SpiceRoads

What SpiceRoads is and where it operates

SpiceRoads is a cycling tour operator that designs and runs its own guided bicycle tours, and its about page title describes it as a bicycle tour operator found in Southeast Asia and operating out of Bangkok. The about page says "Since 1995 we've been sharing our passion for travelling by bicycle," with cycle adventures "in over 30 countries." Its tour-information page states "We design all our own itineraries, carefully researching each new route," and warns that its itineraries sometimes appear elsewhere: "In some cases these are websites selling spaces on our tours, but in many cases it is other operators copying our tours."

The destination menu is long. In Asia it lists Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in the Southeast; Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the South; Kazakhstan and Mongolia; China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan; and Georgia, Israel, Jordan and Türkiye. In Europe it covers Italy, Portugal, Spain and the Azores; Estonia, Greenland, Latvia and Lithuania; Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania; and Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Africa (Madagascar, Morocco, Tanzania, Uganda) and Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) complete it. Prices are shown in US dollars, and the footer carries the license line "T.T.T. Tour Operator No. 14/02179 ATTA: 02354."

Tour styles and what they cost

The site sorts tours into styles: Touring ("Classic touring in mindblowing places"), Road ("Push your body, feast your senses"), Trails ("Jungles, rivers, mountains and more"), Gravel, Epic ("Pioneering voyages in far flung lands") and Custom. It also lists family tours, "cycling+" trips with extra activities, and heritage tours of 7 days in 1 destination. The homepage says it offers tours "on every type of terrain, for all ages and experiences," and the tour-information page describes a range "from day trips to two-week journeys across multiple countries."

Named tours on the homepage include Biking Saigon to Angkor Wat (Touring, 9 days, Cambodia, US$ 2,495), Mountain Biking Mongolia (Trails, 13 days, US$ 4,950) and Vietnam Heritage by Bicycle (Touring, 7 days, US$ 1,850). The homepage also promotes a cycling safari in Uganda with gorilla trekking.

The Meandering the Mekong Delta page shows how a tour is laid out. It is priced from US$ 1,275 for 4 days and 3 nights, rated Leisure, and covers 150 km over 4 cycling days, an average of 38 km per day. A mountain bike is included, an e-bike costs US$ 150, and the single supplement is US$ 125. The page notes that "E-bikes are in limited supply, please enquire to reserve one." Riders go village to village by bike and boat, stay with a local family who cook for the group, and stop at the Cai Rang floating market before returning to Saigon. The booking table lists departures from October 2026 into 2027 at the same price.

How a tour runs

The tour-information page is unusually detailed. It says tours are "fully supported with vehicles, well-trained staff and a full range of top-end equipment," and that "Our staff to client ratio is generally one to three." You meet a cycle guide plus local staff and assistants; the page says its local guides speak English. Support vehicles carry luggage and give tired riders a place to rest, staff handle running repairs, and water, fruit, soft drinks and snacks are provided during rides.

The same page says the price includes all accommodation and all meals apart from the occasional lunch on some non-cycling days and "maybe a dinner or two on rest days." Beer and other alcohol are not included. Accommodation is a mix: the company aims for three- or four-star lodges but says it sometimes uses a local family or camps where a route has no lodging. Tours have a designated starting point and do not always include an airport pick-up, though transfers can be arranged. For tours of 7 days or longer, riders get a goody bag with a water bottle and a SpiceRoads jersey.

The page describes an average tour as 10 clients with two local guides, a driver and an assistant. On children, it says they are welcome on short tours in Thailand, but "on our longer tours the minimum age is 18 years," and each tour page's At a Glance section confirms whether children can join. Solo travelers can pay a single supplement or be paired with a same-sex roommate at no extra cost, and if no roommate is found SpiceRoads covers the single room.

Booking and terms

Each tour page carries a departure table with a Book button, a downloadable factsheet and an inquiry form. The tour-information page says the company emails a detailed fact sheet on request and, after booking, a pre-departure sheet covering what to bring and what paperwork is needed. Custom tours can tweak an existing itinerary, run a standard tour on another date or build a new route. Sales lines are listed for the US (+1 720 827 3119), Europe (+33 745 636 916) and Latin America (+57 312 622 5232).

"Guaranteed to Depart" is explained: the minimum is two bookings for most tours, and if a scheduled departure falls short, riders are offered the trip for a small surcharge, refunded in full if the minimum is reached before departure.

What the site does not settle

The menu links to Booking Conditions, Insurance, How to Book and Make a Payment pages, but the deposit amount, payment deadlines, cancellation window and refund terms are not set out on the tour and about pages, so read the Booking Conditions before paying. The surcharge for a short-booked departure is described only as "small." The difficulty scale is linked from each tour but not explained on the overview pages, and e-bike prices are shown per tour rather than as a single rule.

SpiceRoads suits riders who want a fully supported trip with luggage carried, meals largely included and a local guide team, in regions where arranging that alone would be hard: Mongolia, Bhutan, the Mekong or Uganda. Families with children should look at the short Thailand tours, since the longer tours set an adult minimum age. Riders who want to ride fully independently are not the audience; the whole model is built around the support crew.