3 Star Spain Tour Reviews — 1 to 7 of 7

First the good parts. The scenery was beautiful (after the first day) and the towns we overnighted in were lovely. The roads were low traffic and the drivers were very considerate. Five of the six hotels were luxurious, much nicer than we have experienced on other self-guided bike tours. Jorge, co-owner of the tour operator AntsOnTrack.com, communicated with us daily via WhatsApp with restaurant recommendations and other tips.

Unfortunately three of the nine bikes in our group had mechanical problems right from the bike shop. One had a rear tire where the tread was so worn that the tire casing was visible. The bike got two flat tires the first day. We replaced the tire on day two. Another bike had a severely out of true rear wheel that rubbed on the frame, had loud creaks from the bottom bracket, and shifting problems. The third bike had a very creaky headset and shifting problems. Jorge tried to help us by connecting us with a bike shop in Antequera. The bike shop sold us a new tire and tube (paid for by the tour operator) but showed no interest in fixing the out-of-true wheel. He wanted six hours to change the tire so we did it ourselves. We were able to adjust the axle so that it did not rub on the frame but the bike wobbled at speeds over 30km. Clearly the bikes had not been thoroughly examined prior to our tour.

Another issue was that the Tripsite registration form did not clearly specify the bike options. We selected e-bikes and received e-mountain bikes. Apparently electric touring bikes are available but this option is not provided on the Tripsite registration form. We assumed we were receiving electric touring bikes which are much more comfortable for touring than mountain bikes. Tripsite should modify its registration form to be more specific and list all of the bike options.

The Tripsite tour description should also mention that the first day includes 10 miles of bumpy, gravel road with lots of trash and motorcycles that produce clouds of dust.

I agree with another reviewer that this tour should probably be rated as "moderate to difficult." The day riding to Ronda has 4,714 feet of climbing over 37 miles. Even with e-bikes this was a big day since we needed to keep the bikes on low boost so that the batteries would make it to Ronda. Despite our efforts to conserve power one battery died on the outskirts of Ronda and several were almost depleted. Five members of our party were so tired from this day that they elected to take a taxi for all or part of the route the follow day.

We were an older group, eight people between ages 67 and 74 plus one 58 year old. We have enjoyed several other self-guided bike tours. However between the long climbs, the mechanical problems, and the less-than-comfortable mountain bikes this tour was a bit too much for us.

Beautiful scenery. Steven was a great tour leader. Lodging was 1* to 4*’s. The 1 and 2* hotels were not great. Really enjoyed the tour but decided that the cycling distances were too short. Needed more cycling. Thanks. Marian

Not getting a bike that fit me. The frame was too big. It created a hazard that I couldn't overcome. Make sure that they know your exact wants. I didn't and was hurt on the first day. I don't feel that the office was as helpful as they could of been in getting me from city to city afterwards. I spent well over $150. On taxis.

This Trip should be rated Difficult and e Bike is absolutely must. Guided wiould be better option for this Trip. Hotels were supereb.

O percurso de cruzar a ilha, as cidades visitadas e os hotéis propostos foram muito bom e agradáveis. Já fiz outros passeios semelhantes com a Tripsite e achei q o roteiro poderia ser mais sucinto se os caminhos fossem melhor sinalizados. O mapa era confuso e não ajudou. O GPS só serviu pra validar se a rota estava correta. Se nos caminhos houvesse uma marcação, como no passeio que fiz anteriormente, resolveria todas as dificuldades.

Riding through the area that was hit by the storm of the century. We were not advised of all the route closures, only some of them. Therefore we did a lot of backtracking! The company Lazypedals that organized the tour did not personally investigate the travel route. As a result we were left on our own with insufficient maps and GPS. Overall we enjoyed the trip and the scenery and made it to our destinations, however, this trip should not be rated as an Easy to Moderate tour, take out the word easy!!

Lanzarote is a beautiful destination perfect for a week of cycling! The volcanic landscape, mountains, caves, architecture, ocean views, climbs and downhills are all amazing. Unfortunately, our experience with our fist hotel and Papagayo Bike could not be described as beautiful or amazing. Our first two nights in Costa Teguise were spent at a hotel geared toward toddlers (H10 Lanzarote Garden Hotel). The room and breakfast options were quite good but the hotel was exceptionally overrun with toddler, strollers, and toddler oriented entertainment. This "toddler hotel" became even more disappointing when we found Papagayo bike shop located at, and nearly inside, a much more adult oriented hotel on the water. Again, unfortunately Papagayo Bikes did not meet our expectations. As a nearly two meter tall person I had specifically asked about bike fit and been told they could fit me just fine. The employees at Papagayo knew little about bike fit and how to move seats and bars. I had not brought my own tools because I had been told I'd be provided a small tool kit. I had to beg to take a hex key from the shop so I could make small adjustments along the way on my too small bike. The hybrid bikes provided were rather worn out and not at all up to the standard of the road bikes being rented out at this shop. We had to decline the first bike provided to my wife due to poor shifting and noisy brakes. The second bike seemed okay and she rode that for the first day of the tour, only to have difficulties with the brakes throughout that day. Although the route description we signed up for said we would be staying in Haria at the north end of the island our second night, we were not booked into accommodation in Haria and instead had an 80 km first day to get back to Costa Teguise for another night at the toddler hotel. Since we were nearby the bike shop, the next morning we brought my wife's bike back to Papagayo. They said the brakes could not be fixed right then and received what was now her third bike. She rode that one, dusty from being in storage, for the rest of the tour. When she got a flat on a long climb we discovered her spare tube was for a mountain sized tire! Luckily, the tube in my own pannier was the correct size and we were not stranded. New, correct sized tubes were immediately dropped at our second hotel the Florida. Our experience at the Florida was lovely in every way. The room, the food, the entire experience was just lovely. Our experience, and disappointment at the start of the tour, were smoothed over and tempered by the amazing island of Lanzarote and the much more adequate accommodations after those first two nights. We had a lovely experience despite the less than stellar first hotel and issues with the bicycles.