Switzerland Bike Tour Reviews
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★★★★★ shea214 November 13, 2016too 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
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★★★★★ John Parsons December 7, 2015Can't recommend it
· Aare Cycle Route: Along the Jura, Aare, and Rhine Rivers
Food organization poor. Rhine River portion very industrial
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ pmr52 July 11, 2019· Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)
- What was the date of your tour?
- 24 june - 1 july
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Mychelle October 29, 2019
Do Your Research
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)
My husband and I did the Lake Constance Self Guided bike tour. When we arrived at our hotel we dropped off our bags and we took a taxi to the bike company to pick up our bikes (per our instructions). We were greeted by a man that spoke only German. The maps and instruction he gave us were not clear (some of them were in German as well). The monitor on the bike was not in English (he got a translator over the phone to help him change it). I had upload the suggested Bike app on my phone ahead of time with the trail map but it would not work once we arrived. The first 24 hours of our trip did not go smooth (prior to our ride). I ended up going to the Visitor's Center in town and found someone that spoke English to walk me through the route. I got a much better trail map from them as well. Once we got through the hump of what we felt was very poor planning on the part of this company everything else went well. The hotels were wonderful, the bike trail was breathtaking, the weather was mostly sunny (a little rain) and the trail is well marked. I emailed this company during our trip to let them know about our problems and they were little help.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ William McGill II August 3, 2022
Lake Constance Up Scale Lodging- +’s and -‘s
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)
We enjoyed the scenery, weather, bikes and the people we met on the trail. The local bike company provided maps and directions were lacking organization, accuracy and specific detail for our trip. As an example they did not include directions to the route from the starting hotel nor to the ending hotel. One of the “upscale”hotels was far from the lake in an area with undeveloped, unkempt grass like a vacant lot. Only after painful and time consuming negotiation did the local bike company agree to deliver the bikes to our starting hotel. We previously took a Danube and Mosel upscale lodging bike tours and received great customer service from the local bike companies. I recommend that until the local company selling this tour significantly improves its customer service Bike Tours stop selling this tour.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Canada November 4, 2015
A bit of a disappointment
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
We booked the high end tour and in general were very pleased. Most of the hotels were lovely and located conveniently to the bike path. One exception was the Marina hotel we were sent to. We passed by beautiful villages but instead of staying in these lovely locations, we were sent to a marina where there no amenities nearby. We explored through the nearby campsite and located a restaurant much more reasonably priced than the marina hotel restaurant. When we had asked at the hotel about nearby restaurants, the hotel said there were no others nearby. It was also very noisy as they were working on the boats. Also we were disappointed with how little you actually got to bike along the lake. Being as this is a huge vacation area most of the lakefront had homes on them. So we were sharing the road much more than expected with often little or no views of the lake.
The bike tour company was great and the bikes were of a good quality (though with the bumpy terrain shocks would have been appreciated).A lovely touch was the beautiful room at the Hotel Halm in Constance where there was a bottle of wine waiting and a lovely corner room.
- How many tours have you completed?
- Three
- 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, Switzerland
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Lindsay Nash November 5, 2015
Hi Kim! Thanks for your review, and we're glad to hear you were very pleased over all. We certainly appreciate your repeat business. We're sorry to hear about your disappointment with the route and the overnight locations, and we've passed along your feedback to the tour operator. This is one of our most popular tours so hotel availability can dictate those overnight locations. We're glad to hear about the bottle of wine, though. That can certainly help the experience!
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★★★★★ Ginny50 June 8, 2016A Challenging and Rainy Ride
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
This was a good tour and we enjoyed the adventure, but I can honestly say I would not recommend it to a beginner. Many of the reviews said this was a good ride for beginners. My husband and I started riding 2 years ago so we are slow but steady riders. We rode the Danube path (Passau to Vienna) last year with no problems so this one sounded like a good tour for us.
We booked this ride based on the level 2 status and the few reviews we saw. In my opinion it is more of a level 3-4. The gently rolling hills were very steep on the first 2 days. It would have been easier with an e-bike but for beginners it was almost impossible with a regular bike. Most of the time the paths were paved but several sections were packed “gravel.” These paths were well maintained and easy, but often a bumpy ride. The biggest problem was these paths were not much more than 2 feet wide so if you are a slow rider you tend to collect 30 faster bikers behind you with no way to pass.
The Lake Constance cycle route is one of the most popular bicycle routes in Europe.
This just about sums it up - the most popular path in Europe. It was over-crowed almost to the point of being dangerous in many sections. We wondered about the high level of bike traffic during the month of May, until we were enlightened that we were enjoying “Pentecost Holidays” with the throngs of locals.
The bikes provided by the company were wonderful. I highly recommend this tour company/bike shop and crew. My husband was not happy with his first bike and they quickly swapped it out with no question.
When we received our tour documents we noticed one day stated that the ride was 35miles/55km. Most of those miles were on a shared road with cars - Not a dedicated bike path. Cars whizzing past you on a busy road is not fun for us. That day our bikes took a train ride! FYI - When I asked one of the tour guides if many people ditched this ride mid-way he did say that quite a few riders just gave up. I can see why!
Each hotel was fabulous. The rooms were lovely and the food excellent.
We really did enjoy this trip and we pushed ourselves more than we ever thought we could. We had 2 good days of seeing the lake and views, but missed seeing the beautiful scenery because of the incessant rain and many detours. Better rain gear will be on our wish list before we ride again. It was a challenge that we were proud to complete.- What was the date of your tour?
- May, 2016
- 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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★★★★★ Horned Frog June 4, 2019
Fun time... but
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
I enjoyed the tour a great deal, but the route instructions were sketchy at best, and the bike weighed only slightly less than a Sherman tank.... which would not have been much of a problem except that the route had more hills than expected. The hotels selected were all very nice.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 21 May
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Hutch September 10, 2019
Not 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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★★★★★ Dagbjört September 9, 2018· Rhône River Route: Oberwald to Geneva
* It was our 3d tour that we have booked with BikeTours and always been very pleased with the organizing, until now, we are sad to say.
* We never meet anyone from the tour company and that was very strange.
* Accommodation on one of the "hotels" was very poor, very cheep hotel, that was right across the street from the train/bus station and that was very disturbing through the night.
* It was only breakfast that was incl in the price. Maybe you should considered to have dinner incl. also.- What was the date of your tour?
- 26th of august 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ ArmannI September 17, 2018
Nice mountain view
· Rhône River Route: Oberwald to Geneva
Good way to experiece Switzerland. More information needed regarding interesting places to visit. The first day was the most wonderful day
- What was the date of your tour?
- 26.8 - 30.8
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Switzerland
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★★★★★ Sandy Anderson November 8, 2022
Lake Constance Upscale
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)
This trip was good overall, yet we made a mistake by choosing Upscale Lodging because most of the hotels were not in the old towns, and we had to go through the city at rush hour with unclear directions. We would have preferred staying along the river in the old towns. Upscale lodging was not necessary.
Secondly, the KaMOOT app that we bought and tried to use was a disaster. It lead you along any trail that came up...whether it was for hikers, or a dog path, so we were constantly rerouting on the first day, until we gave up on it and used the written guide.
The bikepaths were wonderful and scenic and we loved that part of the ride.- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Erik Coats 8 months ago
Great place to cycle
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path (Upscale Lodging)
Lake Constance is beautiful and the cycling is great. 80% of the trip is on paved hike/bike paths, with about 10% on unpaved paths and 10% on regular roads (shared with cars). You should pay for the GPS aps on your phone to navigate as the maps and written directions are often insufficient. Most of the hotels were in lovely cities, but the spacing out was inconsistent, leading to some very short days of cycling and some very long days. Most days were short enough to give you time to explore the cities you're passing through and staying in. We had a couple issue and were able to reach the tour company for support, which is appreciated.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2023
- 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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★★★★★ Richard 69 June 8, 2016
Gute fahren
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Let me begin by saying that we had an amazing time. The lake is very scenic with many interesting stops along the way. The Hotel Halm in Konstanz was lovely and across the street from the train station. It also has one of the most amazing breakfasts we've ever had. We had to take a bus to the tour company where we picked up our bikes. The people there made sure that our bikes were adjusted perfectly and off we went. Passed through many interesting towns and villages along the way. For us Mainau Island was a real highlight of our journey. Although it was mentioned in our tour book, it should have been listed as a total must see. The hotels we stayed at were all very comfortable. We especially enjoyed the Park Hotel St. Leonard. However we had to ride up an absolutely soul crushing hill to get there. The hotel at the marina seemed a little out of place near a working boatyard in the middle of nowhere. However we took a short walk and found an absolutely lovely restaurant and had a spectacular meal. In Bregenz we rode the cable car up the mountain for amazing view and a fantastic lunch. One thing that would have been helpful, that we've had on other tours, would be recommendations for restaurants that feature local foods. Overall this was a great trip and we were very glad we did it, but it didn't rate quite as high as the other tours we've taken along the Danube and the Mosul.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 26 - May 31
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Female solo traveler August 6, 2016
Incredibly scenic
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
- What was the date of your tour?
- July, 2016
- 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 young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Marta72 August 23, 2016
Perfect family trip
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Very recommended trip for families with kids that can bike. Km per day were not demanding (around 30km). You can stop to visit, to have a bath in the lake, to take a boat...very nice environment, very safe and relax way to travel. All roates are well indicated.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 6-12 August
- 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, Switzerland
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★★★★★ Beanz September 12, 2017
First Bike Adventure
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
The bikes were very good and the bike company most helpful. Accomodation and breakfasts were also good. Only issue is the maps provided especially around towns and attractions were not very good - definitely could be improved. In summary great trip, with the locals very helpful when we were lost.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 5th September 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- First one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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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★★★★★ Mick September 18, 2017
Three Countries, One Lake
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
A relaxing tour with some good cardio the second day getting to the hotel. Plenty of scenery for us photographers and lots of cafes for morning coffee breaks and afternoon beers.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 4-10
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ JannieB September 19, 2017
Great family trip
· Lake Constance Bicycle Path
A wonderful adventure for us with our adult children. Beautiful scenery, awesome food, nice people!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 13-19,2017
- 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?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
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★★★★★ MarcieB September 23, 2017
So 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!
