Bike Tour Reviews  page 16

  • The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike
    (4/5) Linden Bentley 10 months ago

    Istrian adventure

    · · The Istrian Peninsula by Electric Bike

    Boat and boat accommodations were fine. Meals on board exceeded expectations. We like plenty of vegetables and that was provided. Crew and guides excellent! Bikes top class. Trails, trying in places. Destinations good, routes well guided. While we prefer all car-less rails to trails with consistent surfaces this was more varied between attention-required rocky/gravel/rutty surfaces, with 'turnstiles', paved surfaces with cars and no shoulders, and good smooths gravel--- it was a more demanding biking experience than those we prefer. Guides were excellent in explaining the upcoming terrain, traffic and inclines/declines. Pacing did not allow for much 'side tracking' for photos, or rests or independent exploring.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Families with young kids
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Croatia
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 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
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • UNESCO Sites of Albania
    (4/5) Rhonda Peckham 10 months ago

    Sampler of Albania's beauty

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    The tour itself was well organized and lodging overall was pleasant and comfortable. While instructions and direction for the ride were made clear by the guide, the UNESCO sites were not explained as to their significance and designation. Understandably, the guide appeared fatigued and distracted with this the last tour of the year for him. Technical support for and repair for some of the equipment seemed to be an issue. One safety concern noted from the trip: Medical supplies and first aid skills that would adequately address injuries related to cycling seemed to be lacking and was a cause for concern in the event of an emergency.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 2024
    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?
    Albania
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 3/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Tom Gihring 10 months ago

    Wonderful views riding through this mountainous landscape

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    One of the best value cycle tours to be found. First class meals provided, including fresh prepared local dishes. Guides take good care of the bikes and give daily briefings before each ride. Wish there were more cycle paths to relieve riders from dealing with motor traffic.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    •  (photo by Tom Gihring)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Holland Bike & Boat Northern Tour
    (4/5) Carol Morningstar 10 months ago

    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)
  • UNESCO Sites of Albania
    (4/5) Kathy Dudley 10 months ago

    Eye opening tour

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    Biking through Albania was certainly an eye opening experience. Observing the development of the country following so many years of communism was eye opening for us. Riding through villages with donkeys and wheelbarrows onto major highways with tourist buses was quite a juxtaposition. The country is beautiful yet full of trash. The people were warm amd welcoming and made the trip a wonderful experience. Our guide amd driver were fun and efficient. We would recommend better bike repair equipment or back up bikes and a first aid kit. It would be nice to have tours with e-bikes separate from those with manual bikes to decrease the waiting and the pressure of those riding manual bikes to keep up.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 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?
    Albania
    •  (photo by Kathy Dudley)
    •  (photo by Kathy Dudley)
    • Farm Sotira. Our favorite (photo by Kathy Dudley)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 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)
  • (4/5) David Loukras 10 months ago

    Great trip highly recommended

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    What a great way to see Albania. Each day brought new sights, history and great roads. Perfect weather in mid-October. Accommodations were clean and well equipped. Food was nutritious, traditional, plentiful and delicious. Bikes were good for most with a couple of small breakdowns for some. Most were on e-bikes and there was always enough batteries for everyone everyday. Great guiding to ensure everyone knew where to go, but not so much to burden the flow of the ride. Most of the roads were exceptional twisty winding roads with minimal amount of “highway” with truck traffic. Views of the mountains and Ionian Sea were breathtaking. We downloaded the map files provided and uploaded them to Komoot so we always knew where we were and where we were going.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Oct 7 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    This was my first guided bike tour. I will do more.
    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?
    Albania
    • Vjosa River valley (photo by David Loukras)
    • Himarë to Vlorë (photo by David Loukras)
    •  (photo by David Loukras)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 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)
  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    (4/5) Carol Keys 10 months ago

    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
  • UNESCO Sites of Albania
    (4/5) Maureen Lander 10 months ago

    Albania is Beautiful!

