Danube River Bike Tour Reviews (page 10)
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★★★★★ skinut 7 June 17, 2019good trip with a few qualifiers
· · Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
The accommodation and food were good. The bikes were excellent.
The joining instructions were poor. We followed the bus directions after leaving the train and ended up with a 2 km trek with luggage to the boat-the bus took us to summer dock not winter.
There needs to be clearer advisories re trips in late May and possibly early June, that due to high water in the Danube, there is a greater likelihood of delays and alterations to plans. We were 4 hours late docking at Passau at the end and missed our flight from Vienna. We had arranged a transfer for 12noon as directed(not the scheduled time of 10am) but could not make our flight with a 2pm arrival.
Also our scheduled stop in Devin was not possible due to high water.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 20 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 including this 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Team Hylton June 17, 2019Downhill on the Danube
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
I felt like I was riding through a storybook! We loved the beautiful little villages and cities we biked through! We chose to do the tour on our own and we were delighted that the directions and signposts were easy to follow. We biked in late May and enjoyed wild roses and red poppies brightening our trail! Many times we felt we were riding electric bikes because we were flying on the bike paths! We are in our late sixties, in excellent health and found the trail very do-able even though we don’t bike very often.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 26-June1, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Jackie10 June 14, 2019Recommend with caution
· Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
This bike tour is through the most beautiful Austrian countryside. The accommodations are great, luggage transfers flawless and great breakfasts included. The directions are horrible, especially the 1st and 3 rd days. Make sure you have a GPS with you. The poor directions added unnecessary frustration to the trip. The bikes are up right commuter bikes and uncomfortable for the mileage involved. If you are accustomed to a decent road bike you probably won't be happy. Most cyclists we saw were on e-bikes which makes the poor ergonomics more tolerable. This tour would be a 5 star with accurate directions and decent equipment. So bring a GPS and your own bike and have a blast!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- Two
- 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
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe June 15, 2019
Glad to hear many aspects of this tour were enjoyable! We will pass your feedback to the tour operator that the directions can be improved upon. We're sorry to hear this was a source of frustration for you. Thanks, additionally, for the notes about the bikes. This tour is offered on hybrid touring bikes and e-bikes, which, if you are accustomed to a road bike, could be uncomfortable.
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★★★★★ robbo1 June 14, 2019Long way from home
· Danube Cycle Path Passau – Budapest
A great ride overall especially the Passau to Vienna was superb. Vienna to Budapest was more of an adventure with the trail not so well developed.
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★★★★★ Normbc June 4, 2019
Enjoyed the biking and scenery, but time of year with high water slowed boat down
· · Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
This was my first experience on a bike and barge cruise. It was great to have to unpack only the once and have the same place to sleep each day. The rooms were very good, the staff excellent and the meals exceptional. The first couple of days we had rain (time of year) but we were still able to get out and bike (if you don't mind doing so with rain gear on). The timing between stops by the boat were really off because of high water. At one place we were not even able to dock to get off the boat to leave on bikes so that day we had to start where we should have ended and biked an extra 10 km to complete the circuit. Only 2 of us actually the did the entire cirucit due to the rain and wind conditions and distance. The rest of the trip the weather improved and we had some sunny beautiful days biking. We lost our free time to explore Vienna though because of the slow progress of the boat coming up-river where we arrived at 5:30 pm rather than 10 am as scheduled.
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★★★★★ Scott June 4, 2019
Great trip!
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Toured the Danube path from Passau to Vienna. Hotels were all excellent. The bike path was mostly easy to follow but be careful to stay on route at any detours. Really enjoyed the flexibility of a self guided tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 5/18 - 5/23/2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- first overseas tour
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ vacationsmakemehappy May 16, 2019Nice LONG ride
· Danube Bike Path 5-nights (Active)
Disclaimer - I loved the vacation pedaling along in pretty much isolation, just my husband and I, and peaceful time in beautiful scenery. We loved the hotels we stayed at along the trail. For the average Joe though, the sport version isn't for you. That's why I wouldn't recommend this sporty trip to most people.
See below for more detailsThe sporty ride was just that. Long days in the saddle, which we expected since my husband wanted to do the short (meaning less days not miles) due to work obligations. The 45-50 mile days seemed fine, but the 57 mile day was long.
