If you're still checking for a bicycle tour outfitter for your bicycling vacation this summer, then it might be worth your time to peruse this list from National Geographic Adventure magazine.
Editors compared nearly 250 adventure travel companies and ranked them by the type of activity and how they scored on a 30-question survey.
Among the 200 finalists across all disciplines, the top 10 companies in the bicycle touring category are listed below as they appear in the February issue of National Geographic Adventure magazine.
A sortable list is also available at online National Geographic Adventure. Many companies not included on this list offer bicycling vacations in addition to hiking, kayaking, and more.
Top 10 bicycle touring outfits:
Backroads — 93.7
VBT Bicycling Vacations — 92.47
Sacred Rides Mountain Bike Holidays — 92.17
Bike Hike Adventures — 91.17
Western Spirit Cycling Adventures — 91.07
Trek Travel — 90.3
DuVine Adventures — 90.23
Ciclismo Classico — 89.77
Aegea Adventures — 89.5
Pedalers Pub and Grille — 89.37
These links go to the company websites; see the National Geographic Adventure list and editors' descriptions here.
Scoring
All the adventure touring companies were ranked based on how they scored in the following areas: education, sustainability, quality of service, spirit of adventure and client references. All those individual scores are published online, so you can search by sustainability, if that's important to you, or by relative price.
To qualify in the biking category, the outfit had to operate in multiple countries (which left a number of domestic companies off the list) and specialize in either road cycling or mountain biking.
It's probably also worth paying a visit to the sortable list, as it lists all the companies that offer cycling as part of their tour packages.
Video of Costa Rica bike ride above from Bike/Hike Adventures.
Also:
Touring companies that offer bicycle rides in Pacific Northwest
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