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Rentals with Bikes: A Fun, Green Way to Explore the Neighborhood

Posted: 09 Aug 2011 06:53 AM PDT

When you're on vacation, especially in a homey vacation rental, sometimes you just want to abandon your car for the week and stay right in the neighborhood. If you want to explore a bit more of the local area than you can on your two feet, without the stress of deciphering directions and finding parking, renting bikes is always a good option.

Or—even better—you could stay in a rental home that has bikes for guests to use. Instead of just reading on the beach, you could be riding up and down the boardwalk. Or pedaling to the nearest farm stand for fresh, seasonal produce. Maybe you even want to try some rugged mountain bike trails.

Here are some vacation rentals listed on FlipKey where the accommodations include the free use of bicycles:

Beach Vacations

This sleek studio apartment in posh La Jolla, California, is just a few blocks from the Pacific and provides bikes along with boogie boards, beach chairs, and beach umbrellas. In addition to taking your rented set of wheels to the beach, you can go mansion hunting or go find some fish tacos.
Near the Outer Banks in North Carolina, a stay at the Beach Jem, a five-bedroom house less than 500 feet from the beach, comes with bikes for the family. After you've explored the neighborhood, you could consider bringing the bikes on the ferry to Knotts Island.
This four-bedroom house on Martha's Vineyard offers guests the free use of bikes as well. There's even a bike path to get you safely to the beach.

Romantic Urban Getaways

This one-bedroom apartment in downtown Montreal provides a hot tub and private garden, as well as bicycles. Just a few blocks away, a long bike path on the Luchine Canal lets you explore far and wide.
You can explore the impressive historic sites or go on a gelato run using the two bikes available at this one-bedroom apartment in Rome.
Plan a stay in bike-friendly Munich, using this one-bedroom rental as your home base. Well-marked bike lanes throughout the city will help you see the sights safely.

Wilderness Adventure Trips

This three-bedroom mountain getaway near Lake Tahoe comes with two bicycles for checking out the lush green surroundings and rounding out your trip filled with outdoor activities.
Four mountain bikes are part of the package at this four-bedroom mountain cabin in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The town of Lead is surrounded by National Forest land, so you'll have plenty of rugged exploring to do.
In the Blue Ridge mountains of Georgia, this one-bedroom retreat for outdoor enthusiasts provides mountain bikes, kayaks, and inner tubes. After a day packed with outdoor adventure, you can soak your sore muscles in the private hot tub with a mountain view.

Bikes: what a perfect vacation amenity for couples, families, or anyone who likes to explore and stay active. Besides beach towns, cities, and mountains, we're sure you can find many more settings to enjoy this environmentally friendly mode of transportation!

Joanna Eng is a New York-based writer and editor who covers travel, green living, food, careers, entrepreneurship, and more. Her travel experiences have ranged from hostel hopping in Mexico to staying with distant relatives in China to renting a beach apartment in New Jersey.

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Tuesday, August 9, 2011