Bike Tour Reviews page 4
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★★★★★ Susan B March 22, 2022Best time ever on a bike tour
· Nature, Villages & Castles of the Loire River Valley
We had the most wonderful time on this tour. We are 73 and 75 years old, fairly frequent bike riders at home, and were completely capable of doing this easy route. Mostly flat, had to walk a couple of minor hills, very little riding in traffic. The route was beautiful (we were blessed with great weather in late September), the hotels were outstanding (I recommend taking the dinner package option with the tour; we didn't but ate at the hotels because several were in very small towns. The food was absolutely gourmet.) Our bikes were first class; the whole trip was just magic. People at Biketours.com are super easy to work with. Will definitely use them again.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- 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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★★★★★ RiderSA July 25, 2019
It was a dream cycle ride!
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
What a beautiful way to experience Austria and the Austrian Alps. The journey was well-planned, there was a lot of time to enjoy the scenery and cuisine, and the hotels were all great.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 1-8 July 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ BusterBrown September 29, 2017A great way to see Croatia
· Split to Dubrovnik: the Islands and Coastline of Croatia
Meridian Ten is the local company that built and ran the tour. Our hotels were first class and all the bag transfers and water taxis were flawless. The bikes weren’t new but were well maintained and worked without any problems. Tom met us at our start point and gave us a briefing and a book describing all the suggested routes and options, There are also recommendations for dining and other activities in the book that came in handy.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 20-26, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, Founder and president September 30, 2017
Thank you for your feedback and photo. Looking at the photo, I think I was there two days ago, just south of Orebic near Korcula! What a beautiful region!
I'm glad you had a great time and that Meridien Ten provided you the great service we've come to expect from them.
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★★★★★ JimJ December 3, 2015Far exceeded my expectations--which were already high!
· Wild Atlantic Way Cycling
I went on this tour as a BikeTours.com staff member and was joined by a friend. More than a year later, we still talk about it: the quiet routes, the lush rural settings, the seaside views, the welcoming villages, the wonderful lodging, the charming people, the superbly attentive tour company and the tasty Irish cuisine (far tastier than I expected). Everything exceeded our expectations. I have the opportunity to go on tours all over the world, and I rarely do "repeats." I'd repeat this tour with joy. The daily distances were perfect for our leisurely cycling, the terrain mostly flat to rolling with just a few longer or steeper climbs that challenged us.
The Wild Atlantic Way is an amazingly scenic route covering the western coast from north to south. I've done not the whole route, but I'd rate this segment a 10 for sure. The mix of countryside, seacoast, farms, woodlands, rolling hills and even a spectacular fjord and a remote island (with overnight) made this bicycle tour one we'll remember even above most others.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 35
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens, Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Ireland
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★★★★★ Jason Hartford 10 months ago
Memorable trip well organized
· Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
We had a great experience with Bike Tours. Positive: good communication pre trip and the night before. Good pre-trip description of the hotel locations, hotels, and what to expect from the bikes. Night prior, very good review of what to expect. We rented the premium bikes and glad we did--worked very well. On the tour, very good ideas of what to see, and the distance between towns seemed to be well thought out with the first and last legs the shortest. Hotels were great. A diversity of new and classic and all had more to them than what I expected. Often ate at the hotel restaurants which were very good.
On the negative side, not much. Directions into and out of town accurate except the last leg going into Vienna -- on that one Google maps was much better.
We will definitely do another trip with Bike Tours and even this exact one-- it was memorable and fun and want to experience it with more friends.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Jim G September 29, 2017Beautiful scenery
· Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
The scenery on this tour is magnificent!
Including the largest waterfall in Europe, snow covered Alps mountain tops, lush green valleys, small towns and villages. We even encountered and made friends with some lovely cows.
For "Sound of Music " fans , we recommend staying an extra day in Salzburg, and going on the Sound of Music bicycle tour. Very enjoyable and informative.- What was the date of your tour?
