Normandie

  Normandie South Holland Tour
Netherlands

We really enjoyed our cycling adventure in South Holland however, what was not mentioned was that the entire boat; staff and guests spoke German. This was not in the information that I read when booking this adventure. We did not understand the people at our table nor when we were cycling. The itinerary said the trip was September 21-29, so I was surprised when our trip was over on the 28th. I then needed to secure a hotel room that evening. Finally, I booked a room on the upper floor to have a view of the water and a window that opened. I did not read anywhere that the boat was in port each evening and I paid a premium to look at people sitting on a bench. We did not open the curtains or window for this very reason. I do feel that I should be reimbursed the extra fee that was charged for being on the upper floor.
Our guide Wolfgang tried his best to help us in English but he was difficult to understand. The food was great, and having coffee and cakes when we arrived back each day was fabulous.

  Normandie South Holland Tour
Netherlands

  Normandie South Holland Tour
Netherlands

The scenery was lovely! We enjoyed our active vacation - we self guided our biking days & between the maps, app, & instructions from our guide beforehand we didn’t get too lost. The staff of the Normandie was amazing!

  Normandie South Holland Tour
Netherlands

Organization of the trip and the quality of crew and colleagues south holland is terrific cycling the bikes were of high standard

  Normandie Rotterdam to the Zeeland Province
Netherlands

beautiful weather, really great tour guide (one of the best!), food was reasonable (not the best).

  Normandie South Holland Tour
Netherlands

Bikes were top quality and the tour instructions were excellent. It was an excellent route. Food on the Normandie was good and the accommodations very comfortable.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

I and my husband loved the tour. Everything was perfect, the barge, the meals, all the staff was kind and we had now new friends that we knew in this tour.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

This trip was amazing. It was my first time to Europe and to say now that I was in 4 countries!!
The talks that we had each night with the information on our next day trip were very helpful. We had some bad weather, (rain), but we got by. I cannot complain at all.
We did the off days on our own, walking around Vienna and Budapest. I took so many photos. It is great to have them now to look back on.
I cannot pick one thing that I really enjoyed. Everyday was better than the day before.
I am planning on doing another trip with Tripsite in 2020.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

All of the biking was fantastic. The time in Vienna was a close second.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

The normandie boat and crew was well run and has a nice flow to the week. Most memorable moment was Vienna concert operetta

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

We really enjoyed the biking. Most the trails were very nice and the scenery was beautiful.The most memorable part was probably the Wachau Valley. The bikes were very good. The rooms on the boat were good and the food was also plentiful and tasty.We enjoyed the entertainment put on by the crew.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Riding along the Danube offered many beautiful vistas. The bikes were great, the seats very comfortable, which made for a nice ride. We met some fun people on board although a greater mix of English speaking to German speaking would have been even better. Suggestions as mentioned to Tripsite staff would be to make this tour guided (the entire group of 100 passengers were lost on several days which minimized the opportunity to make it to some of the sites), to include ferries in the pricing, so that passengers aren't always searching to make sure they have cash (our previous trip included the ferries so wasn't an issue.), and the excursions were sometimes canceled so these could also be improved. All in all we had fun and the cabin staff took great care of our rooms...I'd make a different selection though next time.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Best Part? Biking along the Danube the first day in the beautiful countryside. Spectacular!!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The biking was absolutely wonderful; so incredibly beautiful especially through the vineyards and orchards. The ride around Bratislava was not marked well at all and 90% of the riders got lost going in all different directions, thank God for smart phones. The food on board was well prepared, always hot and nutritional. Where this trip fell short was the crew abroad the Normandie. Unlike the other TWO Bike and Barge Trips I experienced, this crew was a bit unwelcoming, rude, and times condescending and scolding. Not everyone but it certainly was the feel on the boat and many were talking about it. I know the crew work long hours and they all have to help with most tasks on the boat; however, there would be nothing to do if WE weren't there. I absolutely love this way of travel and will do another one again very soon. This was NOT a Tripsite issue but am hopeful this information will be passed to the appropriate people. Tripsite has been excellent in providing information and always seems to offer a great deal.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

