Austria Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 31 to 60 of 754

The bike riding, the staff, the food and the new friends we met during the week were all amazing. The last ride from Krems to Melk was absolutely breathtaking! I literally cannot stop smiling!
Tip: expect to take some wrong turns, just enjoy the ride.

This tour exceeded my expectations. I loved the variety of biking along the Danube River and through vineyards and beautiful small towns, and free days to explore some larger cities by foot, bike or bus. Having one home base was perfect & our cabin was very comfortable.

I recommend that you view the trip as a sampling of the beautiful areas and not expect that you will be able to thoroughly tour many of the landmarks.

We opted for a guide, Tomas, who was wonderful, leading the way and giving us a great experience. Leslie, the cruise director, was good as well. He had lots of tips and his almost daily talks were full of humor and good advice. The ship staff was also terrific, making us feel at home and providing great service. The e-bikes were not the best, very heavy and a bit unwieldy ( I ride an ebike at home so I am quite familiar with them). Otherwise a fabulous trip and I would highly recommend!

Excellent organization and service.
Enjoyable cycling routes and good information.
The facilities on board the ship and the staff’s attitude are exemplary.
Very good guides on the city tours.

The cycling paths along the Danube are superb . The crew of the Merlyn were excellent and hospitable.

We went on The Merlijn which was amazing. We can't say enough about the wonderful service, accommodations, and staff on the ship. The staff felt like family and got to know the passengers within the first hour of the tour. The tour guide on the bike was excellent, very knowledgeable, and personal. He really made the trip for us. And it was wonderful to come back from a long day of riding and have drinks and snacks ready when you came on the ship. Every detail was attended to and everything was perfect. I highly recommend a tour on The Merlijn with Coen and Christina!

All of it. The Merlijn is small, cozy and a lot of character. All staff including the owners made me and my husband feel so welcomed, like family. This is something you will not find on big boats/ships. The meals that were prepared by Christina were fabulous, and they were very accommodating to my husband who has a picky palate.
The bike trails were easy and beautiful! The little towns in Austria that we rode through were breath taking.

This was my third trip with Tripsite, and third aboard the Merlijn. This section of the Danube seemed quieter than other trips I’ve taken giving us a different experience. We saw the palaces and monasteries along the way, rode through sleepy villages, passed the occasional fishermen along the river front. The biking was easy and along the river for the most part. We took a wonderful hike one day, saw some giant mushrooms along the trail. The last day of riding we had the option of riding extra or swimming off the barge, I took the swim, definitely a highlight for me.

This was my first trip on the Merlijn Bike & Barge. I was with a group of 3 couples that had done this trip before on the Merlijn. I found it outstanding, the equipment was excellent,( my wife and I rented electric bikes ) the cabins were very nice and roomy. Our meals were breakfast and dinner, the breakfast was good but I believe it could have been better, The dinners were first class....The barge also had a nice coffee bar and Bar that were excellent too. The trip was memoriable and I highly recommend the Merjin...

This was our fourth and BEST trip on the Merlijn! As usual the Capitan and Christina were marvelous hosts and Kat our bartender and greeter made the trip so fun! The bikes and our guide Thomas were excellent, the routes were lovely and the stops were interesting and informative. I plan to visit the Merlijn again and enjoy another tour.

This was a very scenic trip along the Danube river. The Merlijn is a hidden gem of the river. There is no compatible ship like the Merlijn. The interior of the ship and cabins have all been remodeled and are top notch. The chef and staff are all amazing and welcome you with open arms. If you want an active vacation, you are in the right direction.

Merlijn is top notch service and food. All staff including Thomas, the bike guide, were very friendly and funny.

The scenery was beautiful! The Merlijn was beautiful and very comfortable. But, the standout for the trip was the staff. Coen and Christina made our week so wonderful and kept us well informed. “Cat” at the bar and serving was very charming and fun! He knew all our names by day 2! Simone kept our cabins tidy and did a great job on our laundry. June was always tidying up the ship and keeping it looking great. Ilsa was a really good tour guide and was very knowledgeable about the history of Austria.

Budapest at night. Cycling the the Wachusett Valley and Vienna

The room on the boat was lovely and the food was very good. We did a guided tour and I felt our guide was inexperienced She did not have many safety measures that I have had on previous bike trips. i.e a sweep and ensuring everyone is ready to go before taking off. Also would have been better to be able to visit some cultural places like the Abbey, museums or churches. We were not given anytime on our rides to do this. The highlights was the wine region and wine tasting.

Our guide for biking was not very good. We have taken 3 other bike trips and the guide on them were far superior.

This is the 3rd Bike and Barge Trip That my friend and I went on. The problem was that the trip is geared to German speaking people. English was given we felt as an after thought. We also took the guided bike trip which had it perks, but we had the worst guide. The guide was not concerned with our safety and we had to continually ask for English. We were not warned of obstacles or any other dangerous situations. After I spoke to her she was kept checking with me but bit the other 7 English speaking riders. Also the electric bikes were so big and heavy, I would have been better off with a non electric bike. The staff was excellent. The cruise director terrible. Not happy with this trip

The outstanding professionalism by the crew. That includes the restaurant personnel, the administrative staff, the domestic staff and of course the captain and fellow officers. However, there should be more time allotted for Vienna exploring.and some of the very historic and interesting smaller cities along with Danube.

