Bike Tour Reviews  Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging) (page 5)

  • Danube Bike Path
    (4/5) T and C June 23, 2019

    Well organized, no drama, couple hotels ehh

    Biketours.com was very helpful. I emailed lots of questions to them and always got a prompt reply.

    The ebikes were great, I couldn’t have done the trip without them. We had a couple of 60km days because of sightseeing, which was too far. 40-45 km should be the distance for upscale in my opinion. We also had 3 hotels with NO air conditioning, Surprising and disappointing considering we paid for upscale lodging. Apparently you can state A/C as a requirement at booking time, I just assumed with the upscale hotel fee that would be included..live and learn.

    To me the trip was not completely flat, I mean it is mostly flat, but no way would I do this without ebikes.

    Route is well marked, but still an adventure. If you like a vacation that is a bit different, do this one!

    What was the date of your tour?
    Early june
    How many tours have you completed?
    First one
    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
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Leanne Rosenbower July 6, 2024

    Nice biking route

    The biking paths are great and we easily biked the routes. We did not use e-bikes and were fine. The routes were scenic and varying. The cities we stopped in were charming. The suggested lunch spots were all tasty. I would only consider two of the hotels to be upscale. The rest were just average. Most did not have AC and it was extremely hot when we biked. It was often hard to find water so might be good to pack two water bottles. We had one navigating issue where we got to the center of the city and put in our hotel as instructed and we had to bike back 40 minutes the way we had just come. The bikes have two storage areas which is sufficient for carrying what is needed. I think this was a great way to see Austria. We loved ending in Vienna and staying an extra day to tour around. I would recommend this trip but don’t expect upscale lodging.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    4
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Families with teens, Families with young kids
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Wiederholen September 12, 2017

    A great tour with good friends

    Overall, a wonderful trip. Highlights included the Engelzell and Melk Abbeys, the towns of Dürnstein and Tulln, and the finish with an extra night in Vienna. The best scenery was in the Wachau, where we cruised through beautiful vineyards and lovely villages. On a couple of days the scenery was rather ordinary, and made the short rides seem longer out of boredom. Although the route was very flat, we did have a couple of short but steep climbs, the biggest being out of Melk to cross the bridge. This being our third bike tour in this region, I'm not sure the "upscale" lodging was worth the extra cost - some of the hotels were great (Schloß Dürnstein and Steigenberger Vienna) but most were not of any better quality than the standard tours. Biggest disappointments were the Hotel am Domplatz in Linz (where they charged us 20€ to garage our four bikes) and the Diamond City in Tulln, which was not "upscale" at all. The local tour operator was great - they provided us with a face-to-face briefing the night before we started riding - and the bikes were solid. We had a great time on this trip, despite two days of steady rain, but if I had to do it again I'd seriously consider the 7-night standard tour and save a few hundred Euros.

    What was the date of your tour?
    31-AUG to 6-SEPT 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    This was our third in this region
    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
    • Photo 1 (photo by Wiederholen)
    • Cobblestones in the village of Stein (photo by Wiederholen)
    • Rainy day arrival in Melk (photo by Wiederholen)
    • Most of the path is separate or protected from roadways (photo by Wiederholen)
    • Crossing the Donau for the last time, into Vienna! (photo by Wiederholen)
    • Almost missed the border crossing from Germany into Austria, it's next to a gas station. (photo by Wiederholen)
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (3/5) Bryan October 5, 2017

    Austria Bike Trip

    This was the second bike tour that we have completed; and compared to the first tour, this one felt like the local tour operator was more of a logistics company. The route was spectacular, I feel like we could have maximised the experience if we had more information, particularly when it comes to different options along the route. On several occasions we either ran out of time to see things later in the day, or arrived at the hotel around lunch time because we didn't know where we should be budgeting our time. During our Portugal trip, our local contact, Nuno, was incredible, speaking with us several times a day to ensure that we were getting the most out of the experience - this time we were flying blind on our own.

    What was the date of your tour?
    25 Sept - 5 Oct
    How many tours have you completed?
    1 other
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • (2/5) Shirley Santucci 11 months ago

    Disappointed

    Total lack of communication in not informing us that our biking would end 2 days early, which meant missing out biking through the Wachau valley . When I contacted Bike Tours that my husband was ill and could not make the trip. I should have been informed then that there were changes to the scheduled tour. The welcome meeting & bike fitting was a joke. There was absolutely no value in that 15 minute meeting. I had to adjust the handle bars myself and struggle through removing the battery for charging at the 1st two hotels that did not offer charging in the bike storage area. The electric bike itself was very good quality and comfortable to ride. The printed trip itinerary was easy to follow but did not offer much in the way of "do not miss" highlights along the way. In my opinion, only three of the hotels were worth the upscale category. I would not recommend this bike tour for anyone that has experienced quality bike tours previously.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 26 to October 3
    How many tours have you completed?
    three
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • 2/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • (2/5) May July 15, 2023

    First family cycling trip completed!

    Overall a satisfactory trip! The GPS is very useful for navigation. The hotels are great! Just on first day, we find that 2 of the 4 bikes are not fit. We have enter our age and height and has not been told specifically what kinds of bikes will be assigned. I found that they just give standard bikes for adult female and male disregard our height and age (Asians in average are shorter than Westerners.) The person, Robert, arrived for “bike fitting” was not helpful at all. He suggested my daughter to cycle 30km to their bike shop to change bike. When we asked him to call customer service, he said he didn’t have Wi-Fi. So, Eurobike send a staff without communication methods to help customers’ solve problems? Finally, Robert had to use my phone to call the CS number. And in the phone, he said we are “bla, bla, bla.” Is it the customers cannot voice their requests, even the bikes are not fit and customers have to take the risk of getting hurt or accident? and seems to Robert, customers’ requests are “bla, bla, bla..” And customers need to take the riding risk to go 30km to change bike? Later he mentioned it may need to charge EUR 50 per bike change if need to switch bikes in Passau. I have emailed biketour and I am grateful that next day the 2 bikes were changed without additional charges. In second day, Simon is much more helpful. Simon helps us do the testing & it works. Simon is v polite and helpful. Passau is the starting point of Danube cycle path. I feel strange that the outsource company does not have a bike rental centre there. This is our first family cycling trip and it did create stresses at the beginning. The outsource company probably need to have better communication with biketour.

    What was the date of your tour?
    July 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    First bike tour
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (1/5) Richard Severson 11 months ago

    Very dissatisfied

    Our trip was shortened due to previous rains which had damaged the trail and sections were closed. We were not informed of this issue until we had been biking for two days. We were unable to ride the final two days as the trail was closed.
    We should have been notified of this situation prior to our leaving home. We would have cancelled the trip (we had trip insurance) and rebooked for next year. VERY disappointed in the way this information was withheld from us. It is a clear case of the bike touring company looking out for themselves and totally disregarding us, the customer.
    Also, one member of our party had to cancel due to medical reasons. This information must not have reached the provider as 4 bikes were delivered and all hotels were expecting 4 people.