4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 241 to 270 of 1278

Great canal cruise to many historic cities….study up on thèse before thé start of thé trip.

I think Matera is unforgettable. It’s an impressive city. The experience to see how to prepare all those delicious cheese in Noci was amazing. I’d suggest an optional thing for the end of the biketour, that is a Spa Day. It would be nice to have a massage and a relaxing time after all.

Being pulled up by the police for riding on the motorway. It was so scary - we had no option but to keep going. This was between Stanstad and Sarnen. This is despite paying for the kamloot app. Days 1-3 were good. We don’t like riding on roads - but 4-5 was not so fun

We were looking forward to enjoying this well-planned out trip, mostly on well-maintained cycle paths, but the weather had different ideas! All started out great in Vienna on a warm and sunny day. Our hotel in Vienna was pleasant and the trip guide / Austrian partner, was very helpful and patient with the many travelers needing his guidance. But then Storm Boris hit with torrential rains and strong winds! We struggled through mostly wet and rainy days. However, we got great support in changing out our bikes, due to mechanical and ergonomic issues when we arrived in Bratislava. There certainly were some very enjoyable moments, especially the hotels and food (we chose the half board option) but we cut our riding short on the fifth day to avoid additional days of rain and cooler temperatures. The local partner helped us with securing a hotel in Budapest a day early and with a train ticket from Komarom to Budapest. We know that our trip would have been totally amazing had the weather cooperated! There was no way to predict the unexpected 10-year deluge in Central and Eastern Europe.

Budapest and Vienna were fabulous cities to see. I would suggest that more info, printed the day before on bike routes be given out to everyone. The info meetings were hard to get all of the details and minimal route information changes. Also, bike routes for each day should be based on temperature and wind direction with advisories about how much water to bring along, where to get more. The bike route that was suggested for Bratislava was terrible: prior information on the 30 mph wind gusts that we headed back towards the boat in and 90 degree temperatures made the trip difficult and dangerous: my husband almost suffered from heat stroke and we could not find any place on route to get water after making the return after the bridge crossing.

Annita is a great tour guide! She made special arrangements to get us into chateau that weren't open when we were in the area. Most of the small towns we went through on our rides were closed up during the hours we were there (12-2) making it a challenge to find points of interest beyond the scenery. We did go to a lovely Goat Cheese Shop and did a great cheese tasting. It would be good to add a wine tasting in Sanserre to the itinerary of this trip.

.The trip was well managed by Lesley.He was great. The boat staff were not very helpful so that was a bit frustrating at times.Food was good. Lots of activites. Biking was fabulous.

The staff on the Clair de Lune were fantastic, funny and hard working. The food was beautifully prepared, nutritious and delicious. I enjoyed the visit to goat cheese farm, moving through the locks, exploring beautiful old towns and traveling in a bridge canal over the Loire River. A couple of days were less interesting. Don’t forget your rain jacket.

The most memorable part for me was the scenery. Biking through the "hinterlands" and Bavaria was very beautiful and interesting. The fruit trees and the family farms were charming.
The ride was more difficult than I expected and I was not expecting to ride on gravel and dirt paths. At times that was a bit challenging. I think the rating should be moderate to difficult.
We had too many people in our group, 14, and only one leader. She was wonderful but she had never ridden the route and was not very knowledgable about the route or the area. One of the participants had to ride "sweep".
I would have liked a little bit more free time. We had zero time to do any shopping or sightseeing in the villages that we stayed in. The 2 to 2 1/2 dinners were a bit long although delicious.
The hotels were wonderful and the food was great. Because of weather we did not have picnic lunches but our lunch stops were very good.
I felt we spent too much time standing around and waiting. At times things were a bit disorganized but I do believe that was because of the inexperience of our leader.

This was a well conceived and executed trip; from the baggage handling to the overnight accommodations and the variety of breakfast provided we were pleasantly surprised. The bikes were well maintained and the Ride with GPS was accurate if not sometimes difficult to follow in the cities we visited. A cautionary note: The route from Faenza to Ronta is not for the casual rider! Both the long ascent and the traffic make this an "experienced" rider's ride.

Guide Fabian was wonderful. Guided tours were good. Loved the scenery. Sixteen in group was too many. In fact two chose not to ride and 14 was still too many due to varying abilities.

Vienna and Budapest at night. Coffee and cake at 1600. Breakfast buffet. Large lager.

