Europe Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 2311 to 2340 of 4949

The visits to the the lovely villages in our bikes. The great meals in the evening. The great breakfasts in the morning. The wonderful sense of togetherness

My wife and I have just completed our first Bike and Barge tour. Amsterdam to Bruges on the Gandalf. From the Captain Hans, crew and Nishka (the dog) they made a very comfortable and enjoyable trip. We spent a lot of time with our guide, Simon, and I can't say enough about the profession way that he handled his job. Planning of the daily routes, briefing, finding a wonderful spot for lunch break, the evening walking tours(for us that had enough energy), providing city maps and all the little extra personal touches added a great deal to the overall experience.
Since my wife had not been on a bike for a few years, the rental of the e-bike was a very welcomed. The tour is on flat ground but there overpasses and distance that the option of the e-bike should be considered.

The fellowship on the Magnifique IV was wonderful. However, several of our fellow travelers tested positive for COVID right after leaving the ship. More options for testing and keeping the travelers free of COVID need to be provided.

The guides and staff were extremely engaging and accommodating . The chef selection of food and wine pairings exceeded expectations . The guides were knowledgeable and personable . The tour route had the right balance of cycling , exploring and relaxing .
To improve
Rooms stuffy . Better ventilation needed for sleeping . Suggest a check to set the climate control .
Two members of our group required extra small bikes not available .
Face clothes in rooms .

The e bike was a fabulous way for me to be able to keep up. It was of superior quality to mine at home and I’d unequivocally say that almost any riding capability would be able to enjoy this trip by requesting the Gazelle e bike offering. For the barge, we really noticed the lack of air circulation in our rooms at night. They advised us when we got there that ac wasn’t working- they worked on fixing that during our time aboard but it was the one thing that prevents me from giving it an absolutely perfect rating.

When thinking about the trip, the biking is what I thought about most. Once the trip began, I realized the "extra" aspects of the trip were the most meaningful:
- visiting a cheese farm to learn about
- walking through the cities with our guides learning about their history
- fabulous meals on board
- friendly and talented staff

This trip had it all great cycling through gorgeous and historic NL with some fun informative guides, delicious meals prepared by chef Ellen, spending time with great friends and meeting new people. Highly recommend this trip. Lenny is an excellent host.

There were too many memorable moments to really list. What I think was most memorable of the trip was the kindness of all the passengers. It seemed like we all had been friends forever. The other was the professionalism of the entire staff. They were all so KIND, COURTEOUS and POLITE. The entire staff was nothing short of true professionals. They really went above and beyond to make us feel very comfortable. Actually, so comfortable I didn't want to leave. CHEERS to the crew of the Magnifique IV.

The trip was very enjoyable , the boat was excellent in every respect, the crew was superb, and the food was top notch. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and I would recommend this tour.
The bikes were great, the cycling routes themselves were not overly difficult and perhaps a bit lacking in scenery, but nevertheless enjoyable.

I also think that the tour leader Hein and his spouse added much to the enjoyment of the trip by all.

The Merlijn, the captain, chef, crew and guides were absolutely fantastic - our third bike and barge with Tripsite and by far the best. The most memorable part for us was riding into Ghent where we lived 15 years ago as a family for a year - spent the afternoon with the group showing off our home away from home.

The bike-barge trip from Mantova to Venice was wonderful and a great way to see the country. Our tour guide was fantastic - very knowledgeable and attuned to the group. He spoke Italian and knew many of the people with whom he made arrangements for the stops. He was well versed on the route as well, and while there were exciting moments, he also ensured our safety including stopping traffic to allow the whole group to cross major thoroughfares. We had wonderful rides through a variety of terrains, learned about Italian culture and history, and had many interesting stops along the way. The country side and cities were equally thrilling. Food on the barge was exceptional. Our young chefs prepared the food with such care. All of the staff were exceptional in making sure our needs were met. A special surprise arranged by our tour guide, Hein, was to be able to go to the top floor of a building in Venice to oversee the city from on high. It was breathtaking. We got to know the other 28 guests and really enjoyed the entire experience.

We loved everything about the trip. Biking was great... Guides were awesome. Loved Yepka... Food was amazing. Thank you Inma. Staff on boat was awesome. Helga and RJ and daughter was so great. Biking was beautiful. Loved the gardens and Yepka's information. Husband loved Seiste's historical information.

This trip was perfect. The boat was clean, roomy and comfortable. I liked the ride and stay in Haarlem best, but wait the ride to Leiden … really loved it all! Did I mention the Chef and meals, wow.

The crew, the barge, the bikes, the food, the drinks, the countryside, everything was simply great!

The trip was amazingly organized and fun from start to finish!
My most memorable experience was how the staff made my birthday so very special.
My bike guide Seista bought me chocolates and the staff make a special dinner celebration and sang me Happy Birthday in Dutch!

The staff of the Quo Vadis went out of their way to make sure every moment of every day of our trip to exceed our expectations!

