Bike & Hotel Tour Reviews page 17
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and H…
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Holland
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Mexico
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United States
- Vietnam
- ★★★★★ Charlotte F
Wonderful sightseeing of the Burgundy countryside
Wine, Dine and Electric Bike in Burgundy
We knew the standard of the trip was going to be high considering what we paid for it but most hotels exceeded our expectations as they were really the best of the best. The exception was only Maison Philippe Le Bon in Dijon, which was very quaint but was definitely a step down from the other hotels when it came to the room and breakfast standard. They also seemed totally unaware of the deal with activetours until we showed then the voucher (didn't happen anywhere else).
The electrical bikes worked great but I would recommend to bring a cushioned seat cover if you're not used to biking regularly. If you are planning to bring a small bag to put on the rack behind the saddle, I would consider bringing en elastic strap or two to secure it on the bike as the straps on the bike are very tight and probably not elastic enough to hold anything bigger than a purse or an extra jacket.
The navigational app was quite a hassle to get used to (we had not used it before) and we could not get the resume function after we had breaks but had to restart the whole route for the day every time and then "reconnect" to the route. Also, we would have appreciated a heads up that the routes provided were not exact. For example:
1. The stops at wineries on the way were not exactly ON the route but in some places required quite the map reading skills to access. Even google maps struggled to find the right way.
2. They did not always show the route to our hotel but to another hotel in the city. For example in Dijon we were about 1km off. We checked the routes before leaving but if we would have gotten a heads up to check our destination as we approached our destination, that would have made our lives a lot easier.
3. Sometimes the routes were very illogical and for example when we biked along the Canal de Bourgogne it once wanted us to go to the other side of the canal for a few kilometres (a road with cars) instead of just continuing straight ahead on the walking/biking path, which we ended up doing. Getting out of Dijon we also struggled a lot as we had to go through, to bring up the most extreme examples, an alleyway that barely were wide enough to fit the handlebars of the bikes and an overgrown dirt path that was close to a stone wall on one side and had branches on the other side. Close to Chagny, a bridge we were supposed to cross didn't exixt anymore and was possibly under re-construction. This makes me question when these routes were last tested by the company.
All in all though, we highly enjoyed our adventures but I'd encourage the company to send someone out to test the routes before ech season and also to be more clear when you present the routes that they don't exatly lead to the door step of either the wineries or your next hotel. Especially the route to Domain Duchemin needs a thorough description (don't trust google maps!).
As for the difficulty level, some days were easier than expected and some harder. The route from Domaine de Rymska to Sainte Sabine is very long and we had a hard headwind for the last 20-30 km which made us almost empty our bike batteries that day. We are in average/good shape but appreciated A LOT that we had opted for e-bikes instead of traditional bikes. SHOW MORE- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our first bike tour, probably not the last.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
- ★★★★★ Jo C
Beautiful Crete
Aegean Discovery: Cycling through Eastern Crete
This trip is not for the inexperienced traveler. Crete roads aren't really very bike friendly and some of the areas on the route were a bit insane. The tour company staff was very friendly. The island was lovely, and the locals were great. 5 of the 6 motels were nice. There was a lot of climbing, and the island is very windy.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10+
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
- ★★★★★ Janet Lee
Exceeded expectations!
Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
Our group of 4 opted for the self guided tour. The e-bikes were great and we are happy we chose them even though we are all able-bodied cyclists. There are a few hills where the e-bike made the trip much more enjoyable and they are smooth pedaling for flat terrain. The hotels were all charming and very convenient to the towns. Breakfasts were always amazing. The only downside was lack of directions to and from the hotels to the daily route. We got lost and back tracked often. Wish there were simple written instructions as the maps provided didn’t give any turn by turn instructions.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
- ★★★★★ Cati C
A Natural Wonder
Bergen to Sognefjord: Cycle Norway's Greatest Landscapes
We had an incredible experience on this bike tour. The trip was so thoughtfully planned by the local tour company. Not only are you biking along some of the most beautiful natural landscape in the world, you are staying at iconic historic hotels (complete with delicious meals included!) and experiencing so many facets of Norwegian culture. Highly recommend! This is my 3rd bike tour and I could not recommend enough
I will note two things:
1. we lucked out with beautiful weather. Perfect sunny, blue sky days for our whole trip. If it were raining and cold, it would still be fun but just know that the weather is unpredictable
2. The cycling occurred on roads shared with motorists. 95% of the time this was totally fine because the car traffic was so infrequent, but keep this in mind if you prefer not to share the road with cars.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Norway
BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac
Thank you so much for the lovely review - and wow, your photos are absolutely stunning! We’re thrilled you had such a memorable experience and appreciated the mix of nature, culture, and historic charm. Hope to see you again on another ride!
