Bosnia And Herzegovina  Bike Tour Reviews (page 3)

  • (4/5) Gregory Bodin 10 months ago

    West Balkan Triangle Review

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Our 2 guides were excellent. Aleksander led the rides and was very attentive to both the fast riders and the slower riders. Juro drove the van and handle a lot of the logistics; he was very attentive to the details and made sure everything flowed smoothly. They were both very friendly and informative on the local culture.
    The ride was beautiful with quite a variety of terrain (coastal ride, bay ride, inland valley). I would recommend an e-bike unless you are in very good shape; the distances aren't huge but some of the hills are big.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2024
    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?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Elizabeth Denniston 10 months ago

    Spectacular

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    An amazing way to see the most stunning scenery. I had no idea what each day would bring, and the trip unfolded as one magical day after another.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 14
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    •  (photo by Elizabeth Denniston)
    • Ready to ride after lunch (photo by Elizabeth Denniston)
    •  (photo by Elizabeth Denniston)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) robert harrison May 3, 2024

    enjoyable interesting trip

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Overall the trip was good.Alex and Emir as the main tour guides were efficient and the organisation of the luggage and the bikes was excellent.The cycling and the routes were good.Where the tour could have improved was giving us some basic information about the places we were visiting.For example at Kotor most of us were not aware that you could walk up the city walls to the top of the hill.We don,t expect an hours lecture but some local knowledge would further enhance the trip and perhaps training for the tour leaders would be appropriate.Finally there was some confusion on the final day we were leaving re airport transfers and it seemed that drivers had other duties which reduce their availability.Biketours need to ensure the transport is available as this is specified on the tour information
    Idespite these points I would certainly recommend this cycling trip to friends who might like to go.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
  • (4/5) Anita Elder June 22, 2024

    Beautiful scenery and routes!

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    I really enjoyed riding my bike through Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia. The scenery was gorgeous and I made new friends. The hotels were mostly great with a couple of exceptions:
    1. No elevator at the Splendido and very difficult to carry heavy suitcase down and then back up some stairs to our room. No coffee/tea until 8:30am and then it was terrible. Their food in the evening was good, however.
    2. Hotel on the last day was not very good. The AC didn't work well and there was only one electrical outlet on the other side of the room from the bed (had to get an extension cord to plug in c-pap).

    The lunch stops during our ride were great and was more than I expected.

    The local partner needs to step up their game. Because they didn't have anyone dedicated to collect luggage each morning and deliver it to the next hotel, the ride leader and support driver had to do it. This caused long delays in starting our ride each day. We would usually be told there would be a briefing at 8:00 am, but until they ride leader and driver got to the hotel, loaded up the bags, and dealt with some other issues, it was always well after 10am before we started riding. This meant that we were riding (and doing steep climbs) in the worst heat of the day.

    The support driver, Nikola, was a sweetheart. Alex, the ride leader, was a good rider and knew the routes well, but he was rude to several of the guests.

    With a little organization and extra staff, this tour would be perfect and at a decent price.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 8-15, 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    Average
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • Celebrating 25 years of marriage. (photo by Anita Elder)
    • New friends (photo by Anita Elder)
    • Nikola fixing a flat. (photo by Anita Elder)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) robert harrison May 21, 2024

    enjoyable interesting trip

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    the trip overall was enjoyable.The tour leaders Alex and Amir were helpful and organised the transport,luggage and hotels effectively.What they could have done was given us more information about the places we visited.For example in Kotar we could haVE visited and climbed the city walls had we been told that was an option.This really was down to their inexperience and lack of training The other point oi would make is that on the departure there was only limited airport transport available.Bike tours need to ensure that transport is available throughout the day for the various flights people are taking back

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (2/5) Andrew Lindsay May 6, 2024

    Disappointing Tour - Did Not Meet Expectations

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Positives:
    1) The e-bikes were very good and well maintained; the routes were generally excellent if a little short for e-bikes (rides often finished early afternoon whereas on most other organised cycle trips I've been on they were spread out over most of the day).
    The rides from Herceg Novi to Kotor; Ravno to Ston and Ston to Kun were particularly enjoyable - brilliant scenery and quiet roads.

    2) Accomodation - Hotels were all very good apart from Marija 2. This hotel was a good 20 minute walk from Kotor; room was clean but rather dark and miserable (no view; no balcony but lots of signs instructing occupants what not to do). Fried eggs at breakfast were cold). By contrast the Hotel Stancia in Ravno was a delight.
    3) Food - This was an enjoyable part of the tour. The 'included' lunches and evening meals were very good. The lunches at Ravno, Ston and Kun were especially enjoyable - offering liquor tasting; olive grove visit and locally produced food respectively. The local restaurants we chose for our evening meals were also excellent.

    Areas To Improve: As a guided introduction to the West Balkans this trip has nothing to recommend it. The guide, while perfectly charming and an excellent cycle tour leader, had next to nothing to say about the countries we visited (their history; their customs and culture; their flora and fauna). I suspect his Company has never provided any training on how to be a tour guide.

    This tour makes it very easy to miss exploring the old town of Herceg Novi; the walls of Kotor and Cavtat Old Town (indeed most of the group did) because they were never recommended or even mentioned; nor did we cycle to them). Dubrovnik is the jewel (albeit a very busy jewel) of the West Balkans and it would be very easy to book this tour and never see it (the old town is a 40 minute walk from the Hotel Adria).

    I've cycled many times with Explore and Exodus on group guided tours and their delivered experience is vastly superior to that of BikeTours.com.

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    I've been on well over 20 bike tours. The West Balkan tour is bottom quartile. Your guides need training. Happy to provide more feedback.
    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?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • Little Ston-the hotel is on this harbour. Delightful spot. (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • View from near Perast - another superb setting (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Ride thrrough vineyards en route to Ston (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Visit and lunch at the Olive Grove near Ston (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Cycle track along the old railway line to Ravno, Bosnia (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • 2/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)