Provence Bike Tour Reviews (page 3)
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★★★★★ Jill Kaufman 8 months agoAmazing experience!
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
The small barge experience turned our group of strangers into good friends; the food was excellent; the routes and countryside beautiful; the tour guide was knowledgeable, skilled, and fun! This tour exceeded our expectations.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Late August 23
- 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Joanna Havener 8 months ago
Loved every minute!
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Our tour leader was fun, knowledgeable and very safety conscious. The route was almost all flat, only one big climb on Wednesday. The ship's crew was helpful and saw to it that my husband had potato chips in his lunch. They accommodated my wish for vegetarian meals. The small towns were charming and I loved learning about their history. Highly recommend this trip. (My husband and I are in our 70s and the ebikes were a great help to us.)
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Edouard Cornudet 10 months agoAmazing
· Cycling Paradise of Provence - to and from Avignon
France is perfect for cycling. And we follow all the instruction in the paper and arrive well everywhere. There were like 3 or 4 instructions in the whole book that weren't good but in general it was very well indicated. Organization was great and philip was also perfect as loos 3 tired in two days, every morning before the start he came with new tires to replace the old ones. Thanks!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Margaret 6 months agoBeautiful 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
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★★★★★ JayF September 23, 2017Some 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
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★★★★★ BadgerBiker October 4, 2019
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
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★★★★★ Gennie August 10, 2017Southern France in the Summer
· Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
The tour of Provence was absolutely beautiful! I suggest anyone considering a trip to France to do this tour, however, not in late summer. Temps exceeded 100 degrees most every afternoon. Tour cue sheets need some tweeking. We had to backtrack on several occasions. The written packet should also include a description of what to expect on that day of tour. Relying on what is written on this website is not always accurate and needs more information. We would have missed some very interesting places if not directed by locals and hotel concierges.
- What was the date of your tour?
- late July/early August 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- several
- 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
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★★★★★ Rosann October 7, 2018
· Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
Absolutely fabulous trip. Weather was gorgeous, setting was amazing, hosts also wonderful but if doing the self guided tour be prepared for some lost an found adventures. The route sheets sometimes required interpretation especially in villages where instructions like cross railway turn left so that track is on your right doesn’t make sense, others included take the gravel track up a steep hill - there were 4 tracks only one paved. This one also interesting as we went through on a Sunday - hunters had just shot a wild boar :0| Also suggest taking an extended tool kit- we had a flat on aMonday - local bike shop closed - the tyre was stuck to the rim on one side- had to prize the tyre off the rim with screw driver. Phone call to organizers were not returned- hotel owner very helpful but not a mechanic. We still had a great trip though and will definitely do another with this crew again.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 20-27 September 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- This is our first
- 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
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★★★★★ BikerPT September 14, 2019
Bike ride in the wind
· Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
There were a number of good things about this trip. The two guides were very attentive and knowledgeable of the region, helping the group to experience some amazing sites. The scenery was fantastic; the vineyards and wineries were a site to see/experience. It was a real sense of accomplishment to ride up a 3K class 2 hill that has been a part of the Tour de France. We did ride with head winds blowing constantly at up to 40 mph for three of the six days on the trip; the one day with a tailwind, we biked at 33 kmh with ease.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Michelle2019 October 10, 2019
· 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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★★★★★ David Coleman November 7, 2022
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
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★★★★★ Robert Sterndale November 7, 2022A beautiful ride through mostly rural, agricultural France
· Garonne Canal: From Bordeaux to Toulouse
Bordeaux and Toulouse are interesting cities alright but most of our time was riding through an expansive agricultural area. Finding our way out of Bordeaux was not difficult. Once we reached the canal we "sailed" along the paved towpath all day, every day. The bike trail was mostly well maintained paved surface with a few stretches that were bumpy. We saw active pavement maintenance so it is being improved where needed.
The Roadbook navigating program served well as a way finder except on the last day when it took us to the wrong place in Toulouse a couple kilometers or more across the city from our hotel. That was a hassle.
Being of a certain age, we opted for e-bikes on this trip. These were pedal-assist type bikes which we all mastered quickly. The terrain was mostly very canal-flat but the e-boost was welcome for the occasional rise and toward the end of the day the boost was welcome. The hotels along the way were not right on the canal and some hill climbing was involved there.
Bikes were well maintained and thoughtfully configured for our various heights but no orientation or training was provided for the bikes, they were just left at the starting hotel.
We enjoyed the hotel/B&B stays. B&B hosts were gracious and accommodating. Rooms were clean and comfortable.
We did this in late September which is the end of their tourist season. Weather was fine. Bike traffic was light.
The canal trail provided a very scenic but repetitious view. We saw an interesting variety of agricultural activity along the way.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 9
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Wignh September 15, 2018
Met my expectations
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Excellent barge, with welcoming A/C in southern France in mid-summer. Dinners were varied and tasty - but desserts were magnifique! Make-your-own lunch to go on the bike - which is standard bike/barge arrangement - becomes boring after a few days. But what I will remember is this once-in-a-lifetime highlight: watching France win World Cup at a jammed packed outside bar in a small town!
- What was the date of your tour?
- mid-july
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Alanran July 29, 2019
Beautiful Provence by Bike and Barge
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
The boat was really nice and the crew was great -- from captain to chef to on-board host. They did an exceptional job making our time on the boat pleasant.
The biking was also nice in spite of the 98 degree temperatures, full on sun and mistral winds in our face -- even had to peddle going down hill sometimes. That said, we saw beautiful villages, olive orchards, vineyards, sun flower fields and lavender fields -- beautiful terrain -- even some of the areas covered in the Tour de France -- Pont du Gard. The visit to Le Beaux de Provence was special going into the cave with Van Gogh paintings put to motion and sound.
All in all it was a fun tour with a great group of riders.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 13-20
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Charlotte Dewar October 11, 2022
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
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★★★★★ lifejazz October 7, 2019Amazing 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
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★★★★★ klrea October 23, 2019
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
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★★★★★ Shannon McDougall 7 months ago
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
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★★★★★ Thomas Wall November 7, 2022
Enjoyable ride with lots of canal views
· Garonne Canal: From Bordeaux to Toulouse
In order to ensure we had dedicated bike paths I think we sacrificed variety. The scenery was beautiful but we saw a lot of the canal. Enjoyed the small towns and our hosts were great! Small hiccup with luggage transfer was a bit aggravating. All-in-all, an enjoyable trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the second
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Bean October 14, 2019
Beautiful Area - Terrible Bikes
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Great way to see Provence, but the bikes were really really heavy and the guide was not very good.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 28-Oct 5
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10+
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
