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An Introduction

“We love to be innovative – we want every trip to be one-of-a-kind and to create experiences that people couldn’t easily encounter on their own. Our optional unique events and activities allow travelers to explore at the pace and style that best suits them.”

– Robbin McKinney, President, Randonnée Tours

In 1989, Randonnée Tours pioneered the concept of self-guided biking and hiking trips in Europe and North America. More than thirty-three years later, Randonnée remains the leading travel company specializing exclusively in self-guided active travel, offering trips in 17 countries with over 165 distinctive itineraries worldwide. Owner Robbin McKinney has been designing and perfecting biking and hiking trips for over thirty-five years and continues to lead the Randonnée team ensuring that each and every tour is a ‘trip of a lifetime’.

For press enquiries, please contact Robbin McKinney at +1 800 730 8123 or +1 604 568 0139 or by email at info@randonneetours.com.

Randonnée Tours’ Programs in Brief

Although our start was in biking tours, Randonnée quickly followed with hiking and multi-sport tours.

Biking Trips

A self-guided biking tour with Randonnée typically has guests biking from hotel to hotel along quiet roads passing important cultural sites and villages where travelers can engage with locals. When designing trips, Randonnée seeks out regions that have interesting culture, great scenery with quiet low-trafficked roads, distinctive and charming hotels and a variety of excellent restaurants.

Hiking Trips

Randonnée’s hiking tours include many of the same regions that we offer cycling tours, but for walkers and hikers, utilizing trails and hiking paths to link up interesting villages with great hotels and accommodation choices.

Custom Trips

Randonnée has created custom trips for individuals ranging from a 5000 km bike journey for a couple wanting to ride from Montreal to LA and another for two couples cycling from Basel to Budapest.

Background on Robbin McKinney, owner

“It is likely that Robbin has guided more cycling trips in more places for longer than anyone on the planet.”

Robbin McKinney has always been a keen cyclist, avid hiker and an insatiable traveler. Robbin worked at a bike shop as a teenager and raced bikes well into his 40’s. But it was while leading cycling tours for Butterfield & Robinson (starting in 1984) that Robbin found his métier. Over a period of 18 years, Robbin lead trips and created magic for B&R throughout Europe and the world, gaining experience and making friends. In 1996, after working in other fields and obtaining a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Robbin started Great Explorations, a tour operator specializing in guided bike tours, now in more than 26 countries. Robbin also started an event management subsidiary that created and produced cycling events for organizations such as Canadian Tire/Jumpstart that raised funds for worthwhile causes. Other events have included those to raise awareness and funds for mountain bike trails in British Columbia (Sea to Sky Trail Challenge; Sunshine Coast Trail Challenge) and a Gran Fondo in Prince Edward County, Ontario that generates funds for local charities. Some of these continue as annual events that Robbin and team produce. In 2005, Robbin acquired Randonnée Tours, which compliments what is offered by Great Explorations.

As the owner of Great Explorations & Randonnée Tours, Robbin has the resources, passion and commitment to ensure that the company remains the leader in this style of travel. Robbin still guides several tours each year and spends a great deal of time perfecting trips with his dedicated team.

Affiliates of Randonnée Tours

Great Explorations – www.great-explorations.com/
County Gran Fondo – www.countygranfondo.com

Fact Sheet Summary

Randonnée Tours Headquarters

109-1529 West 6th, Vancouver, BC Canada

First trip offered

Provence, France biking

Top-selling biking trip (most recent year)

Puglia, Italy

Top-selling hiking trip (most recent year)

Catalonia, Spain

Number of countries Randonnée Tours offers trips in

17

Length of trips

Trips vary in length from 4-14 days

Bikes & Equipment

Randonnée owns and maintains a large fleet of Cannondale and custom built European model hybrid and racing bikes. Randonnée has the largest number of bike depots in Europe of any bike tour operator. Being avid cyclists ourselves we made a decision early on to invest heavily in the highest quality bikes and equipment, to differentiate ourselves from other operators and to offer clients reliable, and high quality bikes.

Web

www.randonneetours.com

Biking Trips

Europe & the Mediterranean: Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland & Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland.
Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia
United States: Utah, California, Maui