4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 1278

The scenery and ease of biking through the Netherlands were wonderful. I loved cycling past windmills, canals and wildlife. I loved cycling through marshes and small towns and cities. I loved experiencing bike ferries and bike parking garages.
The tour guides were fun and very helpful. The boat crew was also helpful and worked hard to help us in any way they could. The food was good and the boat was clean and very comfortable.

This is the second trip on the Danube we have done. The first was in 2019. The rest days were nice as we had the opportunity to explore some of the cities we didn't have time for the last trip. The weather was outstanding, actually quite warm which unfortunately exposed a weakness in the ships air conditioning. It was quite warm in the bar for the briefings and in the dining room as well. We didn't find the briefing sessions as informative as in past trips, partly because the guide's English was not easy to understand. Some PPT presentations would have helped. As usual the staff was very helpful and professional. The entertainment night was a hit.

Biking through the national tune forest was the best part for me. But it was all lovely. Except for the discrepancies between the written map and the GPS phone map it was very nice. The food was plentiful.

Riding next to the North Sea and the inland lakes, riding across the storm surge protectors, and our fellow travelers.

We were a group of 4 friends doing a bike barge for the first time. Wisely we were offered a good deal and coaching for electric assist bikes and that did help make for an enjoyable experience. We also opted for suites and those were excellent. Such efficient bathrooms and plenty of storage. Nice decor and lighting. Internet spotting so used my phone as a hot spot.
Our one trip leader was extremely helpful - especially in guiding us thru some tricky parts of the route. The other was delightful in her presentations, but was a bit hard to understand and seemed to leave out some crucial information - especially on what routes or areas were very crowded for biking. My partner opted out of riding a few days because the 2nd day was so difficult for him. I found as we went along our skills increased and we understood the navigation better. I also was able to Google the bike computer to learn more about its operation and how to connect it to the map mileage. That was not explained in the beginning.
The crew: Not nearly as friendly as I had expected. They did seem to warm up to a large group of party girls by the end and maybe us too, but smiles and friendly greetings were lacking except for 1 or 2. My partner and I had come from the Cotswalds prior and everyone was just extremely friendly and helpful - so that made the contrast more evident. It just shows when people don't love their jobs.
I had also expected to meet more passengers, but that was a bit of a hurdle because of the different languages. I was glad we had a group of 4.
We were blessed with some great (but hot) weather and overall had a wonderful experience. Food was good and deserts were great. If done again we would pay more attention to not biking in cities if possible.

Memorable points or cities were: Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine tasting . After lunch at the very good Aubergue de Tavel restaurant; memorable cities like Gordes, Venasque (in this hilltop town we had lunch at Les Reparts with a wonderful view); Roussilon the orange and yellow city and to close the trip with the feeling of visiting incredible places, Le Baux-de-Provence. In this town you need to leave the bike aside and walk around it, understanding the history that took place there. The whole way to get to Le Baux is beautiful, as is the return to Saint Remy.

We had an excellent on-barge experience. The crew—Didier, Omar, and Sara—were fantastic. Our captain, Didier, a fifth-generation (!) barge captain, was delightful and engaging. Omar anticipated every passenger's need, whether spoken or unspoken. Sara was an inventive chef who brought fantastic energy to the boat; her nightly descriptions of the menu made every meal feel like "dinner and a show."

Additionally, we were lucky to have an exceptional group of passengers. Our four-person group from Boston clicked immediately with the travelers from Canada and Florida. In addition to enjoying our time with them on the barge, we collaborated well during our rides to ensure everyone stayed safe, which truly enhanced the trip.

While our experience with the tour guide—an experienced biker but not a natural tour leader—was less positive, it was not enough to dampen our overall enthusiasm for the journey.

Swimming off boat, only offered once and would have like to do it daily.. great way to break ice and get to know folks.

Despite the chilly weather in mid-May 2026, my partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our cycling trip, a first for us. The scenery was beautiful and varied, as the river is often winding. The accommodations were very good, although sometimes the rooms were a bit small for a 4-star hotel.
We opted for electric bikes, which was a good idea. However, they were quite heavy to handle. We also would have appreciated instructions on how to lock the bikes together and how to remove the battery to charge it in the room, as one hotel didn't have an electrical outlet in its garage. The Pedalo app, which served as our guide, was truly amazing; it's very well designed. However, the route really needs adjusting when there are detours that last for months due to major construction. The signs on the ground were difficult to find.
That said, we would be happy to repeat a similar experience with TripSite.

Enjoyed the trip. Last 3 days were the most scenic rides. Tripsite and the local tour operator were easy to deal with.
My only suggestion is to make the downloadable maps available for offline use sooner. The first maps did not correspond to our itinerary and were confusing. When we finally got the right maps it was right before the trip started making it difficult for many in the group.

The beautiful scenery,quietness of the nice small towns and the countryside's beautiful landscape visiting nice protected areas such as parks was enjoyable . The houses in the small towns are all well kept and clean. The free time given to us. The tour guides were great and knew the area very well.
They were able to give great information at the briefing sessions every evenings to all participants in regards of the following day tour. My wife and I were very much satisfied in regards of the quality of the bikes.

Out cycle guide was excellent! We were less satisfied with the Arosa Stella. Promised free internet was not provided and paid internet was poor. Some issues with no AC in rooms, and intermitent hot water. Food was good but were expecting more local French meal options. The food was very German, probably because of large Swiss German and German numbers on the boat. Just seemed to be less of a Provence France experience with very German buffets.

Biking the wonderful trails along the Danube. The quality of the e-bikes was superb. breakfast was always great. Plenty of variety. Dinner was 3-4 stars. Fish was the most consistent as far as preparation and flavor. I did like the option of ordering more or less quantity. I didn’t appreciate being charged for water - especially when dining. Overload of information prior to next days ride. KISS. ALL IN ALL AN ENJOYABLE VACATION.

I did the self-guided pre trip, Bolzano to Mantova, the mountains and landscape are incredibly beautiful. Loved visiting places I had never been, i.e., Trento is lovely. The meal prepared by the chefs on the Ave Marie were amazing, better than other barge trips I've taken.
On the downside, I was a solo traveler so I was assigned single hotel rooms, and my room at the Magdalena in Bolzano was the size of a closet with a single shorter than average twin sized bed. But I booked and paid for a double on the barge portion of the trip. The same one time trip cost as couples paid. I should not have been penalized for being a solo traveler since I paid the same amount as couples.
The only other feedback is related to the group size. There were 25 or more of us on bikes. It's like herding cats, plus we overwhelmed the local coffee shops and cafes when made scheduled stops.

The scenery was spectacular and there is so much history to hear about and experience

Beautiful cities, villages and swans along the Danube. Made a lot new friends, especially our three Denmark table mates at table7. We might visit each other in the future.

The IRIS barge was great as was the crew. Couldn’t have been more supportive or helpful. I would Not call this a tulip tour-almost all tulips were dead headed. Tulip tours need to end two weeks prior to our tour. We did not see the massive fields of tulips, we did not ride along roads filled town tulips - we were post season.

Nice enjoyable trip. The crew was knowledgable, friendly and helpful. Beautiful sites to see. Con's... BRING YOUR OWN WATER! you get one .5 L bottle a day for free, and free water with breakfast. Make sure and don't go cheap with a lower level cabin. The room was very warm and their air conditioner didn't really work. It would have been ok to be upstairs where you could open a window and get fresh air.

I have participated in several small group tours and for me, it's always about the people and friendships you make. As for a highlight, the landscape is breathtaking every single day. Our guide, Rosanna was terrific. She was attentive to the group's rest stops; talked about history and various sites and was flexible with the itinerary. Here comes the reason I gave this a 4 star and not a 5. When we were in towns we would be given some time to explore but it was usually only 40 minutes or a bit more. It was enough time for a coffee and bathroom break but that was about it. We also carried a lunch every day and personally, I would have enjoyed a lunch out with the group at least once. The towns are charming.And yes, you do visit quite a few churches, lol.
The accommodation on the boat was comfortable and the staff were excellent. Meals were very good. City tours after dinner were informative and just right. The cycling: I am a senior and used an e bike and the cycling was easy. There were a few spills by members. You just need to be aware, capable, and have confidence. Enjoy the ride instead of worrying about it! I never felt intimidated by surrounding traffic, etc. ( an added note- we had a couple in their 80s who did fine). It was common for most of the group to enjoy " happy hour" before dinner when we got back to the boat. There was a lot of togetherness which was good.
I thought that this trip was a great choice for me ( I'm a solo traveler) and good value. I went in May and yes, be prepared to ride in rain. I would do another barge bike trip! Its' good fun and good exercise!

Bratislava was most memorable, as well as the scenery along the way.

The food was amazing! Some of the more serendipitous events also stand out in my mind.

Carol and I enjoyed our trip on the IRIS. The sheft was excellent and food was great. We enjoyed the walks at different locations surveying the different cities we stopped at. My only complaint was that we were requested by the guides to not participate in the bike riding portion of the trip. Since we had limited use of the electric bikes we rented, I would request a refund of the 340 Euros that we paid to use the electric bikes.

The country side, the historical significance. The bikes were great as was the boat and food.

Gorgeous countryside and beautiful cities to cycle through. The food on board was 5 star! The staff were wonderful too. The bikes are heavy and many of them had issues. Mine had no rear brakes that I finally figured out on last day while needed to brake hard in Amsterdam. My husband had to have his seat changed 3 times to get one that didn’t slip and his bike was small for his 6’ height. A friends bike has gear grinding on and off every day and they couldn’t fix it. Realized these bikes take a lot of abuse but the 20lb e-bike I was told about on a phone call does not exist. Otherwise our group of 19 would do it again! The gps is important to have as not all paths are well marked and it lets you know if you get off course. We brought our own helmets and rear view mirrors—highly recommend. Since it was non guided there were several options each day—take the long route if you have time.

I think this trip was rated easy to moderate, but due to some difficult terrain it was hard at times and seemed somewhat dangerous. I wasn’t aware before the trip that more than 50% of the terrain would be off road biking. I could cope with it but many of those on the trip found it difficult to manage at times.
The tour leaders were excellent but the mix of non electric bike amongst the electric bikes could also be difficult at times. Several members of the tour mentioned that if they knew beforehand what the riding would be like they would not have taken this trip. It should be made very clear what the cyclist should expect. Some days seemed longer than necessary due to many frequent stops for coffee and restrooms which meant we had little to no time to enjoy the nice towns we were staying in. All hotels were great except for the first night in Porto which was in a strange part of town away from the bike garage(long walks needed to get there) and the unfriendly staff on the front desk.

Overall, the trip was great and the beauty of the rides were often times breathtaking with all the different colors of the Spring flowers and the North Sea! We also were thrilled that Hennie joined us as we really enjoyed meeting her on our Croatia trip.
The only issue we had was the use of an electric bike by the tour guide and his lack of personality. Several of us were on regular bikes and it was challenging to keep up with him/group. He did get better with his speed as the trip went on, but at the start, he was completely out-of-touch with us regular bike riders. I also think it was a bit unprofessional for him to not have a sweep. I think this is necessary when you have such a large group and we had several inexperienced riders who kept falling off their e-bikes and getting started was often difficult for many. The trip could be rated easy, if one had an e-bike or an all regular bike group as well as being accustomed to riding a bike, but perhaps a better rating for that particular ride would be moderate with an explanation of why.
Having said all of this, we do look forward to our next bicycling adventure with Tripsite!

We enjoyed biking in the countryside along the farm fields and the canals.

The overall sailing ship was lovely, although space in the dining area was cramped and especially difficult if someone were to sit at the middle tables. Regarding the food, Peter was fabulous and the food was varied. We loved sitting on deck in the eveings when the weather cooperated. Our captain and sailing crew were highly skilled navigating that long boat thru canals and locks. Very impressive. the housekeeping staff were also amazing and we really enjoyed interacting with them. But--we had #2 cabins ( in our group) at the very front of the ship. It was billed as a triple, but I cannot possibly even imagine 3 people in there. The room narrowed with the shape of the hull and it was rather uncomfortable. Definely not a "Deluxe" experience. Those rooms should have been discounted more. The bike guides really need to fit clients bikes the day before the first ride. My bike didn't get fitted correctly ( seat too high and I needed a smaller bike). I didn't know there was an alternative--so it was a dangerous situation at one point on day #3 with an almost altercation with a car. It didn't get switched out until the very last day. We all loved biking in the small towns and around the tulip fields. I even saw a spoonbill among hordes of other birds and animals. Conversely, the groups were too large going thru larger towns with cars, local bikers, and pedestrians. We should have been broken into 3 groups for more secure safety. All in all--a great trip with diversity of historic towns and natural landscapes like the dunes on Texel.

Biking the back roads in Provence were the highlight of the trip for me. Stella is a comfortable boat and rooms were comfortable. Crew on the boat friendly and efficient. It would help the breakfast lines if there were two grills cooking eggs because that area became a bottleneck. The WIFI on the boat was terrible. It's one thing to have poor and inconsistent WIFI but to be charged for it is bad business practice.

Discovering the Danube and surrounding countries and the extensive history leading up to their current status. I wish you had more time in Vienna.. like maybe an overnight since the barge was parked so far away from the center of town and it was a holiday (May 1), our visit was less than satisfying.