Middle East Bicycle Trips

Excellent holiday. Our tour guide, Bao, could not have been more helpful. Very knowledgeable and personable. Some lovely cycling routes and the stops to view local artisans were really interesting. Great fruit stops too!

Our sixth Explore! trip proved to be another triumph. Superb tour leader (Duan) and good local guides, with good itinerary expertly overcoming local Thai / Cambodia border dispute travel difficulties. Largely flat cycling routes incorporating interesting off the beaten track exploration. Updated accommodation good all round with excellent Smiling Gecko Farmhouse Resort a highlight. Can’t fault Duan for his leadership of an excellent group of like minded travelers through three countries with humor and superb all round knowledge. Never try, never know!

This trip really exceeded my expectations. I have travelled with Explore before but never been lucky enough to have such fabulous Accommodation. The tour guide Te was excellent as was the support provided by the drivers and mechanic. The group size of 11 was easily manageable and cycling was really varied. Loved it all and I was really sorry when it finished.

The tour leader went above and beyond to make this holiday exceptional. When a problem arose, which is inevitable over 10 days of activities, a solution was found, whatever the problem. The personal attention given to everyone in the group made the entire holiday great.

Our leader, Arturo, in a word was... fantastic! He managed his herd of 12 client cyclists in a manner that was fun, patient, gracious and ALWAYS with a smile. And he was an excellent communicator at all times. Our bus drivers were also great and worked very hard with long days. The newer hybrid 21-speed bikes were surprisingly ideal for the cycling - quite enjoyable. Also surprising was the quality of the road surfaces we were on. Generally in very good shape with little traffic. Although they were often very straight and generally flat, the jungle would frequently open up to nicer vistas and give us slices of friendly Mexican rural life. The trip was further enhanced by the quality of the many cultural & archeological tours. Through his excellent connections and experience, Arturo snagged amazing English speaking guides that provided detailed interesting commentary that brought insight to the sites we visited - it would be difficult to get those experiences traveling on your own. Our beginning of February tour was often windy during the rides and had temperatures that were cooler than normal, especially in the evenings. Still lovely though. During our last day of cycling it was warm but suddenly started to rain. Hard! We got thoroughly soaked. But we still enjoyed the experience and laughed at the situation while riding. Most in our group thought it was the best day of cycling in the tour. Every day was jam packed with the bus rides, cycling, eating, and touring the cultural experiences. Very busy so there wasn't a lot of downtime, especially as some activities took longer than planned for. After the tour, many in the group stayed days or weeks longer in the region to enjoy sunshine and relaxation. In summary, I highly recommend this trip. The Yucatan is a beautiful area with so much history. The cycling was enjoyable, but likely too easy for more serious cyclists expecting great workouts. Maybe we were just lucky as our group really gelled and had a lot of laughs. Super fun!

The ride was full of many wonderful adventures! Come prepared to be active! We had a lovely group of 10 men ans women, a mix of e-bikes and manual bike riders. Although a leisurely ride, be prepared to be active whether touring on foot, on bike or boat! It was lovely to experience the beauty of both Vietnam and Cambodia, and the kindness of the locals. Our tour guides and support crew were top notch!