- September, 2017
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, Founder and president September 30, 2017
Thanks for the great feedback and photos, Jim! I've done the Tauern Bike Path several times, and it remains one of my favorites. And I agree 100 percent with you about spending extra time in Salzburg--also one of my favorite cities.
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★★★★★ Nancyhj May 15, 2017
Beautiful ride through three countries
· Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
The scenery was ravishing, the directions got us where we needed to go, the breakfasts and hotels were delightful. We opted to rent e-bikes which allowed us to keep up with the stronger riders on our group. The main drawback was the lack of directions for getting from the train station in Trieste to our hotel. Not knowing the lay of the land, which streets were apt to be steep or major thoroughfares, it took us 3 times what it should have to get to our hotel. Also Bled is a charming little town, but had we realized it is a major tour bus destination we would not have opted to spend the extra night there.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 5-12, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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, Slovenia
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★★★★★ Heidy December 3, 2015Beautiful Scenic Bike Tour
· Connemara Lazy Days Cycling
The perfect way to experience Ireland! My husband and I biked this tour in September 2014 and were totally taken away by beautiful Connemara region. Along the way, we enjoyed beer and seafood in local pubs and a smoked mackerel and champagne in Ballynahinch Castle. The bicycles were in good condition and the accommodation in B&Bs was fine for us. The hosts were friendly, the facilities clean and the Irish breakfast huge and delicious. I bought us all the rain-gear I could find, but we did not need it once. Some mornings were foggy but it only added to the charm of the countryside.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens, Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Ireland
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★★★★★ Michelle Franks 10 months agoAbsolutely 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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★★★★★ TimHam January 5, 2022A spectacular trip - best yet with Bike Tours!
· Dolomites to Lake Garda: Picturesque Cities and Stunning Scenery
What a beautiful trip! The scenery of the Dolomites and Lake Garda was otherworldly, each day better than the day before. The town's and hotels were charming. The well marked dedicated paths and instructions were great, and traffic free most of the way. The Eurobike leader was fabulous, going out of her way to retrieve my backpack with passport that I'd left on the train in Austria. This was my 6th Bike Tours tour...they have all been great, but this one was tops. Oh by the way, we used e-bikes here which I'd highly recommend!
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2021
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Ann1 July 24, 2019
How we experienced the trip.
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
Biketour.com is a reliable company and you get a fast answer to your questions. We had though some problems with the co-working German company. When the bikes arrived they were not e-bikes! That was discovered early on because we took some extra nights at the first hotel and the bikes were replaced before the trip began the next day. However we could not use the bikes in town on the first day. One bike had a misplaced saddle but after some repair by the handy man driving it, this was solved too. The luggage was very late 8pm on the first day, it should arrive at the latest at 6 pm; thereafter it worked well. The bikes were very good. Hotel staff always friendly. Beds were very good. Free wifi everywhere. Some problems with missing aircondition during the hot days/nights. Sightseeing: A most beautiful trip through historic towns. Stork village. Rhine falls. The weather in our favor.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July
- 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?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ vickiboys September 16, 2018
Awesome experience
· · Amsterdam – Bruges by Bike and Boat – Princesse Royal
This trip on Magnifique III was our second after an equally great trip on Magnifique II last year. The boat and bikes were great and the group of 40 people from all over the world made for awesome conversation and fun. Our guide Hester (same as last year) was truly amazing and we were fortunate to have her again. The only negative aspect was the air conditioner broke down on the second day of our August trip which made for some very uncomfortable evenings on board.
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★★★★★ Margaret May 15, 2017A view of Europe that we couldn't get any other way
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
My husband and I chose the self-guided option, and we're happy with that choice -- more flexibility with pace and timing.
Our tour dates were in early May, and this was probably both good and bad. We had some drizzle and a couple days were a bit chilly. On the other hand, the bike path was probably less busy than it will be later. I'm not a fast rider and I'm not comfortable with a lot of other riders whizzing by me. And I suspect that we got upper-end lodging, even though I'd selected middle-grade, because the hotels were eager to have bookings.
