Montenegro Bike Tour Reviews
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★★★★★ Andrew Lindsay May 6, 2024Disappointing 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
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★★★★★ 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
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BikeTours.com staff reply from jan October 18, 2023
Thanks for your honest feedback!
Sorry to hear about the map troubles and any unease on the road. We're diving into this to make things clearer and safer. Thrilled you loved the scenery though! It's feedback like yours that helps us grow and offer better experiences. We're committed to ensuring every cyclist feels confident and safe on their journey with us.
We truly value your insights and will use them to improve. If you consider another trip with us, reach out! We'd love to guide you through the safest and best routes.
Cheers,
Jan
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★★★★★ Julia Bouchard October 8, 2023Beautiful 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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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.
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ JO ANNE REID October 30, 2023
An excellent way to experience the landscapes , culture , history and the people.
· Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
Our guide Alex was most vigilant for our safety, checking the bikes, quick repair of flat tires if necessary, conveying briefings with road conditions and expected grades.The trip was beyond my expectations : the beauty, the snacks and meals, comfortable accommodation.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
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★★★★★ J.Miller October 23, 2023
"Bucket-list" bike trip
· Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
New and interesting touring this beautiful part of Croatia (the Balkan countries). The guides were experienced, personable, and trustworthy....aways leaving us feeling safe and informed. Accommodations and meals provided were enjoyable and comfortable. The pace of the trip was comfortable and well-informed.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October, 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- Two
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
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BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac October 23, 2023
Wow, those are some great photos you posted! Thank you for your kind words about your experience touring the beautiful Balkan countries with us. We're delighted to hear that you found the guides to be experienced, personable, and trustworthy, providing a sense of safety and knowledge throughout your journey. We hope to welcome you back for more exciting adventures in the future!
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★★★★★ Kirsty leighton October 11, 2023
Excellent bike tour
· Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
Awesome food ! Awesome guide ! Excellent all around ! Lovely scenery ! Thanks
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- First bike tour
- 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
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★★★★★ Kathleen Bowman October 25, 2023
Fabulous biking adventure
· Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
Walled cities, mountain passes, incredible views of the bays and islands - I wished I had a GoPro camera on my helmet. The hotels were charming, the food local and hardy. Biking was exhilarating; challenging at times, but the van was always available for those who preferred to skip the hard climbs or busier roads. Most of our group road e-bikes and were happy with their choice. Best of all were our guides, Alex and Emir. They were knowledgeable and inspirational and took very good care of us.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- Four
- 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
