First Timers Bike Tour Reviews (page 6)
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★★★★★ Susana August 29, 2019Great option for families with small childrwn!
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
The scenary is great, the path is easy and the signals are very clear, the villages are beautiful and with a lot of options for fun (playgrounds, pools, baths on the lake...) . People are very helpful. We decided to spend two days in Uberlingen and it is a very beautiful village with fantastic therms and gardens. It is very easy to shorten the initial route taking a train or a boat (we did it one day that it rained a lot!). I recommend this route for families with small children (7-14 years)
- What was the date of your tour?
- August
- 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ gillianrides August 28, 2019We LOVED this!
· Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
Overall this was OUTSTANDING--Biketours was a great company that made fantastic hotel choices and provided top quality support. The breakfasts were wonderful. The bikes were great. The hotels were well situated (or there was a shuttle e.g. Marie Teflar) and some had real character. All were very clean. The scenery was amazing. The riding was amazing. I realize that Biketours can't control the weather but that was amazing, too. We only had a few comments--1. The only place the trail wasn't well marked (only time we wondered if we were "lost") and the trail was partly gravel/rough rock was between Durnstein and Tulln. We wish we had known this. This was also a much longer day of riding than we were prepared for (nearly 54 km). 2. We didn't realize that virtually nothing would be open for breaks on a Monday--our kids needed those breaks!
But really, small peanuts for what was the BEST vacation I have ever been on. I will take another trip with bike tours absolutely!- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was my first.
- 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
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★★★★★ PencilM August 27, 2019· · Mosel and Saar by Bike and Boat
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 9-Aug 17
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ SWTA August 26, 2019
Great trip!
· Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
We recently completed this bike trip. It was a really wonderful trip. Great biking, fantastic scenery and the hotels were really terrific- def better than we had expected. The first 3 days were in the mountains and very picturesque. The last 3 days were along the river and we rode through a lot of cornfields and frontage roads.
We had no proper training beforehand and the days were reasonable - though we did walk our bikes up some of the steeper hills.
We booked an extra day in Krimml which allowed us to better explore the waterfall (which is amazing). There wouldn't have been enough time to walk all the way to the top if we had not. It was real bonus that the hotel gave us free passes! We also took an extra day in Salzburg to explore. That was a really nice way to break up the biking.
This is a really nice trip for active people and families with older kids. The bikes and other equipment that was provided was good. Though we found that people who booked directly with the operater - Eurobikes - were given GPSs. I don't remember that option - which would have helped because we missed a few turns along the way.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 8/5-14/2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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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★★★★★ Jim Gr August 21, 2019Magnificent Rhine
· Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
Wonderful scenery including vineyards, castles, lovely towns and history dating back to the Roman occupation.
Well organized, nice hotels, great bike path and directions.- What was the date of your tour?
- July, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ LeePDX August 20, 2019Awesome Family Bike Trip
· Tauern Bike Path (Salzburg-Salzburg)
Great vacation and memories to last a lifetime. The Tauern Bike Path is great, relatively flat and incredibly beautiful at every turn. Lots of great excursions within relatively easy bike or bus connection to route, including Ice Caves, Caverns, Salt Mines, Waterfalls, Trams, Lakes... Awesome.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 8/6-8/12
- 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Stra August 11, 2019
Wonderful !
· · Mosel and Saar by Bike and Boat
The scenery, the villages and the cycling were amazing. The boat coludi use some improvements
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 27
- 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ ontherun August 10, 2019Great country to visit but maybe not with BikeBoatTours
· · Amsterdam – Bruges by Bike and Boat – Fluvius (and reverse)
We certainly enjoyed the country and the flat bike trails (lol!) but the company that provided our tour was mediocre at best. They had no concern for safety - did not require helmets, nor did the guides wear them. The bikes had no water bottle holder and the lights on the bikes did not work. Also, after strongly encouraging us to download Ride with GPS, they sent us the daily route but then: did NOT have holders on the bikes to put our phone on and it's illegal there to ride with a phone in your hand! Also, they did not follow the routes as stated in the Ride with GPS so the app was constantly beeping that we were off track and was, essentially useless. The guides seemed to be suffering from burnout. They were nice but did not offer any information unless asked and were extremely disorganized throughout the trip. The food on the boat was adequate but repetitive - same breakfast every day and we had to make our own lunch from the same food every day....unless it ran out and then we were stuck with prosciutto and bread that day. The boat itself was nice and the cabins were nice. Cleaning was not done during the trip unless asked.
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★★★★★ Oldcoupleinlove August 9, 2019Trip of our lives
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
This trip exceeded all expectations. My wife and I gave this to ourselves as an anniversary present, and it was a great choice. We are both in our 60s and reasonably fit, and this tour was at exactly the right pace. All the stops along the Danube were amazing. Passau, Linz, Melk, Tulln and of course, the beautiful city of Vienna. All the hotel arrangements were excellent, the maps and trail guides were good, and the bikes were in great condition. I highly recommend this trip to any couple who needs an adventurous trip that can still be romantic. I especially liked the wine country around Durnstein. We will definitely take more of these bike tours.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 22 to July 30 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much 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
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe August 10, 2019
Happy (belated) anniversary and inaugural bike tour! We love the moody picture in Durnstein - how beautiful. We're delighted you guys enjoyed your tour and can't wait to book the next one!
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★★★★★ Marce August 9, 2019wonderful trip
· Wine & Bike in Hungary’s Balaton Uplands
Great experience, upscale accommodations, inviting and easy country to visit, stunning hillside vineyard scenery and lakeside vacation activity at once elegant, lively and easy going.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 21 -28
- How many tours have you completed?
- only this one
- 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?
- Hungary
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★★★★★ Marce August 8, 2019
Everything we were hoping for.
