Published by Lyn on 21 August 2013
Jabandie wants to know about getting bikes to France from Germany. Or should they rent bikes? They plan to cycle from Monaco to Barcelona.
Hi Jabandie
I'm very jealous of your planned ride!
The route sounds very exciting - you might want to check out this suggested route.
Basically you could follow the EuroVelo 8 Mediterranean Route.
British cyclist Andrew Sykes is riding it in summer 2013 and has been doing a lot of research.
Regarding rentals, I would think it would be cheaper to bring your own bikes by train from Germany - if you rented them in Monaco or in the south of France, you'd need to return them there (or the hire company would charge you for collection). If it was one a one-country itinerary, you would be more likely to find an affordable bike hire/delivery service, but given you are crossing over into Spain, bike hire will become more complicated.
For more information and links on getting to France from Germany by train, see our article on getting to France by train. This page has links to voyages-sncf.com, which is the French booking service for trains across Europe.
Your own Bahn rail service website is also excellent and (last time I looked) it included information on which services accepted bikes.
Alternatively (depending where you are in Germany), you could look at flying to Nice from Berlin with easyJet. Click here for advice on taking your bike by plane. Here is some general info on getting to France.
I hope that helps - it would be great to hear how you get on!
Lyn @ Freewheeling France