Primarily Bike Paths Tour Reviews page 5
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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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★★★★★ Bob Sterndale
Beautiful trip but problems
Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
The scenery was breathtaking, the bike paths mostly fine but with seriously difficult and dangerous exceptions, the hotels very pleasant and the e-bikes fine with one exception.
The trip started on the wrong foot at the first hotel: Hotel Krimml Fälle. We were assigned a room with no heat (as were others) on a cold day. After two hours of lame diversions and excuses, while we sat in the lobby to keep warm, we were given a heated room. In all other respects the hotel and restaurant were fine.
Getting to Krimml is a bit confusing. OBB will sell you a train ticket (from Salzburg for us) all the way to Krimml. The trip involves a narrow-gauge train from Sell am See to Mittersill hbf (end of line) and a bus trip from Mittersill to Krimml. There is a bus stop in the middle of Krimml village, steps from our hotel.
The first day of biking were delightful. The hotel in Sell am See was beyond our expectations.
The second day of biking started well but we encountered a long section of closed trail. We were in a narrow valley with little development. The only parallel path was a shoulder-less two-lane highway with plenty of high-speed traffic, not an acceptable bike route. Trees and brush had been trimmed along the nice paved bike path recently. All the slash had been left on the path, for 2 or 3 days from its appearance. We picked our way through the mess for maybe a couple kilometers. Then we came to a section with blown down trees obstructing the path, another ½ to 1 Km. Getting through this required some bushwhacking with the heavy e-bikes. Not fun.
Day three of biking was fine until we came to a flooded underpass on the outskirts of Salzburg. We needed to cross the A1 highway to get to Salzburg. A bad storm a few days before had caused numerous problems across Austria. We did find an alternate route but advance knowledge would have saved us a few Km of pedaling.
Day 4, however, brought us to highway biking. As we approached the village of St. Radegund we were directed onto a busy, shoulder-less two-lane road for a steep ascent of a kilometer or more. It was a strenuous ride even with the e-bikes. Your web sites offers this description of the tour:
“The tour route is mainly on dedicated bicycle paths (about 80% of the time). The remainder of the tour is on quiet roads and dirt or gravel roads. This tour is suitable for families with children.”
This stretch alone disqualifies the tour as a family-safe route. The experience continues:
A short distance beyond the scary hill climb is a 5.2 Km stretch of riding on the same road. The tour map shows this section as a bike path on the side of the road pavement. The “bike path” in this area is about 18” wide, separated from the high-speed traffic by a 4” wide white stripe. Narrative direction for this day’s route were not helpful, signage was poor, the “pink” house referred to is now yellow.
The unpleasant day was capped by a steep climb to the hotel in Burghausen. Pushing a heavy e-bike up a hill doesn’t work! You need to pedal it up so that it assists with its own heavy weight.
Day 5 brought us to Bad Fussing. This day was mostly uneventful. Directions to the hotel in Bad Fussing were vague, calling for riding 4 Km on a busy road with no shoulder. Instead, we found a bike path at the German side of the bridge that led right in to downtown Bad Fussing. The directions should include this route. Plan your day to allow an hour or two at one of the baths, you will be glad you did!
Day 6 was uneventful, mainly along the Inn River to Passau.
One e-bike problem: the rear disc brake on one of the 4 bikes was useless, apparently the brake pads were worn away (bikes had coaster brakes too). In all other respects bikes were fine. Battery capacity was generous. I think the lowest reserve at the end of any day for any of us was 50%.
An otherwise delightful trip was marred by surprise bike path closures and stretches of unsafe highway biking. This is not for children. The scenery was awe inspiring. Hotels were good to excellent. E-bikes were good except for one problem that didn’t spoil the trip.
We would have wished for more current information on bike path conditions from the local partner. We provided reports to them of closed paths as we encountered them.
Your tour description misrepresents the conditions of the route. We would not have booked the trip if had been accurately described. SHOW MORE
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★★★★★ Steve Lilley
Challenge completed!
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
As a couple we enjoyed completing the challenge in extremely hot conditions.
We were disappointed in not sighting or swimming in the Danube more often: it’s a mighty impressive river!
Riding enabled greater appreciation of the country and people than by car: crops and farming in particular.
The final ferry ride for over an hour was a great finale!
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★★★★★ Steve Lilley
Challenge completed!
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
As a couple we enjoyed completing the challenge in extremely hot conditions.
We were disappointed in not sighting or swimming in the Danube more often: it’s a mighty impressive river!
Riding enabled greater appreciation of the country and people than by car: crops and farming in particular.
The final ferry ride for over an hour was a great finale! -
★★★★★ 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!
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★★★★★ Mary Schmidt
Unable to review as the Vivienne never left port in Vienna - Please contact me. I would have loved to have been able to review.
