OUR BIKES

For all our tours we use well-known makes of mountain, hybrid or road bikes (depending on the tour) with lightweight alloy frames, 24- to 27-speed gearing, v-brakes and Shimano components. Mountain bikes all have front suspension. In Vietnam we have a fleet of TREK 4300 mountain bikes. Our bicycles are available in sizes ranging from 13 inches to 22 inches. Please note that a certain frame model is not guaranteed.

All tours we include bike hire in the tour price, however we offer bike hire deduction in case you prefer to bring your own bikes. These bikes also are available for rent in case you want to go it alone or just need a bike for a day. Prices vary depending on the length of the tour and the country, please check the tour website or the Factsheet for the hire cost.

Each bike comes with a single water bottle cage, if you prefer more please inform us in advance. If you have your own saddle that you are comfortable with seat, you are welcome to bring it and we'll fit it. And also bring a gel seat cover slips if you prefer a softer ride. On long tours women specific seats are recommended and we have some available, but we cannot guarantee we will available for every tour.

WHAT IS ORIGINAL TRAVEL STANCE ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM?

As you’d expect from a company that came about because of its founders’ love of exploring the world, experiencing different cultures, and admiring foreign landscapes, Original Travel feels strongly that tourism can and should benefit countries and peoples. Original Travel is a member of the Responsible Tourism scheme of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO), from which we have gained two stars for our practices.
With a range of destinations as wide as ours - from ski slopes to sand dunes, from Madeira to Mozambique, France to Franschhoek and Lamu to Lima - come a wide range of conservation and community-related challenges, many of which are being addressed locally, for example: in Morocco, the Kasbah Du Toubkal in the High Atlas mountains was restored in conjunction with the Berber people of the nearby Imlil valley, using local labour and traditional methods, and is now run by staff from the Ait Mizane tribe in the surrounding villages.
In the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador, Huaorani EcoLodge offers visitors the chance to see the tribe living harmoniously in the rainforest, and the management of this venture will be handed over to the Huaorani people themselves once they are ready to take on all aspects of the conservation and tourism programmes. Benguerra Lodge in Mozambique works closely with the World Wildlife Fund and South Africa’s Endangered Wildlife Trust to ensure that the National Marine Park in which it is located is well maintained and remains unspoiled.
In Kenya, Elsa’s Kopje provides seeds to local farmers to farm specifically for the hotel, meaning that the hotel avoids having to buy and transport produce from Nairobi. Handcrafts made by the indigenous Tharaka people are for sale in the hotel shop, and the building of a local school was financed through client donations. Hacienda de San Rafael in Andalucia recycles all waste water from the hotel and uses it for irrigation, makes its own compost, and has installed energy-saving insulation and lighting systems.?Family-run ski hotel St Antoner Hof in Austria serves regional and organic ingredients in its restaurant, and the power that heats the hotel comes from a biomass plant that serves only the town of Lech itself.
We have given every hotel, lodge and camp we offer an ‘eco-rating’ so you can make an informed decision on where to stay in a particular region. In the destinations we feature, we prefer small, locally-run operators and properties where possible, and our trip dossiers are full of recommendations based on our favourite local restaurants, shops and activities. Closer to home, we cycle (we are part of the government’s excellent Cycle to Work scheme) or walk to our Battersea offices, recycle our paper once there, and use Fair Trade products in our kitchen and bathrooms.

WHAT DOES ORIGINAL TRAVEL DO TO COUNTER THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF AIR TRAVEL ON THE ENVIRONMENT?

Air travel is a major source of atmospheric pollution. Original Travel is committed to reducing this negative impact as much as possible.
We have teamed up with Climate Care to help our clients offset the environmental cost of their trips. Original Travel clients will be offered the choice of paying a small surcharge in order to offset the CO2 emissions of their air travel. (We have worked out the ‘climate cost’ of each of our destinations - long haul obviously costs more than short haul).
The money raised is then passed to Climate Care, which works as a repair service for the climate - it runs a variety of projects that reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, thus making your trip ‘climate neutral’. The charge will be on an ‘opt-out’ basis, i.e. the Climate Care surcharge will appear on your invoice, but you have the option not to pay - rather like the service charge in a restaurant. We are delighted to say that since we introduced the scheme in 2006 only three clients have asked to opt out. Climate Care’s projects are located in the developing world.
This means that all the emissions reductions that you pay for go over and above the cuts in greenhouse gases that the UK government is already committed to making. The projects avoid, reduce or absorb greenhouse gases by either: promoting renewable energy (cutting out fossil fuels); promoting energy efficiency (applying technologies that use less energy); or reforestation (absorbing and storing CO2). All projects are monitored and verified by a third party to ensure the highest standards of environmental integrity.

WHAT IS ATOL BONDING?

ATOL - which is short for Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing - exists to protect the public from losing money or being stranded abroad because of the failure of air travel firms. In the highly unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. ATOL was first introduced in 1972 and it gives comprehensive consumer protection to 28 million people in the UK who buy flights or air holidays each year.
The air hoildays and flights in this brochure are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 5922.

WHY SHOULD I BOOK THROUGH ORIGINAL TRAVEL, RATHER THAN BOOKING THE TRIP MYSELF?

We believe there are five broad benefits to booking through us; (i) our first hand knowledge of the holiday you plan to book, (ii) the leverage we wield with our suppliers, (iii) having one point of contact for all arrangements, (iv) financial protection, and v) our commitment to avoid surcharging clients with FX risk.

The Original Travel team has spent several years sourcing and selecting the very finest hotels, airlines and activities from around the world and has first hand experience of everything we offer.

Apart from saving you huge amounts of research time we would like to think that our relationships with suppliers are built on very strong foundations and give our clients the very best of what is on offer. Our relationships with anaged their FX requirements properly. Believe it or not, these operators are legally allowed to do this.