Hotel Tour vs. Based Tour vs. Bike & Boat Tours
Hotel tours have you cycling from hotel to hotel while Based tours stay at one hotel and you cycle the surrounding areas. The hotel-to-hotel tours include luggage transportation. The based tours will offer a number of bike routes from which you can choose. Bike & Boat tours have you residing on board a barge. While the barge sails to the next destination, you cycle and meet it there. The convenience here is that you only have to unpack once while still getting to cycle from town to town.

The Barges
In the details section of each tour page under Accommodations, the category (and sometimes name) of the ship you will be listed, and you can click for more details on the type of ship used. For general information about all the barges, please click on ship information.

Trip Prices and Pricing
All prices are per person based on double room occupancy. A number of our trips also have airfare included, although we will also sell any tour without airfare. There is a $300 initial down payment at time of booking, which will go towards the final cost of the trip. Before final payment is due, we will send you a complete invoice to look over. Type of payment can be either personal check or one of these credit cards: VISA, MasterCard or Discover. Paying with credit card includes a surcharge of 5%.

Starting in 2010, we are posting our prices in Euros. This is because we buy all of our cycling tours from local European tour operators. We do not run these tours ourselves, we never have. We work off of commission, which means that you do not pay more for a tour when booking through us. The price stays the same. However, since we buy these tours in Euros, it is easier to list the price in Euros and use that day's exchange rate to determine the price in U.S. Dollars as opposed to us having to guess at the exchange rate months and months in advance, which in the past has meant we had to increase our prices, as many of you know, due to the continuous rise of the exchange rate. This wasn't fun for anyone. Listed now in Euros, our prices will not change. Only the exchange rate changes, and there will be a calculator on the pricing page of each tour so that you can accurately and immediately calculate the price in U.S. Dollars.

What exchange rate do we use to compose the final invoice?
The exchange rate will be the bank rate plus 2 cents. If more than 100 days* before travel, you can pick a day when the exchange rate is favorable and pay in full that day. Otherwise, we will use the exchange rate of the day that is 100 days before travel. Full payment is due 90 days before travel. If you are booking a tour less than 90 days before travel, full payment will be required at time of booking with that day's exchange rate.
*For CHARTERS, payment will be due 150 days before travel.

Returned Checks
For any returned checks there will be $30 fee.

Accommodations
Accommodations vary per tour (see specific tour details). Generally, we use comfortable 2- to 4-star hotels, Inns and/or Bed & Breakfasts. Some tours allow the option of choosing the level of accommodations. Rooms are based on double occupancy and contain private facilities. Single rooms require a surcharge or single supplement.

Bicycle
Visit our Bicycle Page for more details on the bicycles used.

Arrival & Departure
We will provide information on how to get to/from the starting point of the tour. Each tour will begin and end in or near a town accessible by plane, train, bus or taxi. Certain tours will include airfare, however, local transportation (unless stated otherwise) is not included.

Time of Travel
The Time of Travel listed for each tour denotes the first official day of the tour as listed in the tour's daily itinerary. Arrangements to get to the tour site will thus need to be made beforehand.

Extra Nights
Extra nights in certain cities or towns are usually possible, such as before or after a tour, and can be arranged upon request. A possible exception is in Amsterdam since there are a shortage of hotels in Amsterdam.

Trips with Airfare-Included
Most of our trips come complete with airfare included; however it is also possible to book them without airfare, and we will gladly quote you a price. The airfare included is subject to availability, so we recommend booking especially early for these tours. For complete details on how we arrange airfare with our trips, please click on Airfare Information.

Self-guided vs. Guided Trips
Most of our trips are self-guided or individual, although several offer the option of a guided/group tour as well. For these tours, we will provide detailed route descriptions with maps to guide you along the way. Our routes have been tested and surveyed with great care, and local agents will always be within immediate contact.

Information Packet
About 3-4 weeks before the start of your trip, we will email you all the travel documents and trip information you need (we are no longer mailing travel packets). If you would like it emailed sooner or later, just let us know. For many of our trips, more detailed information (such as route descriptions) will be provided upon arrival at the first hotel.

Travel, Cancellation & Bicycle Insurance
We advise taking out a good travel and cancellation insurance policy, which is not part of the trip package. Upon receiving your booking, we will provide you with travel/cancellation insurance information and forms (you can also book online by clicking on the icons below for either Travel Insured International or AIG Travel Guard).

Canadian residents can only be insured by AIG Travel Guard:

Bicycle insurance can be purchased at time of booking. Be sure to always lock the bicycle when not in use as you will be held responsible for any neglect, damage or theft to the bicycle if it is not locked.

Travel Documents
A valid passport is required for all European trips. Please also make sure whether or not you will need a Visa to visit your destination country or countries.

Cancellation Policy and Late Bookings & Changes
To view our Cancellation Policy and Late Bookings & Changes policy, please click here.

*Daily itinerary is subject to change.

Pack & Pedal Europe, Inc. retains the right to cancel a tour under extreme circumstances. Should a tour be cancelled, then you will be informed of this decision within 30 days (and at the least 15 days) prior to departure of that tour. Information regarding the cycling tours is subject to change. Pack & Pedal Europess liability is strictly limited. Visit our Disclaimer page for more details.