Top Rated Tours Reviews  page 41

  • Provence by Bike and Boat
    ★★★★★ (2/5) Richard Rogers October 2, 2023

    Not as I had expected

    · · Provence by Bike and Boat

    Not expecting to ride as a group. The riding involved more road riding and realize that a leader was necessary. The riding in Southern France is not as developed as Central Europe.

    Countries included in this tour?
    France

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  • Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
    ★★★★★ (2/5) Andrew Lindsay May 6, 2024

    Disappointing Tour - Did Not Meet Expectations

    · Cycling the West Balkan Triangle

    Positives:
    1) The e-bikes were very good and well maintained; the routes were generally excellent if a little short for e-bikes (rides often finished early afternoon whereas on most other organised cycle trips I've been on they were spread out over most of the day).
    The rides from Herceg Novi to Kotor; Ravno to Ston and Ston to Kun were particularly enjoyable - brilliant scenery and quiet roads.

    2) Accomodation - Hotels were all very good apart from Marija 2. This hotel was a good 20 minute walk from Kotor; room was clean but rather dark and miserable (no view; no balcony but lots of signs instructing occupants what not to do). Fried eggs at breakfast were cold). By contrast the Hotel Stancia in Ravno was a delight.
    3) Food - This was an enjoyable part of the tour. The 'included' lunches and evening meals were very good. The lunches at Ravno, Ston and Kun were especially enjoyable - offering liquor tasting; olive grove visit and locally produced food respectively. The local restaurants we chose for our evening meals were also excellent.

    Areas To Improve: As a guided introduction to the West Balkans this trip has nothing to recommend it. The guide, while perfectly charming and an excellent cycle tour leader, had next to nothing to say about the countries we visited (their history; their customs and culture; their flora and fauna). I suspect his Company has never provided any training on how to be a tour guide.

    This tour makes it very easy to miss exploring the old town of Herceg Novi; the walls of Kotor and Cavtat Old Town (indeed most of the group did) because they were never recommended or even mentioned; nor did we cycle to them). Dubrovnik is the jewel (albeit a very busy jewel) of the West Balkans and it would be very easy to book this tour and never see it (the old town is a 40 minute walk from the Hotel Adria).

    I've cycled many times with Explore and Exodus on group guided tours and their delivered experience is vastly superior to that of BikeTours.com.

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    I've been on well over 20 bike tours. The West Balkan tour is bottom quartile. Your guides need training. Happy to provide more feedback.
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
    • Little Ston-the hotel is on this harbour. Delightful spot. (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • View from near Perast - another superb setting (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Ride thrrough vineyards en route to Ston (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Visit and lunch at the Olive Grove near Ston (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • Cycle track along the old railway line to Ravno, Bosnia (photo by Andrew Lindsay)
    • 2/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 2/5 Guides (if applicable)

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  • Dolomites to Trieste
    ★★★★★ (1/5) Melissa Barney June 20, 2023

    Biking in Italy in June

    · Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps

    I will not be recommending this trip or your company to anyone. The App was awful: only intermittently in English (otherwise in German) and when I gave 'feedback' I got no response; the App intermittently stopped working and I had to turn my phone off and on to re-boot; the App ATE UP my phone battery (a relativley new iPhone 13 with an otherwise long battery life); any highlights mentioned in the App along a particular day's travel was only a link to something that required internet or phone service (this is ridiculous; this link should have taken me to text within the App just as every other self-guided tour does within their App). The written paper description was poorly done - for some cities the description was how to 'get' into a city and other times the city/town mentioned was only a landmark of progress but this was very confusing. The pedometer on the bike did not work after the first three hours of the 7 day trip. The bikes were way too heavy; surely there is a way to make a durable bike that is at least 2 to 3 kilos lighter. Getting the bike and getting a safety helmet were in different cities!! I would ask for some of my money back if I thought this was possible as I was very disappointed in the trip.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy, Slovenia, Austria

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  • ★★★★★ (1/5) Heather Batchelor June 7, 2024

    Hail, lightning and rain

    · Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled at the Foot of the Julian Alps

    Didn’t get to do the trip because of terrible weather and the idea of sitting in a hotel room until 6pm without any luggage.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Italy, Slovenia, Austria

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