- ★★★★★ Julie Krey
Enjoyable ride through Slovenia
Emerald Tour of Slovenia’s Gems
Very much enjoyed our bike ride. Flawless support and organization by the local partner as well as the GPS map enabled us to enjoy the ride without the hassles. Beautiful countryside and very friendly people and excellent accommodations. Only slight improvement would be a bridge detour and new road out of Muggia that were not on our GPS that would have been helpful.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- Slovenia
- ★★★★★ Mitch
Wonderful Trip
Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
We self guided down the Danube from Passau to Vienna. The experience was great. We stopped where and when we wanted to to stop and enjoyed the locals along the way. Being self guided was no problem at all, my only suggestion is to tie the hotels to the route for the for guidance. We ended up using Google maps to take us from the end of the route to the hotel in Linz and Vienna.
The Great hotels were : The Altstadt Hotel Passau, Landgastof Winter Ardagger, Hotel Zur Post Melk, Hotel Richard Lowenherz Dunstein and the Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhof Vienna. All of these hotel were phenominal. Frau Winter and the team in Adagger make feel right at home, great bar, great food and great hosts make for great stay. Elisabeth and her staff at Hotel Zur Post make you fell right at home, with a great wine tasting from the Wachau Valley, along with a great kitchen and ice cream shop out front makes this a great place to stay and enjoy their wonderful hospitality. Their uniforms are wonderful and ad to the experience! The Richard Loweherz in Durnstein is built around an abbey built in the 1400's, service was great and rooms comfortable. The restaurant was great also. The Steigenberger Hotel in Vienna puts the S in service. All of the staff went above and beyond to make sure you had what you needed for a wonderful stay. Great hotel in a large city with a small hotel feel. The real downer was the Radisson in Linz, indifferent front desk staff, dirty carpet in the first room and attached to a casino tells all about who they cater to. We were not impressed. The hotel in Tullin, The Best Western was brand new spotless and had a great manager. For business type of hotel this was a five star experience compared to Linz. The hotel is spotlessly clean and in a great part of town central to everything, it is not a traditional European old style hotel. The hotel in Schlogen we were indifferent to it is a summer resort hotel with a weird layout. It was okay but to call it upscale was stretching things a little in our opinion. It is located on the great bend and has wonderful views for the Danube and a great back deck to eat and drink on.
The Wachau valley is the heart of this tour for sheer beauty as was the ride from Schlogen to Linz and Linz to Ardagger. Those were our most enjoyable legs.
The bikes were brand new for the season for us and our two friend who had electric bikes they both had about 4000km on them. The bikes were in great repair and required no maintenance along the ride. The disk brakes were a welcome addition in the rain.
If you want to take a great bike ride down through Germany and Austria this ride is for you. Virtually flat with just a few climbs in and out of towns makes for an easy ride, we ended up gaining weight from all of the great food! Don't be put off by self guided, it's a great way to see everything you want to see.
- ★★★★★ Heather Van Nes
Wonderful choice to explore Bulgaria & Romania!
Danube River and Black Sea
We had an excellent time cycling and enjoying all the beautiful scenery from the countryside to the Black Sea coast! Our guide, Deyan, was helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable. He went above and beyond to meet our every need. I highly recommend doing this tour!
- ★★★★★ Rob T
Provence
Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon
Best of Provence - Brilliant accommodation in St Remy. Cantosorge hotel not the best.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 4 May
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
- ★★★★★ Hugh M.
Maybe our 6th trip with biketours…
Aegean Discovery: Cycling through Eastern Crete
…and it continued to exceed expectations: attentive trip planning with Mariam Thrazashvili - something like 37 e-mails to pick best week for weather in Crete, nail down extra days, detour to Matala, etc. That’s a lot for a 25 euro booking fee! Local outfitter ARCAS had excellent support, well-chosen hotels (best: Pepi Boutique Hotel in Rethymno, and the one in Toufoulofari). Had a couple flat tires on the e-bikes (take note: some tough climbs; we’re casual bikers, e-bikes change your whole attitude about hills - but the subsequent downhills are glorious!) and the gears were a bit wonky but I managed. The GPS turn-by-turn routing was idiot proof - there was one stretch where the route was misregistered so it was 20-30 meters away from true position, but I gave ARCAS feedback and they have corrected it. (Could not print out the 36 pages of trip notes - and neither could the local rep of ARCAS - broke his printer - file size too big.). The views are spectacular! Highly recommend!
- What was the date of your tour?
- *early* May ‘25 - later gets really hot - but they had snow in mountain villages the week before
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7-8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
- ★★★★★ Scott and Susie Blackshaw
Biking the Danube: just the right amount of challenge.
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
The self-guided bike tour prepared by BikeTours.com was the perfect amount of challenge and adventure. We got to see and experience nature, history and the local culture of Austria.
Each night we laid our weary heads down in comfortable and unique accommodations. The hearty breakfasts provided each morning helped to keep us going.
This was just the right amount of challenge for our average level of fitness. The e-bikes, app and maps and luggage transfer certainly made the whole experience easier.
We are already dreaming about our next bike tour.
- ★★★★★ Gail
Everything I expected and more
Best of Slovenia: Highlights Across the Country From Bled to Piran
Everyday was something new to see
Loved all the farmland, meadows
Seeing less people in these areas
Couldn’t believe how green it was
Loved the small village accommodation
Especially in Kodreti
People were kind and gracious
We could not get over how good the food was in smaller towns- Countries included in this tour?
- Slovenia
- ★★★★★ Lee Smith
Beautiful views and wonderful hospitality.
Aegean Discovery: Cycling through Eastern Crete
We enjoyed this trip immensely. The views are fabulous and the food is delicious. The people of Crete are very friendly and accomodating. The trip is not overly challenging but an ebike is a worthy investment. Ride with GPS works well but don't follow it blindly. If it is taking you somewhere that you aren't happy about, don't hesitate to zooout and look for an alternative route. Highly recommended tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- Four
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
BikeTours.com staff reply from jan
stunning photos. Thanks for sharing and your business. Have a wonderful rest of you summer!
Cheers,
Jan
- ★★★★★ Belinda
A wonderful trip
UNESCO Sites of Albania
We had a wonderful trip our guide Roxan was fantastic, very attentive and helpful. The route was very good, with not too much traffic. Our hotels were generally good and the food was excellent. We had a great trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- One
- 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?
- Albania
- ★★★★★ Colleen
Spring in Umbria and Tuscany
Tuscany and Umbria: Cycling in the Heart of Italy
The bike route was great, small country roads through towns and villages. We met friendly people at every stop we made. Drivers were courteous to cyclists.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
- ★★★★★ Deborah Davis
Perfectly curated
UNESCO Sites of Albania
We were self guided and had changed the itinerary by adding a few rest days along the way. As we were not part of a group we were initially worried that me might get forgotten (and bags not forwarded etc) but every detail was taken care of and the support was completely reliable and comprehensive. This allowed us to just enjoy the trip. Albania was an absolute delight in every way; scenery, people, culture and the route was perfectly curated to show the best of all of this.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- Albania
BikeTours.com staff reply from jan
Thanks for the lovely review and fantastic photos. My mother took this trip late last year and spoke of it much the same. Thank you for traveling with us!
Cheers,
Jan
- ★★★★★ Jeff R
Adventure Around the Lake
Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
A perfect way to spend 10 or so days biking. There is so much to see on this mostly bike trail ride. If you are looking for a relaxing trip with things to see each day, this is the one. A little research on each of the towns you stay will reward you with some fun things to see. Most of all, plenty of Benches to stop and take in the sites around you.
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 14
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
