Bike Tour Reviews  Prague To Vienna Via Cesky Krumlov


Prague to Vienna via Cesky Krumlov

COUNTRY: Austria, Czech Republic

8 nights
4.1/5 (7)
Rider Level: Active Electric bike tours Primarily bike paths Client favorites
Rider Level: Active Electric bike tours Primarily bike paths Client favorites

4.1/5 (7)
8 nights

Guided from EUR € 1518
Self guided from EUR € 1268

Guided:
May 18; Jun 22; Jul 20; Aug 17, Sep 14, 2024 (minimum 6 participants)

Self-guided:
Daily: Apr 1-Oct 31, 2024 (minimum 2 persons)

Description:
This tour will take you to the pearls of Czech Republic: Prague, one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe; Cesky Krumlov, the Trebon ponds and woods of Czech Canada; the Renaissance towns of Trebon and Telc; the vineyards of South Moravia; the…

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  • Prague to Vienna
    (3/5) Chloek1234 December 3, 2015

    Interesting tour for the well-traveled individual

    I went on this tour as a BikeTours.com staff member. I think that this tour has some wonderful highlights - Prague, Cesky Krumlov, but also is a bit monotonous. I enjoy riding in more varied scenery that this tour offered. However, the bike path network within the country is extensive (and I was impressed). The accommodations and food were basic to nice. The Czech people were very kind and down-to-earth. Our guide, Jitka, was always helpful and informative. This tour is consistently hilly and is a true level 3 in that sense. I would recommend this tour to a intermediate level cyclist, who is well traveled and wants to experience the less traveled side of Europe.

    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • Photo 1 (photo by Chloek1234)
    • Poppies! These guys were in bloom everywhere. (photo by Chloek1234)
    • Signs for the Czech Republic's extensive bike path network (photo by Chloek1234)
    • Cycle path-side adult beverages (photo by Chloek1234)
    • Our group visiting the only remaining portion of the Iron Curtain in Czechia (photo by Chloek1234)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (3/5) The dozer October 18, 2016

    Challenging to peddle to fairy tale cities.

    The route was challenging, navigation difficults, but beautiful UNESCO sites each night. We were just dropped off with the wrong bikes, a Garmin we could not use, and one sheet of paper with directions and overview of route. If it had not been for 5 Irish ladies on the same route we would have really struggled. They had a Garmin that worked and with intense map study did not get lost as often as we did. VERY few people spoke English. Our pick up person was very rude to the Irish ladies.

    What was the date of your tour?
    August 2015
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from Lindsay Nash October 19, 2016

      Hi! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. We're glad to hear you had a good trip overall. Aren't the UNESCO sites just fascinating?
      We're sorry to hear of your trouble with the bikes and Garmin along the route. We'll share this feedback with the local operator and work to improve this service!
      Thank you again for sharing your experience and helping us to spread the joy of bicycle tourism.
      Kind regards,
      Lindsay

    • 4/5 Value
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Maria June 26, 2017

    What an adventure!

    What a gorgeous country the Czech Republic is. It was fantastic cycling through this incredibly varied and lush countryside with 7 friends. Navigating had it's challenges and we got lost daily as sometimes the directions were off but our crew of navigators prevailed and got us to our final destination every day where we knew the beer would be cold and well deserved! There were lots of hills and we learned to love each and every one. We had some long hot days. Getting into town at days end and getting out of town the next morning were always challenging. Better signage would have made this easier. We used a lot of hand signals and met so many lovely people willing to stop and try to help us find our way. The terrain varies from beautiful wide shaded asphalt bike paths through national parks to narrow roads also used by cars to farmer's fields to gravel pathways. The combo mountain bike/road bike provided is ideal for this terrain. On the downside there was no real orientation once we arrived in Cesky Krumlov to understand the e-bikes some had or the GPS. We would have appreciated checking out the equipment before starting the tour so that we had the right size bike for each cyclist. Ave Tours did work closely with us to get us the right equipment eventually. Getting picked up in Mistelbach was the way to go rather than trying to cycle into Vienna. All in all it was an outstanding experience and adventure. It was really to our benefit to have experienced cyclists who'd been on previous cycling trips before to help us navigate our way through the country. I loved every minute of it. It was challenging but it is Level 3. Such an accomplishment. I think we are all really proud of ourselves! Thank you Bike Tours! Great memories have been made by the Czech Mates!

