Santos Tour Down Under # 2 |
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The Barossa Valley17 to 26 January 2026, 10 days, 9 nights** Please note that the 2026 dates, itinerary are an educated guess. We won’t be able to confirm the exact itinerary, dates until June 2025. In saying that – we are pretty sure we have it right. Ride Holidays invites you to experience the 2026 Santos Tour Down Under. This is the Barossa version of our 2 x TDU trips for 2026. This trip is known as TDU # 2. TDU # 2 offers less time travelling (in vehicles) and fewer hotels. It’s certainly suited to those travelling to the STDU for the first time. If you haven’t been to the Barossa, then this is the trip for you. TDU # 1 (Kangaroo Island) is better for those who have been to the TDU before as it offers something different. 99% of our team are Adelaide born and bred. They know the secret roads, the best cafes and restaurants. Be prepared to be treated like a local. Pull up a bike seat, sit back and let the world spin by. Our official tour operator status (our 12th consecutive year) opens doors that are often closed. Including V.I.P. starts and finishes for both the men and women’s races. A brilliant trip. See you there!!
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Overview of the Tour |
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We've found the perfect mix of visiting the beautiful Barossa Valley (3 nights) and Adelaide City which we use as a home base to explore the Adelaide Hills and the cities amazing beaches. It's not all about the race. In fact, the race is just a part of a great holiday. We focus on the magnificent cycling on offer, as well as eating at the very best South Australian restaurants and cafes. You will return home having experienced the full flavour of what the region has to offer. Our itinerary is tailored for cyclists as well as non-riders (Team Macchiato), who are very welcome. Be assured, you won't just be following the cyclists. Your days will include visits to regional must-see attractions, wineries, boutique shopping, enjoying local cafes and restaurants, some walking, plus much more. This group will have their own vehicle and local guide.
Throughout our 10-day tour, we’ll cater to all levels of cyclist. From the fastest cyclists – referred to as the whippets, right through to the more leisurely weekend warrior. Everyone will be well looked after. The most common question we have is about the heat. Yes, it can get hot. However, it can also be very cool. Having local guides means that we were able to change the plan accordingly to look after all conditions. Safety is key. Having support vehicles means you can concentrate on one thing – cycling. Let us worry about everything else. It’s a holiday and it’s our job to roll out 10 hassle free days. Sleep, eat, ride, drink and repeat. That’s what we expect from you. Thank you for joining us on the Santos Tour Down Under - Barossa. (Tour # 2) |
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Santos Tour Down Under | Tour Details |
Tour Inclusions
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Tour Exclusions
The Tour Cost$4750.00 NZD pp. (Twin Share) Want your own room? Single supplement $1100.00NZD pp. Road bike hire (BMC 105 Disc) $1000.00NZD. We can get (hybrid) e-bikes, but they are at a higher cost. Please note: very limited availability. Extra Adelaide accommodation and breakfast $190.00NZD per person twin share. The cost for non-riders is the same as for cyclists. We pay for a lot of your winery lunches, entry fees, etc, etc. Deposit & Balance terms and conditions. The initial deposit is $1000.00 per person. This is non-refundable so please make sure you have travel insurance. Full payment will be 90 days prior to departure. |
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Tour Down Under 2026 | Tour #2 (Barossa Valley)
Day 1, Saturday 17 JanuaryWelcome to South AustraliaWe look forward to meeting you at Adelaide Airport. Ideally you would arrive mid to late morning. We’ll help you assemble your bike once we’re back at our central Adelaide hotel. Conveniently located near Rundle Mall (think retail) and only a 15 min walk to the Santos Tour Down Under race village. At about 3pm we’ll pop out for a short city ride. Maximum of an hour. Focussing on Adelaide’s amazing bike trails that aren’t far away from our hotel. A short ride purely to get the legs turning and to find those nasty little mechanicals that may pop up. Team Mac - After you’ve settled into your room, we’ll meet up to have a wander around the funky East End. The Adelaide East End is known as the domain of choice for trendsetters. Right in the heart of the city, the neighbourhood is filled with cafes, restaurants, bars and premium shopping. There’s plenty of fabulous hidden dining lanes to explore. Let’s have an aperitif at one of the many wine bars before returning to the hotel for dinner. This evening will be epic. It’s the Santos Tour Down Under Criterium. Known as the Down Under Classic and it’s within walking distance of our hotel. 90mins of shear adrenalin. The world’s best sprinters. You’ll be in the thick of it. Our last act for today is our welcome dinner. We'll run through the plan for the next 10 days. Yes, you are now officially on holiday. Welcome to South Australia. Cheers to you. / Accommodation: Crown Plaza Adelaide
