garethzbarker

Hello,

I have a 10 day vacation in august and I'm looking for a good locations for bike touring. Actually, I'm not just looking for good but something memorable. My wife will give birth in a few months so I will have to put off trips like this for a while. I'm based in Korea and I've ridden all over This country so I'm looking for international ideas. Getting a ticket out of this country in august is hell so I need to come up with a destination ASAP. I'm most comfortable around 100-120km a day for multiday trips. I'm comfortable with a long plane ride for a good ride. Looking for mild weather, beautiful scenery, sleeping in cabins or hotels each night. I'd like to budget around 150euros a day. I'm not against a package deal. I'm kind of interested in Europe. It's a lot of flying but I've always wanted to see norway, denmark or the alps (but I'm not sure that I am fit enough for the alps).

Thanks.

****I decided I want to do Australia. Help me plan where to ride ****

Machka 

10 days isn't much time! If you're flying across time zones, you'll have a day or two of flying time, plus a day or two of jet lag recovery time.

We flew from Japan into London, and it took me a couple days before I felt up to doing something. However, maybe jet lag doesn't affect you so much.

[HR][/HR]

As far as suggestions go ...

-- Japan ... especially Hokkaido.

-- Australia ... August is winter, but toward the end of winter. Queensland would be nice and warm ... the Perth area might be nice then too. Victoria would be a little cooler, but not bad along the Great Ocean Road. There wouldn't be many tourists around then.

-- Canadian Rockies ... have you done the Icefield Parkway and surrounding area? Late August is a nice time to go there.

-- Europe ... Europe is big, and 10 days is very short. If I had to recommend somewhere there, I might recommend getting into the Martigny area of Switzerland and following the Rhone Route. It's in the Alps without all the effort, and yet would be quite spectacular. On one day, take the train to Chamonix France and ride the gondola up to the viewpoint for Mont Blanc. That would definitely be memorable!!

Machka 

Hokkaido Japan ... Lake Shikotsu





If you fly into Chitose, there is a really nice cycling path out to Lake Shikotsu, which is a very pretty, quiet lake. When you get to the Lake Shikotsu area, if you go one direction you'll arrive at a campground and a sort of dorm-style hostel (I forget what they are called). If you go the other direction you'll arrive at a cute little settlement with hotels and a very comfortable and friendly hostel.

We stayed at the campground for the first couple nights, then cycled down to Tomakomai (on another lovely cycling path) for a few days. On the way back, we stayed in that comfortable and friendly hostel on the other side of the lake.

Click the photos to see lots more of that area.

We were there 10 days ... but would love to spend a month.

Machka 

Australia

Of course I have heaps and heaps of photos of Australia ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka...7602419256784/


Western Australia

We really liked Albany ... but Augusta and all the way up the coast to Perth were nice.




Victoria ... along the Great Ocean Road out to Port Fairy

One of our favourite parts of Victoria.



You could do a ride from Melbourne out to Portland and back.

Machka 

Icefield Parkway

Lots and lots of photos of that part of the world too. I lived near there for a while ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka...7619203595712/




I'd recommend cycling from Calgary out to Banff ... then you might consider a jaunt out to Radium Hot Spring, up to Golden, over to Lake Louise, on up to Jasper, back down to near the Saskatchewan River Crossing area, a short detour out Highway 11 to Lake Abraham and back, and back down to Banff, then Calgary.

Machka 

The Switzerland photos start here ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka...detail/?page=2

Switzerland is expensive, but we stayed in a really nice little hostel that wasn't badly priced near La Sarvez ...


Scenery near La Sarvez ... we cycled from the hostel along the path beside the Rhone ...


And of course, Mont Blanc ...

garethzbarker

That's funny you mentioned Hokkaido and Australia; those were the first two places a local bike tourist suggested to me. I've just assumed Australia was rainy at that time and Japan would be hot. Both of those locations sound good. I'm so close to Hokkaido that I can literally ride that on a weekend or short vacation. I have always wanted to see Australia. I'm really going to look into that.
I think your point about Europe and jet lag is cogent; the reason I don't visit my folks back home is the trip is cut up so bad with jet-lag.

These photos are great. I'm getting lost in them.

Machka 

Parts of Australia may be rainy in August ... but better toward the end of August, early September. However, parts of Australia are quite a bit warmer ... people go to places like Queensland in August for a break from winter. Perth can be moderate at that time of year. Victoria will be a bit cooler. Adelaide might be somewhat more moderate. Take a look at average temperatures, rainfalls, etc in various parts of Australia, and see what might suit you. The climate can vary quite a bit from one place to the next.

