Europe Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 1741 to 1770 of 5225

The Magellan was a spectacular ship. She's beautiful and steady and had everything we needed. There were 8 crew on board plus 24 guests and we had plenty of room. There was never a feeling of being crowded together because the ship had so many places to sit and relax. Critical advice when selecting a ship during hot weather -- be sure the ship has a covered upper deck! We had wonderful lounge chairs on the upper deck, covered entirely by a sun screen, so it was a very popular place even in the heat of the day. Our crew was amazing, especially bartender Josip, who took such great care of us! The guides (Ana and Shyntz), sailors (Hare and Marko), chefs (Dusan and Milica), and Captain Ivan just made the entire cruise an absolute pleasure.

A couple of other items to mention:
1. Very, very, very few businesses in Croatia accept AMEX. And not one restaurant, cafe or bar accepted AMEX.
2. Only use Bank-owned ATMS. The private ATMs charge exorbitant fees.
3. When you dock at Split, a summer party town, bring earplugs so you can sleep. The town crowd stays up very late, partying, etc. and all the noise from the city and sidewalks floats directly to the above deck cabins.
4. CHOOSE the rafting adventure if it's available during your trip. The ride to the river takes about an hour, but it's worth it. The water is the clearest I've ever seen and we only had to walk around one waterfall.

Pack lightly. Rooms are extremely small but well air conditioned.
I really don't have a favorite part. It was not a relaxing trip as the bruge to Amsterdam tour was. This took us through more crowded towns that were difficult to navigate due to traffic. It was extremely hot which added to the difficulty. Food on the boat was great but breakfast and lunch were repetitive. Crew was awesome and very accommodating.

From our first welcome on Saturday the week was wonderful. The meals were delicious, varied and healthy. Our guide Francesco , was patient, very careful and made sure we kept hydrated, as the days were hot.
The bikes were in good condition. I can’t fault our week, and would be keen to try another bike and barge holiday. Totally recommend.

This trip was amazing! This was our 3rd bike/boat trip and it was the best by far. What made it so outstanding was the crew aboard the Ave Maria. Our guide, Francesco was always looking out for us, giving us the best ride possible. During the recent heat wave in Italy, he made changes to our itinerary by adding a pool option, riding earlier in the morning, and always made sure we were safe and hydrated! The food was amazing and fresh, prepared by our chefs, Irene and Danny. The meals were the best during our 3 week trip to Italy!! Our captains, Ricardo and Alberto kept everything running smoothly. I can’t say enough good things about this trip! The people we met while riding made this trip especially memorable! We are already talking about our next bike/boat trip for 2025!

The Merlijn is a fantastic ship. Great to be escorted by the owners themselves. Cabins were perfect and the small size ideal.

Guides and crew went above and beyond our expectations. Anna and Shintz were best guides and complimented each other perfectly on their personalities.
My only complaint would be the cabins were too warm for sleeping. Fans onboard would’ve great improvement! The heat wave over Europe was intense, but moving the air would have helped.
Take lots of Euros, only way to pay onboard. American Express very rarely accepted in Croatia.
Non of the restaurants we visited took Amex
Highly recommend this trip!

The Zwaantje, Captain Martijn, and his crew were among the highlights of this trip. We had an amazing time exploring the different cities. The routes were easy to follow and the guides were great, friendly and personable, though I would have loved more history/information during our rides. We enjoyed the variety of scenery, the option to go off on our own, and the opportunity to socialize with many other adventurous people :)

It's almost impossible to pick one item as most memorable, everyday was a great day on and off the cycles. The boat itself was very nice along with the crew.

What a wonderful trip! We found the biking very enjoyable- the scenery was BEAUTIFUL and the daily routes mostly flat. It was nice to stop after riding awhile for a beer/drink or snack while enjoying the sights and history of local villages. The Magnifique II had welcoming staff, nice accommodations, and great food. Would highly recommend this trip!!

