Bike & Hotel Tour Reviews page 23
- Albania
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- United States
- Vietnam
-
★★★★★ David19
A vigorous adventure
UNESCO Sites of Albania
This is an excellent tour for anyone who wants to do a lot of climbing far from the beaten tourist path with the leadership of an excellent, superbly organized cyclist.
On the other hand, it is not a great way to get to know a lot about Albanian culture or history. Even though we went to some sites of great historical and cultural significance, we didn't have much time there, and promises that we would have a guided tour were not always kept. I'd have liked to have had a rest day in Gjirokaster; it has a lot of history to explore.
This tour has lots of climbs, some of them quite steep. The bikes provided by the operator didn't have low enough gears, so most tour members walked some of the climbs. The tour operator has told me he has recognized this problem and has already ordered more suitable bikes for 2019.
The food was excellent in both quality and quantity, with very few exceptions. Most eating was family style. There were vegetarian options.
Our group was large--22 participants, six more than advertised--but so well organized that meals moved briskly.
All 22 of us regrouped several times each day on the road. This, plus the attentiveness of the guide and the sag driver, made it almost impossible to get lost, but it also meant the faster riders often waited for the laggards to arrive.
I liked the other riders. I think few whiners choose tours in the mountains of Albania.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 13, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- More than ten.
- 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?
- Albania
-
★★★★★ DRC1
Great intro to Extremadura
Cycling Spain’s Land of the Conquistadors
An area with tons of sites and (relatively) little visited. Can you say Juradilla de la Vera? The Paradors are outstanding. Only down side of trip is that it involves a substantial amount of blacktop. Plus side of that is that it is usually lightly trafficked. We had ebikes and grateful we did because some of the days are long and with a difficulty greater than I would have otherwise enjoyed. The bikes were first rate, German built with Bosch drives. Can’t comment on support because we needed none.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept/Oct 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- 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?
- Spain
-
★★★★★ Brent
Croatia cycling
Split to Dubrovnik: The Islands and Coastline of Croatia
Excellent support. The scenery is as remarkable as on the adverts of Croatia tourism - stunning! The cycling is extremely challenging, particularly in very warm weather.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug. 28-Sept. 2
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
-
★★★★★ Professor
Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/26 - 10/4
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Petexter
Great all Round trip except for the maps
Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
Route maps failed at the departure point from the main route to the hotel. Upside: met a lot of very helpful people. Downside: consistently irritating.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Late September
- 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, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Deb Glazer
Great trip!
Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
This is my 4th trip with Biketours.com & I'm already looking forward to scheduling another. The scenery on this one couldn't have been better - it was simply stunning. The route was easy to follow & the biking was pretty easy. Some of the hotels were lovely, and while we're not picky, a few fell short. At the last one there were no blankets in the room & when we asked, they said they didn't have enough for all the rooms. That was a head scratcher for us and made it difficult to sleep.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Delane
Beautiful Scenery !!
Algarve Coastal Route
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 24, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- Portugal
-
★★★★★ Delaney group (4)
Delaney group of 4
Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
The gps files were accurate, helpful and complete. The routes were scenic and the downhills were challenging.
The hotels were clean and comfortable (hotel in Vytina was very old and tired) and our luggage was moved efficiently.
We were very disappointed with the number of flats our group had - 11 in all! We are very experienced cyclists and this number of flats is highly unusual. We note that two other groups (who booked through Arcas Travel) riding the same route, experienced the same number of flats even though they were riding heavier e-bikes. We all think the tires on the bikes were too worn. We ended up having to pay Arcas for extra bike tubes as they wouldn't cover the cost! Arcas was responsive to all of our issues.
On day 1, one of our bikes had a mechanical issue in that the lowest gear was not accessible. This made for a difficult day due to all of the hills. Another of our bikes had rear brakes that squealed. An Arcas rep fixed the problem at the end of the day.