The sporty version left little time for sight seeing along the way. We had to strategically plan out where we were going to spend our 2-2.5 hours of sightseeing time each day, because there was no possible way to see everything. We were on the bikes riding each day by 7:45-8:15, typically had a picnic lunch somewhere along the way with food we either carried with us or picked up along the way at a grocery store. (One of our picnics was standing by a rock waiting for the taxi to pick us up at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp to take us back to the taxi station downtown - would highly recommend the taxi unless you are VERY sporty or have an e-bike-info said there was a longer more gentle route, but we were having difficulty following some of the directions included.)
If going early in the season or on days with poor weather, I highly recommend taking some food and WATER with you. Only on the first ride day and the last ride day were any of the 'trail magic' stops open for an unexpected cup of coffee, beer, or food. Most things were shut down tight. It was in the low 40s when we started out 3 mornings and also raining 2 of those. Make sure you have GOOD rain gear -not water resistant - and waterproof gloves. Wringing out your cycling gloves and then having to put them back on isn't really very comfortable. Luckily our rain gear (except gloves was superb) Make sure your rain coat has a hood to put up under your helmet or take a waterproof helmet cover.
There were many places where we had detours (even on the bike path) due to various construction projects which made parts of the trip seem a bit harder navigating than they would otherwise have been. This seemed to happen both long ride days which made those days even longer.
Take toilet paper with you and be prepared to take a squat ladies - and men. There were long stretches with nothing in sight at times, and when you have to go...! I kind of expected this, so we were prepared.
The bikes we had didn't have cages to hold water bottles, so we had to carry the water in the pouches included on the bike. But to get a drink you had to stop unhook snaps, drink, rehook or roll down waterproof bags, and start again. I can't imagine we would have been able to or wanted to carry that much water (heavy) for warmer weather. Without easy access to water, the trip was extended about 5 minutes for every drink stop. Not that long but over 50+ miles, it adds up and takes away from time you could be doing more interesting touring. SHOW MORE
The bikes in general were heavy. We didn't get the road bikes though, because we knew we would have to be carrying supplies and the road bikes didn't offer that.
We LOVED our hotel room in Feldkirchen an der Donau -- Faustschlössl Hotel-Restaurant. The food was FABULOUS! Salmon with pesto and asparagus
We also LOVED our hotel room in Gasthof „Zur Donaubrücke“ and eating in the dining room - NOT lounge. The only thing we didn't like about this hotel was that reception/lobby was in the bar which is smoking permitted. On the day we checked in, it was so smoking I waited in the hallway. I wasn't willing to duck under the smoke cloud to get checked in. I'm not a smoker and have asthma. It was NOT happening.
We'd been to Melk Abbey before so didn't do that. But we did go into town. There is a great little bakery coffee shop on the left side of the left fork (probably main shopping street) kind of across from the butcher store which would be in the center of that fork mentioned when you go into town from the bike path. Great espresso and desserts. And they had GLUTEN FREE CAKES which made this GF necessary girl extremely happy!!!
Make sure you take an extra day in the Wachau/Krems/Durnstein area. It is FABULOUS!!!!!
The luggage transfers went off without a hitch - thank goodness!!!
SHOW LESS
Be prepared to carry your luggage up to the top floor of every hotel. -
★★★★★ sandivet2003 May 3, 2019Surpassed our expectations!
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
This tour surpassed our expectations in many ways. We were provided with reliable, sturdy hybrid bicycles that were well maintained, comfortable to ride, and decked out with a headlight, tail light, a (rather challenging to open at times) cable combination bike lock, large waterproof handlebar bag (that allowed easy viewing of directions and maps), bike computer, waterproof pannier, and bike tools/flat repair kit (which we never needed). Who cares if they weren't Trek bikes? (They were better than my own Trek.)
