Family Friendly Bike Tour Reviews (page 9)
- 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
-
★★★★★ melwood August 24, 2017Great trip due to the scenery, companions, and beer.
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Overall this was a great trip. I have a few complaints, though.
1. The bikes. We asked for hybrids and what we got were heavy cruisers (24 # or so) with 21 speeds and barco lounger seats. The seats were comfortable for about 20 miles the first day, then they were downright painful. Next time I'll bring my own saddle if I have to use these bikes. Also two of my companions are well under 5 ft tall and the bikes were big for them and hard to handle.
2. The distance. We told the company we wanted to do about 40 miles a day but it averaged 56 miles per day (with hot weather and heavy bikes and a headwind the entire way) for 4 days. We thought were spending 5 nights in hotels but it was only 4. I could have sworn I saw 5 days on the itinerary they sent before we left, but I guess i mis-read it.
3. The directions book. It was a little confusing arriving at the hotel and leaving it daily, as we had to pick out our directions from everyone one else's who were doing a similar ride but staying at different hotels or different villages.
A better approach would have been individual instructions. Especially when we arrived in Vienna. Once we were in town it was still an hour to our hotel through the city at high traffic. I could have kissed the hotel desk personnel when I finally arrived.
4. Accommodations: 3 out of 4 were great. The breakfast meals were great and plentiful. I would have liked to stay closer in the whatever village or town we were in (for those hotels that weren't) as it'd been nice to have a choice for dinner other than the hotel. Once we arrived, were too tired to bike any further, and we didn't want to spend $ on a taxi. Just a
suggestion.- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 12-16th, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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
-
★★★★★ Wiederholen September 12, 2017A great tour with good friends
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Overall, a wonderful trip. Highlights included the Engelzell and Melk Abbeys, the towns of Dürnstein and Tulln, and the finish with an extra night in Vienna. The best scenery was in the Wachau, where we cruised through beautiful vineyards and lovely villages. On a couple of days the scenery was rather ordinary, and made the short rides seem longer out of boredom. Although the route was very flat, we did have a couple of short but steep climbs, the biggest being out of Melk to cross the bridge. This being our third bike tour in this region, I'm not sure the "upscale" lodging was worth the extra cost - some of the hotels were great (Schloß Dürnstein and Steigenberger Vienna) but most were not of any better quality than the standard tours. Biggest disappointments were the Hotel am Domplatz in Linz (where they charged us 20€ to garage our four bikes) and the Diamond City in Tulln, which was not "upscale" at all. The local tour operator was great - they provided us with a face-to-face briefing the night before we started riding - and the bikes were solid. We had a great time on this trip, despite two days of steady rain, but if I had to do it again I'd seriously consider the 7-night standard tour and save a few hundred Euros.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 31-AUG to 6-SEPT 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our third in this region
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
-
★★★★★ hbth July 29, 2016Great tour from Dolomites to lake Garda
· Dolomites to Lake Garda: Picturesque Cities and Stunning Scenery
We chose self guided tour which was perfect for our group. We biked through amazing landscape and beautiful villages with nice restaurants and friendly people.
The travel documents were very helpful and the luggage transfer was perfect. It was
just a great tour!- What was the date of your tour?
- 3.-10. July
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the first
- 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?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ charlotte lenssen September 26, 2024Adventures around the Bodensee
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
It was a super fun trip experiencing the different towns and landscapes. All hotels were acceptable and some were exceptional. My favorites were Lindau and Konstanz. We had 2 rainy days, so got lucky with weather. Austrias Fänder bahn was worth it too.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2024
- 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Chloek1234 December 2, 2015
Great trip for leisurely bikers seeking variety and leisurely travel
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
I went on this tour as a BikeTours.com staff member, and I think this is a great tour for a variety of folks. There are big cities, forests, small towns, ancient ruins, vineyards, and more. The cycling is very easy and simple to navigate. The directions and maps are basic, and leave you to discover things on your own. The tour is 95% or more on bike paths. You do have to leave the bike path oftentimes to venture to the night's accommodations. All of the accommodations were quite lovely, and breakfast ranged from adequate to delicious! I think I could take my entire family on this tour, from my grandma to my baby cousin and everyone would love it. It's really is the quintessential European bike tour experience.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens, Solo travelers, Families with young kids, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
-
★★★★★ T and C June 23, 2019
Well organized, no drama, couple hotels ehh
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Biketours.com was very helpful. I emailed lots of questions to them and always got a prompt reply.
