Everyone who goes on a Headwater holiday will be emailed a link to our post-holiday questionnaire where they can give us an honest assessment of all aspects of their holiday - everything from how quickly we answer the phone to how clean the hotels were - plus an overall rating and comments about their holiday.
Any feedback collected is posted to our website, so that people can make an informed decision based on past experiences before heading off on holiday. We don’t edit the reviews, the only thing we do is proofread them and alter any typos, where necessary, to ensure they are easy to read for everyone. All reviews will be published (except in certain extreme circumstances), and a member of the Headwater team will respond to any constructive criticisms/comments under the reviews, at their discretion. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of our holidays, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.
This was our first cycling holiday and Headwater took away all the stress of organising the whole lot.
Everything was wonderful and logistics were perfect.
The trip was an absolute delight. The days were full of sensuous pleasures ranging from the scent of crushed grapes and lavender to the rushing streams and peeling bells. The tour was well paced and the hotels superb. I have to pick out L’Hotel du Poète at Fontaine-de-Vaucluse which was such a stylish place with such welcoming and accommodating staff. However all the hotel stays were excellent and exceeded my expectations. Highly recommended.
Wonderful trip cycling through Provence with friends.. easy to navigate route, lovely stops, plentiful food and wine along the way.
A very well organised holiday. Great accommodation and restaurant recommendations. excellent support from the Headwater team
The locations were fantastic, everything worked and we had a great time.
The holiday was extremely well organised, and the navigation app made sure we didn't take too many wrong turnings. All the hotels were to a good standard, well located, and the food was great.
Very well organised, friendly and personalised booking process.
Great cycling routes and lovely hotels.
Very prompt and thorough responses to our requests, with a friendly but respectful style.
Excellent experience where I experienced kindness as well as hospitality. I felt completely safe as a solo independent cyclist and knew I had the backup of the headwater rep if required.
What a fantastic way of exploring the Loire and its rich history. The hotels are well selected and perfectly situated to enhance time spent in beautiful locations.
Very enjoyable few days. Would definitely use Headwater if planning a similar trip in the future.
Very good trip with great route maps that kept us off any busy roads and took us through beautiful countryside
Always a good holiday with Headwater. Good activities in great places with well chosen accommodation
Very good communication - it is always easy to speak to someone.
Another superb trip with Headwater. This tour is excellent in that the cycle lanes are very good quality and you have time to see the various memorials and museums which are a must. Fascinating historical tour. Very poignant and emotional. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you
Overall we enjoyed the cycling in such lovely countryside. I know it would have been difficult on this particular trip but a circular route would help those of us who do use our cars to get to the start point as we had a lots of organisation, time and expense to get back to our car on this holiday.
Professional, personal, efficient service with great routes, well described and easy to follow, through beautiful landscapes with lovely hotels to relax in at the end of each day. What more could you ask for? Oh and lovely weather too, but I imagine that is outside your control!!
We were quite late booking but Headwater were very helpful in finding us Hotels to suit. The Routes were great with only minimal on road travel. We were unfortunate in that one of our party became ill and was unable to complete the cycling part of the holiday. The bike company were very happy to collect our cycles from 2 different locations.
We had a good holiday. Most of the days we followed excellent routes and enjoyed wonderful country side, quiet routes and good weather.
Most of the hotels were very good - good standard of comfort, space and food.
An absolutely fantastic holiday, great itinerary and excellent support before and during the ride, would have no hesitation in recommending Headwater to anyone on looking for a self guided tour.
Great holiday except for the travel through Paris - the persistent problems with the navigation app detracted from the enjoyment of the cycling
Easy to book. Helen very helpful sending links to our trip info.
The cycling was tougher than expected due to some poor surfaces (lots of dirt/gravel sections which were slow) - combined with the heat. Cycling along the canal became a little boring and we wished we had a 'rest day' in the middle when we could have explored the local area. The guest house style accommodation was preferred to the chain hotels which generally had small rooms.
Overall we really enjoyed the trip but wouldn't cycle along a canal again - a little too boring.
We were very happy with the organisation and communication from Headwater.
The amount of cycling per day was just right for us and the App was easy to use.
It was great that our luggage was waiting for us on arrival at the next hotel.
Loved the holiday . Itinerary excellent and the intel for things to see and do. Great help with finding restaurants. Liked all the accommodation.
We were very pleased that everyone we dealt with at Headwater, including its local representative, dealt speedily with any questions or requests that we had. In particular, Sergio worked so hard to find a holiday that met our requirements in terms of dates, flight times and our interests.
This was our eighteenth holiday with Headwater and there have been none better. It really was a great trip. We especially appreciated the fact that dinner was included on most nights. There are not so many Headwater trips nowadays that provide this. We have always particularly appreciated this because the food is always so good. At the end of a tiring day it is great just to be fed and not have to traipse around looking for somewhere not knowing what the food will be like. With Headwater it is always very good if not excellent. The hotels and routes were great and Hotel Montmirail was especially memorable. The app worked really well.
This seemed like a cut-above in terms of service. It really felt like the personnel genuinely cared and wanted to help make the holiday top class. Our requests re food, an extra night in the hotel and queries about the bikes were all handled quickly and well. The hilltop villages were beautiful. I thought the towns in the valley were sometimes busier than I expected but I think that is just normal pressure of population growth. I thought overall it was a little pricey but then again we were very well looked after so maybe fair.
Wonderful trip, beautiful countryside and well thought out routes. We did not have e-bikes, which we might have enjoyed on a couple climbs, but we enjoyed the challenge and the accomplishment! Wildflowers were in bloom, with poppies everywhere. Amazing food at all locations. We did a different side trip than suggested one day, and I will share that as a potential option for this trip.
We loved that every thing was arranged, bikes, app and all info was ready for us. We enjoyed having the freedom to cycle at our own pace, stops and look around beautiful villages, castles and chateaus. Lovely wine and food on our way .
If you like exploring, have an independent spirit and enjoy an active holiday, tours like this tick all the boxes. With the improved quality of the accommodation, and (in this case) the freedom to choose where to eat that comes with B and B, we happily recommend Headwater to others. The Alsace tour was really pretty and despite getting truly soaked one day, our enjoyment was not dented!
had problems with my cell but nothing to do with HW who lent me another.
as in the past i find a 30% charge for being solo excessive
Lovely cycling holiday in Normandy. The local team were very friendly and helpful, and there is so much to see in the area. Fascinating and moving to see all the D-Day beaches and museums. The Bayeux Tapestry is truly a wonder, and don't miss the brand new La Mora museum in Honfleur, where they are building a replica of William the Conqueror's boat!
