Austrian Alps Bike Tour Reviews page 7
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★★★★★ Steve and Marty
Salzburg Lakes Tour
Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps
This was probably the most scenic tour we've taken. Lake Constance a close second. Hotels, E-bikes, orientation, the navigation app were all as advertised --- 5 star!! Of course we did have perfect weather for the entire trip except for our planned rest day in Bad Goisern. Hallstatt has become a tourist hotspot and I would suggest spending your time at the Dachstein Ice Caves instead of too much time in Hallstatt. The last day riding back into Salzburg was the best with lots of climbing but worth the effort for scenery and the downhill switchbacks. Ebikes are definitely recommended even if you are an avid and fit biker.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- 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
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★★★★★ Ann Darby
An adventure
Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps
Great trip, well planned, great accommodations and support, can't beat the location! Only a challenge was on day it rained!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept. 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- 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
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★★★★★ Phil
A great ride around beautiful countyside and Lakes.
Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps
Overall this was an excellent bike tour. The routing past beautiful lakes, small villages, delightful farms, and overnight stays in great locations made it highly enjoyable. The issues that I would note for possible improvements are:
1. The E Bike + Hike naviagation App was good but certainly not great. Not nearly as capable or helpful as the "Ride with GPS" App we have used on another BikeTours.com trip in Europe. The App provided was not programmed to navigate us to, or from, the hotels which had been booked for us, so one had to resort to using another navigation App like Google Maps for the finish and start to each day's ride. The App recommended didn't show at the start of each day's ride, the total distance to be covered, nor during the ride the distance travelled, nor the distance to go. The Ride with GPS App we had previously used was also programmed to give advice about scenic highlights as we got to them, and verbal as well as written descriptions of options to look at along the route.
2. The "Your Trip Itineary booklet provided with information and maps about each day's ride was unnecessarily complex and at times confusing, and the step by step instructions would be almost impossible to follow while riding, from just using the book. This booklet was claimed to be personalised for our trip but it contained a lot of irrelevant and unnecessary information relating to other riding options and accommodation other than the places which had been booked for us.
3. An overall map of the whole trip with reasonable scale (the one provided was too small) would have been useful. We eventually found a map independantly "Salzkammergut Radkarte" which was much better than the maps provided in our folder, which showed the overall route very well. I would recommend that this map be included in future folders.
4. About 10% of the route specified was on very busy roads. Options to avoid these (if at all possible) would have been welcomed, and obviously in the future as more dedicated bike tracks are developed, these would greatly improve the overall enjoyment of this tour.- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Susan P.
Our Best Bike Trip Ever!
Salzburg Lakes Tour: Around the Lakes within the Foothills of the Alps
We had to stop saying how beautiful this route was! Quiet roads and bike paths, incredible scenery, nice hotels and amazing breakfasts! We chose the upgraded bikes which were very comfortable, not e-bikes, and only walked one hill. The rolling terrain added welcome variety to our ride. We were especially surprised leaving and re-entering Salzburg totally on safe bike paths. The app was very easy to follow and we are looking forward to our next self guided tour with bike tours.com. We have done several tours with guided companies and are really enjoying the freedom of self guided biking. Being able to begin riding when you would like and to stop at sites that peak your interest made all the difference.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Brittany at BikeTours
Beautiful scenery and quaint villages!
Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
I went on this tour as a BikeTours.com staff member. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking! The tour is 80% downhill. This made for cycling near the Austrian Alps fantastic. This tour is mostly on dedicated bike paths and quiet back roads, except for brief moments of cycling near the main road. The route maps are more basic which allow for more adventure. I would recommend this tour for a first-time traveler and casual cyclist.
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★★★★★ Rick1
A nice blend of mountain valleys and river cycling
Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
The first 3 days from Krimml to Lofer were terrific; the scenery spectacular and the hotels great, the directions and signage generally good. The signage into Salzburg was deficient with at least 1 key turn ("Morzg") not signed at all. The Hotel was a significant step down from the first 3.The directions to the Glockhofer in Burghausen and the signage was also totally deficient....it would have been better if the hotel was in the main square, rather than in an industrial/commercial part of town. The hotel was a business hotel which was totally out of character with everything else we saw and a real disappointment (though the staff in the hotel were great). Happily, the next stop in Obernburg, the Gasthof zur post was wonderful. Passau hotel was ok.
