Bike Tour Reviews page 109
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★★★★★ Mia0620 September 24, 2018Easy and relaxing
· Burgundy Wine Trails: Beaune to Macon on the “Voie Verte”
We loved the pace and the voies vertes were fabulous. This is biking without stress. The company people are terrific and helpful.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 11 - 17
- How many tours have you completed?
- More than 15
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Merilyn Regan October 13, 2024Sensational Switzerland
· Highlights of the Swiss Rhine: Lake Constance to Basel
Absolutely an incredible experience, extremely well organised and everything taken care of. Could not have ask for anything more. Accomodation was all very good, bikes in fantastic condition and all the required information was presented in an easy to understand and work way - highly recommend Bike Tours and will definitely be booking another bike tour
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ Mark F May 7, 2024Cycling around Bruges
· Bruges City Bike Tour
Joost was our tour guide. He's local and speaks English very well. Joost used stories to tell us about the history of Bruges. The ride is on cobblestone, but the bicycle seats are very comfortable so I did not notice any discomfort. We traveled about 7 or 8 km. It was an easy ride with many stops. We never felt rushed and was free to ask any questions. We had time to take photos at each stop. A very nice tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 29, 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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★★★★★ Michael F 2 months agoFantasic experince!!!
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
We enjoyed our trip from Passau to Austria. The local tour operator, Pedalo, did a great job interfacing with the hotels, moving our luggage and taking care of any issues with our bikes. Gave us everything we needed to succeed!
A few notes:
a) Be aware that the first two days are among the longer legs of the trip, so be prepared to leave early those days
b) The route goes on both sides of the Danube pretty much continuously, with a few diversions onto local roads from separated bike paths. You do not have to follow the recommended route if you want to check out something on the other side or save a few Euros from the bike ferries, but the planned route is a good one to follow. If you just follow the R1 / Danauweg signs toward the right towns you will be fine.
c) The hotels vary widely in quality and level of staffing. Check them out yourself during the booking process.We used regular bikes - if you choose e-bikes be sure you understand the range capabilities and where you can charge your bikes in the middle of the day if needed.
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★★★★★ Mariag July 17, 2019much more than I expected
· Baltic Capitals: Historic Cities of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn
The tour was the perfect way to get to know both the landscape and the history/culture of the baltic republics
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★★★★★ Maria 4 months agoGreat bike tour along the Danube
· · Danube Discovery: Pedaling from Germany to Austria
The barge was very comfortable and the food excellent. The staff was very helpful and ready to help. The bikes were ready for us every morning on the dock. The program was well thought out and we appreciated the excursions that were available.
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★★★★★ Martin June 13, 2019Perfect way to experience the Rhine
· Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
This tour was lovely; scenery was outstanding; easy bicycling, mostly next to the Rhine. We lijed the hotel/guest house variety.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 30-June 4
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Martin Gerra 1 month agoLovely tour
· Portugal's Atlantic Coast
This tour was lovely. The hotels were beautiful. The local company is very responsive, and sent someone right away to adjust brakes and derailleurs on one of our rented bikes. The route is quite hilly. For those not in peak cycling form, I recommend an electric bike. I also recommend taking an extra day in Sintra to see all of the sights.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ Marek Hartleb July 11, 2024Alpine pastures
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
Although we went through all climate zones during our ride we find this vacation awesome. Selection of hotels and planning of bike routes was very good. Riding 40 to 65 km each day with e-bikes took 2-3 hours, therefore we had enough time to walk alpine pastures taken up by cable cars in Zell am See or Lofer. You may believe me that alpine meadows settled only by Milka cows is something that gives the best break from noisy and busy life.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Marek 3 weeks agoHow to make pilgrimage easier?
· Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela
I made with my son the self-guided tour from Porto to Santiago de Compostela in mid-September. We expected hot days, but we often needed to wear jackets due to ocean breeze. In comparison to Insbruck-Salzburg tour we found this one more difficult, especially in parts with crowds of pilgrims on narrow and richly rooted forest paths or cobble stone streets. In these circumstances taking distance of 60 km could be challenging. Generally, we are happy from our choice. Views on ocean with rocky coast was wonderful, and collecting stamps in Camino passports joined us spiritually with pilgrims, although riding e-bikes we could be treated as cheaters. We express also gratitude to Daniel who greeted us in Porto and explained everything in all details.
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★★★★★ Michael Legg September 1, 2024Wonderful introduction to Porto
· Porto Foodie's Bike Tour with Lunch & Wine Tasting
John conveyed what it is like to be a citizen of Porto with as much fun as anyone could. Tour, food and company were marvellous. Obrigado!
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★★★★★ mdoyler September 5, 2019Once in a lifetime
· French Alpes Tour: Alpes and Ventoux
What an amazing trip. My wife and I will be talking about these rides for the rest of our lives. The accommodations were great, and the meals were an absolute delight. Don't be afraid to do an unguided trip such as this, it was incredibly safe and easy to navigate
- What was the date of your tour?
- 8/22 - 8/29
- 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
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★★★★★ Mike Cridge 7 months agoGranada, white villages to Ronda
· Granada, White Villages and Costa del Sol
We had a great experience and the level of service that Jorge & Antonio provided made the difference in making this a truly amazing trip. Jorge kept in touch with us daily to ensure all was good, our luggage always arrived at the destination ahead of us. We had new bikes, and when the odd thing went wrong with the equipment Antonio came and repaired what needed fixing. The only issue we had was the Garmin, which ran out of power, so they arranged for a power pack that extended its range .
We would recommend them to anyone, it made the trip enjoyable knowing they could be contacted if anything went wrong.- What was the date of your tour?
- March 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- None
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Spain
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★★★★★ Michael Hallowell September 20, 2024Layers of history
· Danube River and Black Sea
We have done dozens of bicycle tours around the world so we have a good idea of what a good tour looks like. This one met our expectations. Lots of local history and culture, reasonable biking distances, good hotels and knowledgable guides. We also stopped and foraged along the way, eating everything from walnuts to peaches for fun. The bicycles were well maintained and appropriate for the surfaces we traveled (perhaps a third of the trip was on dirt farm roads, cyclists with gravel or mountain bike experience-like us-will have no trouble, that said, the two people on our trip without such experience did just fine.)
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 46
- 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?
- Bulgaria, Romania
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★★★★★ Love2ride July 15, 2019Great way to see Greece!
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
Overall, we were highly satisfied with our experience on this self guided bike trip. The scenery was great, starting in the (relatively cooler) mountain town of Vytina, cycling down into Tripoli. We enjoyed the day trip to the Kapsia Caves. The ride from Tripoli to Astros was scenic, with a very noticeable flora change as we dropped over the pass and started to head down to the (much warmer) seaside. The dip in the Aegean to cool off after the day's ride was exultant. The ride along the coast to Nafplio was beautiful, and we enjoyed the ancient sights along the way (Agros). Nafplio is a charming town, absolutely worth staging out of for the final few days.
Pluses: Hotel and staff in Vytina, Tripoli, Nafplio. The ancient sights to visit got better and better with each day (Argos, Mycenea, Epidaurus). The charming towns, intimate small lanes and shops, late night restaurants out in the squares or along pedestrian streets in Paralion Astros, Vytina, Nafplio were a delight. Dips to cool off in the Aegean a joy.
We found the Greeks, those with the local tour company, the shuttle pick up and drop off, the Hotels and well, just about everywhere along the way, to be friendly and eager to engage and to help. Also, the relative cost of goods, meals, etc. were quite affordable.
