Companies With Best Bike Trips

You can bike past the vineyards in Tuscany or Provence, pedal past farmers tilling rice fields in Vietnam and photograph fall foliage colors in Vermont on trips run by these companies. Each is well established and will give you references from satisfied travelers, if you don't have friends who've taken their tours. If you browse the trip itineraries and look at virtual tours, you're sure to find an appealing vacation. All of these companies will customize trips for you and your friends.

Backroads

Backroads/Allison Langley

You can bike with Backroads all around the globe, from Xian, China where you'll view the terra cotta warriors to the beaches of Bali, from Croatia’s Dalmatian coast to Norway's arctic circle when the sun never sets. If you want to stay closer to home, choose a Vermont trip where you’ll cycle through covered bridges, pedal past quintessential New England town squares and enjoy fall foliage colors.

Bike Touring Adventures With Pedalers Pub & Grille

Pedalers Pub & Grille - Suwannarat Tanheng

Pedalers Pub & Grille range of trips is unusually interesting, running the gamut from inn-to-inn cycling in Japan or Bali, to biking in Bhutan or retracing the Klondike gold route in the Yukon Territory. ? This company specializes in trips to Southeast Asia, the Himalayas and the far northwestern reaches of the Americas, including Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory.

Bicycle Trips with Ciclismo Classico

Ciclismo Classico

This boutique tour operator offers well-crafted educational trips in Italy, France, Spain, Austria and New England. Trips focus on connecting travelers with the local culture and making cycling tours fun for all ages and abilities.

Luxury France Bike Tours With Digngo

Fotolia

Digngo (pronounced "Dig and Go") specializes in luxury, tailor made bike tours focused exclusively on France. Based in Switzerland, Digngo offers luxury, tailor made vacations to France, including the Burgundy wine region, the Loire valley and its amazing chateaux, the island of Corsica, and Alsace.

ExperieencePlus! Focuses on Local Character in 20 Countries

ExperiencePlus!

Colorado-based ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours offers global cycling tours immersed in local character to 20 countries on five continents. One of their trips - Cycling the Camino de Santiago - Roncesvalles to Santiago - was selected by National Geographic Traveler magazine as one of 50 tours in a lifetime in 2010.

Duvine Adventures

A trip with Duvine Adventures is divine, according to friends. The company focuses on deluxe bicycle tours in France, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Switzerland. This fall several bike trips are planned to Tuscany, Italy, France and Spain, plus a Yoga/Bike trip to Provence in October.

Euro-Bike & Walking Tours

If cycling around New Zealand’s South Island sounds interesting, Euro-Bike and Walking Tours has some trips for you. On the Milford Wilderness trip you’ll pedal past fjords surrounded by mountains and visit Queensland, the hub for adventure travel on this island. While you’re so far from home, add on the multi-sport West Coast Escape, which includes biking past glaciers. Euro-Bike also runs tours to many European countries.

Bike Riders Tours

Bike Riders trips go as far afield as Croatia, South Africa and Argentina, as well as in New England and Canada. The groups are small and guests may stay in very comfortable accommodations. They provide Cannondale bikes.

Bike the Whites

Bike the Whites is a sweet choice if you like inn-to-inn biking in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. The company customizes three-day getaways with overnights at the 1785, the Snow Village and the Tamworth inns. Routes are designed according to the cyclists' abilities. The trip prices include lodging, meals and luggage transfers.

Self-Guided Bicycle Touring in Europe

Advice on how to arrange self-guided bike touring in Europe that offers almost all the conveniences of a guided trip. These suggestions come from the general manager of three companies that will set up flexible and personalized tours - at prices that come closer to the cost of setting up a tour yourself!

Many Multi-Sport Trips Include Bicycling

Many multi-sport trips include biking, as well as rafting, hiking or other active sports. These company offers excellent multi-sport trips.

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Utah's Olympic Park

If you've every watched Olympians sliding down a bobsled track at 90 miles an hour and wondered if you could do it, or you've been curious if you've the guts to slide down a nordic ski jump, visit the Utah Olympic Park located just outside Park City, Utah. At this playground for adventurous travelers, which is open summer and winter, you can ride in a bobsled moving at 4- to 5 Gs, take an extreme zipline ride -- or simply learn more about the 2002 Winter Olympic Games on a tour while your friends challenge themselves in these special sporting venues.
Photo credit: Utah Olympic Park

1. Go 80 MPH on the Bobsled -- Luge --Skeleton Track

Visitors can take a bobsled ride in the summer or winter -- if you're prepared to fly down the track at 70 or 80 miles an hour with 4- to 5 Gs of force pushing against you during the less-than one-minute ride.

