Primarily Bike Paths Tour Reviews page 55
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★★★★★ Water Bound
Disappointed
Mosel & Saar by Bike & Boat
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/1-9/7/18
- How many tours have you completed?
- -1- before this one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Z1201
The bicycle trip was great the ship
Mosel & Saar by Bike & Boat
- What was the date of your tour?
- 22.6.19
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
-
★★★★★ Ginny50
Neckar & Rhine Rivers by Bike and Boat
This was an enjoyable bike/boat tour. The crew and staff were very nice. The riding days were usually short and manageable. The rainy weather was an issue which made for slippery riding on cobblestones. Due to the rains the Neckar River was closed and our ship was diverted. The company handled the diversion to the best of their ability and these detoured riding days were okay. We ended up in the town of Speyer, which was our favorite stop of the entire tour. One major complaint was the rooms on the ship were very small. They did state that in the promotional information, but we were not expecting that tiny. Everyone complained about the tiny rooms. We just laughed and dealt with it but it did make for close quarters. If you travel in May bring rain gear!
- What was the date of your tour?
- May/June 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Lee Chestnut
Great Scenery, History, and Acomommdations. Not much Support
Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
We enjoyed seeing the Rhine Valley and historic villages. Our accommodations were great and the food was great.
Unfortunately, the Rhine was near flood stage and much of the given route was flooded. After contacting the local operator for direction, I was told to find my own route or take a train, at my own expense.
We found our own way using Google maps and talking with other cyclists.
The main reason I use a tour operator is to have local support when difficulties arise. We didn't receive that support.
It seems the operator could come up with secondary routes that are safe and beautiful (which we came up with on our own) and supply them to their guests as needed.- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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?
- Germany
-
★★★★★ Larry Mark Robbins
Hotels with Charm?
Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
As expected, the tour was beautiful, flat, and easy to follow. This is said to be the most scenic segment of the Rhine and I have no reason to doubt that. The bikes were excellent. We selected e-bikes, a first for me, that were useful since we encountered several cool days with a headwind. We chose the Charme category and travelled between seasons 2 and 3. Unfortunately, we were informed that four of the six hotels advertised were unavailable. Quote "Some of the hotels that were booked (due to availability) only offer Category A, however the highest room category was booked at all the Category A hotels. For Rüdesheim and Cologne we can offer a discount of 20,00 € per person/night." Ok, reasonable we thought and agreed. Here are how the switches worked out:
Mainz: H2 hotel: Brand new hotel, residential neighborhood but walkable to Old Town, overall nice. Room was good (clean & modern) tho not exceptional. More basic hotel than luxury hotel as Favorite Parkhotel appeared in pictures. Differential between the two hotels on Expedia for two nights is €80. No compensation offered.
Rudesheim: Central Hotel: As the name implies, central to tourist area. Room was Ok but not great. Certainly not "the highest room category was booked at all the Category A hotels" as promised. Breuer's Rüdesheim Castle, the brochure hotel, is €60 more expensive per night and pictures appear significantly more upscale. Compensated €40.
St Goar: Schlosshotel Rheinfels: This is the brochure hotel. Relais & Chateaux level hotel. Outstanding. Don't miss dinner in hotel dining room as sun sets.
Koblenz: Diehls Hotel: Located on the other side of the river from Koblenz but this was not a problem for us. Very fine hotel, received an upgraded room. Had an excellent dinner at hotel. Left the next morning from this side of the river. This was not either of the brochure hotels, but was excellent.
Bad Godesburg: Boutique Hotel Dreesen: This was the brochure hotel. Upscale as expected in a beautiful neighborhood. Restaurant Rheinzeit nearby should not be excluded.
Cologne: Hotel Eden am Dom: Top notch location next to cathedral and other tourist sites but just OK hotel. No upgraded room. At least €40 per night cheaper than the advertised Steigenberger per their own individual websites x 2 nights = €80. Given €40 compensation. Again, nothing wrong with this hotel, but not the experience advertised and not adequately compensated. Life isn't perfect but given this was mid-September, there were shortcomings.