The Spa Triangle biking tour - late August 2024 was more rigorous than we anticipated...lots of hills. Four of us went and we are in our mid-late 50's. Two of us chose acoustic bikes and two got electric bikes. This worked out well because we are all around the same height and could switch off as necessary. Plus the electrics carried the paniers with all the food/snacks, drinks and all extras.
A couple things I'd like to mention. The Trip site partners were very friendly and for the most part very responsive. Sometimes there was a language challenge, but we got through it. We upgraded to the Superior Hotel category and glad we did because we can't imagine what the lower category would have gotten us. With that said, the first hotel: Schlosspark in Karlovy Vary was very dated and in 1 of the 2 rooms, the air conditioning was not working properly and it was very warm on our first night. We mentioned to the front desk and were told a technician would come by. By the time we returned after dinner, the room was still very hot and we mentioned again but were told there was nothing they could do. I then reached out to our Trip Site partners and they said they would speak with the hotel. The hotel offered another room but it too had no a/c. We were promised an upgraded room the next night. I ended up putting my mattress on the floor of the room my sister & cousin were in to be able to get a comfortable night sleep before our first day of cycling. As far as the "upgraded" room...it was equally dated and had a tub instead of a shower but it did have it's own mini-split for a/c.

Our riding that day was greeted with perfect weather and we had a picnic lunch at what looked like a castle. We also passed a nice covered bridge along the route. The one thing we definitely wish we had known and been advised of is that the only place in the Spa Triangle with Thermal spas is Karlovy Vary. The other towns you will stay/visit do not offer the thermal baths. Unfortunately, we didn't find this out until we were at the next town. The town itself is lively and we happened to be there at the time of a music and wine festival and lucked out with all the music in and around the town.

The next town of Frantiskovy Lazne was all painted in yellow and we stayed at the Spa & Kur Hotel Harvey which was by far the best hotel of the 3. It was the most modern and best breakfast spread. Although, don't get spa services here, they were disappointing...lots of oil being rubbed all over and nothing more. The town is sleepy but beautiful. There are lots of green parks in this town as well. Our rides from this town included stopping at Soos, a nature preserve to see natural springs. On our final day here, we biked out through the town of Cheb which was lovely and then had another picnic lunch at a church stop that had picnic tables. We also saw a herd of elk and ram along this route which was a wonderful surprise.  SHOW MORE 

I think that when delivering the itinerary to the group, Tripsite should do a survey of the stopping points and tourist attractions, as on certain days, the places mentioned are closed!

Scenery and the food was delicious every meal. Rooms were better than expected.

The ride from Kingham to Stratford on Avon includes a tall hill climb. On the for side are the best views of the countryside, framed by sculpted hedgerows. The downhill fide is visually dramatic, fantastic and well worth the effort.

The negative points: The Bear in Woodstock. The staff was less than accommodating upon our arrival. The village and surrounding area was overwhelmed by a huge car show. So we sat waiting from 1pm, in the courtyard. The staff did not bother to tell us, as we waited in the courtyard, 10 steps outside the office door (which was open). As the room became available, no notice was offered to us. We eventually asked and were surprised to see the room was clean and available one half hour after check-in time. In addition, they were the only hotel to leave us with less than satisfying accommodation for our bicycles. We eventually decided to bring our bikes into our room that had street level access. Woodstock was a blemish on a wonderful trip. The Bear staff seem unhappy and perhaps understaffed.

Billing up front of the trip was disappointing as $300+ was charged for the E-bike with not notice. We were never aware of the extra charge for the e-bike. This money was taken without permission from our credit card. I would likely have agreed to that charge but do not approve of charges simply taken without notice. Bad move Tripsite! Your need to settle the bill, after the final $$$ were agreed to and paid is not proper, in our opinion.

The Kingham Plough was the least fancy of all our rooms, but was well balanced by the accommodating staff, farm style of the room, and very nice pub.

All other accommodations ware fantastic. Staff was friendly and accommodating. We loved the Randolph, the Arden, Lygon Arms, Cotswold House and the Manor House.

We loved the trip overall. Great way to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. :-)

Riding through the grapevine vineyards.
Riding through the forest in aschaffenburg.
Riding into the little towns

We had the opportunity to evaluate the Iris so don’t have anything to add

We throughly enjoyed cycling through the villages and rural landscape.
We had a few days of strong winds which we understand is very normal for this region - this made for challenging cycling on a hybrid bike.
The bicycles were very old and needed replacing plus 2 bike bags should have been provided to hold rain gear. The GPS app wasn’t reliable and required frequent rebooting. Our cabin was infested with sewer flies - very off putting and disturbing.

