Staff Picks Bike Tour Reviews (page 8)
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★★★★★ Carlosm November 11, 2018A very special experience
· · National Parks of Dalmatia by Bike/E-bike and Boat
This was one of the last tours offered for 2018 and Bike Tours acted quickly to get us signed up, and responded immediately to several questions we had. As for the tour company, we could not have been more pleased--the guides were excellent, the boat staff worked hard and were always helpful. And, the beauty of the coastline is exceptional.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 13 to 20, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- none before this one
- 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?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ senorbogus November 10, 2018Rolling through beautiful Alentejo
· Castles and Wines of Portugal
Our self-guided tour was a wonderful experience. We were very happy with all of the rich, multi-sensory stimulation we experienced every day on the trip. Lots of variety and interest, especially for us who are very interested in history and local culture. Highlights were getting to visit up close and in a very informal and uncrowded manner the many historic sites - castles, prehistoric graves and boulder installations, village crafts workshops, medieval churches and cathedrals as well as the pleasant agricultural countryside. We particularly liked it that we experienced zero crowds of other tourists. By the way, the castle that you show in your photo was where we had lunch one day. We were the only persons there. It was our hottest and longest day, so we really needed the rest, refreshment and tranquility. Special highlights were the beautiful, historic inns where we stayed - converted palaces and convents several hundreds of years old. It almost made us feel like royalty, and for a modest price, too.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct. 6-13, 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?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ happyPedals November 5, 2018Interesting, varied, a great trip
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
You will see different landscapes, from the more mountainous interior to the coast. There are chances to see many historical sites. The GPS is a must for the trip, you will get lost if you don't have it. I strongly recommend bringing your own small pump which can handle both Presta and Schraeder. The pumps we were given were a bit dodgy, and handled only Presta although we had some Schraeder valves on our tires and just one spare tube (Presta). We came across some aggressive stray dogs but weren't attacked. I carried a stick on my bike just in case. As a woman I would have been a bit anxious doing this ride alone, I was happy to have a partner with me. The hotels were mostly family-run or small and felt friendly and welcoming. There were many great restaurants in the destination towns. Staying 3 nights in the final town with 2 loop trips was great - the hotel was good and you didn't have to keep packing and unpacking. You *must* carry the hotel list with you - the GPS will not lead you directly to the hotels and the hotel names are not part of the map binder. You will see some beautiful scenery and also some abandoned and derelict buildings and piles of garbage. Some days you ride on somewhat busy roads with very narrow shoulders, but we found that drivers were courteous. If you are going to use the Metro in Athens, do some research about the level of organized pick-pocketing there and take precautions. This was a rewarding trip for someone who loves biking and history and exploring.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
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★★★★★ Tim and Lisa September 26, 2018
Wonderful trip
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
The route was fantastic, with gorgeous scenery, some amazing long downhill stretches, and major archaeological sites. Roads usually had little to no traffic and uphills were never overwhelming (I didn't ever wear the reflective vest I brought or have to walk). All of the accommodations, staff, and breakfasts were very nice and sometimes great. We enjoyed all of the suggested stops and towns we stayed in. It would have been impossible to come up with a comparable route on our own. The Trek bikes were in good shape. The only problem we had was that one day we encountered burrs or thorns which caused repeated punctures (apparently a seasonal hazard).
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/8/2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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?
- Greece
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★★★★★ Smedley September 20, 2018This is the reason that we bike!
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
Wonderful trip, but that doesn't tell you what you really want to know. So here goes a day-by-day review and a few overall impressions.
Innsbruck - arrive a day or two early to experience the city and mountains. Purchase the 'Innsbruck Card' and save on many of the city's attractions and transportation. Hotel Cafe Central - nice facility close to the 'Old Town'. Ask for the recently renovated rooms.
Zillertal - good first day ride. Take time to stop at the Swarovski museum complex. Gasthof Hotel Post - nice facility, great menu. Ask for a room away from the dairy farm next door.
Krimml - short ride, no hurry to arrive at the pickup point for the van ride across the pass. The falls at Krimml are amazing. Prepare yourself for a good hike to see them up close. The Gastehaus Waltl was comfortable. Plenty of dining options in the town.
Zell am See - Scenic ride. Use the extra rest day to explore the mountains. Weather permitting go to the glacier, ride around the lake and hike the hills. Great dining options. Lebzelter Hotel - in the heart of town, comfortable inn.
Lofer - best riding day, mountains close on both sides of the narrow valley. Gorges and cave are must visits. Nice lunch at the golf course at the midway point. St Hubertus Hotel was inviting.
Salzburg - last day of riding was the most challenging. Hills and gravel paths dominated the day. Navigating through Salzburg requires a good map and/or GPS. The Goldenes Theater Hotel was the only accommodation below the standard set by all of the other hotels. Spend an extra day or two in the city.