Great experience. A wonderful way to experience the Luberon. Great for our party member who was very fit as well as those who needed the full ebike experience.
We enjoyed our holiday very much. As indicated we were generally pleased with the accommodation. We didn’t meet a rep before the start of our cycle, not sure if we missed them. We were surprised on the first morning g however when we were called for our luggage at 9am. We were told the driver had a schedule to follow. We realised then that we were part of a much larger group, not actually Headwater but a Loire cycling group so we felt some of the individual attention was lost on this holiday. (They will not have received this e mail?)
The app was generally good but needs updated as some of the eating places/boulangeries etc were actually closed permanently.
Our group consisted of 2 couples and despite asking several times to contact each couple individually we always received only one e mail with information, invoiced etc., which I then had to forward. This was irritating, especially as our friends have also travelled with Headwater previously and are on your database.
The holiday met our expectations. All good apart from we would have liked to have met local Headwater contact and have a phone number for the duration of the holiday. It was suggested a WhatsApp group be set up with Loic (who seemed to work for another company?) and another member of Headwater, We only got Loic and he was busy with other matters.
Also times of arrival of "someone" for briefing and meal transfer on the first, last and departure. I was left feeling it might not happen. It all did so I need not have worried and everyone was very kind.
I was stressed at the beginning and end as we had to take Taxi, Plane, bus, train and taxi. There was plenty of time to make the connections and they did all work.
Very enjoyable with an interesting & varied itinerary. Felt support was reliable & there if needed.
Fantastic vacation. The hotels were all fantastic and the bikes were very good. One bike had troubles but with phone call to local contact we got it fixed. Thank you.
Good service from start to finish.
Lovely cycle routes -navigation app was good. Each route was through different landscapes mostly on quiet lanes. Hotel de Poete was great with very helpful friendly staff. Chateaux de Mazan was a beautiful building but was disappointing. It felt very corporate and service was poor. E-bikes were good and made cycling up the hills easy.
Great team at Headwater especially Helen and the lovely chap who explained GPX files brilliantly. Would travel with Headwater again - Umbria or Loire or Vietnam or Thailand. But the price is relatively high we thought.
Efficient, informative and great selection of hotels
We found our Headwater holiday to have been well organised and thoroughly enjoyable and we would certainly consider using the company again. The admin team (Joe Chaplin) was very helpful with our booking and kept in touch over the intervening months. Stuart, our rep was a delight and all the accommodation was excellent.
Route was very suitable for us and we had lots of information from the navigation app. Well done Headwater.
This was our fifth Headwater cycling holiday and we really enjoyed it.
We did feel that the quality and facilities of the first (and last) hotel was well below that of the others and probably our only disappointment
We loved the holiday and the routes were carefully planned and easy to follow on GPS. There was one occasion when we had to cross a motorway (the A10) which was a bit scary
Booking food options or giving food option in Apt would have been helpful.
We enjoyed visits of castles, gardens, caves, small villages and country side while following an excellent road map. Electric bikes are a must because the road can be sometimes quite hilly !
We had a fabulous first cycling holiday. The route was beautiful and the mileage just right for us. We loved all the places we cycled through from the beautiful countryside to the little towns, where we found plenty of opportunity and time to explore and have lunch. The hotels were all good - some better than others, but all comfortable and clean. We particularly enjoyed our stay at the Abbaye d'Alspach on the second day, it was so very charming and the village was the same, like going back in time. Although relatively fit, we are non cyclist at home and this was our first cycling holiday so I did find some of the hills a bit challenging, particularly on the second day but managed through it (my husband better than me), sometimes getting off to push! The hard work was worth it though as we came back feeling fit and healthy and having cycled through some breath taking scenery. The route guidance and GPS tracker were excellent and meant we never got lost. I would highly recommend this holiday.
Cycling through the picturesque villages of Provence was a wonderful holiday - can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t recommend enough.
Very well organised with excellent hotels routes with apps and points of interest clearly indicated. Let Headwater take the stress out of planning for the perfect cycling holiday ! It's worth paying for !
Our Headwater experience was fantastic. Everything was booked for us bar a short coach trip which Headwater explained clearly what to do and two evening meals which our agent booked for us when asked for his recommendations. We underestimated how long the cycling would take given the beauty of the places we were cycling through and us wanting to stop and explore! The distances were very manageable however and gave us time to relax at the pool before supper!
Great location for a cycling holiday - super hotels and a variety of options available to eat out in the evenings if required. Very good service from Randovelo and we appreciated the extra service they provided.
Excellent cycling holiday in incredibly beautiful surroundings
Lovely holiday; fantastic way to see France.
Excellent locations some hills which are quite hard due to the weight of the bikes
A well judged trip with easy cycling and great places to visit
A very enjoyable short break cycling in France in a region easily accessible by train from Paris. The routes were rather hillier than we were expecting from the description but easily managed given the relatively short distances and afforded some fine views, especially on the final day. Auxerre and Chablis are both lovely and there was plenty of time to explore them both. They both have some excellent restaurants but these get booked up especially at weekends so you would do well to book for any that you fancy trying in advance of this trip.
An excellent holiday through lovely scenery. The cycling could be as energetic as you wanted and the contrast between the easy canal towpath /voie vert and the few ascents and descents on roads was about right: the roads are nothing like as busy in France! Great food and wine.
Cycling the Loire Valley with Headwater Holidays was a great experience. The maps and instructions provided were first class and we were able to cycle mostly on dedicated cycle paths. The itinerary was well thought out and we were able to stop and visit other villages/towns along the way if we wanted to. We were also able to arrive in the next town early/later afternoon - just in time for an ice cream and check-in at the next hotel. The bikes were quite heavy but easy to ride. The gears made the few hilly areas a bit easier but we did have to walk up one or two steeper hills. The bike panniers were very useful and meant that we did not need to carry a rucksack. The hotels were lovely; each one very different to the next. The only problem was that one hotel had no air conditioning and it was very hot during our holiday. A fan was provided but it was no substitute for real air conditioning. Overall, we really enjoyed our trip along the Loire Valley.
Excellent bikes and apps in beautiful countryside . Not much information on where stop meals etc which weren’t provided .but hotels very welcoming and accommodating.
Wonderful cycling route along the Route des Vins d’Alsace- relaxing and stimulating scenic route with fascinating stops.
