Flora boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 19 of 19

I am not much of a biker but so enjoyed the biking. The best part was the people, our guide was delightful. The Flora was exceptional, we were treated to gourmet fresh home cooked meals. Felt at home but also catered too! Plenty drinks to choose from reasonably priced. Excellent coffee on demand! I hope to do it again!

The memorable part of my bike trip from Merzig to Koblenz, where do I start? There were so many memorable moments. First, I would like to say the crew on the Flora were very inviting and accommodating. Captain Berthus and his wife Jonne and their ship-mate Andy were a pleasure to spend 8 days with. Joanne, the Chef Superior, prepared us amazing variety of meals. For a small boat, it was first class!! Always made us feel comfortable. Home away from home. Our guide Irene was a real gem. We were Irene's first tour and we hit some wrong turns (mostly due to construction) but her infectious smile and giggle, kept us all going. Her personality was very genuine and I would follow her on any journey. The scenery along the Saar and Mosel rivers was breathtaking and cycling trails were some of the best I have cycled on. Tripsite was very helpful and professional when dealing with this agency. I will be recommending Tripsite to many of my friends and definitely the Flora bike and barge. Thank you for the great memories.

The people on the trip (boat staff included) and THE FOOD where the best part of the barge part of the trip

The scenery was stunning ! The cycling, rated easy was an appropriate rating

A fabulous trip

This was our first bike/boat trip. Being able to contemplate wonderful Germany, from Merzig to Koblenz was an amazing experience. The pedaling across small towns and vineyards with friends and family was unique. The incredible staff was always available to make our stay even more pleasant. The food was outstanding with a variety that surprised us every day.
Bike tour, with all the historical sites was fascinating and the guide made it even more fun. Memorable trip!
Looking forward to to the next one wich is already booked! Thank you tripsite and Flora crew :)

This was our first bike/boat trip. Being able to contemplate wonderful Germany, from Merzig to Koblenz was an amazing experience. The pedaling across small towns and vineyards with friends and family was unique. The incredible staff was always available to make our stay even more pleasant. The food was outstanding with a variety that surprised us every day.
Bike tour, with all the historical sites was fascinating and the guide made it even more fun. Memorable trip!
Looking forward to to the next one wich is already booked! Thank you tripsite and Flora crew :)

Don't miss this unique and intimate opportunity. Traveling the Flora is not for the high maintenance, needy and demanding. This is like very fancy camping on a magnificent boat that also serves as someone’s home. You are in someone’s home, being welcomed to their dining room, their living room and their hearts.

The ship is efficiently run! The captain is friendly and kind but gives the air (as any good captain should) that this is his boat and his rules. If you are familiar with small boat life you get it. It is a busy life with many parts and pieces. The chef! Junna, what can I say except you can taste her commitment and passion for cooking. My husband and I love variety and flavors and the Flora delivers! Quaint, rustic and nutrient packed dishes were a lovely surprise every day. I was fortunate to spend time with her and wish I had more time. She could easily become a great friend.
Berthus, Junna and Christiana were wonderfully kind, generous and great hosts.
Hetty, our guide, is the picture of loveliness. She is genuine in her interest of your holiday and eager to help you settle in to your desire for your own holiday expectation. She was helpful and hard working, kind and efficient. I would love to travel with her again.

The Flora is cozy and unique. Cabins are clean and well cared for. If you expect all the comforts of a massive cruise this is not your boat, but if you truly want a family home experiencing small boat life in a intimate setting, then Flora and it’s crew are it! We will definitely travel with them again in the future.

This morning on our departure as our taxi pulled away, Berthus, Junna, Hetty and Christiana were there behind us waiving good bye. I did not have a tissue for my tears.

My only complaint. If the crew makes you fall in love with the country you are visiting, the boat you are traveling on and them, they should make sure you have a tissue for your tears when you depart.

Love you all Flora! Thank you so much.

The visit to Burg Eltz was fantastic. If I could suggest, it is worth having it be the focus of an entire day, as going and coming back involves a relatively strenuous walk, as well as a ride.

Our most memorable part of the trip was the lovely riding along the Mosel and Saar with our family. As well as, the wonderful hospitality of the Flora crew (Berthus, Jonne, Christiana, Stephan) and great conversations with our guide, Wieger.

