Family Friendly Bike Tour Reviews (page 12)
- Albania
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Holland
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Montenegro
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United States
- Vietnam
- Wales
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★★★★★ Monica Lindemann July 16, 2024Glorious cycling through the Netherlands
· Amsterdam to Bruges: Cycling through South Holland and Zeeland
We, husband and I took the 7 day cycle from Amsterdam (Weesp) to Bruges with Tulip Cycling in May 2024. We are from Australia and this is the 3rd trip we've booked through the Biketours.com website. We loved this cycling trip. The Netherlands is the perfect country for a cycling holiday - flat and for the most part we rode on dedicated cycleways. Brilliant! Pieter from Tulip Cycling met us on day 1 in Weesp for our briefing. The GPS, maps and information was all in order and we had no problem navigating our way to Bruges. All the accommodation was great - very comfortable, some quirky elements and great breakfast buffets. We particularly enjoyed our stay in the old water tower, Villa Augustus, in Dortrecht. Make sure you book dinner there! My tips for the trip: take your swimmers and micro towel for a swim on days 4 or 5 in the Holland Delta or North Sea. Take binoculars for all the fabulous bird life. The ferry stop to Willemstad is a little non-descript and tricky to find, but it is there at the end of a dirt road near an old fort. A young couple run both the ferry and the little cafe at the fort. It's free to wander the fort while waiting for the ferry. Pack picnic lunches and snacks. Be aware that public toilets generally don't exist - even in parks or picnic areas. Order mussels for lunch in Sluis. Pack rain gear - including pants. Dutch ice cream, cheese and beer are all top notch :-) Highly recommend this tour. Lots to see, great accommodation, flat, safe cycleways and very well organised.
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★★★★★ Sam Fleischacker July 16, 2024Denmark is great; BikeTours is not
· Royal Zealand and Copenhagen
Are you looking for a tour company that will send you bike directions to the wrong hotels, follow that up with a condescending note when you complain rather than apologizing and correcting their mistake, book you in charmless corporate hotels way outside of the towns you're headed for, and delete your GPS tracks before your trip is finished? If so, this is the trip for you! If not, look elsewhere. My wife and I had some wonderful biking on this trip - but that's because of Denmark, which has beautiful and very well-marked bike trails everywhere (running through forests often), not because of BikeTours: indeed, we sometimes needed to correct the GPS tracks we were sent by the Danish markers, or by asking locals for help. Our previous experience on a self-guided bike tour, in France, was magical: with lovely, varied hotels in beautiful places at the end of each day, a well-crafted route accurately represented on the GPS tracks, and good help available by phone if we needed it (to be fair the Copenhagen representative of this local bike company, Sofia, was very friendly and helpful). This was a great disappointment after that. If you're looking for a tour that is geared towards your enjoyment, rather than the bottom line of the tour operator, I'd avoid BikeTours.com.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Denmark
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★★★★★ Mary Juno July 15, 2024
Beyond All Expectations
· Amsterdam to Bruges: Cycling through South Holland and Zeeland
This trip was SO MUCH FUN. My partner and I are not experienced cyclers (just recreational cyclers), and this was our first long distance bike trip. It had sounded like a brilliant idea months earlier, but when the day came we were a bit nervous and wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into. When we met our local contact, Pieter, in Abcoude, he put us right at ease. He kindly explained the GPS, maps, and bikes to us and assured us we could contact him if needed. He was funny and charming and we liked him very much. We set off through Holland and were so charmed by the beautiful countryside, medieval towns, delicious food, and friendly people. And we were thrilled with the hotel choices -- each one was stylish and comfortable (especially Villa Augustus in Dordrecht) with great restaurants either in the hotel or very nearby, and our luggage was always waiting for us in our room when we arrived after the day's ride. Holland is a great place to bike as a) it's flat, and b) the bike paths are (almost always) separate from the roads, making it safe and easy to navigate. Arriving in Bruges at the end of our trip felt like a dream.
Overall we were very impressed with biketours. They thought of everything and made it easy for us to just show up and ride! We will definitely do another trip with biketours.com
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the first.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much 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?
- Belgium, Holland
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BikeTours.com staff reply from jan July 15, 2024
Reviews like this make our day. Truly! Giving people memories of a lifetime never gets old. Have a great rest of your summer!
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★★★★★ Jeff July 14, 2024Great trip.
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Beautiful ride. Healthy, interesting and fun. A nice way to see small towns and landscapes one would otherwise never visit. A real escape vacation.
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★★★★★ Suzanne Kellett July 12, 2024Great ride through beautiful scenery
· Emerald Tour of Slovenia’s Gems
A great ride for everyone even those who may not be regular cyclists. The schedule is not too taxing for e bike riders who only cycle occasionally. The route takes you through some really beautiful scenery albeit a bit hilly at times and the hotels were all in great locations.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- Five
- 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?
