Bike Tour Reviews page 107
- Albania
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Holland
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Montenegro
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United States
- Vietnam
- Wales
-
★★★★★ Marv September 29, 2019First European Bike trip
· Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
This was an amazing trip. Well organized, excellent hotels and breakfast. The route was beautiful. The bicycling was more challenging than we expected, but we are casual cyclists. If you are somewhat of a serious cyclist, it would be no problem. 95% of the directions were excellent. 5% were very confusing or ambiguous. Everyone in our group got lost at one point or another. Overall, well organized and beautiful trip. We will book again with Biketours.com.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 09/14/2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much 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?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Cathy September 29, 2019Fantastic trip with friends!
· · Amsterdam – Gouda – Bruges by Bike and Boat
What a way to see the country! Our guide Winny was fun knowledgeable and open to suggestions. The crew in the Anna Antal were excellent,helpful and participated in our evening conversations and fun. I also have to say that the cook Nicole gave us amazing food!! So enjoyed by all. We would highly recommend this trip, cycling was easy and sites were wonderful! Thankyou so much
-
★★★★★ Calgary Couple September 28, 2019Great bike trip!
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
The bike path along the Danube is excellent. It's near impossible to get lost as the "R1" or "R6" are clearly marked the entire way. I have to agree that this is a "mostly flat" route but when leaving the river and heading through villages, it can be a bit hilly (and we are regular, avid cyclists). We did struggle twice trying to find our hotel (and came across others experiencing the same problem) and needed to use our phones and google maps to find them. Perhaps the tour company could consider more detailed instructions than "turn right at the statue". We never did see that statue!! But that's part of the adventure too! We found two of the hotels a bit far out from the main city area (Aschach and Krems). We prefer finding little cafes or family owned establishments when on this type of trip and do not like eating in the hotel restaurants. In Aschach, there was no meal available at the hotel and after cycling in the POURING rain for 4 hours, we had to either get back on the bike or walk 2 km back to the village to find dinner. The hotels themselves, however, were great. Luggage transfer was excellent. The bikes were good and we never had any problems with them.
-
★★★★★ Orange50 September 28, 2019Relaxing easy route
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
- What was the date of your tour?
- September
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Timothy September 27, 2019Fabulous trip through Austria
· Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps
Excellent experience overall. Challenges with routing. Would be nice to have standard size bottle cages. Replace Eurobike app with layer on tap of Google maps, or add city and village names to Eurobike maps. Would like to have had overall map showing area we were riding.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 6
- How many tours have you completed?
- One
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
-
★★★★★ lenzylamb September 27, 2019Wonderful!
· 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
-
★★★★★ Middle Europe September 27, 2019one of the best
· Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 6
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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
-
★★★★★ Allenbam September 26, 2019· · Bordeaux by Bike and Boat: Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne (and reverse)
- What was the date of your tour?
- 31 August >7 Sept
- How many tours have you completed?
- None
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Terry 56 September 25, 2019
Enjoyable
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
The trip met or exceeded all of my expectaions. Some in my group wished there were rest days every 4th or 5th day so they could relax off the bike and sight see more in the towns we slep in.
- What was the date of your tour?
- september 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- many
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Chris B September 25, 2019
Great Adventure
· · Bordeaux by Bike and Boat: Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne (and reverse)
Had a great time riding through the Bordeaux wine country. E-Bike made it easy (I'm 74) and the French countryside was beautiful. Our bike guide was awesome and very knowledgeable about wine and the local history. Food was great and the room was comfortable. Very enjoyable week!
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 31 to September 7,2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the first.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ CynFul September 24, 2019· Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
The scenery along the route was breathtaking and every town on the tour was welcoming.
Most of the riding was on a well maintained bike path (many taking us through wine vineyards) although we were diverted to the road (both in-town and along busy thoroughfares) a time or two but besides the rides through the towns the riding along the roads was along a designated area for bikes and the vehicular traffic was mindful of the cyclists. The accommodations were very comfortable and having prepaid for daily breakfast and dinner we didn't have to make any choices where to eat and all-in-all each of our meals were satisfactory at minimum. Although the pre-tour preparation for our self-guided bike tour was very detailed with BikeTours.com the execution (by the German based company) left something to be desired. The riding instructions/maps we were given were based on the standard route so they didn't take our particular stops into consideration; we therefore spent a good amount of time lost on our bikes. This was also because the general riding directions/instructions provided by the German tour company were not very detailed and again, did not provide specific details relative to our daily stops. The equipment provided by the German tour company was fair; the two women's bikes were like beach cruisers so easy to get on/off, the e-bike was fantastic (appeared to be brand new) and the other men's bike worked fine although it seemed a bit big for the rider and it was the smallest men's frame the local company had available. The handlebar box and panier for each bike was adequate for transporting our personal items.We LOVED the area, just wish we had spent less time being lost and more time exploring the beautiful, friendly towns scattered along the Moselle.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 6-13, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the first for me
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe September 25, 2019
Thank you very much for the review. The Mosel is a lovely tour and region, and we're delighted you enjoyed it. We sincerely appreciate your compliment that we were detailed in preparing you for your tour. Thanks for noting the directions and bikes are aspects of the tour which may be improved upon. We will share this evaluation with the tour operator. We're so glad to have assisted you with booking this tour and that you enjoyed the scenery and towns.
-
★★★★★ 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
-
★★★★★ J1951 September 23, 2019Bike & Barge Tour
· · Bruges – Amsterdam by Bike and Boat
My husband and I both had a great time on our tour. We biked from Brugge to Amsterdam. Our guide was knowledgeable, the food was fabulous and we enjoyed getting to know the other bikers as we traveled through beautiful country. We highly recommend.
