Bike Tour Reviews  page 146

  • Danube Bike Path
    (2/5) Shirley Santucci 7 months ago

    Disappointed

    · Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)

    Total lack of communication in not informing us that our biking would end 2 days early, which meant missing out biking through the Wachau valley . When I contacted Bike Tours that my husband was ill and could not make the trip. I should have been informed then that there were changes to the scheduled tour. The welcome meeting & bike fitting was a joke. There was absolutely no value in that 15 minute meeting. I had to adjust the handle bars myself and struggle through removing the battery for charging at the 1st two hotels that did not offer charging in the bike storage area. The electric bike itself was very good quality and comfortable to ride. The printed trip itinerary was easy to follow but did not offer much in the way of "do not miss" highlights along the way. In my opinion, only three of the hotels were worth the upscale category. I would not recommend this bike tour for anyone that has experienced quality bike tours previously.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 26 to October 3
    How many tours have you completed?
    three
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany
    • 2/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • Danube Bike and Boat
    (2/5) frank vaughan 7 months ago

    More of a boat trip than a bike trip

    · · Danube Discovery: Bike and Boat through Enchanting Capitals

    We have been on 4 boat and bike tours. This was not a favorite. The boat company charges additional fees for anything- $15 daily fee for internet, $3.50 for a bottle of water, and $5+ for alcohol. They cover a long distance on the boat, so you do not have much time to ride the bike. When you do, it is a stringent timeline- off the ship at 9 am and meet the boat at 2:30 or you will miss the boat. It does not give you much time to look around. They have strictly enforced assigned seating at breakfast and dinner so it minimizes the chances of meeting other people. The guide was not very nice and did not ride the trails. They were covered in places with 4-6 inches of mud from the recent flooding and many were unrideable. Then the guide got mad when we returned to the boat covered in mud. The extra tours they sell were expensive and ok, but the guide on the Vienna tour left 2 of our group behind so they had to find their way back. The maps provided were ok, but somewhat confusing, and the briefing by the guide was rushed and not helpful. It's a German boat with German food and lots of retired Germans. There is nothing wrong with that, but many of them did not go on the rides described but just used the trip as a cheap river trip with some side rides.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
    • 2/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
    • 1/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • From the summit to the sand
    (2/5) Molly Troop May 8, 2024

    Must be an expert

    · San Sebastian E-MTB Tour

    1. The guide really didn't provide much information about San sebastian which I thought we would get some history about the area or basque culture
    2. The guide brought a friend and neither of them wanted to accommodate my entry experience. I had researched the biking area and knew there were paved roads to go up if I thought the off reading was too much but they continued to push what they wanted to do, not what I was comfortable with
    3. The guide did no introduction to our bikes. There was zero instruction given on how to use the electric nor a review on any part of the bike
    4. Only take this tour if you are a very experienced mountain biker and only want to mountain bike.

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • 3/5 Value
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Nature, Villages, and Castles
    (2/5) Michael Beiley October 8, 2023

    Mediocre bike trip

    · Nature, Villages & Castles of the Loire River Valley

    This is our 6th bike trip in Europe as an older couple and our least favorite. The chateaux (chateaus) were the highlights with beautiful gardens and art work. The beginning town of Blois and last town of Ambroise were charming and the best part of the trip. The biking along the Loire the very first day and last day were the prettiest. Most of the biking was along dedicated bikepaths or very quiet roads. Otherwise, the bicycling though flat farmland, small towns with zero to very limited restaurants, and vineyards without opportunity to for tastings was very uninspiring. The tour operator booked us in a hotel for two nights when the restaurant was closed and the nearest town was 4km through a forest at night if we wanted to eat dinner. They also booked a canoe trip for 2:30 when we passed through it was 11:00 a.m and closed (we asked for a refund but they never replied.) The hotels other than the first and last day were very average. Overall, the 4 chateaux and the two 1/2 days biking along Loire river were the highlights, the rest was mediocre.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept-Oct 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • Chateau Chambord (photo by Michael Beiley)
    • Chaumont sur Loire (photo by Michael Beiley)
    • 1/5 Value
    • 1/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (2/5) Margaret Farran October 23, 2023