We loved the beautiful countryside of the Netherlands and Belgium! The cities of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Ghent, and Brugges were all so unique and beautiful! We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the MV FLUVIUS. The captain and staff that run the boat were excellent! Our cabin and the rest of the boat were freshly updated and extremely clean. The chef was outstanding and made every meal unique and delicious! His curried soups and lasagna were especially popular! The most memorable part for us is the wonderful people that we met and travelled with!!

All the team of "Claire de Lune" was wonderfull. All the dinners on the boat were excellent, and the experience when the boat stopped on the floodgates were funny and very interesting. The tour in bikes it´s very nice and advisable. Many thanks at all.

Meeting other ship mates, seeing the country side of The Netherlands and Belgium, relaxing after a great day of riding.

Our favorite parts of the trip was the day in Budapest and also the last day of riding. The scenery and stops were all beautiful.
While the daily itinerary sessions with the cruise director were well done and informative the timing should be rotated between the different language groups. The other group was larger and therefore always ran longer than planned.
We found the bikes to be of good quality but you may need another crew member to service them after each ride. We pointed out that there was an issue with my wife’s bike but on the next ride the front brake was still rubbing. Also another member of our group’s chain was quite noisy. Still dealing with these bikes is a massive job and I give the crew full credit.

Great way to see these three countries. The tour visits the top five areas of each country. Top experience was renting the private hot tub and sauna at the Johanan spa in Kassamerre for a Caviar and vodka star party other memorable spots were the hill of crosses, the Corean spit , The carvings of Mythic creatures at the witches Hill, writing through the forest from Riga to Palanga, and the smoked fish from local vendors. We were on the self-guided semi supported trip and enjoyed the close cooperation with the guided tour. We always felt that someone was available to help. Since we were a smaller group, we were able to adjust the times and destinations to fit our specific needs. The drivers were very supportive and communicated well with WhatsApp. We had unseasonably warm and dry weather for so late in the season, having only, four hours of rain over 13 days. Some venues were closed, but we enjoyed having no crowds. Best to load the bike app they suggest as the drop off and pick up points were spot on. Overall would do again.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable trip. The scenery was fabulous, and the food and culture was wonderful. The representative that we met in Ohrid was very helpful, and the bike shop owner was great. The hotels were all very nice, and most provided adequate air conditioning in what turned out to be hottest summer on record. My biggest grievance with this trip was the navigation app that was provided, as it was not compatible with common GPS apps that most cyclists use and did no provide turn-by-turn directions.

So many nice bike paths! And the beautiful forest on the third day of biking

The people on the trip and the staff were all memorable. The scenic trails and the system of rivers and canals. Visiting the towns and villages on our own.

Scenery, staff was wonderful.
Need better lighting in bathrooms. Hard to put on makeup with a tiny light behind you in ceiling.

Overall the trip was great. The communication with the bicycle supplier was a bit lacking. The bikes just appeared with no personal contact.

The Hotel L'Auberge Normande in Carrentan needs to be reevaluated. It is a very dismal place. The people were fine, but the accommodations are run down and bottom class. I do not recommend placing anyone there ever.

We did the 8 day, Bolzano to Verona trip, with biking beginning at the Resia Pass. Our adult kids joined us for first 5 days (Bolzano to Bolzano), also beginning at the Resia Pass. We loved this trip with just a few low points. First day biking from the Resia pass was absolutely amazing. We weren’t quite prepared for the cooler micro-climate of that area on biking day 1, but the stunning scenery and fun of basically going “weeeee” all the way down the mountain for the first two days was incredible! Then on to quaint and adorable Merano and Silandro. Arriving at the top of the hill en route to the ferry at Lake Garda was breathtaking, and not to be missed! The new Ride GPS app works great!
One thing that could be improved upon is the 5 hour ferry ride. The ferry ride was only pleasing for about the first two hours, but then became incredibly tedious. Because the ferry arrived late at night in Peschiera, we could spend no time there. Chatting with others on the ferry who were doing the same trip, we salivated at some of the towns we saw on Lake Garda and would have been happy to spend time at any of them. Also, biking and staying in Trento fell flat and we’d prefer to spend two nights in Merano, Silandro, on Lake Garda, or even Bolzano and skip Trento. Hotels were varied, with some that were outstanding and some that were marginal. Condition of bikes was great, with the exception of an e-bike dying, but tour company quickly replace it;)