Primarily Bike Paths Tour Reviews page 11
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★★★★★ Billy Jackson October 4, 2022Classic Vienna to Budapest
· Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
Trip was wonderful. The scenery got better as the trip went on. Hotels were wonderful and picked for easy in and out of cities. We used their GPS with Kamoot app and their paper turn by turn, we rarely got lost but some the terms were confusing such as; follow the dam, or follow the detour or right at the Y,. They have different meanings based on where you are from. Kirsten was great from Bike Tours and answered all our questions. Talking about a trip to Dolomites next year. Also the pretrip bike meeting was very beneficial. No fault of anyone, but got rained on for 15 minutes on the whole trip, mostly overcast, but great weather otherwise, was good for biking.
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★★★★★ Megan Lunde October 4, 2022Lovely Ride through the Alps
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
Overall, this was a very good trip. The itinerary is top-notch along well-marked trails, through a variety of landscapes - farmland, ski towns, narrow gorges, along a lake. I recommend the route with the rest day in Zell am See - we had a great day there!
We did have a few concerns with the local tour company. The quality of the bikes rented from the bike shop was not great - my bike was too small for my body but they had run out of bikes, so I was stuck with it for the week. Some of our group had arranged for bikes to be delivered to the starting hotel. It's a good thing others went to pick up in person, because the bike shop had no record of delivery and half our group would have been stuck without bikes for 2 days.
As others have mentioned, the guidebook is hard to follow. However, the general routes are along bike trails that are well marked. We did pretty well by following the path signs to our destination each day.
Our biggest mishaps were with the hotel and luggage transfer. We were a group of 4. About half the time, we had two adjacent rooms in the same hotel - no problem. Other nights, we were split across two different hotels. One night, we had a really strange configuration - 3 of us had a triple in one hotel, while 1 person was assigned to a different hotel across town. Every time we got split up, some luggage went to the wrong hotel. It didn't help that the tour company only provided 1 luggage tag per room. Seems like an easy fix to include an adequate number of luggage tags per traveler. Our final night in Salzburg, our hotel had no record of our reservation. It took awhile to figure out the issue - our reservations had been made against the wrong name.
On the whole, this is a lovely trip. Unbeatable scenery and value for the price.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Donna Reyes October 2, 2022
Overall great trip
· Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
Bikes were phenomenal, hotels were great. Only complaint was all our paperwork was in German. So then we got online English versions which could not be printed to put in the map holder. AND the new printed materials did not match the route maps. It was very confusing!
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Biketours Admin October 4, 2022
Thanks for your feedback, Donna. The German paperwork issue will be fixed next year as we are making significant changes in this part of our system. Thanks for your business. We hope you will travel with us again.
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★★★★★ Anne Stanek October 1, 2022A gorgeous trip!
· Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
This was a beautifully planned trip - such amazing views, peaceful rides, comfortable hotels. We have done many of these bike tours now and this rates as one of our most favorite. We highly recommend it!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 9 - 16
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Anne Stanek October 1, 2022
A gorgeous trip!
· Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
This was a beautifully planned trip - such amazing views, peaceful rides, comfortable hotels. We have done many of these bike tours now and this rates as one of our most favorite. We highly recommend it!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 9 - 16
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Scott Katzer September 29, 2022Enjoyed the trip but some things can be improved
· Cycling the Altmühl Valley - Round trip from Regensburg
The sites and surroundings were great and we lucked out with the weather as it rained almost every other day. Although we completed the tour with no issues, it was a bit complicated at times. The information between Bike Tours and the tour company Ragwed wasnt always fluid and simple questions seemed to take a bit of time to answer which is a problem when trying to book flights. The information given with the tour company package was a bit limited. Although maps were included, they are not provided with any sort of turn by turn direction. This isnt a big deal for most days as the trail is obvious but entering a city has its own challenges. It is recommended for anyone going on this tour to have GPS on their phone which we had to use (and incur roaming charges) several times. The signage in some locations simply dont exist and some roads were even closed during our tour due to construction. It would be wise for this tour company to occasionally ride their own route and note any changes.
The hotels were nice for the most part and breakfasts were good. The only one that I felt could be improved was the Regensburg location (IBIS Hotel). While it was nice and fine for the stay, its location is a decent distance from the Old Town (30 minute walk minimum) when there are tons of other places right in the Old Town area to stay. The other locations had hotels right in the middle of the main area (The one in Belingres was real nice). Mileage was fine and a majority was on bike paths/trails. My only request would have been providing the option to use a GPS on this tour as many of the paths either were not labeled or so close to the country roads that its hard to tell them apart. The bikes could be improved a bit as they are a bit bulky and heavy and really could do without the bright red advertising all over it. I will give kudos to the luggage people as we never had to wait for our luggage to arrive and they were usually there by 3pm at the latest.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Jan Ludwinski September 28, 2022Nice and easy
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
We did the 13 day tour. Food and accommodations were excellent. The bikes were rugged and reliable and we never ran out of charge. My one strong recommendation would be that the bikes be equipped with front shock absorbers, which would make the rougher roads more pleasant and easier on the wrists. The ride was almost exclusively in rural areas although there were a few places near the larger cities of Tours, Angers, and Nantes that would make some novice urban riders uncomfortable, but they were quickly forgotten.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- None previously
- 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?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Nancy Nestler September 28, 2022Even better than I imagined!!!
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
We did the self-guided tour. The routes were well described. They were beautiful and varied, from bike paths in remote areas to bike lanes in busy cities. I always felt safe. The scenery was amazing from river valleys to mountain views. There were options to explore along the way. The length of each day's ride was a good amount, and it often offered a shorter or longer version so you could decide along the way what you wanted to do. The hotels were also a nice variety. I thoroughly enjoyed each day. I would highly recommend this tour. I went with a friend, but hope to do it again and take my husband.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- 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?
- Italy, Slovenia, Austria
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★★★★★ Jean Olson September 27, 2022
Beautiful Scenery
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
The Dolomites were amazing. The bike paths were good and traveled through some beautiful areas. The hotels were all great. The drections from the maps and app were good, we only got a little off track a couple of times. We rode regular bikes and although the hills were tough, they were doable. I definitely want to go back to the area between Toblack and Bled and explore more.
The roads into Trieste were busy but there was a good shoulder most of the time. The views were worth the busy road. Castello Duino was cool.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- 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?
- Italy, Slovenia, Austria
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★★★★★ Michael Mccutcheon September 24, 2022Wonderful bike trip
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Glad we added days in melk and durnstein. It helped us enjoy the towns more. We also stayed a few days in Passau, before our bike trip which we really enjoyed. Did not like Goldenes Kreuz in Grein. Hotel would not let us check in even though we were wet. Favorite hotels were Schloss Durnstein and Gierlinger in Schlogen, Zur Post in Melk.
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★★★★★ Tony VanGarderen September 23, 2022Beautiful area of France!
· Burgundy Wine Trails: Beaune to Macon on the “Voie Verte”
A great way to experience the beauty of Burgundy. Loved cycling through the vineyards as well as along the Voire Verte. The hotels had a lot of character. The bikes were great, one ebike and one regular.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- 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, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Nicolas Roggeman September 23, 2022
Amazing Austrian Alpine
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
From Innsbruck through the Zillertal Valley, to Krimml and down toward Zell am See, Lofer and ending up in Salzburg – what an adventure, what great sights, doesn't get any better. The hotels were spectacular, and in spite of the rain in late September, we had a fantastic time.
- What was the date of your tour?
- mid September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3-5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Cathy September 23, 2022I've wanted to do this for years!