This is my 3rd trip with Tripsite and they do a good job...but the instructions to the boat were a tad misleading. If there are detours/changes, I believe they should keep on top of that and be sure to report to their customers.The bike ride was amazing. The scenery was like all the other reviews stated......I would NOT recommend the ride in Vienna or Budapest; way to much traffic. The crew was not customer focused. The cruise director/bike tour director, Monica, was often short and rude to passengers. Unlike the other 2 trips I took, the crew was not welcoming or eager to help. There were a few in housekeeping and wait staff that were nice. The captain was cold and never engaged at all with the passengers. This is NOT a tripsite issue but this crew needed a kick in the pants from above to treat the passages better........recommend the trip but I hope you don't get this negative crew.....

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The last day of the beautiful rolling hills and gorgeous monastery on the hill and quaint historic towns along the way were the highlight of the trip.

I loved Jan's presentations. He was very well prepared and his delivery was great. You should keep him doing that. However, his personal customer service leaves something to be desired. He had no patience for details that were not perfect.

All guides except for one were exceptionally good. The one guide in Budapest was so bad we got our money back for the bike guide in the city.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

We had never done a Bike & Boat tour before so were hoping it would all work out. And it did fantastically! Ours was a family trip and even our 9-year-old son completed the entire bike route no problem. Such a pleasure to be in the country biking through fields, along the river, even on narrow roads through the small towns and villages we passed through. It was an amazing way to really see the countryside and interact with local people to briefly get a glimpse of their way of life. And the scenery was beautiful and peaceful. An amazing experience for our family and we look forward to doing more trips like this in the future.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

We had a great time on the Danube four countries tour and it was great to bike and to get to visit 3 capital cities. Wonderful and I would highly recommend this trip

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Our table mates(who we had never met before) became our best friends for the week. We did all our rides together and had a great time visiting the different cities. We had brand new bikes of high quality that enhanced the experience.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Best Part? The nice people on the boat

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Earlier this year (May), my wife and I did the 4 country bike - barge tour, on the Danube. First I have to remark that everything "Tripsite" advertised was delivered at what we thought to be a reasonable price. In spite of unusually cold (damp) weather, our first experience (s) in Passau, Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna were very memorable highlights. However, aboard the "Normandie" we did have some concerns with the overall tour management. There were some particularly disappointing moments with an apparent strategy to keep the English speaking guests, and non-english speaking guests (mostly German) separated? For our part, we were keen to mingle - assimilate with all the guests aboard. That should not reflect our overall impression of the boat crew, who were very courteous and helpful.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

Bike/Barge was a great way to spend time with family and see the sights of the Danube. Accommodation on the boat was comfortable, staff friendly and it certainly made for a very relaxing & easy holiday.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Best part: Cycling in dry weather; we got soaked one day

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The route was well planned. The views were spectacular. Couldn’t have imagined a better place to have done this (Austria). We biked approximately 50 miles a day. It was exceptional.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

Our second trip ( the Danube to Vienna) was different, but equally as nice. This time the “barge” was a huge river boat (a la Viking), but that was OK. The scenery was lovely, the little towns quaint, they could have done better with the information about our route, but I guess it was OK. A bit different in that the boat traveled at night and moved us up the river to our next starting point. Again, the food was great, the passengers friendly... only one rainy day that time... not bad! I’ve told friends about this company and I look forward to our next trip with Tripsite!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Every minute of this trip was amazing. Would do it all over again!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The incredible scenery and the wonderful people. We met some incredible new friends on the trip.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

Bikes were in terrible condition. My while broke down with 10 miles left on the first day. My wife’s bike had a flat that the crew was just going to fill with air. My sister-in-laws bike broke down 5 miles out on the third day. Food was poor. Very few English speakers among the crew. Directions and maps for the rides were poor or non existent. When we complained we were told. “Well you made it back didn’t you?”

