A cycling holiday in the Dordogne

Cycling around the Dordogne - what a perfect way to see the outstanding beauty of the Dordogne. Cycling along very quiet country lanes and through picturesque hamlets was just ideal. The bikes were perfect for the hills and our luggage was always at the next hotel on arrival. The cycling notes were great with little notes on telling us where to shop for lunch and stop for drinks or icecreams or places of interest. Everything worked perfectly from transfers to cycling and would highly recommend it.

The complimentary bottle of wine left at out first hotel for our 30th wedding anniversary was a thoughful and appreciated touch (many thanks for this Inntravel team). The GPX files are fab and a lot easier than using a paper map. On the route from La Vieille Auberge to Sarlat [the optional add-on] there are water gardens (300m from cycle path to Sarlat we were following). They are not mentioned in your documents but they are very lovely.

Another lovely holiday with Inntravel which was a tailored mix of cycling and walking over ten days with stays at La Vieille Auberge, Le Troubadour, Relais de Castelnau and Relais Sainte Anne at Martel. Hotels and hotel food was all good. We appreciated having three days at Le Troubadour and four at Ste Anne which allowed us to settle and relax a bit. Pools were open but too cold to use sadly. The weather was a bit chilly for May - one day there was frost on the lawn at 8.30am. The villages and towns of the Dordogne are wonderful as are the river and its bridges, with little chateaux and manoirs everywhere, a very medieval feel and pleasing roof shapes. Many of the dwellings were shuttered and the depopulation which characterises parts of rural France was evident. Despite this - and it being early in the tourist season - most places could support a small cafe or bar! Wonderful forests of oak trees, nut trees, full of birds and beautiful flowers. We didn't have ebikes, are fit 60 year olds (who nevertheless don't cycle normally) and we found the shortish distances with the hilly bits absolutely fine - we returned tired on some days (having pushed bikes up some hills) but fine. We found open cash points at Souillac, Hospitalet, and Martel.

Our highlights and observations in no particular order: Automata museum at Souillac; having tea and coffee making facilities in our rooms at La Vieille Auberge; food everywhere (although the absence of vegetables or even salads makes us wonder how the French are getting their 'five a day'); having picnics; visit to the mill on day one from Souillac to Rocamadour; walk down the gorge to Rocamadour (nb - there are picnic spots with views just past the mill on the other side of the valley); Rignac (cafe there was closed sadly); we had a good value meal at Les Coeurs Gourmands (yummy cassoulet) at Gramat (the convent gardens aren't really there anymore); the insect museum at Padirac was closed; Martel - it is less sleepy and obviously has a vibrant local population and we visited a brocante market, saw a VE Day procession and appreciated the range of different shops there); steam train journey at Martel; the walk via the Apothecary Path to Gluges (we had coffee at the otherwise very sleepy Hotel Les Falaises); circular walk along the Rocs de Monge near St Sozy to Blazinguet and back which is not an Inntravel route but you can follow it on the map (beware - the start of the path out of St Sozy/La Curade climbs up the hillside along a very steep and narrow path which involves scrambling with steep but wooded drop to one side and one of our party really did not like this and would not do again); seeing deer; hearing what sounded like wolves in the forest; having tea at the fish farm outside Souillac. 

One of the best holidays we have had. The routes were excellent with the attention to detail second to none. Wonderful accommodation which we would never have found ourselves, highly recommended.

Each of the hotels had a different style, which was interesting. The Domaine de la Vaysse was like the early Inntravel style stopovers....eating with the family....enjoyable for two nights. The E-bikes make the hills less challenging, and open up a new range of holidays, which we thought we were becoming too old to enjoy. If we are fit to do a holiday next year, we could increase the daily mileage easily, if this is an available option. I cannot think of any way you can improve a most enjoyable holiday, it included interesting locations, had good food, pleasant and helpful hosts.