Enjoyed overall , most of the route was on main roads, many motorcycles , we expected more of a cycle route, my wife is ‘ gluten free’, she indicated this on the booking but the hotels weren’t aware of this., some of them could provide something but mostly not. The Astoria in Bastia is close to the station but access walking with luggage is difficult.
lovely but not too challenging cycling, good accomodation, food everywhere outstanding. All in all a great week
Very well organised and efficient service providing routes bikes and luggage transfer enabling us to enjoy a relaxed week of cycling and sightseeing with confidence. Route was well designed with minimal sections on roads and all roads used were quiet and felt very safe for cyclists. We loved the Roadbooks app which made it almost impossible to get lost.Plenty of options for sightseeing en route all well signposted via the app and instructions. Rando Velo also an excellent partner We thoroughly enjoyed the trip .
Well planned route & easy to follow. Occasional hills but nothing too strenuous. Mostly on cycle routes or very quiet roads so traffic never a problem. Worth booking ahead in Beaune & Cluny for meals out but plenty of options. All hotels were clean & comfortable. Sturdy bike. & reliable baggage transfer. Need to highlight that TGV station in Macon is not the one near your final Ibis hotel so will need to book a 20 min taxi ride
Cycling the Vineyards from Beaune to Macon. The idea of this holiday conjured up idyllic images in my mind beforehand and they were borne out by my experiences on this trip. The countryside, vineyards, villages, rolling hills and scenery and - perhaps most of all - the amazing quality of the off-road cycle paths all more than lived up to my expectations. Unfortunately, I missed the initial briefing due to a mysteriously cancelled SNCF train. However, Active Tours kindly arranged a briefing for me the next morning.
The paper route maps were a helpful adjunct to the GPS, but the place names and marker points on the open street map were sometimes difficult to reconcile. It would help if the points on the map could be numbered as per the associated schedule of directions. I was new to using an electric bike, but the one supplied was good quality and fully operational. I was pleased to find that, with reasonable use, there was no risk of the battery running out during a day's ride.
sublime, the locations, itinerary, food, service and ease of the whole holiday was excellent. We were very lucky with the weather too- the recommendations of where to stop for coffee/ lunch very wise and welcome. End of May is glorious- the honeysuckle, fields of wild flowers, swift and house martins everywhere and so many lovely spots to stop and rest/ picnic. The velo vert route was lovely when we were able to use that too
Very enjoyable holiday with stunning scenery and incredible food!
A fabulous cycling holiday with beautiful countryside, especially the May flowers. The fields of poppies were spectacular and the routes planned by Headwater allowed full appreciation of the Provençal spring. One thing to be aware of is that Le Couvent in Apt does not allow check in before 5.00pm: something that would be good to know before turning up at 3.00, hot and sweaty and looking forward to a cooling shower. The meals arranged were great and all of the hotels were very comfortable with excellent breakfasts. Would definitely do a Headwater holiday again.
Booking arrangements good but a couple of minor glitches. Travel to and from destination good but see comment below.Cycles reliable and easy to use.Cycling involved quite long distances on minor roads and dedicated cycle tracks. Mostly excellent although muddy and slippery in one or two points. Chateaus did not disappoint although visits a bit hurried after a day on the bikes. If repeated would allow an extra day at Blois. Hotels and restaurants generally excellent but that at Amboise overlooked a noisy street and did not serve dinner.All in all an excellent break and would do again in another part of France.
Really interesting and entertaining trip. Route notes need very careful study though.
This is a great trip through the backroads of Provence.
Great trip well supported and will book again
The ideal combination of active days in beautiful surroundings with indulgent meals and lovely accommodation, all arranged for you.
This holiday was a new challenge for us as we are occasional cyclists and normally organise everything for ourselves. The experience was just great! All of the arrangements worked perfectly and we had a fantastic holiday. The cycling was perfectly suited to our standard and the chateau and landscapes were magnificent. We arrived home and immediately grabbed the brochure to plan our next trip.
We had the most wonderful holiday cycling on electric bikes in the Ventoux region of Provence, to celebrate my 70th birthday earlier this month. Our guide, Christophe, was very helpful and charming and most anxious to ensure that we had a fantastic holiday. Similarly the hotel staff were very keen to provide a high quality of service, particularly in helping me locate a lost jacket. The Jardin de Mazan was the most wonderful hotel both in the quality of accommodation and the wonderful meal Eric cooked for us, Both Eric and his wife did everything possible to make our stay memorable and nothing was too much trouble for them. It will be a very hard holiday to beat.
Our trip to Provence was spectacular ! Headwater very kindly customised our trip, to allow my husband to fulfil a long term dream - cycling up Mont Ventoux, for his 60th birthday.
Megan, at Headwater, kept me involved and up to date with the progress of the booking from when the initial enquiry was made until we departed for France. The standard of the hotels was superb, the navigation app kept us on track and the road bikes we were provided with for the ascent of Mont Ventoux were spot on. Overall an excellent trip.
This was an excellent holiday on all fronts. The Headwater staff were their usual helpful self, including a mix up with bikes in France which was resolved very quickly. The hotels and locations were first-class and we could not fault anything at all. This was our third Headwater holiday. Much more interesting than the last one in Chablis where the villages were almost deserted in August and on a par with our first one in Umbria. A big thanks to Helen, Sara, Katie , Steph , Cecile and all who helped. Not cheap but we think great value for money and just what the doctor ordered after COVID!
Really enjoyable, accommodation and food were really good, navigation app was brilliant, Christophe’s advice on where to go and to eat was invaluable, itinerary was also fantastic with options to do as much or little as we wanted. The routes were very well planned being mostly on quiet back roads through beautiful scenery. As the weather was very hot we chose to bike in the mornings so we could relax in the afternoons. In cooler whether we would have taken more time and explored more en route.
Good itinerary. Comfortable distances even though weather was hot
Wow wow wow! Wonderful scenic routes, amazing hotels in St Emillion and Blaye! Great cycling on good routes and very good quality bikes
A beautiful area to cycle in and the Headwater electric bikes were brilliant. So comfortable and easy to use. The route was well planned; lots of interesting places to visit and just the right distances so that on hot days we could do most of the miles in the mornings.
We did the Landscapes of Thee Luberon self guided tour in July. The dinners were great and the itinerary was excellent. Special thanks to the staff at Les Imberts who helped us recover a backpack we accidentally left on the side of the road!
