Bike Tour Reviews page 35
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and H…
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Holland
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Mexico
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United States
- Vietnam
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★★★★★ Cathie Macmillan
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
-
★★★★★ Cati C
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
-
★★★★★ Sellg
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
-
★★★★★ Cathy62
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.
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★★★★★ Kathy D
MIghty Dolomity
Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps
Truly enjoyed the trip. Great bike paths for most of the route. Beautiful scenery and great overnight stays. A few hotels didn't have air conditioning but that is not unusual in this part of the world. Unfortunately, Europe is experiencing a very hot summer in 2022. We greatly enjoyed the route and all there was to see and do along the way. The bikes were not what we had expected. Very heavy, more like a beach bike w 21 gears. If you take this trip and are used to a better bike, as we are, upgrade the bike you use. Very difficult riding these very heavy bikes up some of the hills. We took a train on Day 3 for a break - mostly because of the bikes. Saving grace - the train system is fantastic and they all have capacity for bikes at a minimal cost. The app was very good once we figured out how to use it. Would have been helpful if FunActive Tour Company had given us some instruction on how to use it prior to us departing.
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★★★★★ NewbieBiker
Great vacation!
Danube Delights: Cycling and Cruising in the Footsteps of Royalty
Excellent way to see the Austrian countryside. Really enjoyed cycling thru each little town. The cycling was very easy with only a couple of hills during the entire week. There were a couple of times when we were on a very busy road for a short period of time, maybe a Kilometer or less but the drivers there are very accustom to cyclists. Most of the time was either on a designated bike path or country road with very few cars. The food on the boat was very good. The staff was very kind to tell us places to go or their favorite restaurant. Make sure to stop at some of the cafes while cycling and have a Knodel or other local delicacies. Don’t be intimidated by the distances to ride each day. We have never ridden more that 5 miles but found it very easy to bike the distance each day. I do recommend either biking shorts or a memory foam seat cover if you are not used to riding all day. Also recommend not getting a cabin on the bottom deck as the windows don’t open. Our only complaint was that the person giving the daily briefings on the routes was not very friendly and a couple of times the route wasn’t clearly marked. The rest of the staff was excellent.
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★★★★★ Donald Allen
Improvisation on the river
Prague to Dresden Along the Vltava & Elbe Rivers
Due to the flooding of the Elbe river much of the bike pass was under water. The tour company rep, Lukas, did it wonderful job of working out a route for us each day. Unfortunately we had to bike some of our journey on busy highways, there just was no other way. Everything went smoothly, no small matter with the situation at hand, and we were again pleased with our trip. Looking forward to our next adventure with Bike Tours.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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?
- Czech Republic, Germany
-
★★★★★ Damon Di Florio
Fun Way To See Europe
Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
Nice routes to get to each hotel, plenty of time to add in any extras, lots of pretty towns and villages along the way. Great breakfasts each morning at the hotels, very comfortable beds to sleep in and just enjoyable riding each day.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was my first self guided (solo) tour but have done 4 European group tours
- 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?
- France, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Dan1
With the Dolomites as your splendid background, ride through ancient towns until you reach the unique watery world of Venice.
Bolzano – Verona – Venice
Highly recommend getting to Bolzano early so you have time to spend a day visiting the Italian Alps. The Dolomite Highway is awe-inspiring.
The bike trails were great. Mostly paved, and when they weren't, the majority were well packed. The tour route goes through picturesque countryside. The daily destinations are beautiful and historical.
The tour includes a 5+ hour ferry ride on Lake Garda. It is a gorgeous ride with the ferry zigzagging down the 35 mile length of the lake. Feels like you are in a National Geographic special. A couple of other recommended "must do's" - visit the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova and take in an opera at the Roman Arena in Verona.
Girolibero was our tour company. They provide great tour book of entire area and towns on route. However, they give it to you (along with bikes) the morning that the tour starts which allows little or no time to really utilize the great information. It would be much better if they provided a month earlier so you have time to research in advance. Should also provide bikes the prior evening so you can get up and leave earlier in the morning.
Some of the directions along the route could have been marked better. We followed other tour companies' markers more often because Girolibero's were fewer and far between. The bikes were excellent. In great shape and mechanically solid with smooth shifting.
We paid for the upgraded hotels. However, a few of them were in sketchy areas; like near train stations.
I don't mean to sound negative. Overall, it was a great trip and very glad we did it. Only offering suggestions to make the tour even better for future riders.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 26-31
- How many tours have you completed?
- Two
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Annej
Deep immersion in foothills of the Bavarian Alps
Romantic Road and Bavarian Lakes
Did this tour in the fall when it was too cool to swim. Lots of beautiful scenery of Bavarian farm life. Loved the charming local inns. Needed more guidance on what to see along the routes. The Eurobike arrows made it easy to trace the route. At times the route was very rough- gravel- but bikes had front suspension which helped.
Biggest suggestion is to inform us what days local markets are scheduled and when hotel restaurants as well as those recommended, are closed. one night we had to bike 30 minutes in the dark to find food. The hotel was too isolated.
In Augsburg it was extremely inconvenient to be at a hotel so far from train station. We did appreciate having our request to meet at our hotel honored.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 20-28
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
-
★★★★★ Dantzel Crane
Beautiful sights, okay directions
Dolomites to Venice Along the Old Dolomites Railway Track
We absolutely loved our trip to Italy! It was such a treat to be able to be outside and spend significant time in the Italian countryside, seeing the beauty that is there. My only critique is that often times the directions were a bit difficult to follow. It might just be that I am unfamiliar with the Italian road system, but there were several times where we needed to check the map that was given to us by the tour company against Google maps to make sure that we were in the right place and hadn’t missed a significant turn. Otherwise, the hotels were fine but nothing special (we did not pay for upgraded hotels), the bikes were great, and we loved our time in Italy so much!