My wife and I did this trip in August 2022. I basically chose it as it was the cheapest Danube Bike & Barge trip I could find (€769 high season) AND it included bike rental (beware this is an extra on most trips).
We were prepared for anything as it was a cheap trip but we had a great time. Primadonna was a comfortable boat and the evening meals and breakfasts were excellent. Our cabin was cosy but comfortable, let's face it, after a day's cycling you only sleep in it anyway. Each morning we were given a very tasty pack lunch (sandwich, cake, drink, fruit snack) which I never actually managed to finish it was so filling
We collected our (non-E) bikes around 10am on the morning of day two after breakfast. This process was pretty straightforward with staff on hand to adjust seat heights and brakes etc. They were very comfortable. From that point on we were away and cycling along by the river gazing at castles en-route to our late afternoon rendezvous with the boat. The cycling was very easy as we were travelling by the river.
We were given route instructions every day but I found it useful to have my GPS app as a backup.
We were the only native English speakers on the boat. Other travelers were mainly German speaking, with a few French and Italians. The staff on the boat spoke English and were very helpful but knowing some German does make communicating with other passengers a bit easier.
The evening trip briefing was a tad tedious as the English language version was the last one so we were crying for sleep by the time it finished...we're not party animals. We didn't attend it after the first night and found all the information we needed was in the written daily trip plan.
Highly recommended - I am booking again for 2024 right now! Probably Holland.

Best way to see the countryside, Unesco heritage sites ( Kinderdijk and Delta Works) of the Netherlands and Belgium (Bruges). An added bonus were the evening tour guided walks through each town where we met our docked barge. The dinners were always 3 courses- much tastier than expected and breakfast offered healthy options. As a senior traveller, I was happy to have rented an e-bike for the couple of days where we biked into the wind. The crew was warm & friendly and the accommodations on the Sailing Home barge were cozy and comfortable. The sun deck with cover was an additional gathering space. After a week together, felt like I was leaving family.

La capacidad de la tripulación de enfrentar cualquier cambio y hacer que el viaje sea maravilloso. La ruta es muy bella y el equipo del barco es como una gran familia qué hace todo lo posible para que disfrutes toda la experiencia. Mi única sugerencia es que podrían incluir una noche de karaoke.

Always the staff and fellow passengers are the highlight of bike and barge trips. We loved the rides through the countryside and tiny towns, visits to the windmills, the dairy, the vending machines sporting fresh strawberries, the food on the barge, and so much more.

The Croatian islands were beyond beautiful. The boat crew couldn’t have been more helpful. The food was plentiful but just average. Some of the meals would be more appropriate for fall and winter…very heavy.
Surprised that the boat /merchants didn’t accept charge cards American money. That was extremely inconvenient. That should have been emphasized!!!!

The trip was absolutely fabulous. The staff was fun and friendly. The food was phenomenal! The only problem was the riding was way harder than described. My friends and I are very fit and ride regularly but these hills were brutal!

The guides and boat employees were very good. The food was excellent. The boat’s air conditioning was okay to poor in the rooms and nonexistent on the main deck. Many people had daily issues with their bikes (brakes, gears, e-bikes not always working, etc.). The guides were excellent but had limited bike mechanic skills. These trips need a full time bike mechanic and extra bikes available to trade out when some bikes are not working well.

There were so many aspects of this trip that made this experience memorable. The bike riding of course, but also the food, cabins, staff and relaxation.

The best part of the trip was to feel the wind on my face and realizing that I could be successful with the comfortable hybrid bike and the guidance of my tour guides and the gps app. A wonderful tour of the northern part of Holland: cultural, historical and scientific points included.

This was truly my favorite vacation. Such an amazing way to experience Belgium and the Netherlands. The crew was top notch, The food was gourmet, The barge was luxurious, the bikes were very comfortable, and we really enjoyed meeting new people. Sign up for this trip. You won't regret it!

This is the 2nd time our family of 4 (age 19 to 63) joined a bike and boat tour. Last time it was a much bigger boat on the Danube whereas this time is a much smaller but very comfortable and cozy boat Princess Royale on the Mosel. We are very glad we picked this tour!
To start with, the itinerary was carefully designed to cover enough quaint small towns to impress us, allowing enough break/rest in between for those (like me) who are physically less fit! The scenery along the Mosel needs no elaboration! We were lucky that the weather has been superb: not too hot nor too cold, no rain, nice breezy every now and then!

But what makes this trip especially memorable has to be the crew:
(1) Our guide Ilsa (not sure is I am spelling it right) is just amazing! Knowledgeable, professional, well organized, friendly....we saw her riding out to double check next day's route even after the day's long ride! At each stop point, be it architecture or scenery, she had enough history or stories to amuse us! Our other guide Arindena seems newer to her job but we are seeing lots of energy and potential in her too!
(2) The chef Astrid - what a charm! Not only did her cuisine exceeded our expectation on a trip of this price range (to be fair, we are not paying the price of a Viking cruise ship!), more importantly, her enthusiasm in sharing with us her food preparation details before every dinner was a true delight! In our culture (Chinese) we have a saying: those who respect their job will be happiest with their job. We most definitely see the respect, love and care in her work and how all these transpire into excellent meals in our tummies!
(3) The rest of the crew - Anita the host, Theresa the waitress, Ronnier the sailer, Nico the captain (and his wife) - all are always so friendly and helpful. We found them more like a family then a crew. Our 2 young daughters have befriended with them (especially with young Theresa) and were sad to leave!

We will most definitely recommend this tour, and especially this boat!!! We hope to one day join their other tours! Thank you again and have a wonderful summer!

Maastricht and Amsterdam

The combination of biking through the country, seeing the sights, smells, and sounds and then having cuisine that matches what we are engaged in with locally sourced food was amazing. Fantastico!

Mosel river valley is beautiful. Dinners on the ship each night were delicious.

The bike boat trip and all the scenery! Wonderful!

I enjoyed the morning rides and seeing villages up close and afternoon cruises on the sea, stopping for a swim and resting on the boat with a beverage.

Loved everything! The biking was fabulous. Sailing during the day was so relaxing and enjoyable.

My wife and I had a great time on board the Thalassa. We appreciate all the hard work that went into our stay. The crew and guides were more than accommodating and their professionalism was apparent. The scenes from the Thalassa were amazing and we felt like the Thalassa was the place-to-be. The food was especially good on the tour. The meals on the boat also had generous servings where we only wanted light meals off the boat. The Starlink Wi-Fi was a nice surprise and came in very handy. Bike and boat vacations are our favorite. We look forward to doing more trips even if it means going over the handlebars (smile).

This was an amazing experience! The trip offered a great balance of relaxation, exercise, cultural experience, sight seeing, shopping & the best food I’ve ever had on vacation without the hassle of having to figure out what/where to eat. Everything was planned so well and there was always the option to disconnect from the group if you needed alone time.

Our tour guides were the BEST! A perfect combination of yin/yang. Both are Greek and had great stories about the history and places we visited. Dionysus recommendations about where to eat on the islands were perfect! You could really feel how proud they both were about sharing their country with us.

The crew on the boat work hard to make sure we all had a wonderful experience. From the captain to engineer to chef and deck hands, those 6 guys worked hard and kept a smile on their face for the entire week. We had multiple swim opportunities with paddle boards, snorkel equipment & even rides on the small motor boat used to shuttle to shore. We all really enjoyed the swim stops in between island trips.

Our group had the best time & we are already looking at where we will do another trip in 2024.

The islands were beautiful and the tour very relaxing. Our guide Dionaysis was very knowledgeable and made the tour so enjoyable for everyone on board. It was amazing to be able to jump into the sea after the bike ride around town in the heat. Thalassa was an amazing ship with a wonderful crew. Couldn’t have asked for a better week at sea!