Istria Kvarn Bay Bike Tour Reviews page 2
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★★★★★ J and S
Perfect way to see the Country
Venice to Trieste and Istria
My Wife and I had a great Self-Guided trip. The people were super kind, hotels were good, food good, sites were the best. The maps were good, we used GPS points on our phones which did help a lot. So all in all, a can't miss trip.
We especially liked starting the trip in Mestre, the train over to Venice was a 5 minute walk from the Hotel Elite, cost was minimal. We explored Venice as well as old town Mestre, which was a extra treat.
Your first leg is to either Jesolo or Carole, we stayed in Jesolo and on the next day we stopped for a snack in Carole. If we were able, we would do the extra miles and stay in Carole the first night, town is really cute.
We did take two layover or extra days, one in Piran the other in Porec, both well worth it, so ask when you book if that option is available. The Ferry Ride from Porec to Venice was great but a a little of a challenge to schedule until we found there are two ferry companies, they run on opposite dates. After that, was super simple.
Hard trip to pass up, this was our third Self Guided trip, and already starting to plan for 2020. This has been our main way to see Europe and Loving Every Trip!!- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- Croatia, Italy, Slovenia
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★★★★★ MarknPat
Expectations Exceeded
Venice to Trieste and Istria
We spent a few extra days in Venice to start and 5 extra days in Porec at the end. Really glad we spent the extra time. Extending the bike rental was not a problem.
The tour in between was awesome. Accommodations were better than expected and all the towns were charming.I had a little trouble with my bike. The front hub was a little tight so the wheel didn't spin as freely as it should have. I noticed when we picked up the bikes but didn't think too much of it. After a couple days I contacted the tour company and they brought me a different and better bike. Kudos to the tour operator.
At one hotel there was confusion about a reservation for someone travelling with us. Again, the tour company stepped up. The real measure of the tour company is how they handle problems. They were terrific.
Had a couple directional issues. We have T-Mobile so GPS worked perfectly. Previously we had AT&T with the international package. It was underwhelming to say the least. I highly recommend T-Mobile.
Final day was a bit of a climbing challenge for Mrs. But we managed. The highlights of the tour were riding along the Adriatic, taking the occasional swim and the people we met.
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★★★★★ Jay Penner
Good ride for e bikes.
Venice to Trieste and Istria
This was the best electronic navigation we had ever seen. A phone holder for the bike made the navigation very easy. The weather was extremely hot the week we rode, but there were usually towns at good intervals to stop and hydrate. The local operator was responsive to any needs along the way and gave a good briefing the night before we started riding. The towns we stayed in offered great local flavor to the trip. The hotels were near the beaches so it was nice to swim in the Adriatic Sea at the end of the day. There were several stretches of road with considerable traffic but also a lot of bike paths and back roads with no traffic. The sights along the way were great and made for a memorable trip.
The last day had several hills that would have been challenging without the e-bike assistance. The bikes were in good shape and rode well. Wouldn’t recommend this for a first time cycle trip.
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★★★★★ carlye5
Beautiful country sides!
Croatian Vineyards and Villages of Undiscovered Istria
We had done a 4 week trip to Croatia and surrounding countries, and our bike trip was the last week of 4. It was beautiful weather and we had a great time!
Biketours.com did a great job organizing everything for us, and taking care of our needs.The third party tour company fiore tours was only average. We still had a great time, but there was plenty to improve on. The tour company gave us very poor instructions as to where we were meeting for the tour, and the emails given to us were incorrect. It was an adventure to get to the starting hotel to say the least. But we rented road bikes and they were great bikes. Very light, and the company offered many pedal types.
My only other concern was that the "itinerary" listed on the site mentions all these great things, but in reality you have to do a lot of work researching and planning where to stop each day. Many of the options they give us are only open in the afternoons, and are very close to where we were starting, so even if we started around 10am which was rather late, many wineries were still closed. After the first two days of being disappointed by not being able to find the suggested stops, and then finding them closed, we realized we had to do some leg work as far as finding stops along the route. Then the tour improved immensely.
My boyfriend and I are 23 and 25 and fit people, although not big cyclists. We chose an "easier" route so that we wouldn't be exhausted after each day. However, we were complete toast every single day. So if you aren't in good physical condition, I do not recommend this. Most of the route was rather hilly, especially day 3.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Mid June 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- only this one.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ Linden Bentley
Istrian adventure
The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike
Boat and boat accommodations were fine. Meals on board exceeded expectations. We like plenty of vegetables and that was provided. Crew and guides excellent! Bikes top class. Trails, trying in places. Destinations good, routes well guided. While we prefer all car-less rails to trails with consistent surfaces this was more varied between attention-required rocky/gravel/rutty surfaces, with 'turnstiles', paved surfaces with cars and no shoulders, and good smooths gravel--- it was a more demanding biking experience than those we prefer. Guides were excellent in explaining the upcoming terrain, traffic and inclines/declines. Pacing did not allow for much 'side tracking' for photos, or rests or independent exploring.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ Elaine Kubicki
Charming Coratia
The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike
This was my second bike trip with Bike Tours. My first was the Albania tour, which was fabulous! Overall, the Croatia trip was very satisfying, i.e. the yacht was very accommodating, the staff was very attentive and informative including the email personnel who answered questions before the trip, the new chef was great, the e-bikes worked well, the other vacationers made for pleasant exchanges, and the small ports and villages were charming to visit and the staff tours were interesting. On the other hand, there were things that kept this tour from being a 5 rating. My biggest concern was the additional costs, i.e., expected tips and bar/water bills that were not mentioned in the initial cost of the tour and were only made aware a few weeks before the tour and after the initial commitment and payment for the tour was made. Also, along with those concerns, I am curious as to why there was an extra charge for an e-bike when the trip is advertised as “The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike” and everyone rode an e-bike except two people who brought their own bikes? We also had problems mid-week with sewer gases in the bathrooms, which did get repaired within a day or two, and the air conditioning in the cabins worked well only one night out of 7, which made the cabin quite warm and damp. There were 34 bikers riding at the same time and on many more rocky gravel trails and busy highway/roads then I had expected and, at times, felt rather dangerous. However, as you noticed I still gave this tour a rating of 4, so, enough good outweighed to make it a satisfying trip.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ Elaine Kubicki
Charming Coratia
The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike
This was my second bike trip with Bike Tours. My first was the Albania tour, which was fabulous! Overall, the Croatia trip was very satisfying, i.e. the yacht was very accommodating, the staff was very attentive and informative including the email personnel who answered questions before the trip, the new chef was great, the e-bikes worked well, the other vacationers made for pleasant exchanges, and the small ports and villages were charming to visit and the staff tours were interesting. On the other hand, there were things that kept this tour from being a 5 rating. My biggest concern was the additional costs, i.e., expected tips and bar/water bills that were not mentioned in the initial cost of the tour and were only made aware a few weeks before the tour and after the initial commitment and payment for the tour was made. Also, along with those concerns, I am curious as to why there was an extra charge for an e-bike when the trip is advertised as “The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike” and everyone rode an e-bike except two people who brought their own bikes? We also had problems mid-week with sewer gases in the bathrooms, which did get repaired within a day or two, and the air conditioning in the cabins worked well only one night out of 7, which made the cabin quite warm and damp. There were 34 bikers riding at the same time and on many more rocky gravel trails and busy highway/roads then I had expected and, at times, felt rather dangerous. However, as you noticed I still gave this tour a rating of 4, so, enough good outweighed to make it a satisfying trip.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ Bob VG
Wonderful trip!
The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike
Explored the Istrian Peninsula by day while relaxing on the wonderful Andela Lora at night. Pro tip: Don't book a lesser boat! Staff was very attentive. Guide Yana was a delight with her bubbly enthusiasm. Appreciated many costal ports as well as old historic inland villages. Would have appreciated the opportunity to for upgraded bikes and more food variety. The booking process was smooth and we would defiantly go with BikeTours.com again!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ Pedalann
Interesting Tour around Part of the Adriatic Sea
Venice to Trieste and Istria
This tour gave us a chance to see much of the coastal region of the old Venice/Roman Empire. We enjoyed the lovely towns, pastoral countryside and views of the Adriatic. We sometimes had difficulty navigating as the cue sheets. maps and route marks did not always agree. The tour operators had warned us that some of the routes were being revised. However, we are good navigators and did find our way without too much back tracking. Concordia, Grado, Trieste, Piran and Porec were wonderful to visit. The new sections of bike trails were joys to ride.
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★★★★★ kiki1970
Venice to Trieste and Istria
The overall experience on this bike trip was good. The rain that occurred on 4 of the 7 days of the trip was unexpected. The locals informed us that it hadn't rained in 2 months so it caught up to us. The accommodations and food were excellent. The real problems were the maps that were provided. They need to be more tour specific. When arriving in the destination city, specific directions should be included in finding that hotel. We spent too much time looking for our hotel for the evening. Also the written instructions are a translation from the German guide. In some cases the instructions didn't match what we saw on the ground or what the sign posts indicated. In general, the people that we dealt with in the States and Italy were great. I only wish that we would have taken a day break some where in the middle(Trieste?) to refresh and recuperate. We didn't know we could do it. I highly recommend this before heading into Croatia.
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★★★★★ Garbo 55
Venice to Trieste and Istria
With this being our very first bike tour, and we had chosen the self-guided option we found the adjustment to the directions a little difficult (some vital information was lost in translation) but having said that, there was an incredible sense of accomplishment after completing each day. We also were not prepared for the climate we encountered, we had looked at the temps. before we left and it looked like 22/24 C., but ended up being in the high 20's and low 30's, this really depleted our energy levels. The destinations could not have been more diverse with each one having its own unique quality we really enjoyed. They all had an amazing breakfast to start the day with and were very helpful with storing the bikes etc... The journey through the countryside and along the coast was so spectacular, our only wish I guess would have been to have had more time to enjoy each day. After our first couple of days we were a little overwhelmed with trying to stay on track rather then enjoying the moment. Having been home for a couple of weeks now however and looking back we would challenge ourselves again in a different place.
