Danube River Bike Tour Reviews (page 16) (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary)

★★★★★ (4/5) JimJ December 3, 2015

First time in Bulgaria won't be last!

· Danube River and Black Sea

(Staff review) Bulgaria did not disappoint! During this tour, we explored seacoast and farmland, toured castles and monasteries, and ate in fine restaurants and village homes. Our guides were excellent--committed, knowledgeable and cordial. One of them was a bird expert, and we learned so much about the fauna in the region. After a day along the Danube in Romania, we overnighted in a tiny farm village where we became the main attraction. We couldn't speak Romanian, and the farm folks couldn't speak English, but we all made ourselves known. And three of our party even got invited into a private home to enjoy the local home made brandy! Some days were on routes that sometimes had too much traffic for my taste, and we've advised the local tour operator on ways to avoid or bridge these sections.

How many tours have you completed?: 35
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: Somewhat harder
Do you recommend this tour?: Yes
Countries included in this tour?: Bulgaria, Romania

5/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
4/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 Hotels or boat
4/5 Scenery
4/5 Ease of navigation
4/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
3/5 Route selection
4/5 Guides (if applicable)

★★★★★ (4/5) Bike Queen July 12, 2017

E-Bikes Are the Way to Go!

· Cycling the Altmühl Valley - Round trip from Regensburg

For the most part this was a GREAT trip. A few things (in no particular order) might be improved: More detailed descriptions of the routes, especially getting into and out of the larger towns. That's usually when we got lost even with the routes provided. Loved all the hotels, newer and older. Meals everywhere were great. The e-bikes were a lot of fun. They could have used a bit of an overhaul before we took them out, however. gears (especially 5 and 8) slipped. I had virtually no 5th gear. None of it was so difficult that we bothered to stop and get anything fixed. The scenery was fabulous. We had a couple of rainy days, but they didn't' interfere with our fun.

What was the date of your tour?: July 4-9, 2017
How many tours have you completed?: 8-ish
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?: Germany

4/5 Value
5/5 Included meals
3/5 Bikes + equipment
5/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
3/5 Ease of navigation
4/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
5/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (4/5) AnneD August 24, 2017

Fantastic way to see Germany!

· Cycling the Altmühl Valley - Round trip from Regensburg

Really enjoyed this self-guided experience. The bikes were comfortable, appropriate accessories were included, the luggage pick up and delivery was reliable. The selected accommodations were in the main part of the town.....clean, comfortable, with hearty breakfasts...two spots even had a sauna! Opportunity to enjoy local sights, food and culture, frequently woke to the sound of church bells. Maps and info provided...would recommend bringing a GPS and taking time in advance to understand German road signs ...occasional difficulty finding street names or missing turn-offs...which happens and is a part of the adventure.

What was the date of your tour?: Aug 2017
How many tours have you completed?: Trips many..but 1st official tour!
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?: Germany

4/5 Value
5/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
3/5 Ease of navigation
5/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
4/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (4/5) Travel Junkie October 1, 2017

First bike trip.

· Cycling the Altmühl Valley - Round trip from Regensburg

Wow, what a trip! I usually plan everything so it felt a little strange not doing a thing. We showed up at our first hotel and everything was ready to go. Hotels were lovely. Breakfast was adequate, kept us going until lunch. Our luggage was at the hotel when we arrived. We were very happy with the services provided.
The scenery was amazing, the river, the fields, and the valley. The valley was our favorite. The boat trips were enjoyable. And so many castles!
A couple of days on the trail were a little harder than I thought they would be. The trail surface was rough and hard to pedal on. When the trail was smooth, the cycling was a breeze. We had no trouble with the bikes although It might have been better if we would have rented the 21 speed bikes. We were on the trail 5 -7 hours each day. All and all, we would do it again. I see another trip in our future.

What was the date of your tour?: September 2017
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 teens
Do you recommend this tour?: Yes
Countries included in this tour?: Germany

5/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
5/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
4/5 Ease of navigation
5/5 Tour documents
5/5 Local tour company services
5/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (4/5) Mdlewis June 24, 2018

Altmuehl Valley, Round Trip from Regensburg

· Cycling the Altmühl Valley - Round trip from Regensburg

Our first European Bike Tour was a success! We very much enjoyed the experience. The villages and scenery were interesting to pass through. The Altmuehl Valley is beautiful and the choice of cities for the overnight stays were great. Our bikes were first rate and we didn’t experience any problems with them. BikeTours.com were very supportive through the process. One of the disadvantages of the self guided tours is that you need to make it to the hotel selected for you that night, instead of the flexibility to stay at places of interest along the way. Speaking of the hotels, they were conveniently located, older, but renovated nicely. Unfortunately, none of them had air conditioning (we travelled through very hot weather). Air conditioning would have been muchly appreciated at the end of the day. As the hotels were in a central location, the rooms were on the noisy side of the street. We did get lost twice and perhaps more detailed maps, between each city would be useful. Saying that, we are looking forward to our next trip. My wife will be renting an electric bike next time!

