Bike Tour Reviews page 134
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★★★★★ bike beasty August 10, 2017A perfect first tour!
· Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
This tour definitely met with our expectations, and was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The information given beforehand was really comprehensive and the recommendations for meals and excursions really helpful. This was bought as a 70th birthday present for my husband and he/we had a great time! A bottle of bubbly awaited him on the first evening of the ride, as a present from the company, which he was very touched by! We were very lucky with the weather too, so all in all a great little adventure!
- What was the date of your tour?
- 10/07 - 16/07/2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- just this one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Stu T August 10, 2017Fantastic Ride from Prague to Dresden
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Great fun, bonus being that it mostly followed the Elbe River downstream to Prague so wasn't very strenuous, just a few hills here and there. Our guide Milan was great - definitely worth having along as (1) he spoke Czech which none of us did ! and (2) added in some side tours which would have almost certainly missed had he not been along. Also, our support lady Jitke was really helpful and very useful to have on hand, she moved our luggage every day effortlessly ! Great scenery, great beer (some of the wine was a bit ordinary) and great food. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 10-14 July 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Crazy Canuck August 9, 2017Everything we had dreamed of !!!
· Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
The trip along the Danube was great for the entire family, ranging in age from 11 to 66. The accomodations with breakfast along the route were great. Great service in getting the correct size of bike for everyone. The supplied maps and signage along the root were well detailed for finding our way. The bikes were great with waterproof front and side bag.
A great experience with awesome views. -
★★★★★ Roadbiker August 9, 2017Self guided Loire Valley Ride
· Loire Valley Châteaux & Gardens Tour
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 23-29
- How many tours have you completed?
- First bike tour
- 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?
- France
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★★★★★ qc2017 August 9, 2017Great way to see Austria
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
This is my first bike trip which I made with my 10 y.o. son. We found it easy enough distance wise (made it on regular bikes). The bike path is easy to find most of the time. There were some tricky places, though, where the route description could have been done better. The choice of he hotels for the category C is very good. A little advise: don't rely on the day distance in your travel booklet. Your hotel might be on the next day travel somewhat 20 km farther.
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★★★★★ JG2017 August 9, 2017Lost in Europe: Vienna to Budapest
· Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
The English directions were poor. Please insert photos when you say bike bath is hidden and hard to find so we have some idea of what we are looking for. Sometimes we just took the main road since we couldn't find the bike path.
The same goes for bridges and statues. Eg Bratislava ends at the big statue. Which statue? Even at our hotel they didn't know where you meant. We rarely found the exact end point so the next day we also couldn't find the starting point and that put our mileage off for the day.
Also, a bit misleading to show pools as part of a hotel in the hotel booklet and then find when we arrive there is a €15 charge if we want to use them.(Hotel Thermal, Mosonmagyovar) Either include the pools in the price or leave them out of the hotel photo. Also the luggage on our last day arrived long after us, at around 5:00. We want our bags when we get to the hotel since we are hot and sweaty and need a change of clothes for after a shower. It was no fun sitting around waiting for our bags in 37C weather.Having said all that, the scenery was great, especially the fields of sunflowers. Most of the hotel rooms were fine with comfortable beds and excellent breakfasts. The Hotel Forras in Komarom was a real treat with the most amazingly pools and grounds all included. Also don't miss the fort in Komarom. The bikes were sturdy and easy to use. Overall a good trip but could have been better if directions were clearer or more photos inserted. It is stressful getting lost in a country where you don't speak the language.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 23, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
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★★★★★ Jenrob August 9, 2017Fantastic scenery !
· Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps
Cycling in this area of Austria by bike was just perfect. The scenery was stunning. We were given a really good briefing st the start of the tour and we were provided with extensive maps and instructions to make our trip easy to follow. Having a phone no to ring if we got into trouble was also reassuring. We were mainly on good bike path so or very quite country roads so felt safe for the majority of the ride. We booked the higher grade of hotels as we wanted air conditioning in as early of hot weather. Unfortunately the hotels outside of Salzburg did not have air conditioning so this was a minor disappointment. In general the hotels in this grade of hotels were pretty good providing a good breakfast and all were very central to amenities in the town. Our favourite place Rs were Mondsee and St Wolfgang. We had some relatively hard rides quite undulating so many climbs so grade 3 would be a fair classification for this road. If your not cycle fit not miss out because of this take an E bike as it was a really pretty ride.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2017
- 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?