I hadn't been able to do all the training I should have, so I opted for an e-bike and it was a very good decision. I still got a workout but I wasn't pushed so hard that I couldn't enjoy the ride.
Couple of tips:
- If you're coming over from the US, give yourself a couple of days to recover before you start the ride. And give yourself a day at the end of the ride before there's anything you have to do.
- Make sure that everybody in your group has all the necessary information about destination, contacts, etc. It's possible to get separated from the others, even when you're trying not to.
- Make sure that you're comfortable with a bit of traffic -- oncoming riders, you passing people, people passing you. The other bikers on the path trust you to do the right thing and stay in your lane, so be sure that you can. When I wasn't confident about this, I got off and walked my bike.- What was the date of your tour?
- May 4-11, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was my first
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
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★★★★★ Gretchen Jones 10 months ago
Stunning trip through the coast of Ireland
· Treasures of the Donegal Coast
This was my fourth bicycle trip in Europe and was one of my favorites. We used ebikes which made the entire trip enjoyable and manageable (altogether, we rode about 130 miles and had just under 10K feet of climb). Scenery was unsurpassed. Just stunning. Area is very remote. Accommodations were fine but nothing special (except the beginning/ending B&B). We did self guided and directions/Garmin were impeccable. Just a great way to see Ireland
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 9+
- 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?
- Ireland
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★★★★★ Paul Miller 7 months agoFantastic bike trip through Germany
· Mosel Bike Path: Dreamy Mosel Valley from Trier to Koblenz
Our group of 3 all loved this trip. It's beautiful, a good balance of riding and interesting activities (like a wine tasting one evening). The hotels were all very good - ranging from extremely nice to more modest. The scenery and towns were terrific. Of course the food, beer and wine were all terrific. Highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys a bike trip. Super easy to navigate and the bikes were top notch. (from 3 sort of picky New Yorkers!!)
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10 bikes tours before this one.
- 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?
- Germany
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★★★★★ StuNH October 14, 2021A tour far exceeding expectations!
· Best of Catalonia Cycle Touring
Reading previous reviews, what most needs to be said is praise for this tour is not over rated. It was an exceptional tour! We did the tour in late September into October. The high tourist season was past, so our entire tour was quiet, peaceful, relaxing. The weather was very pleasant, and swimming in the Mediterranean was delightful. We had 3 days on the coast to enjoy that. We loved the various cycling experiences - the "Carrilet", the coast (Costa Brava), and the medieval villages. The hotels were all outstanding.
Even though the tour was self guided, the tour operator remained in touch and was exceptional.- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/28/21 - 10/6/21
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10+ (I've lost count)
- 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
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★★★★★ eliza July 22, 2019Fun for the whole family
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
We all loved it!!! Beautifully organized, great accomadations and food, the scenery was beautiful and plenty of gelato and swimmming along the way
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 4th, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Rich and Alesa September 15, 2018Wonderful trip among the Alps
· Tauern Bike Path (Salzburg-Salzburg)
This is our fourth self-guided bike trip with Bike Tours (Tuscany/Umbria, Romania, Greece, and now Austria from/to Salzburg). It is the new benchmark.
The bike trails were glorious and often in the country and along the rivers, usually
paved. The hotels (except for the last one near Salzburg) were excellent. The bike equipment was first class and very appropriate for the bike trails and occassional gravel.We are in our late sixties, so having so much of the trip on bike trails was special. The countryside was green and when we saw the Alps after some cloudy days, it was awe-inspiring.
This is a special trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Badgers September 27, 2017WONDER-FUL trip!
· Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
Despite chilly temperatures and rain we thoroughly enjoyed our Rhine River self guided tour. The hotels were comfortable, the breakfasts were top-notch and the route took us through so much beautiful scenery.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 12-17, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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?
- Germany
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, Founder and president September 28, 2017
Thank you for the feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed your Rhine tour!
