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Bike Greece Greece: Coast to Coast

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Bike Greece Greece: Coast to Coast
More about Bike Greece

Average Rating: 4 out of 5
No. of Reviews: 10
RRP: £358
Year: 2005

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Description: 8 days.

REVIEWS

1 to 10 of 10 reviews, to post a review you need to be a member - Join now.

Sean Di Lizio

Posted: 15/04/08

'FUN RIDING, OFF THE BEATEN TRACK AND GREAT FOOD!!'

Strengths:
Knowledgeable and friendly guide, James, who was always very accommodating of different skill levels and personalities.

Great riding on single-track, gravel, mud, and tarmac!

Fantastic food. James always knew where to take us for a great culinary experience!

Travelled to remote regions in Evia, away from the tourist scene, and saw a very different side of Greece, rather than just Athens.

Weaknesses:
Rental bikes are decent quality builds, but could be maintained better. It's about the only fault we could name for the whole trip.

Overall:
Fantastic!

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

93%

nick gilford

Posted: 04/06/07

'GREAT MOUNTAIN BIKE HOLIDAY WITH EXCELLENT VARIETY OF RIDING'

Strengths:
Week was divided into 2 distinct parts, first part was riding in the Mountains / hills to the North of Athens, good climbs and challenging / exciting single track ( some of the best I have ridden). Second part was on the Island of Evia which was a mini expedition and the high light of my trip. Combination of great long climbs, fast downhills, scenery, trees, flowers wild life, bird life, history and a night in a basic but special lodge in the village of Kalianou.

Weaknesses:
Hard to fault! The Cavallari Palace Hotel was a bit odd BUT clean, tidy and convienient for Mount Parnitha. I didn't enjoy the Athens tour ~ basically because I hate cities and crowds and I wanted to get up on Mount Parnitha again on my last afternoon and did so doing 18 km climb from 250 m to 1000 m and then back down again in under 3 hours to finish my week off!

Overall:
No hesitation in recommending this to anyone looking for a varied Mountain Bike Holiday and especially if you are interested in Natuaral and Human History as well as Mountain Biking.
Personally found Evia and Mount Ochi enchanting and will no doubt return before too long.
James is willing and able to adjust the rides / routes to suit individuals abilities.

Performance		100%
Reliability		80%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

87%

catherine Gillespie

Posted: 10/01/07

'TOUGH BUT WORTH EVERY ACHE! '

Strengths:
Stunning scenery, variety of locations, knowledge of guides and lovely group. Great value for money and needed to spend very little extra. The bike around and evening out in Athens was fantastic.

Weaknesses:
The week I went, the weather was shocking! Unusually so I was repeatedly told!

Overall:
I was a complete mountain biking virgin when i signed up for this trip but by the end of the week was completely hooked. I really appreciated the flexibility of the guides being a beginner but also appreciated their encouragement to push myself.

Performance		80%
Reliability		80%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

87%

Tom Miles

Posted: 07/10/06

'CHALLENGING, BUT WORTH IT.'

Strengths:
Good but little used routes. Particularly some superb downhill single track near Athens.Enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide. Scenery stunning. Good food.

Weaknesses:
Some accomodation not very interesting. (although all clean)
Helmet eaten by dog!! Rental bikes not particularly well maintained. Take your own as I did.

Overall:
A good mountain biking experience if you like a fairly full on program. Not for cruising.

Performance		80%
Reliability		80%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

80%

ROSS BARRETT

Posted: 23/09/06

'A REAL ADVENTURE'

Strengths:
A fantastic opportunity to do some major single track out in the wilderness. Plenty of high speed widetrack too. The guy who owns it, runs it so its a very personal feel. The bikes are front suspension - and I thought it was pretty amazing what you could do with them. James - who runs it has a real passion for mountain biking, Greece and its history.

Weaknesses:
You've got to be up for it. This is a guided mountain biking holiday NOT coaching. So if you're looking for someone to hold your hand the whole way this is not for you. But if you're looking for fun and full on mountain biking you'll love it.

Take plenty of food for lunch. I found sometimes one cheese pie was not enough. Get two.

Overall:
If you want a real adventure and to see the real Greece this is a fantastic opportunity. You get to go to places you would never see on your own. We stayed in tiny little villages with REAL people - as well as Athens.

It's worth taking a multi tool with you. 20 mins spent each morning tweaking the bike makes a huge difference. - because you do so much biking each day that the bikes need a little TLC to get the best out of them. It speeds everything up a lot if you're able to do a few basics yourself.

