Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)

Hotel/B&B or Tent?

Poll ended at 5 Jul 2015, 5:20pm

Hotel/B&B
9
43%
Tent
11
52%
Other
1
5%
 
Total votes: 21

cyclingovereurope
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Joined: 17 Mar 2015, 6:47pm
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Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by cyclingovereurope »

I like just to ride a bike to discover new places. Normally I'm not looking for an adventure so, when i'm doing a tour, I like to ride hard during the day, but when is time to sleep I prefer to rest in a comfortable bed in a hotel. And you?
Last edited by cyclingovereurope on 6 Apr 2015, 5:20pm, edited 1 time in total.
robing
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Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by robing »

Bit of both. I like to camp mostly but have some nights in a hotel, especially in a city. I've stayed in some lovely campsites which are beautifully quiet if you go out if season. Some hotels can be very noisy.
wearwell
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Joined: 3 Feb 2011, 8:45am

Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by wearwell »

Did one long tour with hotels instead of camping. Yes it's comfortable with showers etc but it's boring. You get there and you are inside, even if the sun is still shining! What do you do next - watch the telly?
Camping every time for me - you are still out there as the sun goes down (and comes up again)
PH
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Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by PH »

I prefer the known comfortable bed in my tent to the unknown bed in a hotel. Plus it removes the need for a lot of the planning, having everything I need with me is very much part of the fun. Of course there have been those cold muddy camps where I would of loved to be somewhere warm and dry with room service, but they are outnumbered several hundred to one by the mornings waking up in your own spot somewhere of your own choosing.
raybo
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Joined: 13 Nov 2007, 6:40pm

Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by raybo »

I only camp if there are no other options.

My first choice is to get hosted by either Warmshowers or couchsurfing (both .org) host.

If I can't arrange that, I usually opt for a hotel.
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Tacascarow
Posts: 328
Joined: 17 Jan 2012, 8:27am

Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by Tacascarow »

What's a hotel?
Pitching a tent where I want (within reason) so I get the best views when I wake is part of the experience for me.
cheesypeeps
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Joined: 5 May 2014, 11:03am

Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by cheesypeeps »

B and B everytime. I've done my days at camping. When my body is all tired from cycling I love getting clean and being rested. Love wandering around the area ive arrived at. No need to stay in the b n b until sleep time :)
using hovercraft full of eels.
pwa
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Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by pwa »

It all depends what you are looking for. Taking a tent is partly about "getting away from it", leaving some of the modern world behind. You have your minimal accommodation with you, along with all your catering equipment. But I now avoid taking too small a tent. Having a bit more room to change clothes and so on is well worth an extra bit of weight.

Hostels, b&bs and hotels can be alternated with camping on the same tour to provide a bit of variety.
cyclingovereurope
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Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by cyclingovereurope »

Last year we had most part of our tour underneath the rain, the thought to set the tent with the rain, after 145 moist kilometres, would have been like hit the big toe with a hammer
tatanab
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Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by tatanab »

cyclingovereurope wrote:Last year we had most part of our tour underneath the rain, the thought to set the tent with the rain, after 145 moist kilometres, would have been like hit the big toe with a hammer
Just because you have a tent does not mean you absolutely have to camp. I've taken a few nights in hotels when on an otherwise camping trip.

I prefer to camp because I like to be on the road early, say 7am, sometimes very early meaning just as dawn breaks. A fantastic part of the day. Hotels do not really work when riding like that. Because I start early I also finish early, noon or certainly an hour or two later. Again, that does not tend to work well with hotels.
PJ520
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Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by PJ520 »

cheesypeeps wrote:B and B everytime. I've done my days at camping. When my body is all tired from cycling I love getting clean and being rested. Love wandering around the area ive arrived at. No need to stay in the b n b until sleep time :)
+1 I take a tent and sleeping bag just in case because in this part of the world it can be a very long way between motels, B & Bs etc
You only live once, which is enough if you do it right. - Mae West
nmnm
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Joined: 14 Nov 2010, 6:03pm

Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by nmnm »

I use a tent on rural French cycle hols and enjoy it very much. You sure appreciate the things you get right when you're in a tent. It's pretty solitary sometimes. It puts me on the edge of town, in a field, in bed before it's dark. There is a joy in spending 10e instead of 80e though, or even 45e. I had a few heavy rain hotel nights and did think it's a better way to get some interaction with the French and the language, and to feel more abroad (which is enjoyable). I enjoyed seeing the hotel operating, and feeling I had a base from which to take in the market town centres, like a modern day Robert Louis Stevenson passing through on his donkey. He camped some nights too actually. Maybe if I were richer, I'd do half and half, best of both.
Nareloc
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Joined: 5 Oct 2008, 9:21pm

Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by Nareloc »

I am flying from Liverpool to Carcassonne in two weeks time and cycling back home over two weeks. Taking my tent but not averse to staying in hotels some nights, depending on weather, location, how I feel etc. it's good to have the freedom of choice.
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foxyrider
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Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by foxyrider »

I've done both and often combine the two. You don't have to stay inside the bricks and mortar and I find that several nights from a trip not under canvass is relaxing and also offers an opportunity to wash and dry stuff if the weather is a bit dodgy. In some areas its easier to find a roof than a campsite (I'm on holiday, I do not want to 'rough it' in the woods, creature comforts like a shower and safe water are a must for me.)

An option that seems to be coming popular are camping sheds - essentially a garden shed with a couple of bunks - cheaper than hotels but a little more comfort than a tent but you still take your own bedding and cooking kit (for the most part). Used them several times in Denmark and they have been an option on camp sites across Germany/Austria/Switzerland.

Using hotels/b&b's does feel a bit like cheating - you don't need to cart so much with you so it feels more like a series of day rides! I've only ever done it once for a complete tour and on balance probably spent @ twice on accommodation what I would have on camp sites but that was balanced to some degree by inclusive breakfasts! I book in advance which for me isn't an issue as I adjust my programme to suit. I try to do a 3:1 ratio of campsites to hotel nights but that doesn't always mean every fourth night is a hotel. :)
Convention? what's that then?
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PaulB
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Re: Hotel or camping during a cycling tour?

Post by PaulB »

It depends how much stuff you want to haul with you. Travelling light (good title for a song!) without camping gear, means hotels or B & Bs but if you travel alone be prepared to be ripped off by the "Single Person Supplement"!
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