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

The Danube / bike path was wonderful , My bike was a red girls bike that clunked “hate it”, my wife’s ebike was great, the food was good except the hair in couple of dishes, the tour dir and the hotel mgr were friggen rude (not just us to about 14 others ) would Never take a SE tour again. The people we met on board were great, Austria was very nice. Omg Austria wine was fantastic. thx Mik

Ps
Still like Tripsite’s

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

I adored the trip from start to finish. The scenery, the towns and cities and of course seeing everything by bike. I met wonderful people who share a love of travel and adventure. The only problem with the trip was the tour leader. He was condescending and rude to several guests. The rest of the staff was phenomenal. I would do this trip again tomorrow.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

I would highly recommend this trip. The food was fantastic. The rooms were of a good size and clean. The staff were friendly and helpful. The cycle route were scenic and enjoyable. I would definitely do another.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

What an unforgettable trip! We were able to take our 75 year old dad and he cycled the whole thing easily. The touring days in the cities were full, overwhelming, and inspiring for someone who's never seen the rich history of Europe. Cruising down the river while eating a 4 course dinner was a perfect finish to cycling though forests and orchards all day. It was a perfect combination of cycling, cruising, relaxing and sight seeing. I would recommend it to anyone!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

This trip provides a chance to explore the rural areas along the Danube by bike and to visit the great cities of Budapest and Vienna. There is a lot packed into this trip.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

This was a perfect way to spend a holiday. The food was AMAZING! The staff was personable, kind, and so very efficient with all they do. I was pleasantly surprised with all the paved bike paths and the number of cyclists out traveling on vacation. It was inspirational to interact with them along the way. Thank you, Normandie and staff. We had a fantastic time!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Biking along river was the greatest. Budapest and Bratislava wonderful. Time in Vienna too rushed. Strongly advise participants to take an extra day or two in Passau before the trip—a lovely small town.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The staff on the boat were wonderful. Very helpful, friendly and hard working. The food on the boat was excellent. They consistently turned out perfectly prepared delicious meals. The bicycles were in excellent condition and performed perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The daily briefing on what to see and do really helped to get the most out of the bike and barge tour.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Wachau valley was my favorite part...small towns, great shops and wine.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Everything was well organized and the staff very friendly and helpful. We loved the whole trip . The countryside was beautiful.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

Our trip was along the Danube to Vienna. It was a wonderful trip, the scenery was lovely, and we were lucky with the weather... it only drizzled one afternoon! The little towns we went through were really cute & charming. We felt the tour guide could have done a better job by telling us the distances between start and finish in terms of time & kilometers. We managed quite well, but it would have been nice to know. Otherwise, the whole trip was fantastic!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

The most memorable part of our trip was getting on our bikes daily and biking next to the river with lovely towns and countryside. Quite free!
Our meals were just wonderful! We requested vegan meals and were delighted with each and every meal! This whole trip was special!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Excellent trip, experience, food, accommodations, etc.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

We loved this trip! The best way to experience Europe’s beautiful rivers and countryside is over the handlebars!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Most Memorable Part: The last day of our trip we cycled through small towns and vineyards. Stopped at a beautiful small church and were able to hear the choir practicing. We (6 of us) will never forget that part of the trip.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The barge was wonderful and the staff most helpful and professional. I wouldn’t hesitate to go on another biking trip. Thank you for a job well done.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Every aspect of this trip exceeded our expectations. The boat staff could not have been more friendly and accommodating. The rooms and food were excellent. The bicycles were in top condition, and the cycling director was a wealth of information about each day's itinerary. Our friends are tired of hearing us rave about how wonderful the trip was.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

It was a great trip. We traveled with another couple and they also very much enjoyed the trip. Room on the boat was comfortable, food was good, bikes were good. A nice combination of fresh air, exercise and comfort. Have already recommended to others.

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The staff were wonderful and attentive and the biking equipment was excellent. It was tremendously satisfying to enjoy this beautiful part of the world on bike and then return to the comfort of the boat each evening. Looking forward to the next trip!!

  Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Our bike barge trip along the Danube in October 2017 was a great experience. Biking was fabulous, the paths we're all very good for the most part. The scenery was beautiful. We were very pleased with the friendliness of the staff and all the accommodations made for us. The food was all nicely presented and abundant. Our group of eight friends definitely would like to do another trip! Great scenery, great exercise, and an overall wonderful experience!