Reviews

What our clients say about Us

WOW. What an awesome experience. We did the combined West Coast Wilderness and the Alps to Ocean. We had a great group of people on both trips with lots of fun & laughter including the hiccups along the way. Amazing guides. Nothing was to much trouble & the support & encouragement to some of us who were challenged at times was appreciated. To the team at Escape by Cycle thank you for your regular communication. The food & accommodation was superb. Thank you for an amazing time. Highly recommend this company & hope to see again. Jenny Holden, Dec 2021
On our Escape by Cycle trip starting on Monday 5 December 2021, we had 2 great guides, magnificent accommodation, excellent meals and picnics, and great company of others. The trail was exciting and even better than the first time we attempted it 5 years ago. E-bikes were a godsend this time!! We have completed all the trips and have had wonderful support and enjoyable experiences every time. Recommend this company to anyone contemplating riding cycle trails.

Mary Neale, Dec 2021
The weather gods shined on us and Escape by Cycle provided the rest. What fabulous team, Our guide gave us the opportunity to see and learn things that would have passed us by. Even the fords were fun! Food, support and for me a private source of Tim Tams at the end of a beautiful day’s ride. If you want to see fabulous countryside, be at home with the real New Zealand then you couldn’t choose a better way of doing it than with Escape by Cycle. Tim David, Dec 2021
My son and I have just finished the Alps to Ocean with Escape by Cycle. The trip was very well organised from start to finish, bikes were great, accommodation was good throughout and the food was something we looked forward to each day. Our guide Casey took care of anything needed on the journey without hesitation. Ian was our guide on a couple of sections and it was great to meet him as well. We had a fun time throughout and would definitely use them again. Philip Searle, Nov 2021
I had a most fantastic cycle trip with Escape by cycle. The guys were there to help me with the bike and advise. The accommodation and food was first class all the way through. I will most definitely do another trip with them. As soon as I can. Joan Hepburn, Nov 2021

We have just completed the Alps to Ocean cycle trip – The bikes, accommodation, food, briefings and our care by Casey (in fact everything) was perfection and even the weather was perfect – I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this company.

Paula O’Brien, April 2021

Well organized guide, excellent accommodation and food. Highly recommend. We did the West coast Wilderness trail and loved it.

Janine Gawn, Apr 2021

We did the Alps to Ocean ride last week. It was superbly organised by Escape by Cycle and was the best cycle ride that we have done. I highly recommend the Escape by Cycle team.

Cynthia Bowers, Apr 2021

They do the planning – you just ride your e-bike. Great food, accommodation and variety along the way. Guides are friendly and helpful with good clear instructions. Totally recommend – have done three trips so far!

Helen McKenzie, Mar 2021

These people took us on the most amazing tour I will be going back for more!

Ross Jackson, Mar 2021

Holidays don’t get much better than this. Ian has selected a number of cycle trails with varied and stunning scenery. He provides top of the range ebikes along with detailed advice and guidance. Accomdation, 5* evening meals are included as are lunches en route and even drink/coffee breaks.

Mike Tyndel, Feb 2021

I recently completed the 6 day Escape by Cycle Around the Mountains cycle trails, which could only be described as a fantastic experience exceeding my expectations. The organisation and communication including; precycle info, daily briefings, local knowledge, accomodation and food including daily picnics was top class. This would have to be at the top of my cycle trail experiences with each days cycle providing the opportunity to experience different aspects and characteristics of the region. A must do which I will have no hesitation in recommending to contacts and friends. George Griffin, Jan 2021

Exceptional service attending to my strict dietary needs – amazing yummy varied foods. Gorgeous varied accommodations. Fabulous guide thoughtful to everyone’s needs. Explained everything well and gave lots of information about the areas and track etc.

Sarah, New Zealand, March 2020

My husband and I wanted you to know that we truly enjoyed our experience on the Alps2Ocean trail and thoroughly enjoyed, our guides on the trip. They were both very professional, informative, and helpful. Please extend our thanks to everyone.

Floyd & Kim, USA, March 2020

I think the website describes the trail very well. What made our tour so great was the guides and the other people in the group. So much food available, too much! I guess I could have said no?!? Great selection of snacks for the van, from lollies to fruit. Everything you could want. Great picnic lunches and also restaurant choices. Both our guides, were incredibly knowledgeable about the track and what to look out for in each section. Super helpful. Loved that each day we had whiteboard notes for just the next section. Not too much to remember. And lovely people to spend time with. I loved my standard bike. Right size, no issues, comfortable seat. I loved all of it, wouldn’t change a thing. Such a great trip, we will definitely use you guys again for other cycle trips. Thanks very much!

