Loire Valley Bike & Boat

We loved the guided bike rides, fabulous scenery and an organized attentive guide, thanks Dick.
The food was amazing and plentiful. We were very well looked after by our chef, Lucie.
We were lucky to have a small group, which meant we were individually well looked after by the crew of 4. Thanks also to our experienced Captain, Chiel and Joanna who ensured all our needs were met.

I had a good time but I think a lot could have been done better. I was concerned about the health and safety of those participating, including the guide. The weather during the tour was very hot, yet the guide said there was no heat protocol in the company. I worry about the next group that would have been cycling in +40 C temperatures. There was a bit of discussion every evening about the heat and consequent route modifications, and everyone was offered an e-bike because of it, but the young people in the group (and some of the older ones) mostly wanted to take the preestablished route. That meant that I spent half of the trip on the boat. Why wasn't there a system where the cyclists could leave considerably earlier to avoid the afternoon heat? There were various arguments given why this couldn't happen, but none of them seemed very convincing. On one day it took the barge a long time to get to the destination, so the argument was that we'd be waiting at the other end in the heat for the boat. But from a health perspective, waiting in the shade for the boat would have been safer than cycling through the very hot afternoons. Other days the boat got to the next destination early. We could have done our circuit and gotten back to it early.

The company should have had systems in place to deal with the heat. The only one they offered was an e-bike (I had already paid to hire one, so this wasn't a modification for me). The tour guide was a nice guy but his favourite expression seemed to be 'what can you do?'. I would have much preferred someone who took charge, recognised the dangers, and was more forward in suggesting modifications. Overall I felt quite unsafe.

As an example of feeling unsafe, on one day I was left behind by the group because I faced a large deal of traffic. Even the 'sweep' went ahead of me. Eventually the sweep saw me and waited, but we had lost the group. I was amazed that the sweep didn't have the phone number of the guide or the ship. Why wasn't it mandatory that we all write this down/create a contact, before we embarked on the first day. The tour guide said his number had been on the board since the beginning, but had never urged us to write it down. It would have been such a simple thing to do.

There was also poor route planning. On one day the route took us up a very steep potholed path (to the Sancerre village), and three cyclists came off their bikes, each with considerable bruises and cuts. My friend was one of them. The tour guide washed her wound at the top, but wasn't aware of the catastrophe on the route till we all pushed our bikes to the top. He was quite hard of hearing, so I'm not sure if he didn't hear from others what had happened or was himself too exhausted to descend to give help. On this matter, he wasn't young, and I worried for his health having to ride in the very punishing heat too.  SHOW MORE 

The crew were fantastic, the early weather ...not so much. I look forward to the booking another sometime in the future

The group dynamic and the excellent stewardship of our knowledgeable, enthusiastic and amiable cycling guide, Roseanna! The rides were exhilarating and the sights beautiful with rich history!

Touring the Abby that is being restored. It was amazing! The fishing lodge/castle was very cool, too. The guide and barge staff were great and went out of their way to make us comfortable. The reason I gave it only 4 stars is we rode on busy roads more than I was expecting and more than I like to. But, we saw a lot more by leaving the canel trail. So, everything is a tradeoff. The canel path was dull after a day or so. I didn't see any areas that were being restored, like I see along bike trails here. That was disappointing, but probably something most people wouldn't notice. The fod was very good, at times, excellent. The guests were all very nice and extremely good natured about the rain we had almost every day. Overall, it was quite enjoyable.

Having experienced and enjoyed bike and barge vacations for over 10 years, I can say, without a doubt, that the Clair the de Lune's crew were the most attentive, professional, and charismatic. Like most, we select our tours based on destination, daily tour activity, and pleasant docking locations. Those factors are easily researched. The wild cards are often the barge condition, crew personality, and of course, the dining experience. Marco resolved all those concerns by keeping an impeccable barge, bringing on chef Jenny, housekeeper Catalina and tour guide Dick. Our rooms were clean and include both heat and A/C. The dining was inventive and locally sourced. Daily tours were perfectly planned and well managed to optimize our group members. The adage that you must sacrifice amenities if you choose smaller comfort barges over the larger boats did not hold up. We had uncooperative weather (they dried our clothes), flat tire, chain issues (rapidly addressed), difficulties getting to the Briare train (they loaded up personal vehicles and drove their bikes to ensure our timely departures). Bravo Clare de Lune!

The staff—Marco, Dick, Jenn, and Catalina—were wonderful, professional, knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly! The trip through the French countryside was awesome! The Clair de Lune Barge was comfortable, and clean! The food was delicious! It was a marvelous journey!

We had a wonderful week on the Clair de Lune. The barge is small and the cabins tiny but when we went through the locks with less than an inch to spare, the width was understandable. The captain, Marco, was delightful. He spent time with us every evening and improved the quality of our trip with his presence. Dick, our guide, has excellent and has a great sense of humour!
Food was good. Highlights included visiting the Abbey de Fontmorigny and meeting its owner, Dominique, and visiting le Château de Meauce. A special experience was being taken inside the private and beautifully renovated living space of Cèdric & Séverine Mignon! The crew adapted well the the changes necessitated by damage to the canal near Briare. The bike paths as well designed and maintained and I felt very safe travelling on them. I’d highly recommend this type of a holiday.

The boat was smaller than the others I have been on for other bike trips but the crew was great!! Very friendly and helpful. Dick our guide was the BEST! THEeals were very good too

Most memorable: Crossing the Briare Aqueduct was awsome. The barge, Clare de Lune, and the captain, chef, crew, and tour guide made our trip most enjoyable.

First day as we cycled to Sancerre it was a trip of high hills, made manageable with ebikes. The views were spectacular! Visits to two chateaus were memorable.

Annita is a great tour guide! She made special arrangements to get us into chateau that weren't open when we were in the area. Most of the small towns we went through on our rides were closed up during the hours we were there (12-2) making it a challenge to find points of interest beyond the scenery. We did go to a lovely Goat Cheese Shop and did a great cheese tasting. It would be good to add a wine tasting in Sanserre to the itinerary of this trip.

The staff on the Clair de Lune were fantastic, funny and hard working. The food was beautifully prepared, nutritious and delicious. I enjoyed the visit to goat cheese farm, moving through the locks, exploring beautiful old towns and traveling in a bridge canal over the Loire River. A couple of days were less interesting. Don’t forget your rain jacket.