Biking Tour
 

My Friend and I are interested in a budget low or medium intensity bike tour of coastal Ireland. 7 days approximately. can anyone suggest a really good tour company? thanks

maribethp~ all your 3 posts are showing up here on the Europe board with the same question, you don't need to add more.

Sorry I don't know about a bicycle tour in Ireland.

Yes, I saw that and did not intend it to happen.

,,,,, did not intend it to happen ..... You did three postings . What did you expect to happen????

Try phred.org. That is a touring cyclist web site and can provide better info than this site. Not a lot of touring cyclists here.

Hi maribethp

Well this probably won’t help much. I have been on a couple of cycling trips in Ireland. I can’t think of an easier country to do a self-guided trip than Ireland. Lots of side roads, tons of accommodation, helpful people. The only benefit of a group tour IMO is that the nutty drivers may hit one of your group members before they hit you.

Bike Vermont does bike tours in Ireland.

www.bikevt.com

There are LOTS of companies that tour in Ireland, too many to list. Your best values will probably self-guided tours that operate out of Ireland. I've never taken one of those, so I'm no help. Sorry.

The ones I personally know aren't cheap, but we certainly got our money's worth out of them (we're a "long option"** family). Great value tours: VBT (Vermont Biking Tours) and Bike Vermont (known as Bike Ireland when in Ireland). Both of these tend to run from Shannon Airport north to Connemara, etc. We took the Bike Vermont one and LOVED it.

More upper scale Backroads runs two bike tours--one to the Connemara area and one from Kenmare along the coast to Kinsale. We've taken both Backroads--the second one is tough.

B&R runs a similar Connemara trip at an even greater premium. On the other end of the spectrum, while we have not taken the Ireland VBT trip, the company has given us two great bangs for our buck in Italy, and I'd trust them to do the same in Ireland.

I think if you're trying to save a lot of money, you could do it yourself; just make sure to bring your own bike. Perhaps things have changed in the past three years, but in the three places we've done bike rentals in Ireland, the bikes left much to be desired. On flat ground, not a problem. On hills and in headwinds, they were just terrible.

**You may or may not know that most "good" companies offer at least two options and many times three options of distance and/or difficulty per day. It's fabulous for family members of differing abilities and desires. If one's wife or husband is intent on doing a century (100 miles), the partner can soak in a hot bath guilt free.

What I meant was I did not know how to do this and thought it was not showing up on the IReland part. I made a mistake. I am ever so sorry.

Thanks to all of you for the info. I see good reasons posted here to go with a group. To colduphere- what was your take on the bike situation if self-guided- to rent or take own bike?

I have taken my own bike. It is a small hassle at four points in the trip. But I think you said up to a medium difficulty trip? I would want my own bike on Ireland's rolling hills. Especially in the wind and perhaps rain.

But that is me. I am sure you could find a comfortable rental.

I think the issue of renting or bring your own is not clear cut. If you don't have any sizing issue (being a short female is one ), have a good understanding of what makes for a comfortable fit and are a bit demanding, you generally can get a rental bike to be comfortable in the range of 30 miles a day. More than that you probably will want your own. It has really become a hassle with the airlines if you are taking a full size bike. You need to be able to break it down and pack and then the airline will surcharge for the bike. And then on return you have to find another box in it in.

We threw in the towel several years ago and have gone to small wheel folding bikes. Best decision. They in pack in a standard size suitcase, easily to break down, and easy to handle. It is has really simplified the European trips.

Good luck

And I suppose it depends on how much you like your own bike.

Maribethp:

Wanted to make sure that when I recommended bringing your own bike in my post, you did not take it to mean "bring it on one of the tour company excusions." We have had universally good experiences with tour company bikes.

maribethp -

I'm a longtime Irish cyclist and write a travel guide to Dublin and Ireland called:

http://www.hidden-dublin.com/cycling/cycling.html

[I have given you the cycling pages].

I have to agree with Colduphere - bring your own bikes if possible. It is a great country for cycling since the roads are quiet, once you get away from the main cities and towns. Apart from Dublin, you even get respect and space as a cycle tourist in the other cities and towns!

The minor roads of Ireland are a joy to cycle. Because they are small, it tends to prevent vehicles from excessive speed (although there are exceptions!). We have no huge mountains and most climbing is gradual.

However, it may not be possible to bring your bikes so here are some alternatives:

Here's the link from the official Irish Tourist Board sites - I believe they are all very rewarding:
http://www.irishtourism.com/cycling-...land/index.htm

And some others:
http://www.celticcycling.com/

http://www.irelandrentabike.com/

http://www.cyclingsafaris.com/
[I have heard very good reports about this company]

http://www.irelandwalkingcycling.com...eraldtrail.htm

http://www.GoIreland.com/vacations/c...clingindex.htm

Hope you found this information useful- you (or anybody) is most welcome to contact me via my website ("contact" link on every page).

Peter

Thank you so much, Peter, and all the other posters for this wonderful information. It seems there are great cyclists and friends on this site. So I will research all the material you have sent, Peter, but my friend and I being adventuresome and reasonably smart, could book our own lodging and enjoy cycling on our own in Ireland . Peter, can you see any other reason than social ones to use a tour group?

Maribethp: Here are the reasons TO go with a tour group:

--You don't have to get in an argument with your companion about the route or the hotel arrangements...
--You bike, not schlep luggage
--You'll get a bike the right size without lugging it (or losing it).
--If your bike breaks, someone repairs it or replaces it for you.
--If you get sick or just don't want to bike in pouring rain, you can stop biking without ruining your companion's trip and get a ride back to your lodging.

The reasons to go on your own:
--You can change your mind about how many nights you'd like to stay in a place
--You can linger as long as you like while sight-seeing
--Much less expensive

About the social aspect: if my husband, who hates socializing and schmoozing with anyone outside of his family, can enjoy a bike tour, that should indicate how very little the trip is impacted by others in the group.

No matter what, the Guinness is the same :) Enjoy.

My friend and I recently retired from a combined 66 years teaching elementary students. This is to be a celebration, but funds are limited- we did not retire from corporate AMerica-so I would like this to be special. we will weigh all factors and enjoy the planning. Thanks for all the help.

we did a self guided bike tour in France a couple years ago, and we had enough problems that we decided to ditch the bikes - they didn't fit, they didn't have the gel seats that I had requested, they didn't have the toe clips. This because I don't think the bike shop that provided the bikes could do it for our group. I think if we had gone with a guided tour we would have had better service. But, we wanted to be on our own. It was nice to have the company schlepp the bags, though. Next time we will go the self guided route, but with a company that knows bikes better, and has better support.

On a tour they move your stuff for you from place to place in vans, right? Biking on your own you'd need to carry you own belongings on the bike, right?

Seems that would make a big difference, particularly requesting a low intensity type of ride experience.

We've done self-guided, but arranged by an agency trips in France and Germany. We've carried our luggage and had it arranged by the agency where it was delivered each day to our hotel. Obviously, the latter was nicer. I've always wondered though if it wouldn't be possible to arrange lodging on your own and then have the hotel just arrange for a taxi to deliver your luggage to the next nights's hotel. Sure, it would cost a bit, but would probably be a lot cheaper than paying for a tour.