What is included in the Tour Package?

What’s included in the tour?

We have endeavored to make out tour offerings among the most inclusive in the bike tourism industry so you are not faced with a series of extra expenses once you join us on tour.

Standard Inclusions

  • Bed and Breakfast accommodation
  • Picnic lunches
  • All evening meals – except for rest days
  • Ride and Seek Jersey or T-shirt

Ride and Seek Value Add ons

  • Coffee Vouchers
  • mid-week laundry service
  • Veloforte nutrition
  • Post-ride recovery snack table

Since most things are included, perhaps an easier way to answer this question is to look at what is not included. What is not included – Airfares, airport Transfers, Travel Insurance, and Alcoholic beverages.

We do not include bike hire in the price either as we know that many of you prefer to bring your own. If you do wish to rent we have a range of high end bikes in our fleet. You can see the details here Bike fleet

Riad El Amine in Fes. Our friend Noureddine hosts us in his palatial Riad next to the Fes Medina on our Conquest of the Moors Tour

Accommodations

We have carefully selected the places we stay in based on their ‘personality’ and the hospitality of the hosts. Be it Paradors in Spain, a Chateau in France, or Agriturismi in Italy, we seek to connect you with the places we travel in, through the accommodations we choose.

 

Our dinner venue in the city of Melbourne at the end of the second stage of our Strzelecki Australian Epic Tour

Meals

We immerse you in the culture of the areas that we visit and this is very much reflected by the menus that we present on tour. Whether it be an end-of-stage gala meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant or a buffet smorgasbord we seek to provide a sense of place through the food and wine we choose for you. We always try to dine as early as is culturally possible and work with the restaurants we use to keep the service brisk. 

We are very adept at accommodating dietary needs and work closely with the restaurants we choose to ensure they adhere to your requests. 

 

Our guide team is well established with many having been with us since we started out, Their expertise, sense of fun, and attention to detail is second to none.

Expert Support

Long before the tour begins our Trip Specialists and operations teams are busy planning the logistics of all aspects of your tour. The routes are meticulously scouted by the guide teams and our  tour materials are the best in the business. We then weave the layers of historical and cultural context to immerse you in the places you travel through. 

On tour the guides will support you with navigation, safety, mechanics, language skills, charm and local knowledge. Allowing you to simply turn the pedals at your own pace and soak up the ambience of your surroundings.

 

The tour flow is tried and tested and is geared to let you focus on turning the pedals whilst we sweat the details for you

Tour Structure

Our Epic tours follow a standard format. Your first day will include a warm-up ride, whether you’re starting at the beginning of an Epic tour, or joining us for a single stage. You’ll lunch with the guides who will give you a rundown of the tour ahead. You’ll then have a short ride to ensure your bike has traveled well, or if you are riding a hire bike, it fits you and is comfortable.

The next morning the cycling begins! The format for each ride day is similar, times are approximate.

7:30am Breakfast
8:30am Morning brief 
9:00am Ride out
11:00am Coffee and snack break
13:00 Picnic lunch on route
15:00-16:00 Arrive at next hotel
16:00-19:00 Free time to explore or rest
19:00 Pre dinner drink and brief
19:30 Dinner

Rest days give riders the chance to explore the town we are staying in and get the essentials, such as the week’s laundry, done. For this reason, we try to stay in interesting towns which have all the practical facilities available. This doesn’t mean you aren’t free to take your bike out for a spin or that you cannot take a rest on any other day. 

 

Want to know more about our tours?

👉Send us a message and one of our Trip specilaists will be in touch
 

We look forward to seeing you on the road soon! 

 
 


Our Updated On-Tour Health and Safety Protocol for COVID-19

Covid 19 image

Overview


In these unprecedented times, keeping our guests safe and minimising the risk of illness on-tour has become even more important. Travel as we know it has changed and in turn, we have embraced new ways of working. Rules for social distancing differ by country and knowledge of local rules is imperative to ensure we abide by these in each country we travel.  We have consulted both the in-country tourism regulations for the regions we travel to in conjunction with WHO and CDC recommendations in establishing our protocols.

Many of these protocols were trialed and honed when we ran tours in September 2020 and we feel have set us in good stead for the upcoming tour program. The core focus was on establishing a ‘bubble’ around the tour group and adhering to a series of rules in order to mitigate risk.

Through our previous experience, consultation with our medical liaison officer, and governing body regulations, we have a framework for how we will operate on tour for our 2021 tours and beyond. We don’t want to take out the fun from being on tour, so we are aiming to set some basic expectations so we can get on with riding our bikes in beautiful places.


Pre-tour


>  We ask that you arrive on tour in good health.

> We strongly recommend that you are vaccinated prior to travel. If that is not possible, we ask that you obtain a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of your departure. This will help to give you and your fellow guests some peace of mind. These measures also apply to our trip specialists and guides.

> During travel to the start point of the tour, we ask that you wear a mask, wash your hands regularly and follow the International Air Transport Association recommendations for travellers. In many countries, wearing a mask is mandatory on public transport and in closed spaces.


On Tour- General


> The combination of smaller group size and so much of our day spent outside lend our tours to travel in the current climate. In response to the present situation, we have reduced our maximum group size to 24 on our epic cycling tours and 14 for local tours.

> We ask that you arrive on tour with face masks to wear when social distancing is not possible and in enclosed spaces. The use of face masks will be determined based on local rules and regulations.

> Our team will take responsibility for sanitising equipment used by the group including bike pumps and bike tools.

> We ask that any COVID-19 symptoms be reported immediately to a member of our team. Symptoms including shortness of breath and/or cough, and/or a sore throat, and/or fever, and/or runny nose/sneezing and/or an abrupt loss of taste and smell. A medical opinion and if necessary a test will be sought for any guest displaying symptoms to ensure they and the group remain safe.


On Tour- Travel


> Enhanced vehicle cleaning will be conducted each day by the team to ensure a high level of cleanliness on commonly touched surfaces.

> Masks are recommended whilst travelling in the van and ventilation will be used where possible.

> We are liaising with all tour hotels to ensure thorough cleaning protocols are in place. Our hotels are hand-picked and our strong relationships enable us to communicate our expectations.

> Hand sanitiser will continue to be available as per our previous guidelines and we encourage regular handwashing where possible during your day on the bike.


On Tour- Food and Picnics


Lunch on Lake Trasimeno

> For group dinner, we are looking to reduce group size by arranging smaller group tables. Where possible we will also arrange to dine outdoors.

> Many hotels are no longer providing breakfast buffets. As such we have liaised with hotels to ensure measures are put in place to reduce groups sizes or find alternative breakfast options for guests.

> Picnic lunches will be prepared by a staff member observing our enhanced food safety protocols.

Individually packed snacks and lunches

Please note that we will aim to update our protocol as and when local guidelines change (guidelines correct as of April 26th, 2021). Whilst we are providing a framework to reduce risk during travel, it does not replace personal responsibility for adherence to WHO recommendations including regular hand washing and maintaining social distancing. This protocol is meant to complement the in-country rules and regulations on tourism and as such additional measures may be adapted depending on the region we are travelling in.


Bibliography


“EU Guidance for the progressive resumption of tourism services and for health protocols in hospitality establishments – COVID-19”  Official Journal of the European Union:  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020XC0515(03)

“Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis” Chu, D et al, The Lancet, June 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31142-9

Updated EU travel advisories: https://reopen.europa.eu/en  https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/travel-during-coronavirus-pandemic_en

CDC Covid-19: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html#travel-1

Australian travel Advice: https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/COVID-19-australian-travellers

WHO Travel Advice: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/travel-advice