Europe Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 991 to 1020 of 4964

If you are planning a bike trip, this is the one. We have been on 11 bike trips and this was the BEST! The weather was perfect, the food outstanding, the staff was great, Ronald the tour guide was always about in case one needed him on the ride, and of course the country was magnificent. Don't pass this opportunity up!!!!!

All parts of the trip were memorable. From the start to the finish. Crew on board took excellent care of all bikers.

Fabulous trip!! We did this same trip 8 years ago
and returned again this summer with friends as it was our favorite trip… it did not disappoint!
Highly recommend….from the great scenery to the fabulous meals and amazing tour guides!

It’s awfully hard to pick out “the most memorable” part of the trip. The whole experience was great: the biking, the connections made with fellow riders, the crew, the food, the boat. It was all top rate. I guess I’d have to pick out the biking as the most memorable. The points of interest along the way were great. I loved the cheese factory, the glass blowing place, the carnival museum and the distillery. I probably wouldn’t have chosen to visit those places if on my own, but in the end I truly enjoyed them. The Ave Maria is a beautiful boat. The bikes were almost new and in excellent condition. The crew (and guides) made everything go smoothly. The chefs took my food intolerances seriously and made it easy for me to enjoy the food on board.

1. The excellent, cheerful leadership by Helmut
2. The meals
3. The many fine trails, especially around Avignon. Wonderful biking.

Amazing rides, guides, guests, sights and food - and oh yes, the crew! This was an extraordinary week filled with splendid rides through the countryside and small villages, wonderful food on the boat and in restaurants and laughter every time we got together. The guides were our coaches and resources - sharing their knowledge and perspectives on all aspects of Croatia. We had opportunities for language lessons, geography/historical insights and town walks with locals. The boat provided everything we needed and the crew make sure that we were comfortable and well cared for. Great value also!

If using the GUIBO app for route navigation, be sure to have an extra battery pack. The app uses up your phone battery.

If this review can be applied to the GUIBO app then, I'd give it (GUIBO) a poor rating. It sucks the phone battery. It does NOT guide you to (or back to) the route. It randomly talks to you (sometimes it tells you to turn, sometimes not). Fortunately, the routes are very simple, but it could certainly be improved. Providing a gpx file for my own device would be great. Even using google to navigate might be better.

Croatia is a stunningly beautiful and historic nation. Our guides generously shared their love of Country. Would highly recommend this trip.

The general organization of the trip, and the great staff aboard!
Disappointed with the scenery along the routes - often quite monotonous

The most memorable part of the trip is the views from the top of the hills of the Adriatic Coast of Croatia. The e-bikes help a lot in reaching these summits, from which you get to swish along on switchbacks as fast as you care to go, into the destination harbor towns.

Great professional staff. A top notch experience. I highly recommend this trip.

The views from the bike ride over the hills and the color of the water
I was expecting more seafood on the boat menu and less heavy meals

Excellent, tasty dinners! Chef (Meeka?) prepared delicious, well-displayed meals

Barge staff were excellent--great chef and friendly hostess. Dinners were great but breakfast and lunch were very repetitive. The staff needs better training in safety. We had 20 guests in our group with 2 bike guides. We were divided into 2 groups and rode with our group each day. Our guide was not friendly. Other than that, the bikes were new 7-speed bikes which were adequate for the mostly flat rides. The scenery was beautiful and the museums and city stops were interesting. I didn't enjoy having to ride with the group at a pace set by the bike guide and the slowest riders, and I don't trust Ride with GPS enough to ride on my own.

We had an absolutely amazing trip on the Sailing Home! The crew was outstanding and the experience memorable. I would love to do it again. The only complaint that I have is that for such a large group, we should have a rear guide that is part of the team.

The crew was fabulous! The tour was good. I thought we were going to stop at a cheese factory snd that did not happen. Most of our group was not thrilled with the bikes-tippy with handle bars that were raised up. The boat was great and meals delicious!

The food on the barge was amazing. Our tour guides were attentive to our needs every day. I definitely would recommend an e-bike. It was a game changer on windy days.

Most memorable was the stunning countryside along the Dutch canals-- grass waving in the breeze, sheep grazing all around, wildflowers, and the occasional swan swimming by. Bonus: not a hint of litter anywhere. Honestly, I kept asking myself if it was all real.

There were so many memorable parts of our trip from Burges to Amsterdam. The gorgeous countryside we rode through, the fantastic accommodations on the Manifique II and of course the outstanding crew and guides. We have done similar trips before but this one topped them all. The offer of two different length rides each day , the stops in the countryside to sightsee, traveling through locks, riding our bikes on to ferries and generally feeling like a local. The meals that the chef offered us out of his small kitchen were 5 star. The enthusiasm of the crew added so much to this rich experience. Upon returning to the boat each day they all made us feel like we had won the Tour de France! I would highly recommend this trip to anyone looking to ride through the beautiful countryside of Belgium and the Netherlands and to have a great time doing it!

From the moment we boarded the Magnifique IV to the morning we left everything was exceptional…Mariela was our cycling guide for the week and she couldn’t have been more lovely. We had beautiful weather and each day of cycling was interesting and fun! All members of the crew went out of their way to make us comfortable and the food prepared by Jules was delicious! We had a great group of travellers and enjoyed our social time on the barge each evening. We would highly recommend the adventure!
John and Kate

Beautiful countryside and small towns; our guides were knowledgeable and helpful. The boat was beautiful and comfortable. Staff on the boat were friendly, accommodating, and professional. Oh--and the food was 5 star delicious!

Incredibly warm, friendly and extremely customer-focused crew, all 7 of them!

This was a great trip and the guides and crew on the boat were wonderful! Karin, Eric, Frank and Brando made the trip and the food absoulutely great! Every day we had delicious meals and wonderful desserts! Despite some days of cold and rainy weather, the guides made sure we cycled through the beautiful countryside with good stops for rest and lunch. Keukenhof and the beautiful tulip fields were a highlight. The boat is so clean and well-taken care of. I would definitely recommend Zwaantje for this trip!

Great trip. The captain, guide, chef, and crew were wonderful. They made me feel very welcome and safe. While meals could be served earlier (breakfast at 8 and then heading out to ride at 9) and (dinner at 6:30 which lasted until about 8) the meals were very tasty. One thing I wish were different, we had our destination "tour" after dinner when everything was closed and often walking around in the dark. We didn't therefore get to really experience the lovely towns we were docked in because we left at 9 each morning and had little time to explore. It would be great to have a timeline and not just the riding itinerary because we could have gone faster through the open fields and farmland if we knew the plan for the day and seeing the towns, cities, villages. Our guide was very fun and made the days throughly enjoyable.

We loved travelling on the Magnifique II from Amsterdam to Bruges. It’s a beautiful, intimate barge with nice sized rooms. With only 30 people on board we got to know almost everyone. The food was amazing everyday and all 7 staff were friendly and accommodating. The guided biking was the highlight even though we didn’t have great weather. Both of the biking guides were great fun, informative and kept everyone safe.

The staff on the Iris were excellent. They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. The passenger capacity of the Iris (24 people) was just right. It afforded us the opportunity to get to know the other travelers. Although the cabins were small, they were well laid out; comfortable; and quiet. We thoroughly enjoyed cycling throughout the Netherlands with the exceptional guides on the Iris.
We would've preferred more time allocated to exploring the towns where the Iris moored daily. Most of our exploration time was limited to after dinner walks in some towns.

Riding our bikes through the countryside and small towns. The staff and food on the Fluvius was spectacular. Renting e-bikes was definitely a plus

The route was a great mix of countryside, nature and village. The cruise director, Leslie, provided invaluable information for route and highlights.

I had a great trip and meet some really fun new friends. Our upper level stateroom was pretty standard, small but comfortable. Itinerary was great and our guides were very accommodating, making a special stop at an olive mill per the request of a couple of our passengers. E-bikes were in good operating order and were a must for all but one person on our trip. We did a lot of uphill climbs, one was really steep, the rest just long and steady uphill. Probably due to the terrain/hills, most rides were on the shorter side (less than 20 miles for the day). Food was plentiful, but poor quality, vegetable soup without any trace of vegetables, thin chicken cutlets that were over cooked, and a main course of pasta daily. I ended up stopping at a grocery for snacks to bring onboard.

Unfortunately our barge had major mechanical problems ( thrust motor) from Day 1. As a result our first 4 full days of biking were changed, shortened significantly and day 4 spent almost entirely on the boat going to Antwerp with mechanical engineers working to fix it. We were very disappointed to lose this much biking on what was supposed to be a wonderful biking journey.

To add to our disappointment our biking tour guides, Tom and Laura, gave us very little information on what was wrong with the boat and what changes to expect. Generally they were not very communicative about our daily itineraries.

On the positive side, the barge crew were mostly fabulous. Mieke, the chef and her staff were very personable and hard working. The bartending staff were also very good. The food was excellent and the boat in good condition .

Overall we enjoyed the trip, especially the last 4 days once the barge was repaired.

Effie Henry
( part of a group of 10 Canadian women)