Switzerland Bike Tour Reviews (page 4)
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★★★★★ Karen and christy October 21, 2019Fantastic!
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
My friend and I did a self guided tour around Lake Constance-gorgeous! And such fun. The bike people were fabulous and fitted us and gave us crucial directions. Had a blast and will definitely be doing this again :)
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 4-9,2019
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ gt00000 October 14, 2019
Bodensee ride
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Fun, very scenic ride, fairly easy. You can see why this route is so popular.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 28/09/19 to 4/10/19
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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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★★★★★ KfromPhiladelphia October 12, 2019
Very enjoyable bike ride around Lake Constance
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
This was our first bike trip, but won't be our last - what a great experience! We loved exploring the towns the towns around Lake Constance via our ebikes! (This was our first time on ebikes and I'd highly recommend those as well)
The hotels were all excellent - we couldn't have chosen better for ourselves. Our luggage was always waiting for us upon arrival each day. The information on what to see was very helpful.
We made a couple changes to our itinerary which were handled effortlessly by BikeTours. We appreciated all the assistance in initially planning our trip and thank everyone who helped me put this together. We had a great trip.
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our first!
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ colrip7 October 11, 2019
Great area for a bike tour
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
6 of us made this tour. None of us were "experienced" riders, but we all had fun. A couple of things I would change if it were up to me - the ParkHotel St Leonard in Uberlingen is a little over 2km, all uphill from the main town. The hotel is very nice, but we didn't like the uphill ride and all of us wanted to go into town, but none of us wanted to redo the uphill ride. The other thing is the third day ride from Uberlingen to Lindau was too far for us to do in one day while trying to see all the sights along the way. We cheated and took the ferry from Friedrichshafen to Lindau.
All of the hotels were very nice, clean and very accommodating. Our luggage was always at the hotel before we were.
The bikes were in fine shape and we had no trouble with the bikes. We had a mixture of regular bikes and ebikes.
All in all we had a great time and would recommend this trip, but I would look for a slightly different itinerary.
Liv at BikeTours was extremely helpful and we are grateful to her for her help.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 17, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ ireneski October 5, 2019
Great trip except for first destination.
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
This is the second time I've taken this tour with my friends. We liked it so much 6 years ago that we were interested in returning. All the destinations and accommodations were better than previously except for the first destination. Instead of stopping in Stein am Rhein, a beautiful medieval town, they booked us into Gailingen, a town that took us another hour to get to, and was not the charming experience we had to forgo. The trail up the steep hill was more suitable for a mountain bike, not the hybrids that we had. As we came down the steep hill the next morning one of our group had a nasty fall and had to rent an ebike to complete the trip. The hotel staff was also not friendly. They refused to serve us tap water and would only offer bottled water at 6 euros/bottle. This was a terrible way to start our trip. If you go around this beautiful lake, insist on staying in Stein am Rhein.
Also, we stayed an extra night in Uberlingen. Definitely worth an extra day to spend time at the thermal baths.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 12, 2019
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe October 6, 2019
Thanks kindly for this review. We're sorry to hear about the hotel experience in Gailingen. We'll be sure to inform the tour operator this is not the preferred choice when booking this tour. (But sometimes, it may be the only option available.) We hope that your group member has recovered! And we're so glad they were able to complete the tour via ebike! Thanks again for your feedback, and we're overjoyed you had a great trip.
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★★★★★ Wes G October 2, 2019Lake Konstanz Bike Tour
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
My first bike tour in Europe. The area is beautiful to ride through and each city had its own uniqueness. We really enjoyed sampling local beers and wines along with our favorite snacks and dinners. Generally, our accommodations were satisfactory with some better than others. Thankfully, mid-September is not too warm because many small hotels do not have airconditioning. The bikes from Radweg Reisen were in excellent condition and never once gave any of us any concern.
Just a few suggestions that would have made the trip more memorable. First of all, our tour was self-guided and we used the maps provided by Radweg. Because of some areas that had poor signage, we could have used a GPS with the routes loaded into it. There was a lot of road construction and repairs going on. We got lost several times and ended up way off course and walking our bikes up steep hills to get to our destination.
Second, although all four of us are in excellent condition, two of us are not regular cyclists. So, we trained with spin classes. Even then, we were wishing on many occasions that we had opted for the e-bikes,especially on the St Gallen to Konstanz segment (absolutely crushing)!
Third, the hotel in Manzell was too far away from Friedrichshafen and absolutely nothing to do in that area. The only saving grace was the restaurant.
Overall, a lovely ride, although I would caution against novice cyclists doing the eleven night tour without e-bikes.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 13-25
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Laird September 29, 2019
Beautiful scenery and fabulous destinations!
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Great time exploring southern Germany around Lake Constance. The bike path was well signed for easy navigation. Our group stopped often for photos as we passed through lovely villages and beautiful scenic lake views. We had the opportunity to go up on a gondola for a view of the Austrian mountains, visited the Thermal Spa in Uberlingen and saw sculptures the public gardens at the Wurth Building. All in all a lovely trip!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2019
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ lenzylamb September 27, 2019
Wonderful!
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
We had a wonderful time! We got lost a few times due to lack of understanding the road signs(our fault) but once we got the hang of everything we were good to go! Wouldn’t hesitate booking through BikeTours again!!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Waterdog September 24, 2019
Wonderful tour
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
The bike, accommodations, and breakfast where all very good. I rented an eBike and am so glad I did. Some parts of the route were
harder than I had anticipated. The eBike made those times considerably easier to endure. My only negative about this trip was that the maps and directions were extremely poor at times...numerous times. The worst was when we were trying to find the hotels in the afternoon or leaving town in the mornings. The good news is we were usually able to find pedestrians or other cyclists to ask, but we could ask three people and get the different directions. That being said, it was still a wonderful adventure. I'll definitely book another trip through biketours.com.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 6-15
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Creaky September 15, 2019Swiss sojourn
· Ascona and Lake Maggiore (based in one hotel)
Good organisation and splendid accommodation with some ok rides. Maps too small and blurry to be useful.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 1/9 to 6/9
- How many tours have you completed?
- 13
- 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?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ Hutch September 10, 2019Not what was expected.
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
This was our 9th bike trip in Europe, previous ratings and reviews of trips had been pretty acurate. But this trip was not what we expected. We might have a different view if we were in our 20s or 30s so any review submitted should be evaluated with that in mind. The trip was very intensive even with ebikes (our first use of ebikes) and only serious cyclists should forego those. There were many large hills and rough surfaces (30-40% gravel). Sporadic beautiful scenery, but not even close to what we have experienced before. Hotels were all clean and about half were really nice, but several were positioned away from main points of interest and the bike route and since the stopover sites were larger cities they were hard to find (maps to hotels were not detailed, thankfully we had google maps). On the positive side, the bike route is signed very well and we had no trouble finding our way between cities. Finding good stops along the route for lunch/coffee/etc was not as easy as we had experienced on previous trips. In short, we would not classify this route as recreational or recommend it as a family trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 11
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe September 11, 2019
Hi Hutch, and thanks for the review. We appreciate your feedback that this tour was tougher and the scenery was different than what you had expected. We hope these details may help inform future clients to make the best decision possible. It seems this tour has intermittently beautiful scenery; we certainly do get spoiled on many tours where it's constantly scenic. We're glad you enjoyed the well-signed bike route and were able to navigate with the assistance of google maps. We're hoping the next one suits you better. Thanks again!
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★★★★★ Simona September 7, 2019
Amazing bike holiday
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Our bike holiday this summer was a perfect way to discover and enjoy the wonderful landscapes and sights of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, riding along Lake Constance in five days, between August 21 and August 25. The weather was excellent: no rain and not very hot, just perfect.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 21-August 25
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Cindy23 September 3, 2019We can't wait to schedule our next trip!!!
· Swiss Lakes by E-bike: Lake Geneva to Lake Lucerne
This was a trip of a lifetime. My husband and I have never done a bike tour before, and we were so impressed with Switzerland. It has to be one of the best countries to bike in--they have fresh spring water all over the countryside (see pic), bike route signs that are more visible than the street signs, and views that are absolutely breathtaking. I'm still trying to soak it all in and we went a month ago in July/August. My husband is a professional photographer so we stopped constantly to take pictures. Now on to more details...
We arrived a day early so we could rest and get used to the time change. We decided to fly into Zurich and take a train to Montreaux. We got a hotel right on the water--and it was SO worth it. Montreaux has a walking path all along Lake Geneva and it's just gorgeous. A great way to start your trip.
We brought our own helmets, pedals, and shoes. We figured it would be better on the hills to be able to push and pull. The tour company was willing to let us bring a suitcase and a backpack for luggage transport (we had the extra helmets and pedals). We opted for the hybrid bikes vs the e-bikes. My husband mountain bikes every day. I did about 80% of my training on a peloton stationary bike.
The first day of biking it takes awhile to get used to the bike and the signs. We got a little lost because of detours. We also weren't familiar with the maps provided. We thought we were supposed to stay on Route 9, but day 1 and 2 they had us going on route 59. We didn't realize this until we finally found our hotel the first day. Our luggage wasn't there yet at 5:00 so I highly recommend bringing something light to change in to so that you can shower if you beat your luggage.
Day 2 we basically just did route 59 until it met back up with route 9. The only booklet we had was for route 9 so I wasn't aware that it would be a 3500 foot ascent. We climbed...and climbed and climbed. The bike has plenty of gears though--so I just put it on the lowest gear and balanced going 2 mph. Gstaad was just gorgeous--as was Schoenreid. We LOVED the hotel there. They were amazing. Our luggage wasn't there yet but they greeted us with a warm towel and champagne.
We had a rain delay on day 3, but we ended up getting out by 11 that morning and we are glad we did. We saw some amazing views and only had to go a little over 20 miles--flat miles.
Day 4 we decided to skip the boat to Interlaken and just follow route 9--which added about 10 miles. The 4 lakes you bike along are just stunning. The water color is Caribbean blue! That day is relatively flat other than a pretty long climb up to a gorgeous waterfall. So worth it. We stayed in Wilen, but I would recommend going 2 extra miles and staying in Sarnen. There weren't any restaurants or anything in Wilen. We ate at our hotel--which was AMAZING though. We had a 2 course steak dinner. I've never had that before.
