CycleGreece

Biking guided tour to Minoan ruins, a highlight of the Captivating Crete tour.  At Knossos you will learn from the professional guide that the peaceful Minoan empire was the first civilization on European soil and King Minos’ chair was replicated for the chief judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.  Throughout the tour you encounter Minoan ruins left and right.

This tour is for cyclists accustomed to climbing ascents ranging from 1500-2500 foot (450-760 meters).  Captivating Crete has flat sections hugging the sea coast, hilly sections near the sea and mountains in the rural interior where passing vehicles are less frequent.  Average daily mileage is 50 km / day.

The most endearing part of the tour is your immersion into the local culture.  In a Greek language class you learn to greet the locals, “Kali Mera!”   There is a cooking class where you learn to prepare healthy Cretan cuisine.   Tasting raki, Crete’s national spirit akin to Italy’s grappa, is unavoidable.  Indeed, it is rude to turn down the first and second offerings.   You can pass when a third round is extended.

When travelers fantasize about Greece they usually conjure up stark whitewashed island villages surrounded by a blinding blue sea. That’s the Cyclades. Blue and White, just like the Greek flag. Our bike tour uses ferries to hop from island to island.  

Syros, ringed by picturesque sandy beaches
Mykonos, the departure port for Sanctuary of Delos island
Paros, eat at whitewashed tavernas on the waterfront
Antiparos, descend the steps into the deep cave
Naxos, visit an Apollo temple and marble “kouros” in their quarry

Outside magazine named our Sacred Sites  tour one of the “6 Best Cycling Tours in Europe.  “Lonely Planet named the Peloponnese peninsula the #1 European destination in 2016.  No one comes to Greece without paying homage to at least one ancient ruin, and some of Greece’s most legendary sacred sites lie right in the Peloponnese.  

Extensive biking enables you to visit a series of archaeology sites.  You bike to the 3rd century BC Epidavros Theatre which once was the largest healing center in the ancient world.  You also bike to Mycenae where King Agamemnon ruled who launched the Trojan War.   It’s a thrill for the inner athlete in every cyclist to bike to Olympia home of the original Olympic Games.

Nature predominates on this tour that crosses the Arcadian Mountains where traditional villages steeped in local culture abound.  Many say the Peloponnese is the true Greece. Come judge for yourself!

Tour destinations: Athens, Hydra island, Spetses island, Poros island, Epidavros, Nafplio

The Argo Saronic region in the southeast corner of the Peloponnese Peninsula is where everything encourages you to pedal at a gradual pace, or siga-siga (slow, slow) as the Greeks say. We bicycle, swim, smell the lemons, shop for quality souvenirs and take enlightening archaeology tours of legendary antiquities.

The tour introduces you to three islands, two World Heritage Sites, the incredibly lovely city of Nafplio which you will rate your favorite. The region is known for its Nemean wines where wine-making from ancient days continues to inspire and delight visitors.

During the tour you will also get in the kitchen to learn how to make a traditional Greek meal, and then you will get to eat it.  There will also be a Greek spirits night of liqueur flavors you’ve probably never tried before and whose tastes are unique to Greece.   Learn a few handy phrases during a one hour Greek language lesson, and then you can greet the locals.

Inhabited for millennia, the Peloponnese is the source of many of Greece’s most beloved mythological figures and real life heroes, from Jason and his Argonauts to King Leonidis of Sparta.   No wonder Lonely Planet named the Peloponnese the #1 European destination in 2016.

You will visit the region’s most legendary sites as you ascend mountain roads, hug gorges, follow seacoast roads and overnight in memorable accommodations where the hosts make you feel proud to have arrived by bike.  Most of the route consists of rural back roads.

Like Crete, the Peloponnese terrain beckons the seasoned cyclist.  The highest elevation is 2985 feet 909 meters, on a long cycling day, 107 km 66 miles, from Nafplio to Dimitsana.  If those numbers are within your ability,  you will love pedaling across the Peloponnese.

Cycle self guided in the Northern Aegean.  It is a region overlooked by travelers thus making  it inviting to adventurous bikers.  In Lesvos and Chios islands you will find an authentic local culture where the plateia (town square) dominates village life, elders still ride donkeys side saddle and the menfolk sit all day at the kafeneion (caf√©) playing tavli (backgammon) and drinking dark Greek coffee (mavro) in doll-sized cups.

