Bike Tour Reviews page 123
- Albania
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Holland
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Montenegro
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- United States
- Vietnam
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★★★★★ Sam Roozendaal 12 months agoBeatiful Views
· Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
Great way to see the Dolomites and Northern Italy. Majority of the ride was on paths, so low stress. There is more climbing than indicated in the description so be prepared. The rental bikes are 21 speed vintage 1990's so heavy and not geared well for the climbs.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Brenda Teal 11 months agoEnjoyable trip in most ways...
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
First, the positives...
The scenery, hotels provided, local emergency/tour representatives and bikes were exceptional. There were interesting and beautiful sights in every town and along the way. The bike shop where we received rental bikes, helmets, etc. was knowledgeable, friendly and Chris in Innsbruck was great to work with and talk to, and he provided great insights toward upcoming routes.
There was useful information about available alternate routes/modes of travel, as well as the scenery we could experience, and the details of our stays at each local inn were seamless, for the most part. I cannot say enough about the friendliness and helpfulness of hotel staff, without exception. The local representative and the transfer drivers were also easy to communicate with, and helpful in every area we needed.
I felt the info given regarding sightseeing was not as detailed or inclusive of all sights, as the last time we worked with BikeTours.
Regarding directions and mapping, the GPS we rented from BT was useless, and we stopped using or even charging it after a couple of days....the routes didn't seem to match those on the map given, and even when we were clearly on the cycle path designated, it constantly said to make a u-turn or offroute; 60 euros we should have kept for other things. The map directions were often unclear, especially entering and leaving cities, and since the GPS wasn't working, we had to constantly stop to take the map out as there was no place to clip it to the bike handlebar. The alternate routes on the Lofer travel day were confusing as well.
Despite these issues, we would have probably used BT again, except for the unexpected hotel expenses after we arrived in Austria. We asked for a final invoice, before booking, to make sure of costs in planning this trip, and was sent one which listed a "total" of all charges and a list of all services covered under our quoted tour cost, including specific hotel stays, with no mention of added costs to be paid when we arrived at each hotel. When we arrived in Innsbruck, the hotel informed us we still owed city taxes (this was the case in almost every town/hotel booked). Though the amounts were not big, the attitude we got from the tour when we called to check was off-putting ("that fact was included in the general description of the tour on the internet," and "a company does not have to put every little detail in an invoice.").
We suggest that BT put an * next to each hotel stay on their invoice/quotes, and then include in small print at the bottom " *some hotels may charge a city tax at checkout, usually from 2-8 euros per night, which is not covered by BikeTours." This is a detail that can be corrected easily, and sure would help travelers budget appropriately as well.
One thing is for sure, however you plan for it, go to Austria and experience the marvelous places on this river tour (we added extra time in Salzburg and Vienna)....you won't regret it. SHOW MORE- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Stephanie H 11 months agoSuch a beautiful country!
· UNESCO Sites of Albania
We had wonderful support from our guide and our driver. The food was delicious and it was a treat to experience the amazing terrain and sights. The hills could be strenuous at times and the diesel fumes unpleasant.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Albania
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★★★★★ Mary-lou Huculak 11 months ago
Amazing scenery.
· Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
The fresh air and mountain peaks are spectacular. I would recommend upgrading the bike rental as the basic trekking bike were not efficient for the terrain of this route.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May, 2024
- 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
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Robert Hamilton 11 months agoNice quiet roads, very good hotels
· Northern Spain: Cantabrian & Asturian Coasts
Many of the roads were through farm country and there were a lot more cows than cars, which was lovely.
The hotels were all very nice in all ways, and overall this was a very good cycle tour.
3 times during the week we stayed in a hotel for 2 nights instead of moving every day, which was nice.
I would recommend this tour to others. (this was my 8th one week cycle tour in Europe)- Countries included in this tour?
- Spain
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★★★★★ Lisa Ayton 11 months agoExcellent Trip
· Best of Slovenia: Highlights Across the Country From Bled to Piran
We chose the unguided version, using the Guibo Ap on our cell phones. Definitely worth bringing an extra power bank, as the power available on the cell, was our only concern in terms of getting from A to B. Sometimes the Ap, if there was a criticism, was almost 'too detailed' ie) a slight turn might be described in so much detail, that you think you are to do a much larger turn. Overall a very helpful ap and it corrected our direction a few times. The sites we saw from Bled to Piran 10 Bike Day Bike Tour were amazing and the distances were well planned. You did have to do some cycling on major roads at times, but the drivers seem quite used to cyclists. I recommend taking hotel upgrades when available, as we did not do this, but definitely wished we had, when it came to seeing Ljubjana and staying closer to the city. We felt all the hotels were what we expected (we had chosen a mid-range trip) with 1 major exception, that was a three star hotel. We also felt there were at least two stays that were excellent or above a mid-range feel, one with beach views and another with wine tastings. The country is amazing with views and greenery everywhere you look. At times reminding us of the Alps and at others like our home in BC, Canada and then finally the unique beauty of the Adriatic seaside to enjoy at the end. Our Electric Bikes were excellent, my chain came off twice but we got it back on and my husband ran out of brake fluid on the very last day. There were friendly, helpful people in all hotels and bike shops. We would all highly recommend this trip to others. Take an extra day in the City and by the seaside if you can. We also appreciated that help was only a phone call away at all times, we felt very safe and well served.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Slovenia
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★★★★★ Englander 11 months agoFun tour around Rotterdam
· 360° Rotterdam Bike Tour
Fun tour around the city with lovely guides. Good quality (3 speed) bikes. Very gentle with lots of stops, taking in many of the big sights
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 31 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- A few
- 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
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★★★★★ Elaine Kubicki 11 months agoCharming Coratia
· · The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike
This was my second bike trip with Bike Tours. My first was the Albania tour, which was fabulous! Overall, the Croatia trip was very satisfying, i.e. the yacht was very accommodating, the staff was very attentive and informative including the email personnel who answered questions before the trip, the new chef was great, the e-bikes worked well, the other vacationers made for pleasant exchanges, and the small ports and villages were charming to visit and the staff tours were interesting. On the other hand, there were things that kept this tour from being a 5 rating. My biggest concern was the additional costs, i.e., expected tips and bar/water bills that were not mentioned in the initial cost of the tour and were only made aware a few weeks before the tour and after the initial commitment and payment for the tour was made. Also, along with those concerns, I am curious as to why there was an extra charge for an e-bike when the trip is advertised as “The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike” and everyone rode an e-bike except two people who brought their own bikes? We also had problems mid-week with sewer gases in the bathrooms, which did get repaired within a day or two, and the air conditioning in the cabins worked well only one night out of 7, which made the cabin quite warm and damp. There were 34 bikers riding at the same time and on many more rocky gravel trails and busy highway/roads then I had expected and, at times, felt rather dangerous. However, as you noticed I still gave this tour a rating of 4, so, enough good outweighed to make it a satisfying trip.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ Elaine Kubicki 11 months ago
Charming Coratia
· · The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike
This was my second bike trip with Bike Tours. My first was the Albania tour, which was fabulous! Overall, the Croatia trip was very satisfying, i.e. the yacht was very accommodating, the staff was very attentive and informative including the email personnel who answered questions before the trip, the new chef was great, the e-bikes worked well, the other vacationers made for pleasant exchanges, and the small ports and villages were charming to visit and the staff tours were interesting. On the other hand, there were things that kept this tour from being a 5 rating. My biggest concern was the additional costs, i.e., expected tips and bar/water bills that were not mentioned in the initial cost of the tour and were only made aware a few weeks before the tour and after the initial commitment and payment for the tour was made. Also, along with those concerns, I am curious as to why there was an extra charge for an e-bike when the trip is advertised as “The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike” and everyone rode an e-bike except two people who brought their own bikes? We also had problems mid-week with sewer gases in the bathrooms, which did get repaired within a day or two, and the air conditioning in the cabins worked well only one night out of 7, which made the cabin quite warm and damp. There were 34 bikers riding at the same time and on many more rocky gravel trails and busy highway/roads then I had expected and, at times, felt rather dangerous. However, as you noticed I still gave this tour a rating of 4, so, enough good outweighed to make it a satisfying trip.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ John Schwartz 11 months ago
First trip to Europe riverboat cruise
· · Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Perfect way to experience Europe for the first time. A nice mix of biking and off days to explore cities and see lovely countryside and smaller towns. Riverboat cruise was very scenic and well planned.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Robert Arnold 11 months ago
A geart trip!
· · Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals
Excellent for the most part. Some issues with the boat. 1) Our cabin air conditioning did not consistently work. 2) We shouldn't have to pay for water at meal time. 3) Our group wasn't allowed to change tables at dinner which is something we would have liked to do since we were a group of 40.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 25 - June 1, 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 bike-boat tours
- 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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★★★★★ Gib Egge 11 months ago
Nice ride for cultural imersion
· Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Nice ride between two wonderful cities. Mainly along bike paths with the occasional road bike lane and urban, on-the-street moments when riding within larger cities. Ride has a manageable climb the first day but otherwise, not too much climbing unless you decide to embark on some optional side visits along the way. Outside of Prague, few people spoke good English, so have a good translator app with you. One member of our group had to ride the train for part of the journey and it was difficult to get him a ticket not speaking Czech. We were able to find a German-speaking ticket vendor and someone in our group could speak German. Just be aware of the language barrier in this part of Czechia. Parts of the trail on the first couple days were a bit muddy and more like a mountain bike trails. Took a bit more effort to traverse these sections. Hotels were very nice and the towns we stayed in were as well. Didn't see any other Americans along the ride. The food was very good and most places were even able to accommodate a vegan that was riding with us. We did have some mechanical issues with our bicycles that were addressed by the local tour company. Used the vendor for airport transfers and those were perfect. Navigation involved downloading Mapy.cz on our smartphones and uploading their trail maps. Maps were accurate and more or less essential for an optimum riding experience. Our hotel room the last two evenings, and the dinner we pre-paid for with biketours.com were not pre-paid by the vendor at arrival so we needed to pay for it. Currently working with them to get that refunded. If you're looking for less-traveled, easy/intermediate ride, and you are ok with navigating the language barrier, this is a good choice.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Czech Republic, Germany
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★★★★★ Tanner Welsh 11 months ago
Beautiful ride, a few weather-related issues
· Danube Bike Path 5-nights (Active)
Overall this tour was a great experience. The scenery was lovely, basic logistics were smooth and easy to follow, and the bike was sufficient for the style of riding. Hotels were comfortable and clean, and one was way more luxurious than expected.
The only reason I didn’t give five stars is that my tour coincided with Danube flooding that closed many sections of the trail, making the route significantly more difficult to navigate. While the tour operators were very helpful when asked, there wasn’t much proactive support with information like alternate routes. I would’ve expected a bit more of a “Plan B” in place given that flooding is not an uncommon event, but instead I was often just figuring it out as I went. This made for a memorable adventure, but also that I had less time to stop along the way because I had to account for more time spent waiting and taking detours. I’d also recommend spending some time getting familiar with common bike-related road signs and relevant German words for “except” and “open/closed” - much better to know the basics before having to take an unplanned detour through a higher-traffic zone.
All this to say, if you don’t go during a flood you’ll probably not encounter any of these issues. And the scenery and tranquility of the ride are hard to beat.
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★★★★★ Tanner Welsh 11 months ago
Beautiful ride, a few weather-related issues
· Danube Bike Path 5-nights (Active)
Overall this tour was a great experience. The scenery was lovely, basic logistics were smooth and easy to follow, and the bike was sufficient for the style of riding. Hotels were comfortable and clean, and one was way more luxurious than expected.
The only reason I didn’t give five stars is that my tour coincided with Danube flooding that closed many sections of the trail, making the route significantly more difficult to navigate. While the tour operators were very helpful when asked, there wasn’t much proactive support with information like alternate routes. I would’ve expected a bit more of a “Plan B” in place given that flooding is not an uncommon event, but instead I was often just figuring it out as I went. This made for a memorable adventure, but also that I had less time to stop along the way because I had to account for more time spent waiting and taking detours. I’d also recommend spending some time getting familiar with common bike-related road signs and relevant German words for “except” and “open/closed” - much better to know the basics before having to take an unplanned detour through a higher-traffic zone.
All this to say, if you don’t go during a flood you’ll probably not encounter any of these issues. And the scenery and tranquility of the ride are hard to beat.
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★★★★★ Pankaj Mulye 11 months agoDolomities
· 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
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2024
- 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?
- Austria, Italy
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★★★★★ Sandra Spekman 11 months ago
Fun bicycle trip in Greece
· · Enchanting Cyclades and Saronic Islands
Our guide was terrific! I'd give him a 10 out of 10. There were problems on the boat (Erato). 1) Shower door wouldn't close.
2) Light over bed didn't work. 3) There was moisture from the air conditioning unit made all of the clothes in this closet drenched every night. 4) The air conditioner in our room barely worked. We would wake up to a sweat because it was very hot in our room.
We were given some wrong information: We were told to bring a beach towel. They had beach towels onboard. We were told to bring soap and shampoo. They had soap and shampoo onboard.- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
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★★★★★ Brooke Bushman 11 months agoA fun trip
· Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
We enjoyed this trip but it was not our favorite tour we’ve done. We had a few minor issues with the e-bikes and in general did not like them as well as e-bikes we’ve had before. We messaged the operator about one of the issues while there and never got a reply. We paid for upgraded hotels and overall were pretty disappointed with the quality of them. We especially did not like the hotel in Saint Helene. The countryside was beautiful and it was a great route.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ CHRISTOPHER DRAIKIWICZ 11 months agoGreat trip
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Biking through the countryside was a great way to experience Austria. I hope to do another bike trip again. However I wish that the operator provided helmets, we instead purchased them in Passau before starting biking.
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★★★★★ Anita Elder 11 months agoBeautiful scenery and routes!
· Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
I really enjoyed riding my bike through Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia. The scenery was gorgeous and I made new friends. The hotels were mostly great with a couple of exceptions:
1. No elevator at the Splendido and very difficult to carry heavy suitcase down and then back up some stairs to our room. No coffee/tea until 8:30am and then it was terrible. Their food in the evening was good, however.
2. Hotel on the last day was not very good. The AC didn't work well and there was only one electrical outlet on the other side of the room from the bed (had to get an extension cord to plug in c-pap).The lunch stops during our ride were great and was more than I expected.
The local partner needs to step up their game. Because they didn't have anyone dedicated to collect luggage each morning and deliver it to the next hotel, the ride leader and support driver had to do it. This caused long delays in starting our ride each day. We would usually be told there would be a briefing at 8:00 am, but until they ride leader and driver got to the hotel, loaded up the bags, and dealt with some other issues, it was always well after 10am before we started riding. This meant that we were riding (and doing steep climbs) in the worst heat of the day.
The support driver, Nikola, was a sweetheart. Alex, the ride leader, was a good rider and knew the routes well, but he was rude to several of the guests.
With a little organization and extra staff, this tour would be perfect and at a decent price.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 8-15, 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- Average
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
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★★★★★ Rebecca Hengemuhle 10 months ago
Such an adventurous way to explore Austria
· Danube Family Tour 7 Nights
We loved this bike tour and it was a great adventure for our family to explore Austria. Biketours was easy to work with and the local operator was helpful. We loved the hospitality at our hotels (except one). Our first night in Linz was wonderful and the museum electronica was amazing. The stay on the farm/ cideria Hotel Moser was such a highlight and was super family friendly. Our boys loved the soccer pitch and food. Maria Taferl was absolutely stunning but an epic ascent that most kids / adults without an e-bike won’t be able to do. There is a bike shuttle option up though. Durnstein was great and we enjoyed a day off to explore the town/ ruins/ pool. The ferry provided a different view of the Danube but probably wasn’t necessary as it didn’t save us too many kms. Tulln was okay with our half board dinner at a separate Greek restaurant (which was delicious) and in a different hotel from where we checked in and had breakfast. The staff at the Hotel Austria were incredibly helpful and helped us come up with a good itinerary and travel plans through Vienna. The Danube cycle path isn’t always on a separate bike road which made it a little more nerve wracking with kids but our kids soon learned good road etiquette and safety. The app/ guide book was good but we still needed our own gps to get to our hotels. I would recommend the half board option and extra night in Vienna. We all really loved this adventure. The scenery, food and hospitality through Austria was incredible.