Specific to the bike tour company...friendly and prompt pick up at the airport, and the GPS units provided (50 EURO refunded deposit) had each days routes preloaded and worked out quite well (given the routing had a lot of zigs and zags at times, I don't think we'd have been able to follow the route with a paper map/sticker process common to other bike company rides). Baggage transfers went without a hitch. Very accommodating for our request to switch bike types at the start of the ride.As for 'room for improvement'...there were a few items. Relative to the info we were sent, this tour was a bit thin on details on where and when to expect to see some of the sights...just that 'we'd bike by them' (and we did, but at the 10 mile point, 15 mile point or ? - the GPS path did not indicate that type of info). One minor irritation, was our third day leg (Tripoli to Astros). We found the ancient site and museum at Tegea per the route description, only to find it was closed on that particular day we were routed to bike thru it. Also, the GPS, as stated it was overall very useful (only steered us off in a minor way once, and we were able to figure out where to go well enough). But the unit would tell us we'd be at the destination...and we'd look around and not see our hotels. We'd spend time walking around, circling about to find it (and the small hotel in Paralion Astros had the hotel name in subtle letters on a glass door...we walked right by it). Similar experience in Nafplio, I had to plug in the name of the hotel in my own smartphone to have it navigate us down side street alleyways to the hotel entrance. So a bit better directions on how to find our hotel upon arrival would have saved us some time out of the sun (already tired after a hot day cycling). And finally along those lines, there was a switch in our hotel in Nafplio versus our stated first night destination (we'd not been told this). That killed time trying to sort that out. Again, more a nuisance level...folks at both hotels quickly helped us figure out the slip up. SHOW MORE
As for any general observations about the tour. Unlike some other countries we've ridden thru, there really are no bike trails. However, much of this route is on back roads, where traffic was sparse. In the more congested (streets are narrow) towns, they were pretty small, and so we'd be thru them pretty quick and back on rural side roads. We had no issues with Greek drivers, even got a few friendly honks and waves (other cyclists were few and far between). We did note a lot of stray dogs, but fortunately the only times we encountered any aggressive barking, those dogs were behind fences. We switched to the tours hybrid bikes (I had originally booked road bikes, not knowing the details of the roads and routes), and we were glad we did. There were sections of (flat) gravel roads, particularly on the second bike day, more easily handled with wider tires and upright stance vs narrow tires and drop bars of a road bike. My partner appreciated their better climbing gears, not that the hilly sections weren't beyond our expectations, but in July, the combination of hills and heat (unfortunately, we hit it during a bit of a heatwave) made for slower paced riding. Regarding temperatures, full disclosure, towards the end of the tour, it was forecast to be well over 100 degrees F....we elected to hire a car and guide versus riding (no regrets, it actually hit 105 F that day). We knew this was going to be a hot time of year for this tour (my partner is a public school teacher, though, which limits our major vacation times). If we were not otherwise constrained, this tour in May or in September would be ideal.
SHOW LESS
To summarize, our glitches were minor, and we thoroughly enjoyed this tour and we're glad we did it.- What was the date of your tour?
- First week of July, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- ~6
- 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?
- Greece
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★★★★★ MichaelandErin September 17, 2018
Spectacular Scenary
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
We thoroughly our cycling trip between Innsbruck and Salzburg. Day one was a nice scenic warm up ride mostly along a river. The second day ride, heading 'up' another valley (still fairly flat in valley, with beautiful mountains on either side) was enjoyable....but the highlight of that day was after the ride. Our transfer minibus picked us up (promptly) that took us up and over to another valley to the town of Krimml. Fortunately, we had enough energy left to hike up to the top of the Krimml falls (tallest series of waterfalls in Europe). Spectacular. Down another valley the next day to Zell am See, where we spent our rest day. Lot's to do there, if it's sunny....but alas, we were rained out (which we were relieved we were not cycling that day). Our highlight day followed, with the combo of stops...one heading inside an extensive cave network (trails inside for the public to travel a fair distance into the mountain), and another stop after that one involved a short hike trail up into a narrow gorge (bring rain gear, waterfalls and mist made it like walking thru a shower in places). Again, unexpected and very, very scenic. Our wrap up in Salzburg we were glad we tacked on a extra day to see some of the local sites.
Overall, we had a great time. The accommodations were just the right fit to our tastes...friendly, cozy and comfortable. The rental bikes sturdy. The route is mostly bike trails, usually paved, but not always...and with only modest time on side roads. The self guided bike map book was pretty good (although we did have to pull out our smartphone map app to clarify some directions at times). The distances were long enough to feel like we'd traveled someplace, but short enough that we still had time to enjoy the sights.- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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
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★★★★★ Michael Drake July 21, 2023
Baltic immersion!
· Baltic Capitals: Historic Cities of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn
What a fun way to experience the Baltics! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, getting a taste of each country and its capital. We normally do self guided tours, but in this case, the guided option was the way to go. Not only did we get non biking guided walking tours of each capital, the bike guides were always there to fill in the history and background of sites and scenes along the way. They were very, very well informed and helpful. There are a LOT of bus transfer segments on this ride, but being able to bike ride the 'gem' segments, and have a bit more time (due to the bus) to enjoy the towns and cities, was a good trade off. The quality and proximity to town of the hotels exceeded our expectations. We gave ourselves an extra day at the end to really experience Tallinn. Another could have been made good use of. Our day in Riga there was the option to ride out to the beach, or just keep walking the town after our tour guide was finished with us. There is so much there, we elected to just spend the day exploring the town (no regrets). If there was any downside to this trip, it was the group size was a bit large. Again, perhaps because we normally do self guided we were sensitive to that. Although we did enjoy the diverse company (NZ, Australian, Canadian, Irish, US), the bigger group did make getting going and stopping, and riding, a bit more of a herding cats feel at times.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5 for one of us 7 for the other
- 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?
- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
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★★★★★ Michael Schwartz July 18, 2023Great Exposure to a Slovenia not seen by tourists
· Emerald Tour of Slovenia’s Gems
The bike tour of the Gems of Slovenia afforded us a glimpse into the hidden life of the country, at least the part we saw. The hotels were comfortable, especially the M Hotel in Ljubljana. Breakfast at the M Hotel and the Hotel Piran were great; the others middling to OK. The luggage delivery to each hotel was excellent. The routes from Ljubljana to Piran were good, although our navigation system failed us after the second day. The company faxed us paper directions but they were in black and white and were repeat documents of what we had already.
A few suggestions for change:
1. Provision of a cell phone holder (the plastic bag with velcro strips did not work)
2. A better GPS app
3. Two, not one, but two panniers
4. A way to ensure the charger for the E-bike does not fall out or be removed (someone removed my charger whether accidentally or intentionally I don't know)
5. A way to do laundry, either in town or at the hotel with turn around time to keep the momentum of the trip goingI would also consider making a town in Slovenia a central location with day trips to the surrounding environments.
Good job!
Michael
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 4 - 11
- How many tours have you completed?
- Two including this one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Slovenia
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★★★★★ Michelle Franks August 8, 2022
Absolutely fantastic!
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
We are so so impressed with everything about this trip! The planning, attention to detail, the hotels, the local guides, etc. Everyone was so helpful and the trip went off flawlessly. We did it in July during a heatwave and ended up switching to e-bikes halfway through, which was a great decision. ARCAS, the local bike company that took care of us in Greece, was absolutely wonderful and extremely accommodating. I did this trip with my 16 year old daughter, and it was perfect. This trip was a resounding 10/10!
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- just this one!
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
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★★★★★ Michele Riley September 16, 2024Wonderful biking in the islands!
· Split to Dalmatian Islands
This tour is a wonderful way to ride as much or as little as you want to. The self guided tours are very easy to follow using the app, and the bikes were in excellent condition. Taking the ferries out to the islands each day was very easy, and the islands themselves are very beautiful, with little traffic. Our tour contact, Michael, was very responsive and took care of the minor problems we had very quickly. The lodging was excellent.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
