4 Star Austria Tour Reviews — 181 to 210 of 243

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.

We really loved going through the locks on the Danube and the rides everyday were fabulous with the detailed instructions. There was a castle, ruin, vineyard or cafe around every bend!

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.

Most Memorable Part: Riding on the bike paths without having to worry about road traffic.

Scenery was beautiful. Biking was not overly strenuous. All in all very enjoyable.

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.

Most Memorable Part: Beautiful scenery! Great attention by bike staff.

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.

Most Memorable Part: The 3rd day of riding downhill.
Tip: The first two days are difficult. When you train for this trip be sure to train on hills.

Most Memorable: Arriving in Budapest just at dark and seeing the city all lit up and riding through the Wachow valley. The visits to the cities, Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, were too short and left us wanting more. This particular boat was geared more towards German speaking guests and English was a poorly translated afterthought.

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.

A fabulous tour. Friendly countries to cycle in, great history and a variety of terrain. Would recommend an extra night in Znojmo to give you a chance to go discover the catacombs.and a chance to enjoy the magnificent view , wine and delicious food from the local winery. Would check with the tour company to ensure that the bikes will be delivered the night before so they can be checked out.
The Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia were places we had never been to and they exceeded my expectations hugely. Accommodation was chosen well and the bike company was very helpful.

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.

Just came back from an exceptional Salzburg Lakes holiday.
I'll start with the good - fantastic scenery (so green), friendly well-appointed hotels, not too difficult route (a few hills from time to time but appropriate for the "easy to moderate" level, well sign-posted. Even the continuous rain on the first day didn't dampen our spirits.
This was my second time with "Tripsite" (went to Provence, France two years ago) and I feel compelled to add a few negative comments by comparison. Most of the maps and brochures were in German and not English. The quality of the bikes was less than expected. Far worse was the comedy of errors on the bike handover - no saddle bags, no repair kit, no pump, no apology. We only got the missing equipment at the end of the first day of riding. My thanks to the Tripsite Team, who did their best to intervene on our behalf.
In conclusion - don't let the negative comments stop you from booking this trip. I would however recommend to Tripsite to have a serious word with their local agents to prevent such mistakes in the future. And, yes, I'm already planning the next trip !!

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.

The most memorable part was Day 6 Rossatz - Pochlarn was the most scenic part of the trail. Magical small villages - wish the whole route could have been like this. Most of the trail was uneventful, some of the trail was in poor shape and rough riding.
Unfortunately, there was a language barrier between the Americans and the tour guide, so instructions were not always clear, and we needed to fend for ourselves most of the time. Certain sections of map were confusing and trail was not well marked. We made it though, and enjoyed the adventure!
Beautiful cities and villages to visit - wish we would have had more time to explore! All in all very good trail ride and good trip!

This was my 4th cycling holiday but this year the quality of bikes was poor, only had 7 gears, had 21 gears every other year and did not like the back pedal brake.

Most memorable part was Stein am Rhein, and also liked the fact we could stop cycling and jump into the lake whenever we wanted.

The scenery between Passau and Vienna was the most memorable part of the trip, even when we were away from the Danube. Beautiful.

The reason I gave the first question a 4 out of 5 is because the daily rides were long enough that it was hard (tiring) to get back out in the evenings to see the local sites or to see some of the sites along the way. That was probably also a result of trying to coordinate and corral too many people (9 on our trip) to get things done in a timely manner. I suspect the 10-day option for this trip might have been better for us.

Regarding route and description guides, sometimes it was a little too much to remember to coordinate the route book, the additional instructions in the travel documents (voucher) book, and Rad & Reisen's Travel Information book, not to mention the daily itinerary in the literature advertising this trip. In fact, the worst mistake we made was the worst one we could have made: ignoring the instructions to take the van transfer from Grein to Gasthof zum Aigner Kreuz, Bad Kreuzen to avoid very steep inclines. However, some of the literature given to us suggested we go to Klam Castle (a good way up the incline to Bad Kreuzen), which was not on the way to Grein, and that is what we did.

I've now taken 5 bike trips in Europe: 2 using hotels, 3 using boats/barges. Barges are easier: you only have to unpack and repack once while riding.

Thank you for all your help putting this trip together. Overall, it was a great experience.

The boat was not in location we were told it would be. But once there the boat was good. The tour guide didn't seem to know the route as well as he should have. The directions on the maps could have been a lot better But we did have a great time but would recommend a different route next time.

Tripsite was great. Would highly recommend booking with them.

The plan changed from recommending biking in Budapest...to it not being recommended - and therefore no briefing/description of the route was provided. While the stickers on signposts helped to guide the way, the book could have been more fully annotated. The boat was too full, there were not enough dishes for all passengers, dinner took 3 hours (2 hours too long). Bikes were generally in good repair and available when promised. Although the food was very good, bottled water was not provided every day as contracted.

We had a problem with sewage odor in our room - which they boat crew was unable to fix - Also room was hot and we had to use a fan. When we complained to Rad and Reisen about the temperature they denied that the AC was not working. We complained to Rad and Reisen and they issued us a 10% refund which Tripsite matched. We appreciated your concern attentiveness to these problems and you willingness to offer some compensation.

Despite these problems, overall the trip was great - good people, great rides and beautiful scenery and points of interest. We would definately book another trip with your company, but not with Rad and Reisen.

Only thing missing was quality wifi on the boat. The trip more than met our expectations