Our suggestion/tips for others would be: be prepared for intimate living quarters with others and enjoy the bike riding through a beautiful part of Germany. It is about the journey, not the destination. And, DO take the tour at Burg Elz!

I enjoyed staying on a barge and taking in the beautiful scenery along the way.

I was clearly the fattest and least fit of the 12 guests on this 4 day bike and barge tour. My bride and I found all aspects of the tour to be above our expectations. The barge itself was something of a tardas. No the rooms were not massive but enough for two and well planned. The showers are small but hot and the beds surprisingly comfortable. The meals were beautiful. As a group we asked if the meals would be all traditional meals. I do not think this was the cooks intention so she changed every meal for us. Splendid food, warm and plenty to go round. The bikes were better than expected. Each day we traveled more KM with about 35 on the third day. I have to admit towards the end I did nearly give up. Note for next time break in your bottom and get a few km into your legs. Overall a great experience. We saw a lot of nature both of the animal and plant kind. Flowers cheese and at night a city walk. Our hosts and guide spoke English well and were a delight to spend time with. Go on book the tour, you know you want to.

Most memorable part? Everything! The scenery, the guide, the nature of the bike routes, the people.

Awesome opportunity to experience the many Dutch highlights and tulips without being too touristy. The 4 day Tulip Tour offered an easy ride for retired bikers but was still adventurous and so interesting with incredibly beautiful scenery. Our guide, Bob, was fun, well organized and knowledgable about the area and towns we visited. The Jelmar berth was really comfortable and clean and they offered us first rate meals. Definitely a trip of a lifetime for me!

I am a very experienced cyclist (raced in my younger days). The condition of the bicycles left something to be desired. For example, the headsets of the bikes were not tightened after the handlebars were straightened out as they were distributed to the group. The loose headset contributed to an accident that resulted in an injury.

I suppose it is a common type of bicycle in Holland, but the upright positioning and lack of rake on the front fork made the bike inherently unstable. I got used to it pretty quickly, but some of the group never did. Only about half of our group were regular cyclists, and that made riding in/with the group an exercise in self-protection. Fortunately, my brakes worked well.

Also, lessons on how to cycle in the Netherlands (rules of the road, etc.) could have been more complete and reinforced each day. Our group tended to bunch up whenever stopped, blocking the way for others, and again, verging on dangerous. The guide said nothing. After one of our group said something to the guide, he finally started paying more attention to keeping the group together at traffic signals. Another part of the group tended to ride in the pedestrian lanes- they stopped doing that after getting a thorough tongue-lashing from a Dutchman walking his dog.

All this said- the general content of the trip was wonderful- the tulips, the cities, the countryside... we thoroughly enjoyed that. Would we do it again? Unsure... perhaps if we could be with a more experienced group.

Best Parts: Easy booking process, online Q & A instant answers. Safe bike routes, great time on bikes!

Most Memorable Part: Biking the rural/countryside of Holland

What an Experience! Our Barge, the Jelmar, was spacious with a nice private bathroom. Albert-Jon was a great Captain and our meals were outstanding! We certainly were never hungry and the menus were very unique and delicious. The bikes were great and pretty comfy. Petra our guide was terrific. We not only enjoyed our Biking with her, but she also took us on evening walking tours of the little villages we were docked in. Being local, she was able to indulge us in a lot of the history of the areas. The Tulip fields, and beautiful architecture were delightful and of course the Keukenhof was AMAZING! Loved the little stops along the way for ice cream or coffee. Learning of the Working Windmills and speaking with overseers was so interesting. The little Cheese farm we visited was terrific. They even vacuumed our cheese for us to bring home. The Aalsmeer Flower auction was like a beautiful ballet and the millions of flowers the backdrop to the workers performances. I have already forwarded the trip information to several co-workers and friends. Truly a MUST DO.

The most memorable part was the biking and the touring of various cities in the evening. I was interested in seeing if I could physically do the biking and found it was no problem at all.

Although the weather was rather rough in April, the tulip fields were lovely. Our guide was sweet and attentive, but her lack of experience in working with large, diverse groups created some difficult situations. With more experience, she will be super. Two bikes needed basic repairs within the first twenty minutes of biking, indicating that they had not been checked prior to our group's arrival. The captain of the Jelmar was skillful in managing the barge, but his people skills are still developing. Enough said.
Jelmar April 2017

The best part was the flower Gardens and flower fields.