Bike Tour Reviews  page 162

  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (4/5) BYoung December 7, 2017

    Fun Triangle Trip Through the Balkans

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    A wonderful guided trip along the sea and up into the hills of this beautiful part of the Balkans. Great scenery, idyllic vistas and deserted former rail lines converted to cycling routes; this trip has a little bit of everything. And if you are looking for multiple stamps in your passport while crossing borders on bicycle you will be able to fill a couple of pages on this trip.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    10+
    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?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Danube Delights
    (4/5) Bryan Lee August 5, 2022

    A great way to cycle tour along the Danube through Austria.

    · · Danube Delights: Cycling and Cruising in the Footsteps of Royalty

    A great way to cycle tour along the Danube through Austria. Plenty of riding through beautiful, historic, picturesque towns and countryside during the day and to come back on board for the 5 star accommodation at night. Just enough exercise to not feel guilty going back for seconds at their magnificent buffets.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 25th 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Experience the unforgettable in Washington DC
    (4/5) Brittney S. May 3, 2023

    Great way to easily see many memorials and monuments!

    · Washington DC Monuments & Memorials Bike Tour

    This tour was a great way to see the monuments and memorials in DC. It was quick and easy to bike between the different tour stops and saved so much time compared to walking. At each stop, our guides took time to discuss the history behind the memorial and then allowed time to explore independently.
    The biking was very easy, even with a few road intersections and some pedestrian traffic around the more popular monuments.
    I would highly recommend this tour to anyone exploring the area. I imagine it is even more lovely at night with all the lighting on the monuments!

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2023
    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
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Three Lakes Tour
    (4/5) Brooke Bushman June 19, 2024

    A 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
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Bolzano to Verona
    (4/5) Deb 6 months ago

    Good trip

    · Bolzano to Verona: Orchards, Mountains & Timeless Culture

    Overall it was a great trip but bikes need to be upgraded to 21st century! They were dinosaur 🦕. Trip notes were good & hotels nice. We had a great trip with our friends.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (4/5) Karen Burnham August 3, 2022

    Self Guided Algarve Tour

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The connections at the beginning and end of the trip with the bike company went very smoothly and the bikes and GPS were of great quality. Our favorite towns were Vila Real and Tavira, and the paths the first 3 days were delightful. Day 4 was grueling with all busy road traffic. We wish this day could have been avoided via rerouting. All the hotels were fantastic, and the breakfasts were wonderful. We would have liked to spend 2 nights in Lagos so we would have had time to explore. Reaching the lighthouse at the end of the week was such a feeling of accomplishment! Portugal is a great place to visit, so be sure to spend more time after the bike ride to explore.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    Two
    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?
    Portugal
    • Bike and GPS instructions with Agnus (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Fun boardwalks to cycle on (photo by Karen Burnham)
    •  (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Half way across the Algarve (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Negotiating a town square (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • The FINISH LINE!!! (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Alsace Wine Country
    (4/5) Seawise September 6, 2017

    Post card scenery

    · Alsace Wine Country

    Self guided 5 day tour- very happy with "c" class accommodation. Views and overall ambience great. We were frustrated at times with directions and missing green indicators especially for detours into towns - ended up following what we thought was logical route but lack of green arrows caused us to get lost- sometimes came across a green arrow but it was wrong one and ended up on another route- had to back track. Selestat and Ingersheim particularly bad and finding Riquewihr also hard. When travelling on bike paths- magic. Overall we had great time.

    What was the date of your tour?
    1 sept 2017 to 6 sept.
    How many tours have you completed?
    None
    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
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Holland Bike & Boat Northern Tour
    (4/5) Carol Morningstar October 22, 2024

    Wonderful Bike Cruise and exceptional sites to see while biking

    · · Holland by Bike and Boat, Northern Tour

    Loved this cruise. We hope to book Croatia next year. The staff was wonderful and our director (Ken I think?) worked tirelessly to make everyone's trip wonderful. The food was good but we were disappointed that we had to pay to get water at dinner. This should always be free! Also we would have liked coffee available all day.