    Not Really What We Expected

    · · Bruges to Paris by Bike and Boat (and reverse)

    We are seasoned bicyclists and have taken many bike tours. This tour was disappointing on a few fronts. The course of the tour had to change due to construction on the canal. This would have been fine except the guide, Harm, frequently did not seem to know where he was going. There were a couple of visits to places of interest (mining museum and a short stop at a WWI cemetery) but most times it felt like we were putting in time so as to not arrive hours before the boat arrived at its destination for the night. Our guide never led strolls around a town or provided much history. One evening when I asked if he could show us a pub to have a drink before dinner he said it was not his responsibility. We asked if we could bike on our own (as we have done on many other boat/bike tours in Europe) and were turned down. I pressed on quoting the description for the tour which read: "provide us with maps and all the information you'll need" to do a different distance. At that point Harm back tracked and said he'd provide this info. He never did. I've been biking for over 20 years on tours around the world and I have never had a guide so unhelpful and disengaged.
    The food was adequate. Nice dinners but breakfast and lunch were lacking. We needed more sustenance for biking in October. Most tours provide a snack after a day of biking but we could not rely on one each day on this tour. The group bought our own snacks when we could but it was all rather odd. As if this tour had never hosted bikers before.
    There was no wi-fi although the description said there would be. We at least had a data package, other people did not. What really gave us all pause was the captain's comments (1) it was too difficult to install wi-fi (I've never found that to be true on a boat) and (2) we really did not need it as we should not be on our phones during a tour. Rather presumptuous I thought. Don't advertise you have wi-fi when you don't.
    We had some rain which was to be expected in October. One day it was just too wet to bike. We all stayed on the boat - no wi-fi, cabins too small to lounge in them, and while there was a large library of DVDs the captain announced the monitor did not work, therefore no video watching.
    It felt like the boat was tired and the tour and crew either winding down for the season or going out of business.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    20+
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Belgium, France
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac October 24, 2023

      Hello Margaret! We're so sorry to hear about your disappointing experience. We deeply regret that it did not meet your expectations, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you encountered. We truly value your feedback and are committed to improving our services. Your input is crucial in helping us refine our services. Your comments about the tour route, lack of historical information, and guide foremost, are duly noted. We will address these concerns diligently and work on providing a better experience in the future. Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention. We value your 20 years of biking experience and hope to have the opportunity to provide you with a more engaging and rewarding tour in the future.

    • 2/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Route selection
    • 1/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • 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
  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (2/5) Andrew Lindsay May 6, 2024

    Disappointing Tour - Did Not Meet Expectations

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Positives:
    1) The e-bikes were very good and well maintained; the routes were generally excellent if a little short for e-bikes (rides often finished early afternoon whereas on most other organised cycle trips I've been on they were spread out over most of the day).
    The rides from Herceg Novi to Kotor; Ravno to Ston and Ston to Kun were particularly enjoyable - brilliant scenery and quiet roads.

    2) Accomodation - Hotels were all very good apart from Marija 2. This hotel was a good 20 minute walk from Kotor; room was clean but rather dark and miserable (no view; no balcony but lots of signs instructing occupants what not to do). Fried eggs at breakfast were cold). By contrast the Hotel Stancia in Ravno was a delight.
    3) Food - This was an enjoyable part of the tour. The 'included' lunches and evening meals were very good. The lunches at Ravno, Ston and Kun were especially enjoyable - offering liquor tasting; olive grove visit and locally produced food respectively. The local restaurants we chose for our evening meals were also excellent.

    Areas To Improve: As a guided introduction to the West Balkans this trip has nothing to recommend it. The guide, while perfectly charming and an excellent cycle tour leader, had next to nothing to say about the countries we visited (their history; their customs and culture; their flora and fauna). I suspect his Company has never provided any training on how to be a tour guide.