I'd definately take: Full finger gloves, a small first aid kit, SPD pedals if you've got them, good sunglasses, a good helmet, a big waterbottle / camelback, a multi tool, a camera, and up for it attitude.

One day you get the choice of walking up the Dimissori gorge instead of biking in the morning - DEFINATELY DO IT - IT IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.

Performance		80%
Reliability		80%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

80%

Roy Tomlinson

Posted: 08/05/06

'TOP BANANA !!!'

Strengths:
No other company can provide the level of inside knowledge and support. Well in fact no other company offers tours covering Athens and Evia anyway !!

Overall:
I might be a little biased. This is the second time i've been along to a bike greece trip within 6 months. James has really developed a unique experience for people to see different aspects of Athens and Evia. Bike Greece offers real value for money. Nearly half the price of anything comparable. Go for it you won't regret it. Exodus offer a walking trip covering Evia and say the Dimossari
Gorge is a wonder and the highlight of their trip. You get to do a 12 mile descent down the road running along the side of it ! And stop in a traditional taverna at the bottom. Awsome views. I took a video and helmet cam with and will be putting together a dvd of it and sending to James. Get in touch with him or view the website soon hopefully for some footage. visit www.bikegreece.com

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

100%

philip clacy

Posted: 28/04/06

'EXCELLENT PACKAGE INCLUDING SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE.'

Strengths:
The Southern end of the isalnd of Evia is beautifully remote and underdeveloped but easily accessible from Athens.

Overall:
James, our intrepid Greekophile guide, is a genuine enthusiast for biking and Greek history amongst other things. He has discovered some excellent mountain biking terrain, including great sections of single track, all within easy reach of Athens.He kindly arranged a 4 day special for 4 of us and continually adjusted the programme to ensure just the right level of challenging biking each day.

Performance		80%
Reliability		80%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

80%

Kate Foster

Posted: 04/01/05

'A FANTASTIC TRIP. '

Strengths:
Maximum amount of top quality single track with the minimum amount of transfers. Incredibly beautiful and remote places plus an insight into Greek culture and history.

Overall:
This trip started off exploring the Mt Parnitha national park, which despite being only an hour's drive from Athens, is an area of rugged and empty mountains, covered in ancient goat trails. These tiny trails hurtle down gorges, splash over little streams and often up end up in idyllic spots next to tiny Greek Orthodox churches or an ancient cave of Pan. Catching our breath after a climb, the guide, James, recounted the history of the area, pointing out ancient watchtowers and fortresses all round. After a good diet of exercise and history, each ride invariably ended with a cold beer and giant cheese and spinach pasty.
One evening we cycled round the ancient centre of Athens, on beautiful cobbled paths that link the main historical sites. Cycling among the crowds strolling through a warm evening and watching the sun go down over the Parthenon was really magical.
The second part of the trip took in the island of Evia, where we cycled in the mountainous interior during the day, and ended up on the coast, for a sunset swim, in the evening. The highlight of Evia's riding was the high-speed descent down the beautiful Dimossari gorge.

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		80%

Overall Rating

93%

Matthew Webber

Posted: 10/06/05

'AN EXCELLENT ADVENTURE'

Strengths:
Amazing scenery and fun riding for beginners and experts.

Overall:
The goes off the beaten track with some time on mainland Greece (not far from Athens) and then the remainder of the time on the island of Evia - a relatively unknown part of Greece.

The leader/guide Jmaes was great.

Performance		100%
Reliability		100%
Value		100%

Overall Rating

100%

Erin Beresini

Posted: 01/07/05

'AWESOMEST EXPERIENCE EVER!'

Overall:
This trip was amazing, thanks to James (trip leader, Greece afficionado and mountain biker extraordinaire) and his very talented, smiley, helpful crew. We started off with a few days in the mountains surrounding Athens, discovering the cave of Pan, small countryside churches, and old ruins of guard towers used to fend off enemies from invading Athens. Then we spent a few wonderful days in Athens--I swear everyone there thought we were the coolest people riding our bikes around the famous ruins. The island of Evia was particularly breathtaking. It's one of the few places I've been where technology and global companies haven't taken over whatsoever. The people are kind and generous, and we had the best goat cheese ever :)

The meals were great, and the biking was wonderful. I went with some girlfriends who had never ridden before (I had :) and still got to go down some awesome single track, around ruins, and we even got to see the olympic mountain biking course! This trip is a must for anyone who wants to experience Greece in a very original, untouristy way--you still get to see all the sights, but you also get a feel for what actual Greek life is all about.