Montenegro  Bike Tour Reviews (page 3)

  • (5/5) olistef October 7, 2018

    Top quality tour with top quality guides.

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Our guide, Mario, was great. He is a kind man and knows lot about the routes and the history. Dinko drove our luggage and gave us lunch in welcomed shadows, knew so much about the land and history.

    What was the date of your tour?
    16-21 september
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • Mario and the group (photo by olistef)
    • Typical scenery along the bay of Kotor (photo by olistef)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Catherine Veitch October 22, 2023

    Balkan triangle,epic Croatia.

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Really enjoyed seeing so many countries by bike,a great way to see the countryside.Our guide was able to guide us through less busy roads..It definitely was an epic trip,lots of hills,some days long distances and warm.The accommodations were excellent,and really appreciated the snacks provided by the tour..

    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (4/5) Becky Foster October 25, 2023

    Beautiful and very challenging!

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Cycling near the Adriatic Sea was spectacular, probably the most beautiful cycling I have ever done. It was also the most challenging trip we have done. The countries of Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro are mountainous! This is a perfect trip for serious cyclists.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October, 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    4
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 3/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Balkan Treasures
    (4/5) Andres Volosin July 16, 2023

    Is all about Montenegro!

    · Balkan Treasures

    Overall was a good trip.
    Organizer lack on some details and punctuality.
    Hotels are OK. Request upgrades for locations and quality since is a small $ difference but big jump y confort. Albania part should be removed. Not the best routes.

    What was the date of your tour?
    July 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    5
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Albania, Montenegro
    • 4/5 Value
    • 1/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (4/5) BYoung December 7, 2017

    Fun Triangle Trip Through the Balkans

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    A wonderful guided trip along the sea and up into the hills of this beautiful part of the Balkans. Great scenery, idyllic vistas and deserted former rail lines converted to cycling routes; this trip has a little bit of everything. And if you are looking for multiple stamps in your passport while crossing borders on bicycle you will be able to fill a couple of pages on this trip.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    10+
    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?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany December 8, 2017

      Jim, our President, loves the Balkans, and we're so glad to hear you had a great time on tour! We'd love to help you in the future.

    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Balkan Treasures
    (4/5) Mark Mering October 6, 2023

    Nice trip through the Balkans

    · Balkan Treasures

    Very beautiful country. Nice people in all of the countries we visited. Hotels were nice. Too many transfers . Some of the roads had no shoulders and a lot of traffic and were not fun to ride on .

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Albania, Montenegro
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (4/5) Carol Keys 6 months ago

    Beautiful and varied tour taking in 3 fantastic countries

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    This was our first time visiting Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina & Montenegro and the tour provided a good flavour of all three countries.
    We booked an extra day at the start of the tour to take in the sights of Dubrovnik. This was well worth it, with the highlight being a walk around the city walls in the old town and a boat trip out to Lokrum Island. On the downside, Dubrovnik was very crowded and prices were comparable to the UK. The rest of the tour was mainly in much quieter places, sometimes in the middle of nowhere and prices were very cheap in Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
    Our hotels varied from fairly basic to very nice but all of them met our needs.
    The tour itself did include a few very busy roads which were not ideal but probably unavoidable. However, it did include some lovely stretches along the coastline in Montenegro and the ride in B&H along an old railway line was predominantly traffic free.
    We did feel a bit under time pressure a couple of times when we were required to meet the van with our luggage at a border crossing, as it was difficult for us to estimate how long it would take us to get to the rendezvous.
    Our only real frustration was with the one Garmin we were given to navigate. This was quite dated, not intuititive to use and didn't seem to recognise some of the new roads. We often found it difficult to get the correct information displayed on the screen at the right time. We had written notes but in places where navigation was tricky, the notes didn't help either.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (4/5) Gregory Bodin 7 months ago

    West Balkan Triangle Review

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Our 2 guides were excellent. Aleksander led the rides and was very attentive to both the fast riders and the slower riders. Juro drove the van and handle a lot of the logistics; he was very attentive to the details and made sure everything flowed smoothly. They were both very friendly and informative on the local culture.
    The ride was beautiful with quite a variety of terrain (coastal ride, bay ride, inland valley). I would recommend an e-bike unless you are in very good shape; the distances aren't huge but some of the hills are big.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    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?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Balkan Treasures
    (4/5) Mary Lynn Griff 10 months ago

