Here in the northern hemisphere, we’re embracing autumn cycling, and all that it brings! Fewer daylight hours in which to ride, cooler mornings requiring more layers, and hazardous, soggy leaves on the road. OK, so maybe that doesn’t sound too appealing!
Are you like us and already missing warmer climes and mid-ride cappuccinos al fresco? Do you long for stops where it’s SPF you reach for, rather than another layer? If so, then how about looking ahead to a cycling holiday in May? With a spring cycling holiday on the horizon you’ll have an incentive to head to the pain cave during the winter, at the very least!
We hope this issue provides you with some inspo, with a focus on the May cycling holidays we have on offer. As always, all places are subject to availability, so act quickly if you’re keen on any of the tours mentioned. Once they’re gone, they’re gone!
Spring cycling holidays in Spain
Viva España! We adore cycling in Spain, so if you love the way we do things, you’ve got plenty of choice if you’re interested in heading there for your next cycling adventure!
Catalonia cycling tour
Our Catalonia & Girona road cycling holiday is an absolute gem. Many of the pros train in the region due to the plethora of routes on offer and we’ve designed our itinerary to take in as many of these as we could. You’ve got a choice of two to three routes each day, and the daily average ranges from 91km on the Classic route to 130km on the Challenge route. For climbing, the daily average ranges from 1,372m on the Classic, to 2,417m on the Challenge route. There are plenty of optional extras if you’re looking to really push yourself, so head to the webpage for the full stats of every route option each day.
On this tour you’ll spend two nights in the cycling mecca of Girona. We give you the freedom to explore the city on the second evening there, when dinner is not included.
We’ve got availability on our tour departing 16 – 23 May 2026.
Cycling in Asturias
The Picos mountains in northern Spain are a spectacular place to ride a bike. Our Picos & Angliru tour includes some staples of the Vuelta d’España: Lagos de Covadonga, Alto de la Cobertoria and Alto Gamoniteiro. We also include the optional – and infamous – Alto de l’Angliru; possibly the toughest climb in cycling?! As an aside, we’d love to know what you think about this if you’ve already conquered it, along with the Zoncolan and the Mortirolo! How do they compare? Feel free to drop us an email to let us know your thoughts!
Back to the Picos … With two to three routes each day, this tour offers the absolute pinnacle of cycling through the regions of Cantabria, Asturias, as well as Castilla and Léon. With such a range of cycling on offer, it really is perfect for groups or pairs of cyclists with different goals or varying levels of ability. If you’re keen, then we have spaces left on our tour running 24 – 31 May 2026.
The routes for the most part had very limited traffic and the views were some of the most beautiful we have ever seen. This area really is a hidden gem and we appreciate Marmot having a tour in this region. Thank you! – L. Irizarry, May 2025.
Andalusia cycling holidays
Heading further south now … How about cycling in Andalusia? Since launching this tour in 2019, it’s been consistently popular with cyclists looking for a spring cycling holiday in Spain. With a wonderfully varied landscape, challenging climbs, and good quality roads, this has developed into a Marmot favourite for those seeking a holiday in the shoulder seasons. You’ll be pleased to hear that we have some space left on our tour departing 11 -18 May 2026!
I loved this trip, probably one of my favourite ones. Great combination of routes that were challenging enough but not stupid difficult. Beautiful scenery, fantastic hotels, yummy Mediterranean food and of course great guides that worked well together. I’ve already highly recommended this holiday to my cycling friends. – K. Koulama, May 2023.
French guided cycling holidays in the spring
Our Founder and Director James set up Marmot Tours from his then-home in the Pyrenees 21 years ago, so you could say that France is Marmot Tours’ second home. We have an office there and several of our team live in France. Consequently we know it pretty well, and we’re well-versed in what it takes to make a cracking guided cycling holiday there.
French Pyrenees cycling holidays
Our Pyrenean Classic Cols holiday is one of our original tours, and always a favourite with Marmot clients. This tour has more flexibility than any of our others, as there are so many routes to choose from each day. It’s peppered with Tour de France classic climbs: Col de Pailhères, Plateau de Beille, Col de Port, Col de Portet d’Aspet, Superbagnères, Col de Peyresourde, Col d’Aspin, Luz Ardiden, the mighty Col du Tourmalet … the list goes on!
The roads are generally quieter than in the Alps, and the locals are very welcoming of cyclists. The scenery? Well it’s simply sublime, especially in May when the trees are bursting with an abundance of lime-green leafage, and the shaded rocks are cloaked in verdant pillows of moss. What better way to start a crisp morning than going for an epic bike ride in the Pyrenees?
If this sounds tempting, we’ve got some space left on our tour running 29 May – 5 June 2026.
Cycling in the Pyrenean Foothills
Head slightly further north east and you’ll find the pretty Pyrenean Foothills. This is a fantastic tour if you want a slightly easier (dare we say it) style of riding. It’s a great introduction to cycling in the mountains, as the climbs are generally shorter and the gradients less severe than in the Alps and Dolomites.
