Cycle along the scenic paths of the Danube River Valley for an immersion into the cultures of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary
Discover the ancient history of Arabian horse breeding during a visit to an equestrian museum and stud farm
With a local historian, embark on a walking field trip of the Old Town Bratislava to learn about its history and landmarks
Themes
50 plus, Cultural, Cycling & Biking, Local Immersion & Homestays, National Parks, Nature & Wildlife
What travelers are saying
"Our family of four, including two adult children, took the Bicycling: Day Trips to Paradise in Canada. This trip is entirely outsourced to the owners of the inn, there are no Road Scholar employees involved in the trip.
Two of us have taken bicycle trips all over the world and the bicycling component of this trip was disorganized, haphazard and almost unsafe. We all filled out forms giving details regarding our bicycle fitting months before the trip. On the first day, the leader Stephen, went around the room and asked the same questions and said everyone would get fitted in the morning before we began the first ride.
The morning brought a rack of bikes, all different types in various levels of readiness. There were road bikes, hybrid bikes, mountain bikes and e-bikes. The rides were all on paved surfaces and the mountain bikes were heavy and the additional suspension added weight. The bike I received had rust on the chain and rear sprocket. When I asked about it, was told they were waiting for another van to show up with tools and equipment. Once it arrived, they gave me the lubricant to spray on the rust. My wife’s bike would not shift into the high gear on the front sprocket. Instead of adjusting the derailleur, they suggested spraying it with lubricant. Our one son is over six feet and needed a larger frame bike, even though he detailed it in the bike form months ago, there was no bike to fit him. One of the guides, then went home and brought a larger bike that was a full suspension mountain bike for him. The bike was very heavy, hard to control on the road and he felt unsafe. After two days, one of the guides convinced Stephen that they could adjust a hybrid bike to fit him.
Clearly there was no work done to prepare the bikes for the trip. Many of the bikes needed adjusting and all needed lubricant to function easily. For every day, there was a tray of snacks placed out for us to take along the ride. None of the bikes had any baskets or attached bags, so if you didn’t bring a small day pack, there was no way to carry the snacks. For lunch on the rides, they brought exactly one sandwich for each rider. Since most of us get hungry while doing a day of exercise, it would have been helpful to have a few extras. On one day, they ran out of sandwiches and one of the leaders that were riding with us did not get lunch.
Do NOT take this trip if you are expecting it to be a bicycling trip. We have used VBT and Discovery Bicycle Tours many times over the past 25 years and they are excellent bike tour companies.
Lastly, after sharing these details with Road Scholar after the trip, their response was weak at best. After doing the full reviews and having to call them, their response was to give us $200 credit after spending $8000 on this trip. Not only was that insulting, they assumed that I would take another trip with their organization."
