Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum! I’d like to buy some panniers for bike travel made of Cordura. I initially went for the Ortlieb Back Roller Plus, but while browsing the cylo-randonnée website, I came across the Extrawheel Wayfarer Premium panniers. They’re also made of Cordura, manufactured in Poland with German materials, and each has a 25-liter capacity—10 liters more than the Ortliebs. Has anyone here tried them or knows this brand? I know Ortlieb is super reputable, but I figured there might be other brands that are just as good. 🙂 Gabriele

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to figure out how to get from Paris to Marseille or Montpellier with non-disassembled bikes by train in early July 2025... and it’s a total flop!!! Can’t find any trains that offer the bike-on-board option! It’s so complicated between SNCF-CONNECT, OUIGO, and TER INTERCITÉS!!! Nothing’s simple! I want to take my teens and their cousins on a bike trip to the Camargue, but I’ll have to start planning way ahead to sort out bike transport!!! So glad I found VoyageForum for tips! !

Hi there, My friend and I are planning to bike down to Tierra del Fuego starting from Santiago, Chile, in early February. The big question is: "Is it possible to find decent and reasonably priced bikes in Santiago?" Are there local resale sites like Leboncoin, or any second-hand spots worth knowing about there? If anyone’s done this before, I’d love to hear your tips! ;) Thanks! !

When you're trying to travel with your bike, SNCF sometimes tells you there's no solution, even though you could combine TGVs, TETs, and TERs.

- We used to check the Swiss CFF website https://www.sbb.ch/fr,

but it’s become useless since the "bike" option for France was removed.

- Next, we go to the Deutsche Bahn website https://www.bahn.com/fr, which has a "bike" option that combines TGVs, TETs (IC), and TERs. Then, you can either: - Buy the ticket directly on the Deutsche Bahn site, or - Note all the trains in the itinerary and, to use your discount cards, go to the SNCF website to purchase all the necessary tickets. The Deutsche Bahn site lets you adjust connection times in the "details" of an itinerary if the suggested one seems too short. I’ve found that 10 minutes is really risky—delays, crowds on the platform making it hard to move quickly, not to mention the line for the elevator and navigating an unfamiliar station. Still, it’s best to double-check that each train allows bikes.

- Now, thanks to the site "Biclous et bidouilles," check it out here:

https://biclousetbidouilles.com/un-site-en-or-pour-voyager-en-ter/

I discovered this site, which helps calculate bike-friendly routes in France:

https://www.horaires-de-trains.fr/horaires-ter.html

I gave it a quick test, but it seems limited to TERs—too bad, since the ideal is to combine all available train options.

One pitfall to avoid: always make sure you’re still on https://www.horaires-de-trains.fr/horaires-ter.html and haven’t accidentally switched to https://www.horaires-de-trains.fr/.

These days, SNCF is gradually converting all its TGVs to INOUI. Normally, they all have bike spaces, so these workarounds might not be needed much longer.

Hi! I’d like to cycle from Basel to Budapest in August and then take the train back to Besançon. Which website should I use to book, and how far in advance do I need to reserve my tickets?

Thanks for your help!

Hi, We’re planning to start the Camino del Cid from Vivar del Cid (Burgos) to Atienza in April. How can we get back and pick up our car, which we left in Burgos? I haven’t found any info on this. Thanks for your tips!

Age (80+) is making us stop our 20 years of bike travel (a good part of Europe), so we're selling (together or separately) our two touring bikes and switching to an electric city bike.🤪 They're already listed on a big national multi-product sales site, but potential buyers don't seem to know what a touring bike equipped with a Rohloff is....🙂 So my question: Do you know of a site where I'd have a better chance?😉 They're ROSE VTC bikes, Black Water III models from 2012.

The RandoCamping site is free for users and hosts.

Its goal is to help trekkers find accommodations (usually by the night) all across France and to promote hosts who welcome trekkers satisfactorily.

Check it out here: https://randocamping.touteslatitudes.fr

The site is collaborative and supported by associations like Cyclo-Camping International or AF3V.

It lets you plan a trip or trek (on foot or by bike) by searching for accommodations along a route. The accommodations come from the DataTourisme platform (which aggregates information from Tourist Offices) and from users (trekkers & hosts).