We had a wonderful week. We opted for e-bikes which was a good decision as the weather was very hot and the hills were significant up onto the limestone plateau. It was the first time we had used them and there will be no going back! We are all fairly fit 60 somethings but they really made the cycling a pleasure and were so easy to use. 

The area is beautiful and was quiet in September. We enjoyed our visit to the mill on the first day and the caves at Padirac were stunning. Rocamadour is a splendid sight and the old medieval towns like Martel were lovely. Your route plans and information pages were perfect. 

Accommodation wise we were probably spoiled by last year’s trip to the Loire. The start and finish hotel at Souillac was fine but not as nice as the wonderful Hotel de Biencourt in Azay-Le-Rideau which we loved. They were however very helpful in organising us a few hours in Sarlat on our last day as we had a late flight home from Bergerac and in explaining our bikes to us and setting us on our way. The Hotel Le Troubadour was excellent, again with wonderful staff and delicious food. We were glad to have two nights there and wished we could have had two at the next hotel, the Relais de Castelnau, with its stunning views and superb pool and restaurant terrace. Again, delicious food. We didn’t really enjoy the two nights at the Chambre d’hote at la Vaysse. One night would have been fine; and it was nice to speak a bit of French, but the evening meals were a bit awkward and we felt rather under pressure not to offend our hosts. They made a lot of effort and meant well but the food wasn’t great and the set up just didn’t suit us. In retrospect we should have upgraded to the Lacave hotel but we didn‘t necessarily want Michelin starred cuisine, just somewhere simple but good. Maybe a small hotel in Martel would be better? We had a stand out lunch there the next day at Le Petit Moulin and we enjoyed the train ride along the disused line at the top of the plateau. 

Overall it was a great week and we absolutely loved the cycling. We were reluctant to hand our bikes back at the end of the holiday!

We all thoroughly enjoyed the holiday the quality of the food far outweighed our expectations. I would recommend the extension to Sarlat a wonderful medieval town. 

The weather was extremely hot when we were in the Dordogne air conditioning at some of the hotels was a bonus and enabled us too have a good nights sleep because of the extreme heat 38c we didn’t cycle on the last day. Having a swimming pool at all of the hotels was a refreshing welcome.

We all enjoyed cycling through the small picturesque French villages and the opportunity to swim in the Dordogne not as cold as I expected. If you plan to visit the caves at Padirac I advise getting an e ticket as the queues are very long to get a timed ticket during the the high season.

I would recommend this holiday and we are planning to take another cycling holiday with Inntravel next year.

This was our 4th cycling holiday booked through Inntravel & once again everything went like clockwork from the first friendly greeting at the station in Souillac to the welcome back to them at the end. This was my first grade 2 cycle so I was prepared for a few more hills but to be fair with the excellent quality of the bikes I found the hills ok especially a couple of extra ones thrown in when we took a couple of wrong turnings! It was very hot so the welcome sight of the pools in all the hotels was a pleasing sight. The food was probably the best we had experienced on all our holidays, excellent choices & quality. We had a great visit as suggested to the Caves in Padirac, but didn't do the ones in Lacave choosing for a more leisurely day cycling to the market in Martel followed by a steam train ride & a visit to Reptileland which made for a great day before returning to the pool at Domaine De La Vaysse where Thierry & Pascale were the most wonderful lovely hosts along with their cute dog Memphis. Staying with them in their beautiful home for two nights was definitely one of our highlights.

An excellent holiday. Very well organised with excellent hotels. There are some big climbs and in high temperature, they are hard work, so do some training beforehand!  

A challenging holiday with some beautiful views and fabulous countryside. The Domaine de la Vaysse was a lovely place to stay but not totally relaxing as after a hard days ride having dinner with hosts felt like you were staying with distant family where you needed to make polite conversation. Nice but by the second night we wished we had upgraded.

