The Independent Parent: Who can help us arrange a cycling tour of Switzerland?
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Your support makes all the difference.Q Last year we did a brilliant cycling tour in Austria with our son (then 15) and his friend. The tour operator organised bikes and hotels, and transported our luggage from hotel to hotel every day. This year, we would like to do a similar tour in Switzerland. The Swiss have a wonderful network of cycling routes, but I cannot find a tour operator. Can you help?
A Snodgrass, Cambridge
A Cycling is certainly an exhilarating way to explore Switzerland, giving you the opportunity to enjoy the scenic splendour of its lakes, rivers, mountains and villages. In addition, Switzerland is blessed with an extensive network of well-signposted bicycle and mountain-bike routes for all levels, from amateurs to experts. There are around 3,300km of interlinked cycle routes spanning the length and breadth of the country. These make up nine distinct routes, of which the Jura trail is by far the most popular for the type of organised holiday you seek.
Several UK-based tour operators offer a selection of itineraries that might appeal to you and your family. Most trips are run between the beginning of May and mid-October. Itineraries average about 40km a day, giving you plenty of time for leisurely lunches and pit stops along the way.
You have picked a good year to visit Switzerland. This year, the Three Lakes Region in the north of the country is playing host to Expo.02 (00 41 900 020 020, www.expo.02.ch), a festival blending futuristic architecture with cultural and sporting events. Held from 15 May to 20 October, there are about 3,000 events and 10,000 artistic performances over the five months of the festivities.
Thomson Lakes and Mountains (0870 606 1470) offers the Jura Cycling Tour, which will allow you to enjoy Expo.02 and explore this breathtaking region between Basel and Lake Geneva. The tour also gives you the opportunity to visit the towns of Miercourt, Les Breuleux, Couvet, Neuchatel and Murten-Morat. Most of the trails, although surrounded by mountains, are close to the lakes and so are relatively flat, not too challenging and suitable for all age groups.
An eight-day tour costs from £609 per adult, and unfortunately both your son and his friend (if he is coming too) are too old to qualify for children's reductions. The price includes return flights from Heathrow to Zürich, hotel accommodation, bicycle hire, luggage transportation (one piece of luggage per person) and a three-day pass for Expo.02. Rail travel from Zürich airport to Basel and the return journey from Biel-Bienne to Zürich are also included.
The Swiss specialist Plus Travel (020-7734 0383; www.plustravel.co.uk) offers a choice of two one-week unguided cycling routes in Switzerland: the Rhône Bike Trail and Jura Bike Trail. The Rhône trail is particularly popular, as it offers varied scenery, from the spectacular peaks high in the Oberwald region to the edges of Lake Geneva. The tour, as the name suggests, follows part of the course of the river Rhône and takes you through southern Switzerland's wine-growing region and the Alpine area around Crans Montana and Monthey before descending to skirt the edge of Lake Geneva. As most of the route is downhill, the trail isn't too taxing. The eight-day itinerary costs from £560 per person sharing, which includes return flights to Geneva from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester or Birmingham, accommodation, bike rental, luggage transfers and all maps and routes.
Another option is the Mittelland Trail, offered by Discovery Travel (01904 766 564, www.discoverytravel.co.uk). This trail, 288km in length, is a flat and easy lowland route. The seven-day itinerary starts in Zürich and ends on the shores of Lake Geneva. You cycle alongside rivers and lakes and through meadows and villages. Prices start from £480 per adult, which includes accommodation, bike rental, luggage transfer and maps. Flights are extra, but this means you could take advantage of easyJet (0870 600 0000, www.easyJet.com) flights to Zürich from Liverpool, Luton or Gatwick from £60 return.
You seem to favour a package, but if you opt to organise the holiday yourself Switzerland Tourism (00800 100 200 300 www.myswitzerland.com) can assist in booking accommodation and bicycle hire. The Swiss cycling website (www.veloland.ch) also has information on how to organise your own itinerary.
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