Train lines and passenger stations are also listed. Clicking on a station can show you (if the data is available) how accessible the platforms are with a non-dismantled bike. Bike and hiking routes come from Waymarked Trails (which is based on OpenStreetMap).

You can find more details about the site’s features on this page (version 1.0): https://randovelo.touteslatitudes.fr/randocamping-v1/

hi,

so glad the site’s open for discussion again...

I’m planning a trip on a recumbent bike. Has anyone here tried recumbents with e-assist? I went for this option because climbing mountains is tough without a boost—probably going with a mid-drive motor.

Also, anyone up for joining a stretch of the route heading toward Greece at the end of 2025?

welcome

Hello fellow cycle-tourers! First post on this site for our first big family cycling adventure with our two teens (12 and 16 years old) over 2 months. We're preparing to leave in June/July from Erdeven by bike, then take the train from Auray to Paris, followed by a FlixBus from Paris to Copenhagen with our 4 bikes. After that, we're looking to refine our route: Should we go to Sweden via Helsingborg and then head up to Stockholm along the west or east coast? Maybe passing through the Gotland islands, then via the Åland Islands, why not Turku? Then off to Estonia to Tallinn, ride a bit along the coast, and return by bus if we can find one that takes 4 bikes. :))

Could you share any tips on routes in Sweden: west coast or east coast to prioritize in the south? We’ve heard it’s a shame not to go up to Norway, but we’re worried about the elevation and don’t see how to make a loop work in our 2 months / 1500 km. Any ideas? And the southern Finnish coast: should we go all the way to Helsinki or not? Maybe at the expense of Estonia?

In short, we know choosing means giving something up, but if we can do it with advice from fellow cyclists, that would be amazing! Thanks in advance for your tips! Anne-Sophie and the whole Breton family: David, Axel, and Maude

Does anyone know an easy way to get from Bilbao to Nantes by bus or train with a bike that isn’t disassembled? Nothing on DB.DE, nothing on FlixBus... Thanks.

Hi there, we’re a group of 4 cyclists looking to get from Treviso in Italy to Munich with our 4 non-folding bikes. It seems complicated! Are there any solutions? Thanks so much.

Hi there, We’re heading to three islands in March (Paros, Milos, and Sifnos). Given their small size and lack of major elevation, we’d love to explore them by bike. However, I can’t find any bike rental shops on any of these islands. Has anyone done this before and have any recommendations or addresses? Thanks so much in advance!

Good evening, I’m planning a solo bike road trip along the EuroVelo 6, starting from Orléans all the way to Budapest, beginning May 1st, 2026! Question: Have any of you used the Warmshowers site, and if so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on using this app—whether responses to hosting requests are generally satisfying, especially for the different countries I’ll be crossing! Thanks in advance for your tips! Philippe

Hi everyone here who loves cycling, I’m planning a 5-week trip next January in Uganda: a little tour of 1,200 to 1,500 km crossing the most beautiful spots and reserves in the country. Route to be defined together. I’m looking for someone to join me.

Interested? Nicolas (72 years old)

Travel site: nicolas.saulnier.free.fr

Hi, I’m traveling from Budapest to Belgrade. I had a map up to Budapest. If you have a marked route (Route 6) starting from Budapest, that’d really help me out since the signage is pretty poor. Thanks

I’ve gotten used to crossing Europe by bus to return by bike. It was really convenient to take the bike without having to disassemble it. But FlixBus no longer accepts bikes... What alternatives do you know about? Thanks.

Hi there, I’m interested in guides and maps for the Vienna/Budapest and Budapest/Belgrade stretches. We’re planning to leave from Passau to Belgrade in early August.

Hi there, I’ve been road cycling for several years, and I’m about to switch to gravel in the next few days—I’m waiting for my bike, which should arrive this week. I’m planning a bikepacking trip in a few weeks along the Véloroute V81, also known as the Vélosud, from Biarritz to Le Barcarès. Has anyone here already done this route? Any info is welcome, whether it’s about the route itself, gear, or accommodation. I’ll prioritize staying with locals as much as possible. On that note, I just signed up for the brand-new site *Guidon et Couette* ((www.guidon-et-couette.fr)), which offers free accommodation between cyclists across the country, but there’s almost no one listed along my route! Thanks in advance. Laurent.