What was the date of your tour?: June 8, 2018
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
Countries included in this tour?: Germany

3/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 Hotels or boat
4/5 Scenery
3/5 Ease of navigation
4/5 Tour documents
3/5 Local tour company services
4/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (4/5) Monica and Ross September 26, 2018

Beautiful 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

5/5 Value
5/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
5/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
4/5 Ease of navigation
4/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
5/5 Route selection

Biking between Passau and Nuremberg on the Danube River

★★★★★ (4/5) Debra Lapre 8 months ago

2nd Bike and Barge trip

· · Altmühl Valley and Danube River

The beginning was not as picturesque as one would have hoped. The small towns were quaint and the guide Ilsa was great. She was very knowledgeable about each town and stopped at points of interest along the way. We were vegetarians and the food was somewhat lacking. The room on the barge was nice and the bathroom a good size.

What was the date of your tour?: August 2023
How many tours have you completed?: 2
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: As expected
Do you recommend this tour?: No
Countries included in this tour?: Germany

4/5 Value
2/5 Included meals
3/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 Hotels or boat
3/5 Scenery
4/5 Ease of navigation
3/5 Tour documents
3/5 Local tour company services
3/5 Route selection
5/5 Guides (if applicable)

★★★★★ (3/5) Bicycling in Philly August 26, 2017

· Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option

What was the date of your tour?: Aug 13-19
How many tours have you completed?: Greater than 10
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: Somewhat easier
Who is this tour suitable for?: First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
Do you recommend this tour?: No
Countries included in this tour?: Austria

2/5 Value
3/5 Included meals
2/5 Hotels or boat
4/5 Scenery
2/5 Ease of navigation
2/5 Tour documents
2/5 Local tour company services
2/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (3/5) Jackie10 June 14, 2019

Recommend 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

5/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
2/5 Bikes + equipment
5/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
1/5 Ease of navigation
4/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
5/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (3/5) Jan 2018 September 24, 2018

Beautiful 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!!!

What was the date of your tour?: Sept. 10-17
How many tours have you completed?: 0
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: As expected
Who is this tour suitable for?: First-time bike tourists
Do you recommend this tour?: No
Countries included in this tour?: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia

3/5 Value
3/5 Included meals
3/5 Bikes + equipment
3/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
3/5 Ease of navigation
3/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
4/5 Route selection
3/5 Guides (if applicable)

★★★★★ (3/5) Elizabeth Gray 7 months ago

Beautiful trip on the Danube

· · Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon

This scenic trip is beyond description!!! Boating on this beautiful river, in and out of small towns, bustling cities and incredible mountain and grapevine views was fabulous!
The boat was nice, clean ( very cold pool) and plenty of service, however; instructions were poor at best.
There were a couple that provided directions on the routes and many other events upon the boat, SE Mannon, however one spoke no English and the other struggled with describing in English the sometimes complicated routes. 85% of the travelers were non English speakers and were well informed by the German speaking gentleman. Many English speakers became lost in Bratislava and some in Vienna. The routes were beautiful and not too challenging to ride if you paid close attention during the briefings and asked a lot of clarifying questions. When you are t quite sure, ask again until you do. We found not understanding the German and Austrian speakers frustrated them a great deal but don’t get offended. You need the correctly translated information. As simple as “up stream or down stream” can be miscommunicated.
We had one bike that needed to be changed out, however, the people checking the bike said it was ok and we suffered 2 days with a bike that was not shifting properly. Day 3, new bike, no more problems.
Do not waste your money on ANy of the drink packages! It is only honored after 4 pm, even soda or coffee is charged outside the 4 pm- 11 pm hours. Dinner drinks are included in restaurant. Breakfast includes coffee but not soda as many drink in AM. Bring snacks back on board if you want anything to eat outside breakfast or dinner.
Now for the food: we had “guess that dish” every night Everything was covered in some kind of gravy. Pork for dinner the first 3 nights! Desserts were the most disappointing. Very bland puddings, and some had breakfast cereals mixed in. After day 2, we started eating dinner out when possible. One night we had spaghetti which wasn’t too bad however we couldn’t get any Parmesan cheese or extra bread to fill up. Breakfasts offered many options, however, the omelettes were not always cooked through. Stick with the waffles, they were good. Plenty of meats and bread to make sandwiches for your lunch ride. We generally stopped at a pub or beer garden for goulash or French fries and beer! Lots of little places to choose from although good places could be recommended in the route book! No one on board would suggest any restaurants in the towns. That was disappointing. We found a great restaurant on top of a hotel in Vienna with a fabulous view of the city and river.
In our info from Biketours. Com, we were told not to book travel from the boat before 12. The boat wanted us out of our cabins by 8:30. We waited up on top of the boat until our taxi arrived at 11:00. We were the last party to leave. None of the Americans got off the boat until 10-10:30. Lack of communication again.
It was nice unpacking only once for our bike tour, however we will probably stick with the bike/hotel version in the future! Croatia here we come in 2024!!! Still had a blast with our party of 6! Thanks Biketours! SHOW MORE

