Vivienne

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

i loved biking through the country side and small towns. We would stop for ice cream and even visited a winery. It was nice having the guide, didn't have to think about where we had to go each day. Visiting all of the towns along the way tasting their food and beer and shopping in the small shops was fun. The boat had a good vibe and relaxing atmosphere.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The service, food and the beautiful boat. It was a wonderful trip.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

We had a wonderful time aboard the MS Vivienne for this tour. The cabin was quiet and comfortable, no movement from the water. The food and staff aboard were wonderful. The cycling was beautiful, we got to visit several historic cities and we met some very nice people. We would definitely sign up for another bike and boat tour like this!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

This is an excellent bike and barge. The Vivienne was a beautiful boat with excellent staff. The schedule is well laid out, allowed time to enjoy the biking and scenery. The navigation app worked really well but take a phone holder for your bike so you can see the map. I have Bluetooth hearing aids so the directions were also provided by audio which was very helpful. That city bus tours were ok, if you are a city traveller you could have navigated both Budapest and Vienna on your own.
The cruise director has lots of information and will answer your questions…. If in doubt ask questions.
The food was amazing … you will not go hungry.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Liked the disco night. The fourth ride was beautiful.
Meals were also good and super service.
My e-bike was too heavy for me- suggest a more compact and less heavy bike for smaller women. Also, we had wanted to book a guide for the 9 of us and there were only 2 on this boat. We would have enjoyed having one to eliminate getting lost and also helping us find fun locations to stop enroute. We did this on our Italian trip and it made a large difference to our enjoyment.
Your staff are very helpful and pleasant. Well done overall.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The scenery on this tour was amazing. The Danube River valley is quite picturesque! The bike trails were awesome.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Staff was amazing, wanted to help and please you al the time. Food was good. Meat portions could have been a bit bigger since we need lot’s of protein to bike. We need non guided and I would not do that again, missed the knowledge of the area that a guide provides.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

I would strongly recommend taking the guided tour as opposed to non guided. The app to use is very average and doesn’t give you any information along the ride.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Our group truly enjoyed the week on the Vivienne. The bike trails were well maintained and routes well marked which enabled us to enjoy the amazing scenery each day. The staff on Vivienne was incredible.
Two complaints were the e-bikes were very heavy
and there were no water bottle holders on the regular bikes.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Boat was nicely appointed and good clean cabins. A small gym room with some weights would be a nice addition Tomas was a superb guide. A great balance between local knowledge and keeping 18 riders moving at a comfortable pace. Leslie , the cruise director was always available and worked hard to keep us informed for the next day and volunteer ice packs when needed! Even a restocked bottle of our favourite gin was procured when the bar ran out! Crew were excellent; bikes were always on shore or back on the boat as needed. Service at meals and bar were first class. Bratislava was the most interesting city tour; being the place where the iron curtain came down. Budapest night walking tour was spectacular. We found the e-bikes to be very heavy and a 30 minute familiarisation on day one would have beeen good. 95% of the meals were good. Certainly the most scenic and interesting cycling that we have ever done. Total was about 205km in the week. Take care on the 2km long bridge on the second day. It’s a very narrow cycling track; best walked if comprised by height and traffic noise! Overall, we thoroughly recommend this tour.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Biking the Wachou valley, outside Vienna. It was an incredible ride, with great places to stop along the way. The trip was great, the crew handled all those bikes great. Would have liked more time in some of the cities, and more diet options.
But, that’s being kinda picky, it was a great trip and would recommend.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The bike riding, the staff, the food and the new friends we met during the week were all amazing. The last ride from Krems to Melk was absolutely breathtaking! I literally cannot stop smiling!
Tip: expect to take some wrong turns, just enjoy the ride.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

This tour exceeded my expectations. I loved the variety of biking along the Danube River and through vineyards and beautiful small towns, and free days to explore some larger cities by foot, bike or bus. Having one home base was perfect & our cabin was very comfortable.

I recommend that you view the trip as a sampling of the beautiful areas and not expect that you will be able to thoroughly tour many of the landmarks.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

We opted for a guide, Tomas, who was wonderful, leading the way and giving us a great experience. Leslie, the cruise director, was good as well. He had lots of tips and his almost daily talks were full of humor and good advice. The ship staff was also terrific, making us feel at home and providing great service. The e-bikes were not the best, very heavy and a bit unwieldy ( I ride an ebike at home so I am quite familiar with them). Otherwise a fabulous trip and I would highly recommend!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Excellent organization and service.
Enjoyable cycling routes and good information.
The facilities on board the ship and the staff’s attitude are exemplary.
Very good guides on the city tours.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The room on the boat was lovely and the food was very good. We did a guided tour and I felt our guide was inexperienced She did not have many safety measures that I have had on previous bike trips. i.e a sweep and ensuring everyone is ready to go before taking off. Also would have been better to be able to visit some cultural places like the Abbey, museums or churches. We were not given anytime on our rides to do this. The highlights was the wine region and wine tasting.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Our guide for biking was not very good. We have taken 3 other bike trips and the guide on them were far superior.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Meeting new friends

Tour Guide was not well trained and did not highlight the sights.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The last day of biking was the most beautiful! I would recommend to bring along a mirror for your bike.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

We had such a great time on our trip & thank Leslie for his leadership & organization to make it fantastic! We had a junior suite as we booked early & it was perfect! The food was very good, the ship very clean and all the staff were friendly & helpful.

The only 2 suggestions would be:
1 - the bike app needs to be upgraded or tweeked as people were having trouble downloading & our phones were dying to quick using the app. Also, everyone should get one for free.

2- please put water bottle holders on the bikes! I drink a lot of water & find it hard to put in blue holder & the water kept leaking (on my phone!)
Also, a nice touch would be souvenir water bottles from the boat owners :)

All in all, a super trip! Thank you

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Replace tour director “Leslie” he talked to everyone as if they’re children

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Experiencing the sights while riding a bike is magical. Forest, farms, charming small towns, stunning cities, and castles galore. Loved meeting new people. Loved being on the water and enjoying the scenery gliding by. And the food, wow!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The crew was extremely helpful and always available to help.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Fantastic active vacation with beautiful rides. Incredible delicious and healthy food. Fun activities on board and options for additional tours were good. Highly recommended.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The ride along the Danube was spectacular! Especially the last day from Krems to Pöchlarn. Some of us opted to go for city bike tours in Budapest and Vienna. I found Vienna to be especially crowded and wouldn't do that ride again. Nevertheless, our guide was very knowledgeable and interesting.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The beautiful scenes while biking along the Danube. We would of liked to have a longer trip in order to spend more time in the cities.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The beauty of the old towns, villages and cities we rode and cruised through was breathtaking. The fact that two weeks prior to our arrival the Danube flooded most of our routes and was already cleared was inspiring. The accommodations on the Vivienne were excellent and we were very well fed! The crew were excellent and very accommodating to our needs. The bikes met our needs and beyond (they survived riding through mud and flood waters).

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

We did a bike/barge tour several years ago in the Netherlands on a small 20 guest boat so we weren’t sure what to expect on a larger ship. We loved the ship and the larger group wasn’t a problem. We had some special dietary needs which the crew handled seamlessly. Our room was pleasant and comfortable. The crew had our bikes ready to go in the morning and reloaded on the ship after we completed out ride. The rides were beautiful. We enjoying cycling through villages, natural areas and the wine region. A lovely special trip!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Great trip! Despite flooding on the Danube that did not allow us to dock at some locations, we got to all advertised locations. The bike ride through the Austrian vineyards was absolutely stunning!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Unfortunately, flooding on the Danube prevented our trip from proceeding past Vienna. Having said that our group still had a good time together. The staff was accommodating and we appreciated all their efforts during an unexpected trip. Communication regarding trip changes, transportation and day-to-day activities could have been much better. Our tour guide was lacking some finesse in these areas.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The Vivienne is a superb boat with comfortable rooms, excellent meals, amazing staff - from Captain Igor to hotel manager Margot to program director Leslie to restaurant manager Najeh to our wonderful server Nidhal and all the crew who carried bikes, took care of rooms, reception, bar and the like. Everything ran so smoothly. Party events were memorable and fun. The Danube cycling beautiful, as were the cities and towns we visited with so many historic sites. We would recommend this trip and this boat to everyone!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Rating this tour is challenging in a way due the the fact we were there during the worst weather condition's in that part of Europe in years. The Danube rising at unprecedented levels along with flooding. I'm sure you are well aware of all of this. The Vivienne crew and Leslie the tour director did an amazing job of keeping all of us on board safe and making every attempt to help us to continue to have the best possible experience we could given the horrendous conditions.
While we missed out on a lot of cycling and seeing and experiencing this part of Europe, we were very fortunate to be able to do what we could, given the conditions.
Again, Chapeau to Leslie and the crew of the Vivienne!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Loved it! We went as a couple and met wonderful people. Two things to suggest
1. Better app navigation
2. Lighter e-bikes ( other companies like VBT and backroads have lighter, safer bikes

Staff couldn’t be nicer and we had a flood emergency which was handled professionally and compassionately

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

.The trip was well managed by Lesley.He was great. The boat staff were not very helpful so that was a bit frustrating at times.Food was good. Lots of activites. Biking was fabulous.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The bikes, the ship, the crew and the food! All were fantastic! We definitely feel that our experience aboard the Vivienne was a value commensurate with the cost. The upgrade to a Superior room was worth that little extra cost as the views were beautiful. The bikes were in great repair, the e-bike controls were easy. None stop scenery as we rolled through woods, urban roads, country trails and picturesque towns. Even the weather did not disrupt our enjoyment as Captain Igor and all crew worked to keep us safe and entertained during three days of nonstop rain and 30-year record flooding on the river. We have great stories to share!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Leslie our Cruise Director was Great! We were lucky to meet a lot of new people. All the people working on the boat were wonderful and did a phenomenal job! From the Food to the cleanliness of the boat! Loved Disco night!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The whole experience was wonderful ! The boat, service , food and rides. The
Programming was so fun and the rides were incredible. Rented and ebike which I
Was happy with. I was able to enjoy it all stess free

The only recommendation I would
Have is to have mirrors on bike

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Having dinner at Fisherman’s Bastion overlooking Budapest at night was just magical. Also, our first day ride at Danube Bend was a fantasic experience with the bike road along the Danube and the little bike ferries we used (and the Schapps wasn’t bad either!). All in all, great ship, great bikes, great time!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Our favorite parts of the trip was the day in Budapest and also the last day of riding. The scenery and stops were all beautiful.
While the daily itinerary sessions with the cruise director were well done and informative the timing should be rotated between the different language groups. The other group was larger and therefore always ran longer than planned.
We found the bikes to be of good quality but you may need another crew member to service them after each ride. We pointed out that there was an issue with my wife’s bike but on the next ride the front brake was still rubbing. Also another member of our group’s chain was quite noisy. Still dealing with these bikes is a massive job and I give the crew full credit.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The route was amazing and the guides were great. The food was average at best. Folks were assigned a table for dinner. Despite that, the waiters still had to ask everyone whether they had ordered the fish or the chicken. Folks should have been able to sit with whomever they wanted to. Being stuck with someone who was a pompous ass for a week is ridiculous when the waiters can't even get who ordered what correct anyway.

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The beauty of the cycling route and the relaxed yet active daily schedule

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

Leslie, the cruise director made this trip the best one I’ve ever experienced!!!!

  Vivienne Along the Danube - Four Country Tour
Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary

The most memorable part of our trip was the ability of the cruise director and crew to adapt to the high waters of the Danube. It was a wonderful trip; the bike rides we did were all enjoyable, even when many of them were ended by flooded back paths or required unexpected detours. The food was great!