Bike & Hotel Tour Reviews page 127
- Albania
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★★★★★ Osmo S
Beautiful Garda landscapes, but some discomforts
Lake Garda (Based in One Hotel)
Having had many tours with daily changing hotels, I liked this time this one based on one hotel. The daily tours were mostly beautiful landscapes, and also some very attractive human creations, especially Verona. Some problems still: the quality of bike lanes varied from very well made and clearly marked to muddy dirt roads and at some places within hard traffic. On the first day there was a mess on returning from Riva del Garda, most of the group missing the boat because of problems with bike transportation.
The EuroBike app was really good and showed clearly the way and its quick turns.- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Ana outsubo
Needs improvement
Tuscany and Umbria: Cycling in the Heart of Italy
They need to improve. We were three... but we only had 1 map, I had to ask for at least one more.... the full package like odometer.... bike tray to put the map... direction booklet... they did not have it all, although we paid 3 packages. They forgot our greeting meeting. Good points: they tried to provide everything we had asked... they were helpful. But definitely they were overwhelmed with the amount of tours and needed help.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 4 th- 11
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ MarcieB
Cycling and Coach Travel through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
Baltic Capitals: Historic Cities of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn
Our tour consisted of 25 cyclists and 2 guides plus coach driver (1 English-speaking guide and 1 German-speaking guide). Over a period of 11 days and 10 nights our group experienced a series of amazing adventures that included walking tours of each capital (Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn), biking through rolling hills en route to Kaunas, cruising along the Curonian Spit National Park (where we visited the bird observatory at Vente Horn to experience the release of an Eurasian Sparrow hawk) and a catered meal of delicious pancakes (sweet and savory) by a local farm family. Before arrival in Riga, Latvia, we stopped at the very moving Hill of Crosses where thousands of believers have planted crosses to profess their varied faiths. Day 6 offered a) either a day of riding on the beach or b) touring around Riga. We elected to ride to Jurmala where we were actually able to cycle on the beach for what seemed a very long time (picture endless white sand beaches). Thanks to the Cycling Club of Perth, Australia, there were coffee/tea breaks that broke up the intense cycling. I say intense, because for a recreational cyclist, the pacing felt like I was pedaling hard and fast to keep up with the group. About 4 members of our group had E-bikes and, in retrospect, I would have opted for one as well. The cycling through National Parks was particularly beautiful and the trails varied from packed gravel to rocky causeways. The only busy day of riding with traffic came on a Friday when we cycled through Gauja National Park in the Gauja River valley. Our time on the island of Haapsalu was very relaxing and the ferry ride to Hiiumaa Island was a nice respite before tackling the 55 km of island riding to view some outstanding lighthouses. Our farewell dinner at the Hotel was filled with heartfelt toasts and praise for our guides and bus driver. There were several opportunities to experience the local culture (Amber Museum in Palanga, castles, botanical gardens, resorts and even a family wool factory).
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★★★★★ Richard Shore
Turkey and Greece
Founder's Tour: Turkey and Greece E-Bike & Boat tour
Nice trip with great biking, average food and poor boat. Hot water on The Love Boat was scarce and the bar was not stocked 4 days of 2 weeks.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Greece
-
★★★★★ Ricardo Hein
Nice biking vacation
Danube Cycle Path Passau – Budapest
The Danube is beautiful and the Austrian portion is beautiful. After Vienna it turns flat and less developed. The opportunity to share with people is limited by the places to stay, I didn't like to stay away from the towns in isolated guest houses, when guest homes were available in small towns.
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★★★★★ Two Michiganders
Lost in Translation
Venice to Trieste and Istria
This was our fourth tour with Bike Tours and the first with an Italian outfitter. Maybe that's where the trouble started.
We're not novices to this kind of travel and expect to spend some time lost and wandering--that's okay--to some extent. The directions for this trip were oddly and sometimes poorly translated, and there were occasions that though we'd asked for the English version, the notes were in German. The sticker signage was missing and incorrect at several critical junctures--crossing into Croatia from Slovenia, for instance. I know we weren't the only people who missed it--others at the hotel mentioned the same confusion.
I think that this part of Italy isn't quite as used to cycling (fewer cycle paths) and there were long stretches where we were riding with heavy traffic on 50-70k speed roads. The last day was very hilly (we were aware of this) and included some long slogs through unmarked Croatian campgrounds/resorts which were not mentioned in the directions. Despite the directions, knowing that you needed to be near the sea for most of the trip was helpful.
Navigation being my only caution, this was a lovely and fun trip. The towns and sites along the way were quaint and it was relaxing when we were off the main roads. I appreciated the towns we stayed in, Sagittaria Concordia, Trieste and Piran were especially memorable for the sites and ambiance of each place. The ruins in Aguilia were amazing. The hotels were all excellent, breakfasts hearty and our bags were moved as promised.
I'd recommend this to someone, but with caution regarding navigation. -
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★★★★★ Ronb
Good value for money way to see the Baltic countries with great guide.
Baltic Capitals: Historic Cities of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn
Our guide Romas was excellent. Lots of stories about where we visited. Most hotels very good with useful location. Easy riding. Bus always available if somebody wanted to rest. Great way to see Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Riga hotel not up to the standard of the others though it had perfect location.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 27th Aug 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- 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?
- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
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★★★★★ Bob Sterndale
Beautiful trip but problems
Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
The scenery was breathtaking, the bike paths mostly fine but with seriously difficult and dangerous exceptions, the hotels very pleasant and the e-bikes fine with one exception.
The trip started on the wrong foot at the first hotel: Hotel Krimml Fälle. We were assigned a room with no heat (as were others) on a cold day. After two hours of lame diversions and excuses, while we sat in the lobby to keep warm, we were given a heated room. In all other respects the hotel and restaurant were fine.
Getting to Krimml is a bit confusing. OBB will sell you a train ticket (from Salzburg for us) all the way to Krimml. The trip involves a narrow-gauge train from Sell am See to Mittersill hbf (end of line) and a bus trip from Mittersill to Krimml. There is a bus stop in the middle of Krimml village, steps from our hotel.
The first day of biking were delightful. The hotel in Sell am See was beyond our expectations.
The second day of biking started well but we encountered a long section of closed trail. We were in a narrow valley with little development. The only parallel path was a shoulder-less two-lane highway with plenty of high-speed traffic, not an acceptable bike route. Trees and brush had been trimmed along the nice paved bike path recently. All the slash had been left on the path, for 2 or 3 days from its appearance. We picked our way through the mess for maybe a couple kilometers. Then we came to a section with blown down trees obstructing the path, another ½ to 1 Km. Getting through this required some bushwhacking with the heavy e-bikes. Not fun.
Day three of biking was fine until we came to a flooded underpass on the outskirts of Salzburg. We needed to cross the A1 highway to get to Salzburg. A bad storm a few days before had caused numerous problems across Austria. We did find an alternate route but advance knowledge would have saved us a few Km of pedaling.
Day 4, however, brought us to highway biking. As we approached the village of St. Radegund we were directed onto a busy, shoulder-less two-lane road for a steep ascent of a kilometer or more. It was a strenuous ride even with the e-bikes. Your web sites offers this description of the tour:
“The tour route is mainly on dedicated bicycle paths (about 80% of the time). The remainder of the tour is on quiet roads and dirt or gravel roads. This tour is suitable for families with children.”
This stretch alone disqualifies the tour as a family-safe route. The experience continues:
A short distance beyond the scary hill climb is a 5.2 Km stretch of riding on the same road. The tour map shows this section as a bike path on the side of the road pavement. The “bike path” in this area is about 18” wide, separated from the high-speed traffic by a 4” wide white stripe. Narrative direction for this day’s route were not helpful, signage was poor, the “pink” house referred to is now yellow.
The unpleasant day was capped by a steep climb to the hotel in Burghausen. Pushing a heavy e-bike up a hill doesn’t work! You need to pedal it up so that it assists with its own heavy weight.
Day 5 brought us to Bad Fussing. This day was mostly uneventful. Directions to the hotel in Bad Fussing were vague, calling for riding 4 Km on a busy road with no shoulder. Instead, we found a bike path at the German side of the bridge that led right in to downtown Bad Fussing. The directions should include this route. Plan your day to allow an hour or two at one of the baths, you will be glad you did!
Day 6 was uneventful, mainly along the Inn River to Passau.
One e-bike problem: the rear disc brake on one of the 4 bikes was useless, apparently the brake pads were worn away (bikes had coaster brakes too). In all other respects bikes were fine. Battery capacity was generous. I think the lowest reserve at the end of any day for any of us was 50%.
An otherwise delightful trip was marred by surprise bike path closures and stretches of unsafe highway biking. This is not for children. The scenery was awe inspiring. Hotels were good to excellent. E-bikes were good except for one problem that didn’t spoil the trip.
We would have wished for more current information on bike path conditions from the local partner. We provided reports to them of closed paths as we encountered them.
Your tour description misrepresents the conditions of the route. We would not have booked the trip if had been accurately described. SHOW MORE
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★★★★★ Steve Lilley
Challenge completed!
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
As a couple we enjoyed completing the challenge in extremely hot conditions.
We were disappointed in not sighting or swimming in the Danube more often: it’s a mighty impressive river!
Riding enabled greater appreciation of the country and people than by car: crops and farming in particular.
