A Typical Day on Your VBT Bike Vacation

Standout moments, on a roll

Every day on the road with VBT will present a choice of varied activities, and the opportunity to cycle as much (or as little) as you want. What can you expect? Unforgettable days filled with wondrous discoveries, sublime scenery, exhilarating activity, and exquisite comfort. Rewarding? Always. Typical? Hardly….

“Part of the charm of the VBT experience is using bicycles to access areas that you otherwise couldn't explore. Somewhere along the tour it dawns on you that what you are enjoying is the “real” Italy, where the everyday people live...”

Paul A., Tuscan Coast

 

8:00 am

You awaken early after a restful night in fine lodgings—perhaps an elegant pousada along Portugal’s Douro River, a Loire Valley château, or your cozy barge cabin. Depending on your whereabouts, you might tuck into an Irish breakfast of rolled oats, eggs, kippers and sausage … juicy tropical fruits, sweet rolls, and a steaming mug of Costa Rican Tarrazu coffee, freshly picked and roasted … Italian figs, cheese, and biscotti. After breakfast your trip leaders will review your various options for the day and pass out detailed maps and route directions. Each day offers a choice of routes. Or you might choose not to ride at all, and explore the local surroundings on your own.

10:00 am

You may choose an easygoing, flat route along the towpaths lining your Dutch canal, or take a more challenging option over rolling farmlands. All our routes are on bicycle-friendly roadways. You ride and explore as you wish, stopping to chat with a farmer or to browse a local book store, with time to spare before you rendez-vous with the van at a predetermined site.

11:00 am

You meet the support van for a snack of fresh fruit or granola, and take a moment to replenish your water bottle. After arranging a checkpoint, your riding partner decides to ride the van to the next village, so she can get a head start on browsing the weekly flea market there. Your Trip Leader suggests a scenic route, so you can coast all the way down to the sea before doubling back to town on an old coastal road.

12:30 pm

You expect to join your group for a café lunch, but your Trip Leaders surprise you with a picnic they’ve assembled from the farmer’s market. There’s fresh bread hot from the baker’s oven; a charcuterie table laid out with sausages, assorted patés, hand-made cheeses and olives; apricots and madeleines for dessert; and something to quench your thirst.

2:00 pm

Some fellow cyclists are already there as your van rolls down the tree-lined drive of an antebellum Georgian plantation manor. Or perhaps you all park your bikes to explore the lantern shops of Hoi An. Your afternoon outing might be a vineyard tour, a walk through the winding lanes of Hvar Island, or a tour of the Kinderdijk windmills in the Netherlands. No matter what, there will be plenty of food for thought.

4:30 pm

Perhaps you return to your room to nap on the veranda, or relax with a good book in your barge cabin. Or maybe you’ll take a dip in the pool, or pamper yourself with a sauna or massage, or walk through the gardens of your Pugliese masseria resort.

7:00 pm

Your Trip Leaders are hosting an informal Spanish lesson on the patio where your fellow travelers are gathering over sherry and tapas. Some nights you’ve enjoyed dining on your own in town, or as the guests of local VBT friends in their homes. Tonight will be a special meal prepared by your hotel’s chef—perhaps it’s fresh seafood from the Ligurian coast … Vietnamese pho noodle soup and shrimp wrapped in basil … or a real southern barbecue with all the fixin’s. The wine is uncorked, the conversation flows, and a feeling of satisfaction settles over you.

11:00 pm

Sitting around the fire pit, enjoying a nightcap with friends, you watch the stars come out one by one, till the sky is cluttered with sparkling pinpoints of light. A little drowsy, a little dreamy, you decide to call it a day—a wonderful day—and look forward to more of the same tomorrow.