Day 5 we biked to Lucerne. It was a pretty easy day. Lower mileage and pretty flat. We took the advice from a previous review and stayed in Lucerne. I regretted it. It's a nice city--but it was so crowded and over priced compared to the serenity we enjoyed the other parts of the trip!!
Day 6 we started in Lucerne vs Zug which is 100km from Rapperswill. My husband convinced me to bike the entire thing since it was our last day. We did it! It wasn't easy but what a way to go out. The last climb into Lake Zermatt is a giver--but the view at the top of the hill is breathtaking.
We got alot better at reading the signs. Someone gave us a tip at the beginning--if you don't see a sign for awhile, you probably missed one--because there are so many. You definitely need to download maps.me and make sure you download all of the Switzerland maps (6) so you don't end up in an area you haven't downloaded yet when you need it. (day 1 for us!)
There was more of a language barrier than I expected. They spoke french the first day or two and then German. Many people in the country don't speak English; however they always seemed to know what "beer" was. :)
Things would have gone smoother if the travel documents had just a simple bullet point or two rather than an arrow buried in the map. We were so set on Route 9 that a simple note that told us to look for Route 59 here and here would have been really helpful. Every single time I emailed before the trip asking questions, the staff responded quickly. It was great. They are also pretty flexible so if you want to stay in one place vs another or want to spend a couple days in one city--let them know, chances are, they can probably accommodate your request. We upgraded to the Class A hotels and definitely recommend that. We also took everyone's advice and got sandwiches for lunch, so we could stop anytime we needed to. There were quite a few places along the way to grab a quick sandwich though. It seemed like kitchens closed 2-6. Coops will become your friend fast!
We definitely recommend this tour and we plan on possibly doing it again soon!!! SHOW MORE- What was the date of your tour?
- July 28-August 3
- How many tours have you completed?
- this was our first
- 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?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ Dusty August 30, 2019
Fun Way to See Switzerland
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
We enjoyed seeing Switzerland up close. Bike routes very well marked. The little towns were charming. We experienced beautiful scenery and very friendly people.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- 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?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ Susana August 29, 2019
Great option for families with small childrwn!
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
The scenary is great, the path is easy and the signals are very clear, the villages are beautiful and with a lot of options for fun (playgrounds, pools, baths on the lake...) . People are very helpful. We decided to spend two days in Uberlingen and it is a very beautiful village with fantastic therms and gardens. It is very easy to shorten the initial route taking a train or a boat (we did it one day that it rained a lot!). I recommend this route for families with small children (7-14 years)
- What was the date of your tour?
- August
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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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★★★★★ Grasshopper August 28, 2019
Amazing Trip on an e bike through Switzerland
· Swiss Lakes by E-bike: Lake Geneva to Lake Lucerne
We really loved this trip. We were very concerned at first as the maps we received were not well marked and the information from the help line contradictory. Then out of the Blue our savior Rudie came along and we managed to hitch onto the group he was guiding. From there all was well. Thank you again Rudie for your help. The guide book was not provided in English. Apparently there are limited editions. The hotels we were booked into went from fantastic to three start ordinary. The bikes were good enough and did the job. I loved this trip and would recommend it but it needs refining ...
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2018
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ Tom on a Bike August 26, 2019
A beautiful ride!
· Lake Constance Classic (11-nights)
Cycling around Lake Constance (Bodensee) was a lovely experience. Every day brought more beautiful views and villages. I chose this 11-day self-guided tour with lower kilometers to allow me to experience the villages and people more intimately. The tour did just that. You could very well choose another tour with more daily distance and get nice experience. This area presents many opportunities for the cycling tourist. I was never bored on my cycling days.
The tour was relatively flat. The only challenge was on the day cycling to St. Gallen. There was a considerable climb. It was walkable when needed. The tours mostly followed the Lake Constance cycle path. When roads where used, they ware almost always quiet roads with low traffic.
Some things that could be improved: Radweg Reisen did not give an orientation at the start of the ride. I was fitted for a bike that was nicely outfitted although it was heavy as a tank. On this vacation, I did some Swiss touring on a self-guided tour from another provider. That tour provider gave me a nice orientation on signage, routes, the bike, and Swiss cycling. I was also given a tour support person’s mobile phone number to use when I needed help. Radweg could improve on their orientation process.
The Radweg Reisen books were very nicely done in a size that fit in the handlebar bag map holder. What was lacking were detailed instructions on navigating to ticketed attractions and hotels. I would suggest a small insert map on these pages. I was able to use Google Maps and the map the Radweg Resiaen gave me to get to my destination.
In conclusion, I was very satisfied with the tour. I felt the hotels were nice. The tickets to the attractions were very nice. The only suggestion is for Radweg Resien to work on their customer focus and interaction.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 15
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Becky August 26, 2019· Three Lakes Tour: From Geneva to Annecy
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 9-13
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- 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?
- France, Switzerland
