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Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 2:56pm
by realcycling
Hi

I'm writing an article for the CTC magazine on cycle-touring accommodation.

I'd like to get an idea of where we're staying on our tours. So this is a quick straw poll:

Roughly how many nights would you say you spend away per year on cycle tours?

And roughly what proportion of those nights are camping, in hostels, hotels, at friends or relatives, or other places?

Thanks - either reply here, or you can see my email address at http://www.bike99.com/contact.html

Rob Ainsley

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 3:07pm
by pjclinch
A week's tour is our normal.

We'd look to be doing most of that camping with an odd night or two in B&B (usually if there's no convenient camping). Hotels limited to those doing B&B-range prices in places with no other B&B! Will occasionally compromise with a campsite hut if available (usually on the continent) if we're particularly damp.

Camping, depending on location and state of supplies, may be wild or on a formal site.

Pete.

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 3:13pm
by jamesgilbert
Usually between 10 days and 2 weeks per year.

Two thirds of the nights camping, the rest split fairly evenly between youth hostels, Warm Showers hosts, B&Bs and cheap hotels. Camping is nearly always on actual campsites.

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 3:28pm
by tatanab
May I suggest that accommodation may depend on where the tour takes place? For example, a trip to anywhere western Europe is likely to be very different to a trip to the USA or somewhere like Indonesia perhaps.

For me, in recent years I have only taken tours in Europe.
Duration - Anything up to 4 weeks once a year.
Camping out of preference for flexibility, always on a campsite. Occasional hotels, say 2%. Never hostels (as in YHA). Yet to use B&B.

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 3:42pm
by patpalloon
I did two tours this summer. The first, Spain I mostly camped due to the weather and abundance of lots of campsites along the coast. Ireland I did about a third camping, third hostels and third bnbs. Both tours 3 weeks, I always seem to camp less by the end of the tour!

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 4:27pm
by bikepacker
Over the last twelve years I have spent over 60 nights a year on cycle tours. Accommodation can be a mix in all the categories. Around 30 nights camping, and the other split between the other two depending on location of tour. I do use Travelodges for much of my UK hotel accommodation as mostly they are very bike friendly.

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 5:12pm
by cjs
realcycling wrote:Roughly how many nights would you say you spend away per year on cycle tours?

40
realcycling wrote:And roughly what proportion of those nights are camping, in hostels, hotels, at friends or relatives, or other places?

80% camping - wild.. whenever available
20% spread over the other options..

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 5:46pm
by BeeKeeper
It varies, last year it was probably about 20 nights camping in sites, mostly in France. This year it was 16 nights so far all in hotels, also mostly in France with 2 or 3 in Spain.

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 5:55pm
by JamesE
About two weeks a year, probably 70% hotels and B&Bs/30% hostels.

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 6:03pm
by Mick F
Two weeks or so away per year.

I will never stay at a YHA (or similar) again having done it many many times in the past.

I love to stay at B+B pubs these days. Food, beer, bed and breakfast, in utter comfort and happiness. :D

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 6:05pm
by Fasgadh
Mostly camping. Occasional hostel. B&B and especially hotels are out of my range.

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 6:15pm
by simonhill
For the last 15 years, my main touring has been 2 long haul trips each year, mainly in Asia. That is about 150 days a year in cheap hotels.

If going to Oz or NZ then it would be hostels for 70 ish nights, but I haven't been there for a few years.

In the summer in the UK I often go away in my campervan with my bike. These aren't exclusively cycle touring, but I am camping with my bike, so another 30 days there.

Each year I try to do a short (4ish days) with a small tent, just to remind me how much hard work camping is.

Sometimes I wonder why I have a house!!

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 6:18pm
by Ned Ludd
about ten days a year. Camping where possible, but if we need to catch an early ferry or train will go for a cheap hotel to save faff time in the morning. Likewise if spending a night in a city will choose a hostel or hotel based on price and capacity to safely store bikes....

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 6:34pm
by MrsHJ
Honestly it varies but with family limitations let's say 1 week per year on average with 50:50 b&bs to camping. It depends on the time of year I go, where I am and who I'm with*. For instance this year we will spend 10 nights away cycling with the kids in the summer with 8 nights of that camping in Brittany. If the weather is cruddy there will be some hotels. Hostels I seem to have grown out of in preference for b&bs but it depends where you are and price etc. I've just joined warm showers which may add another dimensions.

*A couple of years ago we did a girls trip to Ireland in September, 40 something year old mums and wet weather so we used b&bs ( great breakfasts) . I notice that on the girls trips we tend not to camp mostly because we go outside of the summer months. I missed several years of girls trips due to the age of my kids but I think when they did Norway and Sweden in May they used hostels. In Central Portugal in May we mostly used little hotels as that was what was easily available, and, ahem he odd pousada as well, it is a holiday! I could see the costs really mounting up on a serious trip though even without pousada a but generally doing what the locals do when they travel helps keep costs down.

Re: Quick poll: Your touring accomm - tent, hostel, hotel?

Posted: 6 Aug 2014, 8:48pm
by realcycling
Ah - I forgot to say the article's about UK accommodation! Apologies...

Thanks

Rob Ainsley