Bike Tour Reviews  page 2

  • Amsterdam to Bruges
    (2/5) Mungo September 25, 2016

    Nice not to have to pack every day

    · · Amsterdam – Bruges by Bike and Boat – Princesse Royal

    Flat terrain, mostly bike paths and not having to pack and unpack are great advantages of this trip. The food and accommodations were better than expected. However, it is not recommended as a self-guided tour as the directions are not complete. Also, as a group tour with 35 people in a large pack makes it too cumbersome.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2016
    How many tours have you completed?
    10
    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?
    Belgium, Holland
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Tauern Bike Path
    (2/5) diane g September 18, 2016

    Salzburg to Salzburg has fantastic scenery but directions provided are unbelievably poorly developed

    · Tauern Bike Path (Salzburg-Salzburg)

    Salzburg to Salzburg over 6 days is higher than a level 2. The terrain is hilly. I do not recommend this self guided tour because the german-speaking outfits they contract with provide totally inadequate self-guiding instructions. They do not know what a cue sheet is. They do not provide any directions as to north, south, east, west; they do not provide any street names. AND, the directions in English are very obviously translated very poorly from the German. In addition, there is no way to find your hotel once off the bike path. You have to depend upon good route finding skills for this hotel finding as well as the entire trip. We had this same experience with bike tours.com 7 years ago and thought they might have gotten better at directions. We gave bike tours feedback at that time, and our friends gave feedback on their german-speaking directions on their self-guided tour, and nothing changed. Hence I am writing this review without making a customer complaint becaue I do not believe bike tours will fix this problem. AND, THIS TOUR REQUIRES ONE TO CONSULT 3 SETS OF INSTRUCTIONS THROUGHOUT THE TRIP. 2 sets of friends had exactly the same experience. 2 stars are for getting our luggage to each hotel before we arrived; and the hotels were gracious and accommodating.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2016
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Three Lakes Tour
    (2/5) shea214 November 13, 2016

    too much is too much

    · Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy

    This tour is quite lovely, but not at the level we expected. This is our 8th tour so we feel we get them by now. We like the unguided aspect, but they completely outsourced the work of actual directions to a machine. It is not an adequate substitution. The machine added at least 15 miles on the first day and was most frustrating. Please, give us actual directions AND MAPS. A silly little device is certainly helpful but should not be a substitute. And the distance and hills were definitely not Medium. This was proven out the first night by the guy who biked to the hotel (he likes extreme and he thought it was tough).

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept2016
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    France, Switzerland
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Rhine Bike Path
    (2/5) Jim Brewer September 25, 2018

    Mainz to Cologne

    · Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne

    The Rhine Valley was beautiful. The hybird bikes were very good. Maps and directions for the tour were very poor at best. Extremely difficult to find Hotels and the key sights mentioned by the tour. We experienced extremely high temperatures but had A/C most nights. The night without A/C resulted in very little sleep and NO biking the next day. The night that they shut off the A/C in the middle of the night resulted into a lot of lost sleep. Bottom line even with average high temperatures you need A/C every night and all night long.
    Others on the same tour with the same maps etc also had difficulties finding the Hotels each evening.

    What was the date of your tour?
    22 Jul 18--28 Jul 18
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Germany
    • 1/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 2/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Bruges to Paris
    (2/5) bonnie100 October 9, 2018

    So So Vacation

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

    Good bike trip if you like a slow pace. Lots of time wasted at not very interesting sites. Had to "kill" time in order not to get to the barges anchoring site before the barge got there which was usually between 4-6 PM. The barge itself was fair. But some of the scenery in Belgium and France was beautiful making the trip tolerable. Food was average. Bikes were very good.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept. 14-31
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Belgium, France
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 1/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
    • 3/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Alsace Wine Country
    (2/5) Bluenose October 1, 2018

    Alsace in September

    · Alsace Wine Country

    Great time of year to do this trip as the vineyards are being harvested. The weather is perfect for cycling! Much of the trip is on dedicated cycle paths which reduces the amount of riding in traffic.
    We took the dinner package which saved us the hassle of trying to find dinner each night. A couple of the meals were terrific but most were average.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 9, 2018
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    France
    • 3/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • Vienna to Budapest
    (2/5) Ron S September 11, 2017

    Classic

    · Vienna to Budapest (Classic)

    Nice hotels. Great company rep. (Joseph ) Lousy route. Too many dirt trails including one which may have been a garbage dump.l Less than twenty five percent of the route was along the Danube. The signage was not good. I have run four trips thru Bike Tours but this one is not a winner. All the others were great. One participant who had a patellar injury rented an electric assist bike but the battery pack did not hold charge very long. We had additional niggling bike problems.

    What was the date of your tour?
    9/2/2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    4 thru Bike Tours
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Hungary
    • 2/5 Value
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 2/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • 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
  • (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
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac September 28, 2023

      Dear Ronald,

      Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback regarding your recent sail and bike tour experience with us. We sincerely appreciate your insights as they help us understand areas where we can improve and enhance the overall experience for our guests.

