Bike Tour Reviews Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Self guided from EUR € 1019
Self-guided:
Daily: Mar 30- Oct 12, 2024
Description:
This is the 'Classic' version of the Danube Bike Path tour. For 4 and 5-star hotels in different towns along the way, please also see the Upscale Lodging version of this tour. For a sportier break featuring longer cycling distances on a more compact…
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★★★★★ Debra Miller 7 months ago
A Bit Disappointing
Cycling along a paved path along the Danube was relaxing for our group of four. Day three was truly beautiful with cobblestone roads and colorful houses in the villages. Wish we had gone earlier in the year as many restaurants and shops were closed for the season.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
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★★★★★ Diane Griffin 5 months ago
Disappointing - don't go during shoulder season
I've done four self-guided trips and this trip was my least favorite. The marketing material pitches "storybook villages" but most days are spent riding through corn fields. The hotels were outside of towns and hard to walk to restaurants. Because it was shoulder season, there were very few restaurants open.
First day's hotel was outside of town and front desk advised that we go to the mall for lunch. Fortunately we found a fun restuarant down on the river. The initial meeting with the bike company was disorganized and very brief. He barely talked about the tour, he didn't have tools to swap out pedals, there were too many of us attending the meeting and he said he didn't have time to answer questions - only 60 minutes alotted. We asked for spare tubes for the two road bikes but never got them. Skinny tires get flats!!
The "castle" we stayed in one night was not nice. It was clearly getting renovated - the rooms were nice but there were only five rooms. The property was overgrown and rundown, and with only five rooms it felt very creepy and unoccupied.
Breakfast at the castle - no protein - no eggs, no yogurt. We're on a bike tour and need energy! No fruit, no granola. Breakfast was just six slices of cucumbers, 10 cherry tomatoes, hard rolls, deli meat/cheese. Bar wasn't open for post-ride beer/wine.
Donauhotel Letternof - 11k from Enns, very remote, had to walk to a campground for food. Closest restaurant is cash only, need reservations. Front desk tried to make res but couldn't get through. The ONLY local taxi was working in Linz, not available for us. It was due to rain very hard. Hotel loaned us umbrellas and we went back to the campground for dinner.Day 3 - arrived at Cafe Braun (the meeting point) at 4:30 and called for shuttle (runs 3-6pm) told to go to a camping store(?) and get the bus as they don't have anyone to pick us up. One guy in our party was willing to make the 3k very steep climb to get us a ride. This hotel was nice but since it was past high season everything in this cute village was closed. Only one restaurant was open.
Last day - Vienna - hotel was so far from center city and far from anything interesting. Very long and confusing ride through busy city. Very limited restaurants. Shortest riding day and yet our bags didn't arrive until 5pm.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2023
- 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?
- No
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★★★★★ Cliff October 4, 2017
Doin' the Donau
Perfect pedal venture for cycle, food, wine, & beer junkies! Great history lessons and cultural interactions around every corner. Equipment and support were bombproof and reliable.kk
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 23, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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
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★★★★★ Chloek1234 December 2, 2015
Great trip for leisurely bikers seeking variety and leisurely travel
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.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens, Solo travelers, Families with young kids, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Jim G September 21, 2017
Rainy Days
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
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★★★★★ M And D October 23, 2016
So enjoyable!
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
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★★★★★ Marcus September 17, 2017
Better than I expected.
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.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/1/2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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
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★★★★★ Pattio October 22, 2019
Danube recycle
A delightful way to see the Danube. Many exceptional views of castles and cathedrals along the way.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 4-11
- How many tours have you completed?
- Four
- 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
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★★★★★ Mally July 8, 2018
- What was the date of your tour?
- 16 to 22 June 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1 to 5 (there were 5 in our group)
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Puregrace August 28, 2017
very first bike otur
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 11- Aug 18
- How many tours have you completed?
- this is actually my first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ melwood August 24, 2017
Great trip due to the scenery, companions, and beer.