    Our Balkan Adventure

    · Balkan Treasures

    We really enjoyed our bike tour of Croatia, Montegreno and Albania. The hotels were great as were the transfers. My notes of caution; first I suggest bringing mirrors and/or suggest they be provided. This tour was entirely on narrow roads with little or no shoulder so being able to see what is coming behind you is better for your safety. Drivers were very patient for the most part but a few of our patty were not used to riding on roads with traffic however after a few days they adapted well. The first day was the most difficult in my opinion but none of the days were as difficult as I had myself mentally (and physically) prepared for but for the casual rider I suggest the e-bike option. Otherwise, prepare for long climbs of 8-10%. I am 6'4" and my road bike was a bit too small but workable however the tires were not worn but had very little trend and were very slippery on some surfaces especially the decent into Kotor. If it had been raining it would have been very unsafe. I suggest tires with a bit more tread to provide better footing. Lastly, a couple of our hotels had live music that normally would have been great however it was very hot during our tour (100 degrees) so we were up and out early before the heat set in making the live music at 11:00 pm not as fun. The navigation was spotty on my android but others had better connections on their phones. All in all, a great trip. We loved finding our own way and being in control of our time and pace. We look forward to doing another trip sometime soon.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Albania, Montenegro
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) robert harrison May 3, 2024

    enjoyable interesting trip

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Overall the trip was good.Alex and Emir as the main tour guides were efficient and the organisation of the luggage and the bikes was excellent.The cycling and the routes were good.Where the tour could have improved was giving us some basic information about the places we were visiting.For example at Kotor most of us were not aware that you could walk up the city walls to the top of the hill.We don,t expect an hours lecture but some local knowledge would further enhance the trip and perhaps training for the tour leaders would be appropriate.Finally there was some confusion on the final day we were leaving re airport transfers and it seemed that drivers had other duties which reduce their availability.Biketours need to ensure the transport is available as this is specified on the tour information
    Idespite these points I would certainly recommend this cycling trip to friends who might like to go.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
  • (4/5) Elizabeth Denniston 7 months ago

    Spectacular

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    An amazing way to see the most stunning scenery. I had no idea what each day would bring, and the trip unfolded as one magical day after another.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 14
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    •  (photo by Elizabeth Denniston)
    • Ready to ride after lunch (photo by Elizabeth Denniston)
    •  (photo by Elizabeth Denniston)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Teryl Schopfer October 11, 2023

    Great trip

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Great way to see Bosnia Hertzegovinia and the Ciro bike trail

    Great guides

    What was the date of your tour?
    October
    How many tours have you completed?
    No other tours
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 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
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Anita Elder 11 months ago

    Beautiful scenery and routes!

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    I really enjoyed riding my bike through Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia. The scenery was gorgeous and I made new friends. The hotels were mostly great with a couple of exceptions:
    1. No elevator at the Splendido and very difficult to carry heavy suitcase down and then back up some stairs to our room. No coffee/tea until 8:30am and then it was terrible. Their food in the evening was good, however.
    2. Hotel on the last day was not very good. The AC didn't work well and there was only one electrical outlet on the other side of the room from the bed (had to get an extension cord to plug in c-pap).

    The lunch stops during our ride were great and was more than I expected.

    The local partner needs to step up their game. Because they didn't have anyone dedicated to collect luggage each morning and deliver it to the next hotel, the ride leader and support driver had to do it. This caused long delays in starting our ride each day. We would usually be told there would be a briefing at 8:00 am, but until they ride leader and driver got to the hotel, loaded up the bags, and dealt with some other issues, it was always well after 10am before we started riding. This meant that we were riding (and doing steep climbs) in the worst heat of the day.

    The support driver, Nikola, was a sweetheart. Alex, the ride leader, was a good rider and knew the routes well, but he was rude to several of the guests.

