Danube Transdanubia Bike Tour Reviews page 6
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★★★★★ Donald Zirkelbach
A great family trip - highly recommend
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
Family of 6 adults. 4 were first timers on a bike vacation. 2 had never been to Europe. Trip was enjoyed by all and went very smoothly. Hotels were good. 2 E bikes and all 6 bikes were in good condition with no issues.
In researching the trip last year, the one thing that came up multiple times were that the trail wasn't always clearly marked and the paper map/ instructions weren't always easy to follow. They have an App now that goes along with the paper instructions. It marks your location to the route. This is the 1st year for the App. I rate it very good. It could be excellent if they made a few mods. Would be happy to share my thoughts on those if they ask.
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★★★★★ John
Dream trip!
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
Cycling is such a great way to travel in this part of the world. It's safe - almost the entire trip happens on protected bike paths, it's flat - suitable for kids, families, and travelers interested in seeing the countryside and towns along the way as they test their fitness on the trail each day. Each day covers between 40-80k of distance and rides through beautiful natural areas, villages, and farmland. Each evening ends in a beautiful town, village, or capital city with tons plenty of sites to see, delicious food to each, or activities to take part in (like the thermal baths in many of the towns along the way). We traveled as a group of six with 2 kids and 4 adults and everyone had a wonderful time. I highly recommend it.
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★★★★★ Tim Frendin
The best way to explore this part of the world!
Danube Cycle Path Passau – Budapest
A great cycle ride for all. The 650km from Passau to Budapest is not nearly as daunting as it first may seem. Plenty of time to for an otherwise active person to accommodate the challenge of riding 4 hours or so each day and enjoy the experience. Excellent flat course on mostly paved, purpose built cycle paths. Great, historic towns and cities to explore along the way but much of the ride is through glorious riverside and countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Excellent accommodation every night and fabulous organisation from BikeTours ensured a truly memorable and magnificent holiday for us. Unreservedly and enthusiastically recommended!
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Francis Farrell
A Family Danube Adventure
Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
As Grandpa, I organized this adventure for my daughter, son and his family. This seemed an ideal year to do it since my grandson, 16, wouldn't be bored and my granddaughter, 12 and the youngest passenger, would be able to manage the biking and appreciate the countries and cultures she'd experience.
The ship, cabins and, except for the grand kids, the meals were good.On the downside, there were very few English speakers including the tour director. He spoke only German but his wife would do a reasonably good job of translating. Many of the crew and other passengers were capable in English. Also, the cruise line offered a "Drink Plan" with unlimited alcohol for 15 Euros/day for all seven days. This would have been 630 Euros for us, all but me non-drinkers - ridiculous!
I'm sure we will take another "boat & bike" trip but I doubt with CD Cruise Lines.
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★★★★★ eric dickman
Great Trip
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
We really enjoyed our self-guided bike trip to Budapest. All the logistics were handled without any hitches. Our luggage was always waiting for us at our hotel each night. The bikes we rented were near new and well tuned and very easy and pleasant to ride. We relied on the Radreise Freunde app for maps and points of interest. Apart from a few bugs in the navigation, it worked great and the EuroVelo 6 was clearly marked.
The only negatives worth noting are that parts of the EuroVelo 6 were not paved which required us to ride on some buys roads which was unpleasant, or ride on gravel paths or even muddy tracks (for short periods). Each town we lodged in was charming in its own way. But there was not much to see in between destinations. So each day it was about biking and getting to our stop. One note to bikers, the EuroVelo from Vienna to Budapest is not shaded. We had a week of very hot weather and the sun was very intense so plan accordingly. Other than that the routes are flat and easy to ride, even with some of the longer distances.
We had once instance, in Gyor, where our hotel was not a "usually contracted hotel" and was 10kms out side of the centrum that required biking through some busy industrial areas and roads to reach our hotel. And we would have had to ride back into Gyor another 10kms the next day to start the ride had we not insisted on the tour operator driving us and our bikes to the start of our ride. Most unfortunate was we did not get enough time to explore Gyor which was the nicest stop on the tour.
