Scandinavia Bike Tour Reviews page 4
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★★★★★ Vegacat
Enjoyable tour but poor organisation
Best of Northern Zealand
Although we booked this tour through biketours.com the tour is actually operated by Bike Denmark. Things got off to a bad start when we arrived at the first hotel (the Scandic in Copenhagen) to find the hotel had no record of a reservation in our name. Fortunately, the hotel did have a free room and after several phone calls to Bike Denmark the situation was sorted out. Our bikes were to be obtained the next morning from Bike Denmark at the rear of the hotel. What we found was a fairly chaotic situation with one Bike Denmark representative trying to set up bikes for twenty or so cyclists. Whilst the bikes were reasonable touring bikes, they had not been cleaned and were very dirty. There was a shortage of bike locks so we only got one between two. The helmets were old and in poor condition. Similarly, the bike map holders were torn and certainly not waterproof. Altogether it was a poor start to the tour. Bike Denmark could have done a much better job by ensuring that all bikes were set up and fully equipped prior to the 9.00am pick up time.
We were provided with two route books, one with maps one with turning instructions. Both were printed only on one side of the page so it would have been much better if they had been combined so as you could see the map and instructions side by side. The instructions were not always clear leading to a couple of wrong turns and the need to resort to Google maps. (We found that others on the route made similar errors). It would be better if the route book provided more detail of what you are passing between turning points as a cross check that you are on the right route. Also detail could be provided of dining options in overnight towns.
The bike tour itself was most enjoyable. Very pleasant and safe cycling along the coast to Helsingor (a highlight in itself) and then back by an inland route with some undulations. The hotel in Helsingor was very good (right on the beach) whilst the other hotels were adequate. However the hotel in Hillerod was unfortunately some way out of town so we didn't get to enjoy much of this interesting looking town itself.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- 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?
- Denmark
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany Williamson
Thank you very much for your feedback. We're delighted to hear you had a great time overall, but we're very sorry to hear of the lack of organization from the local tour operator upon your arrival. We will follow up with our Danish partners to discuss this situation along with better-translated maps for future clients.
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★★★★★ Phyllis Bressler
Bike tour in Denmark
Royal Zealand and Copenhagen
First, the positives - and there are many. The route took us through some beautiful historic towns and gorgeous countryside. We even took the ferry over to Sweden on the first night so that we could add another country to our list. The bikes were very good. Comfortable and sturdy on the somewhat bumpy gravel roads. The hotels we were booked at were all fantastic and in great locations to enable us to explore each town at night.
We do have some comments about things that might be improved:
- we arrived in Copenhagen on Thursday, 3 days ahead of the start of our bike trip, and were told our bikes would be delivered ~ 7pm on Sunday. They arrived on Thursday afternoon - with no advanced notice. It was fine, it just would have been nice to know to expect them.
- We received absolutely no orientation on the bikes, the route maps, etc. On prior trips we've had people quickly walk through the route, pointing out some recommendations, etc. Only when I asked were we given the opportunity to check the fit of the bikes before the delivery person left them. Fortunately, we've been on 6 or 7 other bike trips with biketours.com, so we were familiar w/ the operation of the bikes, and how to read the directions. We were lucky that we reviewed the daily routes before the start of our trip - otherwise we would not have known that on 3 of the 6 nights we were booked at hotels other than the ones listed in the daily directions.
- There were no 'addenda' to the bike routes to provide directions to the alternate hotels so we had to find them on our own.
- On a similar trip in Portugal we had the opportunity to use a GPS mapping system. Using that, we could immediately tell if we were, or were not on the proscribed route. On multiple occasions this trip the bike routes were overlapping. We went many kilometers without seeing the route number that was listed in the directions - never knowing for certain if we were on the correct path. On the last day, between Roskilde and Copenhagen, we somehow lost the trail just before the start of the C99 superhighway and spent ~ 2 hours trying to find that route again. Fortunately after asking several people we found an individual who knew exactly what we were looking for and put us back on the right track. Using the GPS system that one time enabled us to know in real time whether we were, or were not on track.- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7 self guided and 1 guided
- 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?
- Denmark
-
★★★★★ Xavi
We had a really nice northern zealand tour
Best of Northern Zealand
The landscape was beautiful, and the route quite easy to find, though sometimes the indications weren't that clear,besides that, very comfortable hotels,and a real pleasure cycling across awsome forests and paths.The assistant contact there was quite efficient, You shold replace the electric bikes with modern models
- What was the date of your tour?
- 24/6/2017 29/6/2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4/5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- 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?
- Denmark
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★★★★★ EDWH
Denmark Sights
Best of Northern Zealand
Pretty good tour with lots to see along the way. Best bike paths in all of Scandinavia. Bikes in good condition, except for my computer which never worked, but could have used more detail or up to date information on guide sheets. Fairly flat with lots of pretty seaside scenery.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Denmark
-
★★★★★ Jennifer Keen
Berlin to Copenhagen interesting and okay
Berlin – Copenhagen
This tour could have been so much better if we had better bikes that were better maintained. Additionally, we had to convert all the gpx files to Ride with GPS ourselves. The routes were good but it would have been nice if more places to stop and eat or grab something were indicated along the way. Also more things to see should have been available. The books and maps were cumbersome.