PS, you are very welcome to arrive the day prior. We will take care of your transfers and accommodation for you. Our job is to make your job easy!! PPS, what if, what if ... One of the most common questions we have is “what if my bike doesn’t turn up or it’s damaged”? The answer to that – we’ve got you covered. That’s why you do a tour with RH. We have about 10 bikes on standby to look after any of those airline misdemeanours. |
Day 2, Sunday 18 JanuaryWomen’s stage 3. Followed by the Barossa ValleyExciting. Today we have our first Santos Tour Down Under experience. The plan is to roll out of the hotel at about 8.30am and head up into the Adelaide Hills. The women's stage 3 starts in Stirling. A town we know very well. We’ve booked a V.I.P. pen for the start as well as a walk through. It’s a great chance to access the warm-up area which will be closed to the public. The actual start time will be around 11.00am. After the women have departed, we’ll hop on our bikes. It’s about 70km through to the Barossa Valley. Some of you can do more, others can ride less. Having support vehicles takes the pressure off. Our hotel for the next 3 nights is stunning. All rooms have a view of the vineyards across the valley, and you’ll probably wake up to see a few of the local kangaroos grazing on the lawns. It’s one of the best hotels we stay at anywhere in the world. Team Mac – Katrina will have a couple of options for today. The initial plan is to leave the hotel early and go for a walk on the beach near Glenelg before it gets too hot. There are then many cafes to choose from for our morning coffee. We then head into the hills (Stirling) to catch up with the cyclists. Tonight, we've booked a local restaurant for dinner. It’s called Harvest Kitchen (we book it 12 months in advance), and it really is fantastic. It’s even more special now that the Harvest Kitchen is actually based at the world-famous Jacobs Creek winery. / Accommodation: Barossa Novotel
PS, Team Mac - We really want this trip to be an active one. It’s not all eating and drinking. Katrina will have a plan each day for a good walk. You can then feel less guilty about the eating and drinking ... PPS, OK, a bit of a warning. As you approach the Barossa hotel there’s a wee little kicker. A gentle false flat of around 15%. Nothing to be worried about though. Keep in mind that this hotel offers fabulous views. And, to have a view, you must get to the top of the hill!!
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Day 3, Monday 19 JanuaryBonus day in the BarossaOver the past 11 years we've pretty much biked everywhere. It doesn’t get any better than the Barossa Valley. This region offers some of the best riding, food and wine in the whole of Australia. We see today as a Barossa bonus. In past years, the feedback has been that another night in this beautiful valley wouldn’t go amiss. Well – we have delivered. Today won't be overly hilly, certainly when compared to the rest of the week. It’s a mixture of country roads and bike paths. Our ride will include the Whispering Wall. It’s a must. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone. Whisper. You’ll see what I mean. Ride distances vary from 60km to 120km plus. Team Mac - Our first stop will be Maggie Beer’s Farm. We have booked a fun, iterative cooking demonstration, where all the produce used is grown and made at Maggie’s farm. We are then served tastings of the delicious dishes with a glass of non-alcoholic sparkling wine. We also visit Rockford Winery, a small boutique winery in a beautiful old stone building ... Welcome to Barossa Valley!! Our guarantee – you won’t lose any weight on this tour. There’s a really good chance you’ll see wildlife today. Actually, let’s cover off some H&S. Good wildlife = little fury bears that live up trees. And - big rabbits that hop, hop, hop around the fields. Bad wildlife = long brown silvery eel type things. To be avoided. Don’t pat. In fact – please run!! Late this afternoon, we’ll run shuttles to the Barossa Brewery. It’s a great place that usually has live music. They also do a fantastic burger which is our recommendation for dinner. / Accommodation: Barossa Novotel
