Frequently Asked Questions

DIGnGO was founded in 2007 by Kilian and Flavien two brothers native of Burgundy " France ". They have lived and worked in the United States, France and Italy before starting DIGnGO and have a true understanding of the different cultures.

Our team will be glad to give you the names, email and numbers of guests that have recently been on our bike tours in Europe. Just email us or call our office at 1.888.883.7948

The answer is yes ! The founders go in each region, create all the tours themselves and check each route, hotel, restaurant, activity etc...

The founders themselves do the first 3 tours in a region ( to fix all the small issues there might be ) before letting the " leaders " run the tours themselves with the guests.

Our tours are designed so that anyone can join and have a great time. On average we bike about 35 km a day (about 30 miles). If you walk or bike to stay fit, or if you swim, play golf or do another any other activity, you won't have any trouble on our tours. The reason we bike is because we believe it is the best ways to get a true sense of the region you’re visiting. If we had to rate the level of all our tours, we would rate all our tours easy to moderate ... other than Tuscany, the island or Corsica and the Dolomites which are little more challenging ( meaning longer routes each day and hills that can be a little long and challenging... ). They are listed from the easiest to the most difficult.

First let say that our tours haven't been designed to be difficult or challenging, they are meant to fun and enjoyed by anyone who has an active life (meaning walks everyday and works out once a while). On average we bike about 5 hours a day and do between 30 and 35 miles a day ( sometimes less sometimes a little more ...) and for 95 % of our guests this is the perfect amount of biking.

For those of you that need to work out a little more and want to do an extra 15 miles on 1 or 2 days all you need to do is ask, our guides always have additional routes and extra mileage they can recommend.

 

Our tours have been designed so that anyone who enjoys working out and be outdoor has a great time. If you are extremely fit, do iroman races every week end ... and want to ride more than on our " regular tours " just ask, all our tours can be customized to match your desired level of riding. Some regions are a little more challenging than others and if you are really strong rider and want to ride a lot there is a good chance we will recommend the island of Corsica or the Dolomites. However, just recently we designed a custom 9 days tour of Provence that includes 60 to 80 miles a day instead of our regular 30 miles a day.

Honestly all of them, they are all wonderful. However, if you are worried about your biking ability we usually recommend Burgundy, Normandy and the Loire valley.

On all our tours, we try to have everyone ride together, it is easier in terms of logistics, we don't want to have someone arrive at a wine tasting 30 minutes before everyone else and be ready to leave when everyone arrives. If some riders bike faster than the rest of the group (which has happened before) we give them a GPS or detailed route notes and they go ahead but along the way our minivan is there and we usually try to slow them down at one point to re-group everybody. Overall we would say that 98 % of time everyone rides together and enjoys it because it is more friendly, you get to talk with the guides and your fellow travelers.

Our largest frames are 23 inches frames or 58 cm ( that fits guests that are up to 6 foot 5 inches ). If you are taller we recommend that you bring your own bike.

DIGnGO has its own fleet of bikes (road bikes as well as fitness bikes) and has been working with Lapierre since 2009. Lapierre is one of the most famous brand in France, if not the most famous and our guests have been very pleased with the quality of our bikes. Every 2 years we sell our titanium bikes and get a new fleet to make sure our guests get the latest model. Following a tour the bikes are cleaned and checked throughly by our staff and fixed if need be before heading to another destination.

There are 2 leaders on each tour, for an average 3.5 : 1 guest to leader ratio. If there are more than 7 guests on a tour we will use 2 minivans and there will be 2 additional leaders. During the tour 1 leader is on the bike with you ( he or she is there to show you different things along the way, tell you about the area, introduce you to our local friends etc... ) and 1 leader is in our minivan. The leader in the minivan covers the route ( but you won't see it along the way ) and he / she is there to offer assistance, refereshement ( water, fruit, chocolate etc...) or even a lift to the hotel ( don't come expecting to ride in the minivan but never hesitate to use it ).

Our leaders go through an extensive training and we are extremly picky on who we hire... Our goal is to ensure you have a great time when you travel with us and amazing leaders is one of the keys. Being a leader is a rare combination of talents and in addition to delivering the highest level of service we hire individuals that naturally enjoy being around individuals

Our leaders are fun and friendly but also have a number of incredbile skills , they will be fixing a flat one minute, tell you about the region, make a last minute change to a route, translate a menu, organize lunch in an amazing setting and more... Our leaders are here to take care of all the details and all you have to do is relax and enjoy your vacation.

 

The accommodations we have selected are the best in each of the regions we travel too, they have been selected for their charm, service and authenticity. On all our tours we guarantee that you will stay in those accommodations. If for some unforseen circumtance we need to change a hotel we will let you know at the time of the reservation.

Digngo never reserves standard rooms we will always get you a luxury / deluxe room (with view if available) in the hotels - chateaux ( rooms are usually suite or under suite level ).

Lunches and dinners are included on our tours (other than one lunch and one dinner on your own where you can try the local delicasies on your own). For lunches we usually do a la carte ( in some rare cases you will have the choices between 2 or 3 menus )

For dinner whether the meals are at a Michelin-starred restaurant or very fine, typically local you will get a selection of 2 or 3 dishes carefully selected for each course. Menus are all translated in English.

