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October half term cycling holiday destination recommendation please

Looking to go away in October half term with the family. Want to get in some decent riding, but the holiday will not be a full on cycling holiday. My budget is limited to about £1000 give or take total for flights and accom for 2 adults and a 5 year old. Any suggestions or recommendations as to where to go?

I'm familiar with Mallorca, as I lived in Palma for a while. Thinking something different maybe.

What do you suggest?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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8 comments

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Pyro Tim | 4 years ago
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Several options in lanzarote for about a grand for the 3 of us. We have 2 inset days which allow us to fly Monday to Monday which dropped the price. Wife pushing for bankso

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Zigster | 4 years ago
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I stayed in Costa Teguise (Lanzarote) in April and cycled with Bueno Bikes, who were very good.  I hired a decent bike from Evolution in Costa Teguise but I would be tempted to try Tribike another time as they had some lovely bikes for hire.  As others have said ... very, very windy.

I'm going to Tenerife in OCtober half-term as well and hoping to do some riding.  I need to do some research.

I think you might be being a little optimistic with your budget.  If you can find a week's holiday for a family for just £1,000, I'd love to know who with.  If you've one child aged just 5, I suspect you haven't yet been fully exposed to the horror of school holiday pricing.  Anywhere warm in October will be a lot more than £1,000.

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TheBillder | 4 years ago
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+1 for Lanzarote and Revolution in Puerto del Carmen who are very good people indeed. I quite liked the Planet X Pro Carbon but missed the 32t sprocket I have at home (28 on the hire bike) and 25 mm tyres at 110 psi are a bit lively for my old bones even on the mostly decent roads.

Downside is the wind, which is a given every day and will be northerly. We started every ride with about 300m climbing into a headwind, and if riding a loop there will be some cross wind miles. This will feel severe by UK standards. That said, we only felt unsafe once and walked a few hundred metres.

Bueno Bikes do very good guided rides and can be booked through Revolution.

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pablo | 4 years ago
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Canaries is the obvious answer that time of year never been to Lanzarote as the potential winds put me off when we first choose where to go but obviously the riding is good. 

I've ridden Grand Caneria 4 times now and love it.  We always hire our bikes from Free Motion not the cheapest but the bikes are all maintained and changed every year  as they also deal in Cannondale and a few other brands. They have a few sites on the Island and also on some of the other Islands.  First year we stayed in the hotel above their main shop just by chance and it was a great hotel.

Have to say i prefer it to Mallorca but that might be because we stayed about 10 miles from anything worth riding.  In GC i can think of a few routes where your basically climbing from when you leave the hotel so that may sway it for me. 

 

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Pyro Tim | 4 years ago
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Thanks for the tips all. I've been to Lanzarote, but not cucling. It did look good, and the hire firm is a handy hint. 

My wife has suggested Bansko, Bulgaria, as we can stay at her sisters flat there. Anyone been there? I know it's going to be cooler and aroung 16C, but I can handle that.

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Pilot Pete | 4 years ago
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Go closer to home - The Algarve. Get flights to Faro and rent an apartment in the non-touristy bit (east from the airport). 

The summer season finishes at the end of September so many bargains to be had. It’s as cheap as chips if you avoid the tourist areas (we stay just inland from Olhão, a fishing port with plenty of small cafes and restaurants, beers at a €1 each and an ice cream shop between the fantastic fish and vegetable markets on the harbour front).

We go every November and the temperature is between 18-25c, last few years wall to wall blue skies and sunshine.

Plenty of fantastic riding on really quiet roads once you go inland away from the coast. Hills a plenty if that’s your thing, or a coastal ride to the lovely Fuseta and very nice Tavira on the Spanish border. Estoi and especially Loule are nice little places with cafe bars and restaurants. If you want quiet, picturesque and a fantastic gourmet lunch at cheap prices head inland to Querença, which is idyllic with a little town square on top of the hill with a chapel, cafe bar and restaurant run by a Greek guy who used to do the hospitality suite at Chelsea (or was it Tottenham?) FC. Food is to die for.

We head inland into the hills and you can do 70-100miles and come across only a dozen or so cars once you get off the main roads (which aren’t exactly busy themselves!) Foia is the highest point at about 3000’ but the terrain goes up and down relentlessly inland and is absolutely fabulous. Monchique is part way up Foia and gets a lot of bus tours as it is pretty picturesque - good spot for a coffee before attacking the climb to the summit!

if you want beaches, then my recommendation is Faro beach which the locals use rather than the beaches further west which are more catering for the average Brit ‘bucket and spade’ brigade.

Cant wait for November...counting the days down! Admittedly we stay at a mates villa for nothing, but the whole trip including flights and bike boxes, share of minibus rental, ALL food and drink (and we drink a lot of wine and beer!), cleaning fee for the villa and fuel for the bus comes to £500 a head for the week. 

PP

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LastBoyScout | 4 years ago
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I liked Lanzarote, too - did a couple of days cycling there a couple of years ago.

If you don't want to take your bike for the whole trip, there are a few hire places - I hired from Revolution, nice people, deliver anywhere: https://revolutionlanzarote.com/

I didn't rate the Planet X Pro Carbon I hired, should have gone for the Spesh Tarmac, which is now upgraded to Di2 from the 105 groupset they used at the time - seems they now have Canyon as an option, too.

Note that water is expensive to buy away from the towns, so carry plenty.

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peted76 | 4 years ago
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Canaries for the weather, cheaper than Europe usually also. I like Lanzarote, it's small enough that you can drive from one side to the other in an hour and there's always a volcano or mountain looming close enough to climb. Also the traffic and roads are very cycling friendly in general. 

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