Easy cycling for all with shorter days mainly on the flat, but some gentle ascents.
The season for this holiday is:
01 April 2020 - 31 October 2020
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| °C | 7 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| mm | 62 | 58 | 54 | 52 | 63 | 50 | 49 | 45 | 53 | 58 | 65 | 62 |
4 nights: 01 April 2020 - 31 October 2020
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr - 21 May 2020 | £625 | £185 |
| 22 May - 30 Sep 2020 | £660 | £190 |
| 1 - 27 Oct 2020 | £625 | £185 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | -£120 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £120 |
Includes accommodation, meals, bike hire, luggage transfers and any other services integral to the holiday as described, plus cycling notes and maps, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.
Included travel: return taxi from Tours airport or St Pierre des Corps railway station
Electric bikes available: add £55 per person
Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.
4 nights: 01 April 2020 - 31 October 2020
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr - 21 May 2020 | £790 | £185 |
| 22 May - 30 Sep 2020 | £820 | £190 |
| 1 - 27 Oct 2020 | £790 | £185 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | -£115 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £115 |
Includes all elements in the 'cycle price', plus standard-class travel by Eurostar from London St Pancras or Ebbsfleet International to Lille or Paris, with onward travel as described below.
Electric bikes available: add £55 per person
Included travel: UK–Paris (Eurostar), Paris–St Pierre des Corps (TGV), approx duration 5h40 & taxi transfer (out 0h40/home allow 1h)
> More about 'by rail' prices
> The 'rail experience': what to expect
If you book your holiday less than 6 months in advance of your travel date, seats may no longer be available at the tariffs on which our prices are based, but we may be able to offer you seats on the same services at a supplement.
4 nights: 01 April 2020 - 31 October 2020
Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above
| Starting | Price | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr - 21 May 2020 | £575 | £185 |
| 22 May - 30 Sep 2020 | £595 | £190 |
| 1 - 27 Oct 2020 | £575 | £185 |
| 3rd & 4th person discount | -£85 | |
| Single traveller supplement | £85 |
Includes all elements in the 'cycle price', plus a return ferry crossing between Dover and Calais with P&O Ferries for your party and one car.
> More information about travelling self-drive
Electric bikes available: add £55 per person
A supplement of £35 per car per single journey applies for outward travel on 3-5 & 10-12 April 2020, and for homeward travel on 12-13 April 2020. A supplement of £47 per car per single journey applies outward on Fridays & Saturdays 22-23 May & 10 July-15 August 2020 and homeward on Saturdays & Sundays 30-31 May & 18 July-30 August 2020.
Room upgrades (£ per person per night)
| Hotel de France, Chinon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Superior: 01 Apr - 31 Oct 2020 | £22 |
Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room
Prices include an extra day’s hire of a standard bike or of an e-bike.| Hotel de France, Chinon (B&B) | Double room | Single room |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Apr - 31 Oct 2020 | £98 | £148 |
Travelling from the UK
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen - Paris CDG | Air France, KLM |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Birmingham - Paris CDG | Air France |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Bristol - Paris CDG | Air France, easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh - Paris CDG | Air France, easyJet |
| Edinburgh - St Pierre des Corps via Paris CDG air/rail | Air France |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Glasgow - Paris CDG | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Leeds Bradford - Paris CDG | jet2 |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Liverpool - Paris CDG | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Gatwick - Paris CDG | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Heathrow - Paris CDG | British Airways |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| London Southend - Paris CDG | easyJet |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Stansted - Tours | Ryanair |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Manchester - Paris CDG | Air France, easyJet |
| Manchester - St Pierre des Corps via Paris CDG air/rail | Air France |
| Outward route | Airline |
|---|---|
| Newcastle - Paris CDG | Air France, KLM |
| Newcastle - St Pierre des Corps via Paris CDG air/rail | Air France |
This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service (£60 for India and Nepal). Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.
Connecting travel options - flying via Tours
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| direct taxi Tours airport to hotel (1h) | included | flexible |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| direct taxi hotel to Tours airport (1h) | included | flexible |
Connecting travel options - via St Pierre des Corps
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest train arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| taxi St Pierre des Corps to hotel (1h) | included | flexible |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest train departure time |
|---|---|---|
| taxi hotel to St Pierre des Corps (1h) | included | flexible |
Connecting travel options - flying via Paris
| Outward route | Price per person |
Latest flight arrival time |
|---|---|---|
| rail Paris CDG airport to St Pierre des Corps station (1h40), taxi St Pierre des Corps to hotel (0h45) | £36 | 1700 |
| Homeward route | Price per person |
Earliest flight departure time |
|---|---|---|
| taxi hotel to St Pierre des Corps station (1h), rail St Pierre des Corps to Paris CDG airport (1h40) | £36 | 1500 |
If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?