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★★★★★ JS May
Great bike ride
Berlin – Copenhagen
Good way to experience Germany and Denmark. Bike was a bit funky. Route was fabulous. With a Garmin, navigating was easy. Without would have been difficult.
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★★★★★ Sweden
Stockholm and beyond
Stockholm Round-Trip Across Swedish History
Cycling in the area south of Stockholm was very pleasant. Empty roads and beautiful scenery, lakes, forests, rocky hillsides and the occasional herd of deer. Route directions were generally clear and easy to follow and the hills mentioned were far less intimidating than we had expected. Some of the gravel roads were ‘interesting’, but nothing that the hire bikes couldn’t cope with. The local rep, Frank, was excellent both for his briefing and for seamlessly transferring our luggage every day. I would have added some photos but unfortunately this part of your review specification doesn’t seem to work!
- What was the date of your tour?
- 10 June 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Sweden
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★★★★★ Wild women
Wonderful trip
Stockholm Round-Trip Across Swedish History
Sweden was wonderful and I'm so glad I went on this tour.
My problem was with the navigation and the appropriateness of costing an electric bicycle.
Like my tour to Holland 4 years ago, no one actually sat down with any of us and went over the navigation materials beforehand. I think that it was expected that we'd simply be able to follow the path. Of 3 GPS devices, only 1 worked. Additionally, the odometer reading didn't correspond to the written materials or the GPS. It is, I find, essential to have someone from the tour group go over all those small details, and not assume that it is clear to the group.
Secondly, the GPS wasn't replaced till day 3, and I had to struggle with it to find a way to make it work. The Garmin devices were useless. Again if someone had taken the time to show us how to make them work, that may have been much better.
Thirdly, one of the women in our group ordered an e-bike. This proceeded to be a disaster - a suggestion for arranging this next time would be to help someone distinguish an e-road bike from an e-touring bike. Myself, I don't think an e-touring bike is appropriate for this trip - it's too heavy, more like a moped and not good news the gravel roads.
Once we got the hang of it, had two functioning GPS systems that functioned the entire day, and figured out how to coordinate the odometer with the GPS/written materials, it was all good. And in spite if these
difficulties, I had a fab trip!!!
The hotels/inns/route was great as well!!- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug19-23
- How many tours have you completed?
- One other
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Sweden
-
★★★★★ David H
Enjoyable Cycle Trip Through Rural Sweden
Stockholm Round-Trip Across Swedish History
This trip was well designed to expose the rider to rural Sweden as well as some historical highlights. The length and hilliness of the individual segments allowed for five good days’ worth of cycling, yet left enough in the tank to enjoy the evenings. The accommodations were comfortable and accessible to a number of dinner options. Breakfasts were mostly quite good. There routing via online map was excellent but for one minor glitch described below..
There were a couple of areas which need some improvement.
1. On the routes of two of the days, there were short sections where the roads were paved with extremely coarse gravel, which made cycling very difficult, especially for less powerful riders.
2. On the first day, there were well-placed lunch options in Ekerö which would be useful if put in the description.
3. The condition of several of the front bags was poor.
4. The route outlined in the phone app directed riders over the main road as it entered Trosa; the bike route was visible on the electronic map as well as the paper map, but those following the highlighted route would follow it over a busy road..
5. Cyclists would be well warned that the elevators in the Tumba station are very tight for e-bikes.
Overall, we enjoyed the trip immensely, and would recommend it to anyone who asked.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2025
- How many tours have you completed?
- Four organized, a good many on our own
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Sweden
-
★★★★★ JessieV
More Challenges Than Expected
Berlin – Copenhagen
The scenery was lovely and the bike route was easy to follow, and also mostly on dedicated paths, which we very much enjoyed. The daily mileage, however, was more than anticipated - approx. 40+ miles per day. This would have perhaps felt like a minor increase, but the bikes they gave us compounded it exponentially. These were the worst bikes I've had on a tour (I've done four others). The bikes included seat and fork suspension, which I imagine the tour operator thought would be useful for the few segments of the route that end up on cobblestone or gravel, but they made the bikes SO HEAVY! Even gentle inclines became difficult - and we're from Seattle, so we're accustomed to riding up hills! We'd stand and pedal in hopes of getting more leverage and our bikes would basically turn into pogo sticks. We dubbed this maneuver "go sticking". The other thing that was challenging, was the lack of amenities along the way. We did a bike trip in Italy in 2017 and every 10 km there would be somewhere to get water or an espresso or a sandwich, but in the Germany section especially these things were few and far between. My overall recommendations would be to 1. reserve the electric bike 2. pack a picnic lunch each day
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★★★★★ three bees
great variety of scenery
Best of Northern Zealand
Lots to see whilst cycling - forests, seaside, lakes, country farmland, small towns etc. The organisation was somewhat disappointing e.g., miscommunications in regard to where our bikes should be delivered, wrong maps provided, battery charger not working (and some reluctance by the bike operator to replace it!) but overall the bikes were in good working condition, the maps were easy to follow, and accommodation was great.
