Austria Bike Tour Reviews page 5
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★★★★★ Keith M.
A Beautiful Ride Through Austria
Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
This was a very well organized and well thought out way to experience the beautiful countryside between Salzburg and Vienna. When we entered the hotel in Salzburg to pick up our rented bicycles for our first day of riding we were greeted by a representative from the bicycle rental company. With our bicycles he provided us with a tire patch kit, basic tool kit, and hand pump but no tire levers. At my request he provided me with a spare inner tube which came in handy on the last day of our tour. The bicycles provided were well maintained and well suited for this tour. My wife used an e-bike whereas I used a 24 speed hybrid bicycle with a triple crankset giving me a wide range of gearing just in case it got hilly. The bicycles also came with a set of panniers and a small handlebar bag on one to carry the tour guidebooks. The guidebooks were customized for our specific tour providing good information on the sights to see along the way as well as maps to the specific hotels we were to stay at. Accommodations were good, mostly family owned and run with the exception of the hotels in Salzburg, Linz, and Vienna which were part of different hotel chains, e.g. Marriott. The hotels we stayed at provided good European breakfasts and excellent Austrian coffee. Our luggage was always available at the hotel when we arrived. I am 70 years old and have toured by bicycle extensively throughout the United Staes since my teenage years but I found this tour far more enjoyable since the route we took was mostly on paved or crushed stone bicycle paths without auto traffic to deal with (in the United States I have bicycled through many beautiful national and state parks but have always had to deal with automobile traffic making it more difficult to enjoy the natural splendor). However, there were times where we did need to ride with auto traffic in and near the cities. We also rode on some backroads and roads through neighborhoods that have very little auto traffic. Good bicycle path signage is present along Austria’s cycle paths, however, the provided bicycle tour guide books did not take advantage of this. I believe the guide books should have referred to this bike path signage (e.g., R2 or R4 or R6 or R15) and mention which to follow from one city or town to the next. Another challenge was that the bicycle rental company did not provide handle bar mounts for our smart phones meaning anytime we needed to check a GPS track we had to stop and pull out our phones from our pockets or bags. This became especially frustrating on rainy days. Please note I did attempt to purchase smart phone handlebar mounts at a couple of bike shops along the way but neither of them carried what I was looking for; next time I will be sure to be prepared and bring my own. Although we found the GPS tracks very useful, on some occasions there were times that the GPS tracks did not perfectly match with the bicycle path signage which led to a little confusion but this was easily resolved after checking Google Maps. However, we found the eight km stretch GPS track from Grein to the Schatz.Kammer Burg Kreuzen hotel to be grossly inadequate. Although the paved parts of this path were manageable, we ended up on some very steep and poorly maintained dirt and gravel roads that would have been manageable with a decent mountain bike with wide tires but not the bicycles we were using. A shuttle from Grein to the hotel was offered and that may have been the better option for this part of the ride. Another point about Schatz.Kammer Burg Kreuzen hotel is the available buffet dinner. The cost is about 25 euros per person and is cash only. It would have been nice to know that they did not accept credit cards for the buffet dinner and it what it cost. Fortunately I had enough cash in my wallet to cover this expense. On the last day of riding we past a Canadian couple we had chatted with at dinner a couple of nights before. They had a flat tire and did not know how to repair it nor did they have the necessary tools and spare inner tube to do so. They had called the bicycle tour company to ask for assistance but since it was a Sunday they were told they would have to find their own way to the next town for assistance. Fortunately I did have a spare inner tube and had brought my own set of bicycle tools (including tire levers) from home; the basic tools provided by the bicycle tour company would have been inadequate to facilitate this simple repair. I was able to replace the inner tube and get them back on their way toward Vienna. I mention this not so much as a negative but to remind those interested in such a tour to come prepared to manage such inconveniences. Overall, the experience was most enjoyable and the scenery amazing. I strongly recommend this tour for anyone that enjoys bicycle touring through very scenic mountain valleys and historic towns and along scenic lakes and rivers. I am thankful that biketours.com has vetted this tour and made it easy and affordable to experience. The personnel at biketours.com were very helpful with the booking of this tour and patiently answered all of my questions. I will definitely book future European bicycle tours through biketours.com. SHOW MORE
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- Dozens
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Medium
Very good trip with a couple glitches.
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
A week can only touch on the highlights of what the Danube has to offer for bikers, and this tour accomplished that, leaving us with ideas for more in-depth exploring. The boat was fine, the meals were good and the crew was great, but the WiFi access was almost nonexistent; had to go to Starbucks or other coffee houses in cities to check email. The cruise director was a last minute replacement with insufficient English to answer most questions... a nice guy but not well organized. Fortunately, the routes had been well planned, though the slide shows provided scant info, so we could have benefitted from a handout each day describing the route specifics, sites of interest and perhaps suggestions on restaurants.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 1-8 Oct 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Thom
Lovely trip on the Danube River with biking to keep us in shape!