- Slovenia
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★★★★★ Charles Eberhard July 11, 2024
Fabulous Ride, Scenery and Hotels
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Just a fantastic ride down the Danube. The river valley scenery was especially beautiful, but we all also enjoyed riding through the small towns along the way. Great choice of hotels which all had excellent breakfasts to start us on our day. The only real disappointment we had was the introduction to the tour and bikes by the representative of the tour company. He was late, didn't seem too interested in helping us, and didn't check that the bikes were adjusted correctly for each of us. We had to do some additional adjustments ourselves the next day which caused some problems and could have been totally avoided if he had just checked each of us and had tools to make final changes. That wasn't a good start, but after that, the ride, directions and hotels were all great. Also glad we did an unguided tour as we really didn't need a guide for this trip.
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★★★★★ Peter Wiedenbeck July 10, 2024Wonderful week of biking in a beautiful place
· Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
I’d like to give a 4-1/2 star rating because, although it was wonderful and we definitely recommend it, there is still room for improvement
Pros: Wonderful route – the vast majority of the time you are biking on paved dedicated bike paths along the river, separate from the roadway and train tracks. There are a few areas where the bike path is adjacent to the road (especially along the Rhine from St. Goar to Koblenz) and at least one short stretch on packed dirt through the woods. Most of the routes are extremely well-marked. You have to be watchful for turns in towns, where it can be easy to miss the small sign with the arrow to turn, especially when looking at all the sites in the towns. We did better when we stopped at each signpost and made sure we were headed the right way. The Hotels were all very nice and had generous breakfast buffets, which made for a great start every morning. Note that hotels in Germany don’t have AC and often don’t have fans. I had a spray bottle to mist myself while riding and that helped at night, too. Next time, I’ll bring a small fan to help on those hot nights. We didn’t opt for the dinner plan, but did eat in the hotels several times and had excellent meals and service. The organized wine tasting was fun and we did a few more on our own. Luggage transfers all went very well. We added an extra hotel night at each end (Trier and Koblenz), which we would do again. Trier has an amazing amount of Roman history and fabulous restaurants. The extra day also gave us time to ride the other way (upstream on the Mosel) to Saarburg. In Koblenz, we spent an entire day at Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (take the cable car up and across the Rhine to get there). The map book was very helpful and detailed the type of trail for each section. But, oops, one page on the Rhine was replaced by a duplicate page along the Mosel. The specific directions packet included detailed distances between towns and possible sites to see. But…. See cons below.
Cons: Bikes: we had conventional bikes (not ebikes), and they could have been better maintained. The chains were a bit dry and downshifting often didn’t work. That was not a huge issue on the flat trail, but in towns, it was a problem. The odometer on one of the bikes quit working after 3 days. The seats are not touring seats – they are wide and therefore chafed. Despite doing lots of riding in prep and wearing padded shorts, we were painfully chafed by the end of the trip. We couldn’t figure out how to use the pump without letting out air, but were able to use a pump at one of the hotels. Detours: Our biggest issue is that it is clear the route was not checked early in the season and the directions adjusted. There was a lot of construction in many of the towns that invalidated the directions in the packet. Construction that clearly would be going on all summer. For example, Day 1, leaving Trier, the booklet says: “Start at Kaiser-Wilhelm bridge and cycle along the left bank of the Moselle” Well, the bike path itself is being reconstructed beneath the bridge - it is down to dirt, covered with equipment and bike path entrance blocked off. No detour signs giving you an alternate route. It took us an extra 10 km of going one way then another over a frustrating hour before we were on our way. Not a great start to the trip. There were similar long-term construction issues in at least two other places (Karden and Koblenz). If the route had been checked, a single sheet in addition to the bound booklet could have provided alternate ways to leave town/get to hotels with much less frustration.
All that said, it was a wonderful experience and we highly recommend it. It is beautiful country, well-maintained bike paths, lovely vineyards and great wine. Being able to have the hotel reservations and luggage transfers all done for us was a pleasure. When there was an issue with the ferry to St Goar, customer service was very responsive and got things straightened out right away. Transportation to Trier and from Koblenz was very easy to arrange on the regional German trains. SHOW MORE- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our first
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Johann Hjaltdal Thorsteinsson July 10, 2024The perfect bike holiday
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Everything was as good as described. Beautiful bikepaths, easy navigation, sturdy bikes and good quality hotels. I can recommend this trip for others to enjoy. Thank you.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Lis Ellis July 9, 2024A splendid tootle around town ending with an incredible meal
· Tallinn Bike Tour with Market Visit & Food Tasting
Enjoyed a small group ride. Roland was a top notch guide. Well informed about the history and culture but also had a great sense of humor. An easy pace ride through various Tallinn neighborhoods. Mostly outside of old town which is appreciative since old town is cobblestone heavy. A 20 mins stop at the market which was lovely so a nice bathroom break and quick refreshment but don’t eat to much because is coming! 90% flat but we were doing well on time so our guide took us to the top of Toompea area so we had a tiny portion of incline but well worth it. I am absolutely loved the food tasting was a sit down meal made by local chefs. The food was incredible and we enjoyed the fellowship and conversation with other travelers. Highly recommend.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- Over 15
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much 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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★★★★★ Jay Bonitt July 9, 2024Easy But Hard
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
The App for the bike path route was VERY GOOD. However, at the end of each day the app and map took us to the city for that day's destination, NOT to our hotel. The hotel in Aschach was not near where the app ended the day; and the hotel in Enns, while on the bike path, was several miles (and across major highways). If the hotel was on he bike path, why didn't the app take us directly to it? Finally, when entering Vienna the end of the app was no where near the hotel (a 20 minute taxi ride in heavy traffic). This glitch could easily be fixed by the tour operator by guiding riders directly to their hotel each night. As it was, after a good day of cycling, the day often ended in confusion and nowhere near the destination hotel. The bikes (one a road bike the other an e-bike) were excellent. If the app took us directly to our hotel each day instead of guiding us to the center city, I would rate the trip excellent. Unfortunately the hotel destinations were left to us to figure out, and Google maps did not always work.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jan July 12, 2024
Thanks for your review. We are actively trying to standardize the apps used for rides like this and their configuration among all of our partners (and the industry in general) but this has been a slowly not always perfect process. Thanks for traveling with us and we hope to see you again!
