Bike Tour Reviews page 29
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★★★★★ 4the Danube September 22, 2017Great Fall Ride
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Directions were clear , the bikes were great and accommodations were very nice and ideally located. Service on the trail was super. We were on a self guided tour along the Danube and one in our group had a broken chain. We had a replacement within the hour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 7th- Sept. 13th
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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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★★★★★ POOM September 22, 2017Great relaxing bike tour around Lake Constance
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
The trip was well organized and hotels we were in were very good and clean and easily reachable from the bike route. We were there in mid-September which is very nice because the weather was cool and tour groups were rare at every stop.
The only suggestion is that there is really not much to do in Sank Gallen and the trip could have easily be cut one day shorter and not lose anything.
One hint in Konstanz : Go have Tapas at a small restaurant called Sabores. Best Choriso. We ended up going there 2 of the 3 nights we spent iin Konstanz.- What was the date of your tour?
- 11-22 September 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- 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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★★★★★ Baba K September 23, 2017Wonderful way to experience the "Romantic Rhine" and Neckar Valleys
· · Neckar & Rhine Rivers by Bike and Boat
We enjoyed being based on this relatively small boat. The staff was friendly and the meals very good. Nice presentations were given in English about each day's route. The cycling was not too difficult, mostly flat and about 45 km max per day. The scenery was beautiful. Villages and towns along the way were charming and interesting. There were so many places to explore some days that it was hard to get back to the boat on time (for dinner). This was only a problem for those of us who like to toodle along and take in all the sights, walk around the towns, etc. As the guide said, "it's not a race" and we took that to heart. It was nice to do the trip slightly off-season, ie early September--the temperature was comfortable and we probably encountered smaller crowds in places like Heidelberg than would be the case in the summer.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 8/31-9/7/17
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- 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?
- Germany
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, Founder and president September 24, 2017
Thank you very much for your feedback, which really captured the flavor of what a bike and boat tour is like. I'm a huge Neckar fan, and I'm always pleased when clients come back with good reports.
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★★★★★ MarcieB September 23, 2017So good the first time, we repeated the Bodensee circuit a second time!
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Two years ago, we opted for the 11-day self-guided Bodensee Bike Tour . . . complete with museum vouchers, boat rides and suggestions for side trips. We enjoyed it so much, we decided to look at the 6-day self-guided tour because it followed a slightly different itinerary. We were not disappointed! We discovered new towns, restaurants and bike paths. Truly a cultural patchwork between Germany, Austria and Switzerland!
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 21-27, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was bike tour #7!
- 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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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, Founder and president September 24, 2017
Thanks for the great report and photos, Marcie! We love repeat clients, but it's especially gratifying when clients like a tour so much they do it again!
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★★★★★ JayF September 23, 2017Some Surprises!
· South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
We had some terrific rides on this tour. The most notable being the third day of riding with a stop at Minerve. The scenery was incredible. The first two days also had some great vistas.
We took the time to explore the first night's village of St. Guilhume le Desert. Worth the time. We also stopped and walked the cave at Clamuse. The vineyards on the hillsides and in the valley were treats to cycle through. We enjoyed exploring the villages in which we stayed such as Villeneuvette and Siran.
The accommodations were all adequate with a couple highlights with the Chateaus in Lignan sur Orb and Siran. La Source in Villeneuvette was also charming.
The staff at all the accommodations were all very helpful and friendly.
The included meals were lovely.I do have some criticisms/suggestions:
1. When we booked this trip we wondered how we were going to achieve our usual daily mileage of 80-100kms. The tour is rated a 3 "rolling, hilly terrain". Discover France rates it as Hobby or Active. We were surprised when meeting with our Discover France contact at the 1st hotel that every ride except the canal ride into Carcassonne is rated Active/Pro. We have cycled frequently in rolling, hilly terrain such as Kentucky, rolling hills do not have names (as at least one of the climbs did). There were a few long climbs that by no measure qualify as rolling hilly terrain. We are also familiar with categorized climbs so we adjusted our expectations and pedaled. One steep incline on a rare broken pavement type road will stay with me for a while.
2. Discover France titles this ride "The Best of Languedoc" which is exactly what it is, you may want to adjust Biketours.com title as Narbonne is not on the itinerary.
3. A shorter road bike option into Carcassonne should be provided. There is a hybrid bike ride along the canal or a long road bike option. The weather was not co-operative on that day and we had to make our own shorter road option into Carcassonne.
4. The Hotel Montmorency was the smallest room on the trip and frankly a let down after the Chateau de Siran. At the end of the trip with all your stuff for two days it gets cramped. As well the hotel is really an annex of another with check in at the Chateau du Hotel, although there is no mention of the need to go across the street to check in. Checking in through a 4 star hotel had me questioning "why are we not staying here?". As noted previously the staff were excellent at Hotel Montmorency (really Chateau du Hotel), strictly room size issue. The location cannot be beat either.
5. Another day in Carcassonne might be offered as an option. The medieval city and the other sites in Carcassonne cannot be done justice in half a day. To chose between riding and properly seeing a place such as Carcassone is one that should not have to be made.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 14-20 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- Countless
- 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?
- France
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson, Founder and president September 24, 2017
I very much appreciate your detailed feedback, which I've passed along to our tour team. We will also inform the local tour company of your helpful comments. I'm glad you had some great rides despite some of the surprises!