2. Try the World's Steepest Zipline

Even if you've already been on ziplines elsewhere in the world, the Xtreme and Ulta Ziplines will give you a thrill. The Xtreme Zip is reportedly the world's steepest zipline and it takes you right over the K-120 ski jump hill.? These lines are open in late spring, summer and fall.

3. Speed Down the Quicksilver Alpine Slide

What a way to cool off in the summertime. You can beat the heat for a few minutes while speeding down this narrow course, which ends at the base of the K-64 ski jump.

4. Learn Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding Tricks Flipping into the Training Pool

Utah Olympic Parks freestyle training pool is a summertime destination for many world-class athletes and freestylers on the developmental teams. In the summer, the Flying Aces put on a colorful aerial and freestyle show on Saturdays for the public.

Make reservations ahead of time. Seats are limited for this very popular show.

5. Tame Tours of the Utah Olympic Park

Visitors can take regularly scheduled tours of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games competition sites. The tours are a combination of walking and riding on shuttle buses to the nordic ski jumps, and the top of the bobsled, skeleton and luge track. Admission includes entrance to the Olympic Museum.

6. Take Your Picture by a Bobsled in the Olympic Museum

The Olympic Museum is home to the George Eccles Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum and the Alf Engen Ski Museum, which includes the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame. It's a fascinating tour of Olympic winter sports and of winter sports in the region, with lots of interactive displays.

7. Play in the Snow Zone or Explore the Adventure Park

The Snow Zone, a winter playground open to anyone age three and older, gives you as much sliding on tubes and head-first air boards as you can enjoy for a flat price. The Gravity Zone, open to summertime visitors, has two ziplines, the Quicksilver alpine slide, a playground and a picnic area.

8. Want to Learn an Olympic Sport?

The Utah Olympic Park offers a variety of introductory sports camps and programs for freestyle skiing and riding, skeleton and ski jumping. Programs are available for all ages and abilities.

9. Learn More About Utah Olympic Park

You can spend a few hours here, or most of a day if you try one of the zipline rides, let the kids play in the snow park or adventure park (depending upon what time of year you are visiting) and watch films of some of the 2002 Olympic competitions in the museum. Summer Saturdays are a prime time to visit, because of the Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding shows.

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Experienced Riders Welcome on Fall Cattle Roundups

Cattle in several of the Rocky Mountain states have spend the summer grazing in high-country meadows, but with the aspen tree leaves turning gold it's time to bring them to lower pastures.? Several ranches, where accommodations range from simple to luxurious, have cattle drives planned in September and October.? If you're bored with trail rides and willing to spend long hours in the saddle these may be the vacations for you.

Photo courtesy of Vista Verde Guest Ranch, Steamboat, Colorado

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Women's Travel Club

Started by Phyllis Stoller, who want to travel but not solo, the Women's Travel Club offers adventure travel trips, trips to sophisticated cities and many exotic locales. The first trips to England and China were small but today the club has more than 1,000 members. These are women, some married other single, who range in age from 18 to the mid80s. For $35 a year, club members get regular newsletters outlining the many trips. With 1,000 members, the club has bargaining clout, so the prices are reasonable for what's offered.

Types of Trips

The club offers a variety of trips designed so women can enjoy adventurous experiences in exotic locales, culture and shopping oriented visits to sophisticated cities, and explore countries around the world. Every trip includes some experiences that are female-oriented, such as visiting a mosque with other women or evening walks in cities where a single female might not want to walk alone. You could head to Kenya and Tanzania during peak animal migration season, with an add-on to Zanzibar; Perfect Peru, with stops in Colca Canyon and Macchu Pichu; and China's Shangri-la, with stops in Hong Kong and Thailand; Iceland and India.

Pros and Cons

This is a popular route for single women hesitant to travel solo, and groups of women who want to travel together but prefer to buy a package instead of planning the details themselves. No surprise: the dynamics of an all-female group are significantly different than when men are part of the trip. As Stoller explains: "If you lose your money, feel ill or just need to share, women will be out there for women."

Contact Information

Visit The Women's Travel Club to learn more or call 800-480-4448 .

