4 Star Along the Danube - Four Country Tour Tour Reviews — 61 to 90 of 119

We really enjoyed the biking. Most the trails were very nice and the scenery was beautiful.The most memorable part was probably the Wachau Valley. The bikes were very good. The rooms on the boat were good and the food was also plentiful and tasty.We enjoyed the entertainment put on by the crew.

Best Part? Biking along the Danube the first day in the beautiful countryside. Spectacular!!

The biking was absolutely wonderful; so incredibly beautiful especially through the vineyards and orchards. The ride around Bratislava was not marked well at all and 90% of the riders got lost going in all different directions, thank God for smart phones. The food on board was well prepared, always hot and nutritional. Where this trip fell short was the crew abroad the Normandie. Unlike the other TWO Bike and Barge Trips I experienced, this crew was a bit unwelcoming, rude, and times condescending and scolding. Not everyone but it certainly was the feel on the boat and many were talking about it. I know the crew work long hours and they all have to help with most tasks on the boat; however, there would be nothing to do if WE weren't there. I absolutely love this way of travel and will do another one again very soon. This was NOT a Tripsite issue but am hopeful this information will be passed to the appropriate people. Tripsite has been excellent in providing information and always seems to offer a great deal.

We really enjoyed Wachau. Definitely stop for the wine tour, and enjoy the biking through the vineyards. It was absolutely beautiful.

Riding in the foothills/vinyards in Austria. Stopping for a beer and a slice of homemade cake at a hotel on the trail.
The boat was too slow traveling upstream against heavy current. This meant we were late in docking for our next ride. Yes, the current was heavy but this is likely to happen every spring.

Best Part? The nice people on the boat

Earlier this year (May), my wife and I did the 4 country bike - barge tour, on the Danube. First I have to remark that everything "Tripsite" advertised was delivered at what we thought to be a reasonable price. In spite of unusually cold (damp) weather, our first experience (s) in Passau, Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna were very memorable highlights. However, aboard the "Normandie" we did have some concerns with the overall tour management. There were some particularly disappointing moments with an apparent strategy to keep the English speaking guests, and non-english speaking guests (mostly German) separated? For our part, we were keen to mingle - assimilate with all the guests aboard. That should not reflect our overall impression of the boat crew, who were very courteous and helpful.

Sailing down the Danube at night under the full moon we witnessed the beautiful lighted bridges and magnificent buildings of Vienna. It was magical!

We really enjoyed the Abbey in Melk, Tulln Gardens and the short walk about tour in Bratislavia

The most memorable part of the trip was sitting on the top deck in the evening, wrapped in a blanket, watching the clouds sail past the moon as the barge moved on to our next city on the Danube.
Ensure you respond to the call to choose a table for meals on the barge if you wish to sit with or close to friends.
Stay an extra night in Passau if you have the time...there is a lot to see and do.
If possible, do some cycling before your trip to prepare you for the daily tours.
If you would prefer to cycle with a guide let your agent know and they may be able to arrange it. It may be an option and worth an extra cost if it would make your trip more enjoyable.

The beautiful bike paths along the Danube and the great food on the MS Arkona. Found the unguided bike tour confusing. Comfortable beds but loud vibrating boat motor at night made it impossible to sleep. Yay sleeping pills.

My wife and I just finished this trip with another couple. First of all, remember that you get what you pay for. This cruise is much cheaper than Viking or Avalon or some of the others so you can't expect as much opulence or fine cuisine. That said, everything was fine. The food was good but not great. The walls to the cabins are thin so if the person in the room next to you is a loud talker, you will hear every word. Also, try to avoid the lowest level of rooms - the windows don't open and are noisier as you are close to the engine. The trip it self was great. The cycling was easy and scenic. We had Axel as our guide, and seriously, he ruins you for any other guide. If we went on another cruise, it would have to be with Axel - any other guide would suffer in comparison I suspect. He is Austrian with a very keen sense of humour (He would have to be as he is an Arsenal fan). He went above and beyond.