NB: The ICE train returning from Koln to the Frankfurt airport is not the Hauptbahnhof next to the cathedral. That train leaves from the Messe/Deutz Bahnhof across the river. SHOW MORE
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Susan Radtke
First time with a company organized bike trip
Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
My husband and I have done a fair amount of biking in the U.S. and in Europe and this was the first time we used a company to plan and support the trip. The good: Some of the hotels that were booked were terrific - especially in the more rural places. The navigation app when it worked was really useful and when it didn't work it seemed to be more of an issue with our phones than the app itself. There was confusion over the timing of our bus transfer over a mountain pass and the woman at the help center worked really hard to sort it out. Also, the luggage transfer was always efficient. The not so good: The bikes were pretty beat and heavy. We had to have one replaced. Although the directions said we would have at least one handlebar bag per room, we had none. Also, we understood that we would have a handlebar mount for a phone and would have brought one from home had it been more clear that we would not. The worst thing was our final day biking into Trieste. The route put us on a road that was absolutely harrowing - no shoulder at times, fast moving traffic including busses and trucks. It felt decidedly unsafe and I would never have put cyclists on such a route. So all in all, we had a good time and saw some beautiful country but moving forward we decided we would go back to planning our own trips where we have more control over the quality of the bikes and the route, plus obviously it's cheaper to do the planning yourself.
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★★★★★ Richard Sany
Nice Scenery
Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
We have been on a previous biketours.com offered ride in Austria and had certain expectations. The scenery was great but the navigation maps (especially digital) were lacking. The app for navigation and it was not responsive enough for making correct turns. I downloaded the digital files and tried to load them onto a ride app, Ride With GPS, but the files were so disorganized I had to completely re-trace the route for the 3 of the days we rode. Unlike a previous reviewer, I think the last day route from Gradisca d'Isonzo to Treiste was not that treacherous, probably because we took the more hilly alternate route through the countryside. Not very many cars and the rest were respectful of bikes on the road. I was very glad I had a triple front chain ring though because I was in the lowest gear on many hills (my wife had an ebike and met me at the top of every hill :-) ).
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★★★★★ Tom Jones
Memorable bike tour
Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
Just wrapped up a memorable bike tour from the Dolomites to Trieste — and wanted to share a few highlights and lessons learned.
First, a big shoutout to Taylor at BikeTours.com, who was a fantastic Tour Advisor. When our bikes didn’t show up at the first hotel as expected, we gave her a call — and she jumped in right away. Thanks to her help, the bikes arrived in time for us to start riding the next morning without delay.
What I learned:
• Expect the unexpected. Our first day brought heavy rain — and we got soaked. If you’re doing a similar trip, pack good rain gear!
• Bring biking tools. While the bikes were in excellent shape, having a small tool kit (for tightening loose seats or making minor adjustments) came in handy.
• Stay connected. I recommend buying an eSIM for mobile data before the trip. Just don’t forget to turn on data roaming!
• Be prepared for little expenses. Public WCs often cost 1€, so keep some coins handy. And at hotels, you’ll need to pay a local tax (around 3€) — some places only accept cash for that.
• Illness can happen. I haven’t been sick in years, but picked up a cough midway through the trip. I ended up skipping the last day of riding — and that meant a taxi ride to the next hotel, which cost about $100 USD.
• Extra hotel nights aren’t cheap. If you decide to extend your stay somewhere, budget about $200 USD per night, especially if you want breakfast included.The ride itself:
The scenery was absolutely beautiful (except for the rainy day), and the routes between hotels didn’t have too many steep climbs. That said, for me, it was still a challenging ride — definitely pushed my limits, but in a good way.
All in all, a wonderful trip with a few good reminders: plan ahead, be flexible, and enjoy the ride
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★★★★★ Hutch
Not what was expected.
Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
This was our 9th bike trip in Europe, previous ratings and reviews of trips had been pretty acurate. But this trip was not what we expected. We might have a different view if we were in our 20s or 30s so any review submitted should be evaluated with that in mind. The trip was very intensive even with ebikes (our first use of ebikes) and only serious cyclists should forego those. There were many large hills and rough surfaces (30-40% gravel). Sporadic beautiful scenery, but not even close to what we have experienced before. Hotels were all clean and about half were really nice, but several were positioned away from main points of interest and the bike route and since the stopover sites were larger cities they were hard to find (maps to hotels were not detailed, thankfully we had google maps). On the positive side, the bike route is signed very well and we had no trouble finding our way between cities. Finding good stops along the route for lunch/coffee/etc was not as easy as we had experienced on previous trips. In short, we would not classify this route as recreational or recommend it as a family trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 11
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ Dagbjört
Rhône River Route: Oberwald to Geneva
* It was our 3d tour that we have booked with BikeTours and always been very pleased with the organizing, until now, we are sad to say.
* We never meet anyone from the tour company and that was very strange.
