[Closed] Mtb holiday virgin help?! (I've searched)

Pila/Aosta is an awesome place to ride, and doesn't really need guiding- you could easily spend a day doing nothing but the descent from the top of the gondola, in fact I more or less did. (1 run on paper but tons of options, I love it). And that's without touching the upper bike park at all.

You've also got La Thuile just up the road, which is a bit more complicated to get the best out of but is maybe the best single location I've ever ridden at- it's like mega-innerleithen.

I'd call that 4 days riding personally, it might start to wear thin if you did it day in day out but with breaks and swapping around, I'd be like a pig in 2 really good ski centres that also cater excellently for pigs. And if you were to get bored then La Rosiere and Les Arcs are drivable (I reckon most people on here that have ridden la thuile and pila, will have been on a holiday over the col in France with White Room or Bikevillage)

I can't comment on logistics as I've always done guided weeks, they make that stuff easy. TBH I really can't recommend guiding too highly, it takes so much strain out of it and means you'll not waste any of your time riding crap trails or getting lost or whatever.

Thanks very much for the in depth reply Northwind.

When you say guided holiday, does that mean you have to actually ride the trails with them or they point you in the right direction?

Riding the trails with them (usually anyway)

Tignes is a great option,we are going again in August.

All the lifts and many activities are free. If your girlfriend is not riding, she should be able to find something to entertain her while you are riding.

The way to get the best out of your time would be with guides. You'd be paying to ride with them, might be cheaper if with a group you drop in with. I'd say that's best option both for your riding fun and safety.
There's lots of guiding companies in and around Les arcs maybe contact them see if you can come up with a plan.

The easy option is morzine. Its by far the busiest resort and is full of Brits so does go somewhat against your wants but I wouldn't write it off. Its not that busy, way quieter than a ski resort in winter, and its hardly Torremolinos. There's a couple of bike parks which can get busy but once you are away from them there are miles of trails and plenty of connected lifts giving you scope to explore by yourself. Easy to get to and easy to find accommodation. Its also great place to take a non riding partner as there is a lot of other stuff to do and the excellent lift network means you can meet up for lunch or coffee. There's even some easy trails if your partner does fancy a go.

Tignes is a good shout for guilt free riding.

There is a metric shed load of stuff to do off the bike.

Lots of good riding too in and outside the bikepark.

Aosta is cracking place to go. Lots of friends been raving about Madeira lately, and they are all very good enduro type riders. It's away enough form the european hoards so relatively quiet. Guides required i'd hazard a guess to get the most out of it.

Finale (Italy) is also good.

Have you ruled out Spain in Sierra Nevada? - love that place, a differnt type of riding to France (easily as full on, just different). half a dozen comapnies operate out that way, with Switchbacks (bit more ggrrrrr) and ciclomontana (more luxury but good riders) being my favs

OP you mention you want to use chair lifts or gondolas, are you ruling out car/van uplift? couple of years ago I went to the Algarve with a group of non riders and riders. Riding was uplifted via bus and trailer, we were there for 5 days and did 3 days directed/guided riding at different locations. We stayed really close to Faro so lots to do for those not riding or none riding days.

I'm off to ride Slovenia again.

Quiet trails and an excellent host and guide.

I’m looking for a location that isn’t too populated but perfect for the downhill/enduro scene via chair lift or cable car.

Austria, Leogang/Saalbach/Hinterglemm

Plenty of riding for a week, plenty to do off bike including lakes, walks, caves, outdoor pools. Very pretty and way cheaper than France.

Fly to Munich, 2hrs in hire car from there.

If you were thinking about any time from mid July to Sept I will be there and happy to hook up and show you around.

I went on my first Alps riding holiday (well, 2 night mini-break) to Verbier last year. Would thoroughly recommend a guide - we arrived, rode for Fri afternoon, full day Sat and then Sun morning, returning that afternoon. We would never have seen so much stuff if it had not been for the guide showing us the most we could have seen in that time. It almost doubled the trip cost but also made the weekend about 200% better.

Verbier was ace, but there are loads of other options as above. I think it makes sense to either go with mates who know the area or get some guiding, unless you are in a self explanatory, well sign posted place. (Even then, you will always benefit from local knowledge). I rode in Lake Tahoe (California/Nevada border) a few years back now, but the routes were really well mapped (and I did not know any better).

Bike transport is fairly easy with a decent bike bag and a number of the airlines (e.g BA) will include it within your baggage allowance, but then you won't be able to take a separate bag, unless you pay extra or are in business class). Just check the baggage policies on their websites.

You could also rent locally, if you thought you could benefit from a bigger bike than what you currently have. I took my hardtail to Switzerland and it was ace, if a bit bumpy on the descents.

Out of interest what puts you off going down the guided route? I always think you end up spending less time looking at the map / gps and more time actually riding.

