Czech Republic Bike Tour Reviews (page 2)
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★★★★★ Sandy89 September 18, 2018Tour Great/Less scenic than others
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Loved the company, the equipment, and the guides! This is our third bike trip in Europe and we were on a very specific timetable. That being said, the itinerary was the only one available for our dates, and wasn't as scenic as other tours we have taken. A lot of the river paths were alongside industrial areas (as many river paths are), so some of the scenery wasn't ideal. That being said, the hotels and the meals were amazing, and the sites that we visited were interesting!
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Brian1624 September 17, 2018
Wonderful Bike Tour
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Easy Route to fallow with 90% bike paths. Good notes on what to see along the way. Hotels were good but WiFi was average.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 20-26th 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Jeff66 June 29, 2018· Best of South Bohemia: Czech Republic to Its Fullest
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 28 thru june 4
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- Czech Republic
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★★★★★ Halloran911 September 14, 2017Awesome trip
· Prague to Vienna via Cesky Krumlov
Best way to see Czech Republic. Guides could not have been better. Total knowledge, kind and considerate and always following up on everything. Luggage always made it to the room. The tour company AVE is awesome and is not frilly but high quality. Rooms were great. No AC in rooms but not really a problem. Clean. Bring your own washcloths. One complaint. 2 hour heavy lunches were silly. Give us a snack and let us move on so we can have more time to relax when we get to the next village.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 5-13
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Czech Republic
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, founder and president September 15, 2017
Charles, thank you very much for your feedback. I'm glad you had a great time on your tour. We'll pass along your comments about the lunches. I'm in total agreement on that!
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★★★★★ Stu T August 10, 2017
Fantastic Ride from Prague to Dresden
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Great fun, bonus being that it mostly followed the Elbe River downstream to Prague so wasn't very strenuous, just a few hills here and there. Our guide Milan was great - definitely worth having along as (1) he spoke Czech which none of us did ! and (2) added in some side tours which would have almost certainly missed had he not been along. Also, our support lady Jitke was really helpful and very useful to have on hand, she moved our luggage every day effortlessly ! Great scenery, great beer (some of the wine was a bit ordinary) and great food. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 10-14 July 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Mandy July 16, 2017
Prague to Dresden Along the Vitava and Elbe Rivers July 30-July 7th 2017
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Overall great trip! Guides were great. Needed better handouts (not self guided for guided tour) and would cut the brewery where you pour your own beer.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 1-July 6th
- 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Mikay July 5, 2017
Beautiful, Romantic, Historic, Adventurous
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
This trip was a blast! It was especially cool to see how the geography and culture changed as we moved out of Czech Republic and into Germany. This tour has a little bit of everything to satisfy everyone's tastes. Our favorites were the last two days: Hrensko, thermal bathes in Bad Schandau, Fortress in Koenigstein (well worth the hike to the top), and Bastei in Oberrathen (do the hike and visit the medieval fortress). Also, as far as navigation, we used the maps.me app and mounted our smart phone to the bike, which made getting around super easy. We had turn by turn directions throughout the tour.
A couple tips I wished the tour company had provided, major sites along the route are closed on Mondays. We traveled from Litomorice to Decin on Monday. Unfortunately the Strekov castle and restaurant was closed (we found that out after climbing to the top of the hill). Additionally when we reached Velke Brezno to visit the brewery we found out it also is closed on Mondays. Therefore, if a day of your tour falls on a Monday it would be good to prioritize scheduling one of the hiking days (e.g. Decin to Bad Schandau or Bad Schandau to Dresden). In general, it would be nice to know in advance what days the points of interest are closed, so the group can manage their time at other sites better. If the tour company does not provide this info, I would recommend looking it up in advance.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 23, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson July 6, 2017
Thanks very much for your feedback! We're glad you had a great time. We'll pass along your helpful suggestions to the local operator.
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★★★★★ New Yorkers June 27, 2017
Good variety, just enough challenge, 2 amazing cities
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
We really enjoyed this trip — this was our first guided tour. Overall, it was a comfortable pace, a few big hills but lots of flat areas, and plenty of stops.
Most of the riding was on paved bike paths, but some bits were on roads with cars, where the guides kept everyone safe and comfortable. Some of the riding was on dirt roads, but this was only a challenge one time, when the road was muddy and slightly uphill. Climbing big hills was always rewarded with amazing views & castles. Our group did all of the challenges, even if they had to walk and push their bikes up part of the hill. It was fine with everyone, and no one took advantage of the van (but you can if you want).
The route took us along the rivers, through small picturesque villages and towns, farmland and forests. The poppies were in bloom when we went, in early June. We took quick ferry rides across the river a few times, which was fun.
The biking started around 9am after a big breakfast. There were plenty of stops, snacks at the van by the side of a road, and coffee at a nice cafe in a beautiful town square. We would usually get to the hotel around 5-6pm and dinner was around 7pm. There was one day with less riding, where we had the option of spending the afternoon visiting the “Bohemian Switzerland National Park” (in the Czech Republic) or spending the time in Bad Spandau — a nice town on the river with hot baths and spa and cafes. We hiked and it was gorgeous.
All of the guides were Czech, and spoke English, some were fluent. They helped translate in restaurants and hotels when needed. They gave us lots of info about sites along the way. One was a “physical geographer” and had lots facts about the geology of the area. We had discussions about the communist history of both Czechoslovakia and Eastern Germany. One guide would ride with us, and one drove the van, and they switched off every day. They were professional, polite, always willing to help — no request was too big or too small. They had funny Czech senses of humor.
The accommodations were different each night, ranging from very fancy to basic, but always located in a beautiful historic town. Lunch and dinner locations were well chosen, the food was always good. We had lots of local specialties, and tried the local beers and wines. There was a vegetarian and a gluten-free person in our group, and their needs were accommodated.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 3, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Maria June 26, 2017
What an adventure!
· Prague to Vienna via Cesky Krumlov
What a gorgeous country the Czech Republic is. It was fantastic cycling through this incredibly varied and lush countryside with 7 friends. Navigating had it's challenges and we got lost daily as sometimes the directions were off but our crew of navigators prevailed and got us to our final destination every day where we knew the beer would be cold and well deserved! There were lots of hills and we learned to love each and every one. We had some long hot days. Getting into town at days end and getting out of town the next morning were always challenging. Better signage would have made this easier. We used a lot of hand signals and met so many lovely people willing to stop and try to help us find our way. The terrain varies from beautiful wide shaded asphalt bike paths through national parks to narrow roads also used by cars to farmer's fields to gravel pathways. The combo mountain bike/road bike provided is ideal for this terrain. On the downside there was no real orientation once we arrived in Cesky Krumlov to understand the e-bikes some had or the GPS. We would have appreciated checking out the equipment before starting the tour so that we had the right size bike for each cyclist. Ave Tours did work closely with us to get us the right equipment eventually. Getting picked up in Mistelbach was the way to go rather than trying to cycle into Vienna. All in all it was an outstanding experience and adventure. It was really to our benefit to have experienced cyclists who'd been on previous cycling trips before to help us navigate our way through the country. I loved every minute of it. It was challenging but it is Level 3. Such an accomplishment. I think we are all really proud of ourselves! Thank you Bike Tours! Great memories have been made by the Czech Mates!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 12-20
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Czech Republic
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★★★★★ GobaGirl June 6, 2017
Wonderful way to see the Czech Republic
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
We did the self guided trip (more on that option later) and the actual bicycle trip was fantastic. The cities we stayed in were great - Melnik was amazing - and the route along the Elbe was just stunning. The experience was just wonderful. Food, beer, wine, lodgings, villages - all perfect. The only caution is if you opt for the self guided trip. Although the bike paths were generally well marked, it was sort of stressful always having to watch for the twists and turns. A guide would have made the whole experience far more relaxing and enjoyable. And we would not have found ourselves lost quite so often.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 12-18
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 guided tours and many cross state
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ The dozer October 18, 2016
Challenging to peddle to fairy tale cities.
· Prague to Vienna via Cesky Krumlov
The route was challenging, navigation difficults, but beautiful UNESCO sites each night. We were just dropped off with the wrong bikes, a Garmin we could not use, and one sheet of paper with directions and overview of route. If it had not been for 5 Irish ladies on the same route we would have really struggled. They had a Garmin that worked and with intense map study did not get lost as often as we did. VERY few people spoke English. Our pick up person was very rude to the Irish ladies.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2015
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Czech Republic
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Lindsay Nash October 19, 2016
Hi! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. We're glad to hear you had a good trip overall. Aren't the UNESCO sites just fascinating?
We're sorry to hear of your trouble with the bikes and Garmin along the route. We'll share this feedback with the local operator and work to improve this service!
Thank you again for sharing your experience and helping us to spread the joy of bicycle tourism.
