France Bike Tour Reviews (page 2)
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★★★★★ Bean October 14, 2019Beautiful Area - Terrible Bikes
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Great way to see Provence, but the bikes were really really heavy and the guide was not very good.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 28-Oct 5
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10+
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Richard 69 May 29, 2022A nice ride
· Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine
This is our eighth time cycling in Europe so we are experienced cyclers. This is the first and only time we had any problems. When we arrived in Strassbourg in the evening and checked our bikes we noticed right off that one of the bikes had a problem. We called Eurobike the next morning to resolve the issue and we were underwhelmed by their response. After several phone calls and two and a half hours taken out of the day we planned to spend sightseeing in Strassbourg I finally demanded that they bring us another bike which they reluctantly agreed to do. If we had not taken an extra day in Strassbourg there would have been no way for us to complete the first leg of our tour. So there was that.
We have always chosen the B level hotels and have always been more than satisfied. This tour the hotels were hit and miss. The Hotel Ibis in Heidelberg gave us a room that was literally the size of a closet nd it was more than a mile walk to get to the historic old town. The hotel Asgard in Worms was also a long way from the city center. I will say that all the hotels served a good breakfast.
The bikes were the typical rental bikes that we always get so they are a little heavy and slow so no surprises there. But we found the road surfaces to be very rough in many places which made for very slow travel and we found ourselves reaching our destinations much later than we planned.
We cycled through forests and lots of farmland which was fine but we really did not cycle along the Rhine as much as we would have liked. The scenery was pleasant enough but not nearly as spectacular as other tours we’ve taken.
The printed directions are always confusing and at times our route was not as well marked as we would have liked so there was a lot of stopping to check our phones. We found the app that we downloaded to be very helpful.
It’s always fun and exciting to be cycling in Europe and we did enjoy ourselves and had many fine meals along the way. Unfortunately this ride did not compare favorably with the other seven tours we’ve taken. -
★★★★★ MAC July 21, 2023Pretty Area
· Alsace Wine Country
The vendor with whom you contracted has room for improvement. The documentation supplied by was inadequate. Using street names as a frame of reference in the towns we visited was the first issue. Street names are few and far between. It was not unusual to see other "green bags" (the color of the panier and handlebar bags used by this vendor) riding around in various directions looking for the same route as our group.
The two hotel rooms they booked for us in Kayserberg were not air conditioned! That day, the high was in the mid 80's and the route had multiple climbs. Riders need to be able to get their core temperature down for comfortable sleep.
Navigation out of town from the hotel and into the end town hotel was particularly poor. Luckily, We had programmed the addresses of each hotel into our contacts and relied on Siri most afternoons to find our hotel.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 30
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- 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
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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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★★★★★ Banershan September 26, 2018Trip with my daughters
· · Bordeaux by Bike and Boat: Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne (and reverse)
The trip was fine as the area of Bordeaux is so picturesque, but the rating of the trip was easy to moderate which was not true as we encountered hills every day. Some of the hills were quite difficult. They should re rate it as totally moderate.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 6-13
- How many tours have you completed?
- 11
- 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
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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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★★★★★ Sheryl Slone July 17, 2023
Disappointed
· Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine
We were disappointed in the inability of the app to work for route directions. Several detours were encountered that were clearly not recent detours but alternate directions were not given. We ended up just doing a Google bike route to get from city to city.
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★★★★★ Thomas Wall November 7, 2022Enjoyable ride with lots of canal views
· Garonne Canal: From Bordeaux to Toulouse
In order to ensure we had dedicated bike paths I think we sacrificed variety. The scenery was beautiful but we saw a lot of the canal. Enjoyed the small towns and our hosts were great! Small hiccup with luggage transfer was a bit aggravating. All-in-all, an enjoyable trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the second
- 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?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Tony VanGarderen September 23, 2022Beautiful area of France!
· Burgundy Wine Trails: Beaune to Macon on the “Voie Verte”
A great way to experience the beauty of Burgundy. Loved cycling through the vineyards as well as along the Voire Verte. The hotels had a lot of character. The bikes were great, one ebike and one regular.
- 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?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Gnat June 21, 2018
Fabulous 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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★★★★★ Albikes September 11, 2018
Bordeaux area by bike
· · Bordeaux by Bike and Boat: Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne (and reverse)
Great way to see this region. Most used E-bikes. Furnished GPS was very helpful, as printed directions were poor. Our group of 24 was great. Don't know how a maximum group of 80 would be.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Late August
- How many tours have you completed?
- Many
- 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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★★★★★ Hoogie September 14, 2018
Bordeaux trip
· · Bordeaux by Bike and Boat: Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne (and reverse)
Overall a great week. Wineries (that were open and ready to accommodate us) were sadly very few and far between - and the wine was supposed to be a big part of the trip! But great scenery, bikes were excellent.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 28 Aug to 4 Sep
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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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★★★★★ CLTH September 12, 2019
· · Bordeaux by Bike and Boat: Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne (and reverse)
- 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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★★★★★ Allenbam September 26, 2019
· · Bordeaux by Bike and Boat: Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne (and reverse)
- What was the date of your tour?
- 31 August >7 Sept
- How many tours have you completed?
- None
- 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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★★★★★ B and L June 15, 2016
Easy trail through historic Burgundy
· Burgundy Wine Trails: Beaune to Macon on the “Voie Verte”
Wonderful historic sites in Cluny and Cormatin. Picturesque ride through the vineyards between Santenay and Beaune. We enjoyed detours into small towns along the way. The trail was well marked and an easy ride
- What was the date of your tour?
- 5/30/16-6/4/16
- 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?
- France
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★★★★★ MaryF June 21, 2018
Strasbourg 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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★★★★★ Robert Sterndale November 7, 2022
A beautiful ride through mostly rural, agricultural France
· Garonne Canal: From Bordeaux to Toulouse
Bordeaux and Toulouse are interesting cities alright but most of our time was riding through an expansive agricultural area. Finding our way out of Bordeaux was not difficult. Once we reached the canal we "sailed" along the paved towpath all day, every day. The bike trail was mostly well maintained paved surface with a few stretches that were bumpy. We saw active pavement maintenance so it is being improved where needed.
The Roadbook navigating program served well as a way finder except on the last day when it took us to the wrong place in Toulouse a couple kilometers or more across the city from our hotel. That was a hassle.
Being of a certain age, we opted for e-bikes on this trip. These were pedal-assist type bikes which we all mastered quickly. The terrain was mostly very canal-flat but the e-boost was welcome for the occasional rise and toward the end of the day the boost was welcome. The hotels along the way were not right on the canal and some hill climbing was involved there.
Bikes were well maintained and thoughtfully configured for our various heights but no orientation or training was provided for the bikes, they were just left at the starting hotel.
We enjoyed the hotel/B&B stays. B&B hosts were gracious and accommodating. Rooms were clean and comfortable.
We did this in late September which is the end of their tourist season. Weather was fine. Bike traffic was light.
The canal trail provided a very scenic but repetitious view. We saw an interesting variety of agricultural activity along the way.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 9
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Coco October 2, 2017
Fantastic way to experience Burgundy
· Burgundy Wine Trails: Beaune to Macon on the “Voie Verte”
We were 6 friends on a self guided tour of the Burgundy Wine Trails. Having done many cycle tours in different European countries, I can say this one falls in the top of our list. The trails wind through vineyards and charming villages and navigation was very easy using the app. We LOVED Beaune and Dijon had a charm of it's own. The wines were fantastic and overall epicurean experience unparalleled. The only downside to this trip (and reason I am not giving it 5 stars) was two of the five hotels we stayed in were substandard. The Athanor in Beaune has a great location and warm welcoming lobby, but the rooms were dirty, there were no mattress pads on the beds, peeling paint in the bathroom etc. The Heloise in Cluny had a beautiful restaurant, but the rooms, while spacious, were extremely old and tired with ragged bedding and dark dingy halls.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 13-20, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- 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
