Europe Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 3241 to 3270 of 4965

Number of people was just right. Excellent choice for routes each day and enjoyed the end of day walks into the beautiful cities.

Fantastic experience...staff could not have been better....the food was unreal!....everyone of the staff went out of their way to help... even through a surprise birthday celebration for me.

Great trip....tour guides outstanding ,more than outstanding....the food was fabulous and all staff were wonderful....first 3 days of self guided biking were well worthwhile.....stay hydrated if it is warm as cramping can occur.

I highly recommend a trip on the New Star! We enjoyed everything about the trip!

This trip was much better than we expected. The service on the boat was one of the best we have experienced. The food was very good. The cabins confortable, very good shower. Good and very well adjusted bicycles. Precise information each day of biking. Scenery gorgeous. Completely safe even for children and older people. The cycling distances were appropriate for all. Very tasteful sandwiches for those who were biking. The cities we visited are amazing. Congratulations to the team working on Carissima.

We truly enjoyed our barge, tour guides, barge staff and biking tour through the Netherlands and Belgium. The best way to see a country is through the back roads and trails. We will be back for another bike and barge trip!

This is a great tour, with wonderful cities to visit and scenic bike rides. The barge was perfect, great food and service. We enjoyed the evening music and dancing very much. A heat wave happened while we were there, so we had a great time on the sun deck
I was not as happy with the bikes. I was in charge of a group of 25 and at least 6 of them had bike issues: brakes that worked only in the front or back, e-bikes that only assisted when pedaling at full throttle, and more. Even though we reported this, and we were told they would fix the bikes, in reality the bikes were not repaired by the next day, and it took time and effort to get them replaced. I expected more from Rad & Reisen, the bike company. Also there was very little instruction on how to use the e-bikes. My suggestion is to have a person at the dock on the first day to give a 10 minute one-on-one instruction on the e-bike and make the person do a little test ride. It was not as intuitive how to use them if you never have done it.
Another issue that could have been better is a bigger, clearer map on how to get to the path from the barge location. That part is usually the hardest.
All that said, it was still a nice, memorable trip.

This was an excellent experience all around. I Highly recommend this company

The barge accommodation and the staff are fabulous. Guides were fantastic. Everyone aims to please. Food is plentiful. We didn't see many birds but wind and weather are not controllable. I would have liked more biking and less on rocky paths. The days riding on roads through villages were great but the dike path not so good. I would travel with this company again for sure.

Most memorable part? Everything! The scenery, the guide, the nature of the bike routes, the people.

The boat was very tired. In our room the sink tap was not connected the pipe letting water into the toilet tank fell off the wall. The porthole wouldn’t open. Very few of the lights in our room worked. There was no comfortable seats on the boat, and we did not go where the tour was supposed to go because of the boat not being able to handle the weather. The crew was great.

This was a terrific trip. The scenery was outstanding and the bike trails were great fun. More biking would’ve been even better. The MS Arkona was a very nice ship, all recently remodeled and the staff all did a great job. I enjoyed all the breakfast choices. We would make our lunch at breakfast time to take with us for the day. Dinners were good but more salads would be a nice addition.
Our boat was unable to reach Budapest due to low water levels. We were however taken by bus to Budapest and enjoyed a city bus tour. It made for a long day but at least we were able to see some of the city. This gave us more time in Vienna and an opportunity for a really fun afternoon bike ride there. Our tour director gave us excellent instructions for this ride since it was not part of the original tour itinerary. It offered shorter and longer distances that seemed to meet everyone’s needs.
The directions in the map and narrative book were often lacking. I would recommend having turn by turn distances Incorporated. Generally, the morning briefing by the tour director was not much additional help. Questions by us to the tour director were often answered by “it’s in your daily program".
It would be nice to have newer bikes. They were fine for the flat biking paths but would have been very challenging for anything with hills. They were heavy and some didn’t ride very smoothly.
The optional Vienna concert was a bit of a disappointment. Although the music was nice I didn’t care for the venue. It was hot inside, the seats were very cramped and this particular theater was not very impressive.
There is no free Wi-Fi despite an email from Tripsite confirming that there was.
We were offered beverage packages which included bottled water.
I drank the tap water on the boat and had no issues. I do feel that on an active trip such as this, unlimited chilled water should be available. We opted to forgo the beverage package and found the beer and wine reasonably priced.
Laundry service on board would be a nice option.
Having said all of the above, I would still recommend the trip and I would use Tripsite again.

