Albania  Bike Tour Reviews (page 5)

  • UNESCO Sites of Albania
    (4/5) Maureen Lander 10 months ago

    Albania is Beautiful!

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    As far as the biking in Albania, I'd give five-star, A-plus all the way. Beautiful scenery, nice roads with twists and turns to keep things interesting. Lots of uphill -- negated by e-bike -- but rewarded with fun, exhilarating downhills that went on forever and ever. Our fellow bikers were the best, interesting, fun people from all over. It was a true experience being in a country that's emerging from decades and decades of communist rule. They have a ways to go, I'd say, as far as customer service/attitude about tourists, but it looks like they're trying.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
  • (4/5) Tom Gihring 10 months ago

    Wonderful views riding through this mountainous landscape

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    One of the best value cycle tours to be found. First class meals provided, including fresh prepared local dishes. Guides take good care of the bikes and give daily briefings before each ride. Wish there were more cycle paths to relieve riders from dealing with motor traffic.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Kathy Dudley 10 months ago

    Eye opening tour

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    Biking through Albania was certainly an eye opening experience. Observing the development of the country following so many years of communism was eye opening for us. Riding through villages with donkeys and wheelbarrows onto major highways with tourist buses was quite a juxtaposition. The country is beautiful yet full of trash. The people were warm amd welcoming and made the trip a wonderful experience. Our guide amd driver were fun and efficient. We would recommend better bike repair equipment or back up bikes and a first aid kit. It would be nice to have tours with e-bikes separate from those with manual bikes to decrease the waiting and the pressure of those riding manual bikes to keep up.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    4
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
    •  (photo by Kathy Dudley)
    •  (photo by Kathy Dudley)
    • Farm Sotira. Our favorite (photo by Kathy Dudley)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 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
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (3/5) WSTraveler October 22, 2019

    An Unusual Experience Not to Be Repeated

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    The sag driver was great despite limited English in that he was always available to help in any way possible. The tour guide was good and worked very hard but was not good at listening to understand problems with the bikes and was at times totally dismissive. The difficulty of the ride was enormously underrated and BIkeTours was evasive about providing advanced information. The road conditions were in areas extremely poor and the advertised grades were just lies. BikeTours advertised the trip as a max of 16 riders, although there were 20, considered a small group by the guide. Again, less than honest disclosure.

    The experience of the country was worth the trip. It was a fun collection of international participants. The accommodations were varied but appropriate to the locale and part of the fun. Food was good and the guide worked to arrange options for dietary restrictions. The sag support was excellent and eager to support the riders. The guide did a good job of keeping the group together and providing navigation guidance despite lack of any cue sheets or gps routes.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 23 - Oct 2
    How many tours have you completed?
    lots
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Balkan Treasures
    (3/5) Kenneth (Doug) Mering October 2, 2023

    Good trip but issues

    · Balkan Treasures

    Trouble with maps provided. Map did always start and stop at lodging location. Not always clear on th route on the map. Did not always feel safe on the road. Scenery was great. Enjoyed it but may not do another biketours trip without a lot more research on the routes safety.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Albania, Montenegro
  • (3/5) Julia Bouchard October 8, 2023

    Beautiful countryside

    · Balkan Treasures

    The countries we visited were awesome. The local tour operator left a lot to be desired. Before leaving the US we tried multiple times to download the gps routes onto our phones. Biketours.com stated they do not support the app we were supposed to use…..when we arrived in Trebinje our first day, none of us were able to see the routes…after phone calls with local operator, he walked us through using an app with his username and password-less than ideal. We eventually had the routes on our phones,but no way to mount phone on handlebars. Eventually we got one phone holder that immediately dropped the phone while spinning around!
    Initially I was given a bike that was way too small. Tour operator wanted me to use it for the first day which had the longest climb of the week. Eventually he did supply a proper fitting bike that night. We never had anyone to check the bikes with us….
    Many of the hotels were quite nice but when we were transferred to Stari Bar, the hotel owner said we did not have reservations. He gave us awful rooms, over the kitchen noisey, sink that didn’t drain…..husband got food poisoning from the restaurant. Albania was disappointing because the lake was so dirty and riding in the city was dangerous The Balkans are awesome but the local tour operator was not up to the standard I expected and received on previous bike tours.com trips

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Families with teens
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Albania, Montenegro
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection