A family cycling vacation is a double whammy of wondrousness. First of all, everything is organized for you, so you don’t need to spend hours taking bikes on and off bike carriers, or finding the safest route from A to B without heading into a load of trucks. Second, the joy that you get watching your children gain that sense of freedom is second to none. Remember the minute you took the stabilizers off and they confidently pedaled off, grinning ear to ear, the reins finally let go? Well, it’s a bit of that, every day, in amazing landscapes. Ideally with the sea or a pool to jump into together at the end of the day too.

See our health and safety section for more details on how to cycle safely with your family.

"Family cycling is a great way to get your kids away from sitting in front of the TV and if they have the manual dexterity with their fingers to play on an X-Box and eye to screen coordination then they will get a grip of the gears and be able to avoid the odd pothole in a jiffy. The trick is to slot in points of interest along the way as they’ll bore quickly, so if you’re doing something like the Hadrian’s Cycleway then a few visits to Roman sites won’t go amiss, but not too many! A few challenges help things along too and there’s nothing they like better than beating mum or dad up a hill especially if the reward is a sticky bun or a multi-coloured gelato from some Italian piazza."