Will do this on feefo
A very moving cycling tour. Lovely countryside and only the odd long hill!
Local agents advice and help was invaluable.
Lovely area but Apt was a disappointment. Accommodation was clean and comfortable but nowhere to sit during the day and rooms very small also would have chosen to have had another day at first hotel and not stay in Apt for 2 days
Perfect first family bike trip!
Wonderful area with excellent cycling and bikes . We were very disappointed with the Hotel Hermitage which we had stayed at 3 times before but had changed hands . The welcome was dismissive and the quality of rooms within our group was very different. Other hotels were excellent with the reception at Le Jardiniere de Mazan the ambience and food quite marvellous . We were disappointed that the representative on the ground felt that helping with a difficult puncture was not in his brief
Overall, an enjoyable holiday. Local guides were friendly and helpful. The hotels were of good quality or better and the service was generally very good. The exception would be Les Sables d'Ocre; there were no staff available after 8pm (and thus no bar). This was very disappointing. It is not a long walk into the village but sometimes this is not what is wanted after a day's cycling; the information was not given to us prior to the holiday. The major disappointment is that Headwater, or possibly the parent group Exodus, seem to have kept prices relatively high but there is evidence that an increasing number of holidays on offer do NOT include evening meals. This, for us, is a real negative and we don't accept the theory given that it was to give us more flexibility. It gives more headaches and time on the internet/phone attempting to arrange evening meals. We enjoyed much of the holiday but felt it was the least enjoyable of the five holidays we have undertaken since 2008.
Lovely cycling routes and the electric bikes allow hilltop village visits with ease. Excellent bikes and support. And our stay at the Jardin de Mazan was an absolute highlight of the trip.
Please see separate trip report which we will email to you
A very enjoyable cycling holiday, lovely scenery especially the paths along the river and through the woods. It was hard work for those of us not that used to cycling, but a good achievement to have made it! We enjoyed visiting some of the chateaux along the way. Lovely food and wine, of course! However, the Gastronomic package of 4 days of half board was unfortunately poor value for money. It would have been better to have our dinner reservations made and for us to pay locally. We packed our cycling helmets and water bottles as the information we received indicated we needed them but these were all provided by the local agent so we didn't actually need to bring them and could have saved a lot of space in our bags.
A generally enjoyable trip slightly marred by a couple of issues which were not Headwater's fault. As part of the holiday booking, we paid for three 'gastronomic' meals in the places we stayed, where local alternatives were very limited but found only one of these could be remotely worthy of the term 'gastronomic' and we could have purchased the same meals much cheaper directly at the hotels concerned.
Cycling per se was enjoyable. Very angry to be offered a family room at Chenonceaux when we are not related. Gastronomic meal on the last night never materialised.
Experience left a bitter taste.
Headwater response:
Thank you for your comments. We are really pleased to read that you enjoyed your cycling , however sorry that your experience was impacted by the hotel accommodation with your friends and the disappointment with your meal on the last evening of which we have responded in writing.
Fabulous holiday made perfect by hiring the electric bikes as it was hilly and the electric bikes made the whole biking experience really enjoyable. The scenery and hotels were super and we were really well looked after.
We had a great time but we should have asked for e-bikes. Some of the hills were very long.
We thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Booking through Headwater was easy, though in retrospect we could have booked the same holiday ourselves much cheaper. Our contact, Joanne, was very helpful in sorting out our late booking.
The Loire region was lovely and a great holiday location. This was our first cycling holiday so, we chose a level 1 trip. .But We found 40 kilometres a day to be far to long and took too much time. We had minimal time to visit places of interest. We struggled with some directions and indeed were lost on 3 occasions. Also be aware that the gps on phone overheats on the hot days so you do need to master the paper routes. We suggest booking 4* hotels as we found the 3* a bit basic.
Dordogne beautiful area to travel round can be very hilly in parts,local people very helpful
We thoroughly enjoyed cycling the Wine Route of Alsace. It is a very picturesque part of France, and the villages we visited were lovely, including storks nesting on rooftops. The second day was a bit hilly, but nothing we couldn't manage and the length of ride each day suited us well.We were very fortunate to have perfect weather, which made the holiday even more enjoyable. The hotels were very clean and comfortable and in the evening there was a good choice of restaurants in every town or village. Lots of interesting ice-cream flavours to try too, such as rhubarb, gooseberry, red currant etc in most towns. All in all a great holiday, and we returned home with lots of photos and happy memories.
We enjoyed our trip through this wine growing region and thought the routes were well planned though they do involve cycling past many vines! . The Jardin de Mazan hotel was a highlight with beautiful rooms and delightful owners. The food was good throughout the trip. Christophe gave us an excellent briefing with many useful pointers and recommendations. Although the app generally worked well we still do prefer to have actual maps of the area, not just the route, and we would definitely recommend having a portable charger for the phone.
Cycling hillier than expected, Lascaux caves a highlight, food at Les Glycines excellent, prefered new longer 25mile rather than 20mile trips with 2 days at one location, grateful for taxi for 2hour trip to Toulouse when train failed but strongly dislike single person supplement
We really enjoyed the biking adventure, we are not avid bikers, but found the routes a good pace for us. We did have one challenge because we did not receive our last days GPS map, so our advice to others is to double check to ensure you have them all before you go.
Another excellent holiday with Headwater. The routes, the towns, the accommodation all just right. My only request would be that some new routes are added for France as we have nearly exhausted them all.
Had a lovely time, got what we expected and Joey the Rep was absolutely fantastic. The only area of complaint was the Hotel des pins. Location and room fine, Food not that great. We could clearly see from the other guests that the food was very good but we got a set menu which was not great. On both nights they forgot I had a Nut and Fish allergy which wouldn't have been to big an issue if they had provided me with a reasonable replacement but on the second night the starter, Fish and Salad was replaced with just salad for me. The main course was poor compared to the other hotels and then they finished me off with stewed apple sprinkled with nuts, good job my allergy is mild. Having said all that lets not forget that the Hotel Montmirail was absolutely fantastic.
This was a well organised tour taking in some pretty hilltop villages. We have done several Headwater holidays, but think that this was our first '2 bike '. It was quite demanding and many locals had electric bikes, but the hills are manageable. Les Imberts is a very small place, but the suggested trip to Gordes is well worth it, but we took an easier, but longer route there to avoid the main road. We found Apt to be rather uninspiring for a 2 night stay, We looked on Trip Advisor and found a couple of good local restaurants, but there was little to do during the day. Instead we cycled to the small town of Cereste along a cycle route- but it was a demanding ride. Our last hotel on the route was very picturesque and the welcome was the best we had, but we would have liked some choice at dinner especially as they hadn't noted the dietary preferences we have noted with Headwater ( luckily I had a good lunch that day). La Pernes de la Fontaines is a very pleasant town.