Over all, we felt that the trip could easily have been done in 1 fewer day and would recommend that the written instructions be tailored to the exact Hotel being used.
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★★★★★ Moody Group
Fun Experience
Tauern Bike Path (Krimml-Passau)
The biking was a great experience based on something we have not done before. The bike route took us through the beautiful country side and charming communities of Austria and Germany. However, when the bicycles were delivered to our hotel in Salzburg no one from the bike company remained to provide assistance as we were lead to believe. Directions were not always clear so making decisions for the correct direction was sometimes difficult.
Accommodations in Salzburg and Obernburg am Inn were quaint, cozy and delightful and the staff were very pleasant and accommodating. However the accommodations at a couple of the other hotels were not very favorable. The Elevators/Lifts to the rooms at Hotel Gloecklhofer Burghausen were not available in our section of the hotel and the staff did not offer assistance. The staff at Hotel Spitzburg in Passau were not not very helpful or friendly. They seemed disinterested,. Example: On our last day in Passau we asked for an early wake up call to catch an early morning train. This did not happen. Fortunately we had set our own alarm and woke up on time. Then when we went down to the lobby that morning it was dark and no one was around. The door back to the rooms locked behind us and the lobby door to the street was locked. Fortunately we somehow managed to get the door open and were able to leave to catch our 7:25 AM train.Our overall experience was good and we did have a great time with our friends.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Started in Salzburg on Sept 18th.
- How many tours have you completed?
- First one.
- 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
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★★★★★ John Parsons
Really great trip.
Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
To start off with the Sound of Music Tours and then fairly leisurely riverside roads and fantastic food and culture - we just loved it. One of the towns was not as good as the rest but for the most part just great
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Genevieve
A great experience
Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
A great way to visit Austria! But the mountain part is quite demanding. More of a Grade 3 than a Grade 2. For the mountain part, navigation was difficult because lack of information on distance.
Lodging and breakfasts were great, except for the inn in Bad Kreuzen - far from everything and bad Internet connection. Not adequate for international travellers.- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- 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?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Middle Europe
one of the best
Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 6
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- 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
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★★★★★ Geezer Biker
A good trip with its ups and downs
Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
This self-guided ride from Salzburg to Vienna had a lot of really great moments and some that left me wishing for better. A few of the hotels are barely 3 star and some are solid 3 Star+. Mostly quiet and mostly friendly staffs, mostly spoke good to excellent english which really helped us. The hotel next to the castle in Grein was a high point: Super rooms and excellent dining. Every breakfast was quite good and lots of it.
The two free bottles of wine from the lovely shop in the little town across the river from our hotel in Mitterarnsdorf were delicious. It took us 20 minutes to find the shop, but a couple of locals were kind enough to point us the right way.
Consider taking your own bike or renting from a Salzburg shop (if you are returning to Salzburg). We've been on 5 bike and barge/boat, etc. tours in Europe and these bikes were the heaviest and poorest quality, making the long-ride days grueling, but doable.
Our luggage showed up on time every day. No fuss no worry there.
The maps they provided were marginal at best A couple of times we'd have been quite lost without my wife's adroit use of Google maps on her iPhone. Don't go without Google maps or some other app to clarify the routes. The tour company management should be required to ride the trip based on their own directions and see how they do.
BUT---the countryside and the villages were beautiful and friendly. Much of the ride was on bike trails and back-back roads with no traffic. There were several places where we were direct to ride on somewhat busier roads, but the Austrian drivers were nearly always patient and courteous to us. The final few kilometers from the train station to the hotel in Vienna were partly on busy city streets, which I found quite imtimidating after a long hard riding day.
Bottom line: Do the ride. It's a very good experience. But quiz the tour company about a bike upgrade and definitely take your own backup route finding app (which is probably a necessity regardless of the tour map accuracy).
Happy cycling!- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Sunil Savara
Time of my life with my family!
Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
Everything was great, except for the documentation and organisation around that. Three changes you should make, and I will share this with Carla and Thomas as well:
1. Please provide an English map and booklet. In fact, when booking the tour, you can ask preferences for languages, and ensure that its followed through by the appropriate documentation.
2. When booking the tour, check if this is a first tour and/or use of the e-bikes, and if it is, offer the option of someone spending an hour to rope the persons in... there can be a small charge for it..