Kind regards,
Lindsay
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★★★★★ Pedalann October 13, 2016
A lovely ride down the Vltava and Elbe Rivers
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Cycling along the major rivers of Europe is always a pleasure and this trip was no exception. Much of the path is asphalt-paved and hugs the river's edge. There are several small ferries and some bridges which allow cyclists to cycle on either side of the Vlatava and Elbe as one goes north from Prague towards Dresden. The bicycles supplied were well suited for the tour and the GPS, cue sheets and maps guided you on each day's ride. There are a few places where the path has been damaged or destroyed by floods so there are a few steep hills and "single track" sections to navigate. Our lodgings, except in Prague and Dresden, were always in the historic city centers so it was easy to walk around and learn about each place. Along the way, we discovered the history of these rivers and the importance of our stopping points - Melnik, Terezin/Litomerice, Decin, and Bad Schandau. We also had booked an extra day both in Prague and Dresden and easily could have spent more time in these special cities. We found the careful reconstruction of the historic buildings in these cities to be especially impressive.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 23 - 30, 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- More than 20
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Calista1226 September 29, 2016
Incredible Experience
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
This was my first bike tour and I cannot say enough positive things about my experience. Our group was small with 5 bikers and 2 guides. The other bikers were very friendly and we all got along well. The guides were incredible and I could not have asked for more supportive, friendly, helpful people to enjoy this experience with. The accommodations each night were very comfortable and in perfectly safe areas.
While it was definitely a physically demanding trip, it was attainable and we all completed the trip perfectly fine. While I do bike regularly, I'm certainly not the ideal specimen of fitness. I bike around 30-50 miles a week and found the trip a little more difficult than I anticipated. But again, I would not let this discourage you from going.
The guides were all from the Prague/Dresden area and so were able to share historical and relevant information about the sites and cities along the way. This trip was more than a bike tour--it was also a cultural tour. In addition, the sites are absolutely breathtaking. I'm giving myself a few weeks to recover and then planning my next one!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 17-Sept 23
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ bam47 June 14, 2016
Simply fabulous.
· Best of South Bohemia: Czech Republic to Its Fullest
We chose the unguided tour but the directions were excellent (when we followed them) with both text and photos to guide us. The hotels were wonderful and alway located in the Old Town Square. The breakfasts were great, too. And all the extras that Pter Janota threw in couldn't have been more fun or informative. Petr was fun and funny and very smart and we couldn't have been more impressed by his support on the road and his bike tour operation. His recommendations for restaurants in Czecky Krumlov (Papas) were great.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 25-June 1.
- How many tours have you completed?
- none
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic
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★★★★★ CMSM June 13, 2016
Bike from Prague to Vienna or Salzburg! (or close enough)
· Best of South Bohemia: Czech Republic to Its Fullest
This company knows exactly what it is doing and makes a carefree adventure of it all. We took the self-guided, electric bike tour and every time we wondered about a particular detail, we learned that they had already thought of it and handled it all. Biking route instructions were very precise and helpful (this tour runs just a small amount of time in Austria and their biking signs are not as precise as Czech Rep, no fault of the tour operator). The countryside was so gorgeous that we kept thinking it all must be fake. But 20 minutes later, we would find another dream scene. Each day was a joy and we would recommend it all very highly. Found fantastic restaurants as well. Hats off to Petr J in Czech Republic. He is the local tour operator and is top notch in all respects.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- First one!
- 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?
- Czech Republic
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★★★★★ Prakash May 7, 2016
Living life in true sense
· Best of South Bohemia: Czech Republic to Its Fullest
Hi
I, along with my friend, had been on ' South of Bohemia' self guided tour last July. It was our first experience of this kind. And it was an absolutely satisfying tour. Few basic points I would like to point out being a first timer-
When they are saying the difficulty level to ' moderate' they are correct.
Whatever services they have committed, they have complied with the same.
Very precise route maps/ guidelines/ photos/ distances had been provided.
We're always available for any kind of help, in case needed.
Hotels were absolutely perfect.
Depending upon the cycling practice/ experience that you have, n to enjoy a little adventure with leisure as well, I would certainly recommend this tour.- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic
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★★★★★ Chloek1234 December 3, 2015
Interesting tour for the well-traveled individual
· Prague to Vienna via Cesky Krumlov
I went on this tour as a BikeTours.com staff member. I think that this tour has some wonderful highlights - Prague, Cesky Krumlov, but also is a bit monotonous. I enjoy riding in more varied scenery that this tour offered. However, the bike path network within the country is extensive (and I was impressed). The accommodations and food were basic to nice. The Czech people were very kind and down-to-earth. Our guide, Jitka, was always helpful and informative. This tour is consistently hilly and is a true level 3 in that sense. I would recommend this tour to a intermediate level cyclist, who is well traveled and wants to experience the less traveled side of Europe.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Czech Republic
