If you and a partner or group of friends love cycling and want a holiday together but have different aspirations when it comes to time on the bike, then don’t despair – we have some fabulous options for you…

Guided Road Cycling Holidays in Europe

We have some of the best options if your partner doesn’t love time on the bike as much as you. It can be hard prioritising a Marmot Tours holiday, both in terms of financial commitment and time away from family.  It’s also hard to be the one who is left behind when a cycling partner gets to jet off to sunny & stunning mountain destinations. We’re the first to admit that many of our itineraries are not suitable for non or ‘sometime’ cyclists to come along, however, some of our newer itineraries could be just what you are looking for.

Cycling Holidays with Non-Cycling Partners

Our Classic Cols of Gran Canaria and our Ventoux Cinglés Challenge holidays both lend themselves beautifully to non-cycling partners coming along too. The Ventoux Challenge runs from a stunning 4* hotel, Domaine des Tilleuls with pool and within walking distance from medieval Malaucene.   With just 2 days to ‘fill’, non-cyclists will be very happy exploring or lounging by the hotel pool as they desire, whilst you set your sights firmly on the summit of Ventoux at 2001m  (I should say whilst you set your sights 3 times on the summit of Ventoux!).  We have current availability on our May (22-25), Sept (20-23) & Oct (9-12) departures, all fabulous times of year to visit Provence.

           

Gran Canaria is a stunning island to explore on foot, bike or with a rental car so depending on personal preference, partners can lounge, sightsee or hike the mountains and take on their own summits.  Remaining 2017 departures: 25 Feb – 4 Mar and 4 – 11 Mar.

Our Classic Cols-style holidays provide the perfect balance of cycling and scenery, with a manageable basic route and then a great choice of optional extras for those wanting a bit more.  These routes have been carefully composed by James whose experience in developing fabulous itineraries ensures you an incredible cycling trip taking in all the great cols of the region.  The ability to choose a level of route for yourself each day that suits your experience and aspirations means that this holiday suits a huge range of cyclists and is very suitable for couples or groups of friends of mixed ability.  We have Classic Cols holidays in the Pyrenees, Alps, Dolomites, Picos, Corsica and Gran Canaria.

However, some of those trips lend themselves better than others to groups where there is a more significant difference in aspiration or fitness: If your partner or group of mates love their bike too, and enjoy the mountains but want to cycle much less distance and ascent than you, before relaxing or doing something different, then our Dolomites Minibreak could suit you all…

 The 4* lakeside Sporthotel Europa is a perfect base, a great place to while away an afternoon or two. In terms of cycling, we have created 3 route options for each day so you can choose exactly how far you want to push yourself.  The scenery is breathtaking and you may find yourself wanting to do more than you had imagined you would!   Meanwhile, the Challenge Route beckons those looking for a beasting (check out the itinerary for all the juicy stats!).  In the evening, enjoy the delicious Italian food & attentive hospitality together, having achieved exactly what you wanted to.  2017 departures available in July (17 -22) and Aug (21 – 26).

Our Pyrenean Classic Cols holiday is another one that is worth considering if you are a mixed ability couple or group.  Billed as our ‘entry level’ Classic Cols style itinerary, this particular holiday ‘warms’ you up to cycling in the mountains as the holiday goes on.  Starting with the option of doing just one col per day, it builds up to the finale of climbing the infamous Tourmalet on the last day of the holiday.  As you stay in 2 of the hotels for two nights, there is the option of taking a full or half day off the bike and enjoying the beautiful mountain spa resorts of Ax les Thermes or Bagneres de Luchon.   We still have some availability on our June (3 – 10) departure in 2017.