Here is a list of the transport and other connections that I have used when completing my cycle touring adventures over the last several years. These other forms of transport are very often getting me to the start or from the finish points of a ride and do often add to the adventure of course:

Isle of Man Steam Packet

The Steam Packet is only easy option for getting to and from my home base of the Isle of Man with a bike. Ride on, ride off. Sailing options are daily on the Manxman to Heysham in Lancashire throughout the year and from April to October on the fastcraft Manannan into Liverpool. The Manxman is new, starting operations in 2023, and is a vastly superior boat to anything in the previous fleet. From the 2023 season, the Steam Packet brought in a £10 each way fee for carrying a bike on board in addition to the normal foot passenger fare. On the Manxman there is a separate room with racks to store bikes, although on the Manannan bikes are safely tied to side bars at the front of the main car deck area. Normally, cyclists are the first to board and disembark.

Brittany Ferries

I've used Brittany Ferries several times on these routes: Plymouth to Roscoff; Santander to Plymouth; Le Havre to Portsmouth; Portsmouth to Caen, Roscoff to Portsmouth. Apart from the day passage into Caen, these were all overnight trips where I booked a cabin. Bike carriage is easy and there are good storage areas. Generally, the ships are very well equipped and the food choice is excellent - I've really enjoyed my trips with Brittany Ferries and it's a nice way to start or finish a European adventure. There is a small fee in addition to the foot passenger fare for bikes.

Interislander

The Interislander ferry crosses from Wellington at the bottom of New Zealand's North Island into Picton at the top of the South Island. The views as the ferry passes through Queen Charlotte Sound into Picton are spectacular and worth the trip alone. Bikes are carried for a fee and are stored in the main vehicle deck.

P&O Ferries

For my return to the UK from the Netherlands, I used P&O Ferries from Europort in Rotterdam. This was a 12 hour overnight ferry on the substantial Pride of Rotterdam into Hull and I had booked a cabin. The ship was fine and the food offering was reasonable. Bike parking was easy on the upper car deck and I was one of the first to disembark in Hull, which made border control a quick process.

Stena Line

The Stena Line was my chosen ferry option on my trip from London to Vienna. This routed from Harwich in Essex to the Hook of Holland near Rotterdam and was an overnight trip with a cabin. The port at Harwich is quite exposed (and remote) and there was quite a wait to board, although there were plenty of other bikers to chat with. A good quality ship and I got a good night's sleep on board.
I also used Stena Line for the 3½ hour passage from Sweden to Denmark on board the aging Stena Danica, boarding in Gothenburg. This was a cheap trip and fairly quiet on board when I travelled.

DFDS

I used DFDS for my crossing to Jersey from St Malo on board their Tarifa Jet. It takes around 2 hours of which a fair bit is at low speed as it negotiates the channel out of St Malo. Surprising, a pilot boards to guide it into St Helier harbour. Bike fee payable.

Condor Ferries

In Guernsey, I booked the Condor Ferries service to Poole. This was on board the Condor Voyager, a fastcraft that only takes 3 hours to the UK port, of which the last 45 minutes is spent navigating Poole harbour to its berth. Brittany Ferries is a majority shareholder of Condor Ferries. Bike fee payable.

Islands Unlimited

For the trip from Jersey to Guernsey, I used the Islands Unlimited inter-island service on board their high speed ferry, San Pawl. A smaller boat that, when I was on it, was quite a bumpy ride in the windy conditions. The boarding process was a bit of a challenge with a fully-loaded bike, but once on board the crew carry bikes into the cabin area. The service took about an hour. Bike fee payable.

Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast (and before them Virgin) is my regular choice for train travel out of Liverpool Lime Street. Their Pendolino tilting trains have really good, level bike storage in either the front or rear carriage. If you are planning on disembarking at an intermediate stop, you will need to let the train manager know as you can only get off with your bike with their assistance. For boarding, you will need assistance from a dispatcher. They reserve two seats in the bike carriage for cyclists. It is a good, regular service from Liverpool into London Euston and only takes around 2 hours 15 minutes. Bikes need to be booked ahead of travel and all booking can be done through their app.
2025 update - Avanti are introducing their new Evero trains on this and other lines. These trains have bike storage on hangers within certain carriages. Not as easy to store a bike as the Pendolinos, but you don't need a staff member to let you on and off.

