Option number 3 is much cheaper, lighter, and easy to store, and simply involves getting to a cardboard box from your local bike shop. You can either store it when you reach your destination, or chuck (better still, recycle) it and get another for your journey home, if you know you’ll be able to get one.
A guide to cycling holiday insurance
Cardboard is, admittedly, not the most resilient material known to human kind – if thrown around, dropped, or piled at of, it won’t suffer as well as a bike box or bag. To counter this, you can twist your handlebars, remove pedals, as well as your rear derailleur, and pad each item, and the frame, with foam or bubble wrap (or both).
It’s a good idea to fill in any extra space with more padding or bubble wrap, this will prevent the bike from moving around, which greatly limits the chance of any damage.
Once you’ve got your bike box, or bag, take a look at this post on how to pack a bike into a bike bag for some advice on how to make sure you have your steed safely stowed.