    With a little organization and extra staff, this tour would be perfect and at a decent price.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 8-15, 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    Average
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • Celebrating 25 years of marriage. (photo by Anita Elder)
    • New friends (photo by Anita Elder)
    • Nikola fixing a flat. (photo by Anita Elder)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) robert harrison 12 months ago

    enjoyable interesting trip

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    the trip overall was enjoyable.The tour leaders Alex and Amir were helpful and organised the transport,luggage and hotels effectively.What they could have done was given us more information about the places we visited.For example in Kotar we could haVE visited and climbed the city walls had we been told that was an option.This really was down to their inexperience and lack of training The other point oi would make is that on the departure there was only limited airport transport available.Bike tours need to ensure that transport is available throughout the day for the various flights people are taking back

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    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
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Balkan Treasures
    (3/5) Julia Bouchard October 8, 2023

    Beautiful countryside

    · Balkan Treasures

    The countries we visited were awesome. The local tour operator left a lot to be desired. Before leaving the US we tried multiple times to download the gps routes onto our phones. Biketours.com stated they do not support the app we were supposed to use…..when we arrived in Trebinje our first day, none of us were able to see the routes…after phone calls with local operator, he walked us through using an app with his username and password-less than ideal. We eventually had the routes on our phones,but no way to mount phone on handlebars. Eventually we got one phone holder that immediately dropped the phone while spinning around!
    Initially I was given a bike that was way too small. Tour operator wanted me to use it for the first day which had the longest climb of the week. Eventually he did supply a proper fitting bike that night. We never had anyone to check the bikes with us….
    Many of the hotels were quite nice but when we were transferred to Stari Bar, the hotel owner said we did not have reservations. He gave us awful rooms, over the kitchen noisey, sink that didn’t drain…..husband got food poisoning from the restaurant. Albania was disappointing because the lake was so dirty and riding in the city was dangerous The Balkans are awesome but the local tour operator was not up to the standard I expected and received on previous bike tours.com trips

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Families with teens
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Albania, Montenegro
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • Balkan Treasures
    (3/5) Kenneth (Doug) Mering October 2, 2023

    Good trip but issues

    · Balkan Treasures

    Trouble with maps provided. Map did always start and stop at lodging location. Not always clear on th route on the map. Did not always feel safe on the road. Scenery was great. Enjoyed it but may not do another biketours trip without a lot more research on the routes safety.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia, Albania, Montenegro
  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (2/5) Andrew Lindsay May 6, 2024

    Disappointing Tour - Did Not Meet Expectations

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Positives:
    1) The e-bikes were very good and well maintained; the routes were generally excellent if a little short for e-bikes (rides often finished early afternoon whereas on most other organised cycle trips I've been on they were spread out over most of the day).
    The rides from Herceg Novi to Kotor; Ravno to Ston and Ston to Kun were particularly enjoyable - brilliant scenery and quiet roads.

    2) Accomodation - Hotels were all very good apart from Marija 2. This hotel was a good 20 minute walk from Kotor; room was clean but rather dark and miserable (no view; no balcony but lots of signs instructing occupants what not to do). Fried eggs at breakfast were cold). By contrast the Hotel Stancia in Ravno was a delight.
    3) Food - This was an enjoyable part of the tour. The 'included' lunches and evening meals were very good. The lunches at Ravno, Ston and Kun were especially enjoyable - offering liquor tasting; olive grove visit and locally produced food respectively. The local restaurants we chose for our evening meals were also excellent.

    Areas To Improve: As a guided introduction to the West Balkans this trip has nothing to recommend it. The guide, while perfectly charming and an excellent cycle tour leader, had next to nothing to say about the countries we visited (their history; their customs and culture; their flora and fauna). I suspect his Company has never provided any training on how to be a tour guide.

    This tour makes it very easy to miss exploring the old town of Herceg Novi; the walls of Kotor and Cavtat Old Town (indeed most of the group did) because they were never recommended or even mentioned; nor did we cycle to them). Dubrovnik is the jewel (albeit a very busy jewel) of the West Balkans and it would be very easy to book this tour and never see it (the old town is a 40 minute walk from the Hotel Adria).

    I've cycled many times with Explore and Exodus on group guided tours and their delivered experience is vastly superior to that of BikeTours.com.

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    I've been on well over 20 bike tours. The West Balkan tour is bottom quartile. Your guides need training. Happy to provide more feedback.
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    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?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • Little Ston-the hotel is on this harbour. Delightful spot. (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • View from near Perast - another superb setting (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Ride thrrough vineyards en route to Ston (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Visit and lunch at the Olive Grove near Ston (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Cycle track along the old railway line to Ravno, Bosnia (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • 2/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)