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Day 4, Tuesday 20 JanuaryStage 2 - Barossa Stage6am yoga. Just kidding. Today’s stage starts (11am) and finishes in Tanunda. Which is about a 30min ride from our hotel via the bike path. We’ll arrive at 10am as we have V.I.P. access. Yes, you’ll receive a special wrist band so you can walk through the team village as the riders sign on and warm-up for today’s opening stage. It’s a great opportunity for autographs and usually the riders are very approachable. Stage 2 is 130km long so should finish at about 3pm. (Back in Tanunda) That means we have 4 hours to ride our bikes. We’ll certainly include Menglers Hill which the race goes over multiple times. It’s not a huge hill (about 250VM), however some of the sprinters may struggle to stay in touch. We’ll also make sure we include the gorgeous region of Seppeltsfield. Team Mac - Today we start with a walk along the Jacobs Creek path and then we get to experience the excitement of Santos Tour Down Under. We’ll meet up with our riders while we watch the Pro Teams complete this stage of the race at Tanunda. Afterwards we’ll head to the Seppeltsfield Road Gin Distillery for a light lunch and a wee tasting! This afternoon you should budget on some quality pool time. It’s not all cycling, eating and drinking ... We expect you to find some time to relax as well. Tonight is a highlight as we dine on the lawn. Overlooking the vines that supply Jacobs Creek. It really is a lovely way of finishing a magnificent day. / Accommodation: Barossa Novotel/ Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner (Lunch arrangements) Ps, don’t forget the swimming pool. It’s important. |
Day 5, Wednesday 21 JanuaryCorkscrew - Why note!!TDU # 2 is certainly a bit more chilled. All we have to do today - is ride back to Adelaide. Via the mythical Corkscrew. Again – rides are 70 to 100km plus. We also visit Lobethal bakery which holds the record for the world’s biggest donuts. You don’t need to order a pie or anything else. One donut and you’re set for the day. Let’s get back to the Corkscrew. It’s without doubt the most famous climb in South Australia. And… and… I’ve never ridden it and not seen a koala. Keep your eyes open. Team Mac – you head to Hahndorf for the morning. A gorgeous little German town which is actually rated # 1 in trip adviser when visiting Adelaide. There are literally hundreds of boutique shops and cafes which individually need to be checked out. This afternoon we visit the City of Adelaide Tour Village in the City Square, which is only a 15 min walk from our hotel. We’ll wander down there late Afternoon and visit the teams and mechanics. The STDU offers fantastic opportunities to get close up and personal with your favourite riders. The Tour village is also a great place for food. Offering an amazing variety of street food (we suggest you have dinner here) and refreshments. (Beer) Oh, and in the past, we’ve also had clients buy bikes here as all of the major brands offer opportunities to get your credit card out. What’s stopping you? / Accommodation: Crown Plaza Adelaide
Ps, there will be some admin to run through tonight in preparation for tomorrow’s event. |
Day 6, Thursday 22 JanuaryIt will be Epic (Participation event)Thousands of fair dinkum Aussies and a handful of fast skinny Kiwis. It's Epic Day. You'll have three ride choices which are usually - 140kms, 100kms and 60kms. This ride is exactly the same route as what the professional's race, they start late morning and will chase us all the way to the finish. The Epic (was called Challenge Tour and before that – Bupa) is very different to the Taupo Cycle challenge. It's a lot more relaxed and I'd encourage you to stop at all the food stations and check out the local food and coffee. I for one will be targeting the fruit loaf which I remember fondly. We arrive at the finish and join all the other riders in a local park. RH will have a meeting point along with cold drinks. Dingo will even get the massage table out. Sit back and watch the race finish live or on the big screen. Team Mac – This morning Katrina has booked a tour of Jurlque Farm where the beautiful, all-natural skin care range is made. We’ll walk through the gardens and experience the complete biodynamic process. We’ll then visit the historic Art Gallery of the famous Australian Artist, Hans Heysen at The Cedars and enjoy a light lunch in the gardens. Finally, we’ll head to Melba’s Chocolate Factory and Kris Lloyd Cheeses for a tasting ... if we’re still hungry!! Tonight is a free dinner, but we could arrange to catch up at the local Belgium Beer Bar. We’ll see you there. / Accommodation: Crown Plaza Adelaide
