France Bike Tour Reviews (page 9)
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★★★★★ Dennis July 17, 2018Alsace Canals & Vineyards
· Alsace Wine Country
The countryside and towns of Alsace are a great bicycling experience. The roads and trails are fairly flat and well marked. There is a bakery in every village!
Generally, we had excellent meals and accommodations. We had one hotel with a four star rating that was not air conditioned. We also had another hotel that did not offer any choices on the half-board menu.
We found our hybrid bicycles not quite up to climbing the few hills. We needed more low gears! Overall the turn-by-turn directions were adequate but sometimes confusing as our route did not always follow the posted bicycle travel signs.
We had a wonderful time enjoying the scenery and people along our tour and we will definitely come back to France for more.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 25 - June 30, 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?
- France
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★★★★★ sacman July 12, 2018Organized Adventure
· Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
Well organized trip down to the street. While normally I stay in design hotels, due to the nature of the trip and the remote locations, the team did a superb job in accommodating us. The Chateau was certainly the highlight.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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?
- France, Switzerland
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★★★★★ WalkersAdventure July 3, 2018
Beautiful villages - beware of hills and train strikes
· Alsace Wine Country
The tour operator is unusually cooperative about modifying the standard itinerary. I requested many changes to suit our interests and abilities and they fulfilled them all. We requested and received GPX tracks to load onto our own Garmin devices. The GPX and the map and the tour materials had been revised to reflect the changes I'd requested, which I appreciated very much.
Colmar is an exceptionally good place to center the trip. I recommend staying there several days and taking day trips by bicycle, or train plus bicycle, to nearby villages.
All of the hotels booked for us were high quality, and thoughtfully positioned for convenient access.
Segments of the trip are quite hilly: two chevrons on the map. We evaded the hills by planning alternate routes in the flat part of the valley. These routes presented a different view, still valuable and entertaining.
We had trouble with the SNCF train strike. Of course, that situation was beyond the tour operator's control, but it detracted from the experience.
One of the e-bikes was delivered with a bad battery. They replaced it the next day. That was okay for us, as I had an extra day planned for local sightseeing, so our overall schedule was not affected.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 22
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Colorado Bill July 2, 2018First step to the Atlantic
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
We arrived a day early. Orleans was great city. Big church.
The trip was seamless. Bikes hotels maps road food just what you would expect fro. FRANCE. .... We wish we had taken the time into week 2 or 3 to complete the Loire.
We will return.- What was the date of your tour?
- June 24
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much 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?
- France
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★★★★★ JEC65 June 25, 2018A different biking experience
· · Bruges to Paris by Bike and Boat (and reverse)
Thirteen days of easy to moderate biking. The crew were friendly and helpful. The food was excellent! Lots of extra sightseeing excursions to choose from. Very old boat with very small cabins was the only drawback but price was reasonable.Generally the routes were on quiet roads on all types of surfaces.
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★★★★★ Gnat June 21, 2018Fabulous trip
· · Bordeaux by Bike and Boat: Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne (and reverse)
Our boat-bike trip was wonderful. The bike guide paced the day perfectly; he had stops planned for food and the sights. I still am amazed how many kms I traveled each day.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 12-19 2018
- 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?
- France
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★★★★★ MaryF June 21, 2018Strasbourg France to Mainz Germany
· Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine
Great value. Would have appreciated option for rooms with AC even if it meant a higher cost. Would have appreciated a sticker with the arrow and the E in order to see the actual size. The signage was much smaller than we expected and did not find any until the second day. Also, the instructions need to be rewritten by a native speaker who is actually biking the route. The instructions appear to be translated from another language. Much was lost in translation. The instructions were confusing. We originally thought the instructions were in British English until we met up with couple on the same tour from Manchester who found the instructions as confusing as we did. (There was a brand new app for navigation this year but none of us were able to get it to function on our trip. Once the bugs are ironed out, I suspect this will help a lot. We used Google maps to assist in navigation.) I would suggest giving stickers to actual bicyclists to place over top faded stickers or to add stickers in areas of confusion. Overall, it was a good experience and am very glad we did this tour.
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★★★★★ oldjoe June 19, 2018Fantastic scenery!
· French Alpes Tour: Alpes and Ventoux
A great mix of Alpine and Provence scenery. Wonderful small hotels with charming hosts and gourmet food! Challenging but not intimidating terrain with easy navigation. Would love to go back!
- What was the date of your tour?
- 6/1-7/18
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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
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★★★★★ Allen December 18, 2017
Fabulous
· Alsace Wine Country
The villages are incredibly beautiful; the biking is either on lovely canal paths or quiet roads in the wine country; and the inns and restaurants are terrific. It is a well organized and well supported trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept.2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12
- 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?
- France
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany December 19, 2017
Allen, thanks for your kind review. We're so glad to hear you had a great time on tour! We look forward to helping you in the future.
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★★★★★ Jack Luther December 12, 2017Slow and Easy Cycling the Loire Valley
· Loire Valley Châteaux & Gardens Tour
In the fall of 2016 my wife and I went on this adventure. This was our second Bike Tours vacation and again it exceeded our expectation in every way. Each day we enjoyed beautiful scenery and toured amazing chateaux followed by an evening relaxing with exceptional wines and cuisine in small French villages. As always the trip ended all too soon but the video I made and posted here helps us relive one of our best vacations ever.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- Three with Bike Tours. com
- 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?
- France
Video: Cycling in the Loire Valley
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany December 13, 2017
Jack, we're so glad to hear that you and your wife had such a great time on tour! Your video puts me in the valley immediately. We hope to help you with your next tour and thanks for taking the time to review.
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★★★★★ Shlomo November 12, 2017
Great trip in the Loire
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
It was my first multi-day bike trip and it was great. All the equipment and instructions were 100% .
2 comments: No one from the local company met us (so, for example, I couldn't ask how to reset the distance meter). And, there was no mobile number to which I could WhatsApp in case of problem (and I had no local calls package). Other than that it was great.- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct. 6th 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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?
- France
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★★★★★ Jack Luther October 30, 2017
Beer and Wine Along the Rhine with Martin Luther as a Travel Companion
· Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine
My wife and I have previously done the BikeTours.com tour from Munich to Salzburg as well as the Loire Garden and Chateaux Tour and greatly enjoyed both of those. We invited good friends who are also cyclists to join us on this tour. All of us agreed that it was one of our best vacations ever and having
friends riding with us added to the pleasure. We do the tours "self guided" and enjoy the freedom of being able to explore off route if we want to. For example, on this trip we rode up into the vineyards near Nierstein, Germany which was not on the route but gave us some beautiful views and a wine tasting at the Huff Winery. There were a few days with some light rain but nothing that we were not prepared for. We stayed in the Category A hotels which were all of excellent quality and located close to the attractions we were interested in seeing. The written directions and the "E" stickers on posts along the way were often missing or confusing but the GPS offered by BikeTours worked very well. I would strongly recommend that anyone doing this tour "self-guided" absolutely plan to use the GPS mapping. The local tour company, Eurobike, does an excellent job. We have never had even the first problem with the bicycles or any of the services they provide.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 17 - 22, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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?
- France, Germany
Video: Video 1
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany October 31, 2017
We're delighted to have helped you on your third BikeTours.com tour and to hear that it was a great success! Your experience is exactly what we hope to bring to clients on each tour. It's a pleasure to have the time to explore sites, scenery, and of course, vineyards. We think these are some of the best parts of a vacation. We'll be sure to work with our partner operators and improve at keeping you on the right path. Thank you very much for your feedback!
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★★★★★ Lori22 October 22, 2017Best trip ever!
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Couldn’t have asked for a better guide for my first bike tour. Hugo was so much fun, so enthusiastic, shared so much history and knowledge about the area and even made movies with the video and pics that he took which captured all the different things and places we experienced. The crew and the other bikers were so much fun as well. For my friend and I, who do not bike much, the e-bike was the ticket. Loved my e-bike.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 7, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was my first bike tour
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Dona2017 October 9, 2017· Freiburg and the Alsatian Wine Road
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/24/17 to 10/1/17
- How many tours have you completed?
- First one
- 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?
- France, Germany
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany October 10, 2017
We're glad you enjoyed your cycling vacation. Thank you for the review and the great pictures!
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★★★★★ Croissant Lovers October 9, 2017
Early Fall Wine Country Tour
· Alsace Wine Country
Beautiful countryside, quaint towns, idyllic bike paths along canals, vineyards forever. Lodging was excellent even on the lower priced end. Included breakfasts were excellent. Found that opportunities for lunch were nonexistent or limited so we learned to buy lunch food & wine first thing in the morning. Route finding was challenging at times as we were self guided. Local tour operator provided good orientation. 21 speed bikes were very heavy and awkward with handlebar pack.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 26-October 1
- How many tours have you completed?
- First one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany October 10, 2017
We're glad you had a great time on tour and great advice for future clients regarding lunch along the way! I love the handlebar bag but I understand it isn's for everyone as they can be bulky. We hope to help you plan a future tour.
