• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Panama
      • Portugal
      • Belize
      • Dominican Republic
      • Mexico
      • Colombia
      • Italy
      • Montenegro
      • Northern Cyprus
      • France
      • Spain
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Gun Laws In The World
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Safest Places For Retirement
      • Best Places In Latin America
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Panama
      • Portugal
      • Belize
      • Dominican Republic
      • Mexico
      • Colombia
      • Italy
      • Montenegro
      • Northern Cyprus
      • France
      • Spain
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Gun Laws In The World
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Safest Places For Retirement
      • Best Places In Latin America
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle

The Top 5 Places Bike Tourism Enthusiasts Should Visit

Destinations For Bicycle Tourism

Sophia Titley by Sophia Titley
Feb 02, 2021
in Lifestyle, Travel
0 0
0
Cozy old street with pink house at the sunny sunrise, quarter Montmartre in Paris, France.

iStock/KavalenkavaVolha

218
SHARES
3.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

To any keen cyclist, bicycle tourism isn’t a new phenomenon… The concept of traveling to a new country, bike in tow, and discovering the lay of the land on two wheels comes naturally. To the average world traveler, on the other hand, hopping on the back of bike might not be the first move they make when they arrive in a new place…

Cycling is a great way to see the world. Not only is it less expensive and safer than traveling by car, it gives you a more close-up view of the place you’re visiting. You can’t establish the same depth of connection with a country if you simply stare out the window of the plane, car, or bus window as you travel along. Being in control of where you go, using your body to cover distance, breathing in fresh air, and taking in the landscape at your own pace is the way to do it.

Not only that, cycling is a good form of exercise, and because it’s easy on the joints, people of all ages can enjoy it. It’s more environmentally friendly than most any form of travel, aside from walking, and it’s a social sport. All around the world, there are fantastic trails set up for cyclists, and bike-lovers meet up regularly for rides and trips.

Whether you’re an avid cyclist or haven’t been on two wheels since you were a kid, here are five places that are perfect for bicycle tourism…

1. France

Sunny morning and Eiffel Tower in autumn, Paris, France.
iStock/Givaga

The only place a list of world cycling destinations can begin is in France… Home to the biggest bike race in the world, its reputation as a place to explore by bike is well-founded. High-quality cycling infrastructure is found across the country, meaning there are few regions in France that you can’t get to on a bicycle.

Paris is a cycle-friendly city, with conscientious drivers and well-paved, flat roads. Bike-sharing has taken off here, with well-loved services like Vélib offering the second-biggest fleet of rental bikes in the world (the first biggest is found in China). Outside of the capital, the country offers varied terrain to suit any type of rider…

The peaks and valleys of the Pyrenees and Morzine areas will have you at your maximum heartrate in no time… In the Loire Valley, the riding experience is

more relaxed, with undulating roads taking you through a UNESCO World Heritage-protected area.

In Provence, you can combine a cycling tour with a wine-tasting experience, sampling some of the best wines in the world while riding through medieval villages and centuries-old vineyards.

2. Chile

Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile. Pehoe Lake
Alamy/Sorin Colac

If you’ve ever seen a map of Chile, you’ll understand why this country is a top cycling destination… Long and narrow, stretching 4,270 kilometers tip to tip, it offers ample space to explore its length on two wheels. And despite being so narrow, the geographic diversity you find traveling in Chile is astounding…

Going from the north to the south, you’ll start out on the desolate dirt trails of the Atacama Desert, traversing a section of the Andean Plateau—the biggest high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. In Central Chile, you come across some of the country’s biggest cities—Valparaíso, capital Santiago, Concepción—and the Central Valley, the area responsible for Chile’s prolific wine industry.

Continuing south, you hit the Lake District and some of the most scenic paved routes South America has to offer. The Lake District is full of snow-capped mountains and big blue lakes akin to those of Switzerland and Austria. They are formed by the thousands of rivers and streams that trickle down from the Andes Mountains.

At the southern tip of Chile are the ice fields, glaciers, and fjords of Patagonia, a stunning place to cycle if you’re not deterred by extreme weather (fierce westerly winds, rough roads, freezing rain, etc., are the norm).

