Top Five Mountain Bike Holidays

My favourite past-time during the summer holiday is to go for mountain bike holidays, either camping locally where there is a designated spot for bikers, or actually travelling abroad to try out the trails at an exotic location. Holidays like this one keep you active throughout your time out, as well as give you the opportunity to stay active and fit. Furthermore, one can enjoy the beautiful scenery, whilst climbing up the mountain trails.

People who are new to mountain biking, will feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of hills that they are likely to come across when going to a specific location. Morzine in France is known for its bumpy trails, challenging slopes and endless riding, making it more suitable for people who have more experience with difficult trails. This offers a variety of trails, to which some beginners maybe able to appreciate the single track flatland trails.

Morzine is not only well known for its mountain bike holidays, but also for their daring ski slopes and skiing resorts. During the summer this makes an ideal spot for some sporting biking trails. Local villagers are friendly enough to direct you to some of unknown trails, which could be a new challenge for expert bikers looking for more downhill experiences. Morzine is certainly not for the faint hearted and ideal for people looking for biking all day every day.

Another great place for mountain biking is Spain. The trails of Spain offer great riding experiences, including mountain trails by the coast, long cross country road biking and of course no mountain biking holiday is complete without the challenging forest trails where one can practise their jumps. The Costa Le Luz is not a known part of the Andalusia, offering plenty of unspoilt coastline and sunshine. This makes a good taster trip for beginners especially, as they are able to try some mountain trails, which extend further for miles, however, are not so frightening in terms of being steep.

However, if money is tight for you, then taking a weekend break in the UK is probably your next best plan for a good mountain biking adventure. The UK has plenty of short mountain peaks, forest trails and flatland cross country routes to keep you busy during the weekend. Wales, Afan and the Lake District are two of the most popular bike trails, both good for camping and short tuition days. Beginners can be rest assured that the tutors will go through the trails and give you a tour guide of the area, also challenge you a bit further by introducing you to uphill and downhill trails.

Experienced bikers will benefit from the forest trails, with small mounds for jump biking, steep winding single tracks and miles of cross country riding.
Mountain bike holidays are all about honing your skills and enjoying the scenery around you, as well as reaching that goal of either climbing the top peak of the mountain or finishing off your cross country trail. For those looking for a real challenge then perhaps one of the most exciting and thrilling adventure would be further out towards Peru, Ecuador or Brazil. Choose from the single track of Peru or the trails of Chapada Diamantina national park in Brazil; or perhaps you could try biking through the quaint villages and the Andean Highlands of Ecuador.

The great thing about a holiday in Brazil, Peru or Ecuador is that you gain much more satisfaction from learning about the culture, experiencing the life with the locals, experience the natural tropics and taking in the amazing scenery when biking by the mountains.

The best mountain biking holiday would require one to travel further afield into Africa, where beginners through to professionals can sample the everlasting long roads, winding single track mountain routes or ride along through the village on the flatland road surface. One of the most incredible adventures lies in Malawi, whereby bikers can enjoy Africa's Great Rift Valley boasting towering mountains, lush scenery and clear lakes to suit the budding explorer.

Much of the culture, vibrancy and fun trails are situated up north of Malawi, so bikers can try out the shores of Lake Malawi, ride past the sandy beach, ride by the fishing community and even ride through the inland forest.