- Austria
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★★★★★ allisong August 9, 2017Wonderful trip with my daughter!
· Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
We did a self-guided tour and had a wonderful time. We used electric bikes and I was very happy with that choice. It was still a lot of work and we got a ton of exercise, but it made it so we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The paths were very good and we were on roads only about 10% of the time. The hotels were very nice-small and quaint with lovely breakfasts. The tour director in Austria was very quick to reply when the electric stopped working on my bike on the 4th day. She found someone to fix the bike early the next day. The only challenge was reading the maps but that was part of the adventure. We definitely made more than a few wrong turns and had to backtrack, but having the electric bikes made it okay.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 6-13, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- just this one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Jim1 August 9, 2017
Summer Excursion
Bike and Boat with Bob and Jeanette along the Danube from Passau to Budapest to Passau
Bike Tours is well thought out and executed so as travelers, we can enjoy the scenery, culture and people of the land. Germany is a great country to explore with a tour company like Bike Tours helping. Would certainly do it again with these folks.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 14, - July 22, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1 other in Holland
- 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?
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★★★★★ Newbie August 9, 2017Beautiful Austria!
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
This was a wonderful tour for a "beginner" like me! The countryside was gorgeous, the bike paths varied, and the extra sights mentioned in the navigation book were easy to find and well-worth stopping to see. Everything organised by the tour company ran like clockwork: the bike delivery, hotel reservations, luggage transfer and mountain-pass transfer.
The three of us on this self-guided tour did not always agree on the direction to take, which led to quite a few "navigation discussions" and a few wrong turns, but that actually added to the adventure of the experience. Two days out of our five ride days, including the longest day, were in the rain (pretty heavy rain, in fact). Judging by the printed material, this is not unusual for the area, so be prepared!
A great experience - the area, the ride and the organisation!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Start date: 23 July, 2017
- 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?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Lola August 9, 2017
First family cycle trip
· Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
This was a fantastic trip; the cycling; the countryside, the food and the weather were all excellent. My 7 year old managed to cycle it all independently without bother. The organisation was very good and the local company answered any queries very quickly. I would recommend this tour for families without hesitation.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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
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★★★★★ Philip August 8, 2017Bike and Barge in Provence France
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Excellent tour on the Estello. Great accommodations and bikes and people and tour!! Looking forward to booking our next biking adventure through biketours.com.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- First package tour.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Pedals August 8, 2017Great and not so great
· Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
Having just come off 2 weeks biking in France we had something to compare this trip with.
The first 3 days or so were magic - lovely views, fantastic track surface and finally cool weather. The accommodation was great,especially after we were upgraded twice, and can be recommended.The bike gear was top class but my bike however was not. Euro Velo bike hires have to realise that the standard puffy commuter seat they supply are not comfortable for guys used to proper bike seats - enough said. Also on the second day when I went to use the smallest front chain ring it turned out that 2 of the mounting bolts were missing and it got wrecked so one third of my gears were gone. Managed to get this repaired after a couple of days but wasn't really satisfactory. This should not happen!
The directions and maps hardly ever match up completely on these type of trips but we were certainly not happy to discover at the end of a long hot day that the instructions for the approach to Salzberg were in fact for someone coming from completely the opposite direction - a victim of cut and past to be sure, as was the odd paragraph still in Austrian, but this should have been edited properly. A shame as the general standard of the material presentation was of a high quality.
Be aware if you want to do this trip that the last few days are along the stop bank beside the river and are boring - very little in the way of scenery and culture. Next time we will detour inland.
Sorry but overall a 3 star effort.