* Accommodation on one of the "hotels" was very poor, very cheep hotel, that was right across the street from the train/bus station and that was very disturbing through the night.
* It was only breakfast that was incl in the price. Maybe you should considered to have dinner incl. also.- What was the date of your tour?
- 26th of august 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
-
★★★★★ ArmannI
Nice mountain view
Rhône River Route: Oberwald to Geneva
Good way to experiece Switzerland. More information needed regarding interesting places to visit. The first day was the most wonderful day
- What was the date of your tour?
- 26.8 - 30.8
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
-
★★★★★ mb001
Fun trip with lots of biking.
Vienna to Budapest 5-nights (Active)
My friend and I did this trip in early Oct. The first hotel in Vienne is Hotel Arcortel and not near any restaurants or pubs but close to the start of the trip. I would suggest booking a few days before in the city center if you plan on seeing Vienna. We stayed next in Hotel Devin in Bratislava. The hotel here and city were great. Everything walking distance. Next was Hotel Barrokk in Gyor. This was a very nice hotel and city that you could walk to a variety of restaurants and shopping. Then day 3 we biked 124km to Esztergom. There is an option to take a train for half of this trip. We did the biking and found it a very long day, but doable. We had electric bikes and it was a good thing! This day of biking was the most difficult not only because of the distance, but the terrain. You are in remote Hungarian countryside with no one around for hours. The bike trail or paths are poorly marked in some areas you find yourself on dirt farm land. Unfortunately we were lost a lot! The hotel in Esztergom was the Hotel Bellevue. This hotel is set on a busy street with no options to walk to any other restaurants or shopping. We were not aware that dinner must be booked ahead of time. After talking our way into a reservation, we found the buffet was average. If possible stay in the city and not this hotel. On the last day we left and needed to catch the ferry across the river. We were lucky as the week we were there was the last week of the season for the ferry. We rode to Budapest and again found some of the trails or paths poorly marked. We ran into a guided tour along the way and the guide told us about an app called mapy.cz and it has the entire map of the bike path we used and saved us several times. It was great to finish in Budapest as it is a very large exciting city with so much to do! The NH Hotel was easy to get to and situated close to many sites.
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★★★★★ Josée
Not our dream trip
Vienna to Budapest 5-nights (Active)
We booked the active tour because we did not have time to do the classic. 80-100 km per day were too much, specially when 1 day/4 was 100% rain. We cannot control temperature on a cycling trip, but to cycle 50-60 km in the rain would have been much better than 100km that day. On top of that, our hotel was booked at 130km instead of 100 by mistake. The hotel was nice enough to send a van and a trailer to pick us up. We were soaked!!! Out of 5 hotels, I would consider that 3 nights were more 3.5 stars than 4 and the 2 other nights were 4 to 5 stars. In some small towns, where nobody speak English, it would have nice have more guidance to know where to go to buy the ferry tickets and to know that not all countries use Euros and where to change money for cash only situation. Also, the ferry schedule was not clear, and found out that they take breaks in the morning and can cause a delay.
We were 3 (1 road bike + 2 e-bikes). The roads were rough in some areas with deep puddles of water during the rain. Of course, a flat happened and we struggled to find a pump for the road bike. The pumps that were given to us were for the e-bikes and did not fit. In a small town with no English speaking around, we managed to resolve the situation. Also, the first morning we started the trip, we had to go to a bike store to ask for extra tires in case of a flat. There were not given to us at the beginning. Thank god we went! Having done 2 cycling trips (Portugal and Croatia) in the past year, we found that the Vienna to Budapest was a bit boring. The landscape was not very different from start to beginning and the distances were long in between the little cities we visited.
Minimum information were given to us and it would have been nice to have suggestions for restaurants and more details, etc, etc. We received that info with the other companies we used for the other trips.
A water bottle or a shirt from your company would have been also a nice surprise.
The trip was OK, but can be improved in many ways for the price we paid.
We were happy for the quick response when we had the issue with the hotel at 130km instead of 100
The NH Danube or NH Budapest (We had to change room at 11h00 pm because there was a heating problem that made the room like a sauna and the window handle was broken, so we could not open it….) are more 3 stars hotels. The loft in Bratislava was VERY VERY Nice and the Barok in Gyor was great also. We expected more at the to pass on Esztergom, because we could not come back the next day to visit. I heard that the 30km we missed were worth the views and cycling.
I would recommend the trip to people that did not cycle in Portugal, Croatia and want a flat route.