3. Scandinavia & The Netherlands

Bikes on the bridge in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Alamy/devi

Northern Europe is the most bike-friendly place in the world. Big percentages of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands’ populations commute by bike because it’s an easy, efficient, cost-effective way to get around. Governments have actively incentivized cycling by putting in designated bike lanes, ample bike parking, and controlled intersections with traffic lights timed with cycle speeds to minimize stopping…

In Copenhagen, half the city’s population rides a bike. Inter-municipality travel is a breeze on the 750-kilometer network of cycle superhighways. In Amsterdam, there are more bikes than there are people, and everyone from toddlers to the elderly takes to two wheels to get around.

Widespread cycle culture and the thousands of kilometers of signposted cycle paths allow bike-lovers to explore this part of the world safely and easily… From its iconic fjords to unspoiled mountain landscapes, the scenery in Scandinavia is unparalleled, and cycling is the best way to take it all in.

4. Japan

Osaka Castle Park in Osaka, Japan
Alamy/coward_lion

Like Paris, Japan’s capital is cyclist friendly, with well-paved bike paths intersecting this dense, heavily trafficked city. A whopping 14% of Tokyo’s commuters ride bikes, which is impressive considering that this is a city of 37 million. This number is set to grow, too, with cycling events featured in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (postponed to summer 2021).

While there are great cycle routes right in the city (Yoyogi Park, for instance, is a massive wooded area akin to New York City’s Central Park), there is much to see across the country, from ancient forest villages to rugged mountains to tropical island scenery. If you’re after coastal views, the Shimanami Kaido route takes you across the Seto Inland Sea, going over several bridges and passing islands along the 70-kilometer stretch.

The Okawa-Kitakata Cycling Road is a 50-kilometer path that unfolds along the Okawa River, featuring sweeping landscapes, sites of historical importance, and views of Mount Bandai.

You can reach most of Japan’s top routes through its extensive domestic rail network. Keep in mind that to take a bike on the train in Japan, it needs to fit into a bag so that it can be treated as a piece of luggage.

5. New Zealand

The Waiwhakaiho River, the city of New Plymouth, and Mount Taranaki, New Zealand
Alamy/travellinglight

New Zealand has long held a reputation as an outdoors- and adventure sports-lover’s paradise… With abundant fresh air, great weather, and unspoiled, naturally beautiful landscapes, it also holds a reputation as one of the top cycling destinations in the world.

The ever-active Kiwis have been diligent about converting former railroads and walking paths into cycling routes over the past few decades… One of the results is the New Zealand Cycle Trail (known as Nga Haerenga or “The Journeys” in Maori), a network of 22 Great Rides—trails that showcase the best of new Zealand’s landscape.

Jaw-dropping gorges, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, forests, sprawling wine regions, and cultural sights are just a few things you might take in along the trail. The country offers routes to suit all ability levels, but be forewarned… A Grade 2 (Easy) might mean something very different to a Kiwi than it does to a North American.

Tags: 'Chile''France'Bicycle TourismBike tourismBikingJapanNew ZealandParisProvenceScandinaviaThe Netherlandstravel overseas
Share87Tweet55
Sophia Titley

Sophia Titley

For Sophia Titley, home is a subjective concept. She was born in Singapore but grew up in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia… and has since lived in Canada, Spain, Colombia, and, most recently, Panama. She studied political science and Spanish at the University of British Columbia, and in her free time enjoys trying new recipes, playing soccer, and salsa dancing.

Related Posts

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple in Busan, South Korea. welcoming countries
Lifestyle

The Most Welcoming Countries For Americans

by Kathleen Peddicord
September 11, 2023
0

Summer 2023 has been the season of international travel for Americans, who have touched down in Europe and the Pacific...

Read more
Playa de Bolonia, Costa de la Luz, Andalusia, Spain. good life europe

The Good Life In Europe On US$1,575 A Month

September 7, 2023
Night view of Medellin, Colombia

Escaping The Rat Race For A Richer, Better Life

August 24, 2023
Panoramic of El Poblado in Medellin City

My Favorite Thing To Do In Medellín

August 20, 2023
City view of beautiful Medellin, Colombia

Living The Dream In Medellín, Colombia

August 17, 2023
Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia.

What Are The Downsides To Medellin?

August 16, 2023
Tropical beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

How I Made My Live And Invest Overseas Dreams A Reality…

August 13, 2023

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas ...

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2023

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2023 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2023 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Download your FREE report on

The Best Places To Retire In 2023

FREE: 

Find Your Paradise Overseas

Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY