Awards, Memberships and Reviews
- Masks are available for use in vans or close settings. We highly encourage use of masks on public transportation before, during and after the tour.
- Vans are equipped with hand sanitizer. We recommend you carry some on your bicycle for use throughout the day when you aren’t near the van.
- Tour Leaders are trained to provide high standards of hygiene when preparing and serving snacks and picnic lunches or when interacting with travelers.
- Seating for group meals will prioritize outdoor spaces or private/secluded rooms with good ventilation.
- High touch areas like van handles and surfaces are sanitized on a regular basis.
- If someone does exhibit cold or flu symptoms we will ask them to take a COVID test.
If a traveler or tour leader tests positive for Covid-19 while on tour:
- We will follow local regulations and protocols and the traveler or tour leader will be asked to follow certain measures, where reasonable and appropriate, to protect themselves, and the rest of the group.
- Exact actions will depend on the circumstances of the situation and will be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
- It is our duty to ensure that all travelers and staff are safe while on tour, which means that some measures may go above local regulations by requiring isolation or leaving the tour.
- If there are local requirements that include isolation, ExperiencePlus! will help manage those logistics.
- In cases where it is safe to stay on tour or travel in parallel to the tour, we will do our best to make this happen.
- If medical assistance is needed, we will follow our standard medical protocols on tour and support you in seeing a medical professional.
If a traveler or tour leader tests negative but they are still feeling unwell and have symptoms, we will apply preventative measures. This may include asking the ill party to abstain from group activities, wearing a mask when in the presence of others, and eating apart at group meals. In some cases, we may provide in-room meal service until the person feeling ill is better.
We also ask that the ill person maintains good hygiene practices like sneezing and coughing in the elbow, frequently washing hands, and refraining from close contact with others in the group. If the illness gets worse and medical assistance is needed, we will follow our standard medical protocols on tour and support you in seeing a medical professional.
Travelers will be responsible for any extra expenses resulting from needing to isolate or taking additional tests.
We highly recommend you purchase Travel Insurance as most plans cover medical assistance for Covid and some plans also cover trip delay and trip interruption coverage which includes quarantine or isolation delays due to Covid. You can find more details about travel insurance on our Travel Planning Pages.
Travel Alerts
Here are some helpful links to review the current status of travel alerts or warnings. ExperiencePlus! monitors these sites. In the event something does come up, we keep in close touch with our local teams.
- US Department of State Travel Alerts and Warnings
- Travel Safety – Be Prepared for Domestic of International Travel
If you are a US-Citizen, then the STEP Program is an excellent way to register your travel plans with the nearest US-embassy of your destination:
Safety on Tour
On the first day of your tour we will have a comprehensive bike safety and orientation talk that explains how things run day by day. Each day on tour, Tour Leaders will hold a briefing to discuss the next tour day’s highlights and logistics. If there are any specific safety concerns about the route or logistics Tour Leaders will highlight them at that time.
Inherently, touring by bicycle means that you will encounter a variety of road conditions, including smooth pavement, but may also encounter sections that can have rough surfaces. Emergency facilities may not be in the immediate vicinity.
In case something does happen, our Tour Leaders are trained in handling emergencies and will follow an emergency protocol.
About 14 days prior to the tour start, ExperiencePlus! will provide all travelers with access to RideWithGPS Experiences, which will include Tour Leader Phone numbers, instructions who to call in case of an unexpected situation prior to the tour, a hotel itinerary and more. If someone at home can’t reach you and needs to get in touch with you while you are on tour, they should contact our US-office.
Adverse Weather
Even though we plan our trips in the driest and most preferable months weather-wise, we recommend you always take rain gear and warm weather layers. Take a look at our Packing Lists as you start planning.
Should adverse weather conditions exist, our Tour Leaders are trained to handle them, and may restructure planned days.
Nadine Dirksen - A German native, Nadine is a happy Colorado transplant who moved from lush Bavaria when she married. She left the land of pretzels in 2012 and has been enjoying a fun life full of cycling, mountain biking, CrossFit, hiking, running and any other outdoor activity that involves her little black Dachshund-mix. When not having fun outside or at work, she tries her hand at different craft projects with varying success. She helps our travelers by answering all their questions before their tours and she can't wait to help you bring your dream trip to reality!