4 days were a lot concerning the distances, but 6 days would have make it long for the lack of change of scenery. This is my opinion! -
★★★★★ Kitty Brodie
Not quite what we expected
Vienna to Budapest 5-nights (Active)
We booked a self-guided 5-day tour from Vienna to Budapest.
There were a few things that did not sit well with us on the organizational front.
The tour itself was great once we got started and the cities/hotels en route were great.
The bike service was great... we had a mechanical issue on Day 1 of riding, and the bike was replaced the next morning.Organizationally:
Confirmation of tour was delayed until the 1 day before the original day of departure.
When I tried to cancel because we wanted to book something that was confirmed, I was told this was not possible.
That seemed unfair, when the tour operator has the right to cancel, but not the client.The initial orientation meeting on "Day 1" in Vienna did not happen until "Day 2".
Nothing at all was arranged for "Day 1" other than the hotel in Vienna.The 5 day tour turned out to be 5 nights, with the 1st night in Vienna, where we already were staying.
So not 5 nights on the road, but 5 nights in hotels. Starting on the morning of "Day 2" makes the tour really only a 4 day tour in my opinion.The bikes that were brought to us on the morning of "Day 2" were not the right bikes that we had ordered.
Pick up time for our bags from the hotel was not mentioned in the orientation meeting.
Consequently, we missed the pickup time on the first hotel and had to pay for a taxi to bring the bags to the next hotel.
This again seemed unfair.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 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, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ JG2017
Lost 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.
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★★★★★ Dmendrop
Vikes on Bikes
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
This tour was not exactly what we expected. We brought our own tandem, but were often on dirt or gravel roads for miles, which was difficult with our tires. The directions were confusing and not clear often, a GPS option would be so helpful. Sometimes there was construction on bike baths, obviously not new, which caused us to take alternate route. Accommodations were excellent, I loved seeing all the small towns along the way. Don’t be fooled, you are not often on the Danube.
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★★★★★ Spain
An Adventure
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
We selected a self guided tour which we have done several times in the past. Unfortunately the gps link did not work for us so we used the cue sheets and map. We got lost several times which was an adventure but difficult on the larger mileage days and in bad weather. There were many more miles on roads than we expected. Often the traffic was heavy and fast and the cycle paths in poor condition.We managed as we are experienced riders but it was not what we expected. We were glad to have the suspension of hybrid bikes. However when by the river on a good cycle path the ride was beautiful. We enjoyed the ferry rides. We were 15 riders and all liked the accommodations!
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 1, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe
Thanks very much for your review. If you have been on several tours, this one may feel more rustic than others (less developed paths, more adventurous - as you have noted). We're sorry to hear that the GPS link did not work for you. We know that can be frustrating. However, we appreciate that you were able to use the maps and cue sheets. We'll be on the lookout for further reviews denoting frequent heavy traffic. We've not heard that this was occurring outside when in Budapest and upon entering/leaving cities. We're glad to hear there were some enjoyable aspects and everyone liked the accommodations. Thanks again for your feedback on this tour.
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★★★★★ Bike and ski
Trip review
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
The ride was somewhat boring, lots of farm lands. Not as scenic as I had hoped for
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 1
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. We're sorry to hear that this tour was not as scenic as you had hoped for. There is a good bit of country and farmland cycling as you have mentioned. We find that many clients enjoy the contrast of the destination cities and the more relaxing and rustic cycling. Thanks again for sharing your feedback!
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★★★★★ Karen5
Hungary countryside
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
Fortunately I always have fun. If the group had not taken lunch from breakfast buffet we would have been without food until lunch. Route directions could have bern clearer.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/30 - 10/5
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe
Hi, Karen. Thanks for your review. We're glad to hear you're a person who always has fun! Thanks for letting us know about the need to be cognizant of lunch stops and/or availability of options and the directions. We will pass your feedback onto the tour operator so they can improve these aspects of the tour. Thank you again for this feedback.
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★★★★★ AJNZ
Hungary
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
An interesting adventure, not as scenic as the Danube in Austria, but a different slice of old Eastern bloc Europe. Hotels were good and well-located. Trail was difficult to find in several places, (think an extra 20km on dirt roads..) and is definitely not as well-marked as other Velo 6 routes. It is mostly away from the Danube through farms and small villages.
Some towns were definitely low on charm, but Bratislava, Szentendre and Budapest were terrific, extra time there is recommended.
Back-up from bike company was good - a new bike was delivered quickly when mine suffered a serious problem. E-bikes were good quality and easy to use, and baggage was always there at the hotel when we arrived.
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