Finding out that using an E-bike is WONDERFUL (this was our first trip) and allowed us to bike must further and faster than we thought we were capable of. The daily tours were well set up - took us along the unbeaten (bike) paths and allowed us enjoy time with friends.

This was an amazing trip and experience! It had everything my husband and I wanted. Beautiful boat and accommodations, fabulous staff, and oh the food! Wow! So fresh and tasty. All of the staff were so personable and helpful. We became fast friends! We loved the biking routes and the places that we toured. One of my favorite experiences was eating my sack lunch in an open field next to a windmill. How cool is that! We are already looking into another trip. This will push us to keep our legs bike-ready!

The great itinerary, the Quo Vadis and staff, the tour guides for rides, and the scenic rides near the sea. The food was great as well! We definitely are looking to do another trip with the Quo Vadis! Thank you for a great trip TtipSite!

The trip was very enjoyable , the boat was excellent in every respect, the crew was superb, and the food was top notch. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and I would recommend this tour.
The bikes were great, the cycling routes themselves were not overly difficult and perhaps a bit lacking in scenery, but nevertheless enjoyable.

I also think that the tour leader Hein and his spouse added much to the enjoyment of the trip by all.

Riding in the countryside was wonderful, the ride in the urban parts was much more stressful. Our barge was divided into two groups which had significantly different experiences. Group one (which we were not in) had 2 guides while ours which was the same size had only one which meant that one of us had to take on the role of sweep. Our group leader did not stop or explain anywhere near as much as the other. Our group leader was unwilling to wait to make sure everyone was accounted for. For one example he took part of the group to a canal tour and said it should return on time. When I asked if he would wait for us if it was a few minutes late he said "I don't know, maybe" and when we were still getting our bikes out of the racks, he left with the rest of the group and was out of sight. luckily we were able to catch up but this incident seemed to characterize our whole experience with this guide.

Excellent bike/ barge trip on the SARAH. The crew was exceptional with gourmet meal, knowledgeable bike leader, engaging captain, first mate, and housekeeping staff. The bikes were better than I had anticipated and each person's bike was customized to their measurements. Some of us downloaded the trip's daily route with the "Ride with GPS" App. Six of us, girlfriends, decided to follow the route by ourselves, separate from the main group. We had a blast and only got off track a few times. The country side was spectacular and the towns charming. The unique highlights for me were our visits to the Tulips festival, Keukenhof, and to a working cheese farm. The weather was chilly. It was in the high 50s low 60s. Definitely plan on packing layers if the weather falls in this range. The only suggestion I would have is for each cabin to have a small fan for ventilation purposes. The two bedroom cabins are tight and with only one window the air does not circulate very well. Other that than I would definitely recommend The TulipTour!!

The dinners on the tour were terrific. The chefs were funny and creative. You certainly didn’t want to miss their daily descriptions and wine recommendations. I loved that many of the meals were vegetarian.

Comparing that ship to the one that I’m on now I would not give it a high rating. Bathroom was filthy, toilet kept running, floor stayed wet from condensation from the shower and toilet and the bed situation was not desirable. However I booked this knowing that it was a low budget trip so therefore I was not disappointed. The guide was superb. He gave us lots of history and really made the trip fun. The food was less than desirable.

1. Kukenhof gardens was our favorite part of the trip- absolutely gorgeous.
2. The staff was awesome- friendly, cheerful, energetic.

Amazing rides through the countryside, full of spring blossoms

Great trip, staff was very helpful ,food was wonderful. The bike trails in the Netherlands are never ending and scenic. Would highly recommend.

Love the scenery. The canal with the houses and beautiful yards next to them, Keukenhof gardens snd the tulip fields were absolutely gorgeous.
If I did this tour again I would get an e bike. The wind was blowing pretty hard so I was struggling to keep up. Also it was a lot colder than I thought it would be.

Love the scenery. The canal with the houses and beautiful yards next to them, Keukenhof gardens snd the tulip fields were absolutely gorgeous.
If I did this tour again I would get an e bike. The wind was blowing pretty hard so I was struggling to keep up. Also it was a lot colder than I thought it would be.

My husband and I loved biking through the mountains and valleys adorned with vineyards, rivers and numerous towns..
The scenery was amazing!!
One of the best parts of the trip was..... we were on safe bike-paths most of the way!!
The food was excellent. Each day the Chef introduced and featured a new flavour of Italian Food pertinent to an area of Italy.
Hein, was an awesome guide who had many surprises in-store for us each day. A FEW of the main attractions were: he would stop here and there along the way for history lessons, we visited a few castles, a clam farm and a cheese factory, plus we had chats about agriculture, and gave the bird enthusiasts time for bird watching. Hein, then concluded the week with a spectacular tour of Venice.
The people aboard the "Ava Maria" were very friendly. It fun making new friends and we found we had bonded with many by the end of the week.
I would highly recommend this bike-tour and was very sad when it ended!!