    This tour makes it very easy to miss exploring the old town of Herceg Novi; the walls of Kotor and Cavtat Old Town (indeed most of the group did) because they were never recommended or even mentioned; nor did we cycle to them). Dubrovnik is the jewel (albeit a very busy jewel) of the West Balkans and it would be very easy to book this tour and never see it (the old town is a 40 minute walk from the Hotel Adria).

    I've cycled many times with Explore and Exodus on group guided tours and their delivered experience is vastly superior to that of BikeTours.com.

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    I've been on well over 20 bike tours. The West Balkan tour is bottom quartile. Your guides need training. Happy to provide more feedback.
    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?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • Little Ston-the hotel is on this harbour. Delightful spot. (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • View from near Perast - another superb setting (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Ride thrrough vineyards en route to Ston (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Visit and lunch at the Olive Grove near Ston (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Cycle track along the old railway line to Ravno, Bosnia (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • 2/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • A memorable tour of Bilbao’s maritime icons
    (2/5) Aileen Gray 8 months ago

    Tour was not 5 hour tour as stated

    · Bilbao Gold Coast E-Bike Tour

    Excellent guide. We left bilboa at 10 am. Arrived in Getxo at 1220. Had option to return with guide or pay 7 each to return on our own. Return was 45 mins. Not worth 55 euro we paid.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 17
    How many tours have you completed?
    20 plus
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • 1/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Baltic Capitals
    (2/5) quin101 July 18, 2016

    Beautiful area but hectic pace

    · Baltic Capitals: Historic Cities of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn

    We did experience the Baltic Countries and we went to places we never would have seen. But, there are issues about the tour, that others should be aware of, the cycling was much faster then we thought, often cycling on roads, busy roads,it was not a relaxed pace, one guide for 15 riders, people often got lost/left behind. We never arrived to the hotel until at least 8pm No free time, no time to shop, take pictures. We feel the guide was unorganized, no care for the slower riders. When we booked this tour it was rated as a 1 in difficulty. This is too low for the terrain and pace that we encountered.
    That said we are still glad we did the tour as we did see beautiful and interesting places. I hope the company makes some changes to the tour to make it more enjoyable to all.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 19
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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?
    Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
    • 1/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Aare Cycle Route
    (2/5) John Parsons December 7, 2015

    Can't recommend it

    · Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers

    Food organization poor. Rhine River portion very industrial

    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • 1/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • Picturesque Villages and Nature Reserves
    (2/5) Ronald Schwarcz August 23, 2023

    Extremely disappointing.

    · · Sail & Bike to Picturesque Villages and Nature Reserves

    The ship was terrible. Our cabin was so small that it could not accommodate two people comfortably. Also, the ventilation was poor and it was always warm and muggy. There was inadequate seating on the deck. No comfortable chaises or stairs. The Captain did not communicate well or do anything help the travelers meet and mingle. It was especially frustrating as my friend and I were the only Americans and there were no native born English speaking traveling. Unlike all other trips we were on, nothing was done to provide us information about the villages we docked at. The captain or crew did not offer to take us into towns and show us around or even recommend bars or other places to visit. There were no daily information sheets, recommendation or even maps. We were completely on our own. The food was marginal at best. The dinner portions were small. Must dinner wasn’t an”event”, everyone was in and out in around 40 minutes. In general the amenities were totally lacking. We believe that the most Americans would not be satisfied with the Sail and Bike tours offered by Bike Boat Tours. On our ship, the crew were friendly and worked hard, but it seemed that they were understaffed. As it seems that they were working a very tight budget. We only had meat was the dinner entree one night and that was at the BBQ. Two nights we had vegetarian main course. We were never taught anything about sailing except helping pulling ropes to raise and lower sails. I could go on and on, but, I will end by saying that the ship was not comfortable and nothing was done to help the travelers fully enjoy the experience.

    What was the date of your tour?
    August 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    10
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Holland
    • 3/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 1/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Dolomites to Venice
    (2/5) Chris MacMillan September 4, 2023

    Spectacular scenery, poor bike maintenance

    · Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track

    The scenery was spectacular and memorable. The hotels were good. However in the middle of the trip my bike handlebars came loose and the bike was very difficult to steer towards the hotel. Also I found the Funtastic navigation app to be unreliable.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    •  (photo by Chris MacMillan)
  • Danube Bike Path
    (2/5) Debra Miller September 27, 2023

    A Bit Disappointing

    · Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)

    Cycling along a paved path along the Danube was relaxing for our group of four. Day three was truly beautiful with cobblestone roads and colorful houses in the villages. Wish we had gone earlier in the year as many restaurants and shops were closed for the season.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    4
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany
    •  (photo by Debra Miller)
    •  (photo by Debra Miller)
    •  (photo by Debra Miller)
    •  (photo by Debra Miller)
    •  (photo by Debra Miller)
    •  (photo by Debra Miller)
    • 2/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Florence to Rome
    (2/5) Mark Abzug September 28, 2023

    meh

    · Florence to Rome

    great cycling, but eurotours was terrible. no orientation, routed us on some busy roads, no customer service at all. I've done 5 of these, and this group was the worst support outfit by far

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
  • 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
  • Highlights of the Highlands
    (2/5) David Anderson October 4, 2022

    Pretty location, ok organization

    · Highlights of the Highlands: Donegal by E-bike

    In general, it was a great experience. I'd never been on a bike tour, and this was a load of fun. My wife and I plan to do more bike tours. However, if I had to choose between bike tours, I wouldn't recommend this specific one.

    Going over this bike tour's organization.

    GPS / Directions.

    A few things here to complain about.

    1. The printed directions were inconsistent between people on the tour. Some printed directions said left at an intersection, others said right. They were simply out of date, and the tour didn't re-print everything. Old printouts = old directions.

    2. The printed directions were inconsistent with the web directions. We were sent PDFs of directions. Those didn't match up with the printouts. Again, likely because they were older or newer (we couldn't figure out which). Different roads sometimes, different turns.

    3. The printed and web directions were inconsistent with the GPS tracks. This was super annoying, because we were biking along listening to the GPS directions (on the unit provided), and the GPS would say "turn here!" and the printed directions indicated we should go another few blocks.

    4. The printed / web / GPS directions were out of date for actual road conditions. In two different locations, the road was literally closed, and we had to detour around an area using Google maps. In one place, the GPS road literally had grass growing on it, and had obviously moved at least 5+ years before. These directions are *very* out of date at times.

    These direction inconsistencies didn't mean we got lost, but it did mean *daily* stops to consult our map, Google maps, GPS directions, and try to figure out where the tour intended us to go, regardless of all the inconsistencies. I'd highly suggest having offline Google maps if you're going to take the tour.

    Lodging.

    Some places were outstanding and high quality. Other places were lower quality. One place in particular stank heavily of peat smoke, with smoke literally billowing in through our windows. I don't know how often the tour company inspects the places they're sending people.

    Food.

    The tour included breakfast. It was sometimes great, mostly fine, but sometimes a bit low quality. Again, perhaps a lack of inspection on exactly what they're paying for.

    While the tour didn't provide dinner, we sometimes had trouble finding any place which was open. In one town, we got *lucky* that there was a food truck open, because otherwise every single restaurant in town was closed down. The locals all said that it made no sense that we hadn't planned on dinner, because their town didn't have restaurants open in this season. Many locations only had a single restaurant option. I think if you're going to operate a tour this late in the season, you need to scout out restaurants which will actually be open.  SHOW MORE 

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Ireland
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from Bike Tours Team Member October 19, 2022

      Hi David,
      Thank you for taking the time to leave us feedback - we really appreciate it! For future bike tours, I do recommend following GPS tracks OR printed instructions. They can sometimes vary depending on updates but do not necessarily mean one or the other is wrong (I recommend GPS over printed instructions). It's a fair assessment that all hotels are not equal (i.e. breakfasts, amenities), sometimes our options are limited in certain towns. Unfortunately the same goes for restaurant options in certain towns. I would agree that an e-bike battery should never run out if it is properly charged. However, if the battery is being heavily used or is getting too old, it can run out and should be replaced. Although we know you can't fully inspect the ebike battery, we do recommend you do a good inspection of your bicycle before starting the tour, so we can try to address any issues before you get cycling. In the 2023 season we will offer 24/7 hotline to our local office so that we may be able to assist you immediately when any issues arise. I hope you had a great trip despite the the issues.

    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • Holland’s Super Tulip Tour
    (2/5) Rebecca Norman May 17, 2023

    Was lovely. Nice country.

    · · Holland’s Super Tulip Tour

    Boat, Food, Captain, Chef, First Mate… Wonderful…. Now the tour guide.. hum not so much… First my bike was not the right size for me!! Way to tall!! First day I did ask for some help on getting a safer bike.. Did change but still to tall. I didn’t ride many days not feeling safe!! One’s feet should not be 6 inches off the pavement. I would hop loft to stop. I did fall twice. She didn’t know the route. Turned around afew times.. Always a problem finding a toilet to stop at… Would I go on another tour? Up in the air. Can’t say I would.

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 29
    How many tours have you completed?
    First
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Holland
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from Jan May 17, 2023

      Rebecca,

      We truly appreciate your honest feedback and sincerely apologize for the issues you experienced with your bike and the guidance during your tour. We are committed to enhancing our services for a more comfortable and safe adventure, and we'll take your comments into consideration for future improvements. We hope that despite these challenges, we'll have the opportunity to welcome you back on another tour and provide a better experience.

      Jan

    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
    • 1/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Baltic Capitals
    (1/5) JEAN1999 July 16, 2016

    Unforgettable Experience

    · Baltic Capitals: Historic Cities of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn

    Tour did not meet my expectations.
    The pace was actually 12 to 15 mph and not 8 -9 mph as advertised, we always seemed to be late; and the only time that could be made up was during the riding. I would not describe the pace as casual. Unless you were a strong rider or had an e-bike, we felt we could not stop for pictures for the fear of getting lost. One rider dropped a bottle at the start of the ride and by the time it was put away, she could not see anyone up the road and did not know which way to go, so she decided to get on the sag wagon. On-going bicycle problems which should have been resolved the first day. Riders kept getting 'lost' due to inadequate group management which caused delays. Some riders kept having problems with their bikes, brakes improperly adjusted, loose handlebars (to store the bikes in the trailer, handlebars are loosened), group start riding despite not everyone being ready. Riders brought much more luggage than is recommended and there was inadequate space on the bus for all the luggage which ended up in aisle. Every seat on the bus was occupied; back row of bus has inadequate viewing and cannot hear instructions, sight descriptions over the speakers. One bus driver had unhealthy health habits, such as directly drinking from the 5 liter jugs used to fill up rider water bottles; he was always the first off and last one on despite record temperatures (one time after everyone got on-board, he went for a smoke with bus off); the other two drivers kept bus comfortable at all times and never got lost using their Garmin. Five nights were in hotels without AC, which is generally not a problem except that we had near record temperatures of 32 deg C on those days. Even though riding miles on the beach is considered 'fun', most of us did not consider it safe having to dodge bathers and children (it was record heat and the beach was very crowded). Your suggested tipping is ridiculous; seasoned Europeans riders within our group recommended a maximum of 20 Euros per person for the entire trip (bus driver was tipped separately). We had 15 riders, two guides would have been helpful to avoid losing riders along the way. I had never been on a multi-day bike tour, but others in the group had been on several and they did not think this tour met expectations.
    Now the positives. The bus broke down on the worst possible day but we were able to proceed after a 6 hour delay for a new bus to arrive (this was handled well). The tour guide was very knowledgeable and had lots of information to share.
    I will post more details on TripAdvisor

    What was the date of your tour?
    06/19/2016
    How many tours have you completed?
    First multi-day tour
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from Lindsay Nash July 17, 2016

      Dear Jean,
      I know we've already been in touch with others in your party regarding your feedback on this tour but I just want to reiterate our apologies for your experience. We've taken this feedback to the operator so they'll know about it as well. In the past, we've only received very positive feedback and we're sorry this wasn't your experience.

