Escape by Cycle

The West Coast is New Zealand’s equivalent to the Wild West – a remote strip of spectacular coastline between the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. Famous for its rugged natural beauty, snow-capped mountains and wild black sand beaches. It feels like you’ve slipped back in time to an era of pioneers and gold miners. Biking the West Coast Wilderness Cycle Trail is one of the best ways to experience this magical place.

Highlights:

• An epic 6 day journey across the Southern Alps, exploring the length of the West Coast, past glaciers, rivers and snow-capped mountains.
• Ride the TranzAlpine through the Southern Alps – one of the greatest train rides in the world!
• Experience Te Wahipounamu – UNESCO World Heritage Area with a jet boat safari on the remote Haast river.
• Visit the spectacular Punakaiki Pancake Rocks – one of New Zealand’s most stunning stretches of coastline.
• Includes a visit to the Hokitika Gorge, Shantytown, West Coast Treetops Walkway, and meet New Zealand’s rarest kiwi at the West Coast Wildlife Centre

The ultimate 13 day South Island adventure! This cycle tour packs in as much of New Zealand’s great outdoors as you can fit n a 2 week period! We have put together the perfect mix of boutique accommodation, fabulous food, spectacular cycling and awesome activities. If you love cycling great trails, this is the best way to see New Zealand’s amazing South Island in 1 unforgettable holiday. The 13 day itinerary includes some of the best cycle trails in the South Island so you’re guaranteed to see amazing landscapes and nature while creating memories for a lifetime.

Highlights

• Combining 2 of our most popular tours – the West Coast Wilderness and Alps 2 Ocean – into a 13 day expedition, showcasing the best of New Zealand’s natural beauty
• Includes 500km of New Zealand’s best cycle trails, through every possible landscape, including ice-covered peaks, native forests, huge rivers, majestic lakes, and epic glaciers
• Traverse the South Island coast-to-coast, across the mountains to the West Coast and back again to the Pacific Ocean
• Take the TranzAlpine train across the Southern Alps – one of the greatest train rides in the world
• Includes the original Aoraki/Mt Cook start to the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail with a helicopter ride across the Tasman River
• Soak tired muscles at the Omarama Hot Tubs with a glass of wine in hand
• Visit the West Coast’s best natural attractions including the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks, Hokitka Gorge, and Franz Josef Glacier
• Take a jet boat safari up the stunning Haast River and stroll through the forest canopy at the West Coast Treetops Walkway
• Enjoy a wine tasting with an award winning local producer.
• Includes a day off to relax and explore Queenstown
• Let us do all the planning, booking and organising for you. We’ve been guiding these tours for over 10 years and have carefully designed a truly unforgettable experience.
• Make great new friends, enjoy genuine Kiwi hospitality and experience the rugged natural beauty of the South Island

A 6 day cycle tour adventure showcasing Southland and the Queenstown region’s most dramatic mountains, rivers, and lakes. This bike tour is the ultimate trip for people wanting to explore the unforgettable scenery around Queenstown, Te Anau and Fiordland, while enjoying boutique accommodation and fabulous food. We combine the best sections of the Around the Mountains and Queenstown cycle trails and link them together into a unique itinerary with 300km of incredible bike trails. The tour includes 2 spectacular boat cruises across Lake Wakatipu and Lake Manapouri, a wine tasting in the Gibbston Valley and jet boat ride on the Kawerau river.

Highlights

• Combines the best sections of 3 spectacular cycle trails, 300km of riding over 6 days
• Cycle beside 3 of New Zealand’s largest lakes – Wakatipu, Te Anau and Manapouri
• Circumnavigate the Eyre Mountains through a series of ancient glacial valleys
• Stay at some unique and beautiful accommodation including a renovated convent, an fabulous vineyard and a high country station, all with fabulous food!
• Begin your adventure with an amazing boat cruise across lake Wakatipu with all bikes onboard
• Visit the magical Mavora Lakes, a film set for the Lord of the Rings.
• Enjoy a hot tub under the stars and private wine tasting of Central Otago’s finest wines.

The Lake Dunstan Trail, Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold are 3 of New Zealand’s most spectacular cycle trails. We combine them into an action-packed 6 day adventure following the mighty Clutha (Mata-au) through a series of massive canyons as the river carves it’s way toward the sea. The scenery and trails are world class, with some amazing cantilevered engineering to bridge the steep gorge walls and chasms. With boutique accommodation, fabulous food and Escape by Cycle’s top class service, the Clutha Canyons is without a doubt, one of the world’s most spectacular bike tours.

Highlights

• 6 day / 5 nights cycling adventure through stunning scenery, with boutique accommodation, fabulous food and top class service.
• Highlights of 4 amazing cycle trails – Lake Dunstan Trail, Clutha Gold, Wanaka Trail and the Roxburgh Gorge.
• Ride the cantilevered bridges of the newly opened Lake Dunstan Trail through the Cromwell Gorge.
• 2 hour scenic boat cruise on Lake Wanaka with short nature walk on a stunning island.
• Enjoy a thrilling jet boat ride through the Roxburgh Gorge Trail – New Zealand’s equivalent to the Grand Canyon.
• Relax with full vehicle support and an experienced tour guide organising everything and enhancing your experience.
• We provide full instructions how to use your bike, explain where to ride and let you enjoy the trails at your own pace.
• All inclusive – all meals, accommodation, ebikes, transport and the jet boat included in the price.

The Alps 2 Ocean is the ultimate New Zealand cycle trail: a 312km journey of changing South Island landscapes, from snow-capped mountains to the Pacific Ocean. On this 6 day cycle tour adventure, you’ll see some of the best scenery and landscapes the South Island has to offer. As well as bike rides, you’ll enjoy iconic NZ experiences including a helicopter flight, outdoor hot pools and wine tasting at a renowned local vineyard. We like to keep our cycle tours as smaller groups to provide the best overall experience combined with our top level of service. We provide a fully-supported trip with an experienced tour guide providing vehicle support throughout and a support rider at the back of the group on the more remote and challenging sections of trail.

Highlights

• Our Alps 2 Ocean cycle tour takes you from NZ’s highest mountains, past stunning lakes and braided rivers, across the South Island to the Pacific Ocean.
• Includes a helicopter flight (with your bike), across the Tasman River.
• Magnificent scenery including snow-capped mountains, tussock-covered alpine basins, glacial lakes, braided rivers and lush coastal pasture.
• Excellent quality mountain bikes and new fleet of e-bikes, serviced after every tour.
• Enjoy a soak in the amazing Omarama outdoor hot tubs.
• Try some local viticulture at our private wine tasting.
• Full vehicle support with drink breaks and fresh picnics set up along the trail.

Escape By Cycle was the first company in New Zealand to offer cycle tours on this trail. We’ve been operating the Alps 2 Ocean experience since 2010 and are proud to offer the best experience of this amazing trail.