Bike Tour Reviews: Strasbourg To Mainz  Imperial Cities And Charming Landscapes Along The Rhine


Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine

COUNTRY: France, Germany

7 nights
3.9/5 (13)
Rider Level: Leisure Electric bike tours Primarily bike paths Family-friendly bike tours
Rider Level: Leisure Electric bike tours Primarily bike paths Family-friendly bike tours

3.9/5 (13)
7 nights

Self guided from EUR € 949

Self-guided:
Thursdays and Saturdays: Mar 30 - Oct 12, 2024.

Description:
This cycle tour goes through three magnificent European regions – Alsace, Baden, and the Palatinate – and there is a very pleasantly mild climate throughout. Due to both the history and the climate, these three regions have one thing in common:

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  • Strasbourg to Mainz
    (3/5) Sheryl Slone 8 months ago

    Disappointed

    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.

    What was the date of your tour?
    July 2023
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from JV July 18, 2023

      Thanks for your feedback. We are actively working - as a cycling community in Europe - to improve the overall app experience but unfortunately it is still a very fragmented market. Thank you for your business!

    • 1/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Robert Hodby 11 months ago

    Wobbly legs

    Thought I do this without any training - day one hurt but after that it became easier. The route selection was fantastic with changing scenery being a mix of river countryside and towns.
    Ambling along stopping for photos food and drink made every day a joy and the distances meant we finished everyday mid afternoon.
    Planning the next bike tour!

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    First time
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) William Sholten September 20, 2022

    Our Alsatian Bike Trip

    We have enjoyed 2 other bike trips in the past. This route was not easy to follow without GPS. We used a Garmin GPS to help confirm our path along the way (and highly recommend this). There are many intersecting bike paths around towns, so we had to stop often to determine which route/path to take. There were several detours due to construction (not indicated on our route plans) which made travel both longer and more challenging to navigate.
    We cycled on gravel roads in addition to the bike paths, making the ride somewhat longer than anticipated.

    Hotels were comfortable, but not all hotels in Category A had air conditioning. Hotel staff and breakfasts were first rate!

    Rental bike performed well but were heavier than expected.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    third tour
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (2/5) Christopher Blair September 17, 2022

    Strasbourg - Mainz

    It was okay.
    First day, bags were not picked up. Had to call. Delivered after dinner time. Expected some explanation or perhaps an apology. Nothing.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 2022
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • 3/5 Value
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Rob Gage August 4, 2022

    Great, but different from expectations

    The mapping software was essential in staying on the recommended path, as sign posting wasn't always clear. The whole trip was more variable than we had expected, both from road quality and scenery.
    One suggestion is that the instructions on picking up the bikes could have been sent out ahead of time and made clearer.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (3/5) Richard 69 May 29, 2022

    A nice ride

    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.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 18-25 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
    • 1/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Martin June 5, 2019

    Lovely trip along the Rhine

    This trip starts in France and crosses into Germany on the first day of riding. The bicycling was very pleasant; the towns were interesting; the locals helpful and friendly. The written cycling directions were only marginally helpful, but the signage in both France and Germany is excellent. It helps to have google maps. Download the google map in your hotel the night before with hotel WiFi, or have a data plan. The hotels were fine. Ibis has very small but adequate rooms. It is somewhat generic. The non-ibis hotels were definitely more interesting and rooms were larger.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 22-30
    How many tours have you completed?
    4
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Rode November 20, 2018

    Perfect Service

    Every think perfect in all the tour.....................

    What was the date of your tour?
    October
    How many tours have you completed?
    more than 10
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) eva m November 10, 2018

    Great ride along the river

    The tour was well organized with nice hotel choices. There were some challenges for the route, especially where construction was taking place. A gorgeous section of the river for riding.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Oct 13 to 20
    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) TinaM September 30, 2018

    Excellent Bike Tour!

    My husband and I had a fabulous time on the Strasbourg, France to Mainz, Germany bike tour September 6-13th. We arrived a day early and loved walking around and exploring the beautiful city of Strasbourg.

    Our bikes and information were dropped off the day before our trip and we were off early the next morning. We would highly recommend having a data plan to download the GPS maps offered to your phone. These maps show you exactly where you are at all times! Would also be very beneficial to have a cell phone holder for the handlebars on the bikes.

    We rode mostly on bikepaths and trails and occasionally on roadways. The terrain was mostly flat and winding around farmer’s fields, through towns and cities, and along or near the Rhine. Our favorite town was Speyer, Germany the day we were on our way to Heidelberg. The main street had beautiful, colorful buildings, a lovely, church, quaint shops, and a fabulous clock tower.

    The hotels provided were clean, centrally located, and had friendly and helpful staff. Silka at Hotel Schwert in Rastatt went above and beyond helping us with all of our questions and requests! Thank you Silka!

    After our first day of our Eurobike tour, we were fortunate to have met another couple also travelling on the same tour. We decided to travel together and the four of us spent the rest of our trip biking and having a great time together!

    This was our first bike trip and we loved it! The weather was beautiful and the biking experience was fabulous!

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 6-13, 2018
    How many tours have you completed?
    This was our first bike tour.
    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
    • Our bikes! (photo by TinaM)
    • Main square in Speyer, Germany. (photo by TinaM)
    • Heidelberg, Germany. (photo by TinaM)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (2/5) pmcmanamon September 21, 2018

    Tour instructions were outdated, and hard to follow

    The cities we visited were great, and so were the hotels. I was warm, so air conditions would have been nice, but not a big deal. The tour instructions consisted of a generic book with instructions, and a generic set of maps. The maps were not that detailed. When the maps disagreed with the instructions the maps were right. The signage along the routes changed since they made the instructions . We were told to look for a large E along European bike paths, but it appears to have been replaced by a circle with 15 inside it, i guess for the # of countries in the EU. The bikes were great. The luggage was always delivered on time. I downloaded a Eurobike app to help with the directions, but it did not work well. In order to update my positions I had to quit the app, and restart it. The Biketours people did suggest a new app, RidewithGPS, that worked much better. Because they did not have cues the pass could not tell me ahead of a turn, but it did tell me if we go off course.
    I think the local tour company, Eurobike, needs to update their instructions. I also would appreciate if they made unique instructions for each tour. The instructions start and end at a city center. When we got close I would use google maps to find the hotel directly, rather than going to the city center and then to the hotel. My ideal would be a unique set of instructions for a tour, with small maps above or below each instruction. We have had that with other tours, but different providers. On this tour I could not mount my instructions and maps so I could see both while riding, I picked the instructions. In some cases they recommend stopping at a certain place for lunch, but you cannot see if from the tour route, and there is no map to locate it.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 15,2018 start date
    How many tours have you completed?
    this is the 4th
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • (4/5) MaryF June 21, 2018

    Strasbourg France to Mainz Germany

    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.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 31 to June 9, 2018
    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
  • (5/5) Jack Luther October 30, 2017

    Beer and Wine Along the Rhine with Martin Luther as a Travel Companion

    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
    Video: Video 1
    • 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!

    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection