Provence Southern France Bike Tour Reviews page 3
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★★★★★ Stepbro
Brilliant! Everything I would want in a bike trip
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
This was an excellent way to experience southern France. The ride was on quiet roads and byways through fields of sweet smelling herbs and lavender
- What was the date of your tour?
- 15.06.19
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Tracey
More than a Bike Tour Company
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
Unfornuately our self guided bike tour of Provence was cut short when I broke my ankle sightseeing in Orange! Bernard was amazing - he rearranged our hotels and arranged for a transfer back to Avignon where our hotel host organised mini van tours so we could still see the Pont du Gard and other Provence highlights. We felt like we were being looked after by family the whole way.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9 July 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- One
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Christine
Provence bike tour
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
This bike tour is a great way to see southern France. It was very hot when we did this trip and some of the climbs in the mountains were challenging. It was also rewarding to make the climb since the downhill after was amazing! Some training is suggested especially if you go during the hottest part of the summer. Enjoyed the scenic old villages of the Alpilles and in Luberon. Benefits of the guided tour is the great camaraderie among travelers around the world and eliminating the planning and decision making.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 3-10, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ tsn3808
Provence Bike Tour with the Chain Gang
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
We just completed the Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park guided bike tour. This tour provided outstanding scenery and an opportunity to visit several wineries and do some wine tasting. The food was outstanding and the selected hotels met our expectations. The hotel hosts were very friendly. We had 2 guides due to the large number of cyclists. The Chain Gang guides were very friendly, helpful, and very knowledgeable with the route areas. There was great camaraderie among the cyclists and the guides. We enjoyed this tour tremendously and recommend this tour for other cyclists.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 8-31 thru 9-6, 2019
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Jessicarae
Wonderful trip and incredible moments!
South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Bike trips are such an incredible way to see a country. This trip did not disappoint. The rides were definitely hilly - as hobby cyclists with not enough time to bike at home before the trip - we did great, but did walk a few hills. The hotels we stayed at were INCREDIBLE, each in their own way. All and all - I'd recommend this trip to any one that wants to really see and experience the south of France.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2019
- 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
-
★★★★★ Erin ELE
Wonderful Trip, Picturesque days and Beautiful Evenings with Great Company
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
This was a wonderful way to see and experience Provence. The countryside is beautiful and a bike tour allows you to actually be a part of it. Mike, our guide and Bernie (his helper!) were fantastic and really made the trip special. Their personalities were very low key and low stress, yet they were unbelievably accommodating. The company focuses on ensuring your meal experience is amazing and that definitely did not disappoint. Each meal was just lovely from a service and a quality perspective.
We had a large group of 22 which made the management a little challenging, but they responded very well. Ideally, a group of 15 would be perfect, but the people on the trip were wonderful as well. This is a trip for someone that is decently fit. Some of the hills were challenging - but they were doable if you took your time. If you aren't cyclist I would recommend the ebikes for sure.
Our stops were fantastic and allowed for time to relax and enjoy the scenery. As a shopper we had a great day shopping in a small town which made it even more of a plus.
The hotels we stayed in were very quaint. I don't use that term as a way of saying old and tired. They aren't large 5 star hotels, but we didn't want that winding our way through Provence. They were beautiful and clean and perfect hotels that had everything one would need. And they were what was in my mind's eye of a hotel in Provence.
I would highly recommend the trip, but I would be prepared for the rides and a few hills. The wine became that much sweeter that evening! As did Bernie and Mike! Thank you for a perfect trip!
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 31, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Auskang
Great Food, Wine, and Views
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
We had a great time touring around the Avignon area and rode through very different terrains from average city streets to farm back roads, through historic cobble stone streets and narrow highways. Mike and Bernard were expert at guiding our tour group through difficult paths and to get to beautiful views and interesting attractions such as the Roman ruins at Glanum and the projection art show in a quarry.
The hotel styles varied in space and quality but they were comfortable, and they all had nice European breakfast options. The cantaloupe served in Cavaillon was the sweetest I tasted.
