Europe Bike Tour Reviews — 331 to 360 of 1744

The most memorable city in the trip was Gourda, with brilliant , centrally located accommodation.
Bike very good, sturdy and easy to operate.
Accommodation of a very mixed standard, 1] the Brugges accomodation being totally unacceptable for both the price and the city location. Room very small and pokey, with stairs and no place for bags, toilet in a cupboard! Exceptionally disappointing end to our trip. Reception staff obsessed with the Voucher system [unlike other locations!], and quite disinterested in cyclists. We arrived after a days riding in the rain and had to wait whilst she discussed a menu intem for about five minutes with a local!, 2] the accommodation out of town, about 3 kilometers, on about night 5 was totally inappropriate for cyclists, with again the hotel owner only interested in his up-market restaurant guests and barely tolerating cyclists, we asked if we could have a drink in the front lounge at about 5.30 and was told it was fully booked for dinner, on checking at 7.15 still no guests had arrived!, and 3] the Hotel Piccard was impossible to find from the maps and number given.
The route itself was excellent for 95% of the time, on possibly three [3] occassions the numbers were inadequate or incorrect, and required us to ask locals for directions back to the track, it would be good if a Company staff member had actually ridden the track at some stage and corrected this situation.
And finally, when paying for the A tour, it is not unreasonable to expect that the maps and instructions be personalized as to the days that ferries are and are-not available - this small detail was hidden in the notes and if one was not particularly pedantic in preparing for the next days travel could easily have been missed and spent a very frustrating, and tiring day cycling.

The most memorable part of our trip from Amsterdam to Bruges was that my husband and I experienced the adventure with our son and daughter in law. As far as suggestions go, I would suggest that the local operator needs to step up their game on support and maintenance of their bikes. Initially, there was no representative to fit the bikes, nor did they provide any tools for adjustments to be made. My husband is 5’10” and a medium size bike was provided instead of a large. His first 2 days of biking was so very uncomfortable necessitating that he resort to an e-bike for the remainder of the trip.

We had the most delightful Guide, Ilenia. She was just beautiful and so considerate and kind. We enjoyed only having 13 riders in the group. On 3 of the days, we were treated to authentic Italian food in little villages or out of the way places. Sadly, the choice of hotel in Lecce proved to be extremely disappointing. The other places we stayed were quite good and one, in particular, at Gallipoli was outstanding. There was quite of bit of road riding at times. The scenery in the Puglia region was average - lots of dead olive trees and in the back streets there is lots of dumped rubbish. Having said that, the trip was excellent and the group we rode with was fabulous.

The service provided by the tour operator was excellent! Our guide, Mende, and our driver, Aleks, were very attentive to our needs and requests. Mende, in particular, is very well-versed in the history and culture of all three Baltic states. Every question we had was answered and every problem we had was successfully addressed. This trip is definitely worth considering for your next holiday!

All was perfect.
Bike traveling was among the vinhards and Chateaux on Pontilac.
Best city was Saint Emilion.

The only less satisfing was the size of the room I got in Best Western hotel. It was too small.

Congrats to you all

Great scenery; safe ridding;
We should have stayed an extra day touring around St Emillion.

Bike and ferry to Porquerolles Island. Nice riding, fun ferry ride and beautiful island.

An excellent cycling tour (our seventh with Tripsites!), through a very beautiful part of Spain. The route is diverse and takes you through hilly forested areas, wide open rice farms, extensive olive and apple orchards, and vineyards. And then you find yourself dipping down to the Costa Brava, with its breathtaking coastal views. The bike paths are well marked, mostly sand/gravel/packed dirt and well maintained, and generally separated, although there are portions where you are cycling on some of the quieter rural roads. There are some moderate climbs, particularly during the latter stages, but it is generally fairly flat throughout. Lots of historic and cultural sites along the way, including ancient cities (Girona, where the walk along the ramparts was particularly memorable), hilltop citadels (Pals, Figueres), great museums (don’t miss the Theatre-Museum Dali or the Toy Museum in Figueres!). Accommodations were excellent, the food and wine sublime. We added days in both Girona and Figueres, given the many interesting things to do there. We really enjoyed the loop in the middle, and the stay in Castelló d’Empuries (at the Hotel Canet), was definitely a highlight. The local contractor (Cyclotours) was great to work with - they gave us a two hour initial orientation and responded immediately to any questions or issues we had along the way. In hindsight, we would have better timed our cycling to some of the weekly markets along the route (Cyclotours has the list), and should have done a bit more research on some of the towns along the way, as we heard afterwards about some of the interesting places we missed. All in all, though, just a wonderful tour.

The beautiful nature and beauty of the fjord, which we will never forget. Well-chosen and prepared bikes for the tour, which were a pleasure to ride.Good organization and clear instructions

Excellent trip and beautiful route! Directions were very clear and straightforward. Hotels were great. The only thing I might mention, is the Hotel Juan de la Cosa is a beautiful hotel, but it really isn't close to any resturants. If you would like to eat somewhere besides the hotel (which is pricy) you might want to plan to eat in the town just before you get to the hotel. I think maybe it is 8 miles away or so. That might be something worth mentioning in your guide so that people know.

The landscape, ocean paths and excellent hotels are the best of this trip. I love cycling and do that regularly. This trip is classified as “easy” but I actually think it is very challenging. There is a variety of terrain, some parts are easy but others are very challenging with rocky hilly roads, passing streams and among walkers that do El Camino. The mountain bikes are great and I would not have been able to complete it without an electric mountain bike. Be prepared for many challenging hills. This is definitely not a trip for beginner or occasional cyclists.

The Provence region of France is exquisitely beautiful, and biking is very much a part of French life. Everywhere we went, we saw beautiful medieval villages and gorgeous countryside. However, my strong suggestion would be to encourage E-bike rentals. Although we are strong bikers, the hills we encountered made it very difficult to get to some of our destinations. Also, the App we used in order to access our daily riding maps was not user-friendly and we had a difficult time following it.

The trip leader was excellent. Enjoyed the routes we took everyday. Interesting scenery in the town/villages we visited. . What was most disappointing were the group dinners no choices. Some of the hotels could have been more centrally located for free time sightseeing. Overall it was good value for the cost of the trip.

A fantastic trip. There were so many great town and villages along the way. The bike routes and hotels were very good. Unfortunately there was a strong prevailing wind from west to east. If we were to do this trip again we would go from Bruges to Amsterdam.

our review bike tour Ring of Kerry 8-14 June 2024
We have enjoyed our tour very much. We were also very lucky with the weather, only 10 minutes of rain!

This review is for you:

The local operator was fantastic. Maurice came to our hotel to provide us with all the necessary information and to adjust the bikes. It was personal and pleasant. The bikes are excellent and very well suited for the trip. The luggage was always there when we came to our next bed & breakfast. The route was great and worked very well in the app Ride with GPS. The trip took us form Killarney-Glenbeigh-Cahersiveen-Sneem-Kenmare and back to Killarney. It was an amazing tour in this beautiful country. Highlights for us were the isle of Valentia and the route from Kenmare to Killarney’. Sabine & Henk from The Netherlands

Then for your information.

There is one thing that was not good and that is the parking of our car during our tour. I think an organization should organize that too for a trip like this. In Killarney there is almost no place to park your car, besides the open-air parking’s, but they are very expensive for a week. We tried several hotels to no avail. After a lot of detectives work my husband found a parking place in town, right in the centre, Hilliard House, that was very good. Only € 25 for a week and there was space. This parking place is very hard to find, but it is public. It took us a few hours to sort this out, and that is not pleasant in a holiday…

Another thing is the size of the beds. They were all 1.40 m width (except one). We Dutch are not used to this! It might be good to inform foreign travellers about this.

There was one day we had to bike on a motor way (form Cahersiveen to Kenmare). Although it was the best route, it is not very nice as the traffic is so fast and sometimes it was a bit scarry. If we make another tour, we would not like to do this again.

B&B were all good, except one. I valued them with 5 = excellent, 4 = good, 3 = average, 2 = not so good, 1 = bad (none!).
Killarney, Abbey lodge ♣♣♣♣
Good room, clean and nicely cared for everything. Large parking behind the hotel. Good breakfast and kind host who gave good tips for restaurants.
Glenbeigh. Liosderrig House ♣♣♣♣
Very friendly host and clean room with nice view. Small but comfortable bed. Good breakfast. The only place for us to charge the battery for the bike in the room.
Caharsiveen, San Antoine B&B ♣♣♣♣♣
This was the best place! Very comfortable and large bed, nice and large room. Very friendly host, who gave lots of useful information. Nicely situated. Very good breakfast.
Sneem, River Logde ♣♣♣
Beautifully situated and at a very quiet road. Small and very hard bed. Welcome of the Dutch host was not very friendly, but his wife was very kind.
Kenmare, Kenmare House ♣♣♣♣
Looked very dull form the outside and a bit dark inside, but very friendly staff, and a small but good bed and very comfortable room. Good breakfast.
Killarney, Rossmore House B&B ♣♣
This is the only place we think you should not offer any more. Although the host was very kind, the bed was awful, with a very bad mattress and with the wooden frame it was too small for us. And we waited 30 minutes for our breakfast.  SHOW MORE 

We rode through some beautiful parts of Denmark and Sweden and saw some very interesting places. We very much enjoyed spending time in Copenhagen, having chosen to have an extra couple of nights before the trip started. It’s a great city to start from.

Riding in the villages. The tour we had of each of the main cities. Small size of our group.

We did the Wild Portugal 11 day trip on ebikes. Tripsite was top notch. Organization of trip and all communications were flawless. The bikes were great as were the accommodations and luggage transport. Everything ran like clockwork. It was our first trip like this and totally impressed us.

In retrospect, it would have been good to request a day off in the middle of the 9 days of biking which would have been easy to arrange---we just didn't think of it in advance.. At least for us old folks, a day off the bike would have been refreshing. Ride with GPS on our iPhone worked great. Thanks to the tour operator for that suggestion. The off road segments on ebikes were worth doing as there was very little traffic, generally scenic and with the exception of short stretches of deep loose sand very ridable. The ebikes were REALLY worth the extra expense to us. Dan and Melissa, June 2024

Albanian Highlight was an amazing bike tour. The fellow cyclist were a wonderful bunch and we all got on so well. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and because of him the cycle tour ran so smoothly. Also a shout out to our van driver who did a wonderful job as well. My husband and i would highly recommend this cycle tour and we are already planning our next cycle trip.

We were a group of 6 from Iceland in beginning of June 2024. Wonderful trip. Excellent professional and personal service. Would warmly recommend and use their service again.

Bikes allow a good level of immersion into local culture. The Netherlands provides a great example of a prosperous, healthy and environmentally aware society. My observations are purely anecdotal but we in the US could learn a lot by following the example set by these kind and thoughtful people. I would recommend the Tripsite unguided bike tour from Bruges to Amsterdam to anyone. All arrangements and accommodations were fabulous.

The destination cities are interesting to visit: architecture, history and beautiful cemetery parks. The hotel accommodations were good but in several instances away from historical attractions and sites. Unseasonal weather handicapped the cycling. The baggage transfer service was efficient and timely. Roskilde and Helsingoer were memorable.

Our Two tour guides Mario & Paulo especially Paulo since he really tried to make our trip informative and comfortable for each of us and that definitely added to our trip!

We had a great time! As a bike guide in the US myself, I know how these things work. You cannot foresee every situation. And as a guide, we know to be flexible. And because of that we thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Here are some thoughts for improvements for your next guests. These by no means took away from our enjoyment and are meant for future trips.
-- The hotels in general were nice. A few issues here and there (mostly normal stuff).
-- In Hainburg - Altes Kloster - there was no individually controlled AC. It was fine for us because the night was cool.
-- The breakfasts at all the hotels were excellent
-- In Esztergom, the Portobello Hotel was not so great. The hotel room actually smelled bad. My wife says it smelled like old shrimp. They sent someone up with a spray can which they left for us. That "hid" the smell for a while, and you got used to it. But when you stepped back in the room from outside you could clearly smell the mustiness. Also there was no coffee maker in the room (which is always a nice thing to have). We did OK there, but I'd recommend a different hotel for future guests.
-- Traveling by train from Gyor to Komarom was interesting. No elevators and no escalators. We had to carry bikes up and over (or down and under) the tracks to get to the platform. This is the kind of thing it would have been nice to know ahead of time.
-- There was no ferry service from Szentendre to Budapest. We ended up taking the train. While the docs say you might have to take the train, I think it would have been nice to have been told ahead of time that there would not be a boat.
-- Perhaps too, a little more heads up about possible river flooding and the need for detours (honestly, the guy we met with the bikes may have mentioned this. I'm just bring it up as a "nice to know" tip for future guests.

Again, none of these took away from *our* trip (except maybe the Portobello Hotel). As a bike guide these are the kinds of thing we like to look for and inform our guests about ahead of time.

And yes... we will see you on another adventure soon! We had a blast!

Thanks
-Philip & Caroline

Hard to list one thing - many museums in Copenhagen and the canal boat ride; maritime museum in Helsingor, Viking ship village in Roskilde, riding along the sea, fine breakfasts, friendly and helpful Danish people. It was a bit hillier than I expected on a couple of days. Printed and phone app instructions were excellent.

The Steamboat ride from Mariefred to Stockholm was quite entertaining. We made the mistake of renting Ebikes....not a good idea. Cycling was very scenic..........hotels in Trosa and Mariefred were excellent......guides at castles were highlights of the trip. Take at least an hour tour in Gripsholms. Cycle paths were gravely and a bit difficult for many of us with Ebikes.....except for the few folks who had very new light weight models. Bottom line, I want to rate trip 'excellent' but we made it less so by choosing ebikes even though Tripsite tried to steer us away from this decision!!

Going through the smaller places of Portugal at a more leisurely pace.

The hotels were wonderful, we navigated better with ride with gps app. We had an amazing experience

tripsite was always a little confused and there were mistakes made, we got our info the day we arrived for the first day of our tour. The hotel did not know a thing about our packets, and again I had to make a call on vacation. The person that showed up was clueless about bikes did not know how to put on pedals or adjust the seat. He did not have our train tickets as someone forgot to put them in the packet. one of the bikes was missing a fender and a bag. The hotels were hit or miss. The Stockl hotel was dirty and smelly, we both got a rash that was scaly and itchy. I had to call Euro bikes to get our train tickets again. As they forgot to digitally send them. ,( second time). The directions were hit or miss. Gps was better. I have done many bike tours and I loved the Danube tour just need a more organized company. Electric bikes worked great!!
castles were great!