We started our holiday with a night in Avignon and would recommend this. Our guide Joey contacted us the night before and made excellent recommendations for our morning in Avignon. The week we stayed was a busy one for Joey ( he could have done with some help), but his cheerfulness and enthusiasm were most welcome.
We would recommend this holiday.
Good all round, except a cycling itinerary for the rest day at Apt would have been very welcome. The hotel at Apr lacked a Headwater blue book. The manager / owner did not seem to know about them.
Headwater response:
Dear Mr. Chandler
Thank you for your review. We are pleased that you you enjoyed a good holiday. Headwater continually aim to improve on the services that we provide based on customer feedback and your comments regarding a cycling itinerant on the rest day has been passed to our product manager to consider. The Headwater blue book that you refer to was not replaced for this season; so this would have been the reason the hotelier was not aware of them.
Thanks again for your comments and I do hope that we will be able to welcome you on another Headwater holiday in the future
Lovely countryside and picturesque towns - almost too many of them. Some of the days are packed with sightseeing, leaving little time to do the cycling! Excellent hotels, and very well looked after by the Headwater rep. The route is at times quite piecemeal, trying to avoid busy roads, which is made just about manageable by using the GPS system provided.
A great holiday but it does have a few flaws!
A wonderful cycling holiday that had some hilly sections so the option of the e bike was great for the less fit, especially in the summer heat. Each hotel offered excellent service and food and the pools were lovely. We enjoyed the variety of quiet countryside hotels and the bustle of staying in Vaison with the fantastic Roman ruins to visit. The routes take you on quiet roads through vineyards and quaint villages with beautiful scenery every day.
As the title implies there are some steep hills but the villages are very attractive. Magnificent countryside and panoramas from the elevated villages.
We loved the freedom that a self-guided tour gave us to set off at the time that was right for us, take breaks when we wanted, stop for lunch where we wanted and travel at our own pace. The hotels along the way were excellent and far more "up market" than we expected. The Headwater staff, from the initial booking to the location rep, were extremely helpful and informative. We will definitely be going on another Headwater holiday.
We had a fantastic holiday mixing exercise with beautiful scenery, excellent food in a tranquil environment. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend a cycling holiday with Headwater.
An excellent balance of cycling (some challenging hills!) sightseeing, eating and drinking with plenty of opportunity for relaxing as well.
Our third cycling holiday ,great fun as always, and nice to travel around another different area.
Barry and I thoroughly enjoyed our experience in Provence cycling with Headwater. The only difficult thing was to get a good cup of coffee!
Enjoyable rides, more challenging than expected remember French towns close on Sunday especially off season!
The briefing by the reps about the bikes and the Ride with GPS app was very good. The route notes were also useful. The bicycles were excellent. The ladies needed the electric bikes in the Dordogne because they had not done much cycling preparation beforehand. The meals at each hotel were very good. The countryside was beautiful and there were many interesting sites to visit.
Our holiday ticked a lot of boxes for us as it involved exercise and was outside in beautiful nature, we also visited charming and traditional French villages. All of the staff were welcoming and helpful and the bicycle routes were perfect for us as they were mostly through vineyards and olive groves, so that the routes felt safe.
This was an excellent holiday through lovely countryside. The route was hillier than we had expected for a 1+ bike rating but the day mileages were short so it evened out. For those of us aged over 70 and with a temperature of 33C, the climb out of Caromb on Day 4 was indeed memorable! But there were some lovely long descents to compensate.
We had no problems finding coffee and lunch stops as there were lots of bars and cafes en route, even on Sundays and Mondays.
Accommodation was mixed, as always with Headwater, but every hotel had its excellent upsides.
We spent two extra days in Vaison and took the bus into Orange on one of them to see the splendid Roman theatre there. 10:03 from the top of the road beyond Tourist Info, the journey takes an hour and there are buses back at 16:15, 17:15 and 18:15.
We had the best cycle briefing ever from Nick, the Headwater rep, who was friendly and professional. All the hotels were lovely to stay in with great food and beautiful swimming pools to relax in at the end of the day's cycling. We were warned about the steep climb at the end of day one and maybe, given the hilly nature of the Dordoigne area, we should have anticipated the hills. They were quite tough going in places. The GPS made finding the way easy .
On the down side, some of the rides were a bit dull. We cycled in Umbria last time and enjoyed it more; great architecture, villages and generally more fun. The French drivers all give you room when passing but pass at high speed and most of the cycling is on roads, not cycle paths.
I will save up for another Headwater holiday though but will spend a little more time looking at the area first. Lovely weather!!
Wonderful holiday in a beautiful region with an excellent and charming rep. Marred by the anxiety for me (Jane) over the working of the new app, battery running out before reaching the destination and the lack of good and accurate back up directions. The apps need a bit of tweaking but will be good. Attachment to bikes need to be stronger and visible in strong sunlight.
Headwater response:
Thank you for your feedback. Overall it looks as though you had a lovely holiday . The team at Headwater are constantly reviewing what we do based on our customer feedback and can assure you that all that you have mentioned have been under review to improve.
Our cycling holiday in the Luberon was typical Headwater style. Friendly rustic hotels, minor road routes, places to visit, great scenery and great local food and wine. Other cyclists on the same route were great company when we bumped into them.
VERY NICE HOLIDAYS!! Nice cycling, with wonderful food and wine.
Lovely area, great hotels mostly, very enjoyable
An excellent and varied exploration of the Vaucluse region of Provence, with opportunites to visit ancient Roman ruins, mediaeval villages and legendary Cotes-du-Rhone vineyards.
A lovely way to explore this beautiful and historic area of France while building up a good appetite for a classic french meal
Really enjoyed the holiday and out rep Mark was extremely pleasant and helpful. As we were 4 ladies we had requested twin rooms and this was confirmed by Headwater. However this was not the case in three of the hotels which provided double beds with single duvets. This was a 1+ cycle and we had elected for electric bikes which proved to be the right choice.
