Bike & Hotel Tour Reviews page 96
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★★★★★ Bikers
Passau to Budapest
Danube Cycle Path Passau – Budapest
A great way to explore parts of the Danube and its environs including historical and present day influences. Good hotels with local cuisine, culture and friendly hosts. A great way to meet like minded fellow travellers and get lots of fresh air with exercise.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 2 - 15 September 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- Nil
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia
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★★★★★ Lynn M
Daube Bike Path 7 nights
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
The staff were great and the hotels were up to expectations. On commencing the instructions for the first 2 days were good but the bike tracks should be labelled eg R1 or No 6 - this would be helpful. Also with the instructions we were given - you would need a GPS. We rode 10km out of our way because we missed a sign and directions were not helpful. Locals did point us in the right direction ..but we had to resort to "google maps" Some people had assisted with spray painting the track with directions...so our confusion wasn't a one off.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
-
★★★★★ Heather
Classic River bike ride
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Hotels exceeded expectations…except 1 palace.
Pedalo app was excellent….a few small errors.
Unable to get a proper fitting helmet. One size does not fit all. Ended up buying a large helmet.
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★★★★★ melwood
Great trip due to the scenery, companions, and beer.
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Overall this was a great trip. I have a few complaints, though.
1. The bikes. We asked for hybrids and what we got were heavy cruisers (24 # or so) with 21 speeds and barco lounger seats. The seats were comfortable for about 20 miles the first day, then they were downright painful. Next time I'll bring my own saddle if I have to use these bikes. Also two of my companions are well under 5 ft tall and the bikes were big for them and hard to handle.
2. The distance. We told the company we wanted to do about 40 miles a day but it averaged 56 miles per day (with hot weather and heavy bikes and a headwind the entire way) for 4 days. We thought were spending 5 nights in hotels but it was only 4. I could have sworn I saw 5 days on the itinerary they sent before we left, but I guess i mis-read it.
3. The directions book. It was a little confusing arriving at the hotel and leaving it daily, as we had to pick out our directions from everyone one else's who were doing a similar ride but staying at different hotels or different villages.
A better approach would have been individual instructions. Especially when we arrived in Vienna. Once we were in town it was still an hour to our hotel through the city at high traffic. I could have kissed the hotel desk personnel when I finally arrived.
4. Accommodations: 3 out of 4 were great. The breakfast meals were great and plentiful. I would have liked to stay closer in the whatever village or town we were in (for those hotels that weren't) as it'd been nice to have a choice for dinner other than the hotel. Once we arrived, were too tired to bike any further, and we didn't want to spend $ on a taxi. Just a
suggestion.- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 12-16th, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- 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?
- Austria, Germany
-
★★★★★ Heather
Alsace Cycling Vacation
Alsace Wine Country
Bike Tours Direct is a very organized company that has good connections in the area. They provide a consultation on the first day of the trip to go over maps, routes, lodgings, and recommendations (for self-guided tours). They also spend some time making sure the bike is in good condition and is adjusted to fit you comfortably. We upgraded to road bikes, I would strongly recommend this as there are some steep hills on days 3-5.
We chose B hotels. The accommodations were comfortable.
The first 2 days of cycling are peaceful and flat, riding along a canal. Starting in Colmar, the ride is along the Alsatian wine route. It becomes hilly, and this is where the picture book starts. We cycled up and down hills, though vineyards, and medieval towns. Each town has beautifully preserved architecture, historic monuments, cobble stone streets, not to mention delicious local food and wine. The Alsace region is a perfect mix of French countryside, and small medieval towns with rich history and culture.- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ Wiederholen
A great tour with good friends
Danube Bike Path 8 Nights (Upscale Lodging)
Overall, a wonderful trip. Highlights included the Engelzell and Melk Abbeys, the towns of Dürnstein and Tulln, and the finish with an extra night in Vienna. The best scenery was in the Wachau, where we cruised through beautiful vineyards and lovely villages. On a couple of days the scenery was rather ordinary, and made the short rides seem longer out of boredom. Although the route was very flat, we did have a couple of short but steep climbs, the biggest being out of Melk to cross the bridge. This being our third bike tour in this region, I'm not sure the "upscale" lodging was worth the extra cost - some of the hotels were great (Schloß Dürnstein and Steigenberger Vienna) but most were not of any better quality than the standard tours. Biggest disappointments were the Hotel am Domplatz in Linz (where they charged us 20€ to garage our four bikes) and the Diamond City in Tulln, which was not "upscale" at all. The local tour operator was great - they provided us with a face-to-face briefing the night before we started riding - and the bikes were solid. We had a great time on this trip, despite two days of steady rain, but if I had to do it again I'd seriously consider the 7-night standard tour and save a few hundred Euros.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 31-AUG to 6-SEPT 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was our third in this region
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany
-
★★★★★ Helayn
More than I expected
UNESCO Sites of Albania
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 23
- How many tours have you completed?