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    As far as the biking in Albania, I'd give five-star, A-plus all the way. Beautiful scenery, nice roads with twists and turns to keep things interesting. Lots of uphill -- negated by e-bike -- but rewarded with fun, exhilarating downhills that went on forever and ever. Our fellow bikers were the best, interesting, fun people from all over. It was a true experience being in a country that's emerging from decades and decades of communist rule. They have a ways to go, I'd say, as far as customer service/attitude about tourists, but it looks like they're trying.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
  • (4/5) Bradford Pickett 10 months ago

    A Great bike ride

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    You might add an extra day in the middle of the ride for some R & R. But it was a great bike ride. The end of the tourist season everybody in Albania was a little tired. Or may that is the Albanian way. The hotels were ok we had scratching all night in the country when we stayed at the log cabins.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
  • (4/5) Beth W. 10 months ago

    Great experience!

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    This was my first bike tour and time spent in Albania! Overall great experience with a wonderful group. Our guide and driver kept us on point each day to see the beautiful Albanian countryside including mountains and beaches. The food was healthy and good. Several of the routes were on busy roads with narrow shoulders for cyclists. The daily rides were challenging with a lot of rolling hills and climbing. Would be smart to highly consider an e-bike. Albania has a lot of opportunity to welcome tourism post-communism.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Bruges to Amsterdam
    (4/5) Tom 2 months ago

    Wind mills

    · · Bruges – Amsterdam by Bike and Boat

    Bike ride was great
    Food was good
    All passengers were great
    Bikes were good
    Boat cabins were just Ok

    Countries included in this tour?
    Belgium, Holland
  • Denmark and Sweden by Sail and Bike
    (4/5) Robert Runo 2 months ago

    Expectations met

    · · Denmark and Sweden by Sail and Bike

    The weather could have been better, but our guides, Elize and Simone, and the Atlantis staff were most accommodating. The food was good and plentiful.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 4, 2025
    How many tours have you completed?
    12 or more
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Denmark, Sweden
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Highlights of the Swiss Rhine
    (4/5) David P. 2 months ago

    Nice tour, but pricey.

    · Highlights of the Swiss Rhine: Lake Constance to Basel

    This was my fifth Biketours.com tour, fourth as a couple. The other tours, Saar/Mosel, Danube, and Lake Constance were almost totally on bike paths along waterways. The first day from Rorschach to Gottlieben was a repeat of the last day of the Constance tour. The second day we pedaled against a fierce westerly headwind. The boat ride from Stein am Rhein to Shaffhausen was nice, but two people and two bikes cost 90 Swiss Francs. The train would have been much cheaper, faster, but not as nice. In fact, the whole time we spent in Switzerland this trip was a price shock due to the value of the Franc. For this reason, I'd recommend tours in EU countries over this one. Day three involved some long, steep climbs along rural roads with little traffic. An E-bike is recommended for this reason. We didn't used E-bikes. Days four and five were on some roads with heavy traffic, and some rougher gravel paths. Scenery was nice, but no better than other river tours we've done. Bikes were great, seats comfortable, hotels very good. Not having printed guidebooks as we've had on previous tours took a little getting used to, but the provided app worked fine, except for finding hotels, especially Basel. One bag transfer per person required us to be flexible - two bags per person for previous tours. In summary, we enjoyed the tour, but believe our previous tours were better values.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June, 2025
    How many tours have you completed?
    5 from Biketours.com
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Switzerland
    • Hotel in Gottlieben, right on the river. (photo by David P.)
    •  (photo by David P.)
    • Rheinfalls. (photo by David P.)
    • Basel. (photo by David P.)
    •  (photo by David P.)
    •  (photo by David P.)
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 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
  • Romantic Road & Bavarian Lakes
    (4/5) Jan M 2 months ago

    Fun ride for experienced cyclist

    · Romantic Road and Bavarian Lakes

    What a great way to see Germany! The sights, sounds, smells... all the things you miss in a car or on a train. Have you heard a cuckoo bird in the wild? The navigation app worked great for the route - it didn't always lead you to your hotel, just FYI, you may be using your cell data plan for part of the navigation. Be sure to check for national holidays - Gasthauses may be closed. We rode in May - be ready for rain and sun. Luggage was always delivered to our next accomidation by 5pm- plan ahead for days when the ride ends early!