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
A great trip to four cities and capitals in Eastern Europe. Comfortable accommodations, friendly staff, good meals, easy biking. Weather was chilly and grey at this time of the year. The Danube is NOT blue if the sky is grey and it is drizzling!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 1-8, 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4 European bike trips
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ John Schwartz
First trip to Europe riverboat cruise
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Perfect way to experience Europe for the first time. A nice mix of biking and off days to explore cities and see lovely countryside and smaller towns. Riverboat cruise was very scenic and well planned.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Robert Arnold
A geart trip!
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Excellent for the most part. Some issues with the boat. 1) Our cabin air conditioning did not consistently work. 2) We shouldn't have to pay for water at meal time. 3) Our group wasn't allowed to change tables at dinner which is something we would have liked to do since we were a group of 40.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 25 - June 1, 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 bike-boat tours
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Francine D.
Happy we finally did this tour!
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
We really enjoyed the additional excursions we booked. They were excellent. We are happy we rented e bikes since some of the cycling was longer than we normally do, the assist was a plus! The cycling on our 2nd day proved to be a challenge since we and others got lost several times making us late and miss the tour we had booked for Bratislava.
We found out that if one gets hurt or that their bike breaks down that there isn't any rescue service which would be necessary. All in all the staff was great, the food very good and our room service kept our room nice and clean.. -
★★★★★ Normbc
Enjoyed the biking and scenery, but time of year with high water slowed boat down
Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
This was my first experience on a bike and barge cruise. It was great to have to unpack only the once and have the same place to sleep each day. The rooms were very good, the staff excellent and the meals exceptional. The first couple of days we had rain (time of year) but we were still able to get out and bike (if you don't mind doing so with rain gear on). The timing between stops by the boat were really off because of high water. At one place we were not even able to dock to get off the boat to leave on bikes so that day we had to start where we should have ended and biked an extra 10 km to complete the circuit. Only 2 of us actually the did the entire cirucit due to the rain and wind conditions and distance. The rest of the trip the weather improved and we had some sunny beautiful days biking. We lost our free time to explore Vienna though because of the slow progress of the boat coming up-river where we arrived at 5:30 pm rather than 10 am as scheduled.
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★★★★★ skinut 7
good trip with a few qualifiers
Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
The accommodation and food were good. The bikes were excellent.
The joining instructions were poor. We followed the bus directions after leaving the train and ended up with a 2 km trek with luggage to the boat-the bus took us to summer dock not winter.
There needs to be clearer advisories re trips in late May and possibly early June, that due to high water in the Danube, there is a greater likelihood of delays and alterations to plans. We were 4 hours late docking at Passau at the end and missed our flight from Vienna. We had arranged a transfer for 12noon as directed(not the scheduled time of 10am) but could not make our flight with a 2pm arrival.
Also our scheduled stop in Devin was not possible due to high water.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 20 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 including this one
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Francis Farrell
A Family Danube Adventure
Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
As Grandpa, I organized this adventure for my daughter, son and his family. This seemed an ideal year to do it since my grandson, 16, wouldn't be bored and my granddaughter, 12 and the youngest passenger, would be able to manage the biking and appreciate the countries and cultures she'd experience.
The ship, cabins and, except for the grand kids, the meals were good.On the downside, there were very few English speakers including the tour director. He spoke only German but his wife would do a reasonably good job of translating. Many of the crew and other passengers were capable in English. Also, the cruise line offered a "Drink Plan" with unlimited alcohol for 15 Euros/day for all seven days. This would have been 630 Euros for us, all but me non-drinkers - ridiculous!
I'm sure we will take another "boat & bike" trip but I doubt with CD Cruise Lines.
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★★★★★ Luis Ricardo
As good as expected
Danube Bike Path 5-nights (Active)
Was an incredible experience. Good hotels and the path is easy to follow however a GPS is always recommended cycling the last mile. Next time I will choose an ebike.
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★★★★★ Tanner Welsh
Beautiful ride, a few weather-related issues
Danube Bike Path 5-nights (Active)
Overall this tour was a great experience. The scenery was lovely, basic logistics were smooth and easy to follow, and the bike was sufficient for the style of riding. Hotels were comfortable and clean, and one was way more luxurious than expected.
The only reason I didn’t give five stars is that my tour coincided with Danube flooding that closed many sections of the trail, making the route significantly more difficult to navigate. While the tour operators were very helpful when asked, there wasn’t much proactive support with information like alternate routes. I would’ve expected a bit more of a “Plan B” in place given that flooding is not an uncommon event, but instead I was often just figuring it out as I went. This made for a memorable adventure, but also that I had less time to stop along the way because I had to account for more time spent waiting and taking detours. I’d also recommend spending some time getting familiar with common bike-related road signs and relevant German words for “except” and “open/closed” - much better to know the basics before having to take an unplanned detour through a higher-traffic zone.
All this to say, if you don’t go during a flood you’ll probably not encounter any of these issues. And the scenery and tranquility of the ride are hard to beat.
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★★★★★ Tanner Welsh
Beautiful ride, a few weather-related issues
Danube Bike Path 5-nights (Active)
Overall this tour was a great experience. The scenery was lovely, basic logistics were smooth and easy to follow, and the bike was sufficient for the style of riding. Hotels were comfortable and clean, and one was way more luxurious than expected.
