Bike Odyssey

What Bike Odyssey Is and Where It Operates

Bike Odyssey runs its own multi-week luxury cycling tours; it is not a booking platform or reseller. The homepage puts it this way: "Bike Odyssey doesn't run bike tours. We run Odysseys," describing them as long-distance, luxury cycling journeys that follow in the footsteps of history. The tour list places them across Europe (Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Croatia, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland), North Africa (Egypt and Morocco), Turkey, Japan, Chile and Australia (Tasmania). The site footer gives Berry, Australia and Girona, Spain as the company's bases. Every journey is built around a historical theme or figure, from Alexander the Great to the two world wars to the Shogun era.

Bike Odyssey does not run day trips or single-city rides. Its tour menu names 12 signature journeys: Alexander (Mt Olympus to Cairo), Allies (Normandy to the Rhine), Britannia (Five Nations), Che (Santiago to Volcano Osorno), Hannibal (Barcelona to Rome), Lionheart (Venice to Paris), Othello (Marrakesh to Lisbon), Shogun (Fukuoka to Fuji), Tasmania (Under Downunder), The Odyssey (Istanbul to Ithaca), Venetians (Venice to Dubrovnik) and Vikings (Copenhagen to Alesund). A Tour Calendar and a Custom Tours page sit alongside them in the menu.

The Range of Tours and What You Get

The tour list gives each journey's countries, distance and length. Alexander takes 28 days and covers 1,322 km (822 mi) through Greece, Turkey and Egypt, riding from Northern Greece past Mount Olympus, Meteora and Thermopylae before boarding yachts along Turkey's Turquoise Coast. Allies spans 27 days and 1,428 km (888 mi) through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, starting at St Malo and Mont St Michel and passing the D-Day beaches; its page calls the pace relaxed, "averaging 55km per day." Britannia crosses England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland over 28 days and 1,683 km (1,046 mi). At the short end, Venetians runs 16 days and 668 km (415 mi) through Italy, Slovenia and Croatia; at the long end, Lionheart runs 33 days and 2,701 km (1,678 mi).

The longer journeys are split into stages that can be booked on their own. The Shogun page lists 2026 dates of 5 to 31 October for the full 27-day Fukuoka to Mount Fuji route at USD 17,900, or Stage 1 (Fukuoka to Kyoto, 17 days, 979km) at USD 11,900 and Stage 2 (Kyoto to Mount Fuji, 11 days, 765km) at USD 7700. The Allies page lists 2028 dates from 23 August to 18 September, priced at EUR 14,900 for the full 27 days, EUR 8950 for Stage 1 and EUR 6900 for Stage 2. The Che page gives 2026 dates of 11 November to 9 December, USD 17,700 for the 29-day route through Chile's wine valleys of Casablanca, Maipú and Colchagua, the Lake District and a final climb up Volcano Osorno. Each page says rates are based on twin share, with a single supplement of 120USD per night on Shogun and €110 EUR per night on Allies.

The homepage lists what the company provides: Trek bikes, "the best navigation GPS," quality support vehicles, "unique quality lodging" and "amazing local gastronomy." Accommodation on Allies runs to chateaux and castle hotels such as Schloss Lieser on the Moselle; Shogun uses ryokans, Buddhist temples and onsen hotels.

How Tours Work on the Ground

The homepage names "archaeologists, documentary makers, sommeliers, pro riders and the best of the best professional guides" as its expertise, and lists "Priority on guests" and "Ride your way - we support you all the way!" among its selling points. The Allies page adds that when a group reaches 19 riders, one of the company's soigneurs (massage therapists) joins the trip. Guest testimonials on the Shogun page mention Japanese-speaking guides, one local and two long-time residents.

Each tour page carries grading notes in the company's own banana scale. The site rates Allies at 2, averaging 66km and 650m of climbing per day on quiet, relatively flat roads, with a hillier second stage. Che is rated 3, averaging 78km and 900m per day. Shogun is rated 3.5, averaging 75km and 1450m of climbing per day on roads the site describes as high quality. Those figures are the company's own description of the effort involved, and the site points to a separate gradings page for more detail.

The site does not publish meeting points or transfer arrangements on the tour pages, and it does not state a minimum age or a fitness requirement beyond the gradings. Bike rental options are linked from each tour page.

Booking, Pricing, and Terms

Prices are shown on each tour page in the currency the company sets for that route: USD for Shogun and Che, EUR for Allies. Some later years are listed as "USD TBC" until prices are set. Each tour page has a "Book this trip" link and the footer links a Booking Form. The site gives a phone and WhatsApp number (+61 412 540 984) and invites questions by email "anytime."

A Terms and Conditions page is linked in the footer, but the tour pages themselves do not set out deposit amounts, payment dates or the cancellation schedule, so those need reading there or asking before booking. Custom Tours has its own page for groups wanting a route built for them. No gift card or corporate option appears on the site.

What the Site Leaves Open and Who This Suits

The company does not publish a maximum group size; the only group figure is the Allies note that a soigneur joins once a group reaches 19. The tour pages sketch each stage's highlights and hotels but do not give a day-by-day schedule. Deposit and cancellation terms are not shown next to the prices.

The homepage says its returning riders average 70% of every Odyssey, and it shows ratings of 5.0 on Google (66 reviews), 4.9 on Trustpilot (89 reviews) and 5.0 on Facebook (12 reviews). Those are the company's figures, displayed on its own site.

This company suits experienced cyclists with several weeks to spare, riders who travel for the history as much as the cycling, and people who like having hotels, bikes, support vehicles and navigation handled while they ride. The stage structure opens it to anyone with 11 to 17 days rather than a full month. It does not suit travelers looking for day rides, short city tours, last-minute bookings or budget pricing: a single stage is priced in the thousands.

The emphasis on archaeologists, historians and documentary makers, and the reading lists attached to each tour page, point the company toward travelers who want a route shaped by story as much as scenery. Its first Odyssey grew out of the BBC documentary On Hannibal's Trail, which the homepage says was presented by Sam Wood, one of its founders and guides. For riders with the time and the budget for a stage or a full journey, Bike Odyssey offers a fully supported way to cross a region by bike with the history explained along the way.