E-bikes Available Tour Reviews page 125
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★★★★★ julesmcsa November 8, 2019Great trip
· Castles and Wines of Portugal
What a way to see the castles of Portugal! The history of the country is amazing, and seeing it all at eye level, literally, was amazing. Perfect weather. Our tour guides were fantastic. The food was overwhelming, there was just so much of it! Tasted a lot of wine, but expected more. Thank god for our E-bikes; some of the routes were too high for us. Overall, very enjoyable trip. We did not care for some of the accommodations: the farmhouse was too remote for us (we wanted to be in the city).
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 19th
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ Hiker Ann November 4, 2019Self Guided Mosel River
· Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
Wes and the team at BikeTours.com were amazing helpful in planning our self guided trip. We were so lucky too that the weather was pleasant every day of our bike tour. This made the well planned tour even more special! We only experienced one late afternoon of rain in Sept..I would definitely contact Wes if we plan another bike tour in Europe, as he was attentive and friendly throughout our months ahead of planning.
The Mosel is a lovely ,calm river with various birds and river boats, plus vineyards up the hillsides on both sides to admire. The beginning of the tour is more peaceful than the latter part as the highways and roads follow the river and bike paths too and are closer in those parts. The towns in the middle of the tour are smaller and very interesting, and often we wished we had more time to explore them as some are historic and scenic. Faster riders and those with Ebikes may have had more time to visit these villages. The hotels especially Richtershof in Mulheim and Romantik Jugenstillhotel in Traben were places I would have loved to stay longer! .All hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The managers/staff at Hotel Schwarzen Baren in Koblenz were most personable, but please know if lodged there you have a longer distance to the hotel from the bike path and to the river boat and return the next day.
I would recommend that the first day not be the longest distance to bike for this tour. You are getting familiar with the heavier bikes, unlike ones you may own at home, taking multitudes of photo stops, and the hotel, restaurants, and area in Mulheim are a treat to behold after Trier. Getting there late afternoon left us less exploration and relaxation time. Otherwise the mileage per day was adequate for us. Do plan to have time to explore historic part of Cochem. It is a tourist stop and the Hotel Kebler Meyer is not in this part of town. My husband had an Ebike, I did not. Of course this review is personal, and I do prefer smaller villages to cities. Overall, we were most pleased with the tour arranged by BikeTours.com.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Setpt. 9 through 14
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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
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★★★★★ Peter and Joyce November 3, 2019
Birthday treat
· Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
The hotels booked were excellent and the luggage transfer was seamless. Bicycles were a little heavy but the range of adjustment allowed an ideal touring position.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9th Oct 2019
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Bayer55 October 27, 2019
Vineyards, vineyards, vineyards!!
· Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
Great tour for independent traveler. Well marked, easy riding, great maps and assistance if needed. First day was a bit long at 40 miles. Would have liked to have done tour in 5-6 days, to take in more sights and relax a bit more. But we are not seasoned bicyclists, so took a bit longer to travel the route.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 14-18
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4 (but last one was 4 yrs ago)
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Badger biker October 24, 2019Good ride with a couple of asterisks
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
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★★★★★ klrea October 23, 2019Touring Provence
· Provence Getaway: The Secrets of Southern France (4 nights)
This is an amazing and beautiful part of the country to visit, and our bike tour organizers set up a really great agenda. However, we don't feel that bicycling was the best way to see the area, and next time we will rent a car instead.
We opted for the self-guided tour because we wanted to be in control of when and where we stopped. The tour organizers were super helpful and friendly and did everything possible to set us up and get us on our way. However, the bikes were extraordinarily heavy, much heavier than what we are used to riding at home, and, for the amount and type of riding that was on our schedule, made the touring harder than we expected it to be. Also, this was my husband's first bike tour, and the first self-guided tour for me. I found that having to watch the GPS and navigate detracted from being able to enjoy the countryside as we rode through. Finally, while, the little towns along the way were lovely and a delight to see, we were not accustomed to the provincial French practice of closing up shop in the afternoon until opening back up for dinner at 6pm, and so were often without food for the day. It was hard to time the riding to arrive in time for lunch when we didn't know how the riding would take.
