Bike Tour Reviews Dolomites To Trieste Via Lake Bled At The Foot Of The Julian Alps (page 3)
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★★★★★ Nancy May 26, 2017Beautiful ride through three countries
The scenery was ravishing, the directions mostly got us where we needed to go, the breakfasts and hotels were delightful. We opted to rent e-bikes which allowed us to keep up with the stronger riders on our group. One drawback was the lack of directions for getting from the train station in Trieste to our hotel. Not knowing the lay of the land, which streets were apt to be steep or major thoroughfares, it took us 3 times what it should have to get to our hotel. Also Bled is a charming little town, but had we realized it is a major tour bus destination we would not have opted to spend the extra night there.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 5/5-12/2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ dmshimizu May 24, 2017
Amazing trip!
Great way to explore the boarder region amongst Italy, Austria and Slovenia. The scenery is amazing, and it is a great opportunity to enjoy some towns and places that are not widely seen by regular tourists.
Travel documentation supplied by the local tour company is very good with complete information about the route. I'd recommend the investing on the GPS too, as it helps a lot with navigation activity.
The accommodations and the included meals were really good, perfect for those who would like to spend some days away from crowd and large cities.
In summary, it was a great experience, I'm looking forward for another bike tour like this one.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 6th, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
Video: Cycling in Austria, near Thal
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★★★★★ Nancyhj May 15, 2017
Beautiful ride through three countries
The scenery was ravishing, the directions got us where we needed to go, the breakfasts and hotels were delightful. We opted to rent e-bikes which allowed us to keep up with the stronger riders on our group. The main drawback was the lack of directions for getting from the train station in Trieste to our hotel. Not knowing the lay of the land, which streets were apt to be steep or major thoroughfares, it took us 3 times what it should have to get to our hotel. Also Bled is a charming little town, but had we realized it is a major tour bus destination we would not have opted to spend the extra night there.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 5-12, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Curt October 18, 2016
Great trip
First bike trip like this for my wife and myself. The route was spectacular. Had everything from mountain scenery, beautiful river valleys, charming village, seaside rides, and ended in the wonderful city of Trieste. Got a taste of 3 countries and their cultures and food. Met lots of great people along the way who were doing the same trip as us. Everything went fairly seamlessly from the hotels to the transports to the bikes and the information provided. On a few occasions had some confusion with the directions, but nothing that wasn't able to be figured out.
All in all an excellent trip and would do another trip with this organization without question.- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/24-10/1/16
- 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
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★★★★★ Zephyr February 17, 2016
Excellent.
Beautiful scenery, mostly on cycle tracks, three countries, cultures and languages, nice weather, pleasant lodging.
- How many tours have you completed?
- six
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens, Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Marcie Bushnelll 11 months ago
So many amazing places, so little time . . .
Equipped with e-bikes, two panniers, one handlebar bag, a bike lock and a repair kit, we were ready to leave Toblach and head east. We had previously biked from Toblach to Lienz, so decided to take the train from San Candido to Lienz to save some mileage. The train in San Candido had steep narrow steps which we had to muscle the heavy e-bikes over, but in Lienz, the entry/departure is flat with the quais. From there is was a very pleasant ride to Oberdrauburg. Dinner at the Hotel Post was good (we were no longer on the dinner included plan) and bike storage was always in a covered area with outlets to charge the e-bikes (we carried the chargers in our panniers). The next morning we took a local bus (at the Oberdrauburg train/bus station) to the summit of the Gailberg Pass. From the bus window, I was glad we avoided the 7 km (4.2 miles) steep hairpin turn highway as it snaked it way to the summit. Arrived at Feistritz an der Gail at another Post Hotel where we enjoyed dinner and a good rest.
The next day we entered Slovenia and were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the bike paths, signage and bike refreshment places along the path. Again we opted to take the train from Jesenice to Bled to avoid some steep ascents, BUT the Slovenian regional trains are a sight to behold. Heavily graffitied and "vintage," we were thankful a young German exchange student helped us muscle the two e-bikes into an empty compartment at the back of the three wagon train. We purchased tickets for the ebikes on board (believe me when I say the trains may be old, but the ticket collectors are there for every single kilometer to collect bike fees, etc). Easier to get the bikes off than on, so when we arrived at Bled Jezero, we were relieved.
Cannot say enough good things about the Hotel Park and Bled. We opted for TWO nights and I would highly recommend consideration of same. Bled is just too beautiful to spend one short night. We reserved a wine tasting at a local restaurant (a ten minute walk from Hotel Park) and had reserved spots for the Vintgar Gorge the next morning. Easy to take the bikes to the entrance of Vintgar Gorge (again free parking). The 1 ½ hour hike in the Gorge is breath taking, but the 2 hour steep hike out (we didn't take a shuttle this time), was challenging.
Plans change and the train transfer turned into local partner taking the bikes/panniers/handlebar bag on a bike trailer and giving us tickets to a regional bus with instructions to get off at another train station 1+ hours away. Fortunately the train conductor was on the bus and assured us which station it was (everybody got off). Another couple got off two stops before us and a local rep made sure we gave him our luggage at that point. We got off at Kanal ob Soci for our ride into Gradisca d'Isonzo. We were high above the canal and it's a very industrialized zone. Perhaps the least scenic of all the days so far. At one point there was a ! sign with steps!! What? Yes, just around the corner was a series of steps and ramps to ascend a steep part of the trail. Figured out walk assist and managed to get the bikes up and over. That was a surprise.
There was some kind of HUGE market/celebration in progress with street blockages, tents, supply vans, etc. choking the streets of Gorizia. We counted ourselves lucky to have found our way out of this rather large metro area. Spent the night at Hotel Franz in Gradisca d'Isonzo and enjoyed a lovely meal at the hotel (seemed to be a local favorite).
Last day from Gradisca d'Isonzo was along the Coast highway. Had read reviews about traffic and such, but the bike lane was wide and the drivers respectful of cyclists. As we neared Trieste, more cars would be parked in the bike lanes, but we managed without incident. Upon arrival at the Trieste Centrale train station, we returned our bikes to a nearby partner location, emptied our panniers/handlebar bag into our backpacks and walked to our hotel near Trieste's pedestrian zone. Such a lively place come 7 p.m. Dined in a terrace cafe, had gelato, did some shopping and called it a successful tour. Thank you, Biketours.com for a great experience. SHOW MORE- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10+
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Thomas Albrecht August 4, 2022
Beautiful, well-organized trip; good value for the money
We enjoyed our tour very much. We opted for the unguided version, which suits our tastes well, and found the maps provided to be good enough to guide us. The bikes were good quality and comfortable. The hotels varied, but we enjoyed them all and thought they were a good value for the price. The luggage service each day was perfect -- never late or unclear where to put the luggage for pickup.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 1-8, 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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
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★★★★★ Nils Martin Sellgren August 5, 2022
A wonderful trip through an amazing landscape in early summer blossom.
We had an easy descent down a long valley from Toblach into Austria. Options with bus and train for mountain climbs. Experienced beautiful towns, among beatiful town of Bled, and even exhibition at a roman town excavation in Slovenia.
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★★★★★ Mary Eaman 11 months ago
Everything was Perfect!
The itinerary was varied and beautiful, the hotels were charming and clean, the bikes were great, the support both pre trip and during the trip was fabulous. One of the best vacations ever. Thank you!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 18, 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Scott Eckhoff September 13, 2022
Three countries with great scenery and variety.
We experienced a true feel for three countries as we biked through this amazing area. There is much variety with this trip. We experienced small quaint villages, ski towns, beautiful mountain scenery, quiet forests, beautiful lakes and rivers, great restaurants, nice accommodations, mostly safe biking on trails and quiet roads. We took the slightly longer route through the hinterland into Trieste which gave us a peaceful ride until the city of Trieste. The App which was provided gave us peace of mind that we were always on the correct route. There were no worries about getting lost. We would advise having a phone holder that fits on your handle bar. We highly recommend this trip and would recommend Ebikes. There are many up and down slopes on a few days.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- 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
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★★★★★ Jean Olson September 27, 2022
Beautiful Scenery
The Dolomites were amazing. The bike paths were good and traveled through some beautiful areas. The hotels were all great. The drections from the maps and app were good, we only got a little off track a couple of times. We rode regular bikes and although the hills were tough, they were doable. I definitely want to go back to the area between Toblack and Bled and explore more.
The roads into Trieste were busy but there was a good shoulder most of the time. The views were worth the busy road. Castello Duino was cool.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- 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
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★★★★★ Nancy Nestler September 28, 2022
Even better than I imagined!!!
We did the self-guided tour. The routes were well described. They were beautiful and varied, from bike paths in remote areas to bike lanes in busy cities. I always felt safe. The scenery was amazing from river valleys to mountain views. There were options to explore along the way. The length of each day's ride was a good amount, and it often offered a shorter or longer version so you could decide along the way what you wanted to do. The hotels were also a nice variety. I thoroughly enjoyed each day. I would highly recommend this tour. I went with a friend, but hope to do it again and take my husband.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- 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
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★★★★★ William Gibson 11 months ago
Dolomites to the sea in Trieste
This was a fun trip overall. The route begins with beautiful scenery thru mountain valleys with it's conclusion into the wine country north of Trieste. Numerous historical sites along the way with castles, churches and town centers to see. The lake in Bled is stunning.
Accommodations were mostly fantastic with excellent food for dinner and breakfast.
We had a few problems at the start with missing bike accessories for the e-bikes. Luckily this was easy to sort out at the bike shop in Dobbacio the evening before our ride.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- Some self guided gravel biking in Colorado
- 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
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★★★★★ ShopTherapy 2 months ago
Beautiful Scenery, 249 Miles Total
Cividale del Friiuli, Bled, Udine, Trieste, beautiful cities. Special moments, the manager at the Aguntum Museum (near Lienz) gave an unforgettable welcome to our soggy group (it poured buckets the first day out) and Hannes Grimmer Holzdesign (near Reisach) - amazing wood carvings. Nice hotels overall. Only issues were an A/C outage at the Bled hotel, and "the outbuilding" at the Cividale del Friuli hotel - tiny rooms that were nicely appointed but it was a walk from the main hotel that posed a challenge for older bikers in our group with walking issues. Tour operator customer service was excellent - second tour with them, would definitely use them again. Ebikes were new with strong motors and the techs on site took care of changing the displays to English/miles for us. Recommend completing this tour by mid-June due to summer temps in Italy.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Stanthepianoman October 8, 2019
It was the trip of a lifetime.
The scenery was amazing! The bike paths and back roads were awesome. With a couple of changes I would give the trip a 5 star review: First, they shouldn't give an option to ride the train to Jessenice to Bled. This town is scary and hard to navigate. The ride over the pass was minor from what we were told.
Second, the Hotel Roma in Civedale is a dump. Hard beds and rude employees. All the other hotels and inns ranged from nice to awesome.
Third, we should have stayed in Bled and extra day. Our own fault on this one.
Last, the ride in to Trieste was dangerous. It was like riding the gauntlet. I would have liked to drop off our bikes out of town and walked or Ubered in to the city. This is a big busy city and many in our group were unhappy with the danger involved.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2019
- 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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★★★★★ Shayne palfreyman June 30, 2024
Beautiful scenery - well organised
Cycling is an awesome way to see some beautiful scenery and experience the area. The tour itinerary is great - very achievable daily rides and the app showing the routes worked well though a couple of recent changes to the path need updating.
The luggage transfers and accommodations all were very well organised- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- 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?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Diane Witters July 3, 2023
Great first trip with BikeTours.com
Overall, we really enjoyed the experience and were impressed with the scenery, lodging, quality of the bikes (one of us had an e-bike and the other a “top bike “), and the multiple layers of navigation provided by Fun Active Tours, the local outfitter. We also appreciated the detailed instructions for the luggage and train transfers. We especially enjoyed the first 3 legs of the journey through the Dolomites of northern Italy, into Austria, and then the entry into Slovenia with views of the Julian Alps and into Lake Bled. Trieste may have its merits but the city was quite chaotic and difficult to navigate and find our hotel by bike.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- this was our first tour
- 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
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★★★★★ Emily Magnavita July 3, 2023
Great trip
Trip was great, however, there was lack of communication with the company as far as planning logistics. Directions were unclear and sometimes incorrect, got lost on the route multiple times due to lack of information and description in the directions.
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★★★★★ Rhonda Barton June 27, 2023
Beautiful views!
The trip was beautiful! The views through the Dolomites and Julian Alps are constantly awe provoking. The hotels were also wonderful, our favorite being Alta Post in Feistritz an der Gail!
Bikes: We paid for the upgrade but it didnt feel as though we were upgraded. The bikes we received were not well maintained. We had a bike brake on the first day of our tour and the replacement bike had a loose peddle the rest of our tour. A few of our bikes were not tuned well and gears were either difficult to shift or couldn't be geared all the way up or down. In general, we would have appreciated better maintained bikes for a 230 mile tour, it would make the days much more enjoyable. We also had to swing by the rental place for a bike pump that had the correct valve for pumping up tires. The bikes were equipped with presta valves, but the pumps were schrader valves. We also recommend placing an allen key in the repair kit. We had several items that we had to adjust, angles of the header, tightness of the bells, etc. Having an allen key would have made these adjustments easier to make.
Bike Accessories: we think you should provide or tell the riders to bring a cell phone mount for the trip. The app was nice to have but we had to constantly get the phone out of our pockets to follow along. This can get quite dangerous on certain parts of the tour.
App: the phone app was a great perk to the trip although our main complaint is that every tour participant should have access to the app. It is challenging to have only one person with the app and it doesnt seem to make much sense to limit access. Give everyone who paid for the tour access please.- What was the date of your tour?
- June 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Kathy D August 5, 2022
MIghty Dolomity
Truly enjoyed the trip. Great bike paths for most of the route. Beautiful scenery and great overnight stays. A few hotels didn't have air conditioning but that is not unusual in this part of the world. Unfortunately, Europe is experiencing a very hot summer in 2022. We greatly enjoyed the route and all there was to see and do along the way. The bikes were not what we had expected. Very heavy, more like a beach bike w 21 gears. If you take this trip and are used to a better bike, as we are, upgrade the bike you use. Very difficult riding these very heavy bikes up some of the hills. We took a train on Day 3 for a break - mostly because of the bikes. Saving grace - the train system is fantastic and they all have capacity for bikes at a minimal cost. The app was very good once we figured out how to use it. Would have been helpful if FunActive Tour Company had given us some instruction on how to use it prior to us departing.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
