4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 721 to 750 of 914
Reid H.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The staff on the boat were terrific, especially Sebastian. The breakfasts were the same every day which really got old quickly. Their new bikes had terrible shifters and were really heavy. The route descriptions led us to be lost on many days and we finally had to rely on Google maps.
The scenery was great and when we got on less well-traveled roads, the riding was great. Unfortunately we spent too much time (IMHO) on roads with a lot of traffic.
carla • 7 years ago Tripsite Staff
Thank you for your feedback, Reid. We have totally redone our routes and route descriptions for the 2017 season. We guarantee them to be much easier to follow and avoid traffic as much possible.
The menus have also been redone and a new shipment of bikes came in. We anticipate the 2017 season to be the best it can be!
Diane D.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Everything was great. I really enjoyed our guides, Tammy and Ronnie. The staff on the boat were great. Our bikes were top notch. The tour and countryside were scenic. I loved biking on the sea wall. I thought the other bikers were friendly and easy to get along with.
Kathy H
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
National Parks of Dalmatia
Croatia
The Croatian Coast and countryside is absolutely beautiful with it's small towns and marinas in every cove. Swimming off the boat was such a fabulous experience!
The Romantica was a lovely clean sailing yacht with good amenities. The rating scale for the "bike and sailing yachts" however is different than the "bike and barge" boats; Romantica was rated as "Comfort Plus" but we would consider it on the lower Read More end of that scale (relative to some of the other "bike and barge" boats we have been on). We recognize that "you get what you pay for" and the Romantica was in our view good value.
The-food was outstanding - with 4 course lunches and dinners that were delicious!
In summary, a great trip - and we look forward to another "bike and sail" next fall.
Neil Blanks
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Salzburg & the 7 Lakes
Austria
Just came back from an exceptional Salzburg Lakes holiday.
I'll start with the good - fantastic scenery (so green), friendly well-appointed hotels, not too difficult route (a few hills from time to time but appropriate for the "easy to moderate" level, well sign-posted. Even the continuous rain on the first day didn't dampen our spirits.
This was my second time with "Tripsite" (went to Provence, France two years ago) and I feel compelled to add a few negative comments by comparison. Most of the maps and brochures were in German and not English. The quality of the bikes was less than expected. Far worse was the comedy of errors on the bike handover - no saddle bags, no repair kit, no pump, no apology. We only got the missing equipment at the end of the first day of riding. My thanks to the Tripsite Team, who did their best to intervene on our behalf.
In conclusion - don't let the negative comments stop you from booking this trip. I would however recommend to Tripsite to have a serious word with their local agents to prevent such mistakes in the future. And, yes, I'm already planning the next trip !!
carla • 8 years ago Tripsite Staff
Neil - Thanks so much for leaving your feedback. Our local bike supplier definitely let us down. We've decided to use another supplier for this tour so (hopefully) this mix-up with the bikes never happens again.
Look forward to working with you again!!
pam
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
My Story Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary
Two ladies and I ( all in our 60's) just finished this tour on My Story. Having no experience with bike/barge I was not sure what to expect. What we got was a fabulous trip through some of the most scenic and beautiful country I've ever seen. Our tour guide, Stephan, was charming and informative. This tour was run by Rad and Reisen. They did a great job of marking the routes, although a few times we did get a little turned around. The food was top-notch and the staff did an excellent job of entertaining the travelers. I was impressed by the over-all professionalism. The riding was easy and on mostly asphalt with very few inclines. Only draw back was the size of the cabins. The pictures are a little misleading. When the second bed was lowered there was almost no room to walk by each other. You needed to be a contortionist to use the bathroom. But, since you really didn't spend a lot of time in the room it was tolerable. All in all would highly recommend this trip.
Mark R.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Connemara
Ireland
The person who dropped off the bikes did not have the tools to adjust the handle bars, so the bikes did not fit well.
The saddle (bike seat) was the type that would be commonly found on a road bike and not on a touring bike.
The gears were not aligned correctly, so it was extremely difficult to shift gears. Sometimes, in order to shift gears, it was required to repeatedly shift the gears up and down before the bike would shift into the lower or upper gear.
Jehiel, Tour Specialist • 7 years ago Tripsite Staff
Thanks for the feedback, Mark. Our local partner has since changed bike outfitters.
Elaine C
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The scenery in the Bordeaux region was lovely, as were the people we encountered along the way. Some of the staff were extremely helpful and added to our overall enjoyment of the trip.
We thoroughly enjoyed our days of cycling, despite the many problems my husband experienced with his bicycle (locked brakes, flat tires, a pump that didn't work, loose bearings in the pedals...)
More accurate written descriptions and an updated GPS would have helped with the navigation on the our self-guided routes.
Asking for a dinner without red meat resulted in being served an omelette on more than one occasion (not a great alternative).
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable trip!
carla • 7 years ago Tripsite Staff
We agree Elaine! We're happy to say the routes, descriptions and GPS tracks have totally been redone by professionals for the 2017 season.
Marilyn P.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Koblenz to Merzig
Germany
The scenery was amazing! Crew were excellent! Food was delicious! Can't wait to go again!
Lynda C.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Amsterdam to Bruges
Netherlands, Belgium
Carla • 7 years ago Tripsite Staff
Thanks so much for your feedback.
I'm sorry you had a hard time with the bikes aboard the Fluvius.
Regarding the tour guide, we encourage all of our guests to speak up when something is not going right so we can do our best to remedy the situation immediately. We agree, during your tour that the guide was not on his best behavior and have since had to consider a replacement for him.
There has been some confusion aboard the Fluvius about the role of your tour guide. Because there are 30+ bikers aboard the Fluvius, he cannot be counted on to lead and look after all riders at all times. The guide's role is not to lead the group, but to be sure all riders get from point A to point B safely. If one rider has a flat tire or another becomes lost, it is the guide's job to "rescue" the rider.
For most boats under 30 passengers, the guide will lead and look after the bikers for the day's route. But for some bigger boats, Read More i.e. 30+ passengers, the guide's role is a bit different. You can read on the "What's Included / What's Not Included" section of the tour page the difference between the guide's role.
Brenda B.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Fluvius Amsterdam to Bruges
Netherlands, Belgium
Food and scenery fantastic! Jack, bike tour guide was rude at times. Also expected everyone to keep up with his ebike. Several women spoke to him and he got a little better and used a sweep and someone to wait at turns. I expected something a little more leisurely so could take pictures along the way. I did not expect a road race even though I could keep up. However, inspite of this, I have recommended the trip to friends as it is a wonderful experience. I do hope you retrain your bike guides to be kind.
Roberta S.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Fluvius Amsterdam to Bruges
Netherlands, Belgium
The bikes were not in excellent condition. Some needed work on them.
A guide better versed in local traditions and history would have been nice.
Leonidas R.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The guide, Scott, is a very nice person and tried extremely hard to help everyone but the maps and supplied route instructions are poor. Need a lot of work to become usable for everyone. No problem for me as I had a GPS unit with me. All of the time the routes include highways and roads. There are NO dedicated bike paths and that should be made clear on the trip description so people come in full knowledge of that issue. Such roads are likely to be unsafe for many ""first time"" riders. For that reason I would not recommend this trip to others. There are far safer bike routes in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with just as nice and memorable scenery and Read More more ""lived in"" towns with cafes and bier gardens than this tour had to offer. After the first 20 Chateaux one gets easily bored seeing another Chateaux for the next 5 days. Generally the scenery was ok but having to dodge traffic is not fun at any time. Also spending 2 or 3 nights at Cadillac at the end is really a poor location and very little to do there. This trip is not quite ready yet.
I will be riding again next year with Tripsite but we will go back to the countries mentioned above.
Jacqueline Eger
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Burgundy - Paris to Auxerre
France
We loved this trip. The captain and crew could not have been more accommodating. Due to low water levels, we started our tour a little further north of Dijon than usual and as a result were a day ahead of schedule. This prompted the Captain to make a small detour down the lovely Canal du Nivernais where we had some of the best biking of all. We were blessed with great weather and enjoyed most dinners out on the deck. And coming into Paris - who knew there was a 2km long underground canal through the city! A wonderful experience. Look forward to another trip on the Feniks in the future.
j michael Cunningham
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Paradise in Portugal
Portugal
My wife, I and two friends took this trip in September. The farmhouse was a wonderful place to stay and rooms and common areas are very comfortable. Pool and grounds are lovely. The farm's owner has a classic car collection that is an added bonus if you are able to see it. Breakfasts are excellent. The staff we dealt with --Maria, Manuela and Johanna--were beyond great. They consistently went out of their way to make sure we had the best trip possible. Bikes were well maintained and appropriate for the terrain. I have been on three self-guided bike trips in Europe and the daily directions here were excellent--the best I have seen. The only caveat I have about the trip is that the difficulty level should be moderate and not easy. Daily trips were challenging beyond an easy category. In fact, four of the five days riding instructions listed the route as a medium bike ride. Other than that a great trip and good value. I gave the trip four stars rather than five due to the difficulty level.
Jehiel • 7 years ago Tripsite Staff
Thank you for submitting this feedback. Based on your detailed feedback, we have changed the difficulty level to easy-moderate. With this tour being a based tour, there are many possible cycling routes to chose from and with varying degrees of difficulty.
