Today was the best day ever thanks to Jacob for our awesome Segway tour. Be sure if you go to the... read more
Today was the best day ever thanks to Jacob for our awesome Segway tour. Be sure if you go to the... read more
Had an amazing time! Sad to see these tours ending this week. Our guide, Ash (Ketchum) Doty was... read more
We had "children" from 13 to 26 and everyone loved it! It's a great way to tour the property. You begin with about a half hour of lessons then zip along the beautiful path that run next to the French Broad River. A support van accompanies you in case anyone gets tired, hot, or cold. It was 20° the day we did it so I loved having the van option to warm up in. It's truly a terrific family activity!
My husband and I took the Off-road Segway tour. I was a little nervous about riding one, but after about a 30 minute lesson in the training area, it wasn't really hard at all. The off-road tour takes you on an approximately 5 1/2 miles trek, including the paved trails, gravel, dirt trails and up a big hill behind the house. The view of the house from there and at the lagoon was gorgeous. The tour lasted around 2 hrs total and it was so much fun I could have turned around and did it again. Our guide was wonderful, providing some trivia facts at the stops and very helpful and friendly. Even in the check-in staff was friendly and humorous. They do have a weight limit between 100-250 lbs and will weigh you in at check-in, but they do it discreetly and just say, "Great. You're perfect!" and you must wear closed toed tennis shoes. I now want one to zip around my town!
We were four couples on the West Side two and a half hour Segway Tour: FABULOUS!! Great guides, terrific tour through the lesser-traversed Biltmore area, including the vineyards. DO IT!!
Last week, my husband and I took the Basic Segway Tour at Biltmore and loved every minute of it. We'd never ridden before and neither had two of the three other people on the tour with us. Brian, our guide, gave us a demo of how to ride the Segway and, then, gave us individual instruction and plenty of time, individually and as a group, to practice and to get comfortable before we set out on our tour. We had a great time riding, we stopped occasionally for photos or for Brian--who was a knowledgeable and very personable tour guide--to answer questions. Overall, it was an excellent experience and we highly recommend it!
The Basic tour is the perfect way to get started. There are several other tours available, including some off road, that would be perfect for experienced riders. We liked riding the Segways so much that we are going back for the West Side Segway tour tomorrow!
For reference we also ziplined and hiked the App Trail on our trip. We took the "off road" segway tour in the morning. After about a 30 minute training (depending on the size of your group), you get about a 75 minute hour ride on paved trails, gravel trails, up a hill and then back. You train with a speed limit "govenor" which is taken off for the actual ride. We had never riden segways before (two teen age sons, my 78 year old dad, and me), but it was not difficult after a little training/practice/confidence. If you are worried, volunteer for the training early (it's one on one) so you get more practice time before you head out. Overall, a lot of fun and a good outdoor activity, especially for teens. My only criticisms are (1) they probably should have stressed more during training that you must LEAN FORWARD when going up a hill - which is counter intuitive. If you don't, you will stop, stall, and fall. (The flat trails are fast and easy) and (2) we thought the price was fair IF you don't consider the required Biltmore admission. I would also recommend eating in the same village as the ride - we ate outdoors in the "village" and it was reasonable, good, and much less crowded than the restaurants by the Biltmore House which we visited later. I also heard that the pub close by - Cedrics? was pretty good, too.
We had a choice to rent bikes or segways to do an outdoor tour of the Biltmore Estates. We chose the Segway. I am glad we did! It was about $50 per person for an hour and a half tour of the grounds. Our instructor JIM was the best. He was very good. My husband who wears a leg brace was able to balance the Segway easily. I would recommend this after touring the Biltmore mansion. It is definitely a lot of fun!!!!!