Danube Delights: Biking through Four Countries
Dear Team at BikeTours.com,
I hope you all are doing well. I am writing regarding my recent river cruise, Danube Delights aboard the Vivienne on September 15, which unfortunately was impacted by flooding, causing the cancellation of several key ports of call and remained docked in Vienna for 7 nights. While I understand that weather conditions are beyond anyone’s control, missing out on many destinations left me disappointed, as I had been looking forward to the full experience. My husband and I had been planning this for over a year and celebrating our 40th Wedding Anniversary.
Our cruise director did his best to keep the passengers entertained and informed but was getting very mixed messages from someone. It started the first day in Passau with the hired transportation did not have a concrete deportation location. It was 2:30pm before we were even contacted to tell us to go to the bus station and we would be transported to Vienna. After boarding the Vivienne we were told that we would be docked in Vienna for a couple of days and for those interested we could take the bus to Budapest and Bratislava on the next two days. It was a very long bus ride but a nice trip to both.
Starting on Wednesday, day 3, we were then told we MAY leave every evening, so we needed to be back on boat at 5 or maybe a different time and were not able to take any extended excursions due to the possibility of debarking. Thursday we were led to believe we may leave later in the night. Then Friday, we were instructed to be back on the boat at 11:00 am because we might leave. It was determined after we came back that we were not going to be able to leave. We would have loved to have taken the train to visit another location Wednesday - Friday. The last day, Saturday, was the worst, we had to sit on the boat because there would be announcements at 9:00 am, then stay on because we might leave at 11:00am, then wait again until after 1:00pm and then there was a decision to let us off. It was obvious the boat wasn’t going anywhere due to the 24 hours it would have taken to cruise back to Passau and there was another cruise scheduled. Also, we were extremely far back in the line of boats that would have moved before us.
Given these unforeseen circumstances, I am inquiring about a future cruise credit (FCC) toward another cruise or a refund. We were so excited to do our first River cruise as a way to travel and have the ability to bicycle and I would love the opportunity to schedule another boat/bike cruise and fully experience the journey.
I appreciate your understanding and consideration of this request, and I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Mary Schmidt- What was the date of your tour?
- September 15, 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- This would have been our first but can't count due to not leaving port.
- 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, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Joann Schmidt
Not what I was expecting
Danube Delights: Biking through Four Countries
Our river/bike cruise turned into a floating hotel in Vienna. Our boat never left the dock all week because of historical flooding on the Danube. The boat and cruise personnel were all fine but just wish we could of actually seen something of the countries we were hoping to see on the river. Not sure if I would ever sign up for one of these again.
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★★★★★ Scott Katzer
Enjoyed 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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★★★★★ Anne Temple
Beautiful but given bike with defective wheel and inadequate spares/pump
Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
The ride is beautiful, hotels very comfortable with pleasant employees and great breakfast. Our rating would be higher except for our experience with one bike and the repair kit provided by the operator in Innsbruck. Also, if you are not familiar with Garmin, be sure you have a good alternative.
We had two flats in the same place on the inner seam of the back tire. We understand that tire changes were our responsibility and were prepared to handle them. We were provided with only one spare, no co2 cartridge because the operator was out of the attachment needed to use them, and a small inefficient pump. The advice given to us if we were to get a flat was to change the tire, pump it up as best we could with the inefficient pump and then go to a service station where we could then fill the tire up to its required PSI. This is a rural route with few service stations and much time was wasted.
The morning after the first flat we spent a couple of hours locating a bike shop that was open (tried 3) that had the right size spares. In addition we purchased a better pump which we were very glad to have with the second flat. That second flat occurred on the ride to Lofer. A biker who helped us noted that we didn’t have enough tread (profile) on the tires and we were lucky we hadn’t had rain.
Helmut was unable to provide a different bike for the last leg into Salzburg. Rather than spending the time finding a new back tire to buy and thus getting a much later start that we were comfortable with, we elected to take transport to Salzburg.
A special thanks to Helmut for his responsiveness and assistance.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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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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★★★★★ pmr52
Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)
- What was the date of your tour?
- 24 june - 1 july
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Wayne
New Mexico Touring Society (NMTS) Vienna to Budapest
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
Overall a great ride, but some issues with the tour company in Austria.
Bikes were excellent and the route for most of the trip was well marked. We were on highways a very short period of time. Traffic on the highways was not an issue. We had about 10 kilometers of non-paved bike path. Unfortunately, we rode that in the rain, but we made it without any incidents.
Our complaint about the tour company is that they cheated us on the trip materials that we were promised. Not every rider received a map of the route. Because people doubled up in the hotel rooms, they only provide one map per hotel room. The pre-ride briefing was very poor and the tour person appeared to be in a hurry to complete the briefing. The route out of Vienna can be confusing, but we had rented city bikes the day before and scouted the route ourselves. The tour company only gave us very general instructions on how to leave the city.
He did do a good job of fitting everyone to their bikes. I asked him for a floor bike pump, but he never responded to my text message requests and the tour company never returned my phone calls. The small bike air pumps that are in the bike saddle bike are not adequate to fully pump up a tire.