The driver who handled our transfer (George?) from Athens to Vytina was 1 hr. and 40 minutes late! He also drove 30 kms below the speed limit and forgot his transponder. This meant that we arrived late in Vytina and by the time we receive our bikes etc, it was dinner time, so we didn't get to see the town.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2026
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
-
★★★★★ Denis Normandin
Bucket List Item
Wine, Dine and Electric Bike in Burgundy
We opted for the self-guided tour. Working with the GPS was a little confusing. I wonder if anyone from Active Tours recently rode the route provided to compare with reality. There were some trail closings due to construction. The GPS does not re-rout. To get back on course, you need to back track to get back on the route. Also, there were times where the verbal instructions did not match with the routing. The GPS mapping provided runs from top to bottom or horizontally. In North America the GPS flows from bottom to top. After a while it gets easier to follow. The first day was difficult but gradually things improved. It is not recommended to switch to Google maps to get you back on course as Google maps is not familiar with the rural French countryside. It can send you through plowed farm fields thinking this is a roadway. The luggage transfers worked perfectly. The ride through small French villages was special. It is difficult to visit a winery along the route as the owners ask for specific times of arrival. Also, some smaller wineries are not interested in bikers coming in as they generally will not be purchasing more than 1 or 2 bottles of wine. The hotels were well adapted to servicing bikers. Some very upscale hotels as well. It was a great way to experience riding and seeing parts of the country you would otherwise miss and sampling Burgundy wines.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2026
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1st time on this type of tour
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Desmond Barnett
Nice way to see parts of Italy
A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna
Self guided, hotels generally good but thought the hotel in Reggio Emilio was poorly sited. One restaurant fully booked little opportunity without taxi’s. Accomodation needs to be located in a town.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4-5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Deb Fanton
Andalusia bike ride
Andalusia: Southern Spain
Accommodations were fantastic; bike equipment very good; luggage transfers flawless. The routes were disappointing compared with Burgundy- many unadvertised hills, lots of highway, rough unpaved off road. We love working with BikeTours and this was our fifth or sixth trip but this particular trip was not communicated well from the beginning-- find it far better to do less cities with loops around the city and two nights at each location. Loved Spain though including our extended visit in Barcelona!
- What was the date of your tour?
- 10/25/19
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Spain
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe
Deb, thanks kindly for the review. We're sorry to hear you wouldn't recommend this tour but can certainly empathize - when you've been on numerous tours and traveled many places (as it sounds like you have) that not every tour can be a favorite. Thanks for the details about the route; very helpful for future clients! We're glad to have been able to assist you and delighted you enjoyed your accommodations, bikes, flawless luggage transfer, and Spain (of course!).
-
★★★★★ William C.
Getting acquainted with the Trossachs
Loch Lomond to Edinburgh: Lakes & Valleys of Scotland
A very authentic taste of Loch Lomand and beyond. The accommodations were varied but all were good. The distances were doable and the scenery was always changing. Some of the trail signs were confusing or obscured but with technology we always got to our destination. The bikes suited our needs and were well maintained. Fortunately we did not need the tools provided often but came in handy for minor adjustments. How great to be in Scotland during their FIFA win!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June, 2026
- How many tours have you completed?
- Many! Over 20
- 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?
- Scotland
-
★★★★★ Hiker Ann
Self Guided Mosel River
Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
Wes and the team at BikeTours.com were amazing helpful in planning our self guided trip. We were so lucky too that the weather was pleasant every day of our bike tour. This made the well planned tour even more special! We only experienced one late afternoon of rain in Sept..I would definitely contact Wes if we plan another bike tour in Europe, as he was attentive and friendly throughout our months ahead of planning.
The Mosel is a lovely ,calm river with various birds and river boats, plus vineyards up the hillsides on both sides to admire. The beginning of the tour is more peaceful than the latter part as the highways and roads follow the river and bike paths too and are closer in those parts. The towns in the middle of the tour are smaller and very interesting, and often we wished we had more time to explore them as some are historic and scenic. Faster riders and those with Ebikes may have had more time to visit these villages. The hotels especially Richtershof in Mulheim and Romantik Jugenstillhotel in Traben were places I would have loved to stay longer! .All hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The managers/staff at Hotel Schwarzen Baren in Koblenz were most personable, but please know if lodged there you have a longer distance to the hotel from the bike path and to the river boat and return the next day.