One more unexpected event was the arrival of the Mistral winds on the last day of our ride, which came blustering in at 30 mph. So, while the weather was nice otherwise, the strong and cold wind made riding heavy bikes uphill something we took a pass on. Fortunately, we were able to find transportation by car into the area that we wished to visit.
For these reasons, although I think this is a great company, I think there are some places that are best visited by car, even though I am an avid and strong cyclist at home.- What was the date of your tour?
- 4 October 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Pattio October 22, 2019Danube recycle
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
A delightful way to see the Danube. Many exceptional views of castles and cathedrals along the way.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 4-11
- How many tours have you completed?
- Four
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Darrell8 October 21, 2019
Greece bike trip
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 5th-11th
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
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★★★★★ DrFerro October 20, 2019Magical Umbria
· Umbria’s Green Valleys From the Pilgrimage Town of Assisi
The first couple days in the Umbria region were almost magical. Riding through the olive groves and vineyards, passing by the fig trees that were offering their ripe luscious fruits brought special significance to this region of great spirituality. (These fruits are all mentioned in the Bible.) Experiencing the places where Francis of Assisi had his illumination, along with countless others who are nameless, reminds the visitor that all these churches, chapels, and basilicas are there because of the Italian people's expressions.
This was our sixth European bike tour. It was our first tour in Italy, and also the first tour we had done that was almost completely on roads (as opposed to dedicated bike trails). That said, we felt somewhat vulnerable, especially in heavily populated areas. Italian drivers are not overly aggressive or careless, but they do like to drive fast. Pavement conditions on several roads were pretty bad, especially near the edges where one would ride. Distances on the daily rides were about right given the riding conditions, there were interesting things to see and the written directions were excellent. The accommodations on this tour were outstanding, the food remarkable, and the hospitality of the Italian people warmed our hearts. Of the six tours we have taken, this is the first one where we gained weight after five days of riding!- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 18, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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
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★★★★★ Geezer Biker October 20, 2019A good trip with its ups and downs
· Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
This self-guided ride from Salzburg to Vienna had a lot of really great moments and some that left me wishing for better. A few of the hotels are barely 3 star and some are solid 3 Star+. Mostly quiet and mostly friendly staffs, mostly spoke good to excellent english which really helped us. The hotel next to the castle in Grein was a high point: Super rooms and excellent dining. Every breakfast was quite good and lots of it.
The two free bottles of wine from the lovely shop in the little town across the river from our hotel in Mitterarnsdorf were delicious. It took us 20 minutes to find the shop, but a couple of locals were kind enough to point us the right way.
Consider taking your own bike or renting from a Salzburg shop (if you are returning to Salzburg). We've been on 5 bike and barge/boat, etc. tours in Europe and these bikes were the heaviest and poorest quality, making the long-ride days grueling, but doable.
Our luggage showed up on time every day. No fuss no worry there.
The maps they provided were marginal at best A couple of times we'd have been quite lost without my wife's adroit use of Google maps on her iPhone. Don't go without Google maps or some other app to clarify the routes. The tour company management should be required to ride the trip based on their own directions and see how they do.
BUT---the countryside and the villages were beautiful and friendly. Much of the ride was on bike trails and back-back roads with no traffic. There were several places where we were direct to ride on somewhat busier roads, but the Austrian drivers were nearly always patient and courteous to us. The final few kilometers from the train station to the hotel in Vienna were partly on busy city streets, which I found quite imtimidating after a long hard riding day.
Bottom line: Do the ride. It's a very good experience. But quiz the tour company about a bike upgrade and definitely take your own backup route finding app (which is probably a necessity regardless of the tour map accuracy).
Happy cycling!- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Gary61 October 18, 2019Great trip with lots of positive experiences
· Sparta and the Mediterranean Coast
This was a great way to see part of Greece. Because of the marathon from Athens to Sparta we had to stay in Misttriss which I thought was more romantic and authentic. Sparta had great Restuarants and the old ruins Sparta are a must to see.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10 or more
- 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?
- Greece
-
★★★★★ MelT October 17, 201925th Anniversary Trip
· Bolzano – Verona – Venice
A great way to see the beautiful smaller towns of Italy that you would normally drive right by!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 9, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Gerhard October 13, 2019
· Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
- How many tours have you completed?
- one
- 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?
- Germany
-
★★★★★ Jackie21 October 13, 2019
Very Memorable
· Bolzano – Verona – Venice
Amazing way to see parts of Italy you couldn’t see any other way. I loved our guides and the fun places we stopped along the way, however, the biking was much harder and faster than expected. I was expecting to be able to stop and take pictures any time I saw something picture worthy, but that was not the case. I realized the first day that I was not as prepared as I should’ve been. We had a very large group and people of all skill levels and even though I bike regularly I was not prepared for all peddling and no coasting. I also found the bike trails to be very crowded and nerve wracking with racing cyclist both coming and going. I expected a relaxing daily 40miles and it was in fact rather stressful biking. We had an amazing group from all over the world and that really made the experience fun. Our guides, Alain and Diego, were very personable and fun. I would do it again, but I would get an E-bike for the hills.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was my first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ colrip7 October 11, 2019Great area for a bike tour
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
6 of us made this tour. None of us were "experienced" riders, but we all had fun. A couple of things I would change if it were up to me - the ParkHotel St Leonard in Uberlingen is a little over 2km, all uphill from the main town. The hotel is very nice, but we didn't like the uphill ride and all of us wanted to go into town, but none of us wanted to redo the uphill ride. The other thing is the third day ride from Uberlingen to Lindau was too far for us to do in one day while trying to see all the sights along the way. We cheated and took the ferry from Friedrichshafen to Lindau.
All of the hotels were very nice, clean and very accommodating. Our luggage was always at the hotel before we were.
The bikes were in fine shape and we had no trouble with the bikes. We had a mixture of regular bikes and ebikes.
All in all we had a great time and would recommend this trip, but I would look for a slightly different itinerary.
Liv at BikeTours was extremely helpful and we are grateful to her for her help.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 17, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Michelle2019 October 10, 2019· Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
I would not recommend ChainGang as a tour operator for this area. Far better and more savvy operators with better maps and navigation are out there. At the end of the trip no one from the company checked in with us. A bit strange having all their equipment. Their printed material in a folder was ridiculous. We asked for map holders and ended up using clothes pegs and a plastic bag. Why the maps?
- What was the date of your tour?
- 17 Sept - 3 Oct
- How many tours have you completed?
- Several
- 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
-
★★★★★ Lady Di October 9, 2019Interesting trip
· UNESCO Sites of Albania
We had a wonderful international group with ages from early 40es to one man turning 78 on the trip. Learning about the history of Albania was very interesting and cycling to sites from BC era was fascinating. It was like someone turned the clock back in time. We stayed in a wide variety of places and all okay with several being very unique in a good way. Food was very good but watch out for the wine in small towns as it’s homemade and not very good but the beer was good. Bikes were okay and front shocks very appreciated. If in doubt get an ebike. Our leader,Ted, and the sag/bike driver were very skilled at leading us and taking card of the bikes.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 23-October 1st.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Albania
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★★★★★ jpatrick October 9, 2019Danube upscale bike path trip report
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Our group of five guys in their 50's and 60's had a great experience biking down the Danube. We booked separate rooms with the upscale lodging option. All hotels except one were very good to excellent. The route was well identified with maps provided at the briefing, the bicycles were great (21 speed, upright style) and the scenery was superb. All details with Bike Tours were without incident. Daily rides were generally in the 40
miles/day range which was not an issue for our group. The terrain is flat to down hill. although we did have a significant headwind the last couple of days. I would rebook with Bike Tours without hesitation. -
★★★★★ Stanthepianoman October 8, 2019It was the trip of a lifetime.
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
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.
