With the first of cycling’s Grand Tours starting in May this year – the Giro d’Italia – and the news Great Britain will host the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes Grand Départs in 2027, there’s never been a better time to sample some of greatest road cycling destinations in Britain and Europe.
Independent cycling holiday company Saddle Skedaddle has a range of road cycling holidays in the UK and Europe inspired by the Grand Tours and other iconic routes, including:
- A guided road cycling holiday in the Scottish Highlands
- An epic coast-to-coast adventure riding the entire length of the Pyrenees
- A Tour de France-inspired road cycling holiday across the Southern Alps – from Mont Ventoux to Alpe d’Huez
Tour d’Ecosse guided road cycling holiday in the Scottish Highlands
Combining the best parts of the famous North Coast 500 route with Saddle Skedaddle’s favourite Scottish rides, this eight-day, guided road cycling holiday showcases the natural beauty and dramatic landscapes of the Scottish Highlands.
Leaving Inverness via the famous Kessock Bridge, the route heads north to follow the shoreline of Loch Shin before arriving at Glen of Allt Ceann Locha. Dipping and diving along coastal roads with views of the Isle of Lewis and Harris, the riding moves inland and rises sharply towards Loch Assynt.
After exploring one of the Highland’s many remote coastal peninsulas, the route travels south – past the village of Ardmair – to the town of Ullapool, which sits on the shore of Loch Broom.
Other highlights of the trip include riding around the mountains of Wester Ross, navigating the rocky inlets and sea lochs; tackling one of the greatest and most challenging road climbs in the UK, Bealach Na Ba (Gaelic for Pass of the Cattle), which at 2,053ft (626m) offers amazing views of the Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye; and the journey back to Inverness via Glen Carron and the Beauly Firth.
- 2025 dates: 14-21 June; 28 June-5 July; 19-26 July, and 30 August-6 September
- Price: From £1,765pp. Price includes accommodation (half board), full tour service – including support vehicle/luggage transfer, and airport/train station transfers. Bike hire not included. Bike hire from £240pp.
- Website: skedaddle.com
Complete the Trans Pyrenees Challenge
An epic coast-to-coast adventure riding the entire length of the Pyrenees, Saddle Skedaddle’s 10-day, guided road cycling holiday spans 800km between the Bay of Biscay on the Atlantic Coast and Port-Vendres on the Mediterranean Coast.
Featuring some of cycling’s most legendary climbs, including Col du Tourmalet, Col d’Aubisque, Aspin and Peyresourde, this is a challenging trip through one of Europe’s most impressive mountain ranges. With 17,000m of climbing, it’s designed for cyclist with stamina and a good level of fitness.
Highlights include reaching the famous Geant du Tourmalet monument at the summit of Col du Tourmalet, the 20km descent down Col de Port, and the hair-pinned climb up Port de Pailheres.
Combining tough ascents with some thrilling mountain descents, the route passes through rural towns and villages before the landscape and vegetation becomes unmistakably Mediterranean. After emerging from the mountains, it’s a mainly flat and fast ride to Port-Vendres on the coast for a celebratory dip in the Mediterranean Sea.
- 2025 dates: 3-12 July; 21-30 August
- Price: From £3,095. Price includes accommodation (half board), full tour service, luggage transfer, support vehicle, and airport transfers. Flights and bike hire not included. Ryanair fly direct from London Stansted to Biarritz (outbound) and Girona to London Stansted on the return. Flights approx £175pp. Bike hire from £350pp.
- Website: skedaddle.com
Tackle classic Tour de France climbs in the French Alps
Saddle Skedaddle’s eight-day road cycling holiday across the Southern Alps – from Mont Ventoux to Alpe d’Huez – features some of the Tour’s classic mountain rides and some of road cycling’s most iconic and legendary climbs.
The trip begins in Bedoin with one of the most feared mountain climbs in professional cycling, the legendary Mont Ventoux. The mountain first featured in the Tour de France in 1951 and has become a mecca for cyclists, with thousands of riders taking on the journey to the summit each summer. To really get the legs working, the ascent to the summit follows the mountain’s most challenging and notorious route from Bedoin – now considered a Tour de France ‘classic’.
Another mountain challenge awaits in the form of Col du Vars and Col d‘Izoard, and just like the professional riders in the 2017 Tour de France, cyclists will tackle both cols together.
Connecting the southern Alps to the northern Alps, the ascent of Col du Lauteret is just a warm up before the assault on one of the monuments of the Tour de France – Col du Galibier. This monster climb has featured in The Tour for more than 100 years and as well as being one of the most challenging of the alpine climbs, it’s also one of the most scenic.
The trip ends with one the most famous Alpine climb of them all, the legendary Alpe d’Huez. Count the 21 famous hairpin bends before reaching the summit and toast the end to a memorable Tour de France-inspired holiday.
- 2025 dates: 15-22 June; 17-24 August
- Price: Prices from £2,495pp. Price includes accommodation (half board), full tour service, luggage transfer, support vehicle, and airport transfers. Flights and bike hire not included. easyJet fly from London Gatwick to Marseille (outbound) and Geneva to London Gatwick (return). Flight price approx £150pp. Bike hire from £300pp.
- Website: skedaddle.com
Image credit: Saddle Skedaddle/Lighttrapper Photography