On the evening of our arrival in Passau (day 1), we were met at our hotel by a tour representative (fluent English-speaking) who provided us with the bikes (which fit us well), maps and cue sheets as well as an overview of our planned tour and ideas for places/activities to check out on the way. Each hotel we stayed at appeared to have been thoughtfully chosen to provide us with the best local experience--the least "upscale" one was in Schlogen, Austria (the room was quite basic and we needed ear plugs), but we had a spectacular view. The most upscale was Schloss Duernstein--it was like a castle! All breakfasts were terrific (lots of selection, hearty options, and the best breads I've had anywhere). Furthermore, the actual route was terrific--safe, low traffic and chockful of spectacular views! I was originally concerned that we started out on cobblestones and dirt paths for a bit in Passau, but the bikes were so sturdy and had such good suspension that didn't matter. I felt in control of the ride at all times. Most of the time, public restrooms were available on the route and were adequately spaced out so I only needed to do the "hide behind a tree or bush" thing a couple of times.
A couple of warnings to future travelers: 1) We went in April, and only the final hotel (in Vienna) had legitimate air conditioning (per North American standards). It was unexpectedly warm in the evenings, and we wished we had brought a fan (only the first hotel in Passau provided us with one), particularly since all hotel beds had thick duvets for covers. I can't imagine what it'd be like for people traveling during the summer. 2) Do some research before arriving in Melk. This was the only place we got lost and had to use our cellphones for GPS because the cue sheets weren't specific to our particular circumstances (they covered only instructions for people staying at certain hotels there, which we were not). But we did eventually find our way, and we're already thinking about planning our next trip!
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★★★★★ Denise April 30, 2019
Absolutely incredible
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
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. -
★★★★★ Julane January 1, 2019
Valleys and Vineyards
· Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
We found the scenery on this tour stunning (especially on Lake Traunsee) and appreciated the variety of landscapes (forests, rivers, lakes, mountains, farmland) and terrain (flat to rolling hills). The hotels/inns were very comfortable and most within walking distance of interesting sites in the cities/towns. We combined this tour with another (Tauern Bike Path: Salzburg to Salzburg) which gave us an opportunity to experience a different but equally beautiful region of Austria.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 28-October 3
- How many tours have you completed?
- 30+
- 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
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★★★★★ what November 26, 2018
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
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
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★★★★★ WallyB November 12, 2018
Excellent Service
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Biketours did an excellent job putting this together. To begin they were exceptionally accommodating when, three days prior to our arrival, my wife had a small accident in which she strained her groin and they were able to meet a last minute request to upgrade to an e-cycle with no issues.
The pre trip check in was informative. The maps were exceptionally detailed which made navigating the route very easy. They also gave detailed written information of the sites you would see along the way and at your destination. I would recommend reading up on the route the night before and planning one or two site seeing adventures to supplement your day of cycling. These are especially cool as they are self planned and you are not limited to the tours that your tour or cruise company sets out thus you can get off the beaten track a bit more and feel a little less like a tourist. Perhaps our favourite stops was the Hinterhaus ruin in Spitz. It required a 1km backtrack from a really neat ferry, asking for directions and a walk up a trail but when we arrived we were the only people there - a thousand year old castle in the middle of wine country in Austria all to ourselves - spectacular.
The biking was what we expected. As we were heading with the river it was slightly downhill however this was pretty much imperceptible. We were provided with odometers that made navigating with the well marked maps very easy. We found with our various detours and occasional trek past a required turn that we were putting in about 50-60 km per day - about the right amount of distance and interesting scenery so that it didn’t not seem like a slog while still feeling like we got a good day of exercise in. The bikes were serviceable road bikes, not spectacular but new and well tuned. If you own a hybrid mountain road bike like I do expect these to be a bit heavier and have thicker tires. You were given enough bags to take your day to day stuff including a front bag with a clear top to allow the map to be front and centre when you rode and a pannier for the more heavy items.
Accommodations were amazing. The hotels ranged from upscale basic to positively spectacular. I suspect that the hotels vary slightly from tour to tour, however, if you find you are staying at the Schloss Dürnstein you are in for a treat - our favourite hotel by far. The breakfasts at every hotel were simply over the top, I would try to list the spread but it would take too much effort. We were able to eat enough at breakfast that snacks and water were all we needed during our day of cycling. We then would eat an early-ish dinner and make out just fine. Our luggage was always there when we arrived, we were even early on a couple of occasions (we hadn’t figured out how to read the tour guide prior to leaving at that point) and it preceded us and the hotel was accommodating enough to let us check in early.