- 15
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Albania
-
★★★★★ hbth
Great tour from Dolomites to lake Garda
Dolomites to Lake Garda: Picturesque Cities and Stunning Scenery
We chose self guided tour which was perfect for our group. We biked through amazing landscape and beautiful villages with nice restaurants and friendly people.
The travel documents were very helpful and the luggage transfer was perfect. It was
just a great tour!- What was the date of your tour?
- 3.-10. July
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the first
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
★★★★★ Hermann Vestri
Good trip, wish I had more time
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
- What was the date of your tour?
- Every day were good
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1 before
- 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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
-
★★★★★ Lourdes Galvez
Danube bike trail
Danube Bike Path 7 Nights (Classic)
Our bike trip was memorable! We enjoyed riding through all the charming towns on the trail and the beautiful scenery. We opted for the self guided tour and the only drawback was that the Pedalo app never showed how many miles we had traveled or miles remaining until the next destination.
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★★★★★ Larry Warshawski
Great trip Bolzano to Venice
Bolzano – Verona – Venice
We enjoyed the bike trip. The GPS courses were very good as were the tour descriptions in Ride with GPS. Unfortunately there was not enough time to see many of the sites. The hotels overall were average with some below average and a couple that were above average. They were all outside of the main old town vicinity and we missed out on the wonderful ambiance of the historical towns.
The 5 hour ferry ride on Lake Garda was too long and we arrived after sunset in late August. It was dark when we arrived at the hotel, which again was away from the downtown area and we had difficulty finding it.- What was the date of your tour?
- August 21
- How many tours have you completed?
- 30
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Italy
-
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★★★★★ Margaret
Beautiful arrangements, somewhat difficult cycling
Canal du Midi: Carcassonne to Sete, the South of France and the Sea
Carcassone is stunning. All of the hotels were good to excellent. The terrain is quite varied. The cycling was more difficult than I expected -- there are some serious climbs on the first two days, and most of the route is on public roads so you have to deal with cars. The tour company did their best to avoid traffic but they can't create a bike path where there is none. Fortunately, French drivers are used to bicyclists. I would recommend this trip to experienced cyclists but not to newbies.
The preparatory material was good. We were given printed maps and also an app for our phones. Both were good but the app was great because you could use it while you were on the bike, and it gave you an audible warning if you got twenty meters off the trail. The app also kept track of the percentage of the daily ride you had covered, and had a few more features. This was the first time I'd had an app and I really appreciated it.- How many tours have you completed?
- 4 counting this one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
-
★★★★★ margaret c
nice trip, beautiful countryside
Best of Slovenia: Highlights Across the Country From Bled to Piran
beautiful countryside, cycling nice, trip about 3 days too long, some of the places we visited though pleasant had little of interest. the accommodation was 3 star quality all the way apart from perhaps Piran and Bled. the M hotel as mentioned in many previous posts is a disappointment in Ljubljana as it is too far out of town which ruined the evening there.
- What was the date of your tour?
- sept 25
- How many tours have you completed?
- over 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Slovenia
-
★★★★★ Mariia
What a beautiful country
National Parks, Lakes & Canyons of Montenegro
Overall, it was a memorable experience, especially due to the stunning nature and dramatic landscapes — Montenegro's mountains, lakes, and scenery were absolutely breathtaking and made the trip truly special. Such a beautiful country!
We had quality road bikes which was essential for this tour. The daily distances ranged from 50 to 70 km, with significant ascents most days. Without proper road bikes, the climbs would have been very demanding (maybe too demanding) so we were glad we had the right equipment.
However, there were some aspects that didn’t match our expectations. The tour description indicated that we would mostly cycle on small roads and old railway tracks. In reality, a substantial portion of the route was on main roads with fairly heavy traffic. This was disappointing and at times felt unsafe — not what we had expected or been led to believe. This is something that should be clarified more accurately in the tour information.
Additionally, we encountered a few tunnels along the way, which added to our concerns about safety. The bikes were not equipped with lights or reflectors, making visibility poor both for us and for passing vehicles. Navigating through dark tunnels without proper lighting was uncomfortable and could be dangerous.
As for accommodation, it was mostly good, and in some cases exceeded expectations. While the tour was advertised as offering 3-star hotels, a few nights were spent in apartments without breakfast served at the location. This made our mornings a bit more complicated and delayed our starts, as we had to go to the restaurant and make the orders and wait for the food before setting off. Still, some of the places we stayed in were excellent, even better than the standard 3-star hotels.
A major positive was our tour guide. He was always available, helpful, and gave us valuable briefings about road conditions and daily routes. When bad weather hit, he quickly arranged car transport for us, which was much appreciated.
In summary, Montenegro is a fantastic cycling destination for nature lovers and strong riders. The organization had many good points — especially the bikes and the guide — but there’s room for improvement in terms of route planning, safety gear, and clear communication. With a few adjustments, this could be a top-notch tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Montenegro
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★★★★★ Mark Krueger
Our First E-Bike Trip
Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Lake Constance is a beautiful lake with many quaint towns, varied terrain and an active boat scene.
Our E-bikes performed flawlessly with more than enough battery life. Each hotel provided secure overnight bike storage and battery charging.
We are seasoned long-haul cross country hikers but experienced daily logistical issues in that using maps and GPS we were unable to follow the bike paths; we often stopped to ask for directions.
Not sure why this route is advertised as family friendly. During our journey around the lake we did not see any young children riding with parents; certainly this route is not appropriate for pulling a child-trailer behind a bike.
I’d recommend renting the E-Bike and enjoy the journey as we did.- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2023
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Mark Krueger
Our First E-Bike Trip
Lake Constance Bicycle Path
Lake Constance is a beautiful lake with many quaint towns, varied terrain and an active boat scene.
Our E-bikes performed flawlessly with more than enough battery life. Each hotel provided secure overnight bike storage and battery charging.
We are seasoned long-haul cross country hikers but experienced daily logistical issues in that using maps and GPS we were unable to follow the bike paths; we often stopped to ask for directions.
Not sure why this route is advertised as family friendly. During our journey around the lake we did not see any young children riding with parents; certainly this route is not appropriate for pulling a child-trailer behind a bike.
I’d recommend renting the E-Bike and enjoy the journey as we did.- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2023
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Germany, Switzerland
-
★★★★★ Mark Mering
Nice trip through the Balkans
Balkan Treasures
Very beautiful country. Nice people in all of the countries we visited. Hotels were nice. Too many transfers . Some of the roads had no shoulders and a lot of traffic and were not fun to ride on .
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro
-
★★★★★ marni55
went off without a hitch
Vienna to Budapest (Classic)
Very enjoyable trip. Rad + Reisen supplied bikes that were in great working order and no problems at all with repair issues. We never had to wait for our luggage; they reported luggage would be delivered by 6pm each day, but our luggage was delivered before we arrived every day, even when arriving early, around 1300 or sooner. The hotels were comfortable and generally in good locations, although I might consider spending a bit extra next time in order to be in a more central location in the large cities (Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest).
Much of the riding was on peaceful and beautiful country bike trails. There were some parts that were on gravel or poorly paved roads, but that was the minority.
The only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5 is due to rather poorly written directions, mainly in the direction booklet showing the way from the end of the day's route to the hotel. We got lost many times trying to find our hotels. By the end, we gave up on using their directions to the hotel and just looked at the map. I would recommend revising these directions with more landmarks and STREET NAMES.
I would definitely use this company again.- What was the date of your tour?
- June30-July 6, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- this was the first
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with young kids, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria, Hungary
-
★★★★★ Melissa R
Wonderful trip and excellent service/support
Danube Cycle Path Passau – Budapest
The bikes were great, accommodations just right.some of the lengths were too short followed by very long consecutive days. More even mileage would be good.
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