Lake Constance Bike Tour Reviews (page 3)
-
★★★★★ ireneski October 5, 2019
Great trip except for first destination.
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
This is the second time I've taken this tour with my friends. We liked it so much 6 years ago that we were interested in returning. All the destinations and accommodations were better than previously except for the first destination. Instead of stopping in Stein am Rhein, a beautiful medieval town, they booked us into Gailingen, a town that took us another hour to get to, and was not the charming experience we had to forgo. The trail up the steep hill was more suitable for a mountain bike, not the hybrids that we had. As we came down the steep hill the next morning one of our group had a nasty fall and had to rent an ebike to complete the trip. The hotel staff was also not friendly. They refused to serve us tap water and would only offer bottled water at 6 euros/bottle. This was a terrible way to start our trip. If you go around this beautiful lake, insist on staying in Stein am Rhein.
Also, we stayed an extra night in Uberlingen. Definitely worth an extra day to spend time at the thermal baths.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 12, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe October 6, 2019
Thanks kindly for this review. We're sorry to hear about the hotel experience in Gailingen. We'll be sure to inform the tour operator this is not the preferred choice when booking this tour. (But sometimes, it may be the only option available.) We hope that your group member has recovered! And we're so glad they were able to complete the tour via ebike! Thanks again for your feedback, and we're overjoyed you had a great trip.
-
★★★★★ Wes G October 2, 2019Lake Konstanz Bike Tour
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
My first bike tour in Europe. The area is beautiful to ride through and each city had its own uniqueness. We really enjoyed sampling local beers and wines along with our favorite snacks and dinners. Generally, our accommodations were satisfactory with some better than others. Thankfully, mid-September is not too warm because many small hotels do not have airconditioning. The bikes from Radweg Reisen were in excellent condition and never once gave any of us any concern.
Just a few suggestions that would have made the trip more memorable. First of all, our tour was self-guided and we used the maps provided by Radweg. Because of some areas that had poor signage, we could have used a GPS with the routes loaded into it. There was a lot of road construction and repairs going on. We got lost several times and ended up way off course and walking our bikes up steep hills to get to our destination.
Second, although all four of us are in excellent condition, two of us are not regular cyclists. So, we trained with spin classes. Even then, we were wishing on many occasions that we had opted for the e-bikes,especially on the St Gallen to Konstanz segment (absolutely crushing)!
Third, the hotel in Manzell was too far away from Friedrichshafen and absolutely nothing to do in that area. The only saving grace was the restaurant.
Overall, a lovely ride, although I would caution against novice cyclists doing the eleven night tour without e-bikes.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 13-25
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Laird September 29, 2019Beautiful scenery and fabulous destinations!
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Great time exploring southern Germany around Lake Constance. The bike path was well signed for easy navigation. Our group stopped often for photos as we passed through lovely villages and beautiful scenic lake views. We had the opportunity to go up on a gondola for a view of the Austrian mountains, visited the Thermal Spa in Uberlingen and saw sculptures the public gardens at the Wurth Building. All in all a lovely trip!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ lenzylamb September 27, 2019
Wonderful!
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
We had a wonderful time! We got lost a few times due to lack of understanding the road signs(our fault) but once we got the hang of everything we were good to go! Wouldn’t hesitate booking through BikeTours again!!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Waterdog September 24, 2019
Wonderful tour
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
The bike, accommodations, and breakfast where all very good. I rented an eBike and am so glad I did. Some parts of the route were
harder than I had anticipated. The eBike made those times considerably easier to endure. My only negative about this trip was that the maps and directions were extremely poor at times...numerous times. The worst was when we were trying to find the hotels in the afternoon or leaving town in the mornings. The good news is we were usually able to find pedestrians or other cyclists to ask, but we could ask three people and get the different directions. That being said, it was still a wonderful adventure. I'll definitely book another trip through biketours.com.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 6-15
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Hutch September 10, 2019Not what was expected.
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
This was our 9th bike trip in Europe, previous ratings and reviews of trips had been pretty acurate. But this trip was not what we expected. We might have a different view if we were in our 20s or 30s so any review submitted should be evaluated with that in mind. The trip was very intensive even with ebikes (our first use of ebikes) and only serious cyclists should forego those. There were many large hills and rough surfaces (30-40% gravel). Sporadic beautiful scenery, but not even close to what we have experienced before. Hotels were all clean and about half were really nice, but several were positioned away from main points of interest and the bike route and since the stopover sites were larger cities they were hard to find (maps to hotels were not detailed, thankfully we had google maps). On the positive side, the bike route is signed very well and we had no trouble finding our way between cities. Finding good stops along the route for lunch/coffee/etc was not as easy as we had experienced on previous trips. In short, we would not classify this route as recreational or recommend it as a family trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 11
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe September 11, 2019
Hi Hutch, and thanks for the review. We appreciate your feedback that this tour was tougher and the scenery was different than what you had expected. We hope these details may help inform future clients to make the best decision possible. It seems this tour has intermittently beautiful scenery; we certainly do get spoiled on many tours where it's constantly scenic. We're glad you enjoyed the well-signed bike route and were able to navigate with the assistance of google maps. We're hoping the next one suits you better. Thanks again!
-
★★★★★ Simona September 7, 2019
Amazing bike holiday
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Our bike holiday this summer was a perfect way to discover and enjoy the wonderful landscapes and sights of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, riding along Lake Constance in five days, between August 21 and August 25. The weather was excellent: no rain and not very hot, just perfect.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 21-August 25
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Dusty August 30, 2019
Fun Way to See Switzerland
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
We enjoyed seeing Switzerland up close. Bike routes very well marked. The little towns were charming. We experienced beautiful scenery and very friendly people.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August, 2019
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Susana August 29, 2019
Great option for families with small childrwn!
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
The scenary is great, the path is easy and the signals are very clear, the villages are beautiful and with a lot of options for fun (playgrounds, pools, baths on the lake...) . People are very helpful. We decided to spend two days in Uberlingen and it is a very beautiful village with fantastic therms and gardens. It is very easy to shorten the initial route taking a train or a boat (we did it one day that it rained a lot!). I recommend this route for families with small children (7-14 years)
- What was the date of your tour?
- August
- 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Tom on a Bike August 26, 2019
A beautiful ride!
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
Cycling around Lake Constance (Bodensee) was a lovely experience. Every day brought more beautiful views and villages. I chose this 11-day self-guided tour with lower kilometers to allow me to experience the villages and people more intimately. The tour did just that. You could very well choose another tour with more daily distance and get nice experience. This area presents many opportunities for the cycling tourist. I was never bored on my cycling days.
The tour was relatively flat. The only challenge was on the day cycling to St. Gallen. There was a considerable climb. It was walkable when needed. The tours mostly followed the Lake Constance cycle path. When roads where used, they ware almost always quiet roads with low traffic.
Some things that could be improved: Radweg Reisen did not give an orientation at the start of the ride. I was fitted for a bike that was nicely outfitted although it was heavy as a tank. On this vacation, I did some Swiss touring on a self-guided tour from another provider. That tour provider gave me a nice orientation on signage, routes, the bike, and Swiss cycling. I was also given a tour support person’s mobile phone number to use when I needed help. Radweg could improve on their orientation process.
The Radweg Reisen books were very nicely done in a size that fit in the handlebar bag map holder. What was lacking were detailed instructions on navigating to ticketed attractions and hotels. I would suggest a small insert map on these pages. I was able to use Google Maps and the map the Radweg Resiaen gave me to get to my destination.
In conclusion, I was very satisfied with the tour. I felt the hotels were nice. The tickets to the attractions were very nice. The only suggestion is for Radweg Resien to work on their customer focus and interaction.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 15
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ kpatout August 21, 2019
Great trip!
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
The biketours.com staff did an excellent job making sure we were prepared for our trip. The route was beautiful and manageable (even for those of us who weren't experienced cyclists). One concern we had was that the directions within a city - to and from the hotels - weren't detailed enough and we needed to use our cell phones and google maps to find the way every time. We were also unable to reach the local tour company by phone after making many attempts. However, biketours.com was able to help us each time we had a question. Overall I would definitely recommend biketours.com and this tour in particular.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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?
- Switzerland
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe August 22, 2019
So glad we were able to assist We never tire of helping clients have a great experience. We're delighted to hear you were able to sort out the navigation - even with a few hiccups! Sometimes a phone and google maps are a huge help, especially in a foreign setting.
-
★★★★★ Lovetotravel July 28, 2019Lovely Tour
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)
We arrived in Bavaria in the midst of a heatwave, which made the trip a little more challenging, but overall, was still enjoyable. Scenery was beautiful - while the tour is not always hugging the lake, the meadows, valleys and villages were quite lovely. There are some pretty steep hills on this trip, so if you're looking for a flat ride throughout, this is not it. The tour also went around some key towns (eg instead of riding thru Lindau, it took us thru an industrial area behind the town) - so room for improvement there. The hotels were quite lovely and I'm glad we chose the upscale lodging. Two had a/c which was welcomed after a day of riding in 35C+ heat. Again, the trails were beautiful, and had it not been so hot, we would have appreciated it even more. The bikes were in good shape and rode smoothly throughout (although my husband's gears started slipping midway). The villages and towns that we rode through and also stayed in were very charming and gave you a taste of Bavaria. In terms of navigation - this is a pro and a con - get the Kamoot app! If we had just used the physical maps, it would have been a challenge as there are many twists and turns that are easy to miss. The app got us there easily (and you can download prior so you don't have to use data). The only thing it doesn't help with is getting to your hotel - so that's where google came in. Also, the guide that has all scenery tips, history and dining/shopping tips is only in German - so you have to wing it on your own. The start of the tour was a little confusing - no one to greet you and no one communicated that our trip guide was actually at the hotel. We cabbed it to the Velotours office...twice! First to enquire about the trip itself and second to actually get the bikes. They need better communication to help get folks on their way. With all that said, we would do this again in a heartbeat (and in cooler weather!).
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ nunn July 28, 2019
Wunderbar
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
The tour was as described. The ferry came in handy one of the days. Directions were a problem. Once we got our of Konstanz and figured out what we were to follow it went better. Thanks to all the people who helped us along the way. Very helpful and friendly. The lake was delightful to swim in and cycle along. The scenery was delightful. We had ebikes and that's the way to go.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 6/30/19
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10+
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ DDMac July 27, 2019
Beautiful trip
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
BikeTours provided a great experience for our tour. When we encountered a mechanical problem they paid for the fix of the bike without hesitation. The hotels were very comfortable and well located each evening. One bag did go missing but caught up in time to make the flight out; they were very accommodating in all respects.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 9 - 16
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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?
- Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Ann1 July 24, 2019
How we experienced the trip.
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
Biketour.com is a reliable company and you get a fast answer to your questions. We had though some problems with the co-working German company. When the bikes arrived they were not e-bikes! That was discovered early on because we took some extra nights at the first hotel and the bikes were replaced before the trip began the next day. However we could not use the bikes in town on the first day. One bike had a misplaced saddle but after some repair by the handy man driving it, this was solved too. The luggage was very late 8pm on the first day, it should arrive at the latest at 6 pm; thereafter it worked well. The bikes were very good. Hotel staff always friendly. Beds were very good. Free wifi everywhere. Some problems with missing aircondition during the hot days/nights. Sightseeing: A most beautiful trip through historic towns. Stork village. Rhine falls. The weather in our favor.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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?
- Switzerland
-
★★★★★ eliza July 22, 2019
Fun for the whole family
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
We all loved it!!! Beautifully organized, great accomadations and food, the scenery was beautiful and plenty of gelato and swimmming along the way
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 4th, 2019
- 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
