Bike Tour Reviews Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau) (page 2)

★★★★★ (5/5) RaduC August 8, 2017

What was the date of your tour?: July 2017
How many tours have you completed?: 2
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: As expected
Who is this tour suitable for?: Families with teens
Do you recommend this tour?: Yes

4/5 Value
4/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
3/5 Ease of navigation
3/5 Tour documents
1/5 Local tour company services
4/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (3/5) Pedals August 8, 2017

Great and not so great

Having just come off 2 weeks biking in France we had something to compare this trip with.
The first 3 days or so were magic - lovely views, fantastic track surface and finally cool weather. The accommodation was great,especially after we were upgraded twice, and can be recommended.

The bike gear was top class but my bike however was not. Euro Velo bike hires have to realise that the standard puffy commuter seat they supply are not comfortable for guys used to proper bike seats - enough said. Also on the second day when I went to use the smallest front chain ring it turned out that 2 of the mounting bolts were missing and it got wrecked so one third of my gears were gone. Managed to get this repaired after a couple of days but wasn't really satisfactory. This should not happen!

The directions and maps hardly ever match up completely on these type of trips but we were certainly not happy to discover at the end of a long hot day that the instructions for the approach to Salzberg were in fact for someone coming from completely the opposite direction - a victim of cut and past to be sure, as was the odd paragraph still in Austrian, but this should have been edited properly. A shame as the general standard of the material presentation was of a high quality.

Be aware if you want to do this trip that the last few days are along the stop bank beside the river and are boring - very little in the way of scenery and culture. Next time we will detour inland.

Sorry but overall a 3 star effort.

Warning - in case you may be considering a taxi ride from Innsbruck to Krimml to start your trip make sure that the driver is legitimate. Ours was a temporary fill in, had not driven out of town for 4 years and was a thoroughly unsafe driver. Much too fast and I suspect maybe on something. He almost ran off the road a number of times and clipped the inside kerb a couple of times . Haven't been so scared in our lives as passengers apart from jeep trips in Nepal and Pakistan. This should not happen in a first world country and if it had been practical solution we would have got out and walked!!

What was the date of your tour?: mid July 2017
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

BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson August 9, 2017

We asked Hubert Simader of Radreisefreunde, manager of the tour operator, to respond:
I´m sorry to read that these clients had a technical problem with the gears. I guess there was a problem during the transfer of the bikes on our trailer; otherwise, I have no explanation. We normally have excellent feedback concerning our rental bikes (including the saddles we use). Unfortunately, you didn´t contact us during their trip - otherwise, we would have managed to solve the problem immediately (e.g. change the bike or fix it locally). I´m very sorry for that.
We normally update our tour descriptions at the end of each tour season, but my colleagues who are doing the travel documents will check the description for the hotel in Salzburg immediately. So far we haven´t heard from wrong directions.
Relative to the scenery, the first part from Krimml to Salzburg has an outstanding panorama with fantastic views. The landscape after Salzburg changes, but I would not rate it as boring - it´s just different. And you still have some highlights along the way to Passau (e.g. the world's longest castle in Burghausen and the beautiful Baroque towns Obernberg and Schärding. For those who want to have the amazing views from the mountains all along their way, we have a tour that is entirely in the Alps. But as we know: Tastes are different.
Besides these issues, I hope you enjoyed your cycle trip. Thanks for the constructive feedback, which allows us to improve quality for future clients.
(Relative to the taxi transfers, we want to point out to other clients that we didn´t arrange a transfer for these clients - they booked it on own. Of course, all our drivers have long experience and safety is one of our most important points.)

3/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
3/5 Bikes + equipment
4/5 Hotels or boat
4/5 Scenery
2/5 Ease of navigation
3/5 Tour documents
3/5 Local tour company services
4/5 Route selection
1/5 Guides (if applicable)

★★★★★ (5/5) Laird July 5, 2017

Stunning scenery!

This trip was so beautiful! Our start in Krimml was so scenic with a portion of the waterfall visible from our hotel window! Zell am See was gorgeous. Our cycling days were filled with constant wonder and beauty. The bike paths were easy to cycle on. My one suggestion is to review the directions before you get to the outskirts of your destination as it can sometimes be confusing. The hotels were comfortable and the food was good. I would definitely recommend this trip!

What was the date of your tour?: June 2017
How many tours have you completed?: 3
Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?: As expected
Who is this tour suitable for?: Solo travelers, Families with teens
Do you recommend this tour?: Yes

BikeTours.com staff reply from Jim Johnson July 6, 2017

Thanks very much for your feedback! We're glad you had a great time. This was one of my first bicycle tours--well before I started BikeTours.com--and it remains one of my favorites!

5/5 Value
4/5 Included meals
5/5 Bikes + equipment
5/5 Hotels or boat
5/5 Scenery
4/5 Ease of navigation
4/5 Tour documents
4/5 Local tour company services
5/5 Route selection

★★★★★ (4/5) Brittany at BikeTours December 3, 2015

Beautiful scenery and quaint villages!

I went on this tour as a BikeTours.com staff member. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking! The tour is 80% downhill. This made for cycling near the Austrian Alps fantastic. This tour is mostly on dedicated bike paths and quiet back roads, except for brief moments of cycling near the main road. The route maps are more basic which allow for more adventure. I would recommend this tour for a first-time traveler and casual cyclist.