Location/routes are excellent as is the food and value, just a shame many of the bedrooms are so basic
We had a relaxing week in the Dordogne, with cycling and beautiful food every day. The routes, although appearing short, are very hilly in places and are not to be taken lightly. We really would recommend kayaking on this trip, as there were lots of opportunities alongside the cycling and it added a great extra dimension. There are lots of ancient monuments and castles to explore, but simply soaking up the medieval architecture is a treat in itself. In August, it was nearly 40 degrees so be prepared, and get the cycles done early, so you have time to relax. Try the local vin de noix, and all the lovely cheeses and meats. After all, you will cycle them off! And do NOT forget insect repellent!!
Lovely accommodation, great food and gentle cycling.
beautiful area for cycling and easy to manage distances
Marvellous area . Notes for cycling extremely poor . The hotel at Roussillon CLOSED at 8.00pm .and had no gin and no beer . It was like a travel road house !
Headwater response:
Thank you for your feedback on the cycling notes which have now been revised. The Hotel in Roussilon is only a short walk from the village centre where there are bars and restaurants to enjoy and as the hotel is small they tend to stay open when the demand is there.
A very enjoyable cycling holiday. The route was well researched using very quiet roads whenever possible, passing through lovely and varied countryside with stops in all the interesting hilltop villages. The hotels were all very comfortable and meals where provided were excellent. Our guide Mark was knowledgeable and couldn't have been more helpful.
Great easy cycling for the most part amongst beautiful countryside with interesting places to visit all along the way.
Always interesting, off the beaten track and a chance to meet the local population and enjoy the quiet and peace of the countryside.
Headwater has never disappointed. We have travelled with Headwater at least 6 times. The hotels are always full of character and the food good. We had a problem with a persistent puncture and Mark came twice to fix. I left a necklace in one of the room safes. All the hotels replied promptly. It was found at Chateau Mazan who sent it back very effeciently and quickly
Really enjoyable way to experience local cultures and get ‘off the beaten track ‘ good local representative support .
A good concept for a cycling holiday and overall, a lovely and enjoyable time. Fabulous scenery and well selected routes to follow.
Excellent short break in a beautiful region of France. Just the right balance if cycling and relaxation with my teenage daughter.
We had a lovely holiday. The weather was perfect, the area very beautiful and interesting and the hotels were good, but we found the bikes very heavy and poorly geared for the fairly hilly nature of some of the routes.
Excellent , few errors in information re places visited. Above strange error in travel arrangements. Otherwise great holiday.
A perfect way to experience nature and culture in this region of Provence.
Headwater could provide water bottles and helmet options for travellers outside Europe. We were fortunate previous visitors had left 2 helmets for our use this visit.
Very well organised, with excellent directions and achievable distances to cycle daily. Cycles very good condition, well maintained, clean and comfortable to ride. All staff willing and able to support if required.
Most enjoyable holiday cycling through beautiful quiet countryside with stunning views. There were plenty places of interest from Chateaux to Caves. The food and accommodation was of a high standard. The Vielle Auberge in Souillac could have been more comfortable but we forgave it for the food.
After reading previous reviews, we hired electric bikes this year. This was a good decision as, although we still had plenty exercise, we enjoyed each days cycle without feeling terminally exhausted. We saw more as we always chose the longer route. It is a very hilly region and definitely a grade 2 cycling holiday.
Although we have been very many times with Headwater, this was a last minute booking due to a health problem. The assistance of the Headwater staff could not have been better, Thank you.
However we do have an issue regarding our bill from the Chateau Mazan and we will be writing to you separately to seek your opinion.
Great cycling, fabulous food, quiet roads in a busy area, plenty of local places of interest, well done Headwater.
Nice area though hillier than we expected when we booked. Well maintained bikes, though rather heavy. Good food. We were lucky that we had a cooler than average week for August.
We had a great experience with Headwater, cycling the hill-tops of Provence in 35-40C heat. The Reps were great;, the bikes eminently suitable for the route; the hotels generally good; the food superb; and we both enjoyed the few days that we had.
A chance to sample another country's culture and experience the landscape on an excellent mode of transport
We like the Headwater cycling format to the extent that we cannot remember the number of holidays we have been on.
Incredible 200 km of beautiful countryside, cuisine and culture of Provence! Loved every minute despite 35° heat and 35% elevation. La vie est belle!
Despite being of the same modest grading as our two previous HW cycling holidays, this was significantly harder, because of the heat (over 34 degrees) and some long uphill stretches, especially on the Lafare-Vaison day. However, it was worth it for the lovely scenery, the downhill bits, and the hotels, two of which had lovely pools, and some excellent food, especially at Hotel Montmirail (if only it had air-con as well!) and at La Dame d'Oie at Pernes. Plenty of opportunities to sample the Provence Rose, Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and Gigondas wines. The archaeological sites and mediaeval town at Vaison la Romaine are well worth the 'rest' day.
Surprisingly easy going for the independent traveller, yet adventurous, with a touch of comfort
The Dordogne is a beautiful area. Good routes on quiet roads but testing hills! Accommodation is very good and the food lived up to the expectations as advertised. If anything the four course evening meal every night is too much but no doubt others will disagree! We felt the grading system was slightly underrated as at times the hills were testing given the very warm sunny days we enjoyed. Overall a lovely week in a lovely part of the world. Thank you
Very friendly and approachable reps. Nothing too much trouble. Good support with cycling information.
Excellent holiday in a truly beautiful part of the Dordogne. Extremely comfortable hotels with some fantastic cycling and so many varied places to stop including villages, chateaus, gardens,caves etc which meant every day was a different experience. However, a word of caution. If you are not a reasonable cyclist consider an e bike or choose more direct routes between hotels which avoid some good hill climbs.
Takes you on new journeys
A pleasant way to experience 'off the beaten' track regions through a very manageable itinerary and allowing for a high level of independence whilst in the comfort of knowing the back up is there if required. The quality of both bikes and hotels excellent - would use Headwater again.
A wonderful taste of Provencal scenery, wine and food!
The two holidays we have had with Headwater were extremely enjoyable. Our first was a walking holiday and the second was a cycling holiday.
Suited us well as a mixture of cycling plus time to relax. We cycled each day and were pleased we visited the suggested towns. Pools at the hotels a great advantage. Always a gamble finding a lunch venue in unknown villages but we never had a bad meal all week.
I think we found only two signposts missing but it was easy to work the route out.
This holiday has given us the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful villages in Provence under our own steam and away from the crowds you'd find on a typical coach trip The exercise of cycling during the day is a great appetite-sharpener for enjoying some excellent food and local wines in the evening.
