Europe Tour Reviews — 6061 to 6090 of 6184

Absolutely loved the trip on board the Merlijn. Wonderful staff and amenities on board, met a great like minded group of travelling companions. As a coeliac, the crew were very attentive and ensured all my dietary needs were met. Nothing was too much trouble.

As for the cycling and the scenery....what can I say? It was magic cycling along quiet bikeways through the vineyards and small villages, at all times in sight of the wonderful Moselle River.

Last but not least...the wine selection and quality on board the Merlijn was the best (and very well priced).

Already thinking about our next bike and barge tour...with the great help from Tripsite (of course).

We had a terrific time exploring the vibrant city of Berlin, followed by marvelous days biking thru rejuvenated areas of eastern Germany. The Merlijn is a ***** experience of delightful accommodation, excellent dining, gracious hospitality. TripSite provides thorough itinery information and offers rapid replies to questions to prepare for the Bike/Barge experience. It was our second booking and we had a wonderful time.

What a great tour! Beautiful scenery, easy riding, wonderful accommodations

This was a fabulous tour (April 2012). The boat was spacious and clean, with very good food & amenities. The bikes provided were in excellent condition. The hosts & staff were friendly & accommodating. The daily bike trips were interesting & well organized- too many highlights to describe. A great way to see many parts of Holland, especially if you combine the bike tour with several days before and/or after in Amsterdam. The staff at Tripsite provided all necessary information.

My wife and I did this tour with our two young children. I rode a tandem with a tag along so the our two kids had my leading through the ride. We had a wonderful time, and the help we received in booking the right family accommodation was fabulous. I highly recommend this tour as a family

We took this tour in October, 2012. It was fantastic. The history, the scenery, the chateaus of the Loire Valley are truly amazing. The little country inn was delightful, with steaming pots of hot chocolate with breakfast and elegant, world- class, dinners. The provided route maps were a challenge to follow, taking us deep into forests, etc. that were great to experience. But on Day 3, we switched to the official French bike route maps because they were so easy to use. I finally got to study the scenery as we pedaled along! Thanks, Pack and Pedal, for a perfect vacation. We'll be back!

I recently enjoyed the Paris to Bruges bike & barge tour and I loved it. The crew were fantastic, the service was excellent and the daily ride with a wonderful guide was great fun. It was one of the best travel experiences. Thanks to everyone on the Elodie for the ideal holiday. (I was on the 30th Sept 2012 trip)

Our group had a WONDERFUL time. I am one of six who went to celebrate 20 years of biking together. I loved all the rides, but the ride on the last day Krem-Melk was the best! I liked the fact that the cruise director had everything lined out for the rides and actually went with us. He also pointed out good places to stop along the way for local treats. I loved going to the small villages along the way, especially Vac in Hungary. I also liked all the activiities the boat crew had planned, a music quiz contest, skits and dancing on the last night and Roland on the piano-organ. The food on the boat was so delicious; something to celebrate each country we were in. It waas wonderful touring through Budapest and Vienna. I highly recommend this trip!

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!

We loved the trip. The food was better than advertised, and the barge was more comfortable than expected. Our suggestion for improvement would be a second guide OR better overall maps for a breakaway group.

This was the best way to enjoy Europe combining bicycling through painting-like landscapes on a well balanced tour of culture, history and fun with a fantastic caring crew and fabulous food! The addition of a dozen Australians made it even better; and barging into Paris on a sunny afternoon with a glass of wine was divine. We're booking again in 2013!

If you picked a tour aboard the Merlijn for your next vacation, you made the perfect choice. It is not just a barge, it is a luxury barge. The ride through the Mosel Valley is stunning with the vineyards and quaint towns. But, beyond that it is the specialness of your hosts, Jantien and Henk that make this an outstanding experience. Jantien's warmth, humor and attention to detail is amazing along with the delicious meals she prepares. When you come away from the trip, you are left with wonderful memories and you feel like you were entertained in the home of a close friend.

We had a great time and were very happy with local provider, Ruckenwind, organization of the trip. Dieter from Ruckenwind reviewed the route before hand which was very helpful in keeping us on the best paths and he also was very flexible with our desire to use our own pedals. There were a few challenges with bike path construction that probably weren't known but we managed to trek through the construction sites. The only minor issue was whether we could have requested a derailleur bike rather than 7 speed with coaster brake. With cleats on bike shoes, the freewheel type drive train would have been easier to use - a couple of other people on the tour had 21 speed bikes (with cleats) but we didn't know it was an option. I guess I will ask next time. Otherwise, it was excellent. The hotels were lovely, hotel staff all very accomodating. The hotel in Prague was a bit removed from the heart of the city but easily accessible to the tram and convenient for starting the ride. The hotel in Melnik was a few kilometers from the old city but the hotel provided a free shuttle and we enjoyed the walk home (taxis available, too). Overall, very pleased with this tour (our third with Tripsite). Thinking about the next one...

It was a wonderful bike & barge tour- we biked about 168 miles in 6 days; the trails were great and easy to ride with beautiful scenery along the way. We started out with great breakfasts and ended with fabulous dinners. Met many nice people on the "My Story" barge. Great experience all around.

This was a fabulous trip - even better than what I expected. We were able to spend a fair amount of time in most of the major cities and the bike trails took us through some gorgeous countryside, and there were many quaint villages along the way where we were able to shop and dine. The bike trails were wide, paved and level, and a couple of the longer routes offered shorter options by taking a ferry to cut off some of the distance. The entire "My Story" experience was delightful. The captain and all the crew members were very accommodating and friendly, the other guests were fun and young-at-heart, the rooms and beds were comfortable and clean, and the food was exquisite!!! The daily biking trips were well-planned and organized, and the extra tours, particularly the biking tours through Vienna and Budapest, were well worth the money. Even the weather cooperated nicely - we had sunshine every day and temperatures in the 70's (Fahrenheit). Perfect weather for biking.

What a great trip this was through the old Eastern Germany and into Denmark. We rode through beech forests, beautiful old towns and tasted all the local food delights. Morning coffee and apple cake became a must. The accommodation was top rate and the daily distances just right to take in some sight seeing as well as peddling. Highly recommended bike trip.

This trip is all and more. There is a good balance of seeing nature at it's most beautiful as you follow the Mosel River and you go through many villages and see historic sites, and taste wine. You take many stops and the miles are spread out through the day so it isn't a hard, tiring bike ride either. This is a trip of a lifetime and great staff and people. The food on the boat is out of this world and the dinner table is set so beautifully! The barge is the way to go!

Beautiful routes and towns make this a "must do" tour that exceeded all my expectations. The routes were sometimes quite challenging, as I hoped they would be, but I always arrived in each town with plenty of time and energy to walk around and enjoy the fabulous sights, shops, and cafes. The hotels were all very clean, comfortable, and pleasant. The hybrid bikes are well suited for the route and were equipped with two particularly welcomed features: rear panier bags and a fresh pair of Schwalbe Marathon tires. A couple of absent features that also would have been very welcome are a cycle computer and clear sleeve on the handlebars for the route notes. I recommend bringing SPD clipless pedals and shoes. And I highly recommend allowing two or three extra days in Prague and at least a full day in Passau.

Traversing the Bavarian Alps is excellent. The highlight of the trip was the Hotel Jagerhof in Bernau. Willie was awesome. He gave us great tips for cycling around the region, his cooking was wonderful (he made us venison), and the service was superb. A truly accommodating cycling hotel.

Lake Chiemsee is the highlight of the trip. We cycled around the lake. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy and cool so we didn't take the ferry to the island. A good ride, all the same.

The biggest disappointment was Berchtesgarden. The hotelier wasn't very accommodating and because of the timing and duration of stay, we couldn't visit the Eagles Nest. The community itself, including shopping and sites is worth the visit.

If I had the choice of either the Bavarian Lakes or Salzburg and the 10-Lakes, the Austrian version is the preferred choice.

Tripsite was great. They helped us with some minor challenges.

The Austrian people are friendly, helpful, and accommodating. We enjoyed the food, the scenery, the various communities, and the cycling. An awesome time.

If you do the trip, make sure to upgrade to the 4-star hotels. They are excellent, especially, the Holiday Inn in Salzburg,and the hotel in Mondsee. Both the service and support were superb.

There is a lot to see, experience, and take in. The cycling is challenging but fun. You traverse some nice locations with minimal road usage.

We will be back.

Just returned from a wonderful experience. Kvarner bay was wonderful. Beautiful sites, wonderful people, lovely boat and great challenging rides. I would recommend this trip to anyone.

This was our second trip with Tripsite. We did this trip to Provence in early September and it really was magnificent. The local tour organizer had a well prepared and thought out package with easy to follow directions for the most part. The cycling with the accompanying scenery was beautiful. The accommodations and food were well selected. We can't recommend a trip more highly than this (except possibly the trip to the Netherlands we did last year) or this group.

We booked our bike and barge trip with Pack and Pedal. We wanted a comfort plus barge and the Iris was recommended. The entire experience on the Iris was excellent. The staff were very competent and friendly, food was excellent, the guide was a great bike leader and was very knowlegable about the history and architecture of the areas we visited. I would highly recommend the Iris and Pack and Pedal. Carla at Pack and Pedal was very courteous and efficient. Booking the trip and making the trip was a top notch experience for us. We will use them again.

Hi Mary,

My husband and I recently completed the Rhine Romance cycle tour in Germany and at the time of booking you asked for feedback so I thought I'd drop you a line now we are home.

We both really enjoyed the tour - the hotels were of a better standard than we expected and were in locations that were easy to find and close to the major sites we wanted to see. The breakfasts provided were great and the delivery of our luggage was always prompt. The cycles provided were of good quality and the local contact was friendly and helpful, although his English language skills were not fantastic we still understood the brief he provided. The tour itself went through some amazing towns and the pack provided sufficient information on the key sites to see in each. The only negative aspect of the tour was the quality of the written directions. They were very unclear and caused some frustration. Luckily the local signs were frequent and provided an alternative for us to navigate by. At first we thought the problem was that the directions were translated into English however another couple doing the tour at the same time said their German language directions were similarly confusing and frustrating.

Despite the minor frustrations with the quality of the directions we successfully found our way and on the whole we had a fantastic time. We would recommend your tours to others, noting that they might want to take additional maps to supplement the written directions.

I hope this feedback is useful. Thank you for your assistance in organising the tour for us at short notice.

Regards,

Kirrin

Fabulous holiday - organisation super - tour guides top class - couldn't rate it highly enough.

We did this tour in July and it was fantastic. The tour was very well organised, good directions and signposting. The weather was hot as you would expect and the ride challenging. I would recommend that people to some hill training before undertaking this ride. All the villages were on hilltops. Great scenery, food, wine - all that you would expect in Tuscany. The only downsides were that the tour does not in fact go through Lucca as the guide indicated. Also there were 3 of us and the bikes ranged from Dura-ace equipped carbon frame bike to a heavy aluminium frame bike with a granny gear. Other than that it was well worth it and certainly lived up to our expectations. The Italian drivers were also very respectful of cyclists.

Our family of 3 teenagers and 2 adults just did this trip in June. We had a fantastic time. Roads were in excellent condition. The auto drivers were safe and considerate (unlike the US!). The routes were challenging; the bikes to die for. We loved Girona and Calella. Farmhouse overnight was charming. Food and scenery were incredible. We can't wait to go back!

We loved the trip from Mantova to Venice. The crew on the Ave Marie was great. We convinced two other couples to join us this year since we had such a good time in the Netherlands last year. By the second day they were already wanting to plan next years bike/barge trip.

I did this trip in August 2012 with my husband and two 20-something children. We all said it was one of the best vacations we'd ever had. The lodging was varied from quaint to elegant but always wonderful, the bikes were great, and the country was amazing. We loved the combination of small villages, cities, countryside and seashore. The directions and maps were a bit hard to follow at times, but the Dutch people are nothing if not friendly and helpful - several kindly folks rode their own bikes out of their way to guide us to where we had to go next. It was a fantastic adventure and we want to do another bike trip next summer. Everything that Pack and Pedal arranged went off without a hitch.

This tour was phenomenal! My boyfriend and I had no idea what to expect since we booked it rather last-minute. Carla took care of everything and all we had to do was show up!

The bikes are typical city hybrid bikes that rode just fine. Some people on the tour brought their own bikes, too, so that's an option.

It was completely self-paced and you can linger in the cities you pass through or stop for lunch whenever you please. We usually kept running into the same cyclists, but it was never as though we all had to stick together in a herd.

We were booked into some very nice hotels and what a treat that they schlep your luggage from place-to-place for you. One less thing to worry about! Given that you're on your bike for a good portion of the day, it's good to know that you will have a comfy bed waiting for you at day's end.

The map is helpful. I will say that the directions in English started off well, but there were a few glitches along the way. Particularly if your odometer isn't working or if you wander around a bit (and you will because the cities you pass through are really beautiful!), you get thrown off-course. Thankfully, Belgians have to be the most incredibly helpful and friendliest group of people we have ever met; if we were ever lost, there was always someone willing to help us get where we needed to go.

If you're worried about the difficulty, don't be. My boyfriend is a seasoned rider; my longest rides prior to this were about fifteen miles. The route is all pretty much flat (even on Day 1 when there are supposed to be hills to tackle). If you leave just after breakfast, you will arrive at the next destination with time to explore and relax.

If you're worried about safety, also have no fear here. Belgium has the equivalent of an intrastate highway system for bikes. In big cities, bike lanes are clearly marked and people heed to them. The pace of life is much different than back in the States and drivers are incredibly patient around cyclists.

This was so much fun and we are definitely looking forward to another trip!