Each to their own obviously, but just never got it if you're on holiday, to me you want the best you can in that short space of time.

(I really like tignes too... We had a lovely "rest day" up there and it just made me think of UK trail centres, except with a lift and 2 mountains. You can link up to Val too, though I never did that. But Pila and La Thuile are in a different class)

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply guys. I've kept peeking back for a look but haven't had the chance to reply.

Alot of ideas for me to think about there. As it turns out, me and the girlfriend decided against it. However a fellow riding mate is interested, so will probably be a full 5 days of riding.

I'm considering having a guide for 2 days, anymore doesn't really appeal to us. I just like to relax and not be stuck with anyone Haha.

Haven't really ruled out shuttles by bus/van etc. Just the appeal of sticking the bike on a chair lift and the views is huge Haha!

I'm a single track off piste kinda guy, Like the steep stuff over the jumps, and my mate is similar. Do all the above suggestions suit this? Is there literally stuff for everyone at most resorts?
Thanks again

My suggestion of Austria may not suit so well as it is more DH/jumpy focused to be fair.

Guys I'm sorry to pull this one out the wood work again. I'm finding holiday looking quite hard and stressful trying to get the best out of it.

Doing alot of research has highlighted how clueless I was on this. I was hoping to go in may, or august/September. But it appears the riding in Aosta at that temperature really wont suit me, anything above 25 degrees and I dont function.
La thuile sounded the perfect location, with more natural trails than man made stuff.

Could anyone point me in the direction of somewhere cooler this summer, that offers natural trails but still has chairlift access and bike park facilities in case. Does morzine tick this box and just suck up "the brits abroad" aspect of it?

As you can tell, I'm not very seasoned outside the UK Haha. Thanks guys

Morzine will do it. Plenty of natural riding. Huge lift assisted area. There are 'Brits' but it's really not packed out by any means. Weather should be cooler. It's pretty random and you can get rain and storms but it's generally pleasant without being roasting.

I think the lifts will be closing for the season early September so check that

Have a look at Innsbruck, there’s good riding in that area and you have Sölden nearby. Lifts in Austria generally stay open later in the year.

Left field.....

https://enduro-mtb.com/en/dolomiti-paganella-bike/

Chairlift assisted. Hand shaped network of trails. Old WW1 forts to explore high in the Dolomites. Lago di Molveno. Lake Garda ~45min.

+1 for Morzine too. Purely for simplicity from your point of view.

Loads of accommodation choices, just book something outside of town and pedal to the lifts if you are bothered about being busy. As said, Morzine isn't busy in the summer by winter standards. I liked to get up early and ride to the bakery and the town is silent in the morning, nothing like the winter.

Riding wise there's an insane amount in the area, and if you are happy to explore then you'll find more steep techy non jumpy berm stuff than you could ever ride in a week. Just be aware that a lot of the marked trails are jumpy/bermy so you will need to head off the beaten track. Getting a guide for at least one day would be a good idea, but I can understand the desire to find it yourself.

La Thuille is probably the best place I've ever ridden, just as you seem to be struggling getting things sorted, Morzine seems the better choice for first holiday.

Hafjell Norway will be cooler. Although I think it's only open weekends.

I've never ridden there but did drive through last summer (it was closed).

Me and g/f did our first alps trip a few years ago. We based it all from this book -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alps-Mountain-Biking-Singletrack-Downhill/dp/1910240362/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=F4JHH7BX1V3P&keywords=alps+mountain+biking&qid=1555584853&s=gateway&sprefix=Alps+mo&sr=8-1

I think the book is great, parks and some other rides.

We always go with the campervan and never do more than 2 days at a place.
Even an average bike park set up is great if the sun is out and the novelty of not pedalling uphill!
We tend to base a lot of our plans on the weather, did some great riding. Ear chamonix one year, loads of rain the next year so stayed in southern alps near pila etc...
We haven't ever used a guiding company, caught a public bus with a guiding company one year, the other English riders were so irritating I would have hated being stuck with them. Good maybe with mates....

I'll throw a suggestion in for Andorra.

Me and a mate have been a couple of times, for a similar sort of thing for you. Mainly bike park, just going up and down constantly, rather than guided stuff. Stayed in La Massana, rode Vallnord for 5 days. Plenty there to keep us occupied for 5 days, though not much beyond that.

We got it all sorted through Singletracksafari. Singletracksafari organised hotels, lift pass and transfer from Barcelona, we sorted the flights to Barcelona. Nice easy holiday, smaller town to stay in. Really enjoyed it, kind of regret not going this year to be honest!

Toby

I've done Morzine three times (full week trips) in July - conditions can vary significantly

Had everything from 30 degrees scorching sunshine to 5 degrees cloudy, cold and rainy

If I remember correctly it's rained on two out of the three trips and we lost a couple of days riding as a result

There is loads of lift accessible riding and I'll be back there again this July coming