    One complaint was our room. Others who also ordered the basic stateroom had twice the size of ours for the same price. We were in a back room that had minimal space and NO CLOSET space or anywhere to hang anything! We had two shelves each for our clothes. We think it was actually a staff room for one person, yet we had to share it. I needed to climb over my husband to get out of bed at night.
    Not comfortable! That was disappointing but we got used to it and loved the cruise anyway. I do believe it should have been a much reduced price though.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Aug 24 2024
    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?
    Holland
    •  (photo by Carol Morningstar)
    •  (photo by Carol Morningstar)
    •  (photo by Carol Morningstar)
    •  (photo by Carol Morningstar)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Camino de Santiago
    (4/5) Cari October 21, 2017
    · Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 7, 2016 - October 13, 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal, Spain
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Florence to Rome
    (4/5) carlosferreira January 9, 2018
    · Florence to Rome

    What was the date of your tour?
    october 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    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?
    Italy
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 1/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Burgundy Wine Trails
    (4/5) Coco October 5, 2017

    Biking in Burgundy--fabulous!

    · Burgundy Wine Trails: Beaune to Macon on the “Voie Verte”

    This was a perfect way to spend a birthday with 5 close friends! The bike routes wound through vineyards in the midst of the crush, or on paved paths through forests and alongside canals.

    What was the date of your tour?
    mid-September
    How many tours have you completed?
    5
    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?
    France
    • 4/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Coco October 2, 2017

    Fantastic way to experience Burgundy

    · Burgundy Wine Trails: Beaune to Macon on the “Voie Verte”

    We were 6 friends on a self guided tour of the Burgundy Wine Trails. Having done many cycle tours in different European countries, I can say this one falls in the top of our list. The trails wind through vineyards and charming villages and navigation was very easy using the app. We LOVED Beaune and Dijon had a charm of it's own. The wines were fantastic and overall epicurean experience unparalleled. The only downside to this trip (and reason I am not giving it 5 stars) was two of the five hotels we stayed in were substandard. The Athanor in Beaune has a great location and warm welcoming lobby, but the rooms were dirty, there were no mattress pads on the beds, peeling paint in the bathroom etc. The Heloise in Cluny had a beautiful restaurant, but the rooms, while spacious, were extremely old and tired with ragged bedding and dark dingy halls.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 13-20, 2017
    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?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (4/5) Carol Keys October 25, 2024

    Beautiful and varied tour taking in 3 fantastic countries

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    This was our first time visiting Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina & Montenegro and the tour provided a good flavour of all three countries.
    We booked an extra day at the start of the tour to take in the sights of Dubrovnik. This was well worth it, with the highlight being a walk around the city walls in the old town and a boat trip out to Lokrum Island. On the downside, Dubrovnik was very crowded and prices were comparable to the UK. The rest of the tour was mainly in much quieter places, sometimes in the middle of nowhere and prices were very cheap in Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
    Our hotels varied from fairly basic to very nice but all of them met our needs.
    The tour itself did include a few very busy roads which were not ideal but probably unavoidable. However, it did include some lovely stretches along the coastline in Montenegro and the ride in B&H along an old railway line was predominantly traffic free.
    We did feel a bit under time pressure a couple of times when we were required to meet the van with our luggage at a border crossing, as it was difficult for us to estimate how long it would take us to get to the rendezvous.
    Our only real frustration was with the one Garmin we were given to navigate. This was quite dated, not intuititive to use and didn't seem to recognise some of the new roads. We often found it difficult to get the correct information displayed on the screen at the right time. We had written notes but in places where navigation was tricky, the notes didn't help either.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
  • Tuscany and Umbria
    (4/5) Severa July 6, 2018
    · Tuscany and Umbria: Cycling in the Heart of Italy

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 22
    How many tours have you completed?
    5
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Split to Dubrovnik
    (4/5) Wagner Castropil October 10, 2023

    Amazing Croatia

    · Split to Dubrovnik: The Islands and Coastline of Croatia

    The tour was very well organized.
    Our operator explained everything perfectly, and we felt very safe, even doing our first bike tour and going by ourselves.
    The climate, views, and places we visited were terrific.
    Everything was perfect but the hotels. Some were very old and had tiny rooms, challenging to rest and relax after a day-long journey.
    But in the end, the balance was super positive

    What was the date of your tour?
    october 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    0
    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?
    Croatia
    • View from Brac Island (photo by Wagner Castropil)
    • Departuring from Hvar Island (photo by Wagner Castropil)
    • Arriving in Korcula (photo by Wagner Castropil)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 1/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Bolzano – Verona – Venice
    (4/5) Catherine Hicks June 27, 2024

    Italian cycling

    · Bolzano – Verona – Venice

    the trip was very well organised and the hotel were very good. and meat lots of nice people doing the same trip. The routs were good but only having the on GPS I think we should have had a map as well as when the road was closed and no diversion in place it was difficult to get back on track. The transfer back to Bolzano was very good and again well organised. The 1st night our luggage did not turn up until 18.35 and that was after a phone call from me .The only part of the trip that we did not like was the 5 hour boat trip backwards and forwards across Lake Garda this was very long and we did not get to the hotel until 20.45. you could do a bike transfer along Garda or miss it out all together and go direct to Verona.