· Wine & Bike in Hungary’s Balaton Uplands
We both loved this trip great biking, lodging wine and food
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 19-26
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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?
- Hungary
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★★★★★ DanubeNewbie August 6, 2019
Lovely relaxing week
· Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
My husband & I did this tour without kids! We are occasional cyclists, in our 50s & chose this trip to allow for easy going days with time to explore, & because we liked the idea of a rest day in the middle. It was great. Gentle, flat cycle, 99% away from cars, beautiful countryside & interesting villages. Accommodation was great. Half board option kept our lives simple & dinners were varied & very good.
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★★★★★ NewbieBiker August 4, 2019Great vacation!
· · Danube Impressions Bike and Boat Passau – Vienna – Passau
Excellent way to see the Austrian countryside. Really enjoyed cycling thru each little town. The cycling was very easy with only a couple of hills during the entire week. There were a couple of times when we were on a very busy road for a short period of time, maybe a Kilometer or less but the drivers there are very accustom to cyclists. Most of the time was either on a designated bike path or country road with very few cars. The food on the boat was very good. The staff was very kind to tell us places to go or their favorite restaurant. Make sure to stop at some of the cafes while cycling and have a Knodel or other local delicacies. Don’t be intimidated by the distances to ride each day. We have never ridden more that 5 miles but found it very easy to bike the distance each day. I do recommend either biking shorts or a memory foam seat cover if you are not used to riding all day. Also recommend not getting a cabin on the bottom deck as the windows don’t open. Our only complaint was that the person giving the daily briefings on the routes was not very friendly and a couple of times the route wasn’t clearly marked. The rest of the staff was excellent.
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★★★★★ Sydneysider August 1, 2019Everthing we were hoping for!
· Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
The tour was well organised; well maintained bikes and detailed route information were provided when we arrived at the hotel, supplied with a handlebar and rear-wheel pannier. Tip: we did not know about the handlebar pannier beforehand which has a clear, waterproof cover that fits your provided map and directions. The bikes also have a trip computer so you can match the km's to the directions. The hotels were quality selections, many with character and we enjoyed our time in them. The movement of the bags was efficient and they pretty much always made their way to the new hotel before us, or as we arrived. We loved the route, mainly village roads, tracks through woods, farm roads, bike paths etc. with only occasional sections on bigger roads when needed. The first half of the trip is more spectacular than the second the second half points of interest are more subtle. One regret; we did not bring a European bird book as there was plenty of birds and wildlife on the trip to watch out for.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 11 June 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This is 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?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Gnome August 1, 2019Nice but not the Moselle
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
I cannot sparkly highly enough of the Biketours. The organisation of the trip was flawless, including an exchange of a standard bike for an e bike part way through the trip. We went with the up market accommodation and this certainly meet or exceeded our expectations. One comment I’d like to make was we didn’t realise the upmarket hotels are usually away from the town centres. There were three couple in our group and we all enjoyed the Danube but the general consensus was it was not as pretty or as interesting as the ride we did along the Moselle also with Biketours a few years ago.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This is our second one
- 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
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★★★★★ Estrella55 August 1, 2019
Wonderful Family Experience!
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
A great way to experience Austria's Danube!
This was a fun family adventure! we were close to nature, met new people, tasted the local food, found camaraderie with fellow travelers! I loved the scenery, I felt safe and free to customize our day as needed. The company was very helpful.- What was the date of your tour?
- July 7 - 14, 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
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★★★★★ Harry August 1, 2019
Satisfied repeat customer
· Tauern Bike Path (Salzburg-Salzburg)
This is the third trip that I've done with Greenways and I remain very pleased with the impeccable organization, the thoughtfully planned routes, the helpfully redundant cycling instructions and the very engaging and pleasant territory. I combined the Salzburg to Prague trip with a Salzburg to Salzburg loop around Berctesgaden, and so my overall experience combined spectacular Alpine scenery with miles of classic Bohemian rolling wheat fields punctuated with forest and woodlot. There was a lot in this trip that exceeded my expectations, and virtually nothing that merits any harsh criticism. Getting over the hills north of Linz was a pretty good workout for an old guy!
As a solo traveler, I didn't have any meals included in the package, and that worked out just fine. The Salzburg loop was all on well-marked bike path, so direction-finding was all but bulletproof. The 'Heart of Europe' trip has some very detailed instructions and a GPS, and almost never presented any confusion. Having Google Maps on a phone helped to disambiguate a few times. There were some good suggestions for things to see, though I didn't always have time to stop and see them. Perhaps the tour deserves a repeat!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 15-25
- How many tours have you completed?
- many, both package and self-created
- 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?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Lynn M July 31, 2019
Daube Bike Path 7 nights
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
The staff were great and the hotels were up to expectations. On commencing the instructions for the first 2 days were good but the bike tracks should be labelled eg R1 or No 6 - this would be helpful. Also with the instructions we were given - you would need a GPS. We rode 10km out of our way because we missed a sign and directions were not helpful. Locals did point us in the right direction ..but we had to resort to "google maps" Some people had assisted with spray painting the track with directions...so our confusion wasn't a one off.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Alanran July 29, 2019Beautiful Provence by Bike and Barge
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
The boat was really nice and the crew was great -- from captain to chef to on-board host. They did an exceptional job making our time on the boat pleasant.
The biking was also nice in spite of the 98 degree temperatures, full on sun and mistral winds in our face -- even had to peddle going down hill sometimes. That said, we saw beautiful villages, olive orchards, vineyards, sun flower fields and lavender fields -- beautiful terrain -- even some of the areas covered in the Tour de France -- Pont du Gard. The visit to Le Beaux de Provence was special going into the cave with Van Gogh paintings put to motion and sound.
All in all it was a fun tour with a great group of riders.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 13-20
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