- 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?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ BadgerBiker
South France self-guided
South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Hotels and most meals were very good to excellent. Very good scenery and most roads were paved, in good or better condition and lightly travelled. Bikes were heavier than necessary for terrain, but sturdy (only needed hybrids on the Canal day). Detailed cue sheet, but hard to follow on-the-fly, especially through the towns. GPS was more helpful, but wrong route on Canal du Midi day. Accommodated 1 vegan traveller well, except 1 place where there was a communication snafu. Overall a very good tour, but could work on routing accuracy and tips on scenery/history along the way (and maybe lighter hybrid bikes!).
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2019
- 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?
- France
-
★★★★★ Dave F
Enjoyable easy ride along the Danube
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
My wife and I are 71, so we appreciated the fact that this was a really flat trip along the river. The entire trip took place on a separate bike path, even if you were traveling along side a roadway, the bike path was physically separate from traffic. Along the way, there were many nice opportunities to stop for an afternoon coffee or a mid day meal. The hotels we stayed at were very nice. The bikes we used were e-bikes, and they were fantastic. The local bike support was super responsive - our only issue was in trying to contact one of the hotels, we could not understand how to make a call in Austria. We called the bike company service line, and they took care of us!
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★★★★★ David H
Enjoyable Cycle Trip Through Rural Sweden
Stockholm Round-Trip Across Swedish History
This trip was well designed to expose the rider to rural Sweden as well as some historical highlights. The length and hilliness of the individual segments allowed for five good days’ worth of cycling, yet left enough in the tank to enjoy the evenings. The accommodations were comfortable and accessible to a number of dinner options. Breakfasts were mostly quite good. There routing via online map was excellent but for one minor glitch described below..
There were a couple of areas which need some improvement.
1. On the routes of two of the days, there were short sections where the roads were paved with extremely coarse gravel, which made cycling very difficult, especially for less powerful riders.
2. On the first day, there were well-placed lunch options in Ekerö which would be useful if put in the description.
3. The condition of several of the front bags was poor.
4. The route outlined in the phone app directed riders over the main road as it entered Trosa; the bike route was visible on the electronic map as well as the paper map, but those following the highlighted route would follow it over a busy road..
5. Cyclists would be well warned that the elevators in the Tumba station are very tight for e-bikes.
Overall, we enjoyed the trip immensely, and would recommend it to anyone who asked.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- Four organized, a good many on our own
- 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?
- Sweden
-
★★★★★ David Klaeser
Danube River Tour
Vienna to Budapest 5-nights (Active)
Initial communications with BikeTours was challenging due to not knowing there was an 8 hour time zone difference. The hotel in Bratislava was located several km from the bike trail and it was difficult to navigate through town to get there plus staff were not friendly. Directions to this hotel in the app would have been helpful. The hotels in Gyor, Estergom and Budapest were easier to get to and had excellent service. The trip app was easy to use and provided lots of good information. The bikes were ok. A water bottle holder and phone holder on handlebars would make navigation safer and easier.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- 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?
- Austria, Hungary, Slovakia
-
★★★★★ David19
A vigorous adventure
UNESCO Sites of Albania
This is an excellent tour for anyone who wants to do a lot of climbing far from the beaten tourist path with the leadership of an excellent, superbly organized cyclist.
On the other hand, it is not a great way to get to know a lot about Albanian culture or history. Even though we went to some sites of great historical and cultural significance, we didn't have much time there, and promises that we would have a guided tour were not always kept. I'd have liked to have had a rest day in Gjirokaster; it has a lot of history to explore.
This tour has lots of climbs, some of them quite steep. The bikes provided by the operator didn't have low enough gears, so most tour members walked some of the climbs. The tour operator has told me he has recognized this problem and has already ordered more suitable bikes for 2019.
The food was excellent in both quality and quantity, with very few exceptions. Most eating was family style. There were vegetarian options.
Our group was large--22 participants, six more than advertised--but so well organized that meals moved briskly.
All 22 of us regrouped several times each day on the road. This, plus the attentiveness of the guide and the sag driver, made it almost impossible to get lost, but it also meant the faster riders often waited for the laggards to arrive.
I liked the other riders. I think few whiners choose tours in the mountains of Albania.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 13, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- More than ten.
- 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?
- Albania
-
★★★★★ DRC1
Great intro to Extremadura
Cycling Spain’s Land of the Conquistadors
An area with tons of sites and (relatively) little visited. Can you say Juradilla de la Vera? The Paradors are outstanding. Only down side of trip is that it involves a substantial amount of blacktop. Plus side of that is that it is usually lightly trafficked. We had ebikes and grateful we did because some of the days are long and with a difficulty greater than I would have otherwise enjoyed. The bikes were first rate, German built with Bosch drives. Can’t comment on support because we needed none.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept/Oct 2019
- 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?
- Spain
-
★★★★★ Cory
Dubrovnik to Split on bikes
UNESCO Highlights of Dalmatia by E-bike and Boat
This is the way to travel! Board your sailboat and unpack once! We enjoyed our stay on the Harmonia. The Bike Tours/Inselhupfen guides went out of their way to make sure everyone had a good time, that we were safe, and that any needs were addressed.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
-
★★★★★ Brent
Croatia cycling
Split to Dubrovnik: The Islands and Coastline of Croatia
Excellent support. The scenery is as remarkable as on the adverts of Croatia tourism - stunning! The cycling is extremely challenging, particularly in very warm weather.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug. 28-Sept. 2
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
-
★★★★★ Professor
Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/26 - 10/4
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12
- 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?
- Switzerland