It’s also the perfect trip if you want to cycle with a partner or group of friends with different levels of cycling experience. The daily average ranges from 81km on the Classic route to 125km on the Challenge route. For climbing, the daily average ranges from 1,153m on the Classic to 2,198m on the Challenge route, so there’s enough on offer for those who want to cycle all of the daily optional extras.
All the hard work put into the routes was in invaluable and ensured the only thing to stress about was how the legs were feeling. Well done for finding fantastic courses with exceptional views, gorges, climbs and descents. – T. Martin, May 2025.
Sound like your kind of holiday? We’ve got space left on our tour from 15 – 22 May 2026.
The Cévennes and Ardèche region
Our tour in the beautiful Cévennes & Ardèche region is another one of our holidays where the cycling is less challenging than some of our tours in the higher mountains, and it has similar daily averages (distance and ascent) to our Pyrenean Foothills trip. As with all our flexible pace tours, there are two to three route options daily, so you can choose how much to ride each day, depending on how the legs are feeling.
This is a charming area of southern France where the rural roads are quiet, and the landscape varied. Everything from limestone gorges, lazy rivers sprinkled with canoeists, big sky moorland plateaus and ancient forests. You’ll also love the quaint, picture-postcard French villages with their traditional roadside cafes that welcome cyclists for mid-ride coffees.
Fantastic route, beautiful scenery and the challenge option meant that there was something for everyone. – J. Brown, May 2024.
If this is right up your street, then we’ve got availability on our holiday departing 28 May – 4 June 2026.
May cycling holidays in Provence: climb Mont Ventoux and more!
Another perennial Marmot favourite is our Ventoux & Verdon Gorge cycling holiday. While Mont Ventoux has got to be on every discerning cyclist’s bucket list, there are numerous other climbs and routes on this six day holiday that you will love. The Verdon Gorge is sometimes referred to as Europe’s Grand Canyon, and while it can’t compete with its US counterpart in scale, it certainly makes up for it in dramatic beauty. You’ll spend the first half of your week exploring the deep canyons and rolling hills around the river Verdon, where the roads are a delight for cyclists.
During the second half of the week you’ll explore the wonderful cycling on offer in the foothills of Ventoux, culminating in an ascent of the Giant of Provence on the final day.
Sound like fun? We’ve got some space left on our tour running 16 – 23 May 2026, which is the perfect time to go cycling there. Check out the full itinerary by clicking the link above and let us know if you’re keen.
Climbing Mont Ventoux three ways!
Still on the subject of Ventoux … we also have availability on our mini-break, the Club des Cinglés du Mont Ventoux Challenge, which is running from 23 – 26 May 2026. This is tough cycling, not for the faint-hearted, nor to be attempted without adequate training!
If you’d like to attempt three ascents of Ventoux by three different routes in one day, then this could be your 2026 challenge! You can read more about the ‘club of weirdos/crazy-heads/nutters’ (depending on how you want to translate it!) by heading to the web page of the official Club des Cinglés du Mont Ventoux . Our fully supported cycling holiday includes official registration plus a certificate and medal for riders who complete the challenge successfully. Whether you make one, two or three attempts, our pair of awesome guides will have your back to help you achieve whatever goal you set yourself.
On the Ventoux day, [the guides] took all the stress out of climbing which meant I could focus on the job at hand. It was like a military operation for them but my clothes were always where they needed to be. I asked if there was a cut off time and they said as long as it’s light you can be on the mountain. I knew then I would compete the three ways up challenge and so I did. [The guides] took the stress out of everything so all we needed to do was cycle, it was a sheer joy! – I. Ashford, May 2025.
Cyclist issue 168: Big Ride in Slovenia
Have you seen us in the latest issue? It’s Marmot guide Constantin on the front cover!
We always love supporting Cyclist on their Big Ride features, so we jumped at the chance to do so again earlier this year. This time, the focus was on cycling in Slovenia and our guides Con and Ewa were on hand to accompany the journalist and assist the photographer for two days. The first day was an epic ride encompassing both the Mangart Saddle and the Vršič Pass, and which formed the feature in the November issue.
Cyclist staff writer Ewan Wilson put together a great feature so why not check it out? If it’s inspired you to explore cycling in Slovenia yourself, we’d love you to come with us! Our September 2026 tour is fully booked but all three of our July 2026 departures have availability so you’ve still got choice over dates (unusual for us!) if you’d like to get involved! Just hit the ENQUIRE NOW button from the trip web page, and Kerstin or Sabine will get right back to you to help with your holiday planning.
The second ride Con and Ewa supported will probably pop up in a 2026 issue of Cyclist, so keep an eye out for that one.
We published our latest blog last week, Bike hire on a full support cycling holiday: all you need to know! It basically does what it says on the tin, so if you’ve been mulling over whether or not to bring your own bike on one of our cycling holidays, or if you want to know more about hiring one of our fleet and how that would work, then hop over to the blog and have a quick read.