The tour coordinators were all very responsive to our needs and helped with any coordination issues we had prior to, and during our tour.
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★★★★★ Elizabeth Gray
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 -
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★★★★★ Joyce Winough
Best Holiday
Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
this tour really was fun, exciting and restful all together. I really enjoyed being on the boat as it made it's way down and up the Danau.
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★★★★★ Cynthia John
Fascinating trip through beautiful countryside
Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
This was an amazing trip! From Passau to Bratislava, Budapest to Vienna and back to Passau. We had fantastic weather. The only challenging aspect was lack of clarity on the bike routes. The tour directors were challenged in explaining the routes; and the booklets were confusing because they did not shoe the entire routes.
The meals were great; our room service were very responsive, and the bar servers were great.
I do wish we had had more time at each of the ports.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 8, 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Gina Kelley-Smith
Bike Snob pleasantly surprised at Bike Quality and Great Hotels
Vienna to Budapest 5-nights (Active)
Overall a great trip. My husband, best friend & her mate rode the beautiful Danube winding through the small towns along the way. We did have a small glitch with our Estergrom Hotel given the Prime Minister Viktor Orban was booked. Our new hotel was another 15 miles away after the longest pedal day but BikeTours took care of it. I would recommend this outfit. Thank you!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- None but been on a couple dozen century, multi day bike rides
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ William Wilson
Adventure
Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
Overall, it was a great experience. Unfortunately, there was one large group of passengers that took over the lounge and dining room each night. Their behavior was loud and obnoxious. It would have been nice if someone if someone in authority could have spoken to them about the disruptions they created for others.
Our waiter, Emrah, was amazing. He was most attentive.
I was disappointed with the cost of the drink package. It was more expensive than I expected.
The entire crew worked very hard to ensure we all had a wonderful experience. -
★★★★★ DANNY OPACIC
Trip to remember
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
We traveled as a couple (82yrs oldest) and had an enjoyable time. It would have been more enjoyable if the bikes we hired were lighter. The navigation software was excellent. A couple of sections were difficult to negotiate due to strong headwinds, but the rest of the tour required only a moderate effort to complete. Accommodation and associated service were excellent throughout.
We were most impressed with the initial communication with biketours personnel.
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★★★★★ Josée
Not our dream trip
Vienna to Budapest 5-nights (Active)
We booked the active tour because we did not have time to do the classic. 80-100 km per day were too much, specially when 1 day/4 was 100% rain. We cannot control temperature on a cycling trip, but to cycle 50-60 km in the rain would have been much better than 100km that day. On top of that, our hotel was booked at 130km instead of 100 by mistake. The hotel was nice enough to send a van and a trailer to pick us up. We were soaked!!! Out of 5 hotels, I would consider that 3 nights were more 3.5 stars than 4 and the 2 other nights were 4 to 5 stars. In some small towns, where nobody speak English, it would have nice have more guidance to know where to go to buy the ferry tickets and to know that not all countries use Euros and where to change money for cash only situation. Also, the ferry schedule was not clear, and found out that they take breaks in the morning and can cause a delay.
We were 3 (1 road bike + 2 e-bikes). The roads were rough in some areas with deep puddles of water during the rain. Of course, a flat happened and we struggled to find a pump for the road bike. The pumps that were given to us were for the e-bikes and did not fit. In a small town with no English speaking around, we managed to resolve the situation. Also, the first morning we started the trip, we had to go to a bike store to ask for extra tires in case of a flat. There were not given to us at the beginning. Thank god we went! Having done 2 cycling trips (Portugal and Croatia) in the past year, we found that the Vienna to Budapest was a bit boring. The landscape was not very different from start to beginning and the distances were long in between the little cities we visited.
Minimum information were given to us and it would have been nice to have suggestions for restaurants and more details, etc, etc. We received that info with the other companies we used for the other trips.