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
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★★★★★ cruzinrx October 4, 2019
Take your time and savor every moment of this scenic ride
I visited the Wachau wine valley on a day tour last year and just had to come back to see more of this trail and I was not disappointed. Such spectacular scenery with mostly dedicated bike trails and even the special bike ferries! As a solo female traveler, I felt very safe the whole time.Very clean, no graffiti, no weirdos living in the bushes. Although the mileage for this bike tour was considered "average", I really would not have minded even shorter riding days. So many places to stop and see along the way...beautiful churches, architecture, cute towns (Melk, just wow!), abbeys, monasteries, museums, coffee and beer breaks. On the longer riding days (60+km), I had to be careful not to spend too much time in one place so I could make it to my hotel before daylight ran out. Signage for the route was clearly posted however it is easy to get distracted by the scenic views. It is advisable to study the map ahead of time and watch for the bridge if you want to cross the river to see a particular monument. Be aware of adding the extra dinner package. You have to select from a special limited menu and it's the same 3 choices no matter what city/hotel you are in. If I were to choose from the regular menu, I would have picked other foods and it would have been significantly cheaper. Overall, I would do this ride again. My advise for future travelers, is to take your time and savor every moment of this beautiful ride.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 18
- 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Ptowntraveller June 25, 2018
Great Tour!
Wonderful easy first time bike tour. Flat scenic route with lots to explore along the way. Hotels were all good and very different, only downside was that it was REALLY hot when we were there and there was no air conditioning and some rooms had no cross ventilation.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 9, 2019
- 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
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★★★★★ pennworld September 29, 2019
NICE
Nice trip. Only drizzled one day. September is the time to go. Not many people on the path. Could have used shorter segments as there was not enough time to see most things off the path. Hotels were very nice with excellent breakfasts.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 5-13
- 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 teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Calgary Couple September 28, 2019
Great bike trip!
The bike path along the Danube is excellent. It's near impossible to get lost as the "R1" or "R6" are clearly marked the entire way. I have to agree that this is a "mostly flat" route but when leaving the river and heading through villages, it can be a bit hilly (and we are regular, avid cyclists). We did struggle twice trying to find our hotel (and came across others experiencing the same problem) and needed to use our phones and google maps to find them. Perhaps the tour company could consider more detailed instructions than "turn right at the statue". We never did see that statue!! But that's part of the adventure too! We found two of the hotels a bit far out from the main city area (Aschach and Krems). We prefer finding little cafes or family owned establishments when on this type of trip and do not like eating in the hotel restaurants. In Aschach, there was no meal available at the hotel and after cycling in the POURING rain for 4 hours, we had to either get back on the bike or walk 2 km back to the village to find dinner. The hotels themselves, however, were great. Luggage transfer was excellent. The bikes were good and we never had any problems with them.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 8
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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
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★★★★★ Danube fan July 31, 2016
Nice country riding along the famous Danube
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.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 15
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Denise April 30, 2019
Absolutely incredible
Passau to Vienna was beautiful, the Danube breathtaking. Snow capped peaks in the distance, ❤️. The bike trails were better than most US roads. But I did feel some things could have been better. The maps resembled the old AAA trip tiks, mostly accurate unless you are looking for Cafe Braun. The “miles” of 34 daily was an average, that could have been explained better. We had day 1 & 3 @ 49.7 miles. (80k) we had odometers on both bikes, and they agreed. That was tough on day 1. I recommend bringing a GPS.
But mostly it was fun, hard but fun. Excellent accommodations. Great breakfasts. Nice helpful staff, everywhere.- What was the date of your tour?
- April 17 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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
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★★★★★ Jackie1234 September 23, 2019
Danube trip
Very scenic, well thought out tour of what has been described as the most popular cycle route in Europe. I picked this tour among other choices because the last day was short, allowing extra time in Vienna and the cations overnights stays.
The (upgraded) hotels were fantastic, breakfasts wonderful. The accompanying maps & books were complete, though directions to popular city attractions would have been helpful (Goggle Maps with cycle directions will be your friend if you want to make side trips) Bikes were in excellent condition, though i found the seat initially uncomfortable (and I ride 40+ miles/week).
I would recommend this tour to those friends wanting to cycle along the Danube, noting that European fitness levels are higher than than American and there are opportunities for elevation for those whose who want it by taking side trips to hotels or other sites/detours.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2019
- 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
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★★★★★ what November 26, 2018
the 1st day distance was much longer than the others and was a bit much for some of us. I assume this was related to hotel availability
- What was the date of your tour?
- oct
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ BandB October 18, 2017
Classy trip
We loved this tour. 60-70 km of flat riding during the day, lovely hotels and restaurants to experience at night. The transfer of our luggage was faultless. Some of the hotels were absolutely fabulous. One was disappointing. So much to see and experience during the day.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sep 26-Oct 2
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes