Primadonna boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 55

Being able to see the country side at a leisurely pace with our friends. Stopped to visit the goats and trail side coffee shops. One of the most memorable of any of our trips was the boat leaving Budapest at night. A sight we will never forget. Food on board was very good and service was great. The only issue we had was we were a large group of 18 that sat at 3 tables and we were asked to not change places but we missed out visiting with our other friends. We liked it so much we came home and booked another trip with Tripsite

The biking was scenic and beautiful. The best biking was in Budapest and then in Austria on the last day. It was an experience I will never forget.

While some of the routes were challenging at times because they weren’t marked well, the biking part of the trip was phenomenal.
The ship food was excellent!

The entry into Budapest with the sun setting on the Parliament building was a once in a lifetime experience.

The bike rides and the night view of Budapest.

Please improve the GPS file for the last day of biking as the end doesn’t agree with the new ending at Marbach from Melk. We used the Danube river crossing at the power plant and damn from Melk to Marbach at Wehr Melk Damn.

The most memorable part of the trip was leaving Budapest after dark and floating past the lighted buildings and monuments along the Danube. The biking along the River was beautiful and diverse; wine country from Krems to Marbach was very pretty. Most of the routes were along bike paths though some intermittently were on rural roads and through the cities of Vienna and Budapest. Some days biking were very warm, but there were a couple of cold days with temperatures less than 10 degrees C. Its a good idea to come prepared for cool and rainy days both biking and sightseeing; layers with a hooded raincoat was essential. My wife and I are fit bikers riding often in the Colorado mountains, but opted for eBikes on the boat cruise. No regrets on this decision, we road with minimal eAssistance most of the time, but when the winds, and sometimes rain, came up on long rides, or we wanted to catch sites off the main route we had the ability to extend our rides and still make the timing to meet the boat at the next city.

We had a great time on our bike & boat trip down the Danube! We were aboard the Primadonna. The highlight of the trip was Budapest. What an amazing city! It was a rest day so we had all day to explore. We left by night when all those incredible buildings were lit up and reflected in the Danube.
Optional city tours were available when we weren’t cycling. I recommend them because we learned history & facts about where we were. The organ concert in Linz was a wonderful experience too.
The boat was great. The staff was helpful and friendly, the meals were good, reflecting the region and our lowest deck room was comfortable. It did surprise us the first morning how close to the water level our window was!
The last day, cycling through vineyards and villages in Austria was delightful.
We would recommend this trip to others. The terrain is easy so you can enjoy your surroundings. We were glad we opted for the e-bikes. The Primadonna doesn’t provide helmets though but sold them in their little bike shop on board for €35, so we bought them.
Most of the people on the trip are retirees. Not many young people. They still have to work! They would enjoy it too though.

We had a great time on our bike & boat trip down the Danube! We were aboard the Primadonna. The highlight of the trip was Budapest. What an amazing city! It was a rest day so we had all day to explore. We left by night when all those incredible buildings were lit up and reflected in the Danube.
Optional city tours were available when we weren’t cycling. I recommend them because we learned history & facts about where we were. The organ concert in Linz was a wonderful experience too.
The boat was great. The staff was helpful and friendly, the meals were good, reflecting the region and our lowest deck room was comfortable. It did surprise us the first morning how close to the water level our window was!
The last day, cycling through vineyards and villages in Austria was delightful.
We would recommend this trip to others. The terrain is easy so you can enjoy your surroundings. We were glad we opted for the e-bikes. The Primadonna doesn’t provide helmets though but sold them in their little bike shop on board for €35, so we bought them.
Most of the people on the trip are retirees. Not many young people. They still have to work! They would enjoy it too though.

The evening cruise out of Budapest with all the illuminated building was so amazing.
Take your time in the smaller towns and cities as you bike to the larger cities. Most of the big cities are more difficult to get around. With the exception of Vienna, the guided tours were superb.

We enjoyed biking off the route to visit some small towns. Google maps worked great to get us back on track to meet the boat. Really appreciated the knowledgeable guides on the Vienna and Budapest bus tours.

The spectacle surrounding along the river, the cycling part, the good service on board.

Tips : It could be a good idea to arrange some stops for tasting visits, local wine, other local indigence, in the cycling tour.

The Danube is one of the top places to bike in Europe – and I’ve done it many times over the last eight years. However, I did not enjoy the Primadonna. I wish that Tripsite would’ve told me that it was a “bargain” cruise. The staff was not very professional, and although breakfast was very good, dinner was somewhere between OK and unacceptable. Worst thing was the bike route description briefing. The cruise Director talked in circles and you never had a clear understanding of what you were doing. We had to ask a lot of questions and make notes to be clear. Many people in my group struggled - and the printed hand out they gave us was worthless.
Very disappointed in Tripsite for letting me book this for my group. I feel it was their responsibility to tell me that the Primadonna and it’s staff were the bottom of the barrel on the Danube boat and bike list, compared to others they offer.
In sales, they call that: managing expectations.
I wish we would’ve taken the Manon (which I did last Summer) – far better in every sense.

It was an amazing trip, only issue was getting an e-bike as a tall person. I was able to get one from a local bike shop in town who were great, but if It was something that caused a little more work on my part and considerable worry that it would be there.

Everything was amazing. Great trip. If you need to rent a bike in Passau for taller ebike riders the shops in passau are great.

Good trip. I knew of 2 people who complained of having a "cold" toward the end of the tour. 3 days after returning home I tested positive for covid having minor symptoms. Not the fault of Tripsite but I think you should be aware.

This is the BEST Vacation!!
I’ve had a lot of great adventures-but the Bike & Barge 4 Countries Tour topped the list.
Riding everyday was my favypart o

Bicycling along the Danube cycling trail was such a great experience! The route maps were good for following our daily ride.

The food on this ship was amazing - tasted good and also was amazingly presented. The staff was really terrific also. I would go on this trip again, on a different river though. The Primadonna is a first class ship, well-appointed and very comfortable.

Waking up to a new adventure every day. So easy to get on and off the boat and enjoy the various stops while biking.

It was 8 days of awe! From the moment that we stepped on the boat the magic began. Biking along the Danube is something that we will never forget. Every town and the landscape is absolutely breathe taking.

The only suggestion I would have is to ensure that it is made very clear where the pick-up is for the bus transfer. We almost missed our pick-up.

The Primadonna was comfortable, well-organized, had good food and created a good tour of beautiful parts of Europe. The bikes were easy to ride and very high quality. My biggest concern is that without GPS, the routes were impossible. Even the few German speakers had trouble with the routes. I would not recommend this trip to anyone who does not know how to use it. I believe you have to have a specific plan for your phone ( and/or a European SIM card. The ship claims to have wi-fi but it is erratic. I could not text or email most of the trip. The tv’s in each room had no English channels so we were not able to track the news. We were the only Americans on the ship so we good friends of other nationalities and that was great.

It would have nice to have access to a tire repair kit or at the very least, a way to contact bike repair shops that are open. It would have been nice to be able to order water and not have to pay $7 for a bottle. It would have been nice to have shorter rides so that we'd have time to stop and see the sights along the way.

Ship was very nice and staff were friendly and helpful. Everything was spotless clean and bed was comfortable. Dinner meals were pretty mediocre and some of sack lunches included greasy deep fried items. Bikes were in excellent condition and the bike routes were fine, but the written descriptions for navigating the routes were indadequate.

Great biking on an iconic river through the major cities in grand luxury.

Overall the trip was enjoyable. But the food was quite bland. Also they asked about food restrictions/ preferences, but did NOT accommodate them in any way. The directions for the biking were lacking in detail and the maps could be more zoomed in, especially on the days with many turns and route marker variations. It should also be made clear that many of the routes were directly beside busy roads. It is a great itinerary.

Very well organized
Suggestions: make coffee available before breakfast.
Food was great and we loved the 4 course dinners, but the wait between courses was consistently a bit too long.

The boat was awesome! Clean and modern - like new.
I have taken many bike tours in Europe and this was the best.
The daily rides tended to be a comfortable 40-to-45 miles per day.
I rented a trail bike and my wife rented an e-bike - both were very serviceable.

We loved our trip aboard the Primadonna! The rooms themselves were a little dated and nothing fancy, but the food and the service aboard was fantastic. The time off of the ship was by far the best part. We loved the freedom of being able to wander from port A to port B in our time, but having the comfort of knowing that our luggage and lodging were safely waiting for us at the next location.

We especially loved the town of Melk and a restaurant called Rathauskeller. It had great food and the waiter, Joseph, was very nice and a highlight of our trip. Another suggestion would be in Schlogen, on your first bike day, get off the ship a little early and go for a hike up to viewing point of the Scholgen UNESCO site.

The bike were really good quality. They come with a bike lock and two rear mounted panniers. The saddles are quite hard after a several hour bike ride, so if you're sensitive to that, I would suggest a gel seat cover of some sort. Most of the towns you visit have awesome pedestrian zones, where you can lock up your bike and just wander from shop to shop without having to worry about cars. The bike paths themselves were very nice. They were mostly well labeled and separate from the street. The worst section of bike paths is actually on your first day, from Ottenheim to Linz. In Ottenheim the signs get a little vague as to which way to go, and entering Linz (a large city) you are on a bike path but facing oncoming traffic that is leaving the city, crossing streets that our actively being used by cars. All other paths were wonderful, and scenic. We felt very safe every day. I also highly suggest that someone from your party attend the nightly briefings on the next days bike path. This gave good information on what to expect. English is definitely not the primary language on the boat, but they do a good job of having a separate time to talk with the English speakers about what to expect. They also assign you a table in the dining room based on your primary language, so that was nice too.

All in all this was probably the best trip my wife and I have ever been on, and will do another one like it in the future.

We boarded the Primadonna on Friday & started our biking the following day. It was a little hectic & we didn't get any tips about the e-bike since we hadn't ridden one before. We got a briefing the night before about where to go but we had to wait until the German was completed before the English started. We were all very tired by then from traveling. The first day of biking went well as we got used to the e-bike. The second day we began our ride from Tulin to Vienna. The bike trail was crowded today and as we were coming up to a curve I had to move out of the way for on- coming traffic & I hit the gravel and crashed to the ground. My husband was behind me & had to stop fast so he also tipped over on his bike. I hit my face & landed on my left knee & my knee was bleeding heavily. My husband had multiple abrasions on his arms & legs. We continued our ride back to the boat so we could figure out what to do next. I checked my knee & I had a wide, deep cut that I knew would have to be sutured. The boat provided bandages & advised us to see a doctor in the next town. The following morning Terezka from reception took us by taxi to a near by hospital but they would not see us. We got into another taxi & went to a private doctors office where I had 6 sutures put in my knee. I was not allowed to bike so we stayed on the boat for the remainder of the trip. It took 3 days for us to get flights to return to S. Carolina. Bruce & Phyllis Ehlers

We really enjoyed the diversity on the ship. English was definitely the second language, but people did their best to be welcoming and accommodating. It’s important that people understand and are willing to go with the flow! The paths weren’t always as clear as they were supposed to be, so be prepared. We were thankful that all paths eventually went to the Danube!