UK Trains - CrossCountry Trains/TransPennine Express/Northern/West Midlands Railway/Thameslink/South Western Railway/Greater Anglia

For the other UK train operating companies that I have used, bike storage is dependent on the train type. In some cases there are specific areas for bikes where you have to lift the front wheel onto a hook - I find these can be difficult to use, especially given the confined space that there is available - or spaces shared with wheelchair users where there are fold-down seats, usually next to the toilets. For some trains you need to book your bike ahead of travel, others you don't need to. The best advice is to check the FAQs of the train company that you are using and try to travel outside of busy times. I have never really had an issue.
CrossCountry Trains
TransPennine Express
Northern
West Midlands Railway
Thameslink
South Western Railway
Greater Anglia

trainline.com

I have bought tickets through trainline.com from time-to-time for booking train tickets, although it is possible to book UK train tickets through the train operating company's websites or apps. Trainline do offer split fares as standard in the UK which can work out quite a bit cheaper for some journeys, so worth checking.

Eurostar

I have previously used Eurostar for a London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord trip with my bike. There was an option then to carry a fully assembled bike on this route, although the Eurostar website unfortunately states that fully assembled bikes are currently only being accepted on the London to Brussels route. There is £45 fee each way.

In 2025, I again used Eurostar from London to Brussels. I found the process for booking a bike on board extraordinarily cumbersome. You have to e-mail them to find out whether there are bike spaces available on the particular service you wish to travel on (only certain trains can take bikes), then book your seat and then email them again with your booking details to reserve a bike space on that service...and wait for a reply. Why you are not able do this online is anyone's guess and this time consuming process must lose Eurostar business. On this trip I certainly ruled out using them as a return option.

French Railways - SNCF/TGV

On my trip from Caen to Basel, I elected to take the TGV back to Paris with my bike. Although there was a specific carriage with bike spaces, there were supposed to be two of these carriages on the train and it turned out there was only one - there were 4 bikes and we all got on, but there needed to be some careful positioning of our bikes in the limited space. I have also travelled from Nice to Bordeaux on a slower (9 hours) train and had no issues with storage on this journey. Reservations are required on TGV services for non-folding bikes and there is a small fee.

As a 2025 update, I had a 10 day Interrail pass that I used to travel with my bike and this was a less than ideal experience as you never know whether the train will be full of bikes or not, regardless of any reservation protocols. The reservation process is different according to train type, region and sometimes individual routes where you might need to know where the train started at. Also, I couldn't find a way to book a seat reservation AND a bike reservation together and you can only book a bike reservation on its own on some regional SNCF websites. I would definitely avoid Interrailing with a bike in the future!

Having said that, freewheelingfrance.com is a great reference for French train travel with a bike.

Ryanair

I've only used Ryanair once for a cycle touring return trip from Vienna flying into Liverpool with my bike. This required partial disassembly and boxing before carriage and it took me around an hour to do, with the help of Citybiker.at in Vienna who kindly provided me with a cardboard box and foam protectors from a new bike, free-of-charge. There is a £60 additional carriage charge per bike for each flight. Although I wouldn't ordinarily choose Ryanair for flying, in this case they were the only reasonable option to get me and my bike home and I have to say everything went really well.

Hotel Booking

I have used Booking.com extensively during my cycling adventures and their website/app is particularly useful in Europe. Having said that, it is always worth checking the website of the accommodation directly, as it is becoming more common for providers to offer better rates and/or services when you book direct. For the bigger chain hotels such as Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG & Marriott, I always book direct as I often get rewarded by their loyalty programmes with free nights and room upgrades.

Sustrans and the National Cycle Network

I regularly return to the Ordnance Survey map that displays the UK National Cycle Network to help with mapping my GPX routes. The charity Sustrans also has a website which is useful for information on UK cycling routes and related information and they do a great job keeping the routes maintained and signposted.

cycle.travel

I have recently started using the cycle.travel cycle planning website/app, initially for UK rides and it generally maps good, cycling friendly routes avoiding main roads wherever possible. There has been the occasional mis-routing along unsuitable tracks, but overall I have been happy using this as my main route planning source. It's also very easy to import any created route into Garmin Connect.

e-Sim