Hokkaido is big enough for a 10-day trip if you were to do something like circumnavigate the island. We spent 10 days just in one small area of Hokkaido. I'd love to be close enough to pop over there for long weekends.

And thanks!

saddlesores

fly out with air asia direct to phillipines or kuala lumpur. kl is a major hub, grab a
second flight to some exotic destination with tiger or jetstar.

plan it right, you can find $10 flights, or buy one way and return is free.
bike/sporting goods fees are reasonable.

ten days? cambodia, laos, thailand, malaysia, phillipines, myanmar. other than burma,
you get visa waivers or cheap visas on arrival.

garethzbarker

Okay. I decided I want to ride down under. So I will explore more about that. Thank you to everyone so for. Those that live in Australia or that have toured there I'd love any information you might have. The more I read about the country the more I wish I was into offroad, they have great offroad touring paths.

Machka 

Rowan and I live in Australia.

We lived in Victoria, north of Melbourne for a few years, and have now moved to Tasmania.

We've travelled to a lot of places in Victoria, and a few places in South Australia and New South Wales. Rowan has lived in Queensland, and I've spent a month travelling there. And Rowan has lived in Western Australia, and we've both travelled there for about 2 weeks.


August is winter in the south (Tasmania, Victoria, and possibly also parts of South Australia) but the end of August is usually better than the beginning of August. And by "winter" I mean conditions like what you might find in Oregon in winter. But the rest of Australia is quite mild.


Where would you like to go? What would you like to see?

garethzbarker

But seriously I'd love to see unique Australian Animals, forests, maybe the sea. I want to be a tourist. But I want to be close enough to civilization to find a cheap cabin every night to sleep in. I plan on riding kind of light so the more stable the climate the better. I'm going to bring a Bike Friday so I should be able to use trains or buses I think.

Machka 

If you want to see the areas like where Crocodile Dundee was set, that's way up north.

If you like tropical, then Queensland is probably your best choice.

If you like some bushland, ocean, etc., then south of Perth, Western Australia might work for you ... or perhaps the Adelaide area.

[HR][/HR]
"Cheap cabin" ... the lowest you'll likely find is $70/night, but unfortunately those are getting rarer all the time. Most tend to be priced around $100/night. But look up caravan parks. The least expensive indoor units you'll find in caravan parks will be onsite vans, if they are available. Those might run as low as $50/night, especially in August, but sometimes they are more.

Also look for hostels and backpackers.

South West Hostels | Backpackers | YHA Australia
For example ... you might cycle to or through several of the places in the above link if you go south of Perth.

Cairns Hostels | Queensland (QLD) | Backpackers | YHA Australia
And the above link are the hostels in Cairns and northward.



[HR][/HR]
As for weather, here's one of the sites we use, and this is for Albany, Western Australia:
Albany weather - local weather forecast

Have a look at the averages page:
Albany climate, averages and extreme weather records

Or if you prefer warmer, here's Cairns, Queensland:
Cairns weather - local weather forecast

And Cairn's averages:
Cairns Ap climate, averages and extreme weather records

And just for reference, here's Adelaide, South Australia:
Adelaide weather - local weather forecast

And Adelaide's averages:
Adelaide climate, averages and extreme weather records

valygrl

I would do Canada / Icefields Parkway in August, why go to Australia in winter?

Machka 

Time zones and jet lag. South Korea is in the same time zone as some of Australia and for a very brief 10-day trip, jet lag can be a factor.

Aside from which, northern Australia doesn't have winter. Unless you think that 25C daytime highs are winter.

I'd like to suggest Victoria or Tasmania, as they are both beautiful, but I think they'd probably be too cold.

garethzbarker

Right. I don't even like flying home to north America unless I have at least two weeks to stay b/c of jet lag. It no fun nodding off at 2pm and waking up at midnight.

It get's pretty cold here for winter (-20). I like spring/fall riding best (10-20c)

Machka 

Well, if you like temperatures between 10 and 20C ... Perth, Adelaide, even Melbourne might do. Have a look at the August temps in those areas. Probably Perth would be better than the other two. 10-20C are late autumn & late winter/early spring temps.


It gets quite a bit colder in South Korea than it does here, even in the colder parts of Australia. Tasmania, where we live now, and the part of Victoria where we used to live (in the mountains) are both some of the coldest parts of Australia. But even so it is a rare day when the temps drop below freezing.