· Danube Bike Path 5-nights (Active)
Way back in 2005 I took a river boat cruise down the Danube and saw people cycling along the bank. Finally, after retiring and after covid, my dream ride happened. We weren't sure about the distance from Passau to Vienna, so we chose to take the ferry from Passau to Linz and start from there. We rode ebikes. This was a difficult choice for us because we ride quite a bit weekly in the States, but we were glad to have the ebikes. The bikes are a little heavy so riding on the econo mode gave us the feel of a regular weight bike. That detail aside, the ride, the hotels, the meals, and of course the people, were all fantastic. We planned to dress in layers and that served us well; mornings would start cool and afternoons could warm to the low 70's in early September. The scenery was amazing. Each hotel was lovely and if not directly on the trail, quite easy to find in the town/city. Because we rode through small towns, we saw a part of Austria that you cannot see from a boat or bus tour. The route was mostly well marked and when we did get off the beaten path, there was always someone who could point us in the right direction even if we don't speak the native language. We ate in our hotels, in small pubs, and a grocery store on Marback where we had a freshly made sandwich eaten on the deck at the edge of the river. It was all delicious. The beautifully refurbished family home in Mitterkirchen was lovely as was Stephanie, the owner, who greeted us. We sampled local wines as we traveled through the towns and Wachau Valley and had a fabulous dinner at the Hotel Schloss in Durnstein, while overlooking the Danube. We met people young and older from vairous parts of Germany, the UK, Canada, and local Austrians. I was a little worried about getting to the hotel in Vienna as we had to go down a main road and around a rotary, but Austria is such a bike friendly country that designated bike routes took us from the bridge to our hotel. An added bonus, when we did have to leave, the hotel was about 300 yards from the train station that took us directly to the airport. We won't wait years for the next bike trip, we're already looking at Vienna to Budapest!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 10, 2022
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Mike Corney September 21, 2022
Vienna - Budapest
· Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
I rate the tour over 6 attributes: Terrain, Scenery, Bikes & Equipment, Hotels, Directions / Maps and Cycling Infrastructure over the toute.
Terrain - was as advertised - mostly flat
Scenery - was disappointing. I expected to be cycling along the Danube. For large parts of the route the Danube was nowhere in sight.
Hotels - Hotels and the food that they provided were very good.
Directions / Maps - These left something to be desired. The directions were in English, but the maps were in German. It was often difficult to match up the written directions with the maps. Finding our way into and out of towns and locations of hotels was particularly difficult.
Cycling Infrastructure - This was often poor. The designated route often had us on busy roads. We had to traverse unpaved portions of the route that were often little more than tractor ruts in a field. Paved paths were often in poor condition with many uneven patches and bumps. Very poor.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- 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?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
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BikeTours.com staff reply from jan September 25, 2022
Thanks for the feedback. The directions / maps issue will be fixed in next years version of this tour. Our apologies for that but this year we simply didn't have the time or resources to provide our own branded concise and consistent tour directions. Your route feedback is also very useful and will be carefully reviewed at the end of the season. Thanks for traveling with us as we and the rest of the tourism industry slowly reboot from covid.
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★★★★★ James Hutcherson September 21, 2022
Could have been better
· Loire a Velo: Orleans to the Atlantic
This tour was our 12th bicycle tour, but the first in France. Distances were good, weather cooperated, Hotels were excellent. Route was very well sign posted. We found the route much more difficult than we expected. Many hills. The previous reviews and description did not even mention that aspect. These would have not caused much of a problem if we had opted for ebikes, and the vast majority of riders that we encountered did have ebikes. I would disagree that this tour would be labeled as family friendly, unless the family has no kids. One difficulty we had was that there were no intermediate stops for coffee, snacks, lunch, water, etc. I would recommend packing those items from the departure town each day. While the route does generally follow the river, most of the route is not next to the river and it is not visable most of the time. I hope this review does not deter anyone from this tour, since the castles, hotels, food should be enjoyed. Just a little heads-up advice.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ William Sholten September 20, 2022Our Alsatian Bike Trip
· Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine
We have enjoyed 2 other bike trips in the past. This route was not easy to follow without GPS. We used a Garmin GPS to help confirm our path along the way (and highly recommend this). There are many intersecting bike paths around towns, so we had to stop often to determine which route/path to take. There were several detours due to construction (not indicated on our route plans) which made travel both longer and more challenging to navigate.
We cycled on gravel roads in addition to the bike paths, making the ride somewhat longer than anticipated.Hotels were comfortable, but not all hotels in Category A had air conditioning. Hotel staff and breakfasts were first rate!
Rental bike performed well but were heavier than expected.
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★★★★★ Katherine Johnson September 20, 2022
Fantastic
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
We were blown away by the quality of the cycle trails and the beauty of Austria. The accommodation was comfortable and the breakfasts were lovely, and the bikes were comfortable! We highly recommend this trip!
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Christopher Blair September 17, 2022
Strasbourg - Mainz
· Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine
It was okay.
First day, bags were not picked up. Had to call. Delivered after dinner time. Expected some explanation or perhaps an apology. Nothing.