The dinners don't have to be group dinners, we are very flexible on that. In the past we have had guests asking to dine on their own with their family, wife, husband etc... at a different time than the rest of the group and it worked out great. We work closely with the chefs and as long as you let us know ahead of time we are happy to arrange dinner on your own if you wish. In addition, during the week there is one lunch and one dinner that are on your own (meaning not included) where you can select a restaurant (if need be we are glad to make recommendations).

Yes. Some activities such as wind chariot in Normandy, canyonneering in Corsica, horseback riding or atv... ( if you request those on custom tours ) have some age restrictions.

For the kids that are too young we always provide an alternate activity.

For safety reason we don't allow children under the age of 7 to ride their own bike and usually recommend a minimum age of 9. However, based on the kids ability to ride in certain situation we will allow children under the age of 9 to ride their own bike. Kids must be able to ride in a straight line, without weaving or loosing balance and able to handle gears and hand brakes.

Kids who are under the required age for riding their own bikes may ride in a Burley Trailer or on a Piccolo with a parent. Note that pulling a 3-4 year old in a Burley Trailer or a 7-8-year-old uphill on a Piccolo can be challenging. There is a weight limit of 60 pounds for a Burley and 85 pounds for a Piccolo. Please note that the adult pulling the Piccolo must weigh at least twice as much as the trailing child in order to safely control the Piccolo.

If you sign up for family tour there is a good chance you want to all be together. So what we do is try to have all the family together most of the time. However, if you wish to be on your own one night and have our leaders take care of your kids for the evening we will be glad to organize some activity for them and take care of them, we are flexible.

DIGnGO provides car-booster seats for children from 4-8 years of age, parents with children below this minimum age are responsible for bringing their own seats.

We know that kids have different tastes and might not want to each michelin star food every night... that we why on all our tours we work closely with all the chefs of the different restaurants and create menus for the kids.

We will make every effort to secure rooms that connect, are adjacent or are at least near one another. Please not that connections rooms are not available in all of our hotels.

For kids age 1 to 3 years old we have burley trailers, then for kids 4 to 7 years old we have piccolo and for kids older we have 20 and 24 inches Lapierre bicycles.

If a child shares a room with 2 adults or 2 children share a room, discounts, range from 10 % to 75 % based on the age of the kids. For more information contact us or download one of our family itineraries.

Let's say you want to come with 6 of your friends and have a tour just for you (no outside travellers) or would like to just be with your family, all you need to do it contact us and we will reserve a date just for you. There is a minimum of 6 guests for a private tour.

The answer is yes. If you can't travel on the dates that are listed on our website just contact us with your dates of travel and as long as there is availability with the hotels we work with we will be glad to add a date just for you.

There is no additional fee for private tours and as long as you are a minimum of 6 travellers we will be glad to privatize any of our tours or add a date ( if the date you are looking for is either not available anymore or not listed on our website ).

Unfortunately we do not do self guided tours because we know you will not get the service that you are used too back home and it ist impossible for us to give you the unique access you have when you come on guided tours. However, what we can do if you don't want to have guides with you at all time if give you a GPS so that you are on your own on the bike and then the guides only show a few times during the day in the minivan to refill water bottles, give you fruits, introduce you to our local contacts, transfer your luggages etc...

 

However know that the cost will be the exact them as with guides tours.

Absolutely, all you need to do is send us an email with what you have in mind.

If it is light rain we usually bike, if it is heavy rain or stormy we don't bike and organize other activities and visits. Those activities include the visit of a chateau, museum, an additional wine tasting etc... For ex in Normandy we have visited the memorial de Caen due du inclement weather, in Burgundy we have organized additional wine tastings, in the Loire valley we have organized the visit of additional chateaux etc...

For all the guests that make a reservation with us we are glad to send them a list of hotels, restaurants as well activites that we recommend in Paris.

In travel booklet we send you we do give you recommendations on where to stay the night before the start of the tour or after if you decide to stay in the region where the tour is (usually we recommend one or 2 hotels in the towns that are close from where we start the tour)

Let's say you are coming to Burgundy and the tour starts in Beaune, we will be glad to give you recommendation on whats to do and where to stay in Dijon ( located 35 minutes from Beaune ) the day before or after the tour.

Unfortunately this is not something we offer anymore, we use to do it but it became too much trouble. Our recommendation is to go on www.tgv-europe.com and do it yourself it is very easy.

Yes, we do work with mondial assitance and for more information you may contact us and we will send you all the information. The cost of the insurance is 8.5 % of trip price and covers almost everything you could imagine from private medical, travel baggage, legal protection to cancellation costs. For more information you may copy and paste this link : http://www.digngo.com/why-digngo/travel-insurance.html

In order to make a reservation please call us at 888.883.7948 and we will send you our reservation form. If you make a reservation 90 days prior to the start of the tour, a $500 deposit / guest is due at the time of booking. If you reserve your trip less than 90 days prior to the departure, the full balance is due at the time of booking. Payments card be made by visa, mastercard and amex.

Most travelers book about 3 to 5 months in advance and we recommend at least 90 days before you travel date. However, we’ll do whatever we can to accommodate travellers looking to book trips on shorter notice.

We guarantee the departure of all our classic bike tours as long as we have 2 guests signed up for a tour.

Once you have filled out and signed your reservation form we will send you your travel package by email which includes your detailed itinerary, suggestions for making your travel arrangements, what to bring, where to stay before and after your tour, where we meet, your guides contact information etc...