France Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 451 to 480 of 743

The scenery! The food! The guide, chef, and captain were wonderful. Eight cabins, 16 people. The perfect size group. We did the 2 week ride from Bruges to Paris. I would definitely do one of these trips again!

I thoroughly enjoyed every part of the trip, but it was particularly interesting to tour Aigues Mortes and to learn how and why it came about.

The barge Elodie...was just fantastic...chef, captain, guide.

Auxerre to Paris: Outstanding staff on Elodie and beautiful route through French countryside.

Lovely scenery, experiences and meals at the end of the day.

The Bordeaux Wine Country trip was absolutely the best vacation ever! The guides were wonderful, full of interesting information and fun. Doing the guided tour allowed us to take in the scenery without having to worry about where to turn next. The scenery was so amazing. Every other word was "oh my" or "Wow"! A simple review cannot begin to convey how fantastic this trip was. We are already planning another trip with you. Thanks for the wonderful vacation.

Having never done a “biking” vacation before, this was our first experience and I will say that we both felt that this would be something that we would definitely want to do again.
The equipment was in great condition and was properly geared for the terrain that we encountered. The guide on our tour was part historian, part musician, part artist and part entertainer. He made our trip come alive with insightful facts and was always encouraging with all of the clients on the tour. We constantly felt special in the opportunities we had to gain access to sites that we toured.
The crew on the boat was exceptional as well. We were always made to feel at home and quickly realized how much effort they all placed on us enjoying ourselves.
The meals served on board were exceptional as well. Our chef Sara, provided seasonal, and local dishes that enhanced our journey through Provence.
Lastly, we would have to say that biking through Provence was by far, the best was to tour Provence. We often felt more like citizens of the country than tourists. We will never forget the wonderful times we had, especially with the Dropbox videos and photos that our tour guide send us upon our return home.
This was undoubtedly one of the best vacation experiences that we have ever had.

After having had prior positive experiences, I was very disappointed with this trip. The accommodation on the boat was almost to the point of ridiculous! The upper bunk was almost impossible to get into and getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night was treacherous! The staff were pleasant enough and the food was okay. Peter, our guide, was also disappointing. He really seemed to have little interest in whether we were enjoying our ride. He would often head out ahead of us and then a some point realize that we weren't all there and would stop or go back. He did not wear any kind of identifiable clothing so that we knew who or what to look for if we were further behind. Thank goodness there were enough of us with prior experience that we picked up the slack and made sure the first timers weren't left behind. I invited my sister, a first timer, to join me on this trip and found myself apologizing many times that this trip was less than enjoyable. That being said we did see some nice scenery and did come across some stores that were actually open. The general comment was "that's just the French" Another thing to note is that finding the bus that was supposed to take us from Paris to meet the boat ended up being a bit of a fiasco! We waited for an hour in the hot sun and the bus had been there the whole time. There was no identifiable sign to let us know that was our bus. Several times members of our group checked with the driver and were told that it wasn't our bus. Finally one of the members of our group who was more proficient in French appeared to ask the right question as it turned out that the bus was actually ours. Not a good omen apparently! All in all I would not recommend this trip to anyone!

Very enjoyable trip! Great accommodation, great cycling and great crew & guides.

First time I've had an art historian/architecture teacher as a tour guide. Geert was wonderful and enriched every stop.

The scenery and staff on board were the most memorable parts of the trip. Although the tour says easy to moderate, there are 2 to 3 days that there are a few steep hills. You need to be bike ready. Or as an alternative rent an E Bike. As long as you just want to enjoy the scenery, places, vineyards, and not in a hurry, look at the guided portion for the extra cost. The guide we had was wonderful in explaining any questions we had. There are many things said that you would not get by self guided. If you are a wine fan and history and culture, this tour is for you. Stay in the city of Bordeaux also a couple days before or after. Very vibrant city with great restaurants and things to do in the city centre. Enjoy!

Guides had no map, and got us lost daily. They spoke no French, so could ask no one for help. Because of the getting lost daily, we didn't get to see the towns in which we were moored for the night. Kitchen ran out of bread, so I had to buy my sandwich one day. Rooms were not cleaned except for trash being removed once. Boat was moored in Paris 1/2 hour walk away from where the captain said he would be, with not notifying guests. A complete and total DISASTER!!!