Hard to pick one part...The cycling and scenery each day was stunning. Vienna must be experienced. The staff and the food on the Arkona was outstanding.

A GREAT experience on a bike & barge trip! I LOVE Bordeaux and the bike routes were beautiful !!! absolutely amazing from the start to the end.
The staff members were superb and we had fun !!!
I highly recommend this trip !!!

Thank you for arranging our bike/barge trip on the MS Bordeaux.

We cannot tell you enough good about MS Bordeaux, the Captain and his crew. It was so enjoyable to arrive on board, unpack for eight days, and relax. On other bike rides, we unpacked every night and repacked every morning. I think another bike/barge is in order. Tim LaMonte and I are researching next year’s ride already!

The food was exceptional (except for one night when the chef was off. My red mullet was raw and not cooked. Can you spell Y-U-C-K?). Every day, we packed our lunches (except when we did our walking tour of Bordeaux with Sebastian, see below.) Desserts were yummy!

The bike rides were great and we discovered fantastic wines!

There were 84 passengers on-board. A large group was from Australia, some from Canada, Switzerland and the USA. Even though those of on the non-guided ride tour rode at different speeds, we continuously found each, and other helped each other find our way and found places of interest. The camaraderie with other riders was phenomenal.

I had an e-bike. Ginny had a regular bike. On the last day, she traded it in for an e-bike! She will get one for the next tour! Tim also traded his bike for an e-bike on the last day.

In the middle of the week, we could ride our bikes on a short bike path or take a walking tour of Bordeaux, or both. We decided to have a relaxing day and took the walking tour.

Sebastian, the bartender, had the day off. We asked why he did the free walking tour on his day off. His response was simple. He loved to tell people about his country and take them on tour of his hometown, Bordeaux.

A total delight was our interaction with 19-year old Dorrian (sp?). He was the highlight of the trip. He gave the welcome briefing, the evening briefings on what to expect the next day, and was always available.

1. Dee LaMonte had a flat tire. We called Dorrian and he was there within 15 minutes

2. Dorrian was on different roads where the non-guided riders were, and always got us on the right track.

3. Every time we were not sure of where we should be, Dorrian showed up like magic!

4. Another flat tire, a telephone call, and Dorrian found us again. He took Dee LaMonte and her bike in a van to MS Bordeaux. Dorrian also offered a ride to the rest of us, however, we declined and rode the rest of the way back.

The final night on board, was the Captains Dinner, a party and lots wine flowing and lot of dancing! A perfect way to celebrate the end of our adventure!

It was an altogether pleasant experience; the highlight was the lovely little village of Saint-Émilion.

The Danube / bike path was wonderful , My bike was a red girls bike that clunked “hate it”, my wife’s ebike was great, the food was good except the hair in couple of dishes, the tour dir and the hotel mgr were friggen rude (not just us to about 14 others ) would Never take a SE tour again. The people we met on board were great, Austria was very nice. Omg Austria wine was fantastic. thx Mik

Ps
Still like Tripsite’s

The best part was traveling with friends. I would have enjoyed more information about the area and towns we were traveling through.

The staff and crew of the Anna Marie were very friendly and helpful but over all, if this was my first bike and barge trip, it would probably would have been my last. The accommodations were small, we knew that going in but because space was so limited, there was nowhere to hang the towels to dry properly so they should have been changed a little more frequently. The mattress on the bunk bed also needed to be changed as it was old and hard to sleep on.
The food at breakfast was the same for 7 days, as were the luncheon meats. The bread was fabulous but could have been switched up with some protein like eggs to start the day. The dinners were, on most occasions, tasty and delicious but lacked quantity after a long bike ride.
My biggest complaint was the cost of the water. The days were hot, the stores and restaurants along the way were closed and for the temperature we should have been provided with water or somewhere to fill our bottles. The boat charged too much for a small bottle and provided only one even smaller bottle for the day.
Our bike guide did not provided any history of the areas we saw and at night, we were not given any tours of the place we were moored at.
Last but not least, all the bikes needed to be tuned up, several chains, when changing gears, fell off, some brakes did not work well and some gears would not change properly.
The most memorable part of the trip were the rest of the passengers, we all enjoyed each others company and had the ability to laugh at some of the situations described.

The biking itself was fabulous. The staff looked after the bikes well, and the routes were lovely. My problems are with the boat itself, and there are several significant issues. First, our room was next to some machinery near the bridge that woke us up frequently during the night. The bathroom smelled bad, and other guests on a lower floor had major issues with smells too. The boat broke down on one occasion, and we had the feeling that it was on its last legs. The food was okay, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. The staff were very good, although the music was mostly orientated to non-English speakers. I know that this is not a Viking riverboat, but I have a reasonable expectation of having a comfortable and fairly quiet room. Never again on this boat.

On the Liza Marleen there were 6 of us from our family ranging in age from 82 to less than 2 years of age. The staff on the ship was superb, especially the cook who was particularly considerate regarding the granddaughters who roamed the dining area. She was quite creative with her menus and happy to socialize with the participants. Moreover, because it was my daughter's birthday (birthdays are Big Deals in the Netherlands) on the last night of the trip, the cook ignored my request for one cupcake with a candle and instead presented gorgeous cakes for the entire ship. Her English assistant was equally kind; the skipper turned out to be a first-class guitar player and had the entire ship singing along.

It was a wonderful and successful excursion and I am very grateful to the staff on board the Liza Marleen for everything they did to accommodate us and make it a memorable 50th wedding anniversary.

I was disappointed in this tour, the scenery was mostly uninteresting and much more difficult than expected due to high winds on 2 days. I am short and was given a crappy bike to ride, having been told I could not fit on the e-bike I wanted. However, after 2 days of suffering my tour guide was able to find me a bike that fit (even after the company itself said it could not accommodate). The ship itself was wonderful, with big bright cabins and excellent food. I was on the guided comfort relax package, and the tour guide was way too laid back for my taste. I thought we did not have much time in the big cities to explore.

Best part was picking grapes at the community Arbor along the route. Sharing with the entire group. Our guide led us to many quant and tasty coffee, beer, wine and pastry stops...

Most Memorable Part? Having a cold dark stout at a hillside restaurant with the whole biking crew while overlooking the Main River and vineyards on the hillside simply beautiful.

Most Memorable? For me the day we cycled through the city of Paris. We got to experience a very authentic side of Parisian life, zooming along the myriad of bike paths with the locals, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells and knowing we were in the capable hands of our guide. Having a guide removes all of the navigational stress and allows for the freedom to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Great trip, great barge, well organized, a list of fellow passengers for each cabin would have been helpful from the start
Keep in mind the MPS Zwaantje does provide hairdryers for each cabin, provides WiFi- a truly upscale barge.

There were so many great memories, but I really loved the town of Melk and all the little towns in the Wachau area that we passed through our last day. It was like biking through fairy land. Fall is the perfect time for sampling the local new wines. And our guide, Regina, was tops!! Can’t imagine a better tour guide!

Wonderful trip. Beautiful scenery and the boat staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful.

Very pleasant trip. The route included portions along the river as well as through picturesque villages, farmland, and vineyards. Daily mileage was perfect for us casual riders. The last day of riding through the Wachau area was the most enjoyable; we wish there would have been more time to explore the tasting rooms and shops in Dürnstein.
There was only a minor problem in communication with the tour director over the the time of an optional paid activity that several members of the group did not get to attend. I didn't feel the problem was addressed well.

Most Memorable Part? The biking, totally. It’s ok if your friend chooses not to ride, there are others en route who make it pleasant. The staff were overly attentive! So helpful