We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >
On our last day, our travel arrangements allowed for another bike ride to be fitted in, enabling us to visit the castle in Langeais which we had to miss out earlier in the week because of heavy rain. This cost 15 Euros per bike.
The weather forecast for the cycling days showed that temperatures would reach 30 degrees C. We were glad that we decided to make an early start every day, reaching our destination by lunch time on the first two days. We did our sight seeing in the afternoons. Looking round a chateau is a great way to get through the hottest part of the day. On the final day the longer distance meant we reached the lovely restaurant in Crissay-sur-Manse by noon and had a leisurely lunch and siesta.
The whole holiday was extremely relaxing as everything was taken care of by Inntravel. The wonderful thing about travelling from so far away as we were (Australia) is that every taxi, transfer and train was on time and it was all too easy really, very low stress which for us was what we were looking for. The notes prepared us well as to what to expect, and delightfully, the results we experienced were in excess of our expectations often. I'll be using Inntravel again.
On our last day, our travel arrangements allowed for another bike ride to be fitted in, enabling us to visit the castle in Langeais which we had to miss out earlier in the week because of heavy rain. This cost 15 Euros per bike.
The weather forecast for the cycling days showed that temperatures would reach 30 degrees C. We were glad that we decided to make an early start every day, reaching our destination by lunch time on the first two days. We did our sight seeing in the afternoons. Looking round a chateau is a great way to get through the hottest part of the day. On the final day the longer distance meant we reached the lovely restaurant in Crissay-sur-Manse by noon and had a leisurely lunch and siesta.
The whole holiday was extremely relaxing as everything was taken care of by Inntravel. The wonderful thing about travelling from so far away as we were (Australia) is that every taxi, transfer and train was on time and it was all too easy really, very low stress which for us was what we were looking for. The notes prepared us well as to what to expect, and delightfully, the results we experienced were in excess of our expectations often. I'll be using Inntravel again.
Great holiday (bar the disappointment of one hotel which was below Inntravel's usually very high standard). My upgrade to the 'vélo électrique' was brilliant and meant no arguments with my husband re speed , doing all the detours etc as I could not only keep up with him - I could sail past him!
Thank you so much for all your help in planning our Loire Highlights holiday. We had a magical time and the journeys went like clockwork. The cycle routes were perfect and included a variety of landscapes and places of interest. We are so impressed with the level of organisation and care you took, which made our time away very relaxing.
The 'Loire Highlights' cycling holiday with Inntravel was fantastic. Great sightseeing, accommodation and food along the way. Route notes are easy to follow, Inntravel include a lot of helpful detail in the information they provide. Very managable cycling, allowing ample time to visit chateaux and explore. If you are thinking about a cycling holiday I definitely recommend cycling the Loire with Inntravel.
Our first time on a cycling holiday and I don't think it will be the last. Our second holiday with Inntravel and once again, excellent and thorough information, routes and maps took all the stress out of any planning. A perfect route for beginners and we had the weather to match. Very little cycling on main roads - this was one of my concerns - but we were very impressed with the wide berth given to us by French drivers, who are obviously used to cyclists in that area. Food recommendations were also extremely helpful, especially when you are feeling too hot and tired to do a lot of investigating! The lovely thing about cycling is that you have time to enjoy your surroundings and notice things you would miss in a car, but you get there more quickly than walking! However, we would not have been without the padded cycling shorts!
Chateau d'Usse definitely worth a visit and the gardens at Villandry. All the French were very hospitable and there was no bad brexit feeling. Visited Chinon castle in the rain and really added to the atmosphere. Holiday was well planned and delivered adding to our enjoyment of our short time away.
This was our favourite cycling trip so far, partly due to having wall to wall sunshine & happening to coincide with the roses that adorned every doorway being in full bloom at the end of May.
One of the best holidays we've ever had in a warm sunny French April with nature coming to life everywhere. The cycling was well judged, not too arduous but enough ups and downs to feel you've made an effort and the stretches along the Loire and through some of the woodland were really lovely.
Azay is a particularly perfect little town, very beautiful in its situation on the river nestled next to its exquisite chateau, lots of nice restaurants, and the Hotel de Biencourt was wonderful. Villandry was extraordinary and we also really enjoyed spending an afternoon looking around Chinon after the short ride on the second day.