Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic

Traveler photos

Route Map

Maps are for information purposes only and reflect typical routes between overnight locations. They may not reflect your actual route.

• ★★★★★ John Rosenfeld 7 months ago

  Thoroughly enjoyable

  Will plan by the tour group. Beautiful scenery. Many interesting sized to see that were both historical and educational. The bed and breakfast is that were selected were outstanding. Food along the way was outstanding. The directions were easy to follow

• ★★★★★ Murray Goring 8 months ago

  Tours to Anger 4 day bike ride

  We went with our son and his wife. It was their first longer bike ride. They loved it. We did too but felt our previous Danube trip from Passau to Vienna was better. The hotels and food was good but the bike route was boring at times.
  We missed not having a spa hotel included.

  How many tours have you completed?

  8

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat harder

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists

  Do you recommend this tour?

  No

  • 3/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 3/5 Scenery
  • 3/5 Ease of navigation
  • 3/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 3/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Jan Ludwinski 8 months ago

  Nice and easy

  We did the 13 day tour. Food and accommodations were excellent. The bikes were rugged and reliable and we never ran out of charge. My one strong recommendation would be that the bikes be equipped with front shock absorbers, which would make the rougher roads more pleasant and easier on the wrists. The ride was almost exclusively in rural areas although there were a few places near the larger cities of Tours, Angers, and Nantes that would make some novice urban riders uncomfortable, but they were quickly forgotten.

  What was the date of your tour?

  September 2022

  How many tours have you completed?

  None previously

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Much easier

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 4/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ James Hutcherson 8 months ago

  Could have been better

  This tour was our 12th bicycle tour, but the first in France. Distances were good, weather cooperated, Hotels were excellent. Route was very well sign posted. We found the route much more difficult than we expected. Many hills. The previous reviews and description did not even mention that aspect. These would have not caused much of a problem if we had opted for ebikes, and the vast majority of riders that we encountered did have ebikes. I would disagree that this tour would be labeled as family friendly, unless the family has no kids. One difficulty we had was that there were no intermediate stops for coffee, snacks, lunch, water, etc. I would recommend packing those items from the departure town each day. While the route does generally follow the river, most of the route is not next to the river and it is not visable most of the time. I hope this review does not deter anyone from this tour, since the castles, hotels, food should be enjoyed. Just a little heads-up advice.

  What was the date of your tour?

  September 2022

  How many tours have you completed?

  12

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Much harder

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 3/5 Value
  • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 3/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 2/5 Tour documents
  • 2/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ mrank July 9, 2021

  Great trip - highly recommend!

  We just completed the 9 day Orleans to Angers segment of this tour and really enjoyed it. It's the first trip we have taken that we would actually take again, but next time complete the entire 13 night tour. We have taken quite a few bike tours but this one provided the best supporting materials we ever had. The turn-by-turn materials and maps were very well done and easy to follow. We never needed the GPS. Of course the trail itself is extremely well marked, which helps a lot. In addition to the great support we received from the local tour company, the Bike Tours support while setting up the tour was also very good.

  The bikes were fine, a bit heavy, but comfortable. Our only issue was the tires on both bikes were under-inflated upon receipt, but we were able to resolve that without too much issue. We always carry our own tire gauge and check regularly. One bike had a mechanical issue, but the tour company was excellent at quickly resolving it.

  All the hotels were great and were prepared for our arrival. They also had very good facilities for storing the bicycles. Luggage transfer went smoothly and always arrived at our hotel before we did. The only minor issue was that one hotel did not have a lift, which was surprising, but not a big deal for us. I mention it in case it might be a concern to others.

  The meals, both breakfasts as well as dinners we purchased were top notch. We only had a complaint about the poor service in the Orleans restaurant. The food was good, but the entire restaurant was served by one person and it took forever to get through our meal. While the meals were all delicious, in hindsight, we may have gone without the supplemental meal package and just purchased dinners on our own. There were so many choices in almost every town that we would have enjoyed an occasional casual meal, like a delicious pizza vs the traditional French food every night. However, you can't go wrong in going with the meal package. It is definitely a French experience!

  Finally, the only other suggestion I would give is to alert people in the riding materials that there is a river crossing that you have to manage on your own using a little metal raft that you have to pull to your shore, load the bikes, and then pull to the other side. Its not too difficult, but managing the loading of bikes was a little tricky. I read afterwards there are ways around this crossing but it would have been good to know about it ahead of time.

  All in all, a great trip and maybe in the future we will be back to do it again.

  It goes without saying that the trails, scenery and points of interest were fantastic with lots of stops along the way. Even with less than great weather, we totally enjoyed this tour.

  What was the date of your tour?

  6/25 - 7/5, 2021

  How many tours have you completed?

  10

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • BikeTours.com staff reply from Bruce July 10, 2021

    Thanks for your review and glad that you had a nice trip! Good suggestion for the riding materials. What wonderful photos!

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ David2019 October 2, 2019

  A memorable cycling trip ...

  We were extremely pleased with the service we received through Biketours.com. Your website served as a terrific tool for choosing and planning a trip to meet our interests. The staff added to the quality of the planning by clarifying information on your website and by answering all of our questions. You were prepared to customize the tour to meet our needs and you offered suggestions that improved our experience. We felt that our trip was important to you. We were particularly pleased with the speed in which the staff responded and how another staff member would provide answers if our main contact was out of the office.

  We were very pleased with the route. It offered us a nice combination of excellent and safe pathways (of varying surfaces) along rivers, through farmlands and in parklands. The route allowed us to enjoy some wonderful smaller towns and villages. The scenery was spectacular. The route also offered us opportunities for some interesting stops so that we could enjoy the local history, architecture, culture, foods and people.