As for the scenery - once you got out of Copenhagen, it was brilliant.- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- Four
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Denmark
-
★★★★★ Alex Beresniewicz
Nothing Special
Berlin – Copenhagen
Mostly flat riding through the countryside without much opportunity to see anything historic or even scenic outside of the cities where you start and finish. The bikes provided were excellent and the hotels were for the most part good, (sometimes daily distance seems to have forced the choice of where to stop for the night, and that means hotel choices are few...). I didn't choose this tour, my partner did, and it's not one I would consider repeating or recommending.
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★★★★★ Edward Baker
Could Have Been Amazing
Royal Zealand and Copenhagen
The routes took us through some very interesting landscapes and towns. It would have been so much better if our daily information included more specifics about the areas where we traveled. Knowing more about the trails would also have been helpful. At one point, the directions were extremely confusing and led us onto an impassable trail. We understood that in some towns where we stayed the accommodations would be limited and might not have all of the amenities to which we are accustomed. With that we were fine. However, it was disappointing to see better accommodations that were available. Even worse was when the directions sent us to the better hotels only to be told that our reservation was not there and when we arrived at the hotel that was reserved, it was of a much lesser quality. This happened to us twice. At the very least, the route directions should list the correct destination hotel. We should not have to consult two different documents to find our hotel for the night. In our case, we had specifically explained that we would pay more, but wanted to have the best accommodations in each location. This did not happen, although we did pay a higher rate. Fortunately the staff at all of the hotels were exceptionally helpful, friendly, and professional. We were given very limited orientation before beginning the ride and felt that this company was unresponsive and left a lot for the rider to figure out alone. No helmets were provided which wasn't significant for us because we brought our own, but there was no communication indicating that helmets would not be provided. Having notes in the daily plan that noted restaurants along the way and at the destination each day would have been most helpful. In addition, it would have been nice to have known that in serveral locations, the only dining option would be at the hotel. We had a very enjoyable experience, but feel that it could have been far better with more information provided by the organization.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Denmark
-
★★★★★ victoria
Great way to see region around Stockholm
Stockholm Round-Trip Across Swedish History
This tour was a great way to see the region around Stockholm. Very scenic routes to view the landscape and good opportunities to see palace and historical buildings along the way. We were very happy with the hotels. It was difficult to shift gears on the bike that I rode because the bike was not properly tuned and the seat was uncomfortable because it wobbled. We were a group of four who requested four GPS units and received only one that functioned--an older model that does not offer the amenities of newer models. The written instructions they provided were sometimes hard to follow, which sometimes made it difficult to be sure we were on the right path. However, this could be easily fixed if they included more detail about the different kinds of roads and paths we would be take. All in all, I had a fantastic time and have no regrets.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Aug 18, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Sweden
-
★★★★★ Kseed
Fun, but flawed
Best of Northern Zealand
We did the ‘Best of Northern Zealand’ trip. The locations were fun, and the the hotels decent enough. The bikes need to be upgraded. The most difficult part of the trip was the navigation. The GPS files don't have enough way points, so it rarely told us on what road we should be, instead pointing us across fields in a general direction. We wound up using Google Maps, which served us way better, but used a lot of battery on the phone. So make sure you have a smart phone and a good sized external battery for navigation. We did enjoy the trip quite a lot, but in general, with the exception of moving luggage around, we could have done just as well or better on our own.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 16th
- How many tours have you completed?
- Several
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Denmark
-
★★★★★ Sam Fleischacker
Denmark is great; BikeTours is not
Royal Zealand and Copenhagen
Are you looking for a tour company that will send you bike directions to the wrong hotels, follow that up with a condescending note when you complain rather than apologizing and correcting their mistake, book you in charmless corporate hotels way outside of the towns you're headed for, and delete your GPS tracks before your trip is finished? If so, this is the trip for you! If not, look elsewhere. My wife and I had some wonderful biking on this trip - but that's because of Denmark, which has beautiful and very well-marked bike trails everywhere (running through forests often), not because of BikeTours: indeed, we sometimes needed to correct the GPS tracks we were sent by the Danish markers, or by asking locals for help. Our previous experience on a self-guided bike tour, in France, was magical: with lovely, varied hotels in beautiful places at the end of each day, a well-crafted route accurately represented on the GPS tracks, and good help available by phone if we needed it (to be fair the Copenhagen representative of this local bike company, Sofia, was very friendly and helpful). This was a great disappointment after that. If you're looking for a tour that is geared towards your enjoyment, rather than the bottom line of the tour operator, I'd avoid BikeTours.com.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Denmark
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