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★★★★★ Greg Scheurich July 8, 2024
??
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
The App was great Difficult to locate hotels. Many hotels resturants were closed
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★★★★★ Leanne Rosenbower July 6, 2024
Nice biking route
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
The biking paths are great and we easily biked the routes. We did not use e-bikes and were fine. The routes were scenic and varying. The cities we stopped in were charming. The suggested lunch spots were all tasty. I would only consider two of the hotels to be upscale. The rest were just average. Most did not have AC and it was extremely hot when we biked. It was often hard to find water so might be good to pack two water bottles. We had one navigating issue where we got to the center of the city and put in our hotel as instructed and we had to bike back 40 minutes the way we had just come. The bikes have two storage areas which is sufficient for carrying what is needed. I think this was a great way to see Austria. We loved ending in Vienna and staying an extra day to tour around. I would recommend this trip but don’t expect upscale lodging.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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
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★★★★★ Kate Richardson July 5, 2024A trip we will never forget!
· Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
We recently returned from this tour and can say on behalf of our entire family that we were completely WOWed by the experience. Austria is really special and we were so happy to be able to explore it by bike. I don't think we would have enjoyed it in the same way if we had simply rented a car and toured around. We did find that the average mileage each day was a bit longer than we had anticipated. With a 7- and 9- year old, it really put them t the test but they were proud of themselves each evening when we reached our destination. We will absolutely recommend this to others!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- this was my first!
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac July 5, 2024
Thank you for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that your family had such an amazing experience exploring Austria by bike. Kudos to your 7- and 9-year-olds for rising to the challenge each day—they must have been so proud of themselves! We're delighted that our tour provided a unique and enjoyable way to see the beautiful Austrian landscape. Your recommendation means a lot to us!
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★★★★★ Patrick McHugh July 3, 2024
Awesome trip from Passau to Vienna
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
We had a great time. Glad we spent an extra night in Passau before starting the trip. Bikes were in great shape and we had no mechanical problems. We spent an extra night in Melk and added a stopover in Enns. We wish we had spent an extra night in Linz. The last day ride from Tulln to Vienna was the least attractive part --- and there was a strong wind in our face --- so that was a challenge. Those in our group who elected the ebike had no problems... I would highly recommend this trip....
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★★★★★ joe eberly July 1, 2024Nice Ride
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
This is a very easy ride with mostly flat land around a beautiful lake. We had e-bikes which made it very easy. Hotels all very nice, but no AC for hot weather. June can be risky with the weather. We had two days of five with steady rain. This is our 3rd trip with Bikes.com and was my lest favorite. We never met our local tour operator, even when we picked up our bikes. There was substantial flooding due to heavy rains and some road construction that we didn't know about until we came to it. It was at that time we had to figure an alternate route. A little heads up would have save a lot confusion, especially during our rainy days. On previous trips, the tour operator spent time going over the route with areas we needed to pay attention to. The fact that none of us spoke German didn't help in trying to understand road signs. The route is well marked but makings change from country to country, so pay attention.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Mid-June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Alexandra Messham July 1, 2024Fun bike tour - bespoke 2 hours
· Edinburgh to Shore of Leith Bike Tour
We all had a lot of fun touring Edinburgh with Ricky! We were a group of 6 and he was very good at keeping us all safe and a very knowledgeable tour guide. It was great to have a bespoke 2 hour tour - although we didn't make it to Leith there was plenty to see in the 2 hours. and the e-bikes were brilliant on those steep hills!
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★★★★★ E. Robertson June 30, 2024cool way to see scenery outside Amsterdam
· Amsterdam Extended Countryside E-Bike Tour
There is tons of cool stuff to see outside of Amsterdam if you've never been there. If the weather is nice you will thoroughly enjoy this bike ride.