  What was the date of your tour?

  September 3 - 13

  How many tours have you completed?

  4

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Orange50 September 28, 2019

  Relaxing easy route

  What was the date of your tour?

  September

  How many tours have you completed?

  3

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 3/5 Hotels or boat
  • 3/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Terry 56 September 25, 2019

  Enjoyable

  The trip met or exceeded all of my expectaions. Some in my group wished there were rest days every 4th or 5th day so they could relax off the bike and sight see more in the towns we slep in.

  What was the date of your tour?

  september 2019

  How many tours have you completed?

  many

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
  • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
• ★★★★★ Lcooper31k July 18, 2019

  Perfect Way to Enjoy the Loire Valley

  This was our first bike tour, and we were a bit apprehensive about everything going well... but it did! The folks at biketours.com were so helpful and responsive, answering all our questions. We did Tours to Angers and it was a beautiful, relaxing (yet challenging!) ride. The bike paths/roads were easy to ride and follow, the rental bikes ride very well, the hotels at each town were superb (mostly old historic small hotels, all with AC), the breakfasts were delicious. But best of all, the scenery riding along the rivers and seeing or at stopping at the chateaus was fantastic. I can’t think of anywhere more perfect to do a bike tour. Directions were adequate, but we used the GPX files throughout the trip. When they took us off of the main Velo route, we really needed that extra technology, but once on the Loire de Velo route, it was very well signposted.One surprise no one told us... we needed to cross a small river using a self-operated ferry. We had no idea how to operate it! Fortunately, we met a Dutch couple who knew how to do it, so we crossed it.

  What was the date of your tour?

  July 2019

  How many tours have you completed?

  1

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat harder

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 3/5 Ease of navigation
  • 1/5 Tour documents
  • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ KneeJerk July 5, 2019

  We went Orleans to Tours (self-guided) and it was lovely. Almost (!) completely level (handful of short challenges), paved path/crushed stone, 95% away from traffic, often shaded. I'm almost 64, in decent but not heroic shape, and it was easy. People very friendly (but not as bilingual as Danube trip, for example); accommodations quite satisfactory. Got quite hot (late June 2019) but that was apparently unusual. Printed materials disappointing -- almost all brochures in French only, no restaurant/bistro suggestions, few recommendations of nearby sites. Maps OK but cue sheets not written by native English speaker; need to download app and follow that way.

  What was the date of your tour?

  June 2019

  How many tours have you completed?

  6

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat easier

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 2/5 Tour documents
  • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Colorado Bill July 2, 2018

  First step to the Atlantic

  We arrived a day early. Orleans was great city. Big church.
  The trip was seamless. Bikes hotels maps road food just what you would expect fro. FRANCE. .... We wish we had taken the time into week 2 or 3 to complete the Loire.
  We will return.

  What was the date of your tour?

  June 24

  How many tours have you completed?

  3

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Much easier

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 3/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Shlomo November 12, 2017

  Great trip in the Loire

  It was my first multi-day bike trip and it was great. All the equipment and instructions were 100% .
  2 comments: No one from the local company met us (so, for example, I couldn't ask how to reset the distance meter). And, there was no mobile number to which I could WhatsApp in case of problem (and I had no local calls package). Other than that it was great.

  What was the date of your tour?

  Oct. 6th 2017

  How many tours have you completed?

  0

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 3/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 3/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ JW25 June 27, 2017

  Loire Valley Self Guided Bike Tour

  The trip was so interesting with beautiful scenery and good weather.

  What was the date of your tour?

  May 29/17 to June 8/17

  How many tours have you completed?

  3

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 3/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 3/5 Ease of navigation
  • 3/5 Tour documents
  • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ CamL June 8, 2017

  Exceptional bike tour

  A wonderful bike trip through beautiful scenery including lovely farmlands and iconic french villages. Plus easy cycling.

  What was the date of your tour?

  May 29-June 6

  How many tours have you completed?

  3

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat easier

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
  • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
• ★★★★★ CJ4EY September 27, 2016

  Highly Recommend to Every Cyclist!

  Great Overall Biking Trip. The scenery was splendid and loved cycling up to chateaus. As an intermediate cyclist it was a relatively easy trip. The bikes and navigation signs/written information was the best we've had (and this was our 6th trip.)

  What was the date of your tour?

  Sept 6, 2016

  How many tours have you completed?

  6

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat easier

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 4/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ MelE August 18, 2016

  Tours to Angers

  What was the date of your tour?

  August 7-12

  How many tours have you completed?

  none

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 3/5 Value
  • 3/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 3/5 Hotels or boat
  • 4/5 Scenery
  • 3/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 2/5 Local tour company services
  • 3/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Granny Annie July 18, 2016

  Perfect Family Trip

  We were a family of 12 ranging in age from 11 to 86. It was PERFECT! Wonderful hotels, fantastic food, a beautiful trail, good bikes, short rides each day so we could enjoy the features along the way like the chateaux and the Magic Museum in Blois.

  What was the date of your tour?

  July 1-8

  How many tours have you completed?

  Lots

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Jonathan M July 1, 2016

  Amazing ride along the Loire!

  We loved the tour. It is relatively easy riding along very well marked trails, so the navigating is much simplified. The route follows dedicated bikepaths or very sleepy country roads with few cars. The French countryside is beautiful, and there are many interesting places to stop. Friendly people and delicious food, too.

  What was the date of your tour?

  June 2016

  How many tours have you completed?

  6

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  Somewhat easier

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 4/5 Tour documents
  • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection