France Bike Tour Reviews (page 10)
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★★★★★ Shlomo November 12, 2017Great 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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★★★★★ Colorado Bill July 2, 2018
First 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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★★★★★ Terry 56 September 25, 2019
Enjoyable
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
The trip met or exceeded all of my expectaions. Some in my group wished there were rest days every 4th or 5th day so they could relax off the bike and sight see more in the towns we slep in.
- What was the date of your tour?
- september 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- many
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Orange50 September 28, 2019
Relaxing easy route
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
- What was the date of your tour?
- September
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- France
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★★★★★ Tim Cooper 8 months agoDream trip
· Nature, Villages & Castles of the Loire River Valley
The daily route map was good but it needed specific directions about where to turn and specific streets with noticeable landmarks. This is a critical factor especially when arriving in Ambois and. how to get to the designated hotel.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 19,02023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Wignh September 15, 2018Met my expectations
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Excellent barge, with welcoming A/C in southern France in mid-summer. Dinners were varied and tasty - but desserts were magnifique! Make-your-own lunch to go on the bike - which is standard bike/barge arrangement - becomes boring after a few days. But what I will remember is this once-in-a-lifetime highlight: watching France win World Cup at a jammed packed outside bar in a small town!
- What was the date of your tour?
- mid-july
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- 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?
- France
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★★★★★ Alanran July 29, 2019
Beautiful 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
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★★★★★ Charlotte Dewar October 11, 2022
A beautiful journey
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
We loved this trip. It was wonderful you hired a professional guide in Arles to spend 1.5 hours with us talking about the history, the Roman architecture and Van Gough. Provence is so beautiful and we are very blessed with the good weather and a wonderful group of travelers who cared for each other and enjoyed the company of each other on this trip.
As a professional travel planner for 30 years, I wish to share my honest feedback so you may improve your tours for future clients.
1. The chef Irene made the most delicious dinners for us every evening. We were always looking forward to her food at the end of long and exciting journey.
2. Our Captain was excellent and so was the assistant Phillipo. 3 crew members worked together beautifully and treated us like royalty.
3. Our guide Hens is not as professional. He never counted the number of guests. We had people falling off the bike everyday, no major injuries. Hens was out at the front riding quite fast. He rarely looked back and kept an eye on the group. Every time we had an accident, we had to send someone from behind to catch up with him and asked him to stop and wait for the folks falling behind.
4. The internet on the boat is very choppy. I had important business to communicate with my travelers going to Asia. Most of the time I couldn't receive or send emails. My PayPal app, my airb&b app and my VRBO app all stopped working. I had free roaming data on my phone and that had issue working on your boat either. it's very important you have a functional internet on the boat so people like myself could still carry on business while we are on your trip.We love the concept of bike and boat! We will come back for more of your tours. I am considering introducing your product to my high-end Chinese clients.
I am raving about this trip to all my friends in California. Thank you for putting together a fantastic journey for us.
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ lifejazz October 7, 2019Amazing Sights in Provence
· Provence Getaway: The Secrets of Southern France (4 nights)
We enjoyed our bike tour through Provence. Our first time to use e-bikes, which given the winds and the hills, seemed like the thing to do. Really enjoyed the e-bikes for their ease of use and making the windy or hilly sections enjoyable. The orientation was very thorough and the combination of the gps and the paper charts made navigation very easy. The two hotels were, not to understate it, wonderful. Excellent accommodations, lovely people, great food. We even got attached to a French Bulldog, Cinquante, belonging the owners of the hotel in Collias. Quite the character! On the whole the ride was through vineyards and side roads. The only unpleasant bit was from Collias to Tarascon. We spend too much time on heavily trafficked shoulder-less roads with trucks and cars whizzing by at 50 miles an hour a couple of feet from us. We've been riding for several decades and as a practice, I would never ride on that kind of road. So that bit needs some adjustment (which is why this is a four star instead of a five star review). But other than that, the rest of the ride was a delight.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/16-20
- 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ klrea October 23, 2019
Touring Provence
· Provence Getaway: The Secrets of Southern France (4 nights)
This is an amazing and beautiful part of the country to visit, and our bike tour organizers set up a really great agenda. However, we don't feel that bicycling was the best way to see the area, and next time we will rent a car instead.
We opted for the self-guided tour because we wanted to be in control of when and where we stopped. The tour organizers were super helpful and friendly and did everything possible to set us up and get us on our way. However, the bikes were extraordinarily heavy, much heavier than what we are used to riding at home, and, for the amount and type of riding that was on our schedule, made the touring harder than we expected it to be. Also, this was my husband's first bike tour, and the first self-guided tour for me. I found that having to watch the GPS and navigate detracted from being able to enjoy the countryside as we rode through. Finally, while, the little towns along the way were lovely and a delight to see, we were not accustomed to the provincial French practice of closing up shop in the afternoon until opening back up for dinner at 6pm, and so were often without food for the day. It was hard to time the riding to arrive in time for lunch when we didn't know how the riding would take.
One more unexpected event was the arrival of the Mistral winds on the last day of our ride, which came blustering in at 30 mph. So, while the weather was nice otherwise, the strong and cold wind made riding heavy bikes uphill something we took a pass on. Fortunately, we were able to find transportation by car into the area that we wished to visit.
For these reasons, although I think this is a great company, I think there are some places that are best visited by car, even though I am an avid and strong cyclist at home.- What was the date of your tour?
- 4 October 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ gsf1 August 8, 2017· Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
- What was the date of your tour?
- 7/9/17
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Becca August 8, 2017
Savoie self-bike
· Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
Taste the cuisine and drink the wine of Savoie, swim in pristine lakes, visit medival villages, castles, and vineyards.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Jul 30
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France, Switzerland
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★★★★★ sacman July 12, 2018
Organized 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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★★★★★ Arik August 4, 2022
Nice ride. Two complaints.
· Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
1) The phone app didn't work at all (for three of us who tried). And the GPS they gave us as a backup is a decade outdated. Thank goodness for Google Maps, though that didn't always yield the most scenic routes.
2) Too much time spent on bike routes that were really highway shoulders, with a bicycle silhouette stenciled on the asphalt.Great hotels, fantastic food, (and priceless company we provided ourselves).
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Countries included in this tour?
- France, Switzerland
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Kirsten August 4, 2022
Thank you for leaving this feedback. We are working with our local partner to improve the phone app and GPS for this tour. We are glad you still had a memorable time and hope to help you plan your next trip!
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★★★★★ Mary Partheymuller September 19, 2022
Wonderful way to bike through this Lake country of France from Geneva.
· Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
Loved the choices of sport versus moderate rides on several days, which satisfied all participants. As a single participant, the last hotel was disappointing, but satisfactory . Most accommodations were quite nice.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Shannon McDougall 7 months agoGreat Trip
· Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon
This was a great trip with well organized logistics and routes. We downloaded a GPX file reader and found the daily routes were easy to follow. The files need to be updated for day 4 and day 6 as routes had a couple of deadends but we managed. Overall all a great trip, not too difficult!
- 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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★★★★★ WalkersAdventure July 3, 2018Beautiful 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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★★★★★ Chris118 October 1, 2018
Lovely, but there were problems
· Alsace Wine Country
A friend and I just completed the Alsace trip. We had perfect weather and it was lovely to ride through the vineyards while the grapes were being harvested. Accommodations and dinners ranged from superb (Osthouse) to “meh”. It seemed to us that the quality declined with each successive day.
The tour company rep who met us in Strasbourg was very rushed and did not give us a particularly warm welcome. We only discovered the next morning that the mileage computer on one of our bikes was faulty because an electrical lead had been pulled out. This is the bike he used to “demonstrate” so he should have known that it was faulty. We were never able to fix it because it required too small a screwdriver. This inhibited our route-finding throughout the week since the computer was on the navigator’s bike.
On the flip side, I had a crash (someone ran into me) and I called from the destination hotel and the company rep arranged for someone at the hotel to swap out my bent wheel. I was interested that the company rep didn’t ask if I had sustained any injuries.
The route instructions were sometimes difficult to follow. We were lucky to also have a personal GPS and it helped us know whether we were on track. I think part of the problem is that the North American interpretation of some navigation terms may differ from the the European. I urge the company to consider a separate sheet/map to help people find heir way out of Strasbourg. It is actually simple but not at all obvious.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 9-13, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