3. Share information on online maps, aside of Google Maps. I downloaded on the 3rd day an application that was very helpful, and which made it easier for me to figure things out.- What was the date of your tour?
- 1-7 Sep 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Keith M.
A Beautiful Ride Through Austria
Salzburg to Vienna, Lakes Option
This was a very well organized and well thought out way to experience the beautiful countryside between Salzburg and Vienna. When we entered the hotel in Salzburg to pick up our rented bicycles for our first day of riding we were greeted by a representative from the bicycle rental company. With our bicycles he provided us with a tire patch kit, basic tool kit, and hand pump but no tire levers. At my request he provided me with a spare inner tube which came in handy on the last day of our tour. The bicycles provided were well maintained and well suited for this tour. My wife used an e-bike whereas I used a 24 speed hybrid bicycle with a triple crankset giving me a wide range of gearing just in case it got hilly. The bicycles also came with a set of panniers and a small handlebar bag on one to carry the tour guidebooks. The guidebooks were customized for our specific tour providing good information on the sights to see along the way as well as maps to the specific hotels we were to stay at. Accommodations were good, mostly family owned and run with the exception of the hotels in Salzburg, Linz, and Vienna which were part of different hotel chains, e.g. Marriott. The hotels we stayed at provided good European breakfasts and excellent Austrian coffee. Our luggage was always available at the hotel when we arrived. I am 70 years old and have toured by bicycle extensively throughout the United Staes since my teenage years but I found this tour far more enjoyable since the route we took was mostly on paved or crushed stone bicycle paths without auto traffic to deal with (in the United States I have bicycled through many beautiful national and state parks but have always had to deal with automobile traffic making it more difficult to enjoy the natural splendor). However, there were times where we did need to ride with auto traffic in and near the cities. We also rode on some backroads and roads through neighborhoods that have very little auto traffic. Good bicycle path signage is present along Austria’s cycle paths, however, the provided bicycle tour guide books did not take advantage of this. I believe the guide books should have referred to this bike path signage (e.g., R2 or R4 or R6 or R15) and mention which to follow from one city or town to the next. Another challenge was that the bicycle rental company did not provide handle bar mounts for our smart phones meaning anytime we needed to check a GPS track we had to stop and pull out our phones from our pockets or bags. This became especially frustrating on rainy days. Please note I did attempt to purchase smart phone handlebar mounts at a couple of bike shops along the way but neither of them carried what I was looking for; next time I will be sure to be prepared and bring my own. Although we found the GPS tracks very useful, on some occasions there were times that the GPS tracks did not perfectly match with the bicycle path signage which led to a little confusion but this was easily resolved after checking Google Maps. However, we found the eight km stretch GPS track from Grein to the Schatz.Kammer Burg Kreuzen hotel to be grossly inadequate. Although the paved parts of this path were manageable, we ended up on some very steep and poorly maintained dirt and gravel roads that would have been manageable with a decent mountain bike with wide tires but not the bicycles we were using. A shuttle from Grein to the hotel was offered and that may have been the better option for this part of the ride. Another point about Schatz.Kammer Burg Kreuzen hotel is the available buffet dinner. The cost is about 25 euros per person and is cash only. It would have been nice to know that they did not accept credit cards for the buffet dinner and it what it cost. Fortunately I had enough cash in my wallet to cover this expense. On the last day of riding we past a Canadian couple we had chatted with at dinner a couple of nights before. They had a flat tire and did not know how to repair it nor did they have the necessary tools and spare inner tube to do so. They had called the bicycle tour company to ask for assistance but since it was a Sunday they were told they would have to find their own way to the next town for assistance. Fortunately I did have a spare inner tube and had brought my own set of bicycle tools (including tire levers) from home; the basic tools provided by the bicycle tour company would have been inadequate to facilitate this simple repair. I was able to replace the inner tube and get them back on their way toward Vienna. I mention this not so much as a negative but to remind those interested in such a tour to come prepared to manage such inconveniences. Overall, the experience was most enjoyable and the scenery amazing. I strongly recommend this tour for anyone that enjoys bicycle touring through very scenic mountain valleys and historic towns and along scenic lakes and rivers. I am thankful that biketours.com has vetted this tour and made it easy and affordable to experience. The personnel at biketours.com were very helpful with the booking of this tour and patiently answered all of my questions. I will definitely book future European bicycle tours through biketours.com. SHOW MORE
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- Dozens
- 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?
