Bike Tour Reviews Innsbruck To Lake Garda Across The Southern Slopes Of The Alps
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
COUNTRY: Austria, Italy
Self guided from EUR € 1079
Self-guided:
Saturdays and Wednesdays: Apr 29-Oct 07, 2023
Description:
On this tour you will come across well-known cities such as Innsbruck, Merano, and Trento. The rivers Inn and Adige lead you via Lake Reschensee and Lake Caldaro to Lake Garda. Impressive mountain ranges form an incredible panorama. From Reschen to Lake…
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★★★★★ AmyandBruce July 21, 2019Pretty amazing
We especially enjoyed the changing scenery, climate, culture and architecture as we traveled from Innsbruck to Lake Garda. This tour is extremely beautiful. The accommodations were consistently clean and comfortable, a very good value for the price of the tour. The breakfast buffets are nothing like what you get at motels in the United States. They are way, way nicer.
Most of the tour involved low stress biking along well maintained and predominately paved bike paths. Some was along quiet roads or narrow city streets. Twice we had to deal with heavy volume and no shoulder. Once was biking around 3 km uphill to our hotel in Imst, Austria (such a pleasure when we finally arrived), and once on approach to Auer in Italy. Also be aware that the bike paths are more heavily used in Austria and Italy. This is generally not a problem, but there are a number of "sport cyclists" who come up on you quickly and silently, so no automobile traffic does not mean that you don't have to pay attention. Also be aware that while much of the route is flat (or more accurately a gentle uphill or downhill as it follows a river), there are sections that are rolling or even hilly.
In addition, we encountered head winds around 80% of the time. Of course, in other weather conditions, it might have been a tail wind! But the wind does blow through these steep sided, canyon like valleys. Also be aware that it does rain quite a bit in the Austrian Alps, and can get hot as you proceed southward. For the most part, though, we had very nice weather.
The material provided by the local tour company was useful and included sightseeing information. We branched out a bit and did our own research. We found an amazing waterfall in Parcines (near Moreno) that was a bit off the beaten path and a few miles from the bike route.
The bicycles we rented were different from what I'm used to even though they are hybrids and I ride a hybrid for transportation. Much more upright, and I was unable to adjust the handlebar height or change the height of the seat without impacting the position of my legs, which was perfect. So it took a couple of days for my arms to get used to the (what was for me) unusual position. The seat was more comfortable than I feared it would be. I had no problem with that. The partner, EuroBikes, provides a high quality water proof panier and handlebar bag. Also lights (the rear ones had run out of batteries and didn't work well for me or at all for my husband, but the front lights were fine) and an odometer. You also get tools, a pump, and a spare tube. Your riding will be during the day, but I like to use lights when it rains.
The tour company was very prompt and accurate with transporting our luggage, so that was never a problem.
Our only real problem was with directions, and that was mainly due to a communication snafu. Most of the cyclists on this route are German speakers, so the lady that gave the orientation needed to speak to the different groups in different languages, which made it a bit awkward. My husband speaks a little German, but I didn't speak any before this tour. English was not her first language. We are used to more detailed cue sheets or route markings on pavement. The cue sheets are not at all detailed. However, the tour company affixes small stickers to poles at intersections, and this takes care of the problem. All the tour companies do this so you just have to look for your company's sticker. Although we were given an orientation and the material does show the symbol for the company, no one explained that they were tiny stickers on poles. I'm guessing the cyclists in Europe know this, but we didn't. We eventually met another group of cyclists from England and Scotland who explained this to us. After that, it was obvious. So if you take this tour, please be aware of these stickers. It will make life ever so much easier for you and you will not make the wrong turns and add the extra miles that we did.
All in all, this was not a difficult tour. Most people with at least some cycling experience should be fine with it. But because there are some hills and head winds, do yourself a favor and do a little bit of training if you do not bicycle regularly.
But absolutely take this tour. All things considered (especially if you keep those stickers in mind), it was an incredible experience. I would not hesitate to recommend it to others.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 6 to July 13, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- around 15
- 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
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★★★★★ Lisa Schmitz 7 months ago
Beautiful scenery every minute
Great trip, but an e-bike would have been a better choice. Beginning days were very challenging, especially with heavy touring bikes. The downhills, though, were exhilarating. We relied on Google maps because the route maps were not up to date and less efficient.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Nancy71 July 1, 2018
Far exceeded our hopes!
The bike ride was a dream through beautiful orchards and vineyards! The bike paths were excellent and we had a trip to remember! We rented e-bikes, and we were very glad we did. The extra "boost" from time to time made the trip more enjoyable and didn't leave us exhausted at the end of the day - yet we got plenty of excercise. We did have 2 bikes run out of battery on the first day which was
disappointing. This particular bike tour is WONDERFUL!- What was the date of your tour?
- 6/16 - 6/23, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- one
- 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
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★★★★★ Laird October 5, 2019
Best trip ever!
We loved every aspect of this trip! The scenery was stunning. The bike path was paved and easy to follow. The directions were so clear and mentioned the easy two hills we encountered.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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
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★★★★★ Laird June 2, 2019
Breathtaking Scenery and Gorgeous Destinations!
We had the BEST cycling trip ever! The daily routes were a perfect combination of historic sites, excellent paved cycling paths, stunning scenery and achievable level 2 terrain! The bike tour operators information was accurate and sufficient for easy navigation. We never lost our way and the hotels were easy to find.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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
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★★★★★ Fodones June 8, 2016
- What was the date of your tour?
- 26/may/2016 --04/june/2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 14
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Larry Cady 10 months ago
Great route but TERRIBLE directions
The good things about the Euro Cycle tour were:
1. Very nice route through the Italian Tyrol
2. Generally very nice hotels.
3. Bike were adequate but so-so quality. On other tours I have had better quality bikes.The BAD thing - Directions were very poor. The main problem was there were no turn by turn directions to the hotels. This is standard on other tours. The printed directions routed you into the center of a town and then stopped. You were given the address of the hotel, but not directions on how to get there. Sometimes we were given a map of the town, but not always. We ended up using Google Maps on our phones to get the hotels. In one town (Maran), the hotel was well away from the town center and difficult to find. We spent a lot of time tracking it down.
I would not take a Euro Cycle tour again. Other tour companies you represent are fine and I intend to take more tours - but not with Euro Cycle.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
