E-bikes Available Tour Reviews  page 60

  • Learning Italian from the Saddle
    (5/5) Rosemary McDougall September 14, 2023

    Best of both worlds: Italian language and cycling in Italy

    · Learning Italian from the Saddle: Language Classes & the Coast of Apulia

    What a fantastic tour! The rides were perfect and the teachers/guides were outstanding. Giovanna and Carla were the best Italian teachers, patient and helpful. The riding itinerary was challenging yet doable for all participants. The idyllic terrain from Otranto to Lecce showcased the Salento region and the spectacular views of both Adriatic and Ionian Seas completed the picture. All accommodations were great as well as the scrumptious Italian food and Orecchiette cooking class. Visits to various beaches helped to relax everyone along the route. An ideal tour for anyone interested in learning Italian and enjoying the scenery along the way while riding a bicycle (bici).

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 1-10
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    •  (photo by Rosemary McDougall)
    •  (photo by Rosemary McDougall)
    •  (photo by Rosemary McDougall)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (5/5) Joanna Havener September 14, 2023

    Loved every minute!

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    Our tour leader was fun, knowledgeable and very safety conscious. The route was almost all flat, only one big climb on Wednesday. The ship's crew was helpful and saw to it that my husband had potato chips in his lunch. They accommodated my wish for vegetarian meals. The small towns were charming and I loved learning about their history. Highly recommend this trip. (My husband and I are in our 70s and the ebikes were a great help to us.)

    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 12th century church (photo by Joanna Havener)
    • 12th century church (photo by Joanna Havener)
  • Dolomites to Trieste
    (5/5) Charles Anderson September 13, 2023

    Great Trip!

    · Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps

    Everything went off without a hitch. The e-bikes were the way to go and made the hills and mountain pass easy to handle. The directions and hotels were excellent. Definitely recommend the extra day in Bled, Slovenia as there was a lot to see and do. Thanks BikeTours for putting together a fun trip!

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy, Slovenia, Austria
  • UNESCO Highlights of Dalmatia by E-bike and Boat
    (5/5) Lorinda Troppmann September 13, 2023

    Trip of a lifetime

    · · UNESCO Highlights of Dalmatia by E-bike and Boat

    The trip exceeded all of my expectations. Coming from Alaska, it was refreshing to see the people of Croatia to be set apart from what we see in the USA. I did not see anyone passed out on the streets or strung out on drugs. You could walk freely in the evening on the islands and feel safe. The beauty was breathtaking and the crew was generous in their hospitality. My friend that joined me on the trip talked me into doing an E-bike, and I am so grateful that I did! I was able to enjoy the entire trip that way and still got a great work out. I would do this trip again!

    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia
    • Sunset Picture with my friend.  This was her special Birthday trip. (photo by Lorinda Troppmann)
    • This was the 40 mile day with 3600 ft elevation.  Picture taken at our last incline. I was so elated to be on the last leg of this ride. (photo by Lorinda Troppmann)
    • Our Chef's on the boat fed us Sooo Much Food!!  They were amazing. (photo by Lorinda Troppmann)
    • You find cats everywhere.  They love it there too! (photo by Lorinda Troppmann)
    • The waters in this port, as in many, are crystal clear. (photo by Lorinda Troppmann)
    • One of our guides:  Eddie.  They were knowledgeable and fun, great to have with us. (photo by Lorinda Troppmann)
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (4/5) Paul Crisafulli September 13, 2023

    Beautiful beaches, caves and countryside!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The perfect way to see all that Portugal offers! Great people, great food and beautiful sights. Tour guide company provided best hotels, great towns to explore and great service.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • National Parks, Lakes, and Canyons
    (5/5) MICHAEL BAR ZVI September 13, 2023

    Great trip

    · National Parks, Lakes & Canyons of Montenegro

    1. The route was lovely
    2. The hotels were fine
    3. The bikes needed improvement. We got them dirty with bad tires
    4. Transfers were just fine
    5 The local agent was just fine. Promptly dealt with any problem that was referred to him

    Countries included in this tour?
    Montenegro
  • Dolomites to Venice
    (5/5) Garry Wyndham September 13, 2023

    Extraordinarily varied and wonderful scenery.

    · Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track

    This was one of our favorite ever vacations for the scenery, the food and the physical challenge. BikeTours is a great company and the tour is super value.

    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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?
    Italy
    •  (photo by Garry Wyndham)
    •  (photo by Garry Wyndham)
    •  (photo by Garry Wyndham)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 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
  • National Parks, Lakes, and Canyons
    (5/5) Meir Ben Ari September 12, 2023

    Montenegro bike tour

    · National Parks, Lakes & Canyons of Montenegro

    This tour was excellent. Amazing views, very nice villages, very good food and cheap.
    I would like to mention the support we received from Darzen the local supplier.
    Darzen was very serviceable. Every request he handled with great willing. Every call he respond and gave us a great confidence that there is somebody that is taking care on us.
    I would like to thank Biketour and Darzen for this experience.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Montenegro
  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (3/5) Annik Stahl September 11, 2023

    Could have been better

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    The tour leader (Helmut) was great, as was the boat crew. There were some fun times biking but the miles and miles of harsh gravel was not in the description of the trip. (This was not "country roads" -- this was ROCKS and my back ached for days afterward.) Had I know, I would not have chosen this trip as I just had surgery. I found the food to be absolutely awful. The dinners were beond strange and hey, maybe something besides HAM HAM HAM every day for lunch? I lost 4 pounds during that trip.

    While I know there are some great trips to be had with this company (my dad has been on several and said this one was the worst). this was not one of them. Like I said, some fun time biking but not enough to recommend this trip.

    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 3/5 Value
    • 1/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Dordogne Valley
    (5/5) Alvaro Pacheco e Silva Filho September 11, 2023

    Great trip by the Dordogne Valley

    · Dordogne Valley: Between the Dordogne and Lot Rivers

    The trip was great and our guide new everything about the places with visited. Highly recommended.

    Countries included in this tour?
    France
  • UNESCO Sites of Albania
    (4/5) Guy Levy September 11, 2023

    Great trip with some annoying snags

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    We were a group of 8 members who did a self guided tour with e-bikes. the route of the tour exposed us to Albania's beautiful landscape, heritage and lovely and warm people. The route is quite challenging due to the mountainous terrain and we were glad that we chose to use e-bikes. All in all we really loved it. Yet, we encountered a few troublesome matters that with due attention can be solved.(i) we had numerous problems with the e-bikes, mostly related to chain falling w/o any reason, back cog-wheel that became loose etc., that ended with replacing two of our bikes and a number cases where on road assistance was required. We understood from comments made by the local agents that these had been common problems with the type of bikes we had been given, hence either bike maintenance needs improvement or a different bike brand should be used. (ii) A much greater portion of the tour then described in the website was on main roads with heavy traffic, which we felt made cycling not very safe and certainly not relaxing/enjoyable. (iii) The maps provided together with the e-files of the routes were not always consistent with actual conditions. A more frequent adaptation, of especially the e-routes, to actual roads conditions seems in order. (iv) the hotels provided could be somewhat upgraded. In many cases they were not up to a par with 3 star hotels in Europe (this had been our 9th cycling tour in Europe so we do have some experience).

    What was the date of your tour?
    August-September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    9
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
    • 4/5 Value
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Lake Constance Bike Path
    (5/5) Jan Sjökvist September 8, 2023

    Perfect tour

    · Lake Constance Bicycle Path

    Everything, indeed, worked perfectly. No problems whatsoever with bike, tour information was excellent, very good hotels always close to city centers. My luggage always waiting for me at the hotel of the day. I am impressed of how well everything worked out.
    Generally the bike roads were good, with some exceptions, but a few kilometers with quite bumpy gravel is acceptable.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Switzerland
    • Towards Lindau (photo by Jan Sjökvist)
    • Lindau harbour (photo by Jan Sjökvist)
  • Amsterdam to Bruges on Magnifique II
    (5/5) Larry Siegler September 8, 2023

    Great trip

    · · Amsterdam – Bruges by Bike and Boat – Magnifique II (and reverse)

    The bike and barge trip exceeded our expectations greatly. We highly recommend this trip. The crew was wonderful and the meals were delicious. There were many additional items that made the trip memorable ie canal cruise, nightly walking tours of the towns, great stops on the cycle ride. It was a spectacular experience.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Belgium, Holland
  • Dolomites to Venice
    (3/5) Terez Maniatis September 8, 2023

    First trip in the dolomites

    · Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track

    The scenery was amazing! The local tour company was not.
    By the time we got our bikes they had run out of repair kits. We had to but two tire tubes at different times because of this. Would not recommend this company!

    How many tours have you completed?
    Many
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 3/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
    • 1/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) Garry Wyndham September 8, 2023

    Extraordinary experience

    · Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track

    Marvelous variety of views and experiences, geology and wonderful food. This was our second time and we had a blast. Despite one hiccup with the wrong hotel, Biketours looked after us well. Highly recommended

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    •  (photo by Garry Wyndham)
    • Near Cortina (photo by Garry Wyndham)
    • Bassano del Grappa (photo by Garry Wyndham)
    • Asolo (photo by Garry Wyndham)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 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
  • Tauern Bike Path
    (5/5) Peter Van Zoost September 8, 2023

    Beautiful trip

    · Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)

    The first 3 days of biking were beautiful in the Alps. We stayed a couple extra days in Salzburg. Everything was well organized and went smoothly.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany
  • Nature, Villages, and Castles
    (4/5) Tim Cooper September 8, 2023

    Dream trip

    · Nature, Villages & Castles of the Loire River Valley

    The daily route map was good but it needed specific directions about where to turn and specific streets with noticeable landmarks. This is a critical factor especially when arriving in Ambois and. how to get to the designated hotel.

    What was the date of your tour?
    August 19,02023
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Dordogne Valley
    (4/5) Tim Cooper September 8, 2023

    Trip of my dreams

    · Dordogne Valley: Between the Dordogne and Lot Rivers

    Need daily map detail of route and a GPS. The daily activity needed to have a specific start time, rest time, lunch time etc. and time to explore villages on our own. The guide was helpful to make sure we didn't get lost which was a likely possibility since there was not a detailed route map or GPS.

    What was the date of your tour?
    August 26, 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (3/5) Charles Stahl September 7, 2023

    A Bit Dissapointing

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    Compared to the previous five bike/barge trips I have done with company this tour was disappointing. The boat and it's crew were great, the cabins were clean and as comfortable as possible. No problems there. The breakfasts and afternoon snacks were plentiful and good. However, the dinners were often not edible. The Italian cook was very sweet, but the food was often unrecognizable and tasteless. I am not a fussy eater, but I along with my dinner companions often sent the food back uneaten.

    The printed material does say that riding is done mostly along country lanes, but the amount of riding on gravel was daunting. I feel that should be mentioned in the literature. The guide was extraordinary, both knowledgeable and well spoken, not to mention very approachable. The highlights were indeed highlights, but negotiating the busy streets while riding through small towns was scary at best. Perhaps doing this trip is mid-summer would be more picturesque, but the weather wouldn't be as perfect as it was for us in late August/early September. Had this been my first bike/barge adventure perhaps I would be less critical, but with many other tours co choose from, I would not recommend this particular 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?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 4/5 Value
    • 1/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Bolzano – Verona – Venice
    (5/5) Laura Peck September 7, 2023

    One of the best vacations I have ever taken

    · Bolzano – Verona – Venice

    We did the self-guided, and loved it, the maps were fantastic, only got a little lost a few times, someone has done a lot of work on getting the logistics of this week nailed down very well, including luggage being moved. Great way to see parts of Italy no one else sees. Some of the hotels were AMAZING, a couple were a little run-down and needed to be crossed off the list, got locked out of one and ended up having to get another hotel (at our own expense, and without all of our luggage as it was in the original) that night because the front desk clerk went home at 10 pm (this was also one of the run-down places). Breakfasts were perfect at all locations. Route was gorgeous, Italy is absolutely beautiful. Overall, this was great and we are already talking about our next one.

    What was the date of your tour?
    August 20 - 27, 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 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