- Austria
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★★★★★ Thomas Albrecht
Fantastic Trip!
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
The route is wonderfully scenic, riding through endless apple orchards and vineyards, with many picturesque villages along the way. Plenty of opportunities to stop for a nice piece of strudel and coffee/tea. The hotels were very nice, in fact a bit nicer than the BikeTours trip we took last year (Dolomites to Trieste via Lake Bled), and the bicycles were good quality and in perfect repair. Navigation on this trip is a bit challenging (although we were always able to figure things out using the various resources available — phone ap, map, and route signs. Once you get into Italy, the route signs are less helpful, since there are often multiple routes to the destination, and following signs won’t keep you on the recommend route (which usually really is better than the alternatives). One part of the route that perhaps should be simplified is the section just south of Merano, which seems needlessly complicated (for example, the southern part of Merano, and the diversion to Lana). It would be nice if printed maps showed locations of hotels in each town; we had to find them ourselves using our phone maps.
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★★★★★ Glen Field
Very scenic biking tour
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
The trip was very good, excellent bike paths, great scenery, very good hotels, excellent breakfast at all the hotels. A few communication problems stop me from giving this a 5 star review.
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★★★★★ Paula Zoccano
Beautiful trail
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Pros:The hotels were very good. Wonderful cycle routes. Lovely towns.
Cons: In Riva I would have preferred to be in the old town beside the water. We had 2 hotels who did not have all our group booked. Unfortunately one couple had to stay by the airport a taxi ride to join us in Innsbruck (still trying to get reimbursed for hotel and cabs) and in Riva another couple were not booked but the hotel was able to give them a room. We also learned in one town we were not booked in the same hotel, our group of 5 couples were split up. I found that strange.
The meet and greet at the beginning was not at the hotel the company booked us to stay. We were expected to go to another location to get our briefing and bikes. I’ve never had that when booking with other cycle companies. We missed that in our notes and not until 7:00pm when the hotel gave us our booklets did we realize we should have been somewhere else. As a result we never had a meet and greet and bikes fitted to us. My husbands bike had a brake dragging and he needed a torque head screw driver to make adjustments and no torque head screw driver was supplied. He had to find one. The bikes should have been tested,
No water bottle cages on the bikes. -
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★★★★★ Jane Fletcher
Good trip - lots of orchards and vineyards
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
I enjoyed this trip through the Dolomites but didn’t see as much of the craggy Dolomites as I expected. We were almost always in the flat valley with the mountains along the side of the valley. As we went south the mountains seemed to shrink. I enjoyed the Germanic nature of northern Italy and was very interested to learn more about its history and how Austrian the residents still feel. It didn’t feel like we were in Italy until we arrived in Trento on market day. And then it was almost like a switch flipped and we were in Italy. The architecture as well as the countryside changed and became more Mediterranean influenced. Our ride was generally on bike paths that were very busy with cyclists. Weekends were especially busy but even during the week the paths were busy but it was great to see so many people out riding their bikes. Along the paths we found several bike bars that served drinks and snacks to cyclists and they were perfect places to find a WC. We enjoyed the scenery and marveled at the thousands of acres of apple orchards that we rode through. The hotels were generally fine but the hotel in Riva del Garda was a disappointment. I paid extra for single rooms after a friend had to cancel her trip and this room was a real disappointment, it was more like a cell.
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★★★★★ Pankaj Mulye
Dolomities
Innsbruck to Lake Garda Across the Southern Slopes of the Alps
Perfect way to explore and experience a region is by cycling. It was a great hassle free experience everything went as planned and would definitely recommend bike tours to all
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★★★★★ 1961flyer
Great ride through Austria.
Innsbruck to Salzburg: Through the Alps Along River Cycle Trails
We had a wonderful time on this ride. The hotels mostly had nice saunas to relax and enjoy. The markings on the trail were very good and it was easy to navigate. We enjoyed the day in Zell am See to recharge and see the sights, (we also got a nice massage in Zell am See). We would recommend an extra day in both Innsbruck and Salzburg as both cities have numerous things to see.
In preparation for the trip we reviewed Rick Steves books on Bavaria/Austria which offered insights and hints to our vacation.
The riding was easily done each day and was very comfortable with numerous options to stop and eat and drink along the way. The country side was delightful as we rode.
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens, Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Austria
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