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Day 7, Friday 23 JanuaryIt's off to the Hills!! Via the Mens TDU stageWe leave the city and make our way to Adelaide Hills. Without doubt the best cycling in the State, arguably in all of Australia. We start with breakfast. Hmm, which is at the top of Mount Lofty. 700m above sea level and the café is opening just for us. The big breakfast is unbelievably big, the views are amazing. Thousands of cyclists ride this climb daily. Yes, we’ll see today’s stage of the Men’s Santos Tour Down Under. Our target will be the town of Uraidla. Why? Because it’s a cool little town that has an awesome café. We know it well and the owners also know us. They always put aside room for Team RH. That’s the advantage of having local guides. We will have plenty of ride options. Ranging from 50km to 110km. None of them will be flat!! Team Mac – you really need to join us today on Lofty for breakfast. You are then off to the d’Arenberg Cube (McLaren Vale) featuring a contemporary art museum including a Salvador Dali exhibit. We’ll also enjoy wine tasting and lunch. The design concept for the building was developed by d'Arenberg's Chief Winemaker, Chester Osborn, who is of the fourth generation of the Osborn family. The vineyard dates back to 1912 but the new building is world renowned for its unique design. After the stage we all roll (or drive) back to the city. Did I mention that our hotel has a roof top swimming pool? See you there. / Accommodation: Crown Plaza Adelaide
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Day 8, Saturday 24 JanuaryQueen stage race, finish Willunga Hill!!Our plan is soooooooo cunning. We ride from Adelaide to Willunga. We plan to arrive at the race start by 10.30am. The great thing about the STDU is that the professionals are very approachable. Unlike at say the TDF or the Giro where you can’t get within 50m. It’s then a race route loop out to the coast and it features Willunga Hill. The pros ride it twice, we will just go up once. The atmosphere at the top of Willunga is Alpe d’Huez like. Almost 20,000 people cram the last 4km of this hilltop finish. This is the stage that will ultimately decide the winner of this year's event. Again, a choice of rides. Anywhere from 70km to 120km. After 8 continuous days riding there will be some legs that are tired. Others will be just warming up. There’s only one restaurant at the top of Willunga Hill and we now have it secured for the next 5 years. The idea is that you can use the restaurant as a base and come and go as you please. They have a beautiful deck, shady spots, BIG screen and all the comforts. We know Andy, the owner, well. He really looks after us. Don’t worry – we won’t make you ride. We’ll take your bikes which means you can enjoy that 2nd or 3rd glass of wine. A long Italian-Aussie lunch from 12-2.30 pm just in time to see the finish at 3.00 pm. Team Mac – This morning we will head to the surf coast of Port Elliot as it’s market day and visit the local gallery. Later in the afternoon, you will meet up with the riders on top of Willunga Hill. / Accommodation: Crown Plaza Adelaide
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Day 9 Sunday 25 JanuaryFinal stage - A must see…We depart our Adelaide hotel and head to the TDU final stage. We’ve arranged a start pen & walk through. We expect the stage to start at about midday and finish at 3pm. Our guides will tick off your perfect day. TDU, great food, fantastic bike ride before we will head to our city hotel after the race finish. Team Mac - This morning we’ll walk along the river and take a ride on a historical boat called Popeye. We’ll see the buildings of the city as well as learn all the interesting history of Adelaide, including the stories of the old prison. Afterwards, we can choose to spend time shopping or join the riders to enjoy the race finale. There will also be an option to do the Adelaide Oval Roof Climb. Tonight, we really want to finish off with a highlight. So, after packing up all the bikes it’s time for some fine dining. In 2025 booked a private room at the National Wine Institute of Australia. It was fantastic!! , so, we’ve decided to go back. Please bring you flashiest clothes. You will look smashing. A few stories and lies will be told as we raise a glass to you. In fact, we’ve included a wine package showcasing South Australia’s finest. What a day ... What a trip. / Accommodation: Crown Plaza Adelaide
PS, cyclists are welcome to join the Adelaide Oval Roof Climb
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Day 10 Monday 26 JanuaryHome, JamesThe tour concludes with breakfast. Some of us will pack our bags, bikes and leave for the airport. Our tour is all but over. Or ... We can easily look after extra accommodation if you choose to stay on. It's a really nice way to round out the holiday. Today is Australia day and there’s a lot going on. Throughout the city there will be hundreds of events – celebrating Australia’s National Day. In the early evening, join the "Respecting Country" parade at Elder Park, celebrating the cultural diversity of South Australia. Conclude your day by staying at Elder Park for live music performances and a spectacular fireworks display, creating a memorable end to your Australia Day celebrations. Whatever you decide - thank you for joining us. Safe travels home ... / Meals Included: Breakfast |
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