Liz Nicholson, Auckland NZ, March 2020

My initial thoughts were that the tour was quite expensive. However, after doing it, the standard of accommodation, meals and added experiences (like the hot tubs and wine tasting) were definitely more than I had hoped for. The guides definitely contributed to the overall positive fun. Always plenty of good quality food. The gluten free options were better than I had hoped for. Always clean and comfortable rooms. So great! (Our guides) were cheerful, extremely organised and efficient. We felt very well cared for indeed. Couldn’t have asked for better. Love that e-bike, especially the boost setting.. The van was always clean and efficiently packed.

Wendy Rowe, New Zealand, March 2020

Great company with wonderful service. I’ve been on a tour with you before and as before, it was very good indeed. You work hard to make sure this is the best experience and do it well; frankly it is one of the things I look forward to with your tour… As with food, you work hard to make sure the accommodation is superb. Always kind and courteous, we enjoyed the company and the conversation. Suitable bikes, maintained well. We are looking at coming back for another tour.

Mike Pickavance, New Zealand, February 2020

Our guides, both very experienced riders, environment gurus, had loads of experience in the field, with our bikes and handled the needs of the group with easy care. All brilliant gear. The hills were a challenge for me but once completed didn’t seem so bad. Bill managed them easily! Favourite aspects of the tour? 1: The scenery, 2: Our guides, 3: Company of other riders!

Bill & Joy Forrest, Australia, Feb 2020

We could not have asked for a more professional, capable and helpful guide. He made the experience great!

Ann Davis, New Zealand, February 2020

We absolutely LOVED your tour and there is NOTHING we would change.

Jo Mason, New Zealand, February 2020

Superb tour, was much more than we expected. The food was A1, especially the salmon served to us the first night. The only fault was too much nibbles, especially at the end of the day before dinner. All great, loved the different type we stayed at each night, first class, loved all the stories they told and their knowledge of the areas. Good service overall. Loved it all, thanks especially to guides – they were the greatest.

Shirley McCormack, New Zealand

Our tour was beyond expectations on every level. Loved the variety of country accommodation. The guides were delightful, calm, humorous, nothing was any trouble. Th equipment was excellent, no trouble to change when there was a small issue with my bike. Thoroughly enjoyed the 6 days, I think you’ve done a great job and will definitely ride with you again.

Nic MacPherson, New Zealand

Scenic, stupidly beautiful and achievable for all levels. I never felt we were under time pressure, you could go at your own pace.

Allana Hall, New Zealand

How to make one of my favourite parts of the world even more stunning? By cycling the Clutha Gold and Roxburgh Trail. The track is great, the scenery totally beautiful.

Robin M, Auckland, NZ

My expectation was to be open and go with the flow. I really like the idea of local food source so I did enjoy the food we had. I really enjoyed the trip and appreciate the effort that has gone into organising this, thank you very much.

Adrienne, Australia

All accommodation was very good. All food was excellent. The guide’s home cooked meals/breakfasts were great. Meals out delicious. Also liked the fact that when we ate out we could have what we liked without restrictions. We suggested it could be marketed as a gourmet tour!

Sandra Lawrie, Australia

The tour was first class. Way better than I expected. The guides were very professional and yet personal. Their knowledge of the area and history was invaluable. I could not suggest anything better. Surpassed my expectations. My favourite aspects of the tour? The little things the guides did for our group to please, reversing the stage from Kurow to Duntroon and suggesting my wife travel in the van over the hill area from Omarama to Kurow.

Robin Marriner, New Zealand

How did I rate your bikes? The gearing range was perfect The high performance riders didn’t feel under geared and the newbies found the granny gear ok for things like the Tarn Brae high point section. With the strong head wind… the reversal of section directions to cater for the wind direction was welcome. The “add ons” like the Hot Tubs etc. added a lot of colour and value to the whole experience.

Denis Long, Australia

We also had pretty high expectation but you still blew us away with your clear and accurate guidance, exceptional attention to detail and also the weather !! Just loved it all!!

Bev Oswald, New Zealand

The food was exceptional, and the chef cooked meal was an incredible experience. The last day from Mavora Lakes to Walter Peak exceeded my expectations.

Phillip Sewell, Australia

Short stages, great gear, easy riding, fun guides and great food. It was a wonderful trail with an abundance of history through the beautiful Central Otago.

Logan McKelvie, Queenstown, NZ

West coast wilderness had so much diversity , beautiful tracks, stunning gorges, fantastic train trip, and breath-taking helicopter ride over glacier. I enjoyed the whole experience…

Mary Bryant, New Zealand

loved the whole experience , the way the crew looked after us , the scenery is astounding . well maintained bikes of a high quality ,the food great (a true gastronomic experience) and the characters we met along the way.

Mal Morphew, Australia

The bikes, the scenery and the accommodation and food exceeded my expectations. I have done very little mountain bike riding and was even a little apprehensive about it. As it turned out, I loved the bikes and my confidence on them soared. I could have taken my bike home with me!

Brenda Clemens, Australia

Excellent support, superb catering, the homestead was perfect and an extremely knowledgeable and friendly guide. Made us feel very welcome.

John Fell, Australia

Everything was so well organised that it was often not obvious the effort that was being made by the Tour Leaders to make everything cone together smoothly. Definitely exceeded expectations.

Sandra Collin, Australia

It was all great … the quality of the hire bikes, the variance in the riding trails and scenery, the surprise variance in accommodation, the excellent food and a distinct feeling of remoteness and discovery all wrapped in a well organized package to suit most abilities.

Bruce Gibson, Australia

How did the trip compare to expectations? Much better in all aspects. Excellent choices of places to eat, accommodation a variety and always comfortable. I loved [the guide’s] enthusiasm for everything we did and the surprises they arranged.

Pat Taylor, New Zealand

Keep up the great work and I look forward to joining you again for our next adventure. It was a fabulous few days.

Sally Bower, New Zealand

Fabulous accommodation, outstanding guide, everything was just perfect. I loved every single minute of it.

Bridget O’Regan, Christchurch, NZ

Excellent variety of accommodation, and some really unique options. Burnside Homestead is a remarkable facility, like staying in a living museum! Nothing to much trouble (from the Tour Leaders), always looking for ways to make the trip more enjoyable. I thought my Kona bike was excellent. The bike is a real quality bike, and there is no reason to go to trouble of bringing your own bike.

Jeremy Leach, New Zealand

Clearly the (Tour Leaders) were driven by meeting our needs. The fixing of the shower head at father teds was a classic example. Great scenery helps along with superb weather, good gear, good routes, good food, good accommodation and a personal approach to our every need. I’m busy, my wife organised this I “turned up” no expectations of what the cycle trip would deliver. Got focused when we got started and think it represented value for money. Exceeded my expectations.

Andrew MacPherson, New Zealand

Hospitality spot on and the weather issue was professionally managed. I would recommend it to friends and like to do another cycle trip with you in another part of the South Island in the future.

Don Stewart, New Zealand

What did I like most? Each day was so different. Despite challenging conditions our guides were able to adapt the program to maximise our enjoyment.

Ian & Carol Jordan, New Zealand

The Tour Leaders were excellent guides and companions, appreciated that they joined us in all the social activities. The accommodation was great – enjoyed the variety – the last night was fantastic – a fitting end to a great week. The bikes were excellent – gears easy to use and the seat comfortable. Loved the rides around the lakes, the food and accommodation. The tour is excellent.

Jenny, Australia

It got me off my devices and into a beautiful place in the world. Everything was taken care of, I could take my time getting better at riding no handed. I was expecting something that was annoying and bothersome but it was great. The company made it even better. A wide variety of choices, my only complaint is that the choc chip cookies didn’t last long enough! How would I rate the tour? Wonderful. Perfect. Amazing. (The Tour Leaders) were wonderful and very pleasant to be around.

Ben, Australia

This was a wonderfully well balanced trip. I had read a few reviews so my expectations were high, I was still very impressed with the planning and thought that went into the trip. The food was outstanding, all the accommodation was spotless and comfortable. I especially liked the quirky ones. The Tour Leaders were nothing short of exceptional, they both understood and worked with the group well. We brought our own bikes, but as a bit of a bike geek I was impressed with the quality of the hire bikes.

Bill Jones, New Zealand

I cannot find anything to fault this trip. Our guide, Ian, is a genuinely enthusiastic outdoor ambassador for the spectacular beauty of South Island. He is the consummate professional, friendly and attentive, prioritising attention to detail and ensuring the highest quality experience in all aspects of the trip. The support we received included invaluable information of the local area and people, the terrain, geographic landmarks, and any other points of interest along the way. The bikes were new and top class, the accommodation and meals were always five star and it is a delight to be in Ian’s company. You do not have to be an avid biker to cope with this trip, even those with basic fitness will enjoy this trail experience. For mature explorers, it is well worth the extra dollars to have the reassurance of total support that this company ensures.

Chris Tucker, Hawkes Bay

The (Tour Leaders) were great, so patient and accommodating for everyone’s needs. Fantastic, unique accommodation, really enjoyed the variety. The bikes were really good for the type of ride. I enjoyed the entire ride and the organization that went into making it such a great experience. Thank you.

Anne, New Zealand

Really appreciated the effort to keep my food gluten free and enjoyed the eclectic range (of accommodation) and lovely hosts. Very knowledgeable, kept it interesting on the long drive. Yes, I’d definitely recommend you to family and friends.

Susan, New Zealand

Variety was great, both Tour Leaders were outstanding, so capable, thoughtful and knowledgeable. What did I think of the bikes? I’m going to buy one.

Meredith Leach, New Zealand

5 out of 5. Honestly can’t think of a single thing that could be improved on.

Helen Ronayne, Australia