The ebikes were great, I couldn’t have done the trip without them. We had a couple of 60km days because of sightseeing, which was too far. 40-45 km should be the distance for upscale in my opinion. We also had 3 hotels with NO air conditioning, Surprising and disappointing considering we paid for upscale lodging. Apparently you can state A/C as a requirement at booking time, I just assumed with the upscale hotel fee that would be included..live and learn.
To me the trip was not completely flat, I mean it is mostly flat, but no way would I do this without ebikes.
Route is well marked, but still an adventure. If you like a vacation that is a bit different, do this one!
-
★★★★★ Claudia June 25, 2017We enjoyed the route and the cities on our 11 day Constance tour
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
We rode the unguided 11 day Lake Constance tour in May. Our weather turned in our favor and we had lots of fun riding the bike paths as well as locating the paths and hotels.
The scenery is varied and the towns photogenic. It was wonderful that each day of our trip was somewhat short so we could stop and enjoy everything around us.
People along the way were helpful, even if they didn't speak our language and we knew little German. Routes were sometimes unclear to us, but usually it was not a big deal. We weren't on a tight schedule. I would recommend a smartphone app such as Maps.me be used in conjunction with the provided maps. It helped us not go to far astray. I have described our trip as "a scavenger hunt on 2 wheels". It made it an adventure.
Our bags were usually waiting for us when we arrived at our hotel. Hotels provided were comfortable and convenient.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 20, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Cliff October 4, 2017
Doin' the Donau
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Perfect pedal venture for cycle, food, wine, & beer junkies! Great history lessons and cultural interactions around every corner. Equipment and support were bombproof and reliable.kk
-
★★★★★ Creaky September 11, 2019Glorious views
· Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps
A good tour through some great countryside with one rather dull stretch. Excellent organisation and accommodation; some bad weather the only downside.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 28/8/19-3/9/19
- How many tours have you completed?
- 13
- 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
-
★★★★★ colrip7 October 11, 2019
Great 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
-
★★★★★ cruzinrx October 4, 2019
Take your time and savor every moment of this scenic ride
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
I visited the Wachau wine valley on a day tour last year and just had to come back to see more of this trail and I was not disappointed. Such spectacular scenery with mostly dedicated bike trails and even the special bike ferries! As a solo female traveler, I felt very safe the whole time.Very clean, no graffiti, no weirdos living in the bushes. Although the mileage for this bike tour was considered "average", I really would not have minded even shorter riding days. So many places to stop and see along the way...beautiful churches, architecture, cute towns (Melk, just wow!), abbeys, monasteries, museums, coffee and beer breaks. On the longer riding days (60+km), I had to be careful not to spend too much time in one place so I could make it to my hotel before daylight ran out. Signage for the route was clearly posted however it is easy to get distracted by the scenic views. It is advisable to study the map ahead of time and watch for the bridge if you want to cross the river to see a particular monument. Be aware of adding the extra dinner package. You have to select from a special limited menu and it's the same 3 choices no matter what city/hotel you are in. If I were to choose from the regular menu, I would have picked other foods and it would have been significantly cheaper. Overall, I would do this ride again. My advise for future travelers, is to take your time and savor every moment of this beautiful ride.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 18
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
-
★★★★★ Cynthia Cook September 22, 2024Biking Loire Valley
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
Nice ride, there is a fair amount of riding with traffic, it would be difficult with younger kids. The trail signage needs updated. Some were faded and others covered by trees or brush. There were a few spots on the ride that GPS was needed for sure. Some of the trails were very rough and bumpy. It would be nice to stay in smaller towns, in city centers it was not very nice nor necessary. The scenery was varied, from vineyards to vegetable fields, orchards and quaint towns. The chateau package was nice. We had the dinner package which is nice after a days ride to have your restaurant already set.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Donald Allen September 29, 2024Improvisation on the river
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Due to the flooding of the Elbe river much of the bike pass was under water. The tour company rep, Lukas, did it wonderful job of working out a route for us each day. Unfortunately we had to bike some of our journey on busy highways, there just was no other way. Everything went smoothly, no small matter with the situation at hand, and we were again pleased with our trip. Looking forward to our next adventure with Bike Tours.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic, Germany
-
★★★★★ Dan1 September 19, 2018With the Dolomites as your splendid background, ride through ancient towns until you reach the unique watery world of Venice.