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 12-20
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Halloran911 September 14, 2017

    Awesome trip

    Best way to see Czech Republic. Guides could not have been better. Total knowledge, kind and considerate and always following up on everything. Luggage always made it to the room. The tour company AVE is awesome and is not frilly but high quality. Rooms were great. No AC in rooms but not really a problem. Clean. Bring your own washcloths. One complaint. 2 hour heavy lunches were silly. Give us a snack and let us move on so we can have more time to relax when we get to the next village.

    What was the date of your tour?
    August 5-13
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, founder and president September 15, 2017

      Charles, thank you very much for your feedback. I'm glad you had a great time on your tour. We'll pass along your comments about the lunches. I'm in total agreement on that!

    • 5/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) Kathy B October 11, 2018

    An excellent adventure!

    This was my first bike trip and I can't wait to do it again. Our guides were enthusiastic and fun and our driver could not have been more helpful transporting luggage, providing snacks and water at stops, and keeping our bikes tuned up.
    We rode through picturesque villages, fairy-tale forests, along rivers and lakes, and up and down hills with eye-popping views and sweeping vistas of farmland, vineyards, and distant highlands. We saw numerous castles dating from the 13th to the 19th century and toured several of them. We climbed on/up WWII military bunkers and anti-tank fortifications and a soviet era watch tower. Our guides were very knowledgeable and provided historical context for all of it.
    The hills were more demanding than most of our group anticipated and there was some challenging terrain, but with the support of our guides and driver everyone rode all day even though the van was available for breaks. However I do recommend e-bikes if you have not done much riding. About half of our group did and they were happy with their choice.
    The accommodations were basic but comfortable and ran the gamut as far as architecture and design. We enjoyed the local cuisine, wine, and I think the best beer anywhere!
    Prague is magical and Vienna is filled with music and art, but I really loved getting off the beaten track in between. If you are looking for adventure, culture, and a bit of a challenge, you will love this trip.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2018
    How many tours have you completed?
    none
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Stacey October 16, 2018

    Challenging hills then scenic plains

    Czechia is such a beautiful country, and this tour across southern Bohemia and Moravia was just fantastic. However, it is very hilly for the first few days. 50 miles per day with some very steep hills the first couple days. The countryside starts to flatten out more after you reach Znojmo. Once outside Prague, most folks do not speak English, so some knowledge of Czech and/or German is very helpful. Vlastimil, the local tour operator for Ave Travel, was very responsive and helpful.

    I did ask for and received a GPX file to preload into my Garmin, as navigation is always a challenge on bike tours. Further, the local tour company recommended a couple of Czech specific apps which you can use to predownload the local maps for use when you arrive, and this was extremely helpful, if you have an international cell plan for your phone.

    A couple of caveats: the GPX file included alternate routes instead of a single path, as this tour has optional legs that you may or may not want to go on. This negated my ability to use the navigation on my Garmin edge, since it couldn't know which route i wanted to take, and could only tell me when I was off course. Also, as others have mentioned, there was no opportunity to see our rented bikes and make sure they were appropriately sized prior to being picked up by the van for our transfer to Cesky Krumlov. Two of the four bikes we rented could have used newer tires; however they were clearly equal to the task of getting us across the CR.

    I would say this is a wonderful route that is off the beaten path, but challenging. If you are unsure whether your fitness level is up to the task, an e-bike rental would probably be a great idea. I will also probably upgrade to a better Garmin that can actually do turn-by-turn navigation, which mine can't do. However, getting lost and finding your way is half the fun on these trips!

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2018
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • Nearing Czech Canada (photo by Stacey)
    • Telc town square (photo by Stacey)
    • Telc (photo by Stacey)
    • through the forest... (photo by Stacey)
    • very flat between Znojmo and Mikulov (photo by Stacey)
    • The Chateau at Vranov nad Dyji is visible on the approach to the town. (photo by Stacey)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Harvey Wilds 9 months ago

    Wonderful tour of Czech and Austrian countryside

    My wife and I had an excellent time on our self guided tour. The accomodations and logistics were perfect! We are definitely planning our next trip already.