife, the most scenic routes, local interest etc)
3. No headaches. accommodation booked, food provided and possibly flights all made easy.
4. Laundry
5. Some sort of entertainment in evenings if people want.

Different people will want different things out of a tour. Being able to cater to people's difficulties will make you competitive for example...
1. Different kinds of dietary requirements, no wheat, no dairy, vegetarian, there are millions of fussy eaters out there!!
2. Able to cope with kids and young families.
3. Able to cope with old people.
4. Single people looking to make.... erm... friends.

I'd personally never bother using one of these companies but if you are cash rich and time poor I can see that they'd be useful.

 

[Brains]

Would agree with one to five above
re number 2 - I like self lead tours where I can go at my own pace and chose between the easy and hard route and mix which group I am with

I would add a sixth rule of 'good bike'

You need to be able to rent, for a very small amount of money, a high quality bike as many people coming on tours will not have their own, or if they do have their own, they are "BSO's"

The leader also needs an extensive toolkit on the bike and the ability to get from the baggage wagon a proper full tool kit including bike stand etc.

My Experience:

I have done a number of tours with me as the leader of small groups (5-10) of teenage (14-19yrs ) Scouts.
At least one tour of Denmark was ruined by continual mechanical fixing of several of the bikes as they were either too old or simply not up to the job.
On another tour of Holland we had to buy a bike half way through as the cost of repairs was more than it was worth.
On another tour in France we had to have a frame welded together by a car mechanic using a couple of feet of angle iron
On another tour (C2C) we had the local blacksmith re-file the individual spikes on the rear sprocket to get a chain to fit as it was so worn
I could go on ...

I did a tour in Ireland where the baggage was carried and you had several different routes to get to the next B&B. We bought two bikes with us and rented two bikes, I still spent quite some time fixing one of the rented bikes (it was brand new) ajusting brakes, gears etc.
Good maps, good B&B's and good baggage manouvers were all important (and worked)

 

[Kirstie]

The only time I'd possibly consider using a tour company was if I was going somewhere really unusual or challenging e.g. odd bits of asia, bits of africa or south america, to take advantage of the local knowledge. I'm not quite an expedition tourist yet but I do have those aspirations! I am a bit like jayclock in that I like travelling independently and the planning is part of the fun. I'm afraid I'm one of those people who cycle to get away from humanity so the idea of being in an organized group is my idea of hell!

 

[Festina_Lente]

This has been really helpful! Thanks

I had not thought of evening entertainment, Hubbike, I think for a large guided group we could organize some really interesting things.

For bike I have two options: A normal tourer, or a Specialized Roubaix racer. For mechanicals I will just swap a broken bike for a good one. But this might require people waiting up to 1.5hrs. Will people appreciate/want to ride a racing bike?

I had not considered diets, but that should be no problem. Kids over 10 could keep up on the easy tours. But I imagine having a kid in a child seat to be a nightmare for both parent and kid, so I need to think how to cater for kids?

 

[shirokazan]

Will people appreciate/want to ride a racing bike?

I'd say yes. When I did the Channel to the Med three years ago, a large number of the group were on racing bikes (including carbon frame). Only one of the group was on a recognised touring bike (Dawes Galaxy) but as the luggage was being ferried for us, this wasn't too surprising.

 

[yello]

As someone that's about to have a week's holiday on which nobody else has booked, I'd say companions!!

 

[Dayvo]

Solo and independent would be my given choice and for as long as possible.

If I were to use a company, I would look for a permanent base, cycling different routes/terrain for 5-6 days in a rural/country area, preferably with good reliable weather.

A pick-up/return to the (nearish) airport would also be an important factor.

Simple, clean and comfortable accommodation would suffice for me, and hearty and uncomplicated meals; also access to a workshop for small repairs/fettling etc.

Good luck!

 

[TwoInTow]

I'd love to do a self-guided tour, where they carry your luggage for you, but you cycle on your own during the day. In my case, that'd be either with husband or with the whole family. But I can't afford hotel/motel accommodation, and even if I could I probably wouldn't be willing to pay for it if there was a decent campsite near the route. I'm not at all interested in planning the route in detail, but thinking about it, I think that's because with children my options are so limited - avoid hills like the plague, even if it's more boring; must find campsites/accommodation closely spaced together, because we only do short distances etc etc.

At the moment, I'm only really thinking about family cycle touring, so I would want:
- transport of baggage;
- maps and guides;
- emergency pick-up if things went wrong, and it got late and children were very tired and couldn't go much further;
- cycle hire to avoid the hassle of transporting 4 bikes at once (which is soooo much more hassle than taking just one or two).

I think the trick with children who can cycle but probably can't keep up, is a tandem with child crankset. Extra wow and fun factor, but when they get tired, they can be treated as luggage and just dragged along. For you as a business, you could make it viable by hiring it out to adults if they wanted it, too.

 

[Brains]

I'm starting a little company and I would like to know peoples experience of cycle tour companies. What do cycle tourists look for in a tour provider?

Take a long look at the Danube route between Passau and Vienna
I would imagine that every cycle tour company in Europe must organise some sort of tour there.
The entire place is geared up for cycle touring, everything from from stand alone campers to wine/gourmet/5 star hotel tours

 

[Festina_Lente]

At the beginning we'll only be based in one region that I am expert in. I'd love to do tours in other parts of the world eventually.

I liked the idea of the wine transfer!

We only have one option for a tour from a fixed base. it's also the hardest (and most expensive option). I prefer the idea of going point to point. The pick up at the airport is included, as well as the dropping of on the final day.

In terms of singles, I didn't like the idea of bundling strangers into groups. But our tours function as such that individuals can mingle if they want to.

I was wondering, where do people do looking for cycling tours? I guessed online and we have a basic online presence. Is there a touring specific magazine of travel agency? I live in a non-anglophone country, hence my ignorance.

 

[HelenD123]

You could try advertising in the CTC magazine.

As to your original questions, if I was going on an organised tour it would be because I was looking for company. I have no problem being bundled together with strangers. In fact I've had some great holidays doing that and made some good friends. I'm not sure I'd want to go on a self-guided tour. I'd rather save myself the money and organise it myself! I'd agree with the comments about mechanical support being available. I would imagine that would be important to people booking onto an organised holiday.

 

[rich p]

I did a couple of supported tours with strangers when I first started. I too, like Helen, made some good friends and had a great time.
The thing for me was company and learning the ropes but I prefer to do my own thing now.

One of the problems was distances per day - too easy for some and too hard for others can make it frustrating for some and torture for others.

Good food and somewhere to have a drink at the end of the day was important to me too!