The wine tasting and winery tours were welcome stops on the rides. Eric at Cave Jamet was very friendly and colorful and treated us to a great spread at the wine tasting.
Evenings were spent relaxing at the pool at the hotels on the route and having beautifully created dishes at dinner. The best part of the trip making friends with other riders from around the US and UK. Their company made the trip fun and enjoyable.- What was the date of your tour?
- 8/31/2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Go Legs Go
Excellent Company to use for Cycling in France.
South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
My husband and I did this self guided cycle tour. I can not recommend this tour highly enough. The bikes were in perfect condition. Extremely well maintained. The maps and GPS provided made for easy navigation - we did however get lost once. The cycling was sensational. Discover France had obviously put a lot of thought into the routes chosen to avoid main roads and show case the amazing scenery. Accommodation provided was perfect (even stayed in Chateaus). The food variety and quality available was exceptional. We generally ate where we were staying if they had a restaurant in house. At Carcassonne we ate at the Michelin star restaurant in the old town. This was fantastic food and outstanding value. On a personal note I had a day where I "hit the wall" and couldn't continue cycling for fear of fainting. We were in the middle of nowhere and it was 39 degrees.. I rang Discover France and they had us and our bikes picked up within 30 minutes and took us to our accommodation. Now that is service!
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ BadgerBiker
Provence self-guided
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
Excellent tour through spectacular scenery & history. Good hybrid bikes & hotels. Only complaint is self-guided directions are a little sketchy. GPS routing definitely a big help, but had a couple glitches too (e.g. bridge out on one back-road trail!). Highly recommend this tour, would be perfect if GPS routing was spot on.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Ron Walker
Highly Recommended Itinerary
Provence by Bike and Boat
This was a great trip and I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5 only because I wasn't crazy about our boat, the Caprice. The dining area is just way too cramped when the boat is fully booked. From what I saw of the L'Estello, which does the same route, it might be a better choice. Otherwise, it was great. We did a ride out of Amsterdam earlier this year, and riding around Provence is about 100x more interesting than riding Friesland. I'd highly recommend that area to everyone. Specific to the local operator, the e-bikes were excellent, loved our guide, food was terrific and the team was very focused on providing a great experience for the guests.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat 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
-
★★★★★ BadgerBiker
South France self-guided
South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Hotels and most meals were very good to excellent. Very good scenery and most roads were paved, in good or better condition and lightly travelled. Bikes were heavier than necessary for terrain, but sturdy (only needed hybrids on the Canal day). Detailed cue sheet, but hard to follow on-the-fly, especially through the towns. GPS was more helpful, but wrong route on Canal du Midi day. Accommodated 1 vegan traveller well, except 1 place where there was a communication snafu. Overall a very good tour, but could work on routing accuracy and tips on scenery/history along the way (and maybe lighter hybrid bikes!).
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Brian Deutscher
South of France Tour
Provence by Bike and Boat
A great way to review, cities and the countryside in the south of France. Our group of six enjoyed each day. E bikes allowed as to cover significant distance and enjoy the sites without having to exhaust our selves. Winds were particularly high the first couple of days.
Unless your a person who regularly bikes 50 kms, I would recommend the ebikes.- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ JayF
Some Surprises!
South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
We had some terrific rides on this tour. The most notable being the third day of riding with a stop at Minerve. The scenery was incredible. The first two days also had some great vistas.
We took the time to explore the first night's village of St. Guilhume le Desert. Worth the time. We also stopped and walked the cave at Clamuse. The vineyards on the hillsides and in the valley were treats to cycle through. We enjoyed exploring the villages in which we stayed such as Villeneuvette and Siran.
The accommodations were all adequate with a couple highlights with the Chateaus in Lignan sur Orb and Siran. La Source in Villeneuvette was also charming.
The staff at all the accommodations were all very helpful and friendly.
