VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations Announces 2015 Warm Winter Getaways, Including new Cycling South Africa: Cape Town & the Garden Route Tour Itinerary

Local Experts Provide Insider Experiences in Temperate Destinations

BRISTOL, VT— July 1, 2014 – VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations announces new winter departure dates for 2015, including a highly anticipated, new cycling tour in South Africa. Travelers can choose between a variety of active vacations—including ten cycling and two walking tours—in warmer climates like Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Central & South America, the Mediterranean, and closer to home in the southern U.S.

The highly-anticipated Cycling South Africa: Cape Town & The Garden Route is a 12-day easy/moderate cycling tour along the country’s dramatic coastlines, through the streets of Cape Town, and the Winelands. Travelers will have the opportunity to enjoy Tsitsikamma National Park and ride below the soaring Swartberg Mountains. Exclusive VBT discovery activities include a behind-the-scenes walking tour of an ostrich farm and dinner with a local family in Cape Town. Prior to the cycling itinerary, travelers will have the option to experience a pre-trip safari at the famed Kruger National Park or explore Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe after the biking adventure.

To ensure favorable weather conditions during a cycling or walking vacation, VBT selects winter departures with ideal climates for active travel. From November through March, travelers can enjoy experiences such as:

• Adventure Costa Rica Biking tour: Visit a coffee plantation and take a soak in the Ecotermales hot springs.
• New Zealand: The South Island Biking tour: Zip through scenic valleys below the Southern Alps.
• Journey through Vietnam Biking tour: Enjoy visits to the Forbidden Purple City, Imperial City and ancient Cham towers.
• Sicily: Biking the Southern Coastal Villages tour: Explore baroque palaces of Noto and Ragusa Ibla.
• Mississippi: The Natchez Trace Biking tour: Immerse yourself in American history while tracing the historic path, visiting Vicksburg and learning about Antebellum architecture.
• Peru: Machu Picchu & the Sacred Valley Walking tour: Hike the celebrated Inca Trail.

All VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations are led by local residents who will provide insight into the region’s customs and traditions, as well as help facilitate authentic cultural experiences. Continually recognized as the best value in active travel, VBT’s tour prices include all accommodations, use of custom bicycles or walking poles, many meals, two expert local trip leaders, unique sightseeing and cultural activities, and on-tour vehicle support.

To learn more about VBT’s new South African itinerary, request a catalog or reserve a warm winter vacation or call VBT’s tour consultants at 855-365-3926 Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST.

About VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations
VBT offers deluxe, small group bicycling and walking tours worldwide, including destinations throughout Europe, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Vietnam, Peru, South Africa, and the United States. Each trip includes all accommodations, many meals, two expert local Trip Leaders, unique sightseeing and cultural activities and on-tour vehicle support. Unlike other companies, VBT also includes roundtrip international airfare from over 30 U.S. cities and select Canadian cities for all overseas vacations. In 2013, VBT was rated by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine among the “World’s Best Tour Operators” for the fourth consecutive year. www.vbt.com.