Every so often, the National Geographic Traveler magazine looks at thousands of guided tours offered around the world and comes up with the 50 best.
They've done it again in the May/June 2011 issue. Among the guided tours by foot, cruise ship, raft, sailboat, jeep, horseback, motorcycle and motor coach are five tours that use bicycles for exploration.
I was kind of slack-jawed dumbfounded that there weren't more, and that no guided bicycle tours got the nod in North America, not even among the two dozen supported bike tours offered by Adventure Cycling Association or countless other outfits. Some US tour companies were chosen, but not for their homegrown tours.
Not inexpensive
Introducing “50 Tours of a Lifetime,” the editors explained they looked for tours “designed for experience, immersion, sustainability, and cultural connection.”
Being guided tours, they are not for the budget conscious. They run the gamut from a ski trip into Antarctica for $52,000 to vegetable garden building in Haiti for $800.
Here are the five bike tours, listed by continent:
Asia
Myanmar Biking — A 9-day tour offered by Butterfield & Robinson. The bicycle is a typical mode of transportation in old Burma, and visitors will pedal through ancient villages, visit hillside temples and meet such artisans as silk weavers and lacquerware craftsmen.
South America
Samba Tango Bicycle Expedition — This is a 36-day bicycle tour guided by Tour d'Afrique. The ride rolls out from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires, passing through coastal islands, rain forests, and mountains of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. It also follows the Circuito Vale Europeu, an official bike touring route in Brazil.
Europe
Cycle the Danube — A 13-day bicycle tour led by ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours. Bicycle travelers will pass through the Austria, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia along the storied Danube River, extending the “well-trod” Passau to Vienna route.
Mediterranean Island Hopping — An 11-day bicycle journey on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica is offered by Ciclismo Classico. The guided tour explores the rolling hills of Italy-inspired Sardinia and the more challenging climbs to breathtaking vistas on French flavored Corsica.
Rhone Valley Fall Harvest Mountain Biking Adventure — Eight days of mountain biking offered by EpicQuest. Centered in the southwest corner of Switzerland, the tour includes lift-served freeriding and cross-country rides on well-known and hard-to-find trails.
The magazine didn't list any bicycle tours for North America or Africa. You can find them, however, if your search the bike tour offerings of the outfits mentioned above.
Photo at top from Rhone Valley Fall Harvest Mountain Biking Adventure — EpicQuest.
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