Cycling High Tatras to Budapest

This tour covers 373 km over 5 days of riding. We cover a varied geography, from the mountainous region of the High and Low Tatras in northern Slovakia, the rolling hills of central Slovakia, and the plains of southern Slovakia and Hungary along the Danube River. We ride primarily on paved backcountry roads though a generous sprinkling of gravel and forest paths are also thrown into the mix. The first 3 riding days are entirely hilly with up-and-down sequences to be expected throughout, while the last 2 days are primarily downhill and flat. We generally ride from the morning to the early afternoon, with the remainder of the day at your own leisure to immerse yourself in the charm of towns bursting with history and the beauty of untamed wilderness. Please note that entrance fees to castles, museums, other types of heritage sites, as well as chairlifts, national parks, etc. that require payment to enter are not included in the price. Your guide will discuss options for independent afternoon explorations in the town’s visited. The trip is fully supported, and your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain means that you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of water and refreshments along the way.

Suitability: This is an active level tour and riders can expect to be challenged by the route and terrain in a variety of ways. We climb an average of around 600 m per day, though there are only two days where the elevation gains are more than the losses! While there is nothing overly technical, good handling skills are an asset on unpaved sections. The average distance is 75 km per day, with the longest ride being 100 km, though it is mostly downhill and flat. A basic level of physical fitness, comfort on a mountain bike, and adept handling skills enhance the enjoyment of the tour. A support vehicle is available at all times to provide refuge for weary riders. As the majority of the riding takes place on paved roads, this tour is not suitable for any riders seeking off-road experiences.

Biking Conditions: Around 75% of the route is on paved roads which are mostly in good condition, though broken asphalt, road debris, and potholes do present themselves. The remaining 25% are on gravel roads, forest paths, and some off-road trails. The riding takes place predominantly on quiet backcountry roads with minimal traffic though occasionally we’ll also be on the shoulders of main roads. Coming in and out towns, as well as near popular tourist attractions, we will share the roads with cars and buses and rules of traffic must be observed. While rainfall is uncommon during the months we schedule our tours, showers can occur at any time – we generally ride rain or shine though, based on the guide’s discretion or your level of comfort, modifications to the planned route can be made. It’s all part of the adventure!

Bikes

Bikes are included for this tour and are well-known makes of hardtail mountain bikes with Shimano component's and front suspension. Helmet hire is included, however you are welcome to bring your own seat and/or pedals, and we'll fit them to your bike for the tour. E-bikes are available at additional cost.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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The information in this document is given in good faith, and covers the average range of conditions likely to be found on this trip. Please note that the itinerary is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we will always do our best to adhere to this original itinerary