Ten of the best cycling holidays for 2024

2024 is set to be one of those cycling mega-years. On top of the usual three professional Grand Tours – in France, Spain, and Italy – and the World Championships in Switzerland, a summer Olympics (also in France) will be thrown in, for an extra sprinkle of fairy dust. 

The Tour of Britain’s future still hangs in the balance, but across Europe and around the world, professional and amateur cyclists are gearing up for another 12 months of hairpin corners and steep ascents. 

If the cycling bug hasn’t already bitten you, then 2024 might be the year it finally latches on. From Wales to the Arctic, we’ve selected ten of the best cycling holidays to whet your ravenous appetite, including serious cycles for the Mamils and Mawils, and gentle pootles for the easy riders, too. 

Cycle the Cotswolds 

New for 2024, this Oxford to Bath guided bike tour starts in the city of dreaming spires and ends with curved rows of honeystone Georgian buildings. 

On the way you’ll take in villages such as Bibury, described by William Morris as the most beautiful in England, and Bampton, where scenes from Downton Abbey were filmed. Famed for its rolling hills and centuries-old pubs, the route also weaves through Bourton-on-the-Water, the Venice of the Cotswolds. 

Exodus Adventure Travels’ (020 8772 3743) new six-day tour starts at £2,099 per person, including bed and breakfast accommodation and a trip leader throughout. 

Brecon Beacons and beyond 

If you like the idea of carrying all your own gear and travelling under your own steam, then Roam Bikepacking offers something slightly different. It will equip you with a bike, saddlebags, a tent and sleeping bag, allowing you to get fully off road and into the wild.

Its new tour for 2024 will see guests take on Gospel Pass, Wales’s highest road, and Devil’s Staircase – one of Britain’s toughest climbs, reaching a maximum gradient of 20 per cent. They’ll also tell you about the best places to wild camp and swim. 

Roam Bikepacking (07967 870654) can organise this four-day tour for £425 per person (camping) or £550 (B&B).

One for the road in France

2024 is set to be a vintage year for cycling in France. Not only will it host the annual Tour but also the summer Olympics. But while the pros will be powered by sports drinks and protein shakes, how about a leisurely amble around Champagne and Burgundy – two of Europe’s great wine-growing regions.

Highlights of this new tour include a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims, and a tasting at the Côte des Blancs wine estate. The laid-back route also takes in historic Dijon, the charming capital of Burgundy. 

Exodus Adventure Travels (020 8772 3743) offers a seven-day tour from £4,399 per person, including flights, half-board accommodation, bike hire and a trip leader. Departures on June 23, July 14 and Sept 15 2024. 

Midnight sun in Norway’s Lofoten Islands

This new self-guided cycling holiday explores one of northern Europe’s most spectacular and isolated regions, the Lofoten Archipelago. The route takes in deserted beaches and tiny fishing villages. If you’re really lucky, you might spot a white-tailed eagle.

Head north between the end of May and mid-July and the sun won’t set at all. Your bright nights will be spent in seaside lodges and red fishermen’s cabins. As for fuel: booze certainly won’t be cheap, but there will be plenty of local cheese and stockfish dumplings. 

Headwater (01606 720199) is offering this new self-guided trip between June and August from £3,419 per person, including flights, accommodation, bike hire, and meals.

Discover the rural patchwork of Poland

Poland, you say? It’s not a country that many would associate with a cycling holiday, but then again, few operators share the vision of The Slow Cyclist, renowned for its off-the-beaten-track adventures. 

This new tour kicks off in May and takes in Poland’s Lower Silesia region, bordering Germany and northern Czechia. By day, you’ll pass castles, forests and extinct volcanoes, but at night there’s plenty of time for Polish wine – the country is home to 400 vineyards – and nutritious hearty local food. Silesia is best known for its poppyseed cakes. 

The Slow Cyclist (01865 410356) is offering a new four-night trip from £2,290 per person, based on travelling as a group of 12, including airport transfers, a support vehicle, and English-speaking guides. 

Train like a pro in the French Alps 

Aimed at serious cyclists, this week-long training camp based out of Morzine – host of the Tour de France on more than 20 occasions – is probably as close to riding professionally as you can get. 

This “holiday” includes a private chef, daily massages, and a support vehicle. You’ll also receive a pre-camp training plan and an all-inclusive drinks package for the evenings. But don’t overdo it – the cycling will be tough. You’ll climb over 40,000 feet in a week. One of the climbs, the Col de la Pierre Carrée, is considered among the toughest in the world. 

Sa Calobra Cycling Club (0033 688 699 160) is running this seven-night holiday between June 28 and July 5 2024 and costs from £2,208 per person. 

A long weekend in Italy’s Dolomites 

This is a convenient cycling holiday for people who don’t fancy spending a whole week in the saddle. Rather than moving each night, you’ll be based in a four-star lakeside hotel, in the village of Alleghe. 

Each day ride comes in three options, offering mighty climbs for experienced col baggers, or more relaxed jaunts for the beginners. Epic scenery is, however, guaranteed for all. Day four tackles Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites. 

Marmot Tours (01373 830409) offers four-night tours for £1,350 per person this July and August. Airport transfers and half-board accommodation are included, so too is wine with dinner. 

Explore Ireland’s south coast 

Cycle from Kerry to Cork on this new self-guided eight-day tour, which explores the green and hilly backroads of Ireland’s glorious south. Highlights include the forests and coasts around Clonakilty, and the Drombeg Stone Circle: 17 standing stones that date back 2,000 years. 

An evening spent in the coastal town of Kinsale gives riders the option to visit James’s Fort, the ruins of a 17th-century fortress. The final day’s riding passes the Royal Cork Yacht Club, purportedly the world’s oldest. 

Saddle Skedaddle (0191 265 1110) will run this new tour between April and October and it costs from £1,445 per person, including bed and breakfast accommodation, luggage transfers and digital route notes.

An e-bike tour of southern Japan

Explore the mountainous splendour of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s main islands, on a Yamaha e-bike tour, which covers 240 miles in a week. Following sections of the car-free Shimanami Kaido cycling trail, you’ll hop between the smaller islands of the Seto Inland Sea via five suspension bridges. 

After touring the Shikoku temple pilgrimage route – comprising 88 sacred sites – your evenings will include sake tastings and soaks in onsens (hot springs). Add-on excursions to Hiroshima and Kyoto can be arranged at the start and end of the tour. 

Freedom Treks (01273 977968) offers this holiday in March, April and May. Prices start from £3,757 and include accommodation, meals and a local guide. 

Ride across America 

The Big Daddy of cycling holidays, this 67-night expedition will cross one of the planet’s greatest nations, and takes in the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone National Park and the Great Plains. 

On this 4,000-mile journey between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans you’ll average 67 miles a day, with a rest day every 10. The comfort, company, and security of a group will make it extra special. 2024 is a US Presidential Election year, so expect plenty to talk about. 

Bike Adventures (01273 413489) is running a TransAm tour between July 14 and Sept 18, including a tour leader, support vehicle and accommodation, costing £10,395 per person.