    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (1/5) Mama May 22, 2016

    Danube family bike tour???

    · Danube Family Tour 7 Nights

    This trip did not turn out to be anything like we expected. Although the hotels and the scenery were beautiful the support from The Bike Company was useless. When a child with a temp of 104 needed a hospital they had no suggestions on where to go or how to get there. The maps they provided were useless and the directions given to us on the first night we're completed in about 20 minutes. The bikes were inconsistent some had water bottle holders some not. The day at the spa although nice contain total nudity. American children aren't used to that. The Farm Hotel turned out to be 3 goats. The bike ride into Venice was four miles of City biking. bike trails in Vienna are gorgeous but not particularly child friendly. The Danube bike paths all though lovely contained many areas where the speed limit was 70 kilometers an hour. We had seven and 10 year old children riding.The bike support was not given by the tour company but by another tour company. Support really meant they just transported our luggage. This would have been a beautiful ride for adults and teenagers. Not young children. the maps need to be completely redone.

    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?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from Lindsay May 23, 2016

      Hi Sharon, thanks very much for your feedback. We're requesting a response and feedback from the local tour operator and will be following back up with another comment very shortly. - Lindsay

      ---

      Hi Sharon,

      We're very sorry to hear that this tour did not meet your expectations. We try our best to educate travelers on what to expect, especially with self-guided tours. Please accept our apologies if you did not find the information sufficient on this tour page and in the materials provided during correspondence with our staff and with the tour company during your tour.

      We chatted with the local tour operator regarding your comments about their service. While they regret that you were dissatisfied with the overall experience, they did provide the level of support detailed in the ""Included Services"" for this tour package. They also noted that they organized a taxi to transport your bikes on the rainy day for no additional charge (which is typically not included on self-guided tours). It sounds as though you may most enjoy a private guided tour for your next trip, which would include your own private support vehicle and guide.

      The Danube Bike Path is consistently rated one of the best bike paths in Europe for its safety, ease, and family-friendliness, and we've confidently recommended it to families for more than ten years based on the great comments and stories we've always heard from past clients, as well as our own experiences. We're sorry this was not your experience, and we hope to have the opportunity to help you organize another trip in the future that's a better fit for your family.

      A note to travelers considering this tour in the future: please be sure to review this page with general information on self-guided tours (https://www.biketours.com/self-guided-bike-tours/) and this page on what to expect on a typical day on a self-guided tour (https://www.biketours.com/typical-day). Also carefully review the ""Included Services"" section on this tour page to familiarize yourself with the level of service you should expect when booking this tour.

    • 1/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • Royal Zealand & Copenhagen
    (1/5) Sam Fleischacker 10 months ago

    Denmark is great; BikeTours is not

    · Royal Zealand and Copenhagen

    Are you looking for a tour company that will send you bike directions to the wrong hotels, follow that up with a condescending note when you complain rather than apologizing and correcting their mistake, book you in charmless corporate hotels way outside of the towns you're headed for, and delete your GPS tracks before your trip is finished? If so, this is the trip for you! If not, look elsewhere. My wife and I had some wonderful biking on this trip - but that's because of Denmark, which has beautiful and very well-marked bike trails everywhere (running through forests often), not because of BikeTours: indeed, we sometimes needed to correct the GPS tracks we were sent by the Danish markers, or by asking locals for help. Our previous experience on a self-guided bike tour, in France, was magical: with lovely, varied hotels in beautiful places at the end of each day, a well-crafted route accurately represented on the GPS tracks, and good help available by phone if we needed it (to be fair the Copenhagen representative of this local bike company, Sofia, was very friendly and helpful). This was a great disappointment after that. If you're looking for a tour that is geared towards your enjoyment, rather than the bottom line of the tour operator, I'd avoid BikeTours.com.

    What was the date of your tour?
    July 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Denmark
    • The bathroom in one of our hotels (the shower runs via the sink) - not sure how this hotel managed to eke out 3 stars ... (photo by Sam Fleischacker)
    • 1/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 1/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection