Europe Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 931 to 960 of 4965

Istria is gorgeous, The guides, the food, the crew, and the other bikers were all outstanding. One caution: the description calls the biking easy-moderate, mostly flat with some rolling hills. That is absolutely not true. I rode 152 miles over six days and logged 10,650 feet of elevation gain, with 20-25 percent being on gravel or rocky trails, some single track. Istria is rocky, and much of the gravel was actually imbedded rocks that had to be maneuvered. We did have some modifications due to weather, but the hardest day was as scheduled. Two days had grades up to 14 percent. I planned to book a hybrid, but decided on an e-bike because of another person's review. I bike a lot, but I would have been unable to bike some days if I'd been on a hybrid. Seasoned mountain bikers were better able to handle it, but typical bikers, I think not on a hybrid.
We happened to have a small group with only ten guests. With a capacity group, the boat might seem very crowded. It was very nice with the small group.

Everything went smoothly and the guides and crew were great!

My wife and I boarded the Harmonica on Friday May 24. We were immediately welcomed by the entire tour and boat crew. The following seven days have provided us with some incredible memories that we will cherish forever. We were expertly guided by the bike crew and professionally nourished (perhaps overly so) by the boat crew. The islands we visited were far beyond our expectations. The minimal car/truck traffic encountered on our rides complemented the entire experience. The bikes are professionally maintained. The bikes provided were just right for our fitness and riding abilities.
The lead guide, Ivan was completely professional. Because of his Croatian heritage his “local knowledge” he was an impressively good fit for this tour. The other bike guides, Laura and Philip, were obviously in training. Their enthusiasm was noted and appreciated. There is no doubt that with Ivan’s guidance they will one day be lead guides also.
The boat crew was fantastic. We have never been on such a well maintained boat anywhere. The Harmonica is truly a gem.
Overall, we would give it a rating of 9.5 on the 10 scale. Holding back .5 because we would have liked longer rides and more chocolate mousse.
The meals provided were fantastic. Smaller portions would have sufficed but then again, no one went hungry.

Jim & Laura Herrick

The entire trip was memorable in every way. There was really nothing that I could improve upon other than perhaps the weather, which is not controllable. The staff the boat and the itinerary were incredible. I particularly liked the Museum visit to the Kröller-Müller Museum which is otherwise not very accessible on the regular tourist itinerary.

Trip of a lifetime! The Boat had an incredibly smooth ride, was incredibly clean with a homey type atmosphere given its smaller size related to a cruise ship. The rooms are a bit smaller but totally comfortable and manageable along with the bathroom. The crew were amazing and the food was scrumptuous. Small dietary needs were met with a no fuss no muss attitude. The e-bike tours were so much more amazing than I could have ever imagined; just wish they were longer. The bikes themselves are comfortable, responsive and so easy to ride. We rode everyday starting 9am and most were completed by noon at the latest which left a lot of free time for swimming and or touring; I would have preferred to ride longer distances. I definitely didn’t have enough clothes because of the amount of free time we had along with warmer weather then predicted. I definitely missed the mark with not having shorts and more t-shirts! Our two guides, Mirta and Luka were also terrific in organizing and leading our daily rides and activities; they made everything so fun; it was terrific. Probably one of the best trips I ever took in my life.

Riding a bike in the most beautiful parts of Croatia whether it was by the water , the interior with the groves and vineyards, the small villages or in the high elevations. A fantastic adventure!

Visiting the Dome and biking along the river. The food was excellent and the boat was beautiful.

Cycling through the “undulations” of the Cyclades was magic, particularly the downhills. Fortunately we had e-bikes to reduce the climbs. Our guide, Dionysis, was excellent. His depth of knowledge of Ancient Greek history was immense and his stories were always infused with his wonderful humour. Beautiful ports, great restaurants and food on board, what more do you need?

Another biking trip of a lifetime and this time on the beautiful Magnifique III. What a beautiful ship, terrific crew, great chef and awesome bike guides. Biking from Bruges, Belgium to Amsterdam was just fantastic.