Most Memorable Part? Staff on boat, people traveling and the scenery.

Everything was memorable, the other guests, crew, routes, guide, barge and food. 14 days with a break in the middle was just right for timing.

Amazing scenery and locale. The biking maps leave a lot to be desired. Some riders had a trail app and they were lifesavers for those who were left to just the paper map booklet. Very difficult to follow. Maybe more tour guides to help out.

You will not really see France and Belgium unless you cycle. This way you go through villages and towns and farms, see cathedrals, castles and even the grave of Van Gogh. The routes take you on forest, bike and tow paths, roads and cobblestones. Enjoy picnic lunches in church grounds, pubs, cafes and gardens. You will enjoy evening night walks after a delicious three course meal.
If you don't think you can do it, you can!

My main disappointment was that we did not go to Chateauneuf du Pape, that was one off the considerations in picking this tour. I understand the reasoning for the change in itinerary but it should be removed from the description if it is not being included. The gearing on the bikes could be better, higher top gear, lower bottom gear, for this tour. I hope this doesn't sound too negative as we did enjoy the tour. Most memorable sites were Les Beux/Les Carrieres de Lumieres and Pont-du-Gare.

What a great trip! The crew of the Elodie are a tight-knit team who made our tour quite exceptional. The route was spectacular, the food wonderful and the accommodation comfortable. The bikes were high quality and well suited to the varied conditions enroute. A highly recommended tour!

It's hard to choose a most memorable part of the trip. Aigues Mortes was a big surprise -- the history, the walls and the tower, and the special celebration -- the bull games -- taking place while we were there. The Camargue was amazing, with the waterways and the vineyards, the distinct breeds of horses and the bulls. Provence was beautiful with the olive groves and apple orchards, and of course more vineyards. It was exciting to visit the sites where Van Gogh had painted in Arles, and Hugo's commentary was superb. Singing Starry Starry night on deck under the starry night was lovely. The visit to Les Baux, with the spectacular scenery and Les Carrieres des Lumieres in the quarry were fabulous. We enjoyed visiting the Pont du Gard and singing Sur Le Pont d'Avignon as we cruised passed the bridge itself.

Now the areas for improvement: The bikes were not good enough for the Provence segment. We understood that we would be provided with 27 gear bikes, but had an infinite gearing system instead, and the lowest gear wasn't enough for the hills we encountered. Those with electric bikes were happier. Also, through some poor communication between Tripsite and the tour operator, Girolibero, a part of the trip route that our group had been particularly interested in -- a visit to Chateau Neuf du Pape -- was no longer included. Hugo did his best, with a vote (which came out even) to see whether we should go to Chateau Neuf du Pape or take the shorter route that had been promised to the others on the trip. Then he flipped a coin. We accepted the decision as appropriate, but were disappointed that we had not got what was advertised through Tripsite.

We didn't know what to expect on such a small barge/boat: however it was very enjoyable Our hosts were great and always helpful even when we knew it was a busy time for them. Being a small group and despite some language differences, we all bonded and managed to communicate well. Our leader Anna was particularly competent and took us through some interesting situations without a glitch. We will be known as the group who loves limericks as one guy in our group started by writing one for each cyclist...then of course we all started to write them. The last dinner was quite hilarious. You can't beat these tours for economy, traveling through history and spectacular scenery and commaradorie. I left off one star as the rooms and bathroom were super small and hard to manouver in. Everything else, including the meals, were something to write home about.!

We were fortunate enough to have Tripsite founder, Hennie, along, who led half of our group on a terrific cycling adventure between Paris and Bruges. We made wonderful friendships and were treated royally on board the Zwaantje by the crew - and what wonderful meals!

Most Memorable Part? Cycling thru the small Villages of the Somme with good riders lead by Hennie.

Enjoyed the staff, the group we met and the overall tour. I got to visit a part of France I might never have seen. Really enjoyed the champagne bottling winery the last day.