The biking was the absolute best. It is a great way to see the countryside, the small villages and the cities. We had an excellent itinerary. The sites were beautiful, the tours interesting and the crew was great. We got a lot of exercise and didnt worry about overeating.

Meeting new friends

Tour Guide was not well trained and did not highlight the sights.

We love bike and barges! Unpack once, meals provided and spectacular scenery exploring new parts of the world on a bicycle. This was the largest boat we’ve been on with 150 bicyclists, but at no time did we feel that it was too many people. We met new friends and overall it was a great experience. Bicycling Austrian countryside and vineyards, Old world Bratislava and beautiful Budapest were highlights of the tour. And the strudel! The chefs on the boat made the effort to provide meals that were characteristic of the area. The Vivienne cruise Director, Leslie went above and beyond in his duties and was a delight! It was a wonderful bicycling vacation.

Everything was good. The staff who kept our room did an excellent job. The food was great. Director gave good information. Desk staff were very helpful. Because all of this was good
I am certain that all the behind the scene staff were phenominal.

The last day of biking was the most beautiful! I would recommend to bring along a mirror for your bike.

Overall great trip. Shout out to Cruise Director Leslie who was wonderful.
Recommendation:
1. Food: Fish entrees & apps weren't very good. Try better please & consider serving more chicken (breast) or turkey (white meat).
2. Coffee served w meals was not good. Thank God for the free coffee from coffee machine!!! Also PLEASE offer CREAM w coffee, not milk.
3. At the very end of the cruise when you introduce the members of the crew. Please tell us a little bit about each one… Where they're from how long they've been with the company, anything else personally interesting. It would be very interesting to us customers & it will really validate the crew. They did a wonderful job and deserve better recognition!
4. Out on the wheels fell off yesterday the very first day, please offer a short tutorial on how to use an E bike. Some of us were new to E bikes and it was hard to learn it when we were trying to jump on our bikes and keep up with everyone. It was a bit of a madhouse!
5. Really loved the daily briefings of the routes we would be taking the next day. Maybe provide a daily handout to summarize the talking points. Some of the routes were a bit confusing, and a handout would really REALLY help.
6. Would have really loved a little more time and some of the smaller (& bigger) towns such as Krems & Bratislava. And was not impressed with Vienna, it was big kind of dirty, a bit overwhelming. Would've liked to overnight in one of the other cities instead. I did speak to other passengers and three other women said they didn't think much of Vienna.

I THINK THOSE ARE THE BIGGIES FOR ME. I LOVED THE DAILY COFFEE HOUR WITH THE DELICIOUS CAKES. I LOVED THE COFFEE MACHINE IN THE COMMON ROOM! I LOVE THE PARTIES.
ALSO, AT FIRST I WAS A LITTLE PUT OFF BY ASSIGNED TABLES AND SEATS… BUT AFTER WHILE I GOT USED TO IT. IF OTHER PASSENGERS DID NOT LIKE THAT, I WOULD TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF YOU CAN GET WORTHWHILE INPUT FROM PASSENGERS ON WAYS TO IMPROVE ON THAT.

THAT'S IT GUYS, GREAT JOB OVERALL! BRAVO TO THE CREW!
Elisa Morrell

Cycling through small villages was great as was the scenery along the Danube. The free walking tour through Bratislava was very informative. We really enjoyed our 2 day stay in Passau.

Cycling through the countryside, villages, and taking the bike ferries.

The tour was exceptional and gave us an opportunity to experience a taste of each country. We cycled through the countryside and stopped at all of the major points of interests in the cities. The guides shared both historical and current perspectives. Overall the trip was well organized and the food and service were amazing.

Absolutely loved this trip. Excellent crew, food, cabin quarters. Scenery was among the prettiest I’ve ever seen and optional excursions helped immerse me into new cultures. Thank you!!

The scenery along the Danube was gorgeous, as well as all of the cities and towns.

The trip was exactly as promised and more. The chosen bike routes were very scenic, appropriate distances and gave us a great flavour of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. The bikes were good quality and in excellent shape - top marks. The food was outstanding! Lots of food choices, special menus to highlight local foods and top quality ingredients. The Primadonna is a gorgeous boat, and our room was just as lovely as the advertising showed. One special highlight was using the boat to do a night tour of Budapest - the most beautiful city I have ever seen.

Most people on the trip were German, with a mixture of Dutch, French. There were only a few Americans and Canadians. The boat staff were mostly Serbian. That meant that there were inevitable language issues. For example, we paid 100 Euros to do a night bus tour of Vienna in English. But some German, Duthc and French travellers ended up on the bus too, so our tour guide ended up having to repeat all tour instructions in 4 languages, which was frustrating and inefficient. In the same vein, every evening we had briefings on the following days cycling trip. Our Serbian hotel manager did his best, but the information was often confusing, and the maps provided by Danau Tours were pretty average. This led to a number of wrong turns and navigation mix ups over the week.

In North America, we are used to having water provided free of charge when dining. So it felt cheap that we were asked to pay 7 Euros for a bottle of water at meals. Considering the cost of the trip, that didn't sit right. To be fair, we traveled around Europe after the trip, and we never encountered free water in restaurants, so it appears that is a European norm.

Lastly, although it is called a 4-country tour, you only cycle in 3 countries: Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. The only time you set foot in Germany is in Passau at the start and end of the week. So if you want to tour Germany, plan in time before or after the trip.