The included meals were lovely.I do have some criticisms/suggestions:
1. When we booked this trip we wondered how we were going to achieve our usual daily mileage of 80-100kms. The tour is rated a 3 "rolling, hilly terrain". Discover France rates it as Hobby or Active. We were surprised when meeting with our Discover France contact at the 1st hotel that every ride except the canal ride into Carcassonne is rated Active/Pro. We have cycled frequently in rolling, hilly terrain such as Kentucky, rolling hills do not have names (as at least one of the climbs did). There were a few long climbs that by no measure qualify as rolling hilly terrain. We are also familiar with categorized climbs so we adjusted our expectations and pedaled. One steep incline on a rare broken pavement type road will stay with me for a while.
2. Discover France titles this ride "The Best of Languedoc" which is exactly what it is, you may want to adjust Biketours.com title as Narbonne is not on the itinerary.
3. A shorter road bike option into Carcassonne should be provided. There is a hybrid bike ride along the canal or a long road bike option. The weather was not co-operative on that day and we had to make our own shorter road option into Carcassonne.
4. The Hotel Montmorency was the smallest room on the trip and frankly a let down after the Chateau de Siran. At the end of the trip with all your stuff for two days it gets cramped. As well the hotel is really an annex of another with check in at the Chateau du Hotel, although there is no mention of the need to go across the street to check in. Checking in through a 4 star hotel had me questioning "why are we not staying here?". As noted previously the staff were excellent at Hotel Montmorency (really Chateau du Hotel), strictly room size issue. The location cannot be beat either.
5. Another day in Carcassonne might be offered as an option. The medieval city and the other sites in Carcassonne cannot be done justice in half a day. To chose between riding and properly seeing a place such as Carcassone is one that should not have to be made.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 14-20 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- Countless
- 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
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, Founder and president
I very much appreciate your detailed feedback, which I've passed along to our tour team. We will also inform the local tour company of your helpful comments. I'm glad you had some great rides despite some of the surprises!
-
★★★★★ lifejazz
Amazing Sights in Provence
Provence Getaway: The Secrets of Southern France (4 nights)
We enjoyed our bike tour through Provence. Our first time to use e-bikes, which given the winds and the hills, seemed like the thing to do. Really enjoyed the e-bikes for their ease of use and making the windy or hilly sections enjoyable. The orientation was very thorough and the combination of the gps and the paper charts made navigation very easy. The two hotels were, not to understate it, wonderful. Excellent accommodations, lovely people, great food. We even got attached to a French Bulldog, Cinquante, belonging the owners of the hotel in Collias. Quite the character! On the whole the ride was through vineyards and side roads. The only unpleasant bit was from Collias to Tarascon. We spend too much time on heavily trafficked shoulder-less roads with trucks and cars whizzing by at 50 miles an hour a couple of feet from us. We've been riding for several decades and as a practice, I would never ride on that kind of road. So that bit needs some adjustment (which is why this is a four star instead of a five star review). But other than that, the rest of the ride was a delight.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/16-20
- 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ klrea
Touring Provence
Provence Getaway: The Secrets of Southern France (4 nights)
This is an amazing and beautiful part of the country to visit, and our bike tour organizers set up a really great agenda. However, we don't feel that bicycling was the best way to see the area, and next time we will rent a car instead.
We opted for the self-guided tour because we wanted to be in control of when and where we stopped. The tour organizers were super helpful and friendly and did everything possible to set us up and get us on our way. However, the bikes were extraordinarily heavy, much heavier than what we are used to riding at home, and, for the amount and type of riding that was on our schedule, made the touring harder than we expected it to be. Also, this was my husband's first bike tour, and the first self-guided tour for me. I found that having to watch the GPS and navigate detracted from being able to enjoy the countryside as we rode through. Finally, while, the little towns along the way were lovely and a delight to see, we were not accustomed to the provincial French practice of closing up shop in the afternoon until opening back up for dinner at 6pm, and so were often without food for the day. It was hard to time the riding to arrive in time for lunch when we didn't know how the riding would take.