Warning - in case you may be considering a taxi ride from Innsbruck to Krimml to start your trip make sure that the driver is legitimate. Ours was a temporary fill in, had not driven out of town for 4 years and was a thoroughly unsafe driver. Much too fast and I suspect maybe on something. He almost ran off the road a number of times and clipped the inside kerb a couple of times . Haven't been so scared in our lives as passengers apart from jeep trips in Nepal and Pakistan. This should not happen in a first world country and if it had been practical solution we would have got out and walked!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- mid July 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson August 9, 2017
We asked Hubert Simader of Radreisefreunde, manager of the tour operator, to respond:
I´m sorry to read that these clients had a technical problem with the gears. I guess there was a problem during the transfer of the bikes on our trailer; otherwise, I have no explanation. We normally have excellent feedback concerning our rental bikes (including the saddles we use). Unfortunately, you didn´t contact us during their trip - otherwise, we would have managed to solve the problem immediately (e.g. change the bike or fix it locally). I´m very sorry for that.
We normally update our tour descriptions at the end of each tour season, but my colleagues who are doing the travel documents will check the description for the hotel in Salzburg immediately. So far we haven´t heard from wrong directions.
Relative to the scenery, the first part from Krimml to Salzburg has an outstanding panorama with fantastic views. The landscape after Salzburg changes, but I would not rate it as boring - it´s just different. And you still have some highlights along the way to Passau (e.g. the world's longest castle in Burghausen and the beautiful Baroque towns Obernberg and Schärding. For those who want to have the amazing views from the mountains all along their way, we have a tour that is entirely in the Alps. But as we know: Tastes are different.
Besides these issues, I hope you enjoyed your cycle trip. Thanks for the constructive feedback, which allows us to improve quality for future clients.
(Relative to the taxi transfers, we want to point out to other clients that we didn´t arrange a transfer for these clients - they booked it on own. Of course, all our drivers have long experience and safety is one of our most important points.)
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★★★★★ Stan August 8, 2017
A Fun, Satisfying Trip
Bike and Boat with Bob and Jeanette along the Danube from Passau to Budapest to Passau
This ride along the Mosel River from Saarburg to Koblenz is fairly easy as it follows the downward flow of the river and whatever hills you encounter, either up or down, are easy to negotiate. We saw children doing it. Those in my group of seven were all seventy or older, the oldest being eighty-three. The double room on the barge was clean, comfortable and very adequate for two adult riders, much better than a similar trip taken in Holland a few years ago with a different company. The food at dinner was more than plentiful, beautifully presented and the staff could not have been nicer. The breakfast buffet was equally good with an unlimited number of choices. The scenery along the way is breathtaking and the villages right out of a book of fairy tales. I highly recommend this company and tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 15-27, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
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★★★★★ Booboo August 8, 2017New friends, new places
· · Danube Delights: Cycling and Cruising in the Footsteps of Royalty
Nice boat, although older. Very good meals. Great, helpful staff. Bikes we're good, all worked very well. Tour I'm Bratislava, Slovakia. We didn't research our day in Vienna very well, but we saw lots of stuff anyway. We will probably stay in touch with our dining table mates and do another trip
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 10 or so
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12 or more
- 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
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★★★★★ gsf1 August 8, 2017· Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
- What was the date of your tour?
- 7/9/17
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Tee Jay August 8, 2017Interrupted trek
· Connemara Lazy Days Cycling
Fabulous day and a half. An unfortunate accident resulted in a trip to the hospital. Wet grounds and inexperienced riding led to crash and 9 stitches. Great help by tour staff to get us from hotel to hotel to finish the route. We recommend warning riders of the risks of skids and to always wear helmet. BTW modify your brochure to show riders to wear helmets. It doesn't.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 18, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- None
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Ireland
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★★★★★ Musse Pigg August 8, 2017A very beautiful trip
· Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
- What was the date of your tour?
- 17/7-2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Icebikers August 8, 2017Hungary was on my list, cycling is good way to travel there!
· Wine & Bike in Hungary’s Balaton Uplands
The tour was wery well organized and a great way to see and visit many places. I did like very much the vine farms and restaurants on my bike tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 1. July to 8. July 2017
- 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?
- Hungary