We had a mixed experience on this trip, having completed two other bike and barge trips on smaller boats (and smaller waterways). This is a wonderful region for riding - much of the route follows bike paths that parallel the river and provide gorgeous views of river towns. Unlike our other trips, participants ride on their own without a guide, and this worked well for us. Because the boat travels from Passau to Budapest and back again, there is quite a bit of travel time on the boat. At times, we enjoyed watching the scenery, but this also meant that our time on land was quite limited. Food was decent and several options were available at each meal. The dining room was noisy and it does take quite a bit of time to serve everyone, with the staff clearly working hard! During our tour, there were engine problems which resulted in a change in itinerary. The company struggled to manage this and identify reasonable options. In the end, they have promised us a partial refund, which seems quite fair. We would have preferred that this offer had come sooner in the process, without the numerous conversations that were needed to help the company understand the concerns of passengers.

This trip provides a chance to explore the rural areas along the Danube by bike and to visit the great cities of Budapest and Vienna. There is a lot packed into this trip.

Cycling past the remnants of the Iron Curtain. WOW!
There were so many highlights, but having Axel as our guide certainly added a great deal to our daily rides. Thanks Axel!

Wachau valley was my favorite part...small towns, great shops and wine.

We loved our trip on the Danube! From the first day to the last, we enjoyed the food, scenery and new friends. Would definitely recommend.

It was our 35th anniversary and we had lots of alone time to tour ourselves but also met the nicest people on the boat

I really enjoyed the first and last days a lot which were in the beautiful countryside along the Danube. It was good to see the cities but the visits too short to really visit anything in depth.
I recommend the Mozart concert which I really enjoyed.
I loved meeting people from other countries and wish we could have had meal seating change every couple of days to mix with other people who also were interested in meeting others.

The ability to view many little towns throughout the trip along with the amazing historical buildings. The daily bike routes could have been clearer, or at least exact precise maps to follow.

We participated on this Bike N Barge tour in May of 2017. The Carissima is a former "Viking Cruises" ship which is now doing the bike and barge tours for a year or so and it provides such luxury in accommodations, living quarters, dining rooms, swimming pool and so on that is unlikely to find on any other ship and tour of this type. The bike paths are by most standards quite good and the scenery is simply wonderful. The first day or riding the Engelhartszell - Aschach bike path is majestic and the Great Loop of the Danube unforgettable. The Wachau / Krems - Melk trail on the last riding day is by far the best and most interesting. We also rode our bikes on our own through the city of Bratislava and also through most of Budapest which is by far one of the nicest cities east of the Iron Curtain. We did not take a day of rest in Vienna. We rode our very comfy e-Bikes for 4 hours throughout the city and stopping at the huge number of venues for photos as time in Vienna is absolutely very limited. If there is something wrong with this trip is the fact that this ship does not stay overnight in any of the main stops on the tour so it lacks the opportunity to explore the city at night and enjoy some of the local events and specialties. The ship leaves almost as soon as your requested time of return from cycling is scheduled and you spend much of the time on the ship deck watching the river go by. The tour guides were outstanding and the directions given are flawless. Having been given the gps routes in advance was immensely helpful. By the way, while e-Bikes are not essential they are good to have if you plan to climb the hills to see the castles and other high up the horizon venues on this tour. If you stay on the assigned paths regular 7-8 gear bikes are just fine. The Hungarian dance evening excursion is quite good and recommended and so is the Vienna Orchestra evening excursion if it is your first ever classical music show. It provides some of the well known classical music by well known music geniuses but leaves a lot to be desired if you are well aware of this musical era. The orchestra is small just 16 or 17 musicians in a small and poorly designed venue for that type of music. 3 out of 5 for this excursion. The overall trip is well designed and gives nice riding opportunities, great views, lots of culture, great comfort and the Danube is a treat. The meals on Carissima are less than good in quality and taste but better than most for showing off. The breakfast are excellent. The rest is average at best. The crews are all top quality for service and attendance. I dislike sitting at the same table with the same 6 persons every days every meal. It supresses the opportunity to meet people and reduces the fun of getting to know others from different countries, cultures, ethnicity and customs. For the reasons of not overnight stops and the food quality and table seating system we rate this at a 7 of 10 stars or 3.5 on this scale.