    What was the date of your tour?
    june 24
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • A Taste of Italy
    (4/5) Cathie Macmillan November 7, 2023

    Enjoyable trip through the food bowl of Italy

    · A Taste of Italy: Emilia-Romagna

    This tour was well organised and easy to follow using the Ride with GSP App. It was great to spend 2 nights at each destination and not rush from one town to the next. The e bikes were very well maintained and comfortable to ride. Unfortunately one of my drink holders broke as I cycled down a hill!
    The route was a mix of bike paths, main roads and smaller roads. We didn't enjoy the main roads as the traffic was quite busy and passed us very quickly which was scary at times. I wouldn't recommend the tour to first time bike tourists or families as it was a bit dangerous on so many main roads.
    Most accommodation was comfortable and met our needs. Our favourite accommodation was definitely La Razza Agritourismo! Hotel Button was our least favourite as it didn't have a fridge or tea making facilities in the room.
    Cycling through the food bowl of Italy gave us the opportunity to see how Parmigiano Reggiano and Balsamic Vinegar are made. Tasting the products was even better! We took the dinner options but in hindsight probably would have preferred to organise our own dinners.
    On reflection, we probably should have chosen a tour with a harder rating and more hills. The route was very flat so we didn't experience many good views of the scenery. We enjoyed the loop ride into the hills of Reggio Emilia. We didn't do the loop ride from Modena due to illness and poor weather so perhaps missed one of the good scenery days.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Oct 23
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 4/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Split to Dubrovnik
    (4/5) Cati C October 5, 2023

    Incredible trip, but expensive

    · Split to Dubrovnik: The Islands and Coastline of Croatia

    Croatia is without an ounce of doubt one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Biking the islands exceeded every expectation - pristine blue waters, olive and grape vineyards + tasting, beautiful stone villages. It was all wonderful. Our hotels in Hvar and Korcula were also outstanding.

    That said, I do not know why this tour is so much more expensive than every other tour offered on this site. Two of our three hotels were excellent, and they do provide boat transfers; however, our hotel in Split (the first two nights) was very mediocre, and most boat transfers are cheap ferry rides. Also, this trip is 6 days long. On Day 1, there is a short option to cycle on Split (12km). On Day 5, there is again a short option to cycle on Korcula island. On Day 6, there is no cycling and they do not include accommodations in Dubrovnik (so, it seems odd that this day is included in the price calculation). I have done other cycling tours that include significantly more cycling/lodging for a fraction of the cost. I am not someone who needs to bike 60+ km a day, but I do think the value of this tour did not match the cost. It would be increased if they included one more cycling day (either on Mljet island or near Dubrovnik on the mainland) and lodging on the last day.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia
    • Brač (photo by Cati C)
    • Korčula (photo by Cati C)
    • Hvar (photo by Cati C)
    • Sunset wine stop on Hvar (photo by Cati C)
    • Dubrovnik (photo by Cati C)
    •  (photo by Cati C)
    • 2/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Majorca
    (4/5) Sellg July 8, 2018
    · Majorca: A Loop Tour of the Beautiful Balearic Island

    What was the date of your tour?
    240618
    How many tours have you completed?
    14
    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?
    Spain
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 3/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Camino de Santiago
    (4/5) Cathy62 October 27, 2017

    Hardest bike trip I've ever done. Proud to have finished.

    · Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela

    I think this trip is a level 4 rather than a level 3 ride. It had some very difficult terrain that resulted in several in our group doing a fair amount of walking with their bikes. An electrical bike would have made the trip even more difficult.

    Because of the difficulty of the terrain I missed seeing a lot of scenery. Keeping my eyes on the off-road trails to navigate the loose rocks meant I couldn't look around.

    The Live, Love, Ride contact was great and responded in a timely manner to our needs. We did have one flat tire for which the incorrect sized tube was loaded on that bike. We did find the correct size on another bike in the group.

    What was the date of your tour?
    10/7 to 10/13
    How many tours have you completed?
    7
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal, Spain
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection