3 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 61 to 90 of 340

Our cycling trip was marred by inclimate weather which cut the tour short due to flooding of the Danube. Because of the detours that were forced upon us we got to see some of the national forest (although we had to clime over downed trees to get through.

In my opinion, trip should not have been classied as EASY TO MODERATE
Rather. Moderate to difficult. Riding on major highways, small villages with car parking on both sides of road, little room to navigate. Very few actual bike lines especially along busy roads

The Italian inter structure does not support SAFE bicycle travel………

The weather wreaked havoc on the trip - with highly unusual rainfall inundation and wind conditions in Austria and Slovakia. The subsequent flooding affected the routes and led to the tour company cancelling 2/3 of the trip. The local tour company struggled to manage communication with everyone. We were booked into a different hotel for the 2nd night and not provided with directions to this hotel. Budapest was lovely and we had great weather there, but we did not experience most of the bike route.

Make sure you don't get booked on s boat as a hotel, dirty and bugs. They say gravel bikes but they are not. They do not send a mechanic to set up bike, just a tour guide who knows nothing. Bike was dirty and needed oiling. They said safety checked but found issues when given the bike. If traveling in pairs they only give you one copy even though you paid full price for both. They also only give one lock when we were told each would get one. Printed map and instructions not accurate. No instructions to specific hotels. Breakfast and luggage pick up times do not align.

The most remarkable part of the trip was the beautiful countryside we saw on Funen, and getting a brief picture of the Danish 'personality'. I loved having an e-bike as it made the hills a breeze, although I found the bike very heavy when trying to maneuver it crossing streets etc in the cites.

The biggest downfall of the trip was the bike directions. It should be emphasized to be prepared to use digital routes and give them upon arriving. Unless able to provide them, people should be told to bring a mount for the phone on the handle bars, rain protection for the phone and earbuds. The detailed directions are not usable. We'd still be trying to get of Odense!?
The lodgings were personable and great except not crazy about Hotel Faaborg Strand. It was too far out to go on a rainy, windy night to town for dinner and they had only one selection on the dinner menu. They cater to conventions. A place in town would be much better. The ebikes were of very good quality. Giving people the rules of biking in Denmark would be useful. We had rain, cold and wind but still loved the beautiful scenery and especially loved the islands.

The Lycian Coast is absolutely beautiful. The water is the most gorgeous color of blue and so clear!
The bike riding was very hilly, so E-Bikes really made the difference.
The Admiral (ship) needs attention to detail. The crew worked day and night to correct issues: sewage smells, a/c, non functioning lights, plus much, much more. Until the boat is overhauled, I would not recommend it.
We also took the Extension to Istanbul. The Faros Hotel was amazingly helpful; truly service oriented!!

The ride was always a. ‘bucket list’ item, & the scenery was outstanding, & the GPS was very beneficial. However, I wouldn’t rate the ride as our best experience, as there were a few disappointments. The Augsburg hotel was not very good. At the outset (day 1) the instructor was briefing a large group of German speaking cyclists, (for ~20 minutes) & advised he’d brief the English speaking cyclists afterwards, but he just came over & said we could start the ride, but we mentioned that we were advised to go to the Dom Hotel for instructions, & he just said - ‘what do you want to know?’, & it was annoying that we had to wait ~1 hour & cycle an additional 2km to get that instruction. Plus, the bikes did not have drink bottle cages, which would have been beneficial. I acknowledge the advice regarding 20kg weight restriction on luggage, & when we left Australia, our (3 pieces) luggage were weighed at the airline checkin at 19kg, 20kg, & 21kg, & we redistributed some luggage to the bike panniers, & then received notices on the end of day1 that out luggage was overweight 1 x 23kg & 1 x 21kg, & that we had to reduce the weight or the luggage would be left behind (we relocated the required amount to my backpack), but I suggest your partner recalibrate their scales (plus it surprises me that 20kg is OK, but 21kg is not). Additionally, we were only provided 2 luggage tags each, so we couldn’t buy another piece of luggage, to redistribute the weight (despite the instructions provided that we’d receive 3 luggage tags each). Additionally, once we arrived at our daily destination, there was no directions given to our accommodation hotel, which resulted in additional cycling (I had to use my Australian iPhone to access GPS, which was costly). Occasionally, there was a few trail signs that conflicted with the GPS, & a couple occasions when the written instructions provided a 3rd point of view.

The entire trip was memorable! Thank goodness for e-bikes! I don't think anyone on the boat would have been able to complete most days without an e-bike - there were a few who didn't use them, but they were in great physical condition and obviously accustomed to riding hills.

I was blown away by the quality of the food that was served by Mario out of that tiny kitchen! All of the meals were amazing!

I would honestly say this tour should be advertised for e-bikes only. There were some grueling hills. We have been on numerous bike and barge trips in years past and this was by far the most challenging - and also the first time everyone in our group used e-bikes. The routes were in either very high traffic or on very bumpy and obstacle-filled dirt roads, which made it difficult to take in the beauty around, as you had to focus on what was in front of you. Croatia is a beautiful country - I do wish there were better bike paths though.

The guides were amazing! The trip was so well organized. Due to weather they had to make a quick decision to change our route and it went effortlessly. The food on the boat wasn’t very good - I suggest giving people some options rather than plating and serving. The bathrooms only have a porthole so they lacked ventilation and were very stuffy. The staff worked extremely hard. We made wonderful friends from all over the world. All in all we had a marvelous vacation!

Meals were great
Barge was perfectly updated
Tours were so-so

While to bike, the GPS app, and the lodgings were all good, this trip had problems. First, I was routed to the wrong city/hotel on the first day. My trip itinerary and my GPS instructions put me in the wrong city so I had to ride additional miles to get to where my luggage was located. Very poor but doable. My main complaint is about the lack of communication from the local on the ground operator. My bike, while good, had an issue with the seat slowing lowering so every 30 minutes or so I would have to raise it back up. I called the company and was told someone would call me back, they didn't. I called again and was told that they would contact someone to come and look at the bike and that they would call back in a couple of minutes, they didn't. I called again and received the same response and the same result of not calling back. They are open until 8pm so at 7:45pm I called yet again and this time there was no answer and no way to leave a message. They did call back the next day and send me a list of bike shops in my next city. I was told to have the repair made, send them the receipt, and I would be reimbursed they were vague on how I was going to be reimbursed. I decided to stay with readjusting my seat every 30 minutes because I lost all confidence in them.

I will say that Rebecca from TripSite was excellent. I called her after the no answer phone call. She followed up with me later that day as well as the next day and patiently listened to my story. Thanks Rebecca!

Gillelege harbor was a true delight. Beautiful setting and lovely shops.

The guided walking tours of Bruges and Antwerp were informative and interesting.

Misunderstanding on inclusion of meals at the hotels other than Vienna, Bratislava, & Budapest. We specified that we’d like them included and they were not. We were able to find restaurants, but obviously that increased the cost for us.

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.

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

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!

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!!

The weather went North: 14C feeling like 12, very windy gusts of plus 45 km/h and rain for 10 days now. So wonderful train service replaced the bicycles. We prepared for 17 to 22 C weather so our clothing was inappropriate.

The towns we visited were great. If you do this tour get the e'bike. We were the only people on regular bikes. The e-bikes had shocks, we did not. It was a constant battle on hills as everyone left us behind. We were ok on flat roads but the hills and rock and gravel trails without shocks were terrible. E-bikes should be required.

The ride along the Burren Coast Way. Spectacular views of the sea.
I am not a road biker and I personally found the trip a little more challenging than the "Easy to Moderate" rating posted on the website.
I would suggest you need to be comfortable riding on fairly busy roads at times and train for the hills, some are quite challenging.
Overall a very special way to see Ireland and well worth the challenge.

Cycling through the farms and along the rivers and canals was beautiful. The villages were historic and lovely. More recommendations of sights along the way would have been helpful.

Although the guided tour had its frustrations and the rainy - windy weather didn’t help, the experience was worth the trip. However, it was frustrating that more attention/instruction was not given to novice bikers. Firstly, they needed to understand the e-bike, specifically to understand the function of gearing down and powering up when needed. Secondly novice bikers didn’t understand NOT to crowd other bikers and to keep a safe distance. Also your marketing should be clear state that they shoukd be experienced bikers. Some areas were highly trafficked - bike auto and train - therefore novice bikers are at great risk. The guides were unfamiliar with the trail and particularly in the first days were getting lost. Your selection for lunch stops were poor. We ate our sandwiches (which got really boring after the second day) outside in the rain. Suggest you add some lunch stops at some local sheltered restaurants with enough time to enjoy and experience the local fare.

The barge crew were very helpful and friendly and the group of people on the bike trip were fantastic. The barge rooms were bad - very wet and humid. The beds were wet with humidity. All clothing were wet with humidity and the rooms smelled very badly. We turned on the A/C but it didn’t help with the humidity and smell. If we opened the portholes, condensation dripped down on the bed. 4 of us got sick and I think it was due to the bacteria in the rooms.

we were lodged at Quinta de Sao Tome because they didn't have enough room at the original farm . We loved our stay there and the food was also delicious. The staff was great, especially Claudio, who was consistently pleasant and helpful. The bike rides were enjoyable but our enjoyment was reduced by the rather profoundly poor proof-testing of one of our maps. Because of the rough nature of some trails , specially the one going to the winery that nobody could find, nobody seemed to be aware of the actual incomplete nature of the mapped trail. We found this oversight vexing and could easily have led to further unpleasantries.
Although, one of our members was assured that she had a suitable bike to accommodate her size, an appropriate bike was not waiting for us and had to be found at the last moment and replace by a lower standard one / that was not very comfortable . We booked different bike ride in the past before this one and always received a briefing the night before . There .we were brief on arrival and that was it . the GPS provided was not always easy to follow and I would advise them to try the different trail before they send people on it. Some of the road are in poor condition.
We also found the pricing of the bike portion of our trip was a problem. We could only fit 3 days of biking in but were charged 5 days and denied the weekly rate which would have been cheaper, in spite of only using the three days. The bike portion of our trip was poor value in the context of our previous biking experiences.

The scenery through the Adige River valley is fabulous. The biking is not too strenuous since most of the days are generally downhill. The climb to the view over Lake Garda is beautiful. Really fun to cycle through so many small towns along the way and interesting to cycle along the shores of Lake Garda too.

The day we rode all day was probably the most memorable. The farm stop for lunch was very enjoyable. We would have liked to have more of the longer rides