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2025
    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
    • New friends who were on the same self-guided route. (photo by Jan M)
    • forest roads (photo by Jan M)
    • Lots of cows! (photo by Jan M)
    • a nice gravel trail... some were less well maintained (photo by Jan M)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Bolzano to Verona
    (4/5) Deb 2 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
  • Innsbruck to Salzburg
    (4/5) Trish Bainbridge 2 months ago

    Part of a European transit cycle

    · Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails

    The paper guides were difficult to read - we used a Garmin which made it much easier otherwise you were constantly stopping to check turnings- suggest you don’t use survey maps but custom bike maps. Hotel selection was ok but some rooms were noisy and windows facing busy roads. Worst hotels were Innsbruck and Salzburg which spoiled the trip experience.Trish

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2025
    How many tours have you completed?
    Many European but usually self designed solo travellers with own bikes
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • UNESCO Sites of Albania
    (4/5) Jeffrey S. 2 months ago

    Albania Adventure

    · UNESCO Sites of Albania

    I'll start off by saying that overall I had a great trip. However, there were several things that were a disappointment. Starting with the good-the route, the scenery, and the group of people I was with were wonderful. The bad-the guide and the total number of people on the trip. The guide gave virtually no instructions when we first got our bikes. He spent a fair amount of time in the van rather than biking. He spent more time with his "assistant" (who was clearly his girlfriend) than he spent with guests. Except for in one city, he offered virtually no insight into the Albanian culture of the areas we visited. As for the number of people, there were 20 of us on the guided tour and there were another 8 people on the self-guided tour. The self-guided people stayed in the same hotels as us and that caused, on several occasions for the group of 20 to be split up into different hotels. One night in particular, our group was not only split up into two hotels, but I stayed in a separate house (hardly a hotel-more like a hostel) by myself. It was a very uncomfortable night. Had there been fewer than 28 people in total (guided plus self guided) on the trip, this would not have likely happened. Notwithstanding the above, I had a very good time but I chalk it up to the 19 other travelers in my guided group and the beautiful countryside we saw. One last thing-if you are not a seasoned cyclist-use an e-bike on this trip. Some of the hills are killers.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2025
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Albania
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Salzburg Lakes Tour
    (4/5) Susan Roberts 2 months ago

    Beautiful scenery!

    · Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps

    Nice variety of towns and rural countryside. Hills on the last day especially were more like level 4 than level 2 - quite challenging, even on ebikes. Hotels were varying but adequate.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria
    • Corpus Christi Day  Ebensee am Traunsee (photo by Susan Roberts)
    • St Wolfgang on Wolfgangsee (photo by Susan Roberts)
    • Purpose Bad Ischl (photo by Susan Roberts)
    • Hallstättersee (photo by Susan Roberts)
    • Die Villa Blumenthal (photo by Susan Roberts)
    • Mondsee Abbey (photo by Susan Roberts)
  • Danube Bike Path
    (4/5) Pedro Carlisle 2 months ago

    Romantic road

    · Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)

    A great way to visit Austria following the Danube, lovely landscapes and some lovely sights along the way

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2025
    How many tours have you completed?
    This was the third
    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, Germany
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 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
  • Salzburg Lakes Tour
    (4/5) ShopTherapy 2 months ago

    Nice Biking, Some Hotels Could Be Better

    · Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps

    Loved the rides and scenery. Ebikes performed adequately but had noticeably less power than new bikes we'd used the week before on another tour (Dolomites to Trieste). After a long day of riding, ending at a nice hotel is a must. The Mondsee and Salzburg hotels were great. Others not so much. Paying extra for the single supplement and ending up in a tiny room with a twin bed was disappointing. One was on the the 3rd (US 4th) floor, there were three daddy longlegs around the window, and the elevator was broken. Guests should have been assigned rooms on a lower floor or sent to a hotel 7 km away in St. Gilgen. Be aware that most hotel staffs go home between 10-11 pm so no front desk presence overnight.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2025
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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?
    Austria
    •  (photo by ShopTherapy)
    •  (photo by ShopTherapy)
    •  (photo by ShopTherapy)
    •  (photo by ShopTherapy)
    •  (photo by ShopTherapy)
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Guides (if applicable)