The final ferry ride for over an hour was a great finale! -
★★★★★ Steve Lilley
Challenge completed!
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
As a couple we enjoyed completing the challenge in extremely hot conditions.
We were disappointed in not sighting or swimming in the Danube more often: it’s a mighty impressive river!
Riding enabled greater appreciation of the country and people than by car: crops and farming in particular.
The final ferry ride for over an hour was a great finale!
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★★★★★ Spain
An Adventure
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
We selected a self guided tour which we have done several times in the past. Unfortunately the gps link did not work for us so we used the cue sheets and map. We got lost several times which was an adventure but difficult on the larger mileage days and in bad weather. There were many more miles on roads than we expected. Often the traffic was heavy and fast and the cycle paths in poor condition.We managed as we are experienced riders but it was not what we expected. We were glad to have the suspension of hybrid bikes. However when by the river on a good cycle path the ride was beautiful. We enjoyed the ferry rides. We were 15 riders and all liked the accommodations!
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 1, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe
Thanks very much for your review. If you have been on several tours, this one may feel more rustic than others (less developed paths, more adventurous - as you have noted). We're sorry to hear that the GPS link did not work for you. We know that can be frustrating. However, we appreciate that you were able to use the maps and cue sheets. We'll be on the lookout for further reviews denoting frequent heavy traffic. We've not heard that this was occurring outside when in Budapest and upon entering/leaving cities. We're glad to hear there were some enjoyable aspects and everyone liked the accommodations. Thanks again for your feedback on this tour.
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★★★★★ WSTraveler
An Unusual Experience Not to Be Repeated
UNESCO Sites of Albania
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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Albania
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★★★★★ Scott Katzer
Enjoyed the trip but some things can be improved
Cycling the Altmühl Valley - Round trip from Regensburg
The sites and surroundings were great and we lucked out with the weather as it rained almost every other day. Although we completed the tour with no issues, it was a bit complicated at times. The information between Bike Tours and the tour company Ragwed wasnt always fluid and simple questions seemed to take a bit of time to answer which is a problem when trying to book flights. The information given with the tour company package was a bit limited. Although maps were included, they are not provided with any sort of turn by turn direction. This isnt a big deal for most days as the trail is obvious but entering a city has its own challenges. It is recommended for anyone going on this tour to have GPS on their phone which we had to use (and incur roaming charges) several times. The signage in some locations simply dont exist and some roads were even closed during our tour due to construction. It would be wise for this tour company to occasionally ride their own route and note any changes.
The hotels were nice for the most part and breakfasts were good. The only one that I felt could be improved was the Regensburg location (IBIS Hotel). While it was nice and fine for the stay, its location is a decent distance from the Old Town (30 minute walk minimum) when there are tons of other places right in the Old Town area to stay. The other locations had hotels right in the middle of the main area (The one in Belingres was real nice). Mileage was fine and a majority was on bike paths/trails. My only request would have been providing the option to use a GPS on this tour as many of the paths either were not labeled or so close to the country roads that its hard to tell them apart. The bikes could be improved a bit as they are a bit bulky and heavy and really could do without the bright red advertising all over it. I will give kudos to the luggage people as we never had to wait for our luggage to arrive and they were usually there by 3pm at the latest.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Melany
Balkan bike trip
Cycling the West Balkan Triangle
The first two days were filled with of car, pedestrian and passport control traffic, along with being repetitive. The last few days were more authentic biking and scenery. The hotels were what was expected.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 223-30 May
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Countries included in this tour?
- Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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★★★★★ JackieDog
Confusing directions
Apulia - Heel of Italy
Wonderful way to see the countryside but frustrating as the directions were often vague or inadequate.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 16-23
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ Jim Brewer
Mainz to Cologne
Rhine Bike Path: Mainz to Cologne
The Rhine Valley was beautiful. The hybird bikes were very good. Maps and directions for the tour were very poor at best. Extremely difficult to find Hotels and the key sights mentioned by the tour. We experienced extremely high temperatures but had A/C most nights. The night without A/C resulted in very little sleep and NO biking the next day. The night that they shut off the A/C in the middle of the night resulted into a lot of lost sleep. Bottom line even with average high temperatures you need A/C every night and all night long.
Others on the same tour with the same maps etc also had difficulties finding the Hotels each evening.- What was the date of your tour?
- 22 Jul 18--28 Jul 18
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Germany
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★★★★★ Mark Abzug
meh
Florence to Rome
great cycling, but eurotours was terrible. no orientation, routed us on some busy roads, no customer service at all. I've done 5 of these, and this group was the worst support outfit by far
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
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★★★★★ David Anderson
Pretty location, ok organization
Highlights of the Highlands: Donegal by E-bike
In general, it was a great experience. I'd never been on a bike tour, and this was a load of fun. My wife and I plan to do more bike tours. However, if I had to choose between bike tours, I wouldn't recommend this specific one.
Going over this bike tour's organization.
GPS / Directions.
A few things here to complain about.
1. The printed directions were inconsistent between people on the tour. Some printed directions said left at an intersection, others said right. They were simply out of date, and the tour didn't re-print everything. Old printouts = old directions.
2. The printed directions were inconsistent with the web directions. We were sent PDFs of directions. Those didn't match up with the printouts. Again, likely because they were older or newer (we couldn't figure out which). Different roads sometimes, different turns.
3. The printed and web directions were inconsistent with the GPS tracks. This was super annoying, because we were biking along listening to the GPS directions (on the unit provided), and the GPS would say "turn here!" and the printed directions indicated we should go another few blocks.
4. The printed / web / GPS directions were out of date for actual road conditions. In two different locations, the road was literally closed, and we had to detour around an area using Google maps. In one place, the GPS road literally had grass growing on it, and had obviously moved at least 5+ years before. These directions are *very* out of date at times.
These direction inconsistencies didn't mean we got lost, but it did mean *daily* stops to consult our map, Google maps, GPS directions, and try to figure out where the tour intended us to go, regardless of all the inconsistencies. I'd highly suggest having offline Google maps if you're going to take the tour.
Lodging.
Some places were outstanding and high quality. Other places were lower quality. One place in particular stank heavily of peat smoke, with smoke literally billowing in through our windows. I don't know how often the tour company inspects the places they're sending people.
Food.
The tour included breakfast. It was sometimes great, mostly fine, but sometimes a bit low quality. Again, perhaps a lack of inspection on exactly what they're paying for.
While the tour didn't provide dinner, we sometimes had trouble finding any place which was open. In one town, we got *lucky* that there was a food truck open, because otherwise every single restaurant in town was closed down. The locals all said that it made no sense that we hadn't planned on dinner, because their town didn't have restaurants open in this season. Many locations only had a single restaurant option. I think if you're going to operate a tour this late in the season, you need to scout out restaurants which will actually be open. SHOW MORE
Bikes.
The bikes on average worked fine. Few specific issues.
1. The batteries were inconsistent power. Both in size (different models) and in age we suspect (as the power ran down more quickly). We absolutely used full power rarely, and most often had it at 1 or 2 out of 4 power. Still, on the longer days, we ran quite low on power. We had a battery die once, which was annoying. Thankfully we had young people on our tour who were able to power their way the last distance without a battery. For the distances available, I think the bike batteries are inadequate for anyone who isn't in good shape. When the tour operator was asked about this before the tour started, he insisted that the batteries "never" run out. Can't be true, we heard from other people on the tour that they also ran out of batteries.
2. We had a bike which repeatedly had the chain fall off. Looking at the chain, it was *covered* in grease. Looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years / forever. Thankfully we could put the chain back on ourselves, but if we were older / less competent with a bike, this would have been an issue.
General interactions.
In general, the tour operator was nice, but didn't seem overly concerned with the feedback we provided him.
1. "The GPS tracks are out of date." - "Well yeah that happens."
2. "There were no restaurants available." - "Yeah, it's late in the season"
3. "The bike kept losing the chain." - "Yup, bikes do that sometimes."
In general, we didn't feel like our concerns were being heard.
Again, overall it was a fun place to go, and we liked bike touring in general. The operator just could have done better.
SHOW LESS- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Ireland
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★★★★★ shea214
too 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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BikeTours.com staff reply from Lindsay Nash
Hi! Thanks for your review. We're glad to hear that the tour was lovely despite the tour level not meeting your expectations. We're taking your review to our products team and to the local tour operator to re-assess the tour level. Thank you for sharing your experience and helping us to better advise other travelers in the future.
-----
I wanted to follow up once more on your review after following up with the local tour operator. They've never received complaints about the GPS before, and they did provide maps, a profile, and a large marked map in the roadbook on your tour. Also, to clarify, the client you mentioned who said it was a tough route was doing the more challenging version of the tour, not the version you went on. I'm sorry if that was confusing.
Again, we apologize the tour level did not match your expectations, but we do state clearly in the Surface and Terrain details about the daily climbing.
Thank you again for sharing your experience.
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★★★★★ Bluenose
Alsace in September
Alsace Wine Country
Great time of year to do this trip as the vineyards are being harvested. The weather is perfect for cycling! Much of the trip is on dedicated cycle paths which reduces the amount of riding in traffic.
We took the dinner package which saved us the hassle of trying to find dinner each night. A couple of the meals were terrific but most were average.- What was the date of your tour?
- September 9, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much easier
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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