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From Away.com

Away's Top Ten Travel Destinations
Top Ten Adventures on a Shoestring
Inn-to-Inn Biking Europe and Vermont

By Stephen Jermanok

Intro | Inn-to-Inn Biking | Backpacking | Sea Kayaking | Safari | Canoeing | Trekking | Sailing | Scuba Diving | Mountain Biking and Sea Kayaking | Walking

Covered Bridge, Vermont
One of Vermont’s many picturesque covered bridges, a charming site that bikers will be pleased to encounter (courtesy, Vermont Dept. of Tourism)

10. Inn-to-Inn Biking, France and Vermont
It's hard not be enticed by the allure of an inn-to-inn bike trip. Days are spent pedaling through the country at a relaxed pace, seeing many sites that only locals know about. In the evening hours, you gather for a feast of food and drink at country inns and estates, only to reenergize for the next day's ride. But these trips can be costly, especially if you sign up with one of the more exclusive outfitters like Butterfield and Robinson. So why not try the latest trend, self-guided inn-to-inn bike tours that often charge less than $1,000 for an entire week of riding. Based in Brittany, France, Breton Bikes offers one-week guided tours to some of the owner's favorite haunts. With small rural towns, exquisite coastline views, and very few tough climbs (the highest point in Brittany is just over 1,000 feet), this region of France is ideal for biking. The owners supply bikes, routes, and maps, and they will transport luggage from one inn to the next. Then there's Bike Tours Direct, which offers ten self-guided trips to Europe this summer, including jaunts into France's Loire Valley and along the Danube River in Austria. Back in the States, New England is your best bet for these trips. In Vermont, Country Inns Along the Trail offers the same services, significantly reducing the price from a guided trip.

Away.com's Brittany Travel Guide
Away.com's Vermont Biking Guide



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Intro | Inn-to-Inn Biking | Backpacking | Sea Kayaking | Safari | Canoeing | Trekking | Sailing | Scuba Diving | Mountain Biking and Sea Kayaking | Walking



Boston-based writer Stephen Jermanok has authored or contributed to 11 books on the outdoors, including Outside Magazine's Adventure Guide to New England, Discovery Channel's Backcountry Treks, Discovery Channel's Paddlesports, Outside Magazine's Guide to Family Vacations and Men's Journal's The Great Life. His latest book is New England Seacoast Adventures. His many adventures appear in National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Men's Journal, Forbes FYI, Travel + Leisure, Hooked on the Outdoors, and Backpacker. He can be reached at farandaway@comcast.net.