The bikes were excellent and perfect for the route with the variation in road surfaces and occasional gravel stretches. We had no flat tires during the trip. We were a group of 17 riders, so that is a remarkable feat.
The hotels were all excellent except for the hotel outside of Esztergom, the Hotel Bellevue. In addition to being in a remote location, it was well past its prime. The only dinner option was a buffet which ran out of food before some of our group had the opportunity to dine. The breakfast was once again a poor selection of items, most of which ran out early. The rooms were dark and poorly equipped with the usual features.
Everyone’s favorite city was Gyor. The hotel was excellent and the large city plaza with the historical buildings surrounding it was fascinating. Dining options were excellent.
The boat ride into Budapest was excellent and a nice way to finish the trip.
Overall, a terrify ride with the exceptions noted above. Not every rider having a map was an ongoing frustration that caused some confusion on the occasions when the group got separated into smaller groups.
Wayne Friesen
Albuquerque, NM
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★★★★★ Nancy Nestler
Loved the area!
Bicycle Paths of the Dolomites (based in one hotel)
We loved exploring the area. There was a lot of variety going in different directions each day. We found the paths and day trips to be different enough that we felt like we were exploring a new place every day. Well done!
One comment - don't do the Toblach to Lienz ride on a beautiful weekend day, especially at the same time the train arrives. The route was too crowded to enjoy for about 1/3 of the ride.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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
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★★★★★ Nancy Nestler
Beautiful Scenery and Quaint Marina Towns
Lake Constance Bicycle Path
We loved the scenery and riding by so many little marina towns. I wanted to have coffee in all of them!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Moody Group
Fun Experience
Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
The biking was a great experience based on something we have not done before. The bike route took us through the beautiful country side and charming communities of Austria and Germany. However, when the bicycles were delivered to our hotel in Salzburg no one from the bike company remained to provide assistance as we were lead to believe. Directions were not always clear so making decisions for the correct direction was sometimes difficult.
Accommodations in Salzburg and Obernburg am Inn were quaint, cozy and delightful and the staff were very pleasant and accommodating. However the accommodations at a couple of the other hotels were not very favorable. The Elevators/Lifts to the rooms at Hotel Gloecklhofer Burghausen were not available in our section of the hotel and the staff did not offer assistance. The staff at Hotel Spitzburg in Passau were not not very helpful or friendly. They seemed disinterested,. Example: On our last day in Passau we asked for an early wake up call to catch an early morning train. This did not happen. Fortunately we had set our own alarm and woke up on time. Then when we went down to the lobby that morning it was dark and no one was around. The door back to the rooms locked behind us and the lobby door to the street was locked. Fortunately we somehow managed to get the door open and were able to leave to catch our 7:25 AM train.Our overall experience was good and we did have a great time with our friends.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Started in Salzburg on Sept 18th.
- How many tours have you completed?
- First one.
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Normbc
Enjoyed the biking and scenery, but time of year with high water slowed boat down
Danube Bike and Boat: Passau-Budapest-Passau – MS SE-Manon
This was my first experience on a bike and barge cruise. It was great to have to unpack only the once and have the same place to sleep each day. The rooms were very good, the staff excellent and the meals exceptional. The first couple of days we had rain (time of year) but we were still able to get out and bike (if you don't mind doing so with rain gear on). The timing between stops by the boat were really off because of high water. At one place we were not even able to dock to get off the boat to leave on bikes so that day we had to start where we should have ended and biked an extra 10 km to complete the circuit. Only 2 of us actually the did the entire cirucit due to the rain and wind conditions and distance. The rest of the trip the weather improved and we had some sunny beautiful days biking. We lost our free time to explore Vienna though because of the slow progress of the boat coming up-river where we arrived at 5:30 pm rather than 10 am as scheduled.
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★★★★★ BenO
Nice Hotels and great bikes.
Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
Nice trip but a better cycle guide would help a lot. Spent about 40% of out time lost. Trail signs were difficult to find in places.Not recommended for families with small children.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 12 to September 27
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Karen Regin
Beautiful Austria
Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
The upscale lodging is absolutely wonderful. There was only one property that did not exceed expectations. The contact in Europe was less satisfying. Directions were sometimes hard to interpret, we ended up with directions to one town when our lodging was in another town, and there was not any help with GPS directions. But the bikes were nice and the lodging choices excellent overall.
The bike paths are wonderful and the country is beautiful. We really enjoyed riding through the small towns and eating at local cafes. There is not much English anywhere so be prepared for that. Overall, we loved the trip!
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★★★★★ Renata Ostwald
Self guided tours
Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Great experience, hotels were great and luggage transit even better. The only thing disappointment I had was regarding the routes…. It’s so easy in Europe ( once you know what path to take since it’s all signed ). Guidance regarding which sign should be followed would have been helpful. But it was an great trip
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2024
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Pankaj Mulye
Dolomities
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Perfect way to explore and experience a region is by cycling. It was a great hassle free experience everything went as planned and would definitely recommend bike tours to all
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