Moving-on cycle-camping holidays...
The real deal...
Available routes - What do you get? - The BBC film! - Itinerant Camping - Contact
Before we go on let me make an important point - Cyclecamping in France isn't the just the budget relation of the hotel holidays. The experience is quite different and for many people cyclecamping is the 'real thing' when it comes to cycling holidays and can easily become addictive:-) It could be argued that for what you pay us you could buy a cheap bike and a cheap tent and DIY. But with us you'll be using something like 1500€ of equipment each and more importantly if anything goes wrong we'll be out to you to get back on the road straight away. Sitting at the side of the road 40 miles from the nearest bike shop (that may be closed or not able to fix your bike), whilst your holiday plans go up in smoke isn't a risk if you come with us, and you'll get excellent equipment specifically designed for the terrain and surfaces you'll find in the area. Lastly you'll also get a route that taps into our 27 years of experience cyclecamping in Brittany...
Cycle camping is our first love and our own holidays are spent in the saddle cycling in France (along with three children before they 'grew up'). We believe that France is the finest country in the world for cycle camping as the network of high quality campsites is immense, even in areas rarely visited by tourists there is usually a campsite every 10 miles or so. This mixture of fine infrastructure, quiet roads and of course the wonderful Breton scenery combined with great value is the basis of our business and here you'll find a list of routes that will allow you to explore the area.
A short video (with cool music) to show some of the things our cycle campers have been up to over the years!
So what do we do for you?
First you have to get to our base in Gouarec but once there you are in our hands. With our experience and local knowledge we are able to give you a route plan of the "turn left at the third bar in the village" variety, which will take you from campsite to campsite. The sites we use are generally the smaller quiet ones, but all will have hot showers and decent toilets. They are also almost always near a village or town, with a restaurant/hotel within easy walking range. And of course we supply everything you need. One thing to remember is that if you do fancy a night of luxury, all you need do is call us 'en route' and ask us to book you a night in a hotel, then you just pay the hotel directly when you leave - simple...
The 'BEEB'
They say a picture paints a thousand words, but a film does even more and to be honest I can't do better than this film from 1998 (yes that long ago). That year the famous BBC 'Holiday Programme' decided to try one of our camping holidays and so sent Kate Humble over to Brittany find out what it was all about. Below you'll see a link to that recording from Youtube, of course it's old, but it still gives a really good idea of what we offer so is worth watching as a general overview. Since 1998 there have been a few changes - we no longer automatically book the ferry as there's far more choice now, the bikes and tents are better, but otherwise the holidays are unchanged - if it 'aint bust...
We offer two sorts of camping - the moving on tours as described by Kate Humble, or fixed-centre but both start at our base at Gouarec in central Brittany.
Moving-on Cycle Camping Routes
Because the network of campsites in Brittany is so huge we can offer a route to almost every corner of the region. They vary from a week spent at our local campsite, with circular routes around the area, to a two week dash taking in the north and south coast, and a lot of the centre. In-between the two are more than ten tours through Brittany each with its own charm. We do not book or pay for the campsites in advance, so in fact if you wish we can simply supply you with a map, campsite guide and say "see you in two weeks!"
You pay for the campsites when you arrive at each one, the cost varies between about 3-10 Euro a night (coastal sites being more expensive). In total you need to allocate between 20 and 50 Euro per adult per week for campsite fees - this varies depending on route and make-up of your party, families with children generally paying less per person. This flexibility means that you don't need to book a particular route in advance, merely turn up and choose the one you fancy most and we'll print out a copy. If you want a complete list of all routes in Brittany then please have a look at the "routes" page. As for what you need to bring, we will send you advice on this, but read the article on 'The Rule of Three' to show you how little you need to carry.
A Little Luxury?
Obviously for all these tours you have your own lightweight equipment, but if you are arriving fairly late or have to leave early at the end of the week, or just fancy one night a little bit different to the others, we are this year offering a very special night at the campsite in our classic 1960's Notin caravan. This option adds 60€ for the night and makes a rather special last stop;-)
SPECIALS
Our usual tours are self-led and only in Brittany, but in September we run a very special led trip to other parts of France. Recent trips have taken us to the Loire, Auvergne, French Alps, Dordogne and French Pyrenees. These tours are very popular and usually have a fair number of regular Breton Bikers, some come every year. If you are interested please go to the Led Trips for 2016 for details.