Hilltop villages of Provence
This was an excellent holiday, lovely scenery and good hotels and we had a lot of fun. Days 1 and 3 are quite challenging and justify the 2 bike plus rating but the other days are not overly taxing, and there is no shame in pushing your bike up the hill into Gordes! If you start the cycling bit of this holiday on a Sunday there is an excellent market in Isles sur la Sorgue where you can get picnic supplies...although pushing the bike through the packed town was a bit challenging.(I would give this holiday 5 stars)
Vineyards of the Vaucluse
Pleasant cycling through some enjoyable countryside, and lots of good wine! Le Grand Jardin is one of the loveliest places we have stayed. The food at Castel Mireio was delicious and the service (unlike a previous reviewer we didn't find it slow) and welcome very friendly. We are not quite sure it merits anything higher than a one bike rating - some of the distances for full days cycling were a bit short (but we had done 'Hilltop Villages of Provence' the week before so this may have coloured our view). It is not a very touristy area (apart from Vaison la Romain) so many places you visit are quite quiet.
(I would give this holiday 3 stars)
Excellent route with just the right amount of easy flat cycling and some more strenuous hilly sections. Beautiful part of France with plenty to see and do whilst cycling. Lots of good lunch options too. Another well put together holiday which we thoroughly enjoyed.
This holiday is as described. Cycling more difficult at start but definitely got easier. The hotels tended to be on the edge of villages but this didn't matter too much as they had lovely swimming pools and the weather was very hot and sunny.
Lovely holiday in beautiful part of world
We have been on a few other trips with headwater and this was our least favorite. There are a number of problems with the instructions. The area is not as scenic at the time of year we rode as others. The distances are quite short with little to do once the ride is over. There are things that need to be thought out and tips and pointers given such as availability of taxis to St. Remy and restaurant/store availability. Still a number of bugs that need to be worked out.
A really lovely week touring a rural area of Provence. The scenery within the Luberon valley, protected by the two wooded and rocky ridges was delightful, shame we missed the lavender in bloom (late August) but the fruit trees and vineyards were pretty scenic. The grading is fair, one or two climbs to the hillside villages worth it for the views and a welcome cool drink! Accommodation on the whole, whilst modest, was acceptable, the highlights being the pool at Les Mas de Senecole and the 'Country Home' lounge at L'Hermitage. Not terribly taken with St Saturnin les Apt as a stop, either as a village and particularly unimpressed with the Hotel St Hubert. Routes well planned on country lanes and bike tracks but still offering interesting stop off points - we loved the Caves at Thouzon, not least for its cool temperatures on a hot day! Great reliable support from reps Laura and Tim.
Headwater response:
Dear Mr Holt,
Thank you for taking the time to write in with your post-holiday feedback. It was great to read you enjoyed a lovely week in Provence.
We were however sorry to read of your disappointment with Hotel St Hubert. Over the course of the summer, we monitor the feedback we receive from our customers. We then use this feedback to help us to improve our holidays for future customers. With this in mind, we have made the decision to change this hotel for the 2017 season. We are sure you will agree, this will help us continue to enhance this holiday.
We were pleased to read you rated our reps support highly. I am sure they were delighted to read your comments.
In closing, we would like to thank you for choosing Headwater and look forward to welcoming you on another of our holidays in the future.
Kind regards,
Headwater Customer Service team
A very enjoyable holiday , beautiful countryside cycling though the vineyards on small country roads , Provence was stunning , great views good food and wine one of the best Headwater holidays we have done
If you like being outdoors and lots of exercise, this is a perfect balance to stay active and work up an appetite to indulge in the gastronomy and wine. Compared to the South East of England the lack of traffic and potholes is wonderful!
Great all round experience
We had a lovely cycling holiday on the Cotes to Ventoux tour. The reps were great in picking us up and explaining about the bikes and timings etc. The hotels were lovely especially the first 2, which had the best food too! It was nice cycling along at our own time and the notes were good in explaining where to go so didn't get lost.
Great hotels and food - a great trip in a beautiful region..
Being able to easily visit several locations made the holiday much more interesting, and so nice not to have to think about where to park the car. Electric bikes gave us so much freedom to see more things at our age (66 and 76!)
We enjoyed our holiday in the lovely countryside and the cycling routes were scenic but it would have been nice to cycle past some lavender fields as they feature so prominently in postcards and appear in the brochure. We particularly enjoyed the traditional country hotel at the beginning of our holiday including breakfasting outdoors and the outdoor dining and leisure area of Montmirail was particularly nice. It is nice to return from a cycle to a relaxing swim. The food and wine is generally excellent and gives the opportunity to try some regional specialities. We really enjoyed our holiday.
Cycling was excellent, food good, people friendly and reps also very good ad helpful. A bit disappointed with the accommodation at Hotel St Hubert. Rooms were old and quite shabby.
Excellent service from headwater head office....even a phone call to tell us train was delayed. Also great service from local reps.
Exxcellent trip,superb reps,only complaint food at Les Pins - an uninspired menu for the demi pension. No choice,poor value
We had a fantastic holiday, The scenery, food and accomodation were great. Although we are both pretty fit my wife isn't such a keen cyclist but she really enjoyed this. The reps were really helpful when my wife wanted to swap to an E-bike towards the end when it got really hot, and now she wants to go again which I never thought would happen! I would really recommend this holiday and the E- bikes for those less enthusiastic about cycling
Wonderful relaxing holiday
Great cycling location with generally very quiet roads, beautiful countryside and pretty villages perched on hilltops - definitely a great way to explore the region - you can smell the lavender fields and really enjoy the countryside. Both Keith and Claire were excellent reps - really friendly, helpful and flexible in every way. The food at Dame L'Oie in Perne la Fontaine was superb as was the food at Hotel de Sable. Quality of the bikes was very good. The itinerary for the rest day at Maubec was a little underwhelming as we felt the villages weren't that picturesque with few options for coffee/stop-offs and only managed to get lunch at the last stop in Robion. We would have preferred to go back to Lacoste and Menerbes which we had whizzed through the day before.
Cycling through wonderful rural landscapes; visiting beautiful hilltop villages
This was not our best holiday with Headwater the weather in the Dordonge was just awful and we had to contend with a train strike none of which Headwater could have done anything about. We dried out on the last three days in Sete which was lovely. Electric bikes are wonderful
This was our first trip with Headwater (recommended by our New Zealand travel agent) and we are very pleased with our choice and will definitely look at another cycling trip in the future- most likely in France. We were particularly impressed with by the friendliness of all the hotel staff we encountered - and their helpfulness!!
