Which New Zealand cycling tour is right for you – and what should you ride next? 🚴‍♀️

There’s no single “best” cycling tour – only the one that best suits how you like to ride.

Originally published 23 September 2025 - updated August 2026 New Zealand is certainly not short of beautiful places to explore by bike. So when you look through our cycling tours, choosing between them can be surprisingly difficult.

Do you want rainforest and wild coastline? High-country lakes and mountains? Central Otago? Fiordland? Quiet gravel roads far away from the better-known cycle trails?

The scenery matters, of course. But it probably shouldn't be the only thing you use to choose your tour.

Just as important is how you like to ride.

Are you relatively new to e-biking and looking for a tour where you can build confidence? Are you comfortable on gravel but less keen on narrow or winding trails? Do you enjoy a little more challenge? Or have you already ridden many of New Zealand's Great Rides and are wondering what to do next?

An e-bike makes hills and longer distances much more manageable, but it doesn't remove the need for balance, braking and bike-handling skills on narrower or rougher terrain.

So here is our guide to the differences between our New Zealand cycling tours – not simply where they go, but who we think each tour suits best.

If you're new to e-biking or want to build your confidence

Easy, well-formed trails through lush West Coast forest make this a good tour for building confidence.

🚴‍♀️ West Coast Wilderness

The West Coast Wilderness is where we would point many women who are relatively new to e-biking, haven't ridden regularly for a while, or simply prefer easier terrain.

Much of the riding is on well-maintained Grade 2 gravel trails with gentle gradients. There are lovely wide stretches where you can relax into the ride and, at times, cycle alongside another person rather than concentrating entirely on the trail ahead.

That doesn't mean every metre is wide and flat. There are narrower forest sections and a few bends where you may decide that getting off and walking for a few metres is the sensible option. That's perfectly fine.

What makes this tour particularly good for building confidence is that the riding never needs to become a test. You have time to settle into your e-bike, practise your handling skills and enjoy the extraordinary West Coast surroundings at the same time.

And the landscape changes constantly – rainforest, rivers, historic waterways, lakes and the wild West Coast itself.

👉 Our recommendation: Choose the West Coast Wilderness if feeling comfortable and gaining confidence matters more to you than seeking technical riding. It's probably our best starting point if you are wondering whether an e-bike tour is really for you.

Full tour details: West Coast Wilderness

If you want an easier start but plenty of variety

Autumn colours add another dimension to cycling in Central Otago.

🚴‍♀️ Explore Otago

Explore Otago is also a very good option for newer e-bike riders, but it offers a little more progression along the way.

The tour begins with particularly forgiving riding on wide, easy trails, giving you time to get used to your bike. As the journey continues, the terrain becomes more varied. There are winding descents, some narrower sections and a few places where a little more concentration is required.

That gradual progression is one of the reasons we like this tour.

You'll experience parts of the Otago Central Rail Trail, the Clutha Gold Trail and the spectacular Roxburgh Gorge area, as well as riding around Wānaka. There are tunnels, viaducts, river trails, farmland, gorges and plenty of small Central Otago towns along the way.

So while West Coast Wilderness is perhaps our most straightforward confidence-building tour, Explore Otago suits women who would like to start gently and then discover what they're capable of as the week progresses.

👉 Our recommendation: Choose Explore Otago if you are relatively new to e-biking but like the idea of varied riding rather than doing the same style of trail each day. You don't need to be a highly experienced cyclist, but being willing to learn and gain confidence as you go will help.

Full tour details: Explore Otago

If you want the feeling of making a real journey

Alps 2 Ocean combines mostly easy riding with more challenging sections – and support is never far away.

🚴‍♀️ Alps 2 Ocean

There is something very satisfying about starting beneath Aoraki/Mt Cook and gradually making your way all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

The Alps 2 Ocean isn't simply a collection of good rides. It feels like a journey.

You travel through a remarkable range of landscapes – glacier-fed lakes, open high country, canals, farmland, river valleys and eventually the limestone country around the Waitaki before reaching Oamaru and the sea.

Most of the riding is Grade 2, but there are also two longer Grade 3 sections with rougher terrain, steeper gradients and a greater need for bike-handling confidence.

That doesn't necessarily rule Alps 2 Ocean out as a first e-bike tour. Most of the route is relatively straightforward, and for someone who is comfortable riding a bike but simply hasn't spent much time on an e-bike, it can be a very good choice.

The other important difference is the support vehicle. On the more challenging sections it is usually nearby, so if a section feels beyond your confidence or your guide recommends sitting it out, you can load your bike onto the trailer and rejoin the ride later. You don't have to be able to ride every kilometre to enjoy the journey.

👉 Our recommendation: Choose Alps 2 Ocean if you love the idea of travelling from one distinct landscape into another and want a mostly easy ride with support available for the more challenging sections. It can suit both women with some e-bike experience and reasonably confident cyclists who are new to e-biking.

Full tour details: Alps 2 Ocean

If you're a confident rider and enjoy a bit more variety

Lakes, Fiords & Mountains combines open riding with narrower, more varied trails.

🚴‍♀️ Lakes, Fiords & Mountains

This is a different sort of cycling holiday again.

Rather than following one long trail from beginning to end, Lakes, Fiords & Mountains brings together some of our favourite rides in the lower South Island.

You'll experience very different landscapes and very different styles of riding – from open trails and mountain scenery to sections that are narrower, curvier or a little more exposed.

That variety is exactly what makes the tour so enjoyable, but it also means we don't recommend it as a first e-bike holiday.

You should already feel comfortable controlling your bike on gravel, going around tighter corners and dealing with the occasional bump, climb or narrower trail.

You certainly don't need to race anywhere. This isn't about speed. It's about having enough bike-handling confidence that the changing terrain remains enjoyable rather than stressful.

👉 Our recommendation: Choose Lakes, Fiords & Mountains if you've already done some trail riding and want your next tour to offer more variety. If you enjoy discovering several completely different cycling areas rather than following one continuous route, this could be your tour.

Full tour details: Lakes, Fiords & Mountains

If you've already ridden the Great Rides and are wondering what's next

Beyond the Great Rides: quiet gravel roads, big landscapes and a different side of the South Island.

🚴‍♀️ Backroads, Rivers & Ranges 

And then there are the women who have already done much of the above.

Perhaps you've ridden the Otago Rail Trail. Maybe you've completed Alps 2 Ocean, the West Coast Wilderness Trail or several other New Zealand Great Rides.

You still love cycling – but you're ready to see something different.

That's why we created Backroads, Rivers & Ranges.

Instead of simply joining together well-known cycle trails, this tour takes you onto quieter gravel roads and through parts of the South Island that many visitors drive past or never see at all.

There are big Mackenzie Country landscapes, river valleys, old gold-mining areas, high-country roads and wide-open spaces. The surfaces can be rougher, there may be loose gravel, and both climbing and descending are part of the experience.

This isn't our tour for a first-time e-biker. You should already feel comfortable controlling your bike and ideally have ridden gravel roads before.

But the reward is a very different sort of cycling experience: less about ticking another famous trail off the list and more about discovering the country between them.

👉 Our recommendation:

Choose Backroads, Rivers & Ranges if your question is no longer “Which Great Ride should I do?” but rather “I've done the Great Rides – where can I go next?”

Full tour details: Backroads, Rivers & Ranges

So, which one is right for you?

If we had to make it very simple:

I want the easiest introduction and time to build confidence: West Coast Wilderness

I'm newer to e-biking but want a tour that gradually becomes more varied: Explore Otago

I want a mostly easy point-to-point journey, with support available for the harder sections: Alps 2 Ocean

I'm a confident trail rider and enjoy different terrain and a little more challenge:

Lakes, Fiords & Mountains

I've already done many of the Great Rides and want to discover something less familiar: Backroads, Rivers & Ranges

Of course, none of us fits perfectly into a box.

You might be physically very fit but less confident on narrow trails. You might not have cycled for years but find that an e-bike quickly brings your confidence back. Or you may have plenty of cycling experience but simply prefer relaxed riding and wide trails.

That's why we would always rather give you an honest recommendation than persuade you towards a tour that isn't right for you.

If you're unsure, tell us a little about the riding you've done, what you enjoy and what makes you nervous. We're very happy to help you work out which tour is likely to feel right.

Explore all our New Zealand cycling tours or get in touch and ask us which one we'd recommend for you.