-
★★★★★ TimHam September 23, 2019
Fantastic scenery
· Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps
This was our 4th bike tour and without a doubt was the most beautiful scenery of them all. EuroBike, the local operator did a great job with an excellent briefing, with good bikes, a great itinerary on well marked Austrian bike paths and quiet country roads. This was our first tour with e-bikes, which I'd recommend given the hills. Their GPS app was problematic for us, but with their printed instructions and Google maps for bikes, we did just fine. I'd have given a 5 star rating except for the hotels... maybe because we booked late but we were assigned more 3 stars than 4, and in some cases the rooms were quite tiny. I know European hotels are not as we expect in Western hotels, but one on the hotels (Bad Goisen) was difficult to even move around with 2 (not large) suitcases. Hotel Kendler in St. Gilgen was fantastic (even at 3 stars).
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 8, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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
-
★★★★★ Petey September 23, 2019Can’t wait to do it again
· Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela
We did the coastal route self guided. We stayed in the “moderate price” lodging option without dinner plan.
The bike were in very good condition. We went in September when it was dry and did well with hybrid tires. We were outfitted with 2 new Garmin gps’s loaded with the daily routes. They were helpful especially when I got up to speed on using them.
We also had the smart phone app that the tour operator provides. That was super helpful.
I thought the accommodations were terrific. Breakfasts were good and included daily. Our baggage was transferred without any problems.
This is a combination ride of trail and mountain biking. The single track mountain portion is not extensive and detours for them could probably be worked out if you wanted to. We noticed that some of the guided tours do that. We train on road bikes and are in our late 60’s, so it was a great feeling of accomplishment though challenging.
The orientation we got from Pedro was complete and detailed. He kept up with us along the way via email and had some good suggestions.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 3 - 9, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal, Spain
-
★★★★★ Coco September 23, 2019Amazing Croatian Cycle Adventure
· · National Parks of Dalmatia by Bike/E-bike and Boat
So many positives to share... we did this tour with a group of friends, many of which had not been to Croatia, so it was a new experience. The itinerary was a nice combination of small villages, a fewer larger cities (Zadar and Sibenik) along the beautiful coastline of Dalmatia.
The riding was not difficult, but we live in mountains and ride regularly. Most of the group had eBikes, with the exception of a few of us. Compared to other bike tours we have done, this was predominantly on roads, which is a bit of a bummer, as other parts of Europe have so many dedicated cycle paths. In that sense, Croatia is a bit behind, but the roads were not terribly busy.
Our guides were fantastic, especially Toni, who is the epitome of a great tour guide. Safety first, great sense of humor, conversant in English, German and Croatian, very knowledgeable and plays the guitar and sings - what more could you ask for??? Ziva was new to the company, but her heart was in the right place and she did a great job of bringing up the rear.
Food was very good and plentiful - it was the first bike tour I’ve done where I’ve gained weight! Weather was amazing, sunny and in the 80’s everyday.
Opportunities to make this a better experience are few, but I’ll mention them... bottled water dispersed in the morning could have been cold, hard to drink warm water on a hot ride... hot tub was not filled and when we requested it, it was filled but cold. Funny dichotomy- drinking water was warm and jacuzzi water was cold. The lighting in the dining room was bright and fluorescent, not an issue for breakfast or lunch but it would have been nice to have it on dimmers for dinner. And last but not least, I would have like a bit more riding, but that’s me. Longest day is 20 miles.
Overall experience was overwhelmingly positive.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 7-14, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- 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?
- Croatia
-
★★★★★ Jackie1234 September 23, 2019
Danube trip
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Very scenic, well thought out tour of what has been described as the most popular cycle route in Europe. I picked this tour among other choices because the last day was short, allowing extra time in Vienna and the cations overnights stays.
The (upgraded) hotels were fantastic, breakfasts wonderful. The accompanying maps & books were complete, though directions to popular city attractions would have been helpful (Goggle Maps with cycle directions will be your friend if you want to make side trips) Bikes were in excellent condition, though i found the seat initially uncomfortable (and I ride 40+ miles/week).
I would recommend this tour to those friends wanting to cycle along the Danube, noting that European fitness levels are higher than than American and there are opportunities for elevation for those whose who want it by taking side trips to hotels or other sites/detours.
-
★★★★★ KenK September 22, 2019Awesome Bike Trip
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
This was a great way to experience the beauty of The Peloponnese Peninsula and meet so many friendly locals and fellow bikers along the way.
Our accommodations were all very nice and our baggage was transferred without any problems.
Our only criticism is with the quality of the bikes which caused us quite a few problems along the way. Luckily we were able to improvise repairs and continue on.
Four British bikers we spoke to that were with the same local bike tour company had the same criticism. The local company was helpful and friendly but their bikes needed tune ups and refurbishing.
Also....the thorns on the side of the roads on the Peloponnese Peninsula are notorious for causing flat tires...and we had lots of flat tires. Why doesn’t the local operator use the more puncture resistant bike tire technology? I was unable to get an answer to that question when I asked.
I don’t want to dwell on the negative.
We had a wonderful time and I would do it again but hopefully with a more reliable bike.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 7-14
- 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?
- Greece
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe September 23, 2019
Hi Ken, thanks kindly for the feedback. We're so glad that you enjoyed the Peloponnese Peninsula and meet many friendly locals and fellow bikers along the way. Thanks especially for the feedback about the bikes. It sounds like some simple updates would take this tour from awesome to spectacular. We'll inform our local operator partner of your suggestions and work with them to improve this aspect of the tour. Thanks again and glad you enjoyed your tour!