The only reason I didn’t give five stars is that my tour coincided with Danube flooding that closed many sections of the trail, making the route significantly more difficult to navigate. While the tour operators were very helpful when asked, there wasn’t much proactive support with information like alternate routes. I would’ve expected a bit more of a “Plan B” in place given that flooding is not an uncommon event, but instead I was often just figuring it out as I went. This made for a memorable adventure, but also that I had less time to stop along the way because I had to account for more time spent waiting and taking detours. I’d also recommend spending some time getting familiar with common bike-related road signs and relevant German words for “except” and “open/closed” - much better to know the basics before having to take an unplanned detour through a higher-traffic zone.
All this to say, if you don’t go during a flood you’ll probably not encounter any of these issues. And the scenery and tranquility of the ride are hard to beat.
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★★★★★ Chloek1234
Great trip for leisurely bikers seeking variety and leisurely travel
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
I went on this tour as a BikeTours.com staff member, and I think this is a great tour for a variety of folks. There are big cities, forests, small towns, ancient ruins, vineyards, and more. The cycling is very easy and simple to navigate. The directions and maps are basic, and leave you to discover things on your own. The tour is 95% or more on bike paths. You do have to leave the bike path oftentimes to venture to the night's accommodations. All of the accommodations were quite lovely, and breakfast ranged from adequate to delicious! I think I could take my entire family on this tour, from my grandma to my baby cousin and everyone would love it. It's really is the quintessential European bike tour experience.
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★★★★★ Danube fan
Nice country riding along the famous Danube
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Overall our trip was fun. The hotels ranged from wonderful (in Maria Taferi and Vienna), to pretty nice for the price.
We're fairly strong road cyclists but nevertheless found the rental bikes very heavy. The mileages for the first few days were long and with those heat bikes it was tiring. We would suggest a rest day around day 3 or 4, or alternatively lower mileages on some of the early days.
We loved Passau and would recommend spending an extra day there before the bike tour. Also a day in Vienna at the end.
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★★★★★ M And D
So enjoyable!
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
We had such a good time going from Passau to Vienna. The bikes were great and the signage along the route made it so easy to stay on course. Sometimes making it through a larger town &/or making it into Vienna proved to be an adventure because of the "traffic"
and quick choices to make at those times, but that's part of the charm! Accommodation was different in amenities from day to day but all lovely. Staff were wonderful at every spot. Would definitely recommend it and looking forward to trying another.
Day- What was the date of your tour?
- September 23,2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- One
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ melwood
Great trip due to the scenery, companions, and beer.
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Overall this was a great trip. I have a few complaints, though.
1. The bikes. We asked for hybrids and what we got were heavy cruisers (24 # or so) with 21 speeds and barco lounger seats. The seats were comfortable for about 20 miles the first day, then they were downright painful. Next time I'll bring my own saddle if I have to use these bikes. Also two of my companions are well under 5 ft tall and the bikes were big for them and hard to handle.
2. The distance. We told the company we wanted to do about 40 miles a day but it averaged 56 miles per day (with hot weather and heavy bikes and a headwind the entire way) for 4 days. We thought were spending 5 nights in hotels but it was only 4. I could have sworn I saw 5 days on the itinerary they sent before we left, but I guess i mis-read it.
3. The directions book. It was a little confusing arriving at the hotel and leaving it daily, as we had to pick out our directions from everyone one else's who were doing a similar ride but staying at different hotels or different villages.
A better approach would have been individual instructions. Especially when we arrived in Vienna. Once we were in town it was still an hour to our hotel through the city at high traffic. I could have kissed the hotel desk personnel when I finally arrived.
4. Accommodations: 3 out of 4 were great. The breakfast meals were great and plentiful. I would have liked to stay closer in the whatever village or town we were in (for those hotels that weren't) as it'd been nice to have a choice for dinner other than the hotel. Once we arrived, were too tired to bike any further, and we didn't want to spend $ on a taxi. Just a
suggestion.- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 12-16th, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Marcus
Better than I expected.
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Bike trip was quite an experience. Gorgeous country and villages. BikeTours.com was very accommodating to our needs. In a few places, especially near towns, some more green "tour" signs would have been helpful.
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★★★★★ Jim G
Rainy Days
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Beautiful bike path, superior bike path route signs. Very historical cities and sites.
We booked Class A lodging package with dinner plan and were very pleased with everything except our stay at the Diamond City Hotel, Tulin. Although the Hotel was new and very nice, they sent us to the Albrechtsstuben Gasthof restaurant. It was a totally bad experience. Only 1 other couple dining, all sent from the Diamond Hotel.
Horrible food, although hungry, neither Bonnie or I could eat much. Requested tap water to drink, restaurant would only provide $4 euros bottles of water.
Spoke with other couple in restaurant, and they concurred, "very bad"
Upon return to hotel, I expressed our disappointment with the restaurant.
I was informed that I was the only person that ever complained, everyone else loved the restaurant.
It was obvious, there is a family connection, we saw the women who waited on us, with the desk clerk, together the next day. (All related)
Overall, great ride- What was the date of your tour?
- September, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
