First Timers Bike Tour Reviews (page 25)
- Albania
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★★★★★ MBferraris July 20, 2018
Fun had by all!
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
We biked Lake Constance in 6 days. The trip was enjoyed by the adults and teens alike. Everything was seamless. The directions, hotels and tickets were pre-organized and made the trip stress free. It made all of us wanting to do another one in the near future. Highly recommended!
- What was the date of your tour?
- 6/2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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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★★★★★ Awan July 20, 2018An unforgettable bike tour
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
- What was the date of your tour?
- 27 June 2018 - 5 July 2018
- 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
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★★★★★ Ozzie July 18, 2018A great trip!
· · Holland by Bike and Boat, Northern Tour
A well organised tour that we thoroughly enjoyed. The crew of De Holland and the tour leader Sandra did a great job..always very helpful and went out of the way to ensure everything ran smoothly. Would be happy to do another bike boat trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 23/6/2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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?
- Holland
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★★★★★ DebM July 11, 2018Beautiful ride through Dutch countryside
· Best of Holland North: Dutch Villages, Landscapes & the Keukenhof
The local tour company designed a beautiful and varied route through nature preserves, parks, farmland, and old and picturesque towns. Each inn was delightful in its own way. I rated this harder than expected only because we had extremely windy weather.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Late June
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 on our own, 30+ years ago
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Holland
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★★★★★ Lisa C July 9, 2018Excellent family holiday!
· Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
Great cycle tour for family. Maps and local guides were helpful. Only suggestion would be to have hotel in Linz not be so far out of town in industrial area and to skip lodging in Marbach; most of the town was boarded up or vacant. Otherwise hotels and locations were great. A wonderful experience I would recommend.
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★★★★★ 2pedallers July 7, 2018
A windy but enjoyable ride!
· · Holland by Bike and Boat, Northern Tour
A good introduction to the history and culture and geography of Northern Holland. Good biking routes, but time constraints and weather impacted our ability to fully enjoy some of the possible outings/stops along the way.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 16-23, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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?
- Holland
-
★★★★★ 2pedallers July 7, 2018An enjoyable trip!
· · Holland by Bike and Boat, Southern Tour
A good way to see some of the sights in southern Holland. Not enough time to see everything, but enough variety in the routes to get a sense of the culture, history and geography of southern Holland.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 23 - 30, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- Holland
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★★★★★ MarcieB July 6, 2018
Life on a Mosel/Saar River Barge is good!
· · Mosel & Saar by Bike & Boat
Not our first self-guided bike tour, BUT our first barge/bike "all inclusive" ride. We loved it. The barge rooms were small, but clean. The on-board meals and "make your own lunch from breakfast buffet offerings" were excellent! Kudos to the chef of the MS Patria. Staff from Czech Republic and Poland were hard working and friendly. Dagomar, the activities director, was enthusiastic and dedicated to making sure everyone was taken care of. Seating assignments in dining room were well thought out, placing the two of us (Oregon) with traveling relatives from BC. The rest of the table consisted of a group of eight Danish folks who spoke English! Bikes were 7-speed models and with a headwind, I was regretting not having an e-bike. Live and learn. Excursions/field trips were interesting and offered cultural highlights. The Mosel/Saar River valleys are simply breathtaking. There was a mix-up the day of our arrival in Koblenz, as we had not received the e-mail regarding the change in mooring. Our German friend was able to call the Harbormaster to locate the MS Patria, and after a rather long walk pulling our suitcases, we located a small local ferry that took us to the opposite shore (Rhine) where we boarded the boat. I don't think I would have thought to call the Harbormaster, and my husband's phone (with contact info) was out of battery power. Technology! All's well that end's well.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 16, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our NINTH tour!
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ chips July 6, 2018
Passau to Vienna
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
All the logistics were luggage handling and hotel arrangement were first class. The pre tour briefing was excellent with good tips about places to see. The Mapping was excellent and provided excellent directions and suggested stop over points for lunches etc. The breakfasts and evening meal provided were more than adequate and the 4* hotels were great. The ride was well spaced out with two quite long days about 65 Km being a little long particularly into a head wind. But overall th etrip along the Danube and the services provided made for an excellent self guide tour
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★★★★★ Johnpg July 6, 2018
A Great Austrian Cycling Adventure
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
The trip met or exceeded our expectations. We travelled in the shoulder season but still expected the bike trail to be packed. It wasn't, except for perhaps the last day of our ride into Vienna, which was a Sunday so there was a lot of locals enjoying the beautiful trail and scenery. That would likely be mitigated by planning one's arrival in Vienna for a weekday.
Generally the accommodations lived up to the "upscale" designation, but there were two exceptions that were for us, just mediocre at best. That could simply be that there wasn't anything nicer in those locations.
The local tour company was great, and very responsive to our needs. The bikes were fine--clearly built for wear and tear. The luggage service was perfect, and our bags were always waiting for us when we arrived.
The Danube bike trail lived up to our expectations in beauty and condition. We'd recommend this ride to anyone who enjoys bicycle travel.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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
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★★★★★ Team Wuss July 4, 2018
Lowlands Adventure
· · Holland by Bike and Boat, Southern Tour
Fantastic trip. Incredible tour in a beautiful country on an extensive bicycle infrastructure. In fact there are so many bike routes that navigation was sometimes a challenge. The download navigation option would have been helpful. The planned routes through the countryside were excellent. The bike/ boat approach is a great way to travel avoiding the daily packing. The accommodations were very nice, the staff was excellent, and the bicycles were well maintained. The dinners were good though basic with small portion size (a common observation in Europe). Breakfast was a very good buffet with fixings to make a sandwich for lunch. Definitely recommend this tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 9,2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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?
- Holland
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★★★★★ Senior Adventurer July 3, 2018
Perfect Danube Bike Tour
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Very enjoyable tour of a lifetime without crowds, with beautiful scenery, and with great lodging. My wife, whose last biking adventures were in her middle and high school days, proved a super biker, enjoying the exercise, scenery and challenge of biking the scenic Danube bike path. The bikes, delivered at our start hotel along with the tour package, were in excellent condition and functioned perfectly. A knowledgeable in-country guide met us at the start hotel to explain the tour information, the route instructions, bikes and equipment. The provided materials allowed us to effortlessly self navigate. After hours each day on the bike the upscale lodging met or exceeded our expectations and was greatly enjoyed. The weather mostly cooperated, spring beauty abounded, and the temperatures were perfect. We are planning our next biking adventure on the Mosel and Rhine and plan to again use BikeTours.com.
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★★★★★ louis16 July 1, 2018Great Trip down the Rhine
· Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
We had a fantastic first bike tour. The hotels in general were well appointed. One hotel had staff that did not know any English which made communication a challenge but we managed. The castles were amazing. The routes are well laid out and easy to follow even if you do no know German.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 6/17/2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Tiff from Colorado July 1, 2018
The perfect trip for 3 generations!
· Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
The directions, places to stay and length of trip were exactly as described. The tour was fantastic in June. Excellent service, no lost bags, everything went smoothly. An amazing time was had by teenagers, ourselves and my parents. Just stupendous!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 15-22, 2018
- 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, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ ohsuzanna June 30, 2018· · Danube Delights: Cycling and Cruising in the Footsteps of Royalty
- What was the date of your tour?
- may 5-12th 2018
- 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Ellie June 30, 2018
Lake Constance
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
This self guided trip around Lake Constance was the best biking trip we have taken this far. The scenery was simply fantastic. As boaters it was great to visit the many marinas along the lake. The hotels for the most part were very good. I would recommend that you request hotels with air conditioning . Two hotels we were at did not have air and we were quite uncomfortable. One hotel had very poor bedding as well. Several good pillows and blankets really should be a given.
We also did feel that more detailed maps between towns would have been advantageous. The maps we received on our previous Danube trip were excellent. We recommend that the Lake Constance trip have the same . Sometimes we ended up off the route because of lack of detail.I also recomnend that the tour offer van service to the park hotel. After a full day of biking that long ride uphill is not fun.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Zaco June 30, 2018
Great tour.
· · Holland by Bike and Boat, Southern Tour
Excellent Setup, great way to see Holland.
Weather always a risk in Holland. It was cloudy, cold-ish, sometimes wet, and quite windy (but the following week, after our tour ended, was perfect with not a cloud in the sky.) The tour is well planned and you see different parts of Holland. We knew of course about the water ways, windmills and such, but we did not realise Holland is basically a swamp...
Bikes are very good and crew on the boat and tour guides were very friendly and helpful.
The soccer world cup was a bonus (being soccer mad), and provided excellent entertainment from our perspective. But I would suggest planning your social activities on/off the boat in advance as there is no entertainment - it's not a Caribbean cruise :) There are a few cruise legs in the evening so you can't really get off the boat.
Food is good, the bar is good - buy an open bar ticket if you like a drop, it is cheaper that way.
One surprising commission is a laundry facility on the boat, or at least dryers, and no information on an alternative off the boat. In any case, who'd want to spend 2 hours in a laundromat off the boat? They ought to have a facility because naturally you go through a lot more clothes in a week of cycling, especially if the weather is not kind to you.
Most people were "senior citizens" on our tour, myself included (but I was an outlier in my family group). So bear this in mind if you look for younger company. Choose a harder tour if you have keen athletes in your family. I was with three in their 20s, all fit and eager (I'm 60+). They formed a breakaway group a few times. I decided to stay with the peloton and give chase later. I soon discovered it does not work with a peloton of one rider.- What was the date of your tour?
- 16 June
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- Holland
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★★★★★ aaoptics June 28, 2018Discover Lake Constance
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
We hired e bikes and the tour was easy -we are relatively fit but this was a holiday and we wanted to make sure it was fun-few hills but no issue with e bikes
I would recommend adding an extra night in Lindau as it such a pretty place and gives an opportunity to check out the city- What was the date of your tour?
- 13th June 2918
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Ptowntraveller June 25, 2018Great Tour!
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Wonderful easy first time bike tour. Flat scenic route with lots to explore along the way. Hotels were all good and very different, only downside was that it was REALLY hot when we were there and there was no air conditioning and some rooms had no cross ventilation.