Cycling through farmland and so many small towns and villages, stopping at a bar/cafe, this is a great way to see a place. The other cyclists were kind and friendly, the staff was attentive and lighthearted.

Biking through the Italian country site was fabulous. We enjoyed a day and evening walking tour of Venice, we biked through two islands, Italy's largest wetland, the delta of the Po River, and several medieval cities. Hats off to the chef, Silvia, her food was amazingly delicious. Our guide Elena was knowledgeable, very helpful, and friendly. The Captain and sous chef were amazing.

The guide (Hugo) was excellent and made the trip. His personality was great. Food on the boat was better than most bike and barge trips we have taken.

Although the guided tour had its frustrations and the rainy - windy weather didn’t help, the experience was worth the trip. However, it was frustrating that more attention/instruction was not given to novice bikers. Firstly, they needed to understand the e-bike, specifically to understand the function of gearing down and powering up when needed. Secondly novice bikers didn’t understand NOT to crowd other bikers and to keep a safe distance. Also your marketing should be clear state that they shoukd be experienced bikers. Some areas were highly trafficked - bike auto and train - therefore novice bikers are at great risk. The guides were unfamiliar with the trail and particularly in the first days were getting lost. Your selection for lunch stops were poor. We ate our sandwiches (which got really boring after the second day) outside in the rain. Suggest you add some lunch stops at some local sheltered restaurants with enough time to enjoy and experience the local fare.

The barge crew were very helpful and friendly and the group of people on the bike trip were fantastic. The barge rooms were bad - very wet and humid. The beds were wet with humidity. All clothing were wet with humidity and the rooms smelled very badly. We turned on the A/C but it didn’t help with the humidity and smell. If we opened the portholes, condensation dripped down on the bed. 4 of us got sick and I think it was due to the bacteria in the rooms.

We love this region and this trip so we decided to do the trip again with friends and ride from Avignon this time .... It is a pretty easy ride except for a few huge hills - but so worth the effort to get to the top and see the town the quarry and the show - so worth the effort....just saying ....This trip takes you through many little villages filled with jasmine - stopped for quite a few pastries and beers and coffees and pain au chocolat.... besides all these sensory overloads of jasmine and and fields of poppies - you are riding through so much history ...... the camaque - Aiges mortes - the crusaders - the roman ruins everywhere - and then the marshes the salt flats and flamingos - great ride - great barges - the food always amazing

My most memorable part of the trip was the barge and crew. It was a pleasure to be on the barge.

The countryside was extremely beautiful. The meals were extremely delicious and the dinners were exceptional. The boat was clean and updated with very attentive and positive staff. The bikes were in very good repair and we found the directions to each site/city and the boat generally very clear.

Communication from bike tour leaders was not great. Also, we had major engine problems on Day 1-3 necessitating us to miss 1 day of riding. The communication around the mechanical problems was very poor and initially we found out about this by accident. Once rectified the tour continued as promised.

The views are phenomenal. We climbed everyday..some “hills” steeper than others. It was daunting to be at the bottom and gaze way up to see alll the switchbacks to be experienced. BUT the downhills were exhilarating!
Visiting the islands and their perspective uniqueness was interesting. We learned about people, the food and the culture
Our ride pace was very fast..good riders in the group. Our guides were excellent.
We enjoyed eating off the boat and wandering thru the sites. We had 3 guided tours which were appreciated.
We loved the ride, the food, the wine tasting, the rafting, the companionship and the shopping!
The only petty drawback was the lack of a dry towel as their is one exchange day…for us the second day and from then on we dried off with a wet towel….for sure bring your own for swimming and oh yes I was seasick..twice.

Everything was excellent and exceeded my expectations, 10 / 10.

Hello. The trip is nice, beautiful ride! The only thing makes me very upset is the way the chef treat me, his rude. Never in my life, someone talk to me that way. His name is Emilio! All other stafs is so nice.

