4 Star Ave Maria boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 35
Cheryl W.
7 days ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
The staff was amazing, so friendly and very helpful. It was nice to see how they all worked so closely. The food was amazing. Great job.
Richard C.
5 months ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
My favorite part of the trip was touring Montova. This was our 3rd bike barge trip and I'm sorry to say that the scenery we saw while riding 3 of the 5 days was a bit disappointing. The barge and the food was the best of the 3 trips. We also rode a little too much along some busy roads without much of a shoulder.
Martin (Marty) H.
6 months ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
There were several very memorable moments on this trip! Our guide, Hein and his wife Margolien were outstanding with their historical knowledge about every town we toured. That was an added benefit of which I had not expected. They were extremely passionate in sharing their information with everyone which made it so interesting. Another highlight for us was just the sheer beauty that surrounded us on the trails we traversed to each of our destinations. My wife and I are not really bikers but enjoy staying physically fit. She questioned whether she could do the mileage each day. The trails and picturesque views through the countryside took your mind off anything other than just appreciating God’s creation so you were never aware of whether you rode 10 miles or twenty. I could probably go on but will end my remarks with the view we were able to get of Venice as we pulled up to our mooring site on Pellistrina Thursday evening. What an experience. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys biking or just being outdoors. We would definitely do it again but maybe choose a little more difficult ride!!
Johanne P.
6 months ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
The time spent touring around
Venice and the food on the boat!
Umberto M.
6 months ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
The attention of de guides for sure.
The food was so good too
About of the begining of the travel, when we were buying our trip we didn’t have a good help.
Carla • 5 months ago Tripsite Staff
Dear Umberto,
Thank you for your feedback! I am sorry to hear you did not have good help when you were buying the trip. Unfortunately we had a staff member that did not meet our expectations of customer service. She is no longer with us and I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Frank C.
9 months ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
This was our second Bike & Barge trip. If you are thinking about it, do it! Both trips were with a group of friends. We had a wonderful time together with the crew. I'd recommend going with a group of friends or family. This trip required longer distances which at times were a bit exhausting but much of that had to do with our pace and the weather. Most of the biking on this trip is in the countryside, not many towns to see. Arriving in Venice on the boat was incredible and a great way to end our trip spending two nights and a day in the city.
Karen U.
10 months ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
An opportunity to see and bike the less traveled. The barge moored in quiet off the beaten path places - but each had something to offer. The crew on AveMaria was amazing, worked well together, made our travels very comfortable and the chefs were top notch. It would have been nice if half way through the trip the bed linens were changed out. We appreciated access to the wonderful cappuccino maker and access to chilled drinking water (both still and bubble). It would be helpful to include that guests should bring along their own water bottle. It was a very memorable adventure.
James B.
11 months ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
The times together with others. Dinner, riding etc.
Bernard D.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
The accommodations on board , the food, and the staff were excellent.
Elizabeth J.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy
The dolomites were incredibly beautiful. The food aboard was the best we’ve had!
Scenery from Mantova to Venice was agricultural for the most part. A broad mix of surfaces to ride on and some detours on the self guided which could be confusing.
Gary M.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Not to overlook the moderate exercise we got on bikes everyday, which was helpful because the delicious food our crew served was difficult to turn down. I would have Read More preferred longer distances, but the biking was as advertised: easy.
A couple of tips: take precautions to protect yourself from Covid. If you choose a water taxi to get you around Venice, ask the boat driver when reserving your ride, and again before you board the boat, what the fare is; the cost tends to inflate when it comes time to pay the bill. And ask your tour guide to reserve tickets in advance to see the interior of San Marco Basilica and the Doge's Palace in Venice. I didn't do this and was unwilling to wait in a long line to get in, so I missed both. But we did see a number of other unbelievable churches from the Rennaissance era all week in Verona, Mantova and Venice.
Barb • 9 months ago
Thanks for the great advice about the water taxi and reserving tickets for San Marco Basilica and the Doge's Palace. Do you think the tour guides on the Ave Maria would be able to reserve those tickets once we are there on the boat, or is there another way you would suggest?
Also, I wonder if you have a recommendation for how to get from the airport to the boat? Thank you very much. Barb :)
Ward A.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Crew was amazing. Everyone helpful. 30 person biking too big. Suggest it be split into 2 15 person groups.
Linda N.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Margaret Jay B.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Lovely route, wonderful guides, comfortable accommodations. Absolutely superb food!
Bring your own water bottle - despite the tripsite literature, one is not provided
Nancy P.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
The food on the trip was excellent. We enjoyed the local fare, the wine pairings from the various regions .
The crew work very hard to deliver a positive experience . Helmut was a great guide offering lots of information about the different places we stopped at. We loved the cheese factory tour and tasting
Laurie H.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
What a wonderful mix of larger cities and small villages and towns that we would never have been able to locate on our own . An opportunity to enjoy both Venice and all its treasures while staying on the barge in beautiful, quiet Giudecca with it's charm of churches and artisan craftmanship . The biking along the Po River nature reserve was beautiful and a reminder of how important it is to care for our environment. Mantova along with other stops were charming with guides who shared their expertise of cities. The guides and staff on the Ava Maria did an admirable job of following the itinerary and keeping everyone safe, The chefs and dining staff served Italian local dinners that were the best I have eaten and a breakfast that appealed to all. Despite Italy being in a heat wave we were still able to enjoy the beauty of Italy.
Maria F.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy
Wonderful trip cycling. The Ave Maria crew were friendly, helpful, and clearly worked well as a team. The bikes were well maintained and rode smoothly.
Some communication with the TripSite org (most notably the portion before the Barge part of the trip) could have been better but overall it was a fun and enjoyable adventure.
Robin P.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy
I most enjoyed the first three rides of the tour from Bolzano to Mantova, the scenery was amazing.
Iris Raiman • 7 months ago
How hilly was the ride on the first three days from Bolzano to Mantova? would you reccomend an e-bike for those days? I do bike and can do rolling hills.
JV • 7 months ago Tripsite Staff
This is not a crazy hilly ride. E-bikes make it easier but if you are comfortable with rolling hills you should be just fine.
Tracy R.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Enjoyed everyone on the boat, great staff and food. Good bikes, some of the paths and roads were a bit on the rough side.
Cynthia A K.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Scenery riding on the bike. Sunrise and sunset. The staff were amazing and the food delicious. The staff went above and beyond to handle special requests.
Disappointed the AC didn’t work and the room was between 75-77 F at all times. The WiFi rarely worked. The staff did get fans for some of the rooms. With the rooms being so hot and no option to have laundry done other than in the sink, things took days to dry.
Thirty people riding as one group is too many.
Ruth B.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Overall, the scenery was pretty-perhaps a trip in the summer would have been more brilliant. I would suggest bringing your own helmet or the boat supply appropriate helmets.
Tina C.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
I truly enjoyed this tour that included daily rides through the picturesque Italian countryside. Each day we biked through a variety of landscapes, stopping in small towns along the way for cappuccino breaks, lunch and local tours. The bike tour staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. The boat crew was equally as wonderful, preparing wonderful meals each evening and serving them with a smile. Everyone bent over backwards to make this a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
As for suggestions, I think the last leg from Pellestrina Island to Venice could be improved. The morning was wasted in a small town that was not really open for business. Why not take an earlier Ferry to Lido and spend more time there before heading to Venice?
Rachel F.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy
The best part was the first three days self-guided tour near the Dolomites on our 10 day tour.
Terry W.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy
As professional as the staff were and as delicious the food, the most memorable part of the trip was interacting with fellow travelers. Since the boat can only berth around 40, I was able to get to know almost everyone and learn about their countries and personal histories.
Douglas Y.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Our bike and barge from Venice was fantastic. The villages were quaint and the opportunity to swim in the Adriatic Sea was a great way to cool down and relax. Our trip aboard the Ave Maria was wonderful. Captain Connie, Enrico, Giuliano, Silvia and Helmut made our trip to be quite memorable! Giuliano and Silvia made fabulous gourmet dinners for us. Our only complaint would be that there were periods of riding on dikes/floodbanks but all the stops along the way were very interesting and full of character. The visit to a Grana Padano cheese plant was followed by a wine and cheese picnic and our ending destination, Mantua was beautifully surrounded by 3 lakes. We would definitely recommend this trip!
Paula K.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy
We loved the varied scenery and warm and friendly Italian people.
The hotel accommodations were very comfortable and more than adequate. We would have been satisfied with a less luxurious hotel in Trento. We would have liked to explore the town and find a different restaurant, but there was no time. That is one of the drawbacks of cycling so many miles between towns; not enough time to explore.
The Ave Maria and the entire crew were first rate. We want to particularly thank our tirelessly helpful and fun-loving guides, Marinella and Stephania. In addition, the food was artfully created and inspired.
Our one complaint is about the poorly written instructions on the 3-day, self-guided part of the trip, which sometimes caused stress. The instructions were not only terribly written, we also had different editions of instructions among our group of 12. The most exasperating time was at Riva del Garda when we cycled back and forth through the town at least 3 times, looking for the correct ferry dock, after asking and being misled several times.
Jehiel from Tripsite • 6 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Paula,
We have shared your feedback with our local partner and they are reviewing the written instructions for the tour. I should also mention there are GPS tracks that can be requested for this tour, which definitely helps ease the stress of navigating on your own.
Glad you had a great trip otherwise!
Anne S.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy
We loved the beautiful, amazing mountain scenery (with very few hills) of the first three days. The written instructions, though, are of a badness difficult to describe. We rated the tour 4/5, and the lost star were because of the extremely poor instructions. If we hadn't had maps and stickers on sign posts, we wouldn't have been able to make it through. The frustration really distracted from the overall enjoyment of the trip - an English speaker with an accurate odometer really needs to rewrite the directions. For example, they talked about "crossing a railway" (or maybe a "railway bridge"), so we spent about 20 minutes trying to find a way to cross the railway - but really it meant to pass underneath an elevated railway crossing. Also, the symbol used to indicate a warning (I think of a turn easy to miss) is a hand pointing to the right. One not unnaturally assumes that this means a right turn. It does not.
Otherwise the barge, scenery, activities, food, and guides are all exactly what we hoped for and have experienced on earlier trips. No problems with luggage transfers, and the hotels for the first part of the trip were all great.
Rochelle R.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Most Memorable Part: Venice in the rain at midnight! Excellent food, great staff and guides.
Kristie J.
7 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova
Italy
Most memorable: The scenery in Venice, Lodi and Chiogga.
Judith S.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Ave Maria Bolzano-Mantova-Venice
Italy
The guide, Hein, was very knowledgeable, entertaining and helpful. A real asset to the trip.
Food on the Ava Maria was the best! Loved the three days from Bolzano through the mountains.
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