More Top Adventure Travel Companies

Here's a link to my picks for top adventure travel companies - tour operators that can make your dream trip come true. Take a look. If your favorite company isn't on this list please let me know in an email. Send it to adventuretravelguide@about.com, or send me a note via the Adventure Travel Forum.

Looking for Specialty Adventure and Sports Travel Companies?

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Tips for Day Hiking in the Mountains

A steady stream of people came up the gondola to hike on the trails weaving around the ski mountain towering above Telluride, Colorado, and the U. S. Forest Service lands beyond. Many were in groups, but I was hiking solo.

I chose a trail that's popular, but during my walk I saw only one other group. I heard no human voices, just the rustling of the aspen leaves as the wind blew through the trees, the chattering of squirrels and? the symphony of cicadas.

Wonderful sounds, but it did make me think carefully about what I need to bring with me,? in case the temperature drops dramatically, rain brings lightening, or I get hurt or lost. Here are tips for day hiking in the mountains, so you'll have a great time but be prepared for the unexpected.

Photo: (c) 2011 Lois Friedland

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Family Summer Vacations

When the sun heats up city sidewalks take the family on a summer vacation in cooler climates. Here are mountain resorts, East and West, where you and the kids can enjoy family adventures hiking, mountain biking, river rafting and learning more about nature's natural rhythms. Several resorts have kids adventure camps, so your children will have lots of fun while you play a round of golf, go fly fishing, get pampered in a spa or attend an outdoor concert.

All of these mountain resorts offer a variety of family friendly packages every year. Here's a sampling of the packages you and your children can enjoy. To learn more about specific resorts and find other family vacation packages click on the links below.

Vermont: Smugglers' Notch Fun Fests Entertain the Family

The single-price Family Fun Fest packages at Smugglers' Notch in Vermont's Green Mountains are loaded with a mix of togetherness and age-specific activities. During the daytime, take a hike or play Aqua-Volleyball, while your 16-year-old is introduced to kayaking or a high-ropes adventure course. The younger age groups have their own entertainment, from arts and crafts for 5-year-olds to a Creek Peak or Forest Explanation wilderness journey for pre-teens and teens. Prices and length of packages vary throughout the summer, and accommodations can be in one- and two-bedroom units.

Colorado: Summer Festivals at Keystone

Keystone Resort, high in the heart of Colorado's Rockies, has festivals almost weekly during the summer. It's easy to wrap a visit around one of these special events. Book directly with Keystone Resort and you'll get an Adventure Passport that includes a variety of free activities from bike and paddle-boat rentals to a gold panning session. For details, visit Keystone Resort or call 800-468-5004.

Colorado: Communing with Mother Nature at Winter Park

Take the family rafting on the Colorado River and explore the surrounding national forest while mountain biking on the 600+ miles of trails in the Fraser, Colorado, area, a scenic one-hour drive from Denver over the Continental Divide. The Family Mountain Adventure package at Winter Park Resort includes four nights' lodging in a two-bedroom condo, a raft trip on the Colorado River, bike rentals and an all-day pass for resort activities, which includes rides on the Zephyr Express chairlift and the alpine slide, mini-golf, the Human Maze, the Leaps & Bounds Bungee and more. For details visit Winter Park Resort or call 800-979-0332.

California/Nevada: It's Heavenly Above Lake Tahoe

When riding up the gondola at Heavenly resort Lake Tahoe is on display below. While walking down hiking trails threading the ski slopes (or sailing downward on the Heavenly Flyer zipline) you'll see sailboats and motorboats dotting the lake far below. Take the kids for a paddle-boat cruise, go hot air ballooning, soak in hot springs, or just relax on the beach and help the kids build sand castles. Here, where California and Nevada butt up against each other, lodging choices range from comfortable condominiums to rooms in hotels with casinos. Two-night lodging packages are available in a variety of lodging, which include a cruise for two on the Lake Tahoe Queen. The summer JAMPACK deals include lodging and tickets for concerts with such headliners as Foreigner, Rita Rudner and James Taylor.

One evening you could attend one of the jazz, bluegrass or other concerts at the Valhalla Summer Art & Music Festival. Or, take a picnic dinner, sit on the shore of Lake Tahoe and introduce your older kids to a Shakespearean play.

More Summer High-Mountain Resorts for Family Vacations

Click on the "next" link below for family vacations at Aspen and Snowmass in Colorado; Deer Valley, Utah; Big Sky, Montana; Waterville, New Hampshire; Killington, Vermont; Boyne, Michigan; and Squaw Valley, California. You'll also find links to tips on planning family trips and a list of adventure travel companies that feature family vacations.

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Romania Among Top Emerging Countries for Adventure Travel

From old men sitting on the curb playing classical music on a violin and work-worn women carrying shopping bags to Dracula's castle and stone-walled ancient cities, visiting Romania introduced me to a country on the cusp of becoming a tourist destination.

Recently, this former Communist country was named among the top 10 emerging countries to visit for adventure travel, in a survey by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), George Washington? University and Vital Wave Consulting. These pictures of Romania hint at why it's a fascinating place to explore.

Photo: ? Lois Friedland

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Top VolunTourism Sources

VolunTourism – combining traditional travel with volunteer work – is a rapidly growing trend. "We travel a fair amount, but it's valuable to us to really feel connected with other communities above and beyond seeing tourist sites. It's understanding what we all have in common and getting beyond our own individual day-to-day aspirations and seeing the bigger picture." says Warren, a Hawaiian physician. He, his wife and two children, ages 11 and 16, spent two weeks over Christmas at a refuge for troubled boys near Guatemala City. "It was very rewarding and actually one of the most enjoyable vacations we've ever had."

Last year, one-quarter of the travelers queried in the Voice of the Traveler survey by the Travel Industry Association said they were currently interested in taking a volunteer or service-based vacation. Baby Boomers formed the group expressing the strongest interest, and the largest share (47 percent) of those interested in taking a volunteer vacation fell into the 35-54 year-old range.

If you decide you’d rather be an armchair traveler, most of these organizations have a link where you can donate money to support volunteer projects or to help fund other travelers who want to donate time but may not have sufficient funds for a volunteer trip. Choose a cause that you feel passionate about, or one that sounds like a project where other travelers could offer valuable physical or mental expertise.

If you are trying to decide if a volunteer vacation is right for you read Visit How To Decide if Voluntourism -- Volunteer Travel -- Is for You.

1) i-to-i

i-to-i is a company that sends more that 5,000 people a year to volunteer at local projects around the world and immerse themselves in local cultures. These travelers choose voluntourism -- combining traditional travel with volunteer work -- to help make a difference in their lives and others.

2) Voluntourism.com.

Voluntourism.org is a Web site with lots of information about taking volunteer vacations, and combining volunteerism and travel during Voluntour(sm)

3) CheapTickets.com

CheapTickets.com has teamed up with United Way to offer travelers a route to setting up volunteer vacations, or adding a day or more of volunteering during a planned trip.

4) Sierra Club Outings

Sierra Club Outings runs volunteer travel trips around the United States from New York City's parks to Wyoming's rugged backcountry.

5) International Volunteer Programs

International Volunteer Programs Association is a consortium of international volunteer programs that have one- or two-week to six-month programs.

6) Volunteer Abroad

The Volunteer Abroad Web site lists many routes for finding interesting trips around the globe that let you travel with a purpose and immerse yourself in local cultures.

7) United Nation’s World Volunteer Web

The United Nation’s World Volunteer Web is an online global clearing house for information and resources linked to volunteerism.

8) Earthwatch Institute

On a volunteer vacation or trip with the non-profit Earthwatch Institute you could take an Amazon river trip to help with the conservation of monkeys, sea otters and birds; trap and track puma, jaguarundi and other cats in Argentina’s pampas grass; or collect data to help save the endangered forest marsupials in Australia.

9) responsibletravel.com

Run by a United Kingdom-based travel agency, the responsibletravel.com Web site focuses on eco-holidays, including many that offer a volunteer work component.

10) American Jewish World Service

The American Jewish World Service (AJWS) offers individual and group service programs for Jews interested in traveling to foreign countries to volunteer for grassroots social change projects.

Are You A VolunTourist?

Combining a vacation or trip abroad with volunteering on local projects is one way you can immerse yourself in local cultures and make a difference. First, however, you need to ask yourself some serious questions to help decide where and what type of volunteer travel you’d enjoy. What’s your passion? Animal conservation? Teaching kids or helping them? Rebuilding homes destroyed by hurricanes or a tsunami? Are you willing to live and work with people whose culture and outlook is very different that your own? Can you handle living in a tent or shack with an outhouse or do you want to be in a hotel? Visit How To Decide if Voluntourism -- Volunteer Travel -- Is for You.

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