Koblenz to Saarburg

History of medieval towns and ways of life. The boat, it's crew and it's accommodation were of a very high standard. We will do more of these combined sailing and biking trips, for sure!

Riding along the beautiful vineyards of the Mosel river, with the ease of an electric bike, knowing that all our meals and a place to stay (on the Olympia boat) for the next week was all arranged was such a wonderful experience. The boat staff and guide were all helpful and worked so hard to make sure all the guests had a great experience. The, meals were great and served with care. It was nice to be able to pack a lunch every day. The cabin was more spacious than expected. Great to have our own bathroom as well. Everything about the trip exceeded our expectations. We really enjoyed this trip!

The Sept 2025 tour on the Moselle was my third trip using Tripsite.com. The first two were on the Danube and the Po (Italy).

Love the enduring beauty and grandeur of Europe (especially its architecture and art), and, in that regard, the Moselle experience was first-rate. That said, a few minor concerns tempered my overall assessment of this latest trip.

The boat experience (aboard the MS Olympia) was generally comfortable, the staff very accommodating and the food excellent; however, a significant build-up of mould in my cabin's shower stall was a concern, as was a pervasive "machine oil" smell coming from the cabin's A/C-Heating vent. And I was disappointed that, while my experience aboard the "Vivienne" (on the Danube) and aboard the "Vita Pugna" (on the Po) featured complimentary coffee dispensing machines available to guests on a 24-hour basis, no such machine was available on the "Olympia". Save for the breakfast meal and the late-afternoon "coffee and cake" serving, any coffee requested was charged to my cabin. I'm not a big coffee drinker, but the generally cool and rainy conditions experienced on the Moselle cried out for the occasional supplementary cup of coffee . . . which I didn't welcome having to pay for! A small problem, to be sure, but irritating nonetheless.

Lastly, I was impressed with the evident knowledge and politeness of the on-board Cycling Tour Guide; however, his "minimalist" briefings (ahead of the day's cycling) were of limited value. Whereas previous trips had featured detailed and informative briefings of considerable value and interest to cyclists with no familiarity with the routes, the morning briefings on "Olympia" were bare-bones affairs that would have benefitted from a more fulsome explanation of the cycling routes, what to look out for, what sectors could be confusing and might lead one astray, etc. To be clear, there was never any danger of getting "lost" whilst cycling; however, with some parts of the route(s) being poorly signed, some additional cautionary comments and advisories would likely have helped some of the guests with their navigation of the route.

The above comments are acknowledged to be relatively inconsequential; however, I thought I'd take the time to pass them along. Overall, a good trip and one that was worth the time and expense.

Thank you!

This whole trip was unforgettable—grin-on-your-face-for-days kind of unforgettable. Cycling past vineyards and riverside villages, pedaling at an easy pace, drifting through villages with their pale stone churches, building lasting memories. And then rolling back onto the boat at day’s end to be welcomed with coffee, sweets, and later a feast shared with fellow riders. I am still grinning!

The staff aboard the boat, including Julia as tour director were excellent and attentive to every need and did everything they could to make the trip excellent. Biking through centuries-old towns and the vineyards made for great memories.

What a lovely tour. Everything was well organized, the staff great, food tasty, accommodations comfortable and the e-bikes a dream. I would highly recommend to friends and family.

The trip was amazing. The crew was very professional and friendly. They did a great job of looking after us.

This trip was amazing from start to finish. The itinerary was spectacular. Biking was easy and comfortable. We did e-bikes which helps with long rides. Food, accommodation and staff were fabulous. Would highly recommend a bike and boat tour.

The guided tour of Trier was great, as the guide explained things which you may not read about.

The Moselle River valley is one of the most beautiful river valleys in Europe. Early September is ideal. Each day had so many unique and historic sites. The towns are quaint, and many of them are very picturesque. Our weather was spectacular, which enhanced the daily cycling adventure.

The scenery while biking. The small towns we explored along the way. The staff on the boat.
The upscale dining experience each night.
The comfort, storage options, and arrangement of our cabins. The wonderful duvets on the beds. The large windows in our cabin.

Definitely the biking part was the most memorable. The scenery was incredible and I loved riding through the vineyards and small towns along the Mosel.

Vineyards and villages

Review of local cycling etiquette would have been helpful

The friends we made during the trip were the highest point of the tour. We biked and hung out for drinks at the boat deck every night. The crew eas efficient, gentle and friendly. The food was exceptional. The cabins and showers were rather small.

The Patria is a beautiful boat with highly motivated and cheerful staff so that every day is a party. The tour guide was very helpful and focused on making your holiday a successful one. The route is picturesque and beautiful, beautiful villages like Saarburg, Traben Trarbach, Beilstein, Trier. Places where you can drink your tea and eat the traditional cakes and have a beautiful view over the Mosel, those are the most precious moments. We have now done this tour for the second time, every day has his nice spots to see en enjoy of the river. We are already thinking about doing it again when the autumn colors are there. This is one of our favorite tours.

This September my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed taking this tour for the second time (first April 2015). After taking 7 Tripsite tours this still remains our favorite due to the consistantly beautiful countrysides, lovely interesting villages, quality bike paths, and fantastic experience aboard the Patria. Not only are the port towns excellent, there are many wonderful places to investigate and enjoy along the ride every single day. We like it so much we plan to do it again in the future a bit later in fall to catch some color on route. Having taken both directions now our personal preference is Koblenz to Saarburg. We enjoy the northern villages with a hike to Berg Eltz most and feel the current routes are set up to enjoy this most fully coming from that direction. If your concern is avoiding inclines the south to north direction is your best bet since that is actually downriver. The southern villages are still outstanding, you just see more Roman influence mixed with the Bavarian half timber.

The ability to cycle along the countryside, enjoying a peek around the many small villages/towns, and be exposed to the 'day to day' observation of locals e.g. harvesting wine, picking walnuts, walking paths. The scenery along the Mosel River was absolutely stunning.

Our bike and barge was changed two weeks prior to leaving - that was hard - had to change plans and do a different barge trip
This was our second trip with Trip Site (which we really enjoyed the first time). This one was hard because of the change BUT
we did enjoy the Patria and did enjoy cycling down the Mosel river. Dagmar was a great tour guide. The younger staff were very pleasant but
Smoking outside the doors where we entered was not too pleasing.
Even with the changes - we had a good trip and hopefully will book again with TripSite.