Countries included in this tour?: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia

★★★★★ (3/5) Diane Griffin 5 months ago

Disappointing - don't go during shoulder season

· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)

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
Countries included in this tour?: Austria, Germany

2/5 Value
2/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
3/5 Hotels or boat
2/5 Scenery
3/5 Ease of navigation
3/5 Tour documents
2/5 Local tour company services
2/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (3/5) Bryan October 5, 2017

Austria Bike Trip

· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)

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
Countries included in this tour?: Austria, Germany

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

★★★★★ (3/5) Ricardo Hein November 7, 2022

Nice biking vacation

· Danube Cycle Path Passau – Budapest

The Danube is beautiful and the Austrian portion is beautiful. After Vienna it turns flat and less developed. The opportunity to share with people is limited by the places to stay, I didn't like to stay away from the towns in isolated guest houses, when guest homes were available in small towns.

What was the date of your tour?: September 2022
How many tours have you completed?: 1
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: Somewhat easier
Who is this tour suitable for?: First-time bike tourists
Do you recommend this tour?: No
Countries included in this tour?: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia

2/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
2/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
4/5 Ease of navigation
5/5 Tour documents
2/5 Local tour company services

★★★★★ (3/5) mb001 October 28, 2019

Fun trip with lots of biking.

· Vienna to Budapest 5-nights (Active)

My friend and I did this trip in early Oct. The first hotel in Vienne is Hotel Arcortel and not near any restaurants or pubs but close to the start of the trip. I would suggest booking a few days before in the city center if you plan on seeing Vienna. We stayed next in Hotel Devin in Bratislava. The hotel here and city were great. Everything walking distance. Next was Hotel Barrokk in Gyor. This was a very nice hotel and city that you could walk to a variety of restaurants and shopping. Then day 3 we biked 124km to Esztergom. There is an option to take a train for half of this trip. We did the biking and found it a very long day, but doable. We had electric bikes and it was a good thing! This day of biking was the most difficult not only because of the distance, but the terrain. You are in remote Hungarian countryside with no one around for hours. The bike trail or paths are poorly marked in some areas you find yourself on dirt farm land. Unfortunately we were lost a lot! The hotel in Esztergom was the Hotel Bellevue. This hotel is set on a busy street with no options to walk to any other restaurants or shopping. We were not aware that dinner must be booked ahead of time. After talking our way into a reservation, we found the buffet was average. If possible stay in the city and not this hotel. On the last day we left and needed to catch the ferry across the river. We were lucky as the week we were there was the last week of the season for the ferry. We rode to Budapest and again found some of the trails or paths poorly marked. We ran into a guided tour along the way and the guide told us about an app called mapy.cz and it has the entire map of the bike path we used and saved us several times. It was great to finish in Budapest as it is a very large exciting city with so much to do! The NH Hotel was easy to get to and situated close to many sites.

What was the date of your tour?: 10/6-10/10/19
How many tours have you completed?: 4
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: As expected
Do you recommend this tour?: No
Countries included in this tour?: Austria, Hungary, Slovakia

4/5 Value
3/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
3/5 Hotels or boat
4/5 Scenery
3/5 Ease of navigation
3/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
3/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (3/5) JG2017 August 9, 2017