One more unexpected event was the arrival of the Mistral winds on the last day of our ride, which came blustering in at 30 mph. So, while the weather was nice otherwise, the strong and cold wind made riding heavy bikes uphill something we took a pass on. Fortunately, we were able to find transportation by car into the area that we wished to visit.
For these reasons, although I think this is a great company, I think there are some places that are best visited by car, even though I am an avid and strong cyclist at home.- What was the date of your tour?
- 4 October 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Anne Stanek
Peaceful tour of some lovely countryside and beautiful little medieval villages.
South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
We surely enjoyed this trip. The beginning in St. Gilhem le Desert was perfect - such a lovely little town nestled into the mountains. There were a lot of uphills and wonderful long downhills on quiet roads. It was a nice variety of scenery and towns. We were particularly grateful for our Ebikes as the hills would have been difficult and tiring without them. It was a most enjoyable bike tour all round.
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Charlotte Dewar
A beautiful journey
Provence by Bike and Boat
We loved this trip. It was wonderful you hired a professional guide in Arles to spend 1.5 hours with us talking about the history, the Roman architecture and Van Gough. Provence is so beautiful and we are very blessed with the good weather and a wonderful group of travelers who cared for each other and enjoyed the company of each other on this trip.
As a professional travel planner for 30 years, I wish to share my honest feedback so you may improve your tours for future clients.
1. The chef Irene made the most delicious dinners for us every evening. We were always looking forward to her food at the end of long and exciting journey.
2. Our Captain was excellent and so was the assistant Phillipo. 3 crew members worked together beautifully and treated us like royalty.
3. Our guide Hens is not as professional. He never counted the number of guests. We had people falling off the bike everyday, no major injuries. Hens was out at the front riding quite fast. He rarely looked back and kept an eye on the group. Every time we had an accident, we had to send someone from behind to catch up with him and asked him to stop and wait for the folks falling behind.
4. The internet on the boat is very choppy. I had important business to communicate with my travelers going to Asia. Most of the time I couldn't receive or send emails. My PayPal app, my airb&b app and my VRBO app all stopped working. I had free roaming data on my phone and that had issue working on your boat either. it's very important you have a functional internet on the boat so people like myself could still carry on business while we are on your trip.We love the concept of bike and boat! We will come back for more of your tours. I am considering introducing your product to my high-end Chinese clients.
I am raving about this trip to all my friends in California. Thank you for putting together a fantastic journey for us.
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Helen Stowe
Mostly Marvelous, Somewhat Scary
South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
For the most part, the trip was wonderful -- accommodations were varied, but all just fine for a shower after a long day on the road, comfortable beds, good breakfasts, and pleasant hosts. Countryside was beautiful, and we were blessed with perfect weather. However, we occasionally felt that we had too many miles to travel so we weren't able to take advantage of visiting the UNESCO sites mentioned in the guide book. Electric bikes were fun (a first for most of us) and essential for making it up the long hills. On the downside, the last 3km into Carcassonne was hair raising....so much traffic, trucks that weren't about to slow down or give us any leeway as we approached narrow bridges. We managed to find a pleasant bike path along the canal that took us right into the city, with only a few streets to navigate; and we wondered why your tour didn't direct us onto that bike path instead of along the dangerous and busy road...and if anyone in the company had actually ridden that route into Carcassonne. I was so unnerved that I chose to skip the last day's ride and walked around the city instead (and loved every minute of that!).
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ David Coleman
Trip of my dreams
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
Still looking for my refund from Bernard for an overpayment.
Can get anyone to respond to my emails.Hope someone will respond to this inquiry. The trip was very enjoyable, great group of people. Sam was a wonderful guide- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Michelle2019
Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
I would not recommend ChainGang as a tour operator for this area. Far better and more savvy operators with better maps and navigation are out there. At the end of the trip no one from the company checked in with us. A bit strange having all their equipment. Their printed material in a folder was ridiculous. We asked for map holders and ended up using clothes pegs and a plastic bag. Why the maps?
- What was the date of your tour?
- 17 Sept - 3 Oct
- How many tours have you completed?
- Several
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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