Self guided tours

Hi

I'd like to try out a self-guided cycling tour of Ireland some day. I'm not planning anything immediate, but some time in the next few years. Has anyone on here done one? Doesn't have to be in Ireland, but preferably experience overseas versus in the US. Or if you're from Europe, what you've done :) I have little interest in a group ride, but would like to get a few friends to go with me. I'd also bring my bike over with me versus renting one of their things.

Just curious if anyone has done this. What better way to visit the motherland than on my bike? :D

I used Iron Donkey to plan my Ireland tour back in 2003. I traveled alone, and I carried my gear with me, although you can arrange with Iron Donkey to transport your gear for you each day. Tony Boyd did a great job of organizing my tour for me; rather than choosing one of his standard routes, I had him create one that was a combination of a couple of them.

I did include an after-the-tour review of Iron Donkey in my journal. If you'd like to read it without perusing the rest of the journal, you can find it here.

Happy trip planning!
--- Denise

The hubby and I did a self supported tour in Spain a few years ago. I did most of the planning over the internet, with the help of a Michelin map of Spain. We booked hotels in the larger towns and found a place to stay when we got there for a few of the really small ones.
For a trip planned quickly, with no knowledge of the Spanish language we did very well. No big safus that I can recall, and I would guess that Ireland would be easier - people speaking English there and all.
We did a hostel/hotel based tour and carried minimum gear - two sets of street clothes, two sets of cycling clothes, tights and jacket, one pair of street shoes, toiletries, camera, snacks, book.
We did take our own bikes, as we had heard that renting a bike in Spain was next to impossible. Our biggest challenge was getting the first hotel manager to understand (in our next to no Spanish and his next to no English) that we wanted to leave these big boxes (we rented travel cases) in his hotel's storage room for two weeks, but that we would be back. He didn't understand at all until we got the bikes out, assembled them and packed all of our stuff on them, what the crazy Americans were up to.
Otherwise everything went quite smoothly - the roads we chose were all great, we had no problems finding rooms in the towns we hadn't prebooked and every one was very very friendly. I would very definitely do it again.

On the other side of the coin - we did a walking tour of the Yorkshire Dales some years ago and chose to go with a semi supported tour - they gave us maps and transported our bags (no guide or group) and that was a great experience as well. We didn't have to worry about anything besides walking to our next destination.

in 2004 I also did an Iron Donkey self guided tour... I opted to have my stuff transferred as I did not want to carry everything...it was a great tour!

I did the Connemara region... the Tour started in Oughteraard and then went to the Aran Islands for a night... it was 6 days and just awesome. All I carried was a back pack with a pair of sneakers that I could change into for stopping for lunch or touring sights... I also carried extra carbs/fruit/drinks in it... most rides were between 35-55 miles... nothing major. There were rollers but no real climbing. My favorite town was Clifden... I have a watercolor of the town painted by a local artist from the area that I brought home with me...

I opted to rent a bike from Tony... he met me the night before the rde started, and I told him my saddle height etc. I put on my own saddle that I brought with me, and my own pedals so I could use my shoes... overall it was a wonderful trip and Tony was a delight. :)

After the tour was over I flew to Paris and was on the Champs Elysees for the final day of the 2004 Tour de France as well... it was amazing to be there when Lance won #6... I wore my American Flag jersey and ate bread and cheese and drank wine... just awesome!

Thanks so much for the info! I've bookmarked the site you sent for future reference. I really appreciate it. :)