Wild North Greece: Thessaloniki to Meteora by E-bike

We ride a total of 350 km over 6 cycling days. Daily distances average around 58 km with approximately 1,150 m of climbing per day, though the stages are uneven. The week starts with the tour’s highest ascent on Day 2 before settling into a sustained mountain rhythm through the Pindus range. The route leads through the remote Prespes lakes and the historic adobe villages of Koretsia, winding through the narrow Portitsa Gorge before a panoramic descent toward the sandstone pillars of Meteora. Highlights off the bike include exploring the 18th-century stone bridges of Grevena and a guided visit to the UNESCO-listed monasteries of Meteora. The trip is fully supported, and your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain means that you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of water and refreshments along the way.

Suitability

This tour is for riders with a consistent level of fitness who enjoy a mix of paved and unpaved terrain. While e-bikes provide assistance for the significant daily elevation gains, the trip is not suitable for complete beginners as it requires basic bike handling skills for descending and requires comfort with daily climbing. We recommend regular aerobic exercise or cycling in the weeks leading up to departure to ensure you can comfortably complete consecutive days in the saddle. The itinerary includes cumulative climbing that averages 1,150 m per day, so a moderate level of physical stamina and a willingness to tackle hills is helpful.

Biking Conditions

The terrain is approximately 78% paved and 22% unpaved, consisting of a mix of asphalt, hard-packed gravel, and forest roads. Most cycling takes place on quiet backroads and rural paths through the Pindus mountains, though some primary road sections are used to connect valley stages near Kastoria and Grevena. Surface conditions vary, with good asphalt on several stages and rougher gravel or rutted tracks on the more mountainous sections of Day 2 and Day 6. While much of the route is on quiet countryside roads with minimal traffic, we will be regularly sharing the roads with other vehicles, including cars, motorbikes, and buses. Road surfaces can be variable, with occasional rough patches, potholes, or loose gravel. We generally ride rain or shine, but based on the guide’s discretion or your level of comfort, modifications to the planned route can be made. It’s all part of the adventure! Throughout the ride, the support vehicle is always nearby to offer refuge to any weary cyclists.

Accommodations

We stay in comfortable mid-range hotels and characterful regional guesthouses selected for their location and local character. In Thessaloniki we base ourselves at the upscale urban hotel La Palace, which offers neoclassical style and quality beds in the city center. The remaining nights take you to intimate properties: a scenic guesthouse overlooking Prespa Lake at high altitude, regional hotels in mountain villages, the atmospheric stone villas of Pindos Resort nestled among pines at 1,170 m, and a quiet garden hotel steps from Meteora's monasteries. All properties feature private bathrooms, reliable hot water, and Wi‑Fi; breakfast varies from buffet style to simple continental. Please be aware that some properties, while charming and full of local character, may show signs of age, and service pace can be more relaxed than you might expect in larger international hotels. For larger groups we may occasionally split the group between nearby properties or substitute a similar property if the listed one is unavailable.

Bikes

We include high-quality e-bikes on this tour so you can enjoy the Greek mountain scenery with a comfortable level of support. We provide Giant Talon E+2 e-bikes or similar, offering smooth electric assistance and reliable components. If you choose to bring your own bicycle, a hardtail e-mountain bike is ideal, but a standard mountain bike with high-volume tires will also get the job done. Whichever bike you choose, please ensure it is in excellent mechanical order before arrival.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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