      We're truly sorry to hear that your cabin did not meet your expectations in terms of size and ventilation. It's not a "standard" barge and is more of a converted Sailing Ship. It has this character, but it's still very clean and accommodating.

      Additionally, we regret that you found the seating and amenities on the deck inadequate. We strive to offer a relaxing and enjoyable environment for our travellers, and thus offering the total of 8 beanbags, and an additional beacon on deck.

      Communication and interaction among travelers are crucial aspects of any journey, and we apologize if you felt there was a lack of communication or opportunities to mingle. Captain feels uncomfortable about the way you perceived this trip, as he did his best to facilitate connection among guests for a more enriching experience.

      Our culinary offerings are important to us, and we're disappointed to learn that the food did not meet your expectations. We're committed to reviewing and improving our menu selections and dining experience to deliver a more satisfying culinary journey for our guests. In the case of this tour, we are inclining towards the food that is simple, in its pure forms, but very tasty.

      We appreciate your recognition of our hardworking and friendly crew. Rest assured, we'll take your feedback about the crew workload into consideration to ensure that our crew can provide exceptional service to all guests on board.

      Once again, thank you for bringing these concerns to our attention. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future and provide a much-improved experience that addresses the areas you've highlighted.

      Best,

      Customer Service
      BikeTours.com

    • 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
  • 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
  • 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)
  • (2/5) May July 15, 2023

    First family cycling trip completed!

    · Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)

    Overall a satisfactory trip! The GPS is very useful for navigation. The hotels are great! Just on first day, we find that 2 of the 4 bikes are not fit. We have enter our age and height and has not been told specifically what kinds of bikes will be assigned. I found that they just give standard bikes for adult female and male disregard our height and age (Asians in average are shorter than Westerners.) The person, Robert, arrived for “bike fitting” was not helpful at all. He suggested my daughter to cycle 30km to their bike shop to change bike. When we asked him to call customer service, he said he didn’t have Wi-Fi. So, Eurobike send a staff without communication methods to help customers’ solve problems? Finally, Robert had to use my phone to call the CS number. And in the phone, he said we are “bla, bla, bla.” Is it the customers cannot voice their requests, even the bikes are not fit and customers have to take the risk of getting hurt or accident? and seems to Robert, customers’ requests are “bla, bla, bla..” And customers need to take the riding risk to go 30km to change bike? Later he mentioned it may need to charge EUR 50 per bike change if need to switch bikes in Passau. I have emailed biketour and I am grateful that next day the 2 bikes were changed without additional charges. In second day, Simon is much more helpful. Simon helps us do the testing & it works. Simon is v polite and helpful. Passau is the starting point of Danube cycle path. I feel strange that the outsource company does not have a bike rental centre there. This is our first family cycling trip and it did create stresses at the beginning. The outsource company probably need to have better communication with biketour.

    What was the date of your tour?
    July 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    First bike tour
    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?
    Austria, Germany
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • 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)
  • (2/5) Christopher Blair September 17, 2022

    Strasbourg - Mainz

    · Strasbourg to Mainz: Imperial Cities and Charming Landscapes Along the Rhine

    It was okay.
    First day, bags were not picked up. Had to call. Delivered after dinner time. Expected some explanation or perhaps an apology. Nothing.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 2022
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    France, Germany
    • 3/5 Value
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 1/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • Tuscany and Umbria
    (2/5) John (Jay) Bonitt August 12, 2022

    Significant elevation!

    · Tuscany and Umbria: Cycling in the Heart of Italy

    This was our fourth self-guided Biketours.com trip, the firs three were five-star successes. This one was the most disappointing, not because of the region or places to stay…all were good! But, this trip had over 16,400 ft. Of elevation..even on E-bikes (for the first time) it was VERY difficult. We saw only one or two road bikers the entire trip, whereas on the previous trips we saw lots of road bikes. As experienced bike tours.com travelers we’re pretty attuned to following direction…this particular trip had poor written and app directions. If you are interested in this particular trip you had better be in the best shape of your life. It is not a moderate level trip…even on an e-bike.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 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)
  • (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
  • Tauern Bike Path
    (2/5) Carol Bly 7 months ago

    Not what hoped for. Poor directions. Unsafe routes and not well marked.

    · Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)

    Loved quiet rides in country and thru villages but dangerous conditions were not marked due to recent storms. We should have been notified and got onto dangerous routes.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Austria, Germany
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 2/5 Route selection
  • (2/5) MM 7 months ago

    Flood Trip

    · · Danube Delights: Biking through Four Countries

    We were bussed from Passau to Vienna to meet the boat, which never left port for the week due to flooding. All week we were told their was a possibility of leaving port, so there were days we had to stay around the boat to wait for details, which hampered our daily plans. It would have been better to just tell us up front we would be there all week, so our plans for the day could be made.
    The cruise director did everything he could to make the trip memorable, which is was, with the constraints he had.
    Breakfast's were fabulous, lunches provided were good! Dinners were a little lacking, but adequate. Drinks were fine, but more options for daily drink tickets would have been appreciated. The Vivienne was beautiful!

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    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?
    Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
    • 2/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 1/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)