Thanks again for your input. We hope to help you plan your next trip!
Gerti L.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Burgundy - Paris to Auxerre
France
This was a great bike and barge trip, although we originally had not chosen this one. Our original trip around Paris ,unfortunately was cancelled just shortly before we were supposed to leave. The staff at Tripsite was very helpful and we were able to book the Bourgogne one on the Feniks. The bike routes had to be changed a bit, due to the barge being delayed on the canal a few times. That meant a lot of riding along the canals, which made it easy riding, but not quite as interesting. However, the "plan B" as a whole turned out to be very nice and we saw many beautiful and interesting sites. The only complaint would be that there were a lot of mosquitoes, which of course is not the captain's fault. Next time I would come up with some kind of solution to put some "screens" on the windows, so we won't wake up in the morning full of mosquito bites...... Our guide was great, as was the whole crew. The cook was fantastic and we had the most wonderful meals during our tour. Good thing we did a good amount of bike riding, or we would have ended up putting on quite a few pounds.... All in all, we highly recommend this bike and barge trip.
Earl D.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
I loved the small villages. The international mixture of the group made for excellent discussion among the group. Food on the barge was excellent!
Ross D.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Sicily & the Aeolian Archipelago
Italy
The Aeolian Archipelago Trip was sold as easy/moderate and as a result there were several people that probably should not have been there. As a consequence the guide was indecisive most days how to deal with the itinerary and as a consequence kept adjusting and shortening the rides. As for my wife and I we traveled all the way from Canada to enjoy the boat, scenery and riding as a total experience.
Because of the constant changing of the daily itinerary and shortened rides we became somewhat dissatisfied with the total experience.
Jehiel • 8 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hello Ross,
Thanks for sharing this feedback. As a result, we have changed the rating and recommended the ebike option less experienced riders. We have also been in contact with our local partner to ensure the itenerary is presented in full and is followed.
I had a great time meeting you and Donna on this trip and hope to help you plan your next one!
Jan M.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic
Boat and crew were great. Biking and shore excursions were confusing. Explanations not always clear in English.
Susan W.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
La Belle Fleur Lorraine Tour
France, Germany, Luxembourg
Meals were basic, but tasty and filling. Els did a nice job of accommodating my dietary restrictions. Ample cooler filtered water was available on the boat - remember your water bottle. Lunches were packed in zip lock baggies. Bring your own insulated lunch bag / Tupperware to keep your lunch fresher.
GIANT bike were like new and well maintained. I was disappointed we could not use the bikes during the city stops that were part of the day trips or after dinner when we returned to the barge. Even though the bikes have locks, Sander and Els don't allow this to minimize theft risk. Besides my husband and I, all participants were in there mid-60s to Read More mid-70s and didn't seem to mind.
Our guide, Weiger, did an outstanding job of leading our daily tour as well as guiding us through the cities we were docked in at night. He managed the multiple languages within our group with ease. The participants on our trip were German [6], Spanish [3], Austrailian [2] and American [2-us]. By the end of the week, our group had bonded even though our shared vocabulary was easily less than 50 words!
The countryside between Thionville and Wasserbillig was very beautiful and what I had envisioned - river and hills covered with vinyards. The other days were nice paved bike trail with the river on one side and trees on the other. I could have taken a picture and convinced friends that I was still in the US Midwest. I guess that is why there are so many French and Germans in Wisconsin and Iowa! I think I would have preferred more time off of the trail and in the countryside, but perhaps if we did do that, the car traffic would cause me to have a different opinion. Certainly the cities we stopped in were old and had a quaint European feel.
Robert G.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Melody Southern Dalmatia E-Bike & Boat
Croatia
Croatia/Dalmatian Coast and islands are a beautiful vacation destination that we highly recommend. However the roads, lack of a shoulder, narrow streets, and lack of safety make it a very difficult and unnerving biking destination. Bikers need to fully understand that this area is not bike friendly.
Jehiel • 8 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Robert!
Thanks for sharing this feedback. You are right that parts of the tour the shoulder and streets can be narrow. This is very common in this part of Europe. I can assure you that we take safety very seriously and work with our local partners to provide cycling routes with your safety in mind. You will also find the terrain and difficulty rating described on this tour page. Both should be taken into consideration when evaluating this tour. Glad you had an enjoyable and safe trip!
Pat L.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Normandie Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary
The most memorable part was Day 6 Rossatz - Pochlarn was the most scenic part of the trail. Magical small villages - wish the whole route could have been like this. Most of the trail was uneventful, some of the trail was in poor shape and rough riding.
Unfortunately, there was a language barrier between the Americans and the tour guide, so instructions were not always clear, and we needed to fend for ourselves most of the time. Certain sections of map were confusing and trail was not well marked. We made it though, and enjoyed the adventure!
Beautiful cities and villages to visit - wish we would have had more time to explore! All in all very good trail ride and good trip!
Mark G.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Metz to Cochem
France, Luxembourg, Germany
Overall a great trip and experience. The Mosel exceeded my expectations.
Collaborative and friendly staff; very good chef, very good captain and crew. Host was efficient but not overly friendly. Bike tour guide was ok but not very organized.
Gloria S.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Elodie Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France
Accommodations were too small. The rest of the journey made up for lack of space. No room to put our belongings.
Jehiel • 8 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hello Gloria,
Sorry to hear the Elodie was too small in your opinion. France is known for it's narrow canals so as a result the ships have to be smaller in order to navigate the waterways. We provide information including dimensions and note "... storage space is limited in the cabins". You can find more information on the Elodie Boat Page.
Sinéad D.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Around Lake Constance
Austria, Germany, Switzerland
This was my 4th cycling holiday but this year the quality of bikes was poor, only had 7 gears, had 21 gears every other year and did not like the back pedal brake.
Most memorable part was Stein am Rhein, and also liked the fact we could stop cycling and jump into the lake whenever we wanted.
Robin V.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Sailing Home Amsterdam to Cologne
Netherlands, Germany
Fantastic dinners & wonderful guide, captain, staff!
Susan B.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Sailing Home Amsterdam to Cologne
Netherlands, Germany
Loved the Netherlands countryside. Beautiful flowers and farmland and great trails.
Also the friendly and professional staff.
Jeff E.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Discover the Dordogne-old version
France
Fantastic trip! An amazing area of France to explore by bike. The views were amazing, lots of interesting history, great food and drinks. The tour was well organized and staff were friendly and helpful.
Our only comment: it was rated as 'moderate', and ratings are averages and are relative of course, but there were sections of the route that were quite difficult, e.g. steep dirt/stone roads that we had to walk the bikes up (and we are in good condition and have done a lot of bike tripping before). Should probably note this in the description.
Jehiel • 7 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hello Jeff,
Thanks for submitting feedback for this tour. I wanted to point out in the Skill Level section above, that we mention "Terrain consists of rolling hills that may be steep at times". Also, there is an option to chose a shorter distance ride every day.
We are glad you enjoyed your trip!
D. Van Ruiten
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Along the North Sea - a Tulip Tour
Netherlands
The Hotel and Bike store did not know each other and the hotel had to look up on map where the bike store was. It would be better if upon arriving at the hotel, they could point us in the right direction immediately.
Our GPS on the bikes were a little old - very small- so it was hard to make out sometimes - if we were following the map correctly. We had to double check on our own phones a few times which gets into roaming charges.
The bikes were clean and had good tires/brakes so that was good.
Both staff at hotel and bike stores were good.
J. House
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bruges to Amsterdam
Belgium, Netherlands
Everything was A-1. I was totally surprised when our tour guide Tom managed to reunite me with my lost "zebra" luggage on a cobblestone street corner 4 days into the trip! Thanks, Tom!
K. Macwilliams
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Merlijn Magdeburg to Berlin
Germany
We had a lovely time. The barge and entire crew were wonderful. We were very disappointed with the bike guide though. She was not at all knowledgeable with her directions and we many times retraced steps on the bike. We feel we could have seen much more but her choices for stops were terrible. We would spend way too much time at a stop when we could have been seeing a lovely park nearby. Her choices for stops were not well planned out and some were just very disappointing. The captain, in our opinion should consider another guide for this trip. There is much to see in this area and easily done so on a bike. The guide was not good with directions and perhaps a bit more planning on her part would have made it a far more enjoyable trip. Berlin and the surrounding ares are beautiful and offer a wealth of history to be seen. We have taken other bike and barge trips and honestly, the guide truly is the person that makes or breaks the trip.
Jehiel • 8 years ago Tripsite Staff
Very sorry you hear you were disappointed with the guide. We will pass this information on to our local partner. Thanks again for your feedback!
All Tour Reviews by Country
Boat/Barge Reviews
- Liza Marleen
- Magellan
- Magnifique I
- Magnifique II
- Magnifique III
- Magnifique IV
- Mare fan Fryslân
- Merlijn
- Florentina
- Normandie
- Princess
- Olympia
- Panagiota
- Pape Prvi
- Primadonna
- Princesse Royal
- Prinzessin Katharina
- Romantica
- RV River Kwai
- Sailing Home
- San Snova
- Sarah
- Stella
- Sundial
- Swiss Crown
- Thalassa
- Flying Dutchman
- Vietnamese Junks
- Vita Pugna
- Vivienne
- Wending
- Zwaan
- Zwaantje
