Provence  Bike Tour Reviews

  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (5/5) Jennifer Sutton 1 month ago

    Beyond expectations!

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    This slow way of travelling is perfect for savouring Provence on all levels…
    Captain Willy and crew were extremely friendly, attentive and helpful. Our bike tour guide Michela was very safety conscious as well as informative and inclusive, all done with her Italian humour! The schedule was packed but never rushed. It helped that our group was cohesive and respectful of each other…and punctual! The food was excellent and our bow berth beyond expectations.
    I have already recommended this tour to others!

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 22 from Avignon
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) Jennifer Sutton 1 month ago

    Beyond expectations!

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    This slow way of travelling is perfect for savouring Provence on all levels…
    Captain Willy and crew were extremely friendly, attentive and helpful. Our bike tour guide Michela was very safety conscious as well as informative and inclusive, all done with her Italian humour! The schedule was packed but never rushed. It helped that our group was cohesive and respectful of each other…and punctual! The food was excellent and our bow berth beyond expectations.
    I have already recommended this tour to others!

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 22 from Avignon
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Discover the stunning region of Provence by bike!
    (4/5) Rob T 2 months ago

    Provence

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    Best of Provence - Brilliant accommodation in St Remy. Cantosorge hotel not the best.

    What was the date of your tour?
    4 May
    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
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Provence Getaway
    (5/5) Sara guinea 2 months ago

    Excelente

    · Provence Getaway: The Secrets of Southern France (4 nights)

    It was a very nice try, we enjoy it very much, it’s a great company, starting with the atención online, follow with the pick up, the hotel, and the nice selección of the ride, the bikes are very good. I will recomendé 1000% and will go back some day

    Countries included in this tour?
    France
  • UNESCO World Heritage Sites
    (4/5) Matthew Mink 8 months ago

    A reasonable option for early November

    · South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites

    We lucked out with the weather with temperatures in up to 20 degrees C. Only a spot of rain which we were prepared for. Enjoyed the kindness of the people in this part of France. The food and wine were great. Highlight was staying at a converted lemonade factory in Olonzac and Minerve. Gravel canal route was a bit monotonous on the on day into Carcassonne and probably put us at risk of a puncture but the bikes did well.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Nov 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    Lots
    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
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (4/5) Ron Walker 9 months ago

    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (5/5) ALEX BERESNIEWICZ 9 months ago

    Great trip

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    Beautiful countryside with little climbing made for a totally enjoyable trip. Our guide, Alex, was absolutely amazing, our care on board the boat was flawless, and the meals at dinner were all excellent. Five stars!!

    Countries included in this tour?
    France
  • Discover the stunning region of Provence by bike!
    (5/5) M. Jane Hughes 9 months ago

    Amazing countryside

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    We love the self guided. We come and go as we like. Stop and experience what we want. Loved the lavender fields but loved the tarragon ones as well. Friendly and helpful people. The rides were set to go by many amazing sites. Loved it.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    Two
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (4/5) Brian Deutscher 10 months ago

    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
  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (3/5) Janet Fraser 10 months ago

    How a tour guide can ruin what could have been a great experience

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    While the cycling was good, scenery lovely, other passengers and crew delightful, the irritatingly arrogant sexist and intrusive behaviours by our tour guide (Heim) who claimed to have built the company, put a huge damper on the trip for many of us. Although we enjoyed the bikes, the meal times were chaos due to too many passengers in too small a space. Also the general condition of the boat, Caprice, needs improvement.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Aug, Sept 2024
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 3/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
    • 1/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) B. Powell July 5, 2024

    Quintessential Provence!

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    A great sampling of quintessential Provence villages and sights... hilltop villages, wild poppies, fields of lavender. We thoroughly enjoyed all the scenery and activities along the way.

    The first day of riding between Avignon and CdP was congested with car traffic (as to be expected close to a bigger city/area), but the other days were primarily smaller roadways and paths and very enjoyable and scenic. We did the add-on day to Arles and were really glad that we included that city in our tour. It felt complete to conclude the trip in Arles. A few of the gps routes lead us into the city center at end of day (instead of directly to hotel), but it was easy to navigate to hotels, and the gps tracks were otherwise very helpful to follow.

    We opted for the self-guided tour but felt very supported by the local tour operator who was very responsive to any inquiries we had via WhatsApp.

    We have many good memories of this trip!

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2024
    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
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    •  (photo by B. Powell)
    •  (photo by B. Powell)
    •  (photo by B. Powell)
    •  (photo by B. Powell)
    •  (photo by B. Powell)
    •  (photo by B. Powell)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) David Frac June 9, 2024

    Wonderful bike trip!