The 'multi-choice' approach to answering disguises the variable nature of the accommodation and cuisine. The route notes (for cycling) were written in almost narrative style and A4 landscape which may be appropriate and helpful to walkers but were cumbersome and awkward to follow for cyclists. Some defences were clearly lifted from walking notes e.g. references to maps not available to cyclists.
We found the holiday extremely well organised, we had no problem with arrangements from start to finish despite the problems France are having at the moment with strikes. The reps Jon and Neu were the best we have experienced on any Headwater holiday, they worked hard to ensure the experience was as good as it could be. We were also impressed with the bikes, which were easy to operate and very comfortable.
Superb cycling location with generally very quiet roads, beautiful countryside and pretty villages perched on hilltops. The reps were really helpful in every way and we enjoyed our time with them. Whilst staying at the Hermitage hotel we ate in the local town at the restaurant - Dame L'Oie which was superb. At Vaison la Romaine we ate at La Barantavelle which was a wonderful meal and far superior to the alternative restaurant in the Old Town. The most disappointing was Castel Mirei as although the owners were very helpful, both breakfasts and evening meals were very poor with extremely slow service and the room was very 'tired' with traffic noise from a side road interrupting any peace. There is however a decent sized pool and small cool sitting room with cold drinks to purchase which were very welcome.
The cycling instructions were generally easy to follow though we would welcome more distances being included between turning points and perhaps a small trip metre on the bike which we have had on other holidays with one of Headwater' s competitors.
Headwater response:
Dear Mrs Ramsden,
Thank you for taking the time to complete your post-holiday questionnaire. Please be assured, all of the feedback we receive is valued and used to help enhance our holidays for the future.
It sounds from your feedback that you had an enjoyable holiday and made the most of your time in this region. We were pleased to see you found the service provided by our reps useful and enjoyed spending your time with them.
We were however sorry to read of your disappointment with Castel Mirei, whilst we agree there are a number of great features to this accommodation, we have taken the decision to replace this hotel for the 2017 season.
We are also making some exciting changes to the way we produce our route notes.
Over the past couple of summers, we have received many requests to make the notes electronic and downloadable so customers can use them on their smart phone or tablet device. We are going to trial this in the cycling resorts that feature experienced Headwater reps, and for all of our new cycling holidays. Then once we gain feedback, we plan to roll this out to other resorts for future seasons.
We will, of course still provide hard copy notes for any customers that prefer this style and for our non-rep regions.
We hope you will agree, these changes will help to continue to enhance this holidays for the future.
In closing, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued loyalty, we look forward to welcoming you on another of our holidays in the future.
Kind regards,
Headwater Customer Service team
A most enjoyable holiday in Provence - beautiful surroundings and the villages could always serve great coffees! Good to have a chance to explore locally on alternate days, on the bus or on the bikes. Excellent accommodation and support from Jon and Neu.
Headwaters choice of hotels / restaurants resulted in us having some superb meals.
An excellent way to see the countryside without the stress of organising all your own itinerary.
Excellent routes, great hotels, fabulous countryside, lots to see and good food to fuel your journey!
Extremely enjoyable, well organised and busy with an excellent mix of quiet countryside cycling and fascinating places to see and visit.
Fantastic holiday all round. Accommodation, food, service etc all excellent if a little bit variable. The cycle routes were well planned and took us through some lovely areas. Would definitely recommend an e-bike for anyone who is not a regular cyclist or accustomed to hill work. The food was very good all round if a little heavy on the gourmet- we will not want to see any more frois gras or duck for a long time! The one exception is the bistro at Hotel Pere Leon - best avoided and easily done with the plethora of good alternatives in Toulouse.
We especially appreciated the well-chosen routes through beautiful countryside on little roads with little traffic. A highlight is the long downhills we enjoyed from ridges to river level.
Thoroughly enjoyed our holiday the excellent hotels and food were welcome relief at the end of a challenging day's cycling. Beautiful countryside and villages to visit on route.
A very rewarding type of holiday. A very good way to get insight into a particular region.
This was a fantastic hotel. The best hotel was in montignac, however the worst eating experience was in motignac at the terrace restaurant next to the building site of lascaux 4. In our opinion you should consider foregoing the 'gastronomic title' for one night and let your customers eat at one of the many riverside restaurants and save the taxi fare and let them upgrade their meal with the difference.
This must have been 15th Headwater holiday for me and I have no complains about any of them. My late husband and I have used two other companies in the past (one in Germany and one in France) but always came back to Headwater. The formula is excellent (rest day between cycling or walking), the hotels are always good and very often really excellent. The reps are very helpful. You know someone else has done the background work researching for suitable roads to cycle and hotels to stay, yet it feels like an adventure as you have to find your way from one hotel to the other. I have recommended Headwater for several of my friends looking for active holidays and hope I will do many more myself in the future.
The holiday was terrific. Lots of wonderful villages, castles, and caves. The biking routes were well planned and very enjoyable. This was our third Headwater Holiday and all of them have been phenomenal. The food was great too, The trip notes were excellent. The bikes were very good bikes. The holiday was not exactly leisurely. If one does just the trips on travel days, it still would not be leisurely due to many tough hills. If you do the optional trips on 'lay over days,' the accumulation can be quite exhausting. However, many of the really great things to see are on 'layover days' - so resting on these days is not really an option. Personally, we enjoyed the level, but agree with others that the level needs to be at least moderate. I would rate this trip as moderate to challenging. The good news is that even if you are not an active cyclist, you can always hop off your bike and push it to the top of the difficult hills - pushing is not as difficult as it might sound. And once you get to the top, it is worth the effort for long rides with great views on quiet roads. The sights Headwater recommends in the notes are perfect! The Headwater reps (Keith and Claire) were very helpful and went out of their way for us.
This was a really excellent holiday despite the cycling being a little harder than expected. The food throughout was outstanding. Keith and Claire were friendly and helpful giving excellent advice and support.
Very good. We have always enjoyed our Headwater holidays.
1. Be prepared for one disappointing hotel amongst the other gems
2. If cycling, some training beforehand will enhance your holiday
The Dordogne is a beautiful area for cycling, but be aware this is a hilly route. The benefit is that the cycling works off all the wonderful food you will be presented with at the hotels.
The hotels, with the exception of Le Quercy are first class,but the food is excellent at all.
