Bike Tour Reviews  UNESCO Sites Of Albania (page 5)

  • UNESCO Sites of Albania
    (4/5) Bradford Pickett October 28, 2024

    A Great bike ride

    You might add an extra day in the middle of the ride for some R & R. But it was a great bike ride. The end of the tourist season everybody in Albania was a little tired. Or may that is the Albanian way. The hotels were ok we had scratching all night in the country when we stayed at the log cabins.

  • (4/5) Maureen Lander October 28, 2024

    Albania is Beautiful!

    As far as the biking in Albania, I'd give five-star, A-plus all the way. Beautiful scenery, nice roads with twists and turns to keep things interesting. Lots of uphill -- negated by e-bike -- but rewarded with fun, exhilarating downhills that went on forever and ever. Our fellow bikers were the best, interesting, fun people from all over. It was a true experience being in a country that's emerging from decades and decades of communist rule. They have a ways to go, I'd say, as far as customer service/attitude about tourists, but it looks like they're trying.

  • (4/5) David Loukras October 23, 2024

    Great trip highly recommended

    What a great way to see Albania. Each day brought new sights, history and great roads. Perfect weather in mid-October. Accommodations were clean and well equipped. Food was nutritious, traditional, plentiful and delicious. Bikes were good for most with a couple of small breakdowns for some. Most were on e-bikes and there was always enough batteries for everyone everyday. Great guiding to ensure everyone knew where to go, but not so much to burden the flow of the ride. Most of the roads were exceptional twisty winding roads with minimal amount of “highway” with truck traffic. Views of the mountains and Ionian Sea were breathtaking. We downloaded the map files provided and uploaded them to Komoot so we always knew where we were and where we were going.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Oct 7 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    This was my first guided bike tour. I will do more.
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • Vjosa River valley (photo by David Loukras)
    • Himarë to Vlorë (photo by David Loukras)
    •  (photo by David Loukras)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (3/5) WSTraveler October 22, 2019

    An Unusual Experience Not to Be Repeated

    The sag driver was great despite limited English in that he was always available to help in any way possible. The tour guide was good and worked very hard but was not good at listening to understand problems with the bikes and was at times totally dismissive. The difficulty of the ride was enormously underrated and BIkeTours was evasive about providing advanced information. The road conditions were in areas extremely poor and the advertised grades were just lies. BikeTours advertised the trip as a max of 16 riders, although there were 20, considered a small group by the guide. Again, less than honest disclosure.

    The experience of the country was worth the trip. It was a fun collection of international participants. The accommodations were varied but appropriate to the locale and part of the fun. Food was good and the guide worked to arrange options for dietary restrictions. The sag support was excellent and eager to support the riders. The guide did a good job of keeping the group together and providing navigation guidance despite lack of any cue sheets or gps routes.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept 23 - Oct 2
    How many tours have you completed?
    lots
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
    • 4/5 Guides (if applicable)