Get on your bike
Cycling for Softies has built a niche for itself offering independent cycling holidays in France with pre-booked accommodation in small family run hotels.
Typical tour durations are anything from three to 14 nights but clients can tailor-make their own itinerary.
Food is an important ingredient of the breaks with hotels being personally selected by owner Susi Madron for “friendliness, comfort, character and excellent food”.
A number of options are available ranging from Super Softie breaks where clients are based at one hotel and can choose how much cycling they do, to Whizz Holidays where clients follow a set route and stay at a different hotel every night.
The operator, which offers agents 10% commission, has added new ‘point to point’ tours which are aimed at the more serious cyclist. These tours start in the Rhone area and finish 14 nights later in Provence covering distances up to 22 miles a day.
Also new for 2000 are trailer bikes for families with children too young to cycle. A spokeswoman for the company said it was attracting increasing numbers of bookings from families.
Aseven-night ‘easy cycling’ break in the Loire Valley in June costs £615 per person including bike hire and accommodation at three different hotels with dinner, bed and breakfast.
France has built a strong following on the back of mainstream product such as city breaks to Paris and family summer self-cateringholidays.
However, for repeat visitors, or those simply looking for something a bit different, there are plenty of options.
In particular, there has been a big increase in the number of activity-style holidays available. The following is a selection of some of the more unusual options available for summer 2000.
Take to the slopes in summer
Ski addicts can get their fix of the sport throughout the summer with the addition of grass skiing, a form of rollerblading on grass, to VFB’s France Active programme for summer 2000.
The France specialist has expanded its programme for this year with the addition of several new activities – including white-water swimming – and the resort of Meribel.
The new programmefeatures five mountain resorts in the French Alps, with activities for all ages ranging from mountain biking to bungee jumping.
Aseven-night self-catering holiday in Meribel costs from £172 per person based on four adults sharing an apartment and including Channel crossing for car and passengers.
Personal travel insurance is also included, covering the full range of VFBactivities with no excess.
Wine and dine
Allez France is proving that living ‘la bonne vie’ doesn’t have to cost a small fortune with its range of short breaks for wine and food lovers. The Sussex-based operator’s Great Escapes short-breaks brochure features a two-night Champagne break based at a three-star hotel in Reims from £69 per person.
The price includes a free tour and tasting at the Piper-Heidsieck champagne house, accommodation with a free bottle of champagne in the room and return Channel crossing with Hoverspeed.
Similar breaks are offered in Burgundy from £117 per person and in the Loire from £67 per person. The operator also offers a one-night Taste of France package from £49 per person. Hotels are based in regions known for their selection of good restaurants.
Cruise the waterways
Crown Blue Line has added a new deluxe boat to its fleet capable of carrying 10 people. The Grand Classique is available for hire on waterways in Burgundy and on the Canal du Midi. An eight-berth vessel was the largest size previously available.
A week’s self-crewed sailing on the boat leads in at £1,680 for 10 people in April, rising to £2,580 in peak season.
The Norwich-based operator is the largest boat hire company in France with a fleet of 450 boats at 16 bases nationwide. It has recently added a new base in Daon just north of Angers opening up the quiet waterways of Angou in northwest France.