Europe Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 2101 to 2130 of 4948

The most memorable part of the trip was creating new relationships and the beautiful canals and gardens!
I would consider booking another bike and barge through tripsite in the future.

This was the best trip ever, which makes it hard to think of just one memorable part. Truly everything was memorable, the sights, the food, the experience of biking through small towns, the crew especially Leslie our cruise director. If I had to pick one special moment it would be while biking through the countryside we came across a quaint Food truck selling homemade lemonade. We rested, ate our lunch, shot some darts and drank the most delicious glass of blood orange lemonade.
When the trip was over, we all said “let’s do another one next year!”

The whole trip was an adventure! The crew and the guides were great and worked hard every day loading all the bikes on the dinghies as well as keeping us all safe during transport. The bikes and biking was great! The scenery was spectacular! At the end of the day when we returned to the ship we were happy to celebrate with a refreshing swim in the sea followed by a drink from the bar. The guests were an international group . Despite language barriers we mixed well and enjoyed the diversity leaving the ship promising to stay in contact. Great memories!

First time I experienced this type of travelling. Overall, I like it. Couple of notes though : the ship was not where it was supposed to be at embarkment ; it was on the other side of the harbour. No communication received about that last minute change. We knew because someone was monitoring vesselfinder. A lot of people did not know. Second, we were not happy with the table arrangements. We got assigned a table on day 1 and were supposed to sit at that table, with the same people, every day. I appreciate the reason, every evening they ask what you want for dinner the next day, and if people then are not at the same table, that system does not work. But, we're travelling with a group. We want to have dinner at a different table every day.

Having said that, the boat and the food was nice, the crew was really good, no, outstanding. The daily tours were well organized and navigating our way was easy.
Hence my 4 star rating of the tour.

The trip started out on a sour note because the De Holland was not moored at the De Ruijterkade West location shown in the Tripsite "Final Travel Information" PDF, but instead was across the IJ river next to the Buiksloterweg ferry terminal. Despite being told by Tripsite that the document would be updated with last-minute changes, the document was not updated with the correct location, and none of the passengers who booked through Tripsite were notified of this critical change. (We heard that Boat-Bike Tours, the organizer of the tour, DID notify the passengers who had booked directly through them.) We followed the De Holland on the Vesselfinder website so we knew where it was moored, and we notified a few other traveling companions, but a portion of the Tripsite group showed up at De Ruijterkade West and the boat management had to arrange for their transportation to Buiksloterweg, which delayed the departure. To our knowledge, Tripsite has never acknowledged or apologized for this serious mistake.

Regarding the tour itself, biking from town to town was well designed and wonderful -- beautiful countryside, lovely towns. We used the Ride With GPS app, which had a few route errors but in general was an excellent, well-executed tool. (Without the app, there were a number of signage errors or absences along the routes that could have caused problems.) The evening tour of Deventer was very well done; the local tour guide was excellent and the evening was perfect for it. We rented e-bikes and they were in great condition. The staff on the boat were all kind and helpful and friendly and the boat was exceptionally clean.

We thought Frans, the bike tour guide, could have done a better job. He was nice, but despite having many years of experience doing this, his evening talks were not always very clear, and he did not mention a number of places along the bike routes that would have been nice for people to know about, most importantly the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek, which was on the map if you knew where to look but was not highlighted by Frans. We did enjoy the evening Frans played the keyboard in the dining room.

The biggest disappointment was that we had to sit with the same people at dinner every night. We understand there are logistics involved that make it much easier for the staff, but this requirement eliminated what could have been a prime opportunity to get to know others. We happened to be assigned the same table as our best friend, whom we obviously already know very well. We had little in common with the other three and were stuck with them (and they with us) for the whole week. There must be some way (perhaps a buffet a couple of times during the week, or a dinner in town one night) where we could have a chance to meet others, which would have made the trip much more rewarding.

Our most memorable part of the trip was the lovely riding along the Mosel and Saar with our family. As well as, the wonderful hospitality of the Flora crew (Berthus, Jonne, Christiana, Stephan) and great conversations with our guide, Wieger.

Our suggestion/tips for others would be: be prepared for intimate living quarters with others and enjoy the bike riding through a beautiful part of Germany. It is about the journey, not the destination. And, DO take the tour at Burg Elz!

