For some people, sport means physical stress, if not murder. Stress that you don’t want on vacation when your goal is more to relax. For some people, traveling by bike is simply too strenuous. The idea of ​​moving the road trip from the car seat to the bike saddle may be romantic. But the e-bike has changed everything.

With motor support, attractive but also strenuous routes (due to many climbs) become interesting for cyclists with less breath – such as the 450-kilometer-long Lake Constance-Königssee cycle path or even a crossing of the Alps.

The range of e-bike tours offered by tour operators has exploded in recent times. Every German cycle tour operator now rents out e-bikes, which are actually known in technical jargon as Pedelecs (an abbreviation of Pedal Electric Cycle), to their customers. And they make every effort to make things as comfortable as possible for cyclists who wish.

If you want to make even less effort, you can book an individual package tour including luggage transfer. This means that the hotels for the stages are pre-booked. For the route descriptions, including sights and tips for refreshments, the cyclists receive a tour book with a map and a GPX track for their smartphone. This guides them to the respective stage destination with meter-precision, just like a car navigation system. No one needs to waste any more time thinking about the detailed planning in advance.

Freedom is still desired, because most cyclists want to travel individually – without group pressure. And this has not only been the case since the Corona period. The best-sellers among cycling tours continue to be the well-developed cycle routes along the major rivers in Germany and neighboring countries, such as the Rhine, Danube, Elbe, Weser, Drau and Loire.

But there are also less illustrious but no less attractive cycling regions, such as the Eifel, the Rheingau or the North Frisian Islands. There are also many tours in other European countries, such as Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Spain and France. Not to forget the popular Alpine crossings.

It is in the mountains that the e-bike really comes into its own. This means that even those who are less sporty can manage the climbs up the passes without a bus shuttle on the classic “gentle” transalpine routes such as the Via Claudia Augusta from the Danube to Venice, the Munich-Venice route and the Alpe-Adria cycle path from Salzburg to Grado.

Speaking of comfort: If you book through the organizer, you also have an advantage if your e-bike breaks down. You can call the bicycle emergency service via a hotline and receive repair help or a replacement bike.

The classic group cycling tour still exists. The representative of a large cycling tour operator explains: “E-bike group tours are often booked when there are language barriers, when people want to go to more distant countries or when individuals do not want to go on a cycling tour alone.”

This type of travel is preferred not only by cyclists over 50, but is often preferred by them because they simply feel safer in a group – and not just in more exotic areas such as Cuba, South Africa, Vietnam and Morocco. For e-bike trips to destinations overseas, for example, the rental bike is usually already included in the price of the trip. Bringing your own e-bike is usually not possible – or complicated and expensive.

By the way, if someone with a non-motorized touring bike wants to take part in an e-bike tour, it’s possible. The only thing is that the individual’s fitness level is right. An e-bike group usually rides at a higher average speed and often also longer stages. And, as already mentioned, they climb gradients as if they hardly existed.

Sleeping on board, cycling on land – hardly any other form of cycling travel has experienced such a consistently positive development in recent years – except during the Corona period – as combined cycling and boat trips on rivers, lakes and seas. The e-bike is also on the rise here, although on most river cruises on the Danube, Rhine, Main and Elbe, for example, you often travel together with the motorless touring cyclists.

The equipment and size of the ships range from converted cargo ships with seven-square-meter cabins to five-star luxury river cruisers. Special e-bike cruises by sea can be found primarily for the Croatian Adriatic coast, where overnight stays are available on motor sailors and small coastal cruisers.

A tip: If you want to take your own e-bike on a combined bike and boat trip, you should consult the organizer beforehand. It is also important to remember that the e-bikes are loaded on and off board at least twice a day. Damage can sometimes occur and the crew generally excludes liability.

Mountain bikers in particular are happy about the electric tailwind. In many Alpine towns, there are already more bikes with motors than without. That’s why the range of trips with e-mountain bikes is constantly growing.

This includes not only the popular Alpine crossings such as from Garmisch to Lake Garda or from Lake Constance to Lake Como, but also tours in the Abruzzo, the Pyrenees, the High Tatras or on the Way of St. James in Spain and Portugal.

Guided tours with e-mountain bikes go even higher, into the Andes with special stage tours in Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. A basic level of physical fitness is no bad thing on these two-week trips, because motor support doesn’t mean that you don’t have to do anything more. After all, you’ll be travelling over many bumpy dirt roads and up 5,000-metre-high passes.

E-MTB groups are also travelling in the mountains of Asia and Oceania, such as Thailand, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. “Especially in the tropical hot regions, the electric tailwind is doubly appreciated. The only small disadvantage of e-bike trips overseas is that the participants cannot take their own, usual e-bike with them on the trip,” explains Chris Schnelli, who has been a cycling guide in distant countries for many years.

Alps Biketours (E-bike and E-MTB tours across the Alps)

ASI-Reisen (E-Bike and E-MTB trips in Europe and overseas, focus on the Alps)

Belvelo (E-bike tours worldwide)

Biketeam cycling tours (e-bike tours worldwide)

Bike Adventure Tours (sporty e-bike and e-MTB tours, especially overseas and in the Alps)

The Country Tour (selected e-bike tours in Europe)

Feuer und Eis Touristik (E-bike tours in and around the Alps)

Latin America Travel (E-MTB Travel in Latin America)

SE-Tours (E-Bike

Terranova Touristik (selected e-bike

Viking Travel (E-bike travel in Europe and overseas)

Cycling holiday ZeitReisen (E-Bike