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★★★★★ Vegacat September 24, 2017Enjoyable tour but poor organisation
Best of Northern Zealand
Although we booked this tour through biketours.com the tour is actually operated by Bike Denmark. Things got off to a bad start when we arrived at the first hotel (the Scandic in Copenhagen) to find the hotel had no record of a reservation in our name. Fortunately, the hotel did have a free room and after several phone calls to Bike Denmark the situation was sorted out. Our bikes were to be obtained the next morning from Bike Denmark at the rear of the hotel. What we found was a fairly chaotic situation with one Bike Denmark representative trying to set up bikes for twenty or so cyclists. Whilst the bikes were reasonable touring bikes, they had not been cleaned and were very dirty. There was a shortage of bike locks so we only got one between two. The helmets were old and in poor condition. Similarly, the bike map holders were torn and certainly not waterproof. Altogether it was a poor start to the tour. Bike Denmark could have done a much better job by ensuring that all bikes were set up and fully equipped prior to the 9.00am pick up time.
We were provided with two route books, one with maps one with turning instructions. Both were printed only on one side of the page so it would have been much better if they had been combined so as you could see the map and instructions side by side. The instructions were not always clear leading to a couple of wrong turns and the need to resort to Google maps. (We found that others on the route made similar errors). It would be better if the route book provided more detail of what you are passing between turning points as a cross check that you are on the right route. Also detail could be provided of dining options in overnight towns.
The bike tour itself was most enjoyable. Very pleasant and safe cycling along the coast to Helsingor (a highlight in itself) and then back by an inland route with some undulations. The hotel in Helsingor was very good (right on the beach) whilst the other hotels were adequate. However the hotel in Hillerod was unfortunately some way out of town so we didn't get to enjoy much of this interesting looking town itself.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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?
- Denmark
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★★★★★ Silvia September 24, 2017Very good overall experience
· Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela
We enjoyed the bike rides. It was a great idea to upgrade to e-bikes! The terrain was challenging at times. Pedro the tour coordinator was very helpful, he was easy to reach and pleasant !
Overall the hotels were good, but the ones in Spain were much nicer and had better meals . We don't recommend to include the dinners in the package, we had some very poor dinners , particularly in Portugal.
The length of the biking trips were perfect, for most part good scenery although there was a day with too many roads through industrial areas. -
★★★★★ BruceB September 24, 2017Really great trip
· Wine & Bike in Hungary’s Balaton Uplands
We loved Hungary, it is a beautiful part of the world and riding through the countryside and winelands was just the break we needed. The bike tour organisation was great (we went self guided), the bikes were very well maintained and our hotels were perfect. What I enjoyed most was the food - we elected to go with the package inclusive of dinner. I would highly recommend this tour!
- What was the date of your tour?
- 7 September 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- Hungary
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★★★★★ Thrivin sixtyfiven September 24, 2017Get out there and LIVE!
· Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
This tour was well orchestrated with every detail Jozef (our "pre-tour" guide) gave us perfect instructions so we stayed on course without troubles. We upgraded, and the hotels were all nice and in good locations regarding the bike trail (with the exception of the huge city of Budapest). We also used the ride with GPS app, which was extremely helpful. We had some rainy windy days, but overall the experience was delightful. I thought the breakfasts were ample except the one in Visegrad.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 15, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- None
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
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★★★★★ Merry Manitobans September 25, 2017
First Timers at 60
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 17-Sept. 26
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- 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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★★★★★ linda lou September 25, 2017
Trip of a lifetime
· Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
The bike trip was a little more challanging then we thought. WE were told the trail would be FLAT a 1 % grade well that was NOT true all of the time. We had many many hills to go up and that was not easy at times. We were going to get electric bikes and your company said that was not necessary due to the flatness....We really do wish we chose the electric bikes to help us out at times. WE also had a hard time finding some NOT all of the hotels when we got off the bike trail and we did use the maps and your information. We must say the bikes were GREAT....PERFECT ....and the equipment was really nice ...
Thank you for making this a real adventure for us... -
★★★★★ Cycle2017 September 25, 2017Our Venice to Porec Challenge
· Venice to Trieste and Istria
This tour proved to be more challenging than anticipated, partly due to torrential rains on 2 days and windy conditions most of the week. Concerns included long riding distances with limited facilities between some of the planned stops -e.g. -few restaurants or stores to purchase snacks and more water. The signage didn't always match the tour directions, creating confusion and likely longer rides than planned. The final day -70 km, with 50% uphill is a challenge for casual riders. Casual recreational riders will find some of the days long and some of the terrain challenging. The local provider provided excellent support when we were flooded out of a hotel and unable to ride due to area flooding, and also assisted with transportation for the final transfer when a member of the group was ill, and weather conditions were miserable. Despite this, our group, 3 recreational riders and 1 experienced rider, enjoyed visiting the beautiful cities along the route -when the weather cooperated.
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★★★★★ Bikers September 25, 2017Passau to Budapest
· Danube Cycle Path Passau – Budapest
A great way to explore parts of the Danube and its environs including historical and present day influences. Good hotels with local cuisine, culture and friendly hosts. A great way to meet like minded fellow travellers and get lots of fresh air with exercise.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 2 - 15 September 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- Nil
- 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, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Bonita September 25, 2017Great scenery, great food & good biking trails
· Medieval Villages of Catalonia
Our guide, Daniel with Creative Catalonia, was always aware of our safety. He was knowledgeable about the things we were seeing. If he didn't know the answer to questions, we'd often receive an email that evening containing an answer. We got to see some amazing sites. The hotels were very nice & resturants we were directed to were usually really good. He made sure that our bikes were all in good, working condition.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- Spain
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★★★★★ Ronb September 25, 2017Good value for money way to see the Baltic countries with great guide.
· Baltic Capitals: Historic Cities of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn
Our guide Romas was excellent. Lots of stories about where we visited. Most hotels very good with useful location. Easy riding. Bus always available if somebody wanted to rest. Great way to see Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Riga hotel not up to the standard of the others though it had perfect location.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 27th Aug 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- 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?
- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