This trip exceeded our expectations. The accommodations and food on the barge were wonderful. We were so comfortable. The guides were terrific, they were so informative and made adjustments as needed to suit weather and safety. The evening tours to special places where we stopped were special. The crew was great. I can’t wait to do it again.

Different city tours were the memborable part both positive and negative. We loved our tour with Peter in Vienna on bikes we did not like our tour with a different Peter in Budapest, he was rude to one of our rides, very opinionated against the West defense of Ukraine, and then left us in the middle of town since he had another tour to go to.

the communication about the departure from the very beginning was a fiasco and then throughout the German presenations were about 50% longer than the English ones. BUt Leslie the Tour Director did a great job overall.

The guide, the itinerary and the chefs were superb!! 5 stars for them!! But the boat, and specifically the boat owners, get a 1 star. How cheap can they be??!! They didn't even provide a plastic bike water bottle. And they charged a hefty fuel surcharge, even after the price of fuel had plummeted. This was my third bike and barge, and I will never go on another barge owned by this company.

The Moselle-Maar Cycling Trail offered a lovely change of scenery from the also beautiful Mosel River paths we followed most days.

Bicycling through the picturesque countryside was magical. We saw beautiful homes and gardens, bridges, small villages, windmills, and night touring the bigger towns to learn a little about the history was a bonus. Staying on a smaller barge gave us an opportunity to get to know the other guests and crew. This too made for a memorable trip. The company is very organized and have a well thought out program. Our tour guide Roseanna was amazing. She had much information to share on our route, kept us together, tremendous patience and lots of fun. Our Chef, Captain and crew made for a comfortable, safe and relaxing trip down the canals after our ride.

See the beauty of the country and spending time with wonderful co-travelers. I was moved to realize the deep history of Germany, see vineyards EVERYWHERE, castles in nearly every view of the mountains, the lovely quaint villages and the friendliness of the people.

Most memorable parts? Food, people, the rides through the country

The biking throughout was excellent: we had great guides and the barge crew was friendly, accommodating, and VERY professional. Plus there seemed to be a castle on every hill, like biking through a fairytale.

I was very impressed with the ship, food, crew and all around organization of everything. I expected the photos from the website to enhance the appearance and size of the ship, but in person it was just as impressive. I wouldn't say our cabin was large, but it offered all that we required. There were multiple storage areas, a safe box, refrigerator, coffee station and the outlets were where they needed to be.
The ship was very clean. All cleaning seemed to be done while passengers were at meals or on excursions. I did not see anyone pushing a vacuum or hauling trash, but yet the carpets were free from dirt, and all public spaces were tidy and well-tended.
The crew were helpful and friendly. We got to know a few of them (Patrick, George, Samwell and Dida) and have fond memories of them. I hope we didn't pester them too much with our questions and demands.
The meals were wonderful - well presented and more than enough to satisfy any appetite (I now need to diet to make up for all my indulgence). Some dishes I preferred more than others, but it was good to get a taste of the local cuisines. There were generally options for vegetarians, seafood lovers and meat eaters, and always a choice of a tasty dessert.
We chose a Bike and Barge excursion, so we got to explore the area on bike. We had reserved electric bikes. These were easy to get the hang of, well maintained and easy to peddle. The scenery was beautiful and most of the biking was on bike paths although there were some challenging areas involving traffic and finding our way. The afternoon before each bike day, we were given a presentation detailing the path we needed to take and what we might encounter. We were also given a booklet with maps, points of interest and more details.
I would highly recommend choosing Tripsite for your next vacation.

The scenery was fantastic, especially from the high points and we were fortunate to have dry sunny weather all week.
The guides and crew were great and once you had adjusted to the compact cabins it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Outright tip: the e-bikes really take the sting out of the challenging climbs

The riding was relatively easy given the flat countryside. The rides along country lanes and through farmland was magical. The stops in towns were a great opportunity to experience small town life in the Netherlands. The food on board the sailing home was wonderful, and the staff were great--attentive, available, friendly, enthusiastic. So few people did so much--it was remarkable.

