Reviews
beautiful scenery, perfectly planned route
This is one of the most organized self-guided tours we have taken. The map and accompanying photos and tips were terrific. In addition, one bike had a Garmin GPS device, the other a smart phone with Maps.me. Great bikes, high-quality accommodations...It was a wonderful trip. We have several friends who are considering doing it.
Beautiful landscapes - amazing way to see Catalonia
Our second trip through biketours.com did not disappoint. We did the peak season self-guided trip in August 2018. Our orientation guide was extremely kind and took a lot of time with us to get us oriented to the materials and the bikes. There was a hiccup on the first day with the bag drop off, but Daniel, the head of the local tour company, was responsive and immediately worked to rectify it. We were pleased that they gave us both a GPS device and an smartphone with the routes outlined in the maps.me app - so both of us could follow our route in real time. We had a few times where we had to backtrack just a bit to make a different turn, but we were never lost -- and the GPS-enabled devices meant we could venture off the course when we liked and then find our way back to the pre-determined route pretty easily. Bikes were very good. Roads were a mix of paved and dirt (about 60/40 I'd guess). We had one flat just before the last day but we were able to fix it with just tire inflation. All in all, we liked the routes and the suggested stopping points, as well as the hotels we stayed in -- especially the first and the last hotels. One thing that would have made the trip better would have been some information on each daily route, with more suggestions/options on places to stop in the various towns or along the way -- e.g. churches, museums, other points of interest.
Beautiful coast and villages
What a fantastic trip! We were 10 women all eager to see the Costa Brava and Creative Catalonia made it happen. First off the tour briefing in Girona with Lucy and Daniel before we set off was amazing. I've done 5 trips with Bike Tours and never have we had the tour operator go over so thoroughly our week at a glance. Very impressed with the time and care these two put into their clients' cycling experience.
The hotels and restaurants were lovely and every attention to detail sorted before we set off. We can not thank you enough for your expertise and all the time and effort in creating our Catalonia experience. You had your work cut out for you and you delivered. It was outstanding. We will be back! Muchisimas gracias!!Example: The perfect way to experience Italy! Our guide was great - a very knowledgeable local. The hotels were charming, but wish we'd gone for....
Girona - Great Trip!
This was my first bike trip so I was a bit nervous but Lucy was amazing, she kindly installed the upright handlebars that I'd brought so that I could ride more upright. Lucy and Daniel gave us a very thorough briefing with maps and GPS devices. We had such an amazing trip I would highly recommend them!
Variety, history, largely off roads
I appreciated the variety in landscape, from hilly interior to craggy and beautiful coastline. The trails were varied, from slightly rough bike trails to quiet roads. Hotels were good. I went at the end of October. Some facilities were closed, but also this made things quiet which I like, and the weather was still warm. I would recommend this tour. The Creative Catalonia owners were very helpful.
Good trip
A very interesting ride along the shore of the Costa Brava and by a number od medieval towns. Generally not a difficult ride however much of the ride is on unpaved lanes and quite of bit of that is on rough roads, with sand and big rocks and large potholes. The tour company Creative Catalonia was very good. The hotels were excellent.
Off-Road Adventure
My first tour with Creative Catalonia tours, and I would consider another. I was with a group of eight friends, one who managed the Garmin about 90% of the daily routes were on off-roadway, gravel trails through beautiful countryside. Staying on route required close reading of the route maps at times. The villages toured are amazing for their age and charm. Plenty of great cafes and restaurants along the way. The arranged hotel lodging was very good.
Great scenery, great food & good biking trails
Our guide, Daniel with Creative Catalonia, was always aware of our safety. He was knowledgeable about the things we were seeing. If he didn't know the answer to questions, we'd often receive an email that evening containing an answer. We got to see some amazing sites. The hotels were very nice & resturants we were directed to were usually really good. He made sure that our bikes were all in good, working condition.
Responses from Biketours.com
Jim Johnson, founder and president
February 16, 2019
Thank you for your review and ratings! Daniel is great, as is the Creative Catalonia organization. I'm glad you were able to have such a positive experience with them.
Muy Bueno!
A great way to see and experience this area of Spain. The hotels were very nice to exceptional; especially the Hotel Los Arcs in Monells with its very gracious host/owner family and wonderful food. The maps and Garmin GPS made route finding almost flawless and the tour operators (Lucy and Daniel ) checked in with us during the week to see how things were going and if we needed anything. Don't miss seeing the Botanical Gardens midway through the trip on one of the loop rides; it is very well worth a visit. We have done over a dozen self-guided bike tours in Europe and this is one of the best organized and planned.