A water bottle or a shirt from your company would have been also a nice surprise.
The trip was OK, but can be improved in many ways for the price we paid.
We were happy for the quick response when we had the issue with the hotel at 130km instead of 100
The NH Danube or NH Budapest (We had to change room at 11h00 pm because there was a heating problem that made the room like a sauna and the window handle was broken, so we could not open it….) are more 3 stars hotels. The loft in Bratislava was VERY VERY Nice and the Barok in Gyor was great also. We expected more at the to pass on Esztergom, because we could not come back the next day to visit. I heard that the 30km we missed were worth the views and cycling.
I would recommend the trip to people that did not cycle in Portugal, Croatia and want a flat route.
4 days were a lot concerning the distances, but 6 days would have make it long for the lack of change of scenery. This is my opinion! -
★★★★★ DENNIS UMANZIO
Excellent bike and boat trip. Great Food.
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Great bikes. Good batteries. Ship is very nice, great crew, great food for breakfast and dinner and guide on ship was friendly.
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★★★★★ Amy Jenkins
Danube Experience
Danube Experience Bike and Boat Passau-Vienna-Budapest-Belgrade-Iron Gates-Passau
This trip was great! The boat was very nice and comfortable, bikes were sturdy and visits with local guides outstanding. The paper route was not great but the app seemed to be more accurate. The daily briefings could have been more detailed.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10+
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Amy Jenkins
Great trip!
Danube Experience Bike and Boat Passau-Vienna-Budapest-Belgrade-Iron Gates-Passau
Great trip with a lot of variation. The crew on the Swiss Crown was wonderful, the food was very good and the cabins comfortable
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Mary Arnold
Cask and Castle 2024
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Wonderful experience of the Danube! So beautiful along the river! I wish we could have biked more.
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★★★★★ John Schwartz
First trip to Europe riverboat cruise
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Perfect way to experience Europe for the first time. A nice mix of biking and off days to explore cities and see lovely countryside and smaller towns. Riverboat cruise was very scenic and well planned.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Robert Arnold
A geart trip!
Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Excellent for the most part. Some issues with the boat. 1) Our cabin air conditioning did not consistently work. 2) We shouldn't have to pay for water at meal time. 3) Our group wasn't allowed to change tables at dinner which is something we would have liked to do since we were a group of 40.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 25 - June 1, 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 bike-boat tours
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Jesus Edgar Albo Dominguez
One of the Bucket List!
Danube Cycle Path Passau – Budapest
The hotels were great, the app very easy and useful. The program was really good.
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★★★★★ Kitty Brodie
Not quite what we expected
Vienna to Budapest 5-nights (Active)
We booked a self-guided 5-day tour from Vienna to Budapest.
There were a few things that did not sit well with us on the organizational front.
The tour itself was great once we got started and the cities/hotels en route were great.
The bike service was great... we had a mechanical issue on Day 1 of riding, and the bike was replaced the next morning.Organizationally:
Confirmation of tour was delayed until the 1 day before the original day of departure.
When I tried to cancel because we wanted to book something that was confirmed, I was told this was not possible.
That seemed unfair, when the tour operator has the right to cancel, but not the client.The initial orientation meeting on "Day 1" in Vienna did not happen until "Day 2".
Nothing at all was arranged for "Day 1" other than the hotel in Vienna.The 5 day tour turned out to be 5 nights, with the 1st night in Vienna, where we already were staying.
So not 5 nights on the road, but 5 nights in hotels. Starting on the morning of "Day 2" makes the tour really only a 4 day tour in my opinion.The bikes that were brought to us on the morning of "Day 2" were not the right bikes that we had ordered.
Pick up time for our bags from the hotel was not mentioned in the orientation meeting.
Consequently, we missed the pickup time on the first hotel and had to pay for a taxi to bring the bags to the next hotel.
This again seemed unfair.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary, Slovakia
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