Castles of the Loire

Exploring the Loire by bike was really exciting. The highlights are the city of Amboise and Da Vinci's house. The route to Cheverny passes through some busy roads, which can be a bit apprehensive.

We had a trip of a lifetime. Everything about this trip was great. The hotels were very nice, we opted for top tier hotels. The only thing I wish we could change was more time in the day. There was more to do and see them we had time for. The bikes we perfect for the task and the bike handoff was excellent. Baggage handling was great. There was only one issue and we held some responsibility in the mistake, but it was corrected quickly. Thank you all for making my wife's dream of riding through the Loire Valley come true.

How many castles and what is the schedule for this tour?

Cycling through the stunningly beautiful and varied landscapes. Not to be rushed and stop for coffee breaks to enjoy watching the locals .

The amazing part of the trip was the visit on the castles. The Chambord castle is incredible, and so the Chenonceaux. But the parks and vineyards are memorable. Beyond this, you could visit the Da Vinci’s house, in Amboise. We did a wine degustation right on the vineyard. It was memorable!

The trip was very well organized. There were no glitches and the people we were in contact with were very friendly.
On the other hand, I totally recommend the route, on the banks of the Loire river, with wonderful landscapes and very picturesque villages, all complemented by good French gastronomy.
In short: totally recommended.

All the trip was memorable

HE ENVIADO EL MAIL CON TODOS LOS PROBLEMAS QUE TUVE Y NO FUERON RESUELTOS, ADEMAS DE HABER ENVIADO UN MAIL PIDIENDO EL 50% de lo pagado ya que el viaje en la primera mitad del mismo, si bien tenia problemas la bciicleta que teniamos , la segunda parte del viaje fue una odisea, nos perdimos he hicimos el 3 dia 20 km de mas, ya que las indicaciones eran desastrosas, y el ultima dia 10 km mas....a si que no puedo recomendar el viaje que hice, no es el tour habitual ya que la primera parte estaba perfectmente indicado con carteles y la seguna parte era con las indicaciones de un papel qu e nos dieron, al perdernos el google maps si bien le indicabamos que queriamos rutas con bicicleta, nos enviaba por rutas muy peligrosas...nos pusieron en peligro . mala experiencia

The scenery along the route is amazing. Rolling vineyards and hills are gorgeous. The chateaux were stunning with Chenonceaux the most spectacular (pro tip, GET THERE WHEN IT OPENS at 9am. You must reserve your time to visit online before you go. Also, get the audio guides whenever you can; really adds to the visit). We also took the canoe tour along the Cher river and saw Chenonceaux from the water; HIGHLY recommend doing this.
The chateau in Blois and Chaumont-Sur-Loire were gorgeous, as was Chambord. Cheverny was a treat with the hound pen and Tin Tin exhibit.
We found a winery on the route from Amboise to Vouvray (Caves Cathelineau in Chancay). We did a tour and then a tasting and it was one of the highlights of our trip
The route is rated Easy to Moderate. My wife and I are both experienced recreational cyclists and we opted for E-bikes. There ARE numerous hilly sections and wind; unless you truly love riding up hills, would strongly recommend an E-bike for this trip. Also, opt for the GPS guided route and use the app BikeGPX. I spent the $10 to upgrade the app and it was the best investment. I cannot imagine taking this tour using paper maps. Far too many twists and turns along the way to stay on track.

The garden festival at Chaumont-Sur-Loire was probably the nicest surprise visit for us all tho there were lots of high points and each person of our group would have slightly different takes different.
Quality of routes and ease of following was wonderful.
Canoe and wine experiences could have been better.
Better indications of facilities for coffees and sandwiches en route would have been helpful as well as advising impact if weekends and bank holidays.
Hotels quite variable - one excellent, two good albeit rooms not great, one disappointing - I had to generalise in giving rating below but Amboise for example would be very satisfied on all and Cheverny ‘neither’ apart from food which would be ‘satisfies’
All in all a great trip

Make sure you bring layers in case of rain

The best memory of the trip was a spectacular meal at Auberge de la labourer in Chenonceaux. They were fully booked but set up a table in the bar and gave us the full restaurant menu. It’s a great restaurant and the extra work the staff put in added to the experience.

We had two complaints. First, neither of our odometers worked so we had no way of measuring distance. This meant constantly stopping and checking to make sure we were on the right way.

Second, the directions to get to Cour Chevigny had one massive error. When we came off the trail and onto Route 52 the directions said to turn right, go to the roundabout, and follow the sign to Route D102. There is no such sign. The only sign to Cour Chevigny is for Route 52, the road we were already on. So, thanks to some help, we turned around, followed route 52 for five kilometres and came right to our hotel. THIS SHOULD BE FIXED.

The Loire was wonderful, Jon the guide was wonderful and Lunch in Adon was Magnifique!

Excellent routes, well marked and the Châteaus are breath taking. Make sure you have a rain coat.

I have enjoyed the Castles of the Loire bike trip in France very much. This was my first organized bike trip. The scenery was beautiful, and the architecture was stunning. The meals were delicious. I have recommended this trip to my friends. I am looking forward to my next bike trip in France.

The amazing all inclusive 3-4 course dinners at the end of the day were great. The castles were great to see.

Great trip. We loved the country-side, the villages, the vineyards, small country roads with no cars, easy to read maps, the wonderful restaurants and chateau. We had no problem without having a guide and the people in the towns and staff at the hotels were very friendly and always willing to help. This was our second Trip-Site bike trip and it was great. Thanks.

Did Castle of the Loire 3rd week of sept 2012. The weather was nice though we did get rain on our first afternoon. No complaints at all. We picked the 2 star option and were more than happy. All hotels clean and comfortable and the staff helpful and friendly. Food was fantastic. Bikes were also fabulous and the intinery/directions easy to follow (even when we got ourselves a little lost, easy to get back on track). We are 50 and of average fitness, the bike riding was not too hard. We will definately look at another tour soon. Thanks for the memories!

Did Castles of the Loire with another couple. No complaints. Bikes were great. Meals were great. Accommodations were great. Weather was great (didn't rain at all !). Only glitch was the lack of an in-house meal on the monday (Oct 17) at Auberge Du Centre in Chitenay.