General impressions: one of the most scenic rides in Austria with great stops along the way to explore. The booked hotels were excellent with the exception of Salzburg. The route map/directions need to be updated. GPS really helped out especially in the larger towns. Bikes were in great shape but they should be equipped with odometers since the route map is based on distance traveled turn points. You won't be disappointed boking this trip!- What was the date of your tour?
- August/September 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 9
- 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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★★★★★ MichaelandErin September 17, 2018
Spectacular Scenary
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
We thoroughly our cycling trip between Innsbruck and Salzburg. Day one was a nice scenic warm up ride mostly along a river. The second day ride, heading 'up' another valley (still fairly flat in valley, with beautiful mountains on either side) was enjoyable....but the highlight of that day was after the ride. Our transfer minibus picked us up (promptly) that took us up and over to another valley to the town of Krimml. Fortunately, we had enough energy left to hike up to the top of the Krimml falls (tallest series of waterfalls in Europe). Spectacular. Down another valley the next day to Zell am See, where we spent our rest day. Lot's to do there, if it's sunny....but alas, we were rained out (which we were relieved we were not cycling that day). Our highlight day followed, with the combo of stops...one heading inside an extensive cave network (trails inside for the public to travel a fair distance into the mountain), and another stop after that one involved a short hike trail up into a narrow gorge (bring rain gear, waterfalls and mist made it like walking thru a shower in places). Again, unexpected and very, very scenic. Our wrap up in Salzburg we were glad we tacked on a extra day to see some of the local sites.
Overall, we had a great time. The accommodations were just the right fit to our tastes...friendly, cozy and comfortable. The rental bikes sturdy. The route is mostly bike trails, usually paved, but not always...and with only modest time on side roads. The self guided bike map book was pretty good (although we did have to pull out our smartphone map app to clarify some directions at times). The distances were long enough to feel like we'd traveled someplace, but short enough that we still had time to enjoy the sights.- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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
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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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★★★★★ Gretchen September 15, 2018Wonderful trip!
· Best of Holland North: Dutch Villages, Landscapes & the Keukenhof
A great way to see the Netherlands -- 40-50k per day was very doable, landscape and towns lovely, and the hotels were all very cozy and comfortable. Would highly recommend it, and will be doing another one for sure!
- What was the date of your tour?
- end of July
- How many tours have you completed?
- only this once
- 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?
- Holland
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★★★★★ Labia September 6, 2018
Glad we did it - but too hot in August
· · National Parks of Dalmatia by Bike/E-bike and Boat
This is our third bike tour. The boat was much nicer than others we have been on. The cabins were very large and a good size bathroom. The food was good (not great). It was nice to have two tour guides. The downside was that it was really hot and the sun too blazing to enjoy the bike rides a lot. The landscape I would also say is a bit repetitive. All in all I wish we could have done it some weeks later with fewer crowds in town and especially cooler weather.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 18 August
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ Granny Annie September 6, 2018
Everything Was Perfect!
· · National Parks of Dalmatia by Bike/E-bike and Boat
This was a family bike trip with 11 people ages 13 to 88 and it was perfect for everyone. The Dalmatian coast is the most beautiful in the world. The towns are interesting and best of all it was the World Cup and Croatia was winning. Each day we biked from 9 to 1 with a coffee (or ice cream) break in the middle. The terrain was challenging and three of us were happy to have bikes which worked perfectly. In the afternoon we could relax or hike or explore a town or village.The boat, the Melody, was wonderful with roomy cabins and bathrooms, a hot tub and an excellent masseuse. The captain and crew were pleasant to deal with , the food was excellent and our two biking guides were really terrific.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ JBxx August 14, 2018
A perfect way to see working class Greece with lots of history
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
We ( 3 couples) did the self guided tour . The bikes were comfortable and worked very well.. The route instructions and GPS were easy to follow. The route took us through rural / agricultural Greece , with daily visits to one or more spectacular historic site. The riding as advertised was light to moderate. The Hotels were good to excellent - The Grand Sarai in Nafplio was excellent. We were fortunate that the weather was good - in fact a few very hot days - but lots of water dealt with that. We made some great new temporary friends that were doing the same tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2-9 2018
- 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?
- Greece
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★★★★★ Traveling Jackie August 6, 2018
Great Introduction to Bike Touring!
· Castles and Wines of Portugal
I'd never done a bike tour before, so this was my first experience, and I LOVED IT! Our guide Jorge was funny and kind, the other people on the trip were lovely and encouraging. At the end of the trip I was trying to figure out what the highlight was, and I realized everything I was coming up with was the actual riding itself. The views were fantastic, I liked the varied roads, ups, downs, back roads, cobblestone villages, paved countryside. I opted for a hybrid touring bike, it was hard work in some places but I was happy with my decision instead of getting an e-bike.
We had a couple days of heavy rain where we couldn't ride at all, but I found it nice to have a little break from the saddle on my first tour ever. On those days we got to see more sites than we would have on bikes, because they took us in a van to explore monuments, wineries, museums, chapels, towns, marble quarries, palaces, castles, and more. We shared a lot of delicious meals together, my favorite being a hole in the wall tiny restaurant that you'd never be able to find on a map, and the owner makes his own wine. These are the types of places you can only find with a guide.
The pace was relaxed, I loved the unique accommodations and the restaurants. Besides the rain, the weather was comfortable and cool for riding. It was April when I went, might be a good idea to go a little later to try to avoid rain. My biggest tip is to bring your appetite and eat ALL the delicious food and wine!
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
Video: A little recap of my first ever multi-day bike tour in the Alentejo wine region of Portugal.
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★★★★★ JHSMTB July 15, 2018A beautiful ride!!
· Emerald Tour of Slovenia’s Gems
Excellent tour. Beautiful roads with wonderful views. Mostly low traffic roads. Not too hilly. A little bit of gravel roads and a little bit of bike path. Views/landscape changed every day as we moved from (nearly) alpine to Karst to coastline.
Hotels were good to excellent (Vrnika hotel was so-so).
Guidebook was excellent - no problems following it, and there were even stickers on road sign posts that directed you for straight/left turn/right turn. Tour operator briefing was good.
Bikes were fine - shifting worked and brakes worked.
Make sure you visit the caves at Postojna and Skocjanske Jame. They are awesome.- What was the date of your tour?
- 6/21/2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- Slovenia
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★★★★★ Nanachan July 14, 2018
Enjoyed every moment with guests, guide and crew
· · National Parks of Dalmatia by Bike/E-bike and Boat
The perfect way to experience the hospitality of Croatia together with guests from many countries.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 2018/06/30
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- 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?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ DebM July 11, 2018
Beautiful ride through Dutch countryside
· Best of Holland North: Dutch Villages, Landscapes & the Keukenhof
The local tour company designed a beautiful and varied route through nature preserves, parks, farmland, and old and picturesque towns. Each inn was delightful in its own way. I rated this harder than expected only because we had extremely windy weather.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Late June
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2 on our own, 30+ years ago
- 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?
- Holland
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★★★★★ Jim n Anne July 5, 2018
Follow In the Footsteps of the Ancient Greeks
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
This tour was scenic, engaging, varied, enjoyable, rewarding. The route was well planned; we would arrive at the highlight of each day's ride just at noon when the big groups had left for lunch so we didn't have to contend with crowds. The Greek people are friendly, happy, and agreeable. The routes were scenic and just challenging enough. The rental bikes were well suited for the terrain and conditions, and the available GPS was a valuable aid. We loved the accommodations, and the luggage service was flawless.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- Several dozen
- 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?
- Greece
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★★★★★ Finellsmith July 4, 2018
First cycling trip ~ but not our last!
· · National Parks of Dalmatia by Bike/E-bike and Boat
Cycling along the coast and through the Dalmatian Islands was a great introduction to Croatia for us. April seemed like the perfect time of year for our cycling adventure ~ the weather was terrific and the crowds were minimal, although the swimming was cool! The boat was very comfortable, from our private room to the salon and upper deck. The bikes we used were in very good condition. The guides were very friendly, knowledgable and quick to attend to anyone's specific needs.
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 21- 28/2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our first one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia
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★★★★★ Julane June 26, 2018
5 Stars!
· Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula
5 Stars! We highly recommend Greece: The Peloponnese Peninsula for its incredibly beautiful and spectacular landscapes, ancient history, significant archeological sites, and charming hotels in charming towns. Every Greek we met was friendly and helpful; the food was fresh and tasty; the culture was interesting. We were fortunate to be on this tour during Easter week and were able to observe several traditional practices including a religious procession and a community concert. The services offered by the local tour company, Arcas Travel, were top-notch: GPS routes along the coast, up and down mountains, through olive and citrus groves; well-maintained bikes; transfers to the start and finish of the tour; assistance a phone call away. It was a perfect cycling holiday!
- What was the date of your tour?
- March 31, 2018
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
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★★★★★ Trisha June 25, 2018
Trip was a beautiful bike ride through the alps!
· Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
We had a wonderful bike trip from Innsbruck to Salzburg on electric bikes. The mountains and valleys we biked through were spectacular. I would recommend this trip. The hotels were very good and in great locations. Breakfast were also very good.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 4, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