The cycling through beautiful trails, seeing the country in a way you would not by car or train. Meeting the lovely people on Board geeting to know them, and also our tour Guide Albert, He was so good and kind. Our Chef Marcel and the crew.
Looking forward to doing another trip next May with more friends.

The bicycle rides through the beautiful Douro valley countryside were incredibly scenic and not to be missed.

Seeing windmills close up was great, but touring Keukenhof gardens was fabulous! We were there for 1.5 hours and could have stayed longer. The tulips and other flowers were spectacular! A lovely surprise was the three course gourmet meals we were served every night by a creative chef.
My husband is an avid bicycle rider, but I'm not. Having an electric assist bicycle took all the effort out of trying to keep up with the group. With this modern technology, everybody can participate and have fun!

They did an excellent job of selecting routes that were interesting, beautiful, and the right level of difficulty. The routes go over some steep terrain so it was easy to see why e-bikes were required on this ride. The leaders did an excellent job of keeping us together so we didn't feel like we were being herded, but the slower riders were not feeling rushed. Several days they dropped us at one port and hassled around to the other side of the island to pick us up at a different town. I recommend this ride.

Our Bruges to Amsterdam trip was a spectacular! From the moment we boarded Magnifique 1 we were blown away by the beautiful interior of the ship, the warmth of the crew and the organization for the bike trip to begin the next day. Each day ended with a short meeting outlining the next day's route and particulars. The riders were split into two groups that remained with their wonderful guides for the week. We always felt safe on our rides and the pace was very manageable. We stopped for a morning and afternoon break and lunch. The food on board was delicious and varied and the presentation was beautiful. Probably our most memorable part of the journey was the consistently beautiful scenery and the making of new friends from several different countries. This trip was so much more than a vacation, it was an experience we will always remember! Thank you crew of the Magnifique 1 for all the incredible memories!

Overall the trip was amazing. The most memorable part was just doing it, and so glad we did. The service staff on the ship was terrific. The food was pretty good but not quite 5 stars. The routes were fairly easy to navigate but in trickier areas, a guide or more detailed maps would be helpful. The tour guide was okay and did an adequate job if approached with questions. He did ride right by us on the trail on the last day and didn't even offer a friendly hello. That was a bit surprising to our group and fellow riders. No worries, though, it was a really fun trip. It was great to visit all the amazing cities along the way. The whole crew was first-rate from start to finish. I would easily recommend this trip to interested parties.

Great Crew
Group
Guide
Bikes
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This trip had everything you could want in a vacation. All the crew made every moment special. Starting with the Captain's handling of the boat to the chief's handling of the meals. The food was excellent every single meal. The tour guides made sure you saw every special cove and mountain range on the journey. The biking was just enough to give you a great work out without feeling you needed a doctor following you. Each member of the crew, sailors to bartenders understood why we were there. They made sure we were the focus of their attention. Outstanding!!

And then there is the beautiful scenery, from blue sea water to mountain ranges. We saw the coast lines, small towns, and ancient building as the locals do everyday.

The locals Croatians are proud of their country as they should be and they related a very welcome feeling to us.

Defiantly one of the best trips I have been on. And yes "people" do make a difference.

The coastline of Croatia and the is lands were picturese, brilliant clear blue waters, positively balmy for swimming , after a challenging days cycle. The crew and guides , were courteous, friendly and very helpful .all contributed to a memorable holiday .

The entire trip was an insightful and delightful experience, providing access to the heart and soul of everyday-life in "working Italy", versus an antiseptic highlight-reel tour of famous monuments and churches. That said, the overwhelming uniqueness and timelessness of Venice couldn't help but be a highlight. I wouldn't have minded a somewhat more strenuous cycling experience; however, that was more than offset by the enjoyment of the comaraderie of a relatively small tour group (20), forged both on the cycling paths and over fabulous gourmet meals provided by the two young chefs aboard the Vita Pugna.