The two-week trip on the Zwaantje from Paris to Bruges was awesome! The crew of the ship and the tour guide were exceptional. The food, prepared by Frank, was consistently top-notch and interestingly varied day-to-day. Our guide, Geert, provided us with an excellent selection of sites, of which he had encyclopedic knowledge. The captain, Martijn, was also very engaging with the guests. Daily rides were easy to occasionally moderate, providing us with a satisfying riding experience. Almost all of the riding was in open country or small, rural towns, which we loved. However, riding in and out of the larger towns, while of necessity, did present some typical urban challenges to the bicyclists. Overall this trip is highly recommended. Pierre and Laurie

I broke my wrist while half way through the trip. Everyone was very kind and supported me to make sure I was included in most activities.

This trip is not accurately described. Most of our group found the biking to be quite challenging, yet it was rated as "Easy to Moderate". This is a misrepresentation and should be adjusted. On the first day, one our group had to be taken to the hospital due to the heat and exertion. The captain of Le Fleur could use some lessons in hospitality. He and his crew occupied the salon every evening for their meal after we ate, and then they stayed there for the evening. This put the guests out on the back deck as the only alternative -- and then he scolded us when we were laughing due to the noise. The captain did not treat us like guests, but the other team members were friendly. The fact that we sailed with the captain's young daughter and their large dog was a surprise. I would not recommend this boat, but enjoyed the sites and activities. I have taken two other bike and barge tours, and this one did not compare favorably.

Bourg / Blaye was a wonderful ride with minimal traffic and enough gradient to make it interesting. The fortified town at Blaye was an interesting diversion from vineyards. In all a well organized tour with excellent staff. The bikes were a little heavy but that gave me an excuse for an extra creme brûlée!

A GREAT experience on a bike & barge trip! I LOVE Bordeaux and the bike routes were beautiful !!! absolutely amazing from the start to the end.
The staff members were superb and we had fun !!!
I highly recommend this trip !!!

Thank you for arranging our bike/barge trip on the MS Bordeaux.

We cannot tell you enough good about MS Bordeaux, the Captain and his crew. It was so enjoyable to arrive on board, unpack for eight days, and relax. On other bike rides, we unpacked every night and repacked every morning. I think another bike/barge is in order. Tim LaMonte and I are researching next year’s ride already!

The food was exceptional (except for one night when the chef was off. My red mullet was raw and not cooked. Can you spell Y-U-C-K?). Every day, we packed our lunches (except when we did our walking tour of Bordeaux with Sebastian, see below.) Desserts were yummy!

The bike rides were great and we discovered fantastic wines!

There were 84 passengers on-board. A large group was from Australia, some from Canada, Switzerland and the USA. Even though those of on the non-guided ride tour rode at different speeds, we continuously found each, and other helped each other find our way and found places of interest. The camaraderie with other riders was phenomenal.

I had an e-bike. Ginny had a regular bike. On the last day, she traded it in for an e-bike! She will get one for the next tour! Tim also traded his bike for an e-bike on the last day.

In the middle of the week, we could ride our bikes on a short bike path or take a walking tour of Bordeaux, or both. We decided to have a relaxing day and took the walking tour.

Sebastian, the bartender, had the day off. We asked why he did the free walking tour on his day off. His response was simple. He loved to tell people about his country and take them on tour of his hometown, Bordeaux.

A total delight was our interaction with 19-year old Dorrian (sp?). He was the highlight of the trip. He gave the welcome briefing, the evening briefings on what to expect the next day, and was always available.

1. Dee LaMonte had a flat tire. We called Dorrian and he was there within 15 minutes

2. Dorrian was on different roads where the non-guided riders were, and always got us on the right track.

3. Every time we were not sure of where we should be, Dorrian showed up like magic!

4. Another flat tire, a telephone call, and Dorrian found us again. He took Dee LaMonte and her bike in a van to MS Bordeaux. Dorrian also offered a ride to the rest of us, however, we declined and rode the rest of the way back.

The final night on board, was the Captains Dinner, a party and lots wine flowing and lot of dancing! A perfect way to celebrate the end of our adventure!

It was an altogether pleasant experience; the highlight was the lovely little village of Saint-Émilion.