hello fellow cycling enthusiasts here’s a travel journal of the cycling tour through the Rhône-Alpes Auvergne region by Claudio zouli it was the plan http://cbandiera.free.fr/parcours/auvergne-Ralpes/

the trip was completed story being posted online soon 1100 km in 11 days beautiful and varied regions

claudio

Hi there,

I’m planning to cycle the Vélodyssée from Hendaye to Saint-Brevin in July 2026. My issue: how do I get to Hendaye with my bike? FlixBus doesn’t take bikes, and SNCF is complicated. Any ideas? Has anyone got a solution to suggest? Thanks in advance! Cheers, Patrig

Hi there, We're thinking of cycling from Lisbon to Vila Real de Santo António in March. Staying at campsites along the way. I have two logistics questions: 1) Where to leave the van in Lisbon? Would it be okay to leave it a bit outside Lisbon if needed? 2) Can we take the train back from Vila Real de Santo António to Lisbon with our bikes? Thanks for any insights! Momo

Good evening,

We’re planning a cycling tour in Denmark and I’m figuring out how to get there. We have electric mountain bikes (and since I’m really happy with mine, I’d prefer not to rent bikes there). We have 9 days.

- I looked into trains, but the prices aren’t great, and I’m worried we won’t always be able to take our bikes. Packing them in a bag and disassembling them seems overwhelming, especially given how big mine is.

- The Flexibus: we’d have to go through Paris from Lyon, which would waste a lot of time.

- Flying? It might not be more expensive than the train.

- We have a camper van, and I’m wondering if that’s an option. Do you know if you can park your vehicle for a week in a parking lot? I get the impression that parking time is limited. Thanks for your advice! Have a great evening,

Sandrine

Hi, I’m planning a bike trip in Italy starting from Pisa to Cinque Terre and I’m looking for a company to transport two suitcases. The suitcases are picked up in the morning at our hotel and dropped off at the next hotel along our route. I’m looking for something like *La Malle Postale* in France, which some people use on the Camino de Santiago. Thanks for your feedback!

On the new OUIGO trains, there’s now a bike space where you can hang your bike!

https://youtu.be/MfLUXBwrsKw?si=llghy79WExLfzPXR

hi everyone

It's still just a plan, but I'm considering traveling to Antalya in Turkey in autumn 2025 using the following route: - From France to the Croatian coast (route not yet defined) - "Down" the Croatian coast, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece. - Crossing the Peloponnese to Kalamata - Ferry to Kissamos (Crete) - Crossing Crete and ferry from Sitia to Rhodes - Tour of Rhodes and crossing to Fethiye (Turkey) - Connection to Antalya

If anyone has already taken this route, I’d love to hear any tips or advice. For now, I don’t have info on ferries for September and October—have you taken them? Do they allow bikes? Top

Hi there,

I’m looking for route ideas for a 5-day bike trip in the Spanish Basque Country, max 40 km per day and 500 m of elevation gain max per day, preferably on greenways or small roads for August 2025.

I’d also love to hear your thoughts on the weather: does it rain a lot at that time of year?

We cycled along the Finistère coast last summer but managed to dodge the rain 😄.

Thanks in advance for your tips!

Hello there, pedal-powered Young Boys! Claudio (still from Faverges) dreaming about a cycling getaway in Italy from Faverges (train all the way to Turin) from Turin down to Venice along the Po River and back via the Padana (Alta Italia da attraversare – Northern Italy to cross) The tricky part is getting from Chioggia to Venice. I read it’s possible by hopping on a boat from island to island, but it sounds a bit stressful. Has anyone already tackled this route?

Thanks, and cheers to all! http://cbandiera.free.fr/parcours/Padania/

Claudio

Hi there,

The full route from Burgos to (just before) Murcia is 1,300 km.

If you’ve done the whole thing, do you think the entire route is worth the trip, or can some sections be skipped?

Thanks.

Hi there, I’m traveling to Denmark this July with my three boys, aged 12, 14, and 17. I’d like to plan a little cycling trip and I’m thinking of doing the Copenhagen–Malmö route via Helsingborg. The idea is to take our time and stop along the way based on points of interest or for a swim if the weather allows. I have a few questions: - How many days should we plan for? 2, 3, or 4? - What are the recommended stopover towns? - What are the points of interest along the way? - Do we need to take a ferry for the Helsingør–Helsingborg stretch? Should we book in advance? If anyone has great tips for accommodation along the route, I’d love to hear them! Thanks! !