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    We very much enjoyed the bike trip in Provence. The e-bikes provided were fantastic. The routes selected were so nice! Maybe 10% of the trip was on traffic roads, the rest was on bike paths, quiet country roads or even gravel roads through farmlands. We really appreciated the hand-off of the equipment, everything about the bikes was very well explained. We also appreciated the pre-tour meeting, where we went over every detail of the trip and received recommendations. We really appreciated receiving the GPX files ahead of the trip, so we could download them and follow the GPS guidance. The towns we visited were so very nice, we appreciated the care given to the construction of the route. The accommodations at the various hotels were excellent. The one thing I will mention about this trip is the Mistral Winds, which I had never heard of before. We were lucky, we only had one day of moderate winds, but I understand they can be strong at times. On the first day of our bike trip, from Avignon to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, we actually found two bike paths that were not on your printed directions or gpx files. The first was apparently some brand new four lane bike path that a local told us about. This is soon after you cross the Rhone river from Avignon. The second was near Châteauneuf-du-Pape, we happened to see some cyclists on this path, and took that instead of riding on the road.
    I wish I could be more specific about where these two trails were, but the details have slipped my mind. If you can somehow update your routes/directions for these bike paths, I think it would help future bikers.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    This was our third bike tour.
    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) David Brown May 15, 2024

    Magical Mystery Tour

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    Cycling around Provence is a wonderful experience. The countryside is exquisite and the towns magical.
    Our tour was perfectly organised. Our bikes were quality and were delivered to our hotel on time with a thorough explanation on how to use the ebike. Our tour organiser met us to make sure we had everything we needed for our self guided cycling three days. She was very thorough and lovely.
    We had great weather which always helps. The maps they provided are amazing. You pretty much avoid all main roads and cycle on picturesque little pathways and side roads. We felt very safe. Was a magical experience.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    1 now
    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Discover the stunning region of Provence by bike!
    (3/5) Francisco Averhoff May 7, 2024

    Great location- tour operator lacking

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    Recommend the trip, with another tour company, not Walk Inn. Service and access to assistance was very poor

    Countries included in this tour?
    France
  • (5/5) Beth Alcorn May 6, 2024

    Cycling the south of France

    · South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites

    Excellent trip and experience. Every detail was covered from the first pick up and orientation to the drop off of our bikes. Route instructions were spot on, accommodations amazing and overall route beautiful. Highly recommend this trip!

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (3/5) Francisco Averhoff May 6, 2024

    Great location- tour operator lacking

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    Recommend the trip, with another tour company, not Walk Inn. Service and access to assistance was very poor

    Countries included in this tour?
    France
  • Discover the stunning region of Provence by bike!
    (2/5) Francisco Averhoff May 5, 2024

    beautiful countryside

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    the hotels were very nice (we upgraded) and the bike riding was very doable and the countryside was beautiful. we have done 5 self guided bike tours through biketours.com and have been very satisfied, however for this trip the actual travel agency in France (Walk Inn) was unsatisfactory: 1. they did not meet with us and did not go over the routes; 2.did not meet with us to go over the bike equipment; 3. we had trouble with the GPS system on our phones and they provided no assistance; 4. the written maps/routes did not match the routes on the GPS (once we were able to get it on our phone); 5. the GPS routes that we finally downloaded were often for the trip going in the opposite direction which made the navigation more challenging; 6. Finally, the hotel transfers and bike provider were subcontracted by Walk Inn making coordination difficult and furthermore, Walk Inn did not answer our calls using the phone number provider for emergency contact. Overall because of the in country travel agency , Walk Inn, this trip was only fair and could have been excellent.

    Countries included in this tour?
    France
  • Canal du Midi
    (4/5) Margaret October 17, 2023

    Beautiful arrangements, somewhat difficult cycling

    · Canal du Midi: Carcassonne to Sete, the South of France and the Sea

    Carcassone is stunning. All of the hotels were good to excellent. The terrain is quite varied. The cycling was more difficult than I expected -- there are some serious climbs on the first two days, and most of the route is on public roads so you have to deal with cars. The tour company did their best to avoid traffic but they can't create a bike path where there is none. Fortunately, French drivers are used to bicyclists. I would recommend this trip to experienced cyclists but not to newbies.
    The preparatory material was good. We were given printed maps and also an app for our phones. Both were good but the app was great because you could use it while you were on the bike, and it gave you an audible warning if you got twenty meters off the trail. The app also kept track of the percentage of the daily ride you had covered, and had a few more features. This was the first time I'd had an app and I really appreciated it.

    How many tours have you completed?
    4 counting this one
    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?
    France
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Discover the stunning region of Provence by bike!
    (4/5) Shannon McDougall October 6, 2023

    Great Trip

    · Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon

    This was a great trip with well organized logistics and routes. We downloaded a GPX file reader and found the daily routes were easy to follow. The files need to be updated for day 4 and day 6 as routes had a couple of deadends but we managed. Overall all a great trip, not too difficult!

    Countries included in this tour?
    France
  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    (2/5) Richard Rogers October 2, 2023

    Not as I had expected

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    Not expecting to ride as a group. The riding involved more road riding and realize that a leader was necessary. The riding in Southern France is not as developed as Central Europe.

    Countries included in this tour?
    France