I would recommend that the first day not be the longest distance to bike for this tour. You are getting familiar with the heavier bikes, unlike ones you may own at home, taking multitudes of photo stops, and the hotel, restaurants, and area in Mulheim are a treat to behold after Trier. Getting there late afternoon left us less exploration and relaxation time. Otherwise the mileage per day was adequate for us. Do plan to have time to explore historic part of Cochem. It is a tourist stop and the Hotel Kebler Meyer is not in this part of town. My husband had an Ebike, I did not. Of course this review is personal, and I do prefer smaller villages to cities. Overall, we were most pleased with the tour arranged by BikeTours.com.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Setpt. 9 through 14
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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?
- Germany
-
★★★★★ Anne Stanek
Peaceful tour of some lovely countryside and beautiful little medieval villages.
South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
We surely enjoyed this trip. The beginning in St. Gilhem le Desert was perfect - such a lovely little town nestled into the mountains. There were a lot of uphills and wonderful long downhills on quiet roads. It was a nice variety of scenery and towns. We were particularly grateful for our Ebikes as the hills would have been difficult and tiring without them. It was a most enjoyable bike tour all round.
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Anne Stanek
Quiet roads and bike paths through lush orchards and dramatic mountain valleys.
Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
The first half of this tour was an enjoyable ride with quiet roads and beautiful scenery. The hotels were varied and comfortable. We had the bad luck of rain on Days 3 and 4. In fact, we skipped the boat ride and took the train on Day 4 as the weather forecast was for a lot of rain. The rest of the time we had sunny weather and enjoyed the quiet rides through the countryside around Verona. Some of the rides were longer than we would have liked but having Electric Bikes made the rides a breeze!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Ann M.
Catalonia
Medieval Villages of Catalonia
Beautiful and overall great trip. While our itinerary said we would have 25-37 miles/day, we rode much less, often finishing the day of riding at 1:30 pm. I would have preferred to ride longer, finishing between 3:30-4:00 pm with opportunities for more stops along the way for photos, etc.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2026
- How many tours have you completed?
- first one! I would have enjoyed the tour more if the guides were more knowledgeable about local history, birds, crops, flowers, etc. Our guides were competent riders, but could be better with local knowledge (didn't know when olives were harvested!). Lunches could have been expedited by letting local restaurants know that our group was arriving instead of trying to find a cafe that was open and able to serve such a large group (23). Our best lunch was when the guides called ahead and paella was served family style.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Spain
-
★★★★★ 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
-
★★★★★ Anette
Trip to remember!
Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Four of us did the self guided tour around Lake Constance. The scenery and the towns were so cute! Three nights of the hotel stays were great, but unfortunately two of them were well below standard. When doing this trip make sure you say that you don't want to stay in Vis-à-vis in Lindau (right opposite the train station) and in Hotel Frohsinn in Arbon (currently busy with construction) and the noise started at 7:15am :( Will I recommend doing this bike ride: Yes!!! The bikes were in great condition and you will have the opportunity to eat a lot of wonderful gelato! Oh, all the hotels gave breakfast and it was great!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2026 - during the heat wave!
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Arik
Nice ride. Two complaints.
Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
1) The phone app didn't work at all (for three of us who tried). And the GPS they gave us as a backup is a decade outdated. Thank goodness for Google Maps, though that didn't always yield the most scenic routes.
2) Too much time spent on bike routes that were really highway shoulders, with a bicycle silhouette stenciled on the asphalt.Great hotels, fantastic food, (and priceless company we provided ourselves).
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Countries included in this tour?
- France, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ ArmannI
Wonderful trip
Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
Pros: The perfect way to experience this part of Greece. The Greek people were very friendly.
Cons: One of the bikes broke down resulting in minor injury of one of the person in the group. When we were leaving the local tour company intents to claim us (without result) for the bike and driving the injured person to the nearmest hospital. The companys "clarification" for the claim for the bicycle was "careless" and/or "speedy" cycling even though we only followed the provided cycling routes. This resulted my in "one" star rate to the company. My "one" star has nothing to do with the people from the company that were wery helpful and nice. Regarding the bycicle I thougt such biking company would have its insurance to tackle such "incedent".
- What was the date of your tour?
- 6.7.2019 - 12.7.2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
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