The bike journeys were terrific taking us through beautiful towns and scenery! The last day's trip to Melk was spectacular BUT it was recommended that we take the ferry across too early on the ride. This sadly led to a long and unnecessarily arduous climb to Melk that could have been avoided by staying on the other side of the river and crossing at Melk. That said, we very much enjoyed the trip!

We had a a great time . The only feedback I would give is that most of the passengers were German and there was very little information given in English.

I am very glad that I did this trip: the boat, cabin, food, bike, everything was very good. But there were some challenges, which I would like to mention.
1. The tour guide (Jan, his first name) was not rude, but more like indifferent to your problems. Very often his answer was ""It's up to you. You want this, go this way, you want that, go that way."" Hr didn't try to understand your problem and to find the best solution for your situation.
2. Bike path pavement sometimes was bad and poorly marked. For people with not good vision (like myself) it was a big problem. European bikers are more aggressive speed wise and more comfortable in the crowded environment. It was a problem to have pedestrians and bikers in both directions at the same time. So, for me it was easy to complete 50-60 kilometers physically, but it was stressful psychologically to be in such crowded place.
3. Unguided tour is a challenge: you can get lost, something can happen to you, your bike, and no help is available. One person locked a bike and lost a key. I even do not know how he came back on the boat. I am writing all these problems to give future fellow travelers more real picture before making a decision to take this trip, and moreover how to prepare yourself for the trip. My mistake was that I was thinking that if I can do 40 miles on the bike, I am ready for the trip. Physical part is not enough. You should be ready physically, but also you should be able to function in the crowded city environment at low speed, be able to repair your bike, if needed, to read a map, and not to expect that all people in the world like Americans. Sorry for being so long, but I really wanted to give the most truthful picture of my experience.

Biking through the Wachau valley and the small towns was most memorable. Staff/guides could be more customer focused and less argumentative with guest/customers. First day of biking was too rushed to complete prior to boat departure ... ride did not accommodate leisurely stops. Guides did not provide enough information on daily routes to assist with historical sites, lunch/rest stops, places to visit or provide assistance on route to ensure guests made it back to the ship. This trip did not meet the standards that previous (5 trips) Tripsite trips offered in the past that we booked.

The most memorable part was cruising down the river during dinner.

My first Tripsite vacation, first bike/barge trip, first trip to the 4 countries.....loved it. Somewhat poor attitudes of hotel manager, Peter and the guides did not spoil my trip...in fact, became a bit of a joke to us. I would not let it stop from booking another trip.

Having a guide for the biking. He was terrific. We had a route change which led to a boring day biking. They do not give you water at the table. Too many people on the boat. Lining up for things to buy tickets. Did not like having to buy a drink package. Too expensive.
Staff was very pleasant. Our guide was fabulous.

The ride through the Wachau valley was by far the most memorable. We were happy with the overall trip. The staff were very helpful and cheerful. The one disappointment was with the info from the cruise director on the trip. At times it was inaccurate. This trip could be improved by updating the notes in the bike route, providing information and maps on side trips to the villages we biked through. Many bikers were concerned to vary from the route to find other attractions for fear of getting lost. One section of the trail was on a small sidewalk yet the cruise director and the printed information did not mention this. A lot of bikers were confused. It seems like the cruise director never biked the route or it has been too long ago.

Two ladies and I ( all in our 60's) just finished this tour on My Story. Having no experience with bike/barge I was not sure what to expect. What we got was a fabulous trip through some of the most scenic and beautiful country I've ever seen. Our tour guide, Stephan, was charming and informative. This tour was run by Rad and Reisen. They did a great job of marking the routes, although a few times we did get a little turned around. The food was top-notch and the staff did an excellent job of entertaining the travelers. I was impressed by the over-all professionalism. The riding was easy and on mostly asphalt with very few inclines. Only draw back was the size of the cabins. The pictures are a little misleading. When the second bed was lowered there was almost no room to walk by each other. You needed to be a contortionist to use the bathroom. But, since you really didn't spend a lot of time in the room it was tolerable. All in all would highly recommend this trip.