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★★★★★ Todd Kadas
Italian countryside, Slovenian coast, Croatian beaches. What more could you want?!
Venice to Trieste and Istria
This trip offered a nice mix of countryside and coastal routes with plenty of options to shorten or lengthen each day's itinerary. We were lucky enough to arrive in the second town on the same night as their annual grape harvest parade. So much fun! Tractors pulling floats, free wine, marching bands, and views from the restaurants on the street.
We chose the self-guided option for this tour and met up with at least a dozen other cyclists who were doing the same. We were never alone, had amazing weather, and every day except for one (when we cycled too fast and didn't stop frequently enough), our bags were waiting for us on arrival at the hotel.
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★★★★★ Suzanne Skinner
Good but bikes poor
Venice to Trieste and Istria
The hotels were great. The app worked intermittently which meant we got lost with some frequency. The bikes were heavy, with crazy bad seats, and in generally poor condition (worn chains). We were lucky we did not have break downs.
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★★★★★ TF and DD NYC
Great destinations!
Venice to Trieste and Istria
A highlight of the trip was seeing all the different towns and cities along the way. The route varied from day to day – coastal paths, farmland and former border crossings. We stayed in modern seaside towns, ancient inland towns and cities. We even saw flamingos in the lagoon!
The biking was challenging at times, with strong headwinds the first couple of days. We rode on roads, bike paths, dirt farm roads and raised dike walls. The navigation, directions and app were easy to follow, but many of the arrow stickers should be replaced. Bikes were standard hybrids, but note: step through bikes do not have water bottle cages!
We opted for trains and boats when available. This allowed us to have more time to explore the towns, while still having plenty of biking. Each place we stayed was unique and a couple of the hotels were better than expected. It was nice visit the towns just before the summer season. There were many tourists, but not big crowds.
We would recommend this trip to those who are confident riders. Plan to stay a couple of extra days in Venice and/or Porec if you can, as there is plenty to see and do!
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★★★★★ ELHoo
A good first bike tour experience
Venice to Trieste and Istria
This was my first bike tour with a bike tour company, so I have nothing to compare it to. That said, it was pretty good. The person who presented the tour at our intro meeting was very nice and honest about what each day's route had in store for us. Bikes were OK, they suited the varied surfaces we rode on. The hotels varied from fine to nice. Luggage delivery was great. The towns we stayed at along the way all had something interesting about them. We were given an app, maps and cue sheets for navigation as well as arrow stickers along the route. We did not get lost, but I would suggest refreshing the faded arrows along the way. I would do another BikeTours.com tour.
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★★★★★ Steve Srebnik
Great experience
Venice to Trieste and Istria
This was a great adventure for my wife and I taking us to small and not so small great beach towns as well as a pretty big city , Trieste, all in the Adriatic. Jasolo was a rocking town with a very nice beach. Most of the included breakfasts were very good and all were very acceptable. The hotels were also good, nothing special but certainly comfortable. Most of the hotel rooms were very small. Only reason I took off a star was I think I would have enjoyed it more if we were able to spend a stop over or two without a ride the next day. Since we typically arrived after 1 and sometimes closer to 2 or 3 we didn’t get to spend any significant relax time at the beaches. Overall I’d go again or do another trip. All was very well organized.
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★★★★★ Karl57
Great trip
Venice to Trieste and Istria
Great trip. Would highly recommend. Every stopover destination was well worth exploring. If we did it again we would customize the tour with an extra day to explore each stopover destination.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2018
- 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, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia, Italy, Slovenia
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★★★★★ Juiti
Unforgettable!!! The hidden beauty of the Venetian region and Croatian Adriatic:
Venice to Trieste and Istria
I love this route. It combined beautiful nature landscapes with historic spot and charmy littles towns.
We had great experience sharing time with fun bikers around the world.
Even if the hotels were in general ok we would have preferred to pay a bit more for better quality and location.- What was the date of your tour?
- 8 september
- How many tours have you completed?
- now 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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?
- Croatia, Italy, Slovenia
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★★★★★ Visitor42
Unexperienced rider review
Venice to Trieste and Istria
That was nice and fun tour for me, however my girlfriend struggled a bit. It is not completely 2 stars. For example, last day is not plain at all and could be challenging for newbies without some experience (like myself).
It would be nice to have shortcuts for every day of this tour.
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★★★★★ Cycle2017
Our Venice to Porec Challenge
Venice to Trieste and Istria
This tour proved to be more challenging than anticipated, partly due to torrential rains on 2 days and windy conditions most of the week. Concerns included long riding distances with limited facilities between some of the planned stops -e.g. -few restaurants or stores to purchase snacks and more water. The signage didn't always match the tour directions, creating confusion and likely longer rides than planned. The final day -70 km, with 50% uphill is a challenge for casual riders. Casual recreational riders will find some of the days long and some of the terrain challenging. The local provider provided excellent support when we were flooded out of a hotel and unable to ride due to area flooding, and also assisted with transportation for the final transfer when a member of the group was ill, and weather conditions were miserable. Despite this, our group, 3 recreational riders and 1 experienced rider, enjoyed visiting the beautiful cities along the route -when the weather cooperated.
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