The Dordogne cycle exceeded expectations at every turn. This was our second bike trip with Inntravel, the first being to Alsace.  As always, Inntravel route, lodging, bikes, and meals were first rate. The meandering lanes of Sarlat, delicious meals at Souillac, picnic on the river at the ancient mill, steep bike route to Rocamadour, routes along the plateau, and paddle on the Dordogne were all relaxing and beautiful. The ebikes made the hilly route enjoyable. Beautiful properties, pools, and meals at Hotel Le Troubadour and Relais de Castelnau were highlights. Cave at Gouffre de Padirac was a fascinating and cool break. Villages of Autoire, Carennac, and Martel were favorites, including the market at Martel. We did not want the journey to end, our following days driving in Provence did not compare with the rhythm of this biking adventure. We are already looking forward to our next Inntravel biking holiday. 

This was out third self-guided cycle tour in Europe, but our first with Inntravel, and our best by a long chalk! The accommodation and food were superb, the routes easy to follow, and just challenging enough to justify all the cheese and wine. And we literally ran out of superlatives to describe the beautiful towns, villages and countryside we passed through. We'll be doing another Inntravel cycle tour next year I think!

Had a great time, hotels and food were fantastic and the cycling in the French countryside is a joy

The highlights were the caves at Padirac and the insect museum next door. The mechanical museum (at Souillac) was excellent. The proximity of Brive airport was a plus for us. Hate long transfers.

This was a really enjoyable holiday for us and, apart from the last day, we were very lucky with the weather (late May).The routes enable you to see some wonderful scenery - panoramic vistas and beautiful villages, made all the better by the scents of roses and honeysuckle. We are quite fit 60 somethings and chose the more challenging route options but some of the hills are pretty tough so be prepared. It's worth it though for , for instance, the lovely downhills into Autoire and Rocamadour.The hotels were pretty good and we were able to dry our wet gear on the towel rail at the Vieille Auberge, but we were disappointed with the upgrade hotel at Lacave. The food was excellent but we had to change our room as the bathroom was very overlooked from the terrace next door. The room was also small and needed updating.In contrast, the room at Loubressac was large with wonderful panoramic views.I took a change of clothes in the pannier as someone else had commented that they arrived at the next destination ahead of their luggage, but we had no problems with this.Overall we would recommend this holiday. You need the weather though.

We enjoyed the holiday and the lovely quiet roads through this spectular part of France. My wife rode an e-bike which made the holiday much more enjoyable for her. The accommodation was good to excellent and the service provided by Inntravel was excellent. I would highly recommend this holiday.

It is a wonderful slow travel trip. A great introduction to southern France, its sights, sounds and wonderful foods!

We enjoyed the visit to the Grottes de Lacave with the guide who also spoke in English. The marrionette museum in Souillac was interesting and amusing. The detour to the Table d'Orientation was well worth the effort for the views along the Dordogne river.

A great trip. Slightly challenging in sections but a very good introduction to a visually stunning region, with interesting routes and many great extension possibilities. Lots to see and do on the way, with friendly low key hotels that made you feel welcome.

The cycling highlight was on Day 1, Option 1, freewheeling down the cliffside road watching the view of Rocamadour village emerging. The view was unbelievably breathtaking.

The staff at Hotel le Troubadour were really friendly and amusing, and having the evening meals in the garden under a huge yew tree was really special.

The menus for the week would be rather limited for anyone who didn't like duck or foie gras, or who was vegetarian. Particularly at Loubressac.

The caves at Padirac were amazing, far beyond anything I've seen in the UK. Although there were plenty of visitors, the surrounding facilities and the caves themselves were not at all tacky. The guides were really good, making sure us English speakers were able to have everything explained. The caves are very well lit with just plain white lighting, no special effects. I would have paid three times over the entrance fee willingly!

I think to really enjoy the holiday, as we did, you have to physically enjoy being on a bicycle  for a long time, as between the villages and sights there were long stretches of not particularly varied scenery. They could have been a bit tedious if the weather hadn't been so good.