· Bolzano – Verona – Venice
Highly recommend getting to Bolzano early so you have time to spend a day visiting the Italian Alps. The Dolomite Highway is awe-inspiring.
The bike trails were great. Mostly paved, and when they weren't, the majority were well packed. The tour route goes through picturesque countryside. The daily destinations are beautiful and historical.
The tour includes a 5+ hour ferry ride on Lake Garda. It is a gorgeous ride with the ferry zigzagging down the 35 mile length of the lake. Feels like you are in a National Geographic special. A couple of other recommended "must do's" - visit the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova and take in an opera at the Roman Arena in Verona.
Girolibero was our tour company. They provide great tour book of entire area and towns on route. However, they give it to you (along with bikes) the morning that the tour starts which allows little or no time to really utilize the great information. It would be much better if they provided a month earlier so you have time to research in advance. Should also provide bikes the prior evening so you can get up and leave earlier in the morning.
Some of the directions along the route could have been marked better. We followed other tour companies' markers more often because Girolibero's were fewer and far between. The bikes were excellent. In great shape and mechanically solid with smooth shifting.
We paid for the upgraded hotels. However, a few of them were in sketchy areas; like near train stations.
I don't mean to sound negative. Overall, it was a great trip and very glad we did it. Only offering suggestions to make the tour even better for future riders.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 26-31
- How many tours have you completed?
- Two
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Boris August 10, 2016
Great trip
· Bolzano – Verona – Venice
It was a part of my overall trip to Italy and definitely was a highlight. The only thing I would have done differently is to do a little more research in advance myself. There are so many things to see along the way one simply cannot get them all. So I could have been more selective and that would have give me more time at the sights that more interesting to me. For example, I was interested in a little wine testing and there were opportunities along the way, but because I found out about them just a bit too late, I had no time to stop.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 25 - Aug 2
- How many tours have you completed?
- First with this company
- 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?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Brian1624 September 17, 2018
Wonderful Bike Tour
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Easy Route to fallow with 90% bike paths. Good notes on what to see along the way. Hotels were good but WiFi was average.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 20-26th 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
-
★★★★★ BandB October 18, 2017
Classy trip
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
We loved this tour. 60-70 km of flat riding during the day, lovely hotels and restaurants to experience at night. The transfer of our luggage was faultless. Some of the hotels were absolutely fabulous. One was disappointing. So much to see and experience during the day.
-
★★★★★ Brittany at BikeTours December 3, 2015Beautiful scenery and quaint villages!
· Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
I went on this tour as a BikeTours.com staff member. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking! The tour is 80% downhill. This made for cycling near the Austrian Alps fantastic. This tour is mostly on dedicated bike paths and quiet back roads, except for brief moments of cycling near the main road. The route maps are more basic which allow for more adventure. I would recommend this tour for a first-time traveler and casual cyclist.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
-
★★★★★ Deb 4 months agoGood trip
· Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture
Overall it was a great trip but bikes need to be upgraded to 21st century! They were dinosaur 🦕. Trip notes were good & hotels nice. We had a great trip with our friends.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Catherine Hicks June 27, 2024
Italian cycling
· Bolzano – Verona – Venice
the trip was very well organised and the hotel were very good. and meat lots of nice people doing the same trip. The routs were good but only having the on GPS I think we should have had a map as well as when the road was closed and no diversion in place it was difficult to get back on track. The transfer back to Bolzano was very good and again well organised. The 1st night our luggage did not turn up until 18.35 and that was after a phone call from me .The only part of the trip that we did not like was the 5 hour boat trip backwards and forwards across Lake Garda this was very long and we did not get to the hotel until 20.45. you could do a bike transfer along Garda or miss it out all together and go direct to Verona.
- What was the date of your tour?
- june 24
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- Italy
