Europe

It starts with the guides and they deliver on a continuous basis. Andrea and Javier (Javi) are excellent at delivering the experience promised by VBT and go above and beyond to make it all work and make sure you are happy. There are always glitches along the way, mostly created by the guests. They work tirelessly and effectively to solve every problem. Like all the other trips (we have done many). It's so much more than the wonderful biking. The farm visit to the apple orchard is amazing. Who knew so much science and technology are needed to be successful in this day and age. They explained why more than 150 apples stresses the trees and produce inferior apples. They showed us the technology they use to eliminate excess blooms. The resultant apples, juices and ciders are wonderful. The enjoyment of our visit to the Dali museum was magnified many times over by the enthusiasm and knowledge of Kim, our guide. I had no idea how many elements were in each Dali painting and how his mind worked.

This was one of the best VBT tours we have taken. Food, riding, scenery, exploration of the art of Dali, wonderful guides and fantastic accommodations. Pre-trip in Barcelona is a must do to see the Gaudi architecture and Picasso museum as well as experience Catalonia at its best.

Great trip! Our guides were great hosts and made sure everyone was safe, comfortable, and getting the most out of each day. Gorgeous part of the world.

Bike routes were beautiful and enjoyable! Loved the town of St. Remy and the location of our hotel. Really enjoyed Avignon and again, the location of the hotel made exploring the city very easy.

As with all our VBT experiences Portugal did not disappoint. The trips are planned well from the time you take off from home until you land back at home. The transfers, the accommodations, and the in between are well thought out and planned. Any necessary changes are planned for. Portugal is tourist friendly, they are ahead of the curve with the pandemic, follow the rules. It is tough to find a bad meal, the weather was great; there is a lot of history. The cycling was easily doable for all who cycle 25 miles with some wind or hills. If you take only a few trips, make this one.

Enjoyed this trip to Portugal. Good mix of easy and moderate riding to work off the fantastic food/beverages.

The best Swedish tour guides, Pernilla & Philip. Nice bikes, nice hotels, good food, great trip!

I have wanted to visit the Nordic countries since 1974 when I was an exchange student in Europe. Thank you, VBT, for finally making it an affordable destination! As always, the travel arrangements were seamless, the leaders were phenomenal, and the experience was second to none!

Enjoyed the guided trip to the Cotswold region of England. The towns were quaint and had a little bit familiarity from the dining hall in Oxford (Harry Potter) to the Bampton Dowager house (Downton Abbey) to Blenheim Palace ( Churchill). We’ve seen this special spots on tv and at the movies but to see them in person was really fun. Wonderful, friendly, professional guides. And did I mention the biking was great?

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Nice combination of pedaling in pastoral settings and activities that included a day-and-a-half in Oxford, lovely Burford (the meat pies at The Royal Oak are a must!), Blenheim Palace, cream tea in Bourton-on-the-Water, the Hidcote Manor Gardens, and a tour of the Roman Baths. We stayed the extra day in Bath and explored - it was very nice! The undulating hills of the Cotswolds were a nice challenge on road bikes. Residents and (car) drivers were pleasant and courteous. The bonus is we had amazing weather - mid to high 60°s, sun, clouds, and no rain (okay, a very slight shower one afternoon for 20 mins.!) Our tour leaders - Conor and Mick - terrific guys that really made the tour so pleasant!

The guides were professional and well prepared for this trip. They shared a great deal of cultural information. Each morning we were adequately prepped for the daily rides. The sag wagon provided enough snacks and water. When asked to provide sun screen, they did. All the bike mani tenancy was thoroughly handled well. We have done another cycling trip with VBT in Puglia and really enjoyed the cooking class. It would have been nice to have had an activity like that. The wine tasting was not very interesting or informative.

This was a easy and beautiful trip. Perfect for first timer VBT bikers and Ebikes . The views were spectacular and one of the many high points were the para gliders in Annecy. Look up on your ride. It looked like butterflies coming down. There was a glider port at another hotel.Also, bring a bathing suit in your “Gucci bag” along with a camp towel. There were lakes to cool off in along the rides. Our guides were wonderful and considering this was the first time this ride had been done, everything went well. If you do the Post trip in Lyon, the City Card was a good value for the second day. It covered public transport, admission to museums and guided tours. VBT has never disappointed us. Planning our next trip already This was our 7th trip and you can’t beat the beauty of the Alps and the people.

This VBT trip does not disappoint! The attention to detail for every visit and experience was remarkable. I live in the mid-west and don't have many hills to train on so these rides were challenging for me, but doable and once I was done I felt very satisfied. The accommodations were all different and great in their own way. The guides were energetic and informative. I highly recommend this tour - it's a great way to see Greece!

The experience with VBT went beyond expectations as did the part of Greece where we cycled. The Peloponnesian Peninsula is a relatively undiscovered biking jewel, I enjoyed it far more than biking various Greek Islands. Accommodations were excellent and Greek food speaks for itself. VBT and the guides went out of their way in providing a 5 star experience. The bikes were new and top quality, the routes were varied and interesting. The guides bent over backwards to please us and provide a great biking as well as cultural experience.

Over 3 decades my wife and I, now in our 70's and living on the Western Slope of Colorado, have done multiple bike trips, including 3 others with VBT. This is one of our top two trips and the other trip was long ago and no longer available. Our trip was the end of June 2023. Weather was excellent, on the warmish side, with only one brief rain shower. We are regular road and gravel bikers and did this trip on road bikes. The VBT road bikes were excellent quality and, at least for this trip, were outfitted with "gravel-like" tires. If you are use to road bikes, they are fine for this tour. The trip is very well planned with interesting and well placed hotels (although the first had rather hard beds and flat pillows), multiple night stays at each hotel if you do the pre and post trips, interesting and scenic transfers including a beautiful train ride, interesting and beautiful ride segments mostly on paved bike paths or hard packed smooth unpaved trails. There was a little traffic riding but the traffic was respectful and light. Riding is mostly easy with a few not-too-long moderate segments. One very short segment, perhaps 60 feet, was a walkable "Roman Road-like" climb to a road crossing. Our guides, Roberto and Elena, were pleasant, experienced, hard working, attentive, locals who speak excellent English, and have a good sense of humor. Meals were good and but not overly-done as on some previous trips. The many boat transfers on Lake Iseo were especially nice. We appreciated that both pre and post trips were in small towns, although very busy with tourists during the day, unlike some previous trips. Overall, despite a few hiccups beyond VBT's control, like a cancelled flight and a delayed checked bag, this was a wonderful trip that we highly recommend.

Our Lake Como bike tour was outstanding. Gianni and Stefano were excellent leaders-kind, accommodating, friendly, helpful and exceptionally hard-working. The daily rides were gorgeous and our leaders constantly kept us informed of any changes in our daily schedule. One aspect of the trip that I was not expecting was learning so much about the cultures and history of the areas we were riding in. I especially enjoyed that added aspect of our trip.

I did the Germany, Austria, Danube River, VBT tour in August 2024. It was a self guided tour and I was the only one that had signed up for it for the month of August. I was a little concerned doing a self guided trip by myself, but it turned out great. Despite being August, the heat was not bad most of my riding was in the morning but it was still in the 70s mid and upper. Didn't turn 80° until around 1:30 2 o'clock in the afternoon. As usual VBT did a great job with the hotels, they were all excellent. The ride was easy going down river, no big hills. VBT also had shuttles to carry me past the less scenic parts of the ride. VBT also. did. an excellent job booking all of my travel even the travel after the bike tour. It was a great adventure. I totally enjoyed it.

Easy rides, great hotels, beautiful scenery. Nice equipment.