Finally at the end of the tour, Biketours was able to also help us out by booking an extra night in Vienna. Which, due to my own flight booking error, I discovered I had to cancel. No real questions, they cancelled and gave us a refund - again Biketours made it easy for us. SHOW MORE
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★★★★★ Mattman November 12, 2018Easy cycle with plenty of time to enjoy
· Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
This was our third self guided bike tour. Very easy, casual ride along the Danube for the most part. However, even when riding along the Danube your view is often obscured by the trees that grow alongside the river. Accommodations were charming and never had a bad meal. We opted for a layover day in Gyor which was spent at the local spa, and urban hiking through the town. Well worth the visit. Our highlight during the ride was our side trip to the Danubiana Art Museum on the way out of Bratislava. DO NOT MISS OUT on this beautiful gem of contemporary art. Plan on spending at least a couple of hours including your picnic. We got there on a Monday when it was closed, but fortunately we met the curator locking up the door, and when he learned that we were from the states he graciously opened up the doors to us and we had the whole museum to ourselves. When we said our goodbyes and pedaled away, we thought how disappointed we would have been had we missed this! As good as any of the Museums we saw in Vienna or Budapest. Weather was delightful in mid September. We spent a few extra days in Budapest after the ride. The Gellert Spa is a good way to spend 3 hours after walking around and seeing the sights. If you plan on going to the Parliament would probably suggest buying tickets online in advance. Definitely put the New York Cafe (1894) on your list of places to visit for coffee and desert while in Budapest. Overall a wonderful trip. Our other rides have had a little more variety when it comes to scenery, but this ride was well off roads and traffic.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2018
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
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★★★★★ Kimberly September 28, 2018
Great trip
· Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
We enjoyed different sceneries including river, forest, corn and sunflower fields. We didn't use a GPS, the instructions were fantastic until the last day when it was confusing and misleading. This was a great experience to see the country and a nice way to avoid tourist crowds. Highly recommended!
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 21
- How many tours have you completed?
- this was the first one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
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★★★★★ 4studs2duds September 27, 2018
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 6-11, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ mon1ca September 27, 2018
go with the flow
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
This was a trip I had been looking forward to for a few years. It was planned with my "biking buddy" and we had two other people who had agreed to go along for the ride. Unfortunately, both my bike buddy and myself broke our wrists in biking accidents in Passau the day before the trip was to start.
It was such a huge disappointment to us and our two non-riders did complete the ride without us. They thoroughly enjoyed it and were able to compete it without too much effort on their e-bikes.
First off, I want to say that both my friend and I (who both broke our wrists) are fairly experienced e-bike riders. I will say that switching fro our 26" wheels in the USA to 29" wheels on European e-bikes was difficult -- especially for those under 5'4". That being said, the bikes are truly nice, it just takes a bit to get used to them.
I can't say enough good things about the tour company who arranged for us to ride each day with the person delivering luggage from hotel to hotel. Without the effort on the part of the bike tour company, we would have incurred a significant expense, on top of the bike tour we couldn't actually ride to complete.
Our hope is to go back next year and try again -- primarily because of the service of the bike tour company.
We chose the 8-day upscale tour and were happy we did The hotels were all very nice and worth the extra amount. -
★★★★★ Monica and Ross September 26, 2018Beautiful Bavaria
· Cycling the Altmühl Valley - Round trip from Regensburg
A fantastic self guided tour through beautiful scenery, historic towns and points of interest. Accomodation was top notch, and baggage transfer was seamless, bikes were well matched to the task. A couple of the days were a little long and prevented visiting points of interest. An update on changed conditions would have been handy (the low river flow in the Danube prevented the boat from getting to Weltenberg Kloster,meant an unexpected cycling leg).
- What was the date of your tour?
- 3 September to 9 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 teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Jan 2018 September 24, 2018Beautiful bike tour through Austria !
· · Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Our room on the ship had a broken thermostat so we were freezing most of the time...the food was good but we wanted more green veggie salads..the tour guide was very hard to understand, but the bike baths were smooth and mostly flat, so the biking through little villages was unforgettable!!!
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★★★★★ Danube September 24, 2018
Bucket list complete!
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
A great way to tour the Danube, beautiful scenery and an amazing vacation. There are some uphills and busy sections, and a few more signs in some areas would be really helpful.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 10 -16, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- none
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