The one thing I forgot to mention in the survey while I was still on the barge ( while still basking in the glow of such a wonderful trip), is regarding the first evening. The plan was for a short "shakedown" bike ride to check out our bikes, and get used to them. By the time we got outside, it was nearly dark. There were some bikes that needed some attention and the short ride through town was difficult in the dark. It was a frustrating and anxiety provoking first outing. I think the solution would be easy---either make dinner that night earlier, and/or, at the least, postpone dessert, head out to the bikes with more daylight remaining, and then have a post-ride dessert available. It could be something simple like pastry, cookies, or fruit so that the chef doesn't need to stay on any later (she works hard enough as it is).
My high ratings overall for the trip are not inclusive of that first evening, which wasn't a good experience, but then faded into the background since everything afterwards went so well. Thank you for taking this into consideration.

We really enjoyed our trip through the Provence region of southern France! Our guide, Michaela, was very knowledgeable of the history of the area, kept us on low trafficked roads on our bicycles, and was in general a lot of fun. Additionally, our eBikes were in great condition and we enjoyed using them throughout our tour. The only downside was our cabin on the Caprice as we both have allergies and there was a persistent mildew/mold smell which necessitated keeping the A/C on relatively high to dissipate it. The cabin was also quite small for us traveling as a couple—one of us literally had to crawl over the other to use the bathroom. The hardworking staff is to be commended.

Great aspects=the guide, food, staff
Less were the comfort of the beds and space in the bathroom

I really enjoyed my trip on the Swiss Crown. The boat is beautiful, the food is fabulous, and the staff is amazing. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. I especially loved the city tours we took. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to see a variety of places and people. The Danube is gorgeous and was surprising sparsely populated in places. Gliding along with a drink on the sun deck is a wonderful way to experience the river itself. I did not ride the bikes, but my entire family enjoyed them and said they were easy to ride. Please take this trip. You will have a great time!

Beautiful vistas daily as we cycled along the Danube

Kudos to chef Joost! Great food.
Also to tour guide Ingrid who gave us background into Dutch culture and history.
I did fine on the heavy Dutch bike but if you want to have an easier time of it, rent an e-bike and have no worries about the cycling.

We very much enjoyed our time on the Bike and Barge tour. The boat was very comfortable and the service and food were top notch!
There were some issues with staffing the on-site tour guide position, however, the best effort was made to provide as much information and guidance as possible.
The scenery is spectacular!
The bikes were very good quality and quite comfortable. The E-bike was perfect because it allowed us to turn the power off on flat trails and then use assist when we encountered any inclines.
Our only disappointment was the lack of time spent at each location. At times, we did not arrive until late morning or early afternoon, leaving little time to cycle or explore.
I would definitely recommend this type of tour for anyone looking to have an active holiday. A wide variety of activity levels can be accommodated.
We were also very impressed with the support we received from Tripsite during and after the booking phase.

The most memorable part is the memories of our group of 8 being able to experience the biking and river crusing together. The staff on the boat were marvelous and a lot of fun.
A suggestion is to have the full itinerary of the trip available at the beginning of the trip. Often we had no idea what time we were arriving or leaving from the dock, or what time we were getting on the bikes and waht time we had to be back to the ship. So more clarity of the weekly schedule would have been very beneficial.
Other than that the trip was incredibly scenic and overall we had a wonderful experience.

The beautiful water of the Adriatic Sea and the beautiful coastal views. Food on board was exceptional and bikes were excellent. I would suggest e-bikes for those shy of hills as there are a few tough climbs. Also bring water shoes as the beaches are more rock/pebbles. Kuna is most easily acceptable currency so have lots on hand

The crew were great and meals above average. Unfortunately there were not enough ebikes and the ride is very tough. The e bike riders were always way ahead and it was almost a race instead of enjoying the country side. Only stopped to swim twice, the captain seemed more concerned with rushing to the next port to get a spot on the dock. We were below deck and the ship stayed running when parked which made it very noisy to sleep. Wifi was very limited on the boat and most cabins did not have wifi. We had a great trip with friends but would suggest looking at all cruise line options for your trip needs. The Dalmatian Coast is beautiful.

The trip was well organised, we saw lots of interesting new places, loved, the rides through the forests and the food was amazing! The most memorable part of the trip was the way the entire crew worked together to give us all a wonderfully enjoyable trip.Highly recommend a trip on board Feniks!

The wonderful guides who helped me, the splendid rides, the friendly stafff