As Greece’s third largest island, Lesvos has almost 400 kilometers of paved road with minimal traffic outside the capital Mytilini. It is the home of ouzo, that Greek spirit with a licorice flavor. You could easily spend the entire tour cycling here. Yet, you absolutely do not want to miss Chios, an island that has a retro-1950s feels to it from the moment you get off the boat and face the old Rex Theatre. Unique in the world to Chios is mastic, a resin cultivated since medieval days and now enjoying an eco-cachet as an anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory all-purpose product.

The Argo Saronic region lies in the southeastern “finger” of the Peloponnese Peninsula, a stimulating region to cycle which Lonely Planet named the #1 European destination in 2016.

In this predominantly rural region you bike directly to two four historical sites, Ancient Corinth, Ancient Nemea, the Epidavros Theatre and the beehive tombs at Ancient Mycenae.  Enjoy healthy Mediterranean food and local hospitality.  You immerse yourself in slow-moving Greece where most of the route is on back roads with negligible traffic.

Your favorite mainland town will be Nafplio, modern Greece’s first capital, with elegant neo-Classical Venetian homes and a towering 17th century fortress, the Palamidi.  You will also be endeared to the little islands of Spetses and Poros, both of which are low key and easy to discover on two wheels..

The Peloponnese Peninsula is a huge land mass that would take a good three weeks to cycle its most prominent destinations. Cross Peloponnese Drive & Bike enables a visitor to cover a broad swath of the peninsula. By contrast, Cross Corinthia is a way to become intimate with a small defined section of the peninsula, specifically the northeast corner of the Peloponnese.

Cross Corinthia should actually be called Cross Argolida Corinthia because it covers two geographical regions of the northeast corner of the Peloponnese: the upper portion (Corinthia) and the lower portion (Argolida). The Corinthia portion includes overnight in Isthmia and Nemea. The Argolida portion includes overnight in Epidavros, Spetses island and Nafplio.

The main difference between Cross Corinthia and Cross Peloponnese is that you do not confront the interior mountains. Cross Corinthia routes have flat stretches and hills but not challenging ascents. The highest elevation in the entire tour is 1360 feet, 417 meters compared to Cross Peloponnese’s highest elevation of 4324 feet, 1318 meters.

The beauty of Cross Corinthia is that you cycle on rural roads, visit a lovely Greek island, bike directly to three ancient historical sites and partake in the region’s fine food and indigenous wine.

The most romantic and even swashbuckling destination for an adventure biking  is the Cyclades, hopping by boat from one island to the next. Like a family with look-alike siblings, the islands share a blue and white appearance: impeccably white-washed houses surrounded by blinding azure waters. But, also like family members, each island has its own personality, attractions and individual quirks.

On the eight-day tour, you can acquaint yourself with four to five islands – Syros, Mykonos, Paros, Antiparos, Naxos all for cycling, while the sacred ancient sanctuary of Delos island is car-free, bike-free.  Or you can opt to become more intimate with two to three islands, such as, Paros and Naxos which have the most cycling routes to choose from.

No matter which Cyclades islands you choose to spend most of your time, they are are all winners, each and every one a romantic destination.  We guarantee you will return home with fond memories of sublime beauty, an easy-going lifestyle and the region’s incomparable light which the British novelist Lawrence Durrell once likened to “the naked eyeball of God.”
 

With its breathtaking mountains and seascapes, Crete is a dynamic destination for cyclists accustomed to ascents.  As Europe’s most southern terrain, Crete makes a desirable cycling destination during winter months when colder temperatures prevail in the rest of Europe.

Due to its extensive road network Crete offers a variety of overnight destinations and cycling road choices, not simply the standard routes we have posted in the East to West or West to East itineraries.   We work with you to choose the optimum route for your travel schedule and cycling ability.

Crete was the first civilization on European soil with its ancient Minoan palace cities that you can bike to, such as, Knossos, Phaestos or Malia.  There are unheralded ruins of equal interest, such as the mysterious Armeni Minoan cemetery and Fourni in Arhanes.   Crete is celebrated for its indigenous cuisine that epitomizes the healthy Mediterranean diet.  Look in the Extras tab about signing up for a Cretan cooking class or wine tasting, an ancient tradition extending back to the Minoan era.  There are wineries to visit throughout the island.