Another wonderful cycling holiday with Inntravel. This was our third time doing the Dordogne holiday, varying the route a little each time, and we will be back there again in a few years time. The Le Pont de l'Ouysse hotel is particularly special with great food and service. For those wanting to extend the last cycling day we can recommend a ride out to St. Julien de Lampon along the D43/D50 from Souillac and then back along a lovely cycle path on the opposite side of the river.

The final section of the day 2 ride does offer superb views of Rocamadour, the Cirque to Autoire is definitely worth visiting and the ascent into Loubressac is fairly long but worth the effort for the view when you arrive.  The day 6 detour to the viewpoint is quite long but again very much worth it.

Overall the rides were well judged in terms of length and difficulty and included a wide variety of views and places of interest along the way.  This was our first Inntravel cycling holiday and we are intending to try a different one next year.

A fantastic holiday for families with teenage children - beautiful varied scenery and villages en-route.  Some fairly long hill climbs but with the low gears on the bikes these were straight-forward.   Generally the hotels had lovely pools for a swim at the end of the day.  Other highlights were the Gouffre de Padirac (worth booking on-line at busy times) and canoeing at Gluges.  We enjoyed buying bread and cheese for picnics most days - taking a small knife was useful.

Highlights were arriving on Bastille Day to be greeted with fireworks, and then visiting the Moulin de Caugnaguet en route to Rocamadour - which is really wonderful despite the crowds. Also memorable are the especially beautiful route to Autoire, the amazing stained glass in the tiny church at Creysse, and free jazz in Souillac on the last night. The food everywhere was excellent.    - 

Very glad we upgraded to Hotel Pont de L'Ouysse as the other hotel didnt look very nice and was in a very quiet area. Would highly recommend upgrading. 

the route dont take very long to cycle so take a change of clothes in case you get there before your luggage. 

An excellent trip. Well organised, documented and supported. Inntravel coped well with our own variations to the advertised tour.

Not having cycled in France before, we were delighted at the 'quaintness' of the area, the beautiful villages and the widespread woodlands.

It was all on road but mostly very quiet roads.  The hills were not particularly demanding as they were all pretty gradual - but sometimes long, this was very welcome in the 37-degree heat (June). So I still walked some parts in the heat of the afternoon.  Not too steep to push the bike!

Most French drivers were also pretty well-behaved towards cyclists.

A day kayaking on the Dordogne was also a great variation, given the weather, and we changed the route a bit the next day so that we didn't miss much of the recommended itinerary.

We had had second thoughts at the price as our cycling holidays have tended to be cheaper but bearing in mind a) the exchange rate b) that it is France, not Czechia, we had accepted that.  What we hadn't realised was that the accommodation would be so very good and the food a real experience.  They were brilliant.

Yes, we might have been able to plan it ourselves, rather than going through a tour company, but we would probably not have found such good hotels and would have begrudged the price of the evening meals - which were included in the half board, of course.  Drinks were not cheap, however.

 So, we were really pleased at a brilliant trip.

We went on e-bike trips with 3 different cycling companies. Inntravel was the best with accurate instructions and detailed accounts of the area and history. Excellent overall

A wonderful cycling trip, not too hard (but not too easy either!) but with fantastic things to see and just spectacular food and wine which really takes the pain out of some of the hills!

An excellent trip! The information pack provided by Inntravel was superb, with lots of accurate and helpful information and suggestions. The standard of the food provided was amazing and a very nice addition to the holiday. The bikes and equipment provided were very good and the level of service and and standard throughhout the trip was excellent. Thank you!

As always, the Inntravel service was excellent and the holiday was perfect. The upgrade to include Hotel Le Pont de l'Ouyesse was well worth it and we would recommend. Sitting by the river on their comfy seats with a glass of wine after a relaxing day off the bikes, which we spent paddling down the Dordogne, was one of our highlights. Looking forward to the next one...