France Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 451 to 480 of 652

Everything was great. Just did not like the room and bathroom size.

We enjoyed St Emilion which we explored on our own. We should have been told what there was unusual to see in all of the ports that we were in at the beginning of the trip so that if reservations were necessary at sights that interested us we could have made them. Sebastian worked very hard at making sure that we had a great time on the boat. We were part of a learning experience and work in progress for Pascal.

The scenery was wonderful. Biking around the French countryside — what could be bad? HOWEVER, this trip should not be taken unless the client is assured that the barge has replaced their current bikes (as they say they will for 2018) with lighter bikes in perfect working order. They should make sure that there are bikes of all sizes, so that a small person (I am 5’) will get a properly fitted bike. I biked the entire week on a 6-speed rusty heavy old bike. Even the bell and kickstand didn’t work.

Most Memorable Part: St. Emilion and the disco party on the boat the last night

Bordeaux is an exquisite area of France. Exploring it on a bike made it that much more enjoyable. The scenery and visiting wine Chateaus that have been in business for generation was quite spectacular. The city of Bordeaux may be my favorite city of all the European cities I've visited. It's very easy to use the public transportation, there is much to see, explore and experience there. For future listings, I would rate this trip as at least moderate in cycling difficulty. There was one flat day, one day of rolling cycling, and 3 day of pretty challenging hills, especially on heavy hybrid bikes. On any future tour I will definitely consider using an ebike. Many if not all of the European women used them. I met many interesting and lovely people from other countries on this tour. It was delightful!

Guide, Antonella, crew, food, tour and route were fine, but the Estello was not, surely not "comfort plus". The boat is tired, lounge furniture was dirty, lead to believe the boat was not equivalent to Ave Maria but close, Girolibro providing better boats than FR companies. Were tied up close to a FR boat, was better. Cabins in comparison to other boats we have booked are poor, shower was not separate from remainder of the head so everything was soaked after shower. Since we booked the entire boat for Coastal Cruisers, even though no one seemed to complain, we expected better. Your bike and barge tours continue to be good value with folks who provide services compensating for "tired boat".

The food was great and loved the coffee machine. Would like dinner at 7:00 pm rather than 6:30 pm to give us more time to relax and enjoy the day. No one ever eats in France before 7:30 pm and I felt like we were being treated as young campers. The Fleur needs new towels. The existing are rough and not vey absorbent. It was a very happy and congenial crew. Bert, Petra, Ellen and Aga. Thomas was most accommodating... Bike trails were good. We had the unusual situation where the majority ie 12 out of 20 bikers were of Olympian caliper. Their preferred speed was 30 to 35 kms an hour and the rest would have liked between 15 and 20 kms. and hour. We all coped but it meant you couldn't relax and enjoy the scenery. Two guides would have been the solution as promised.

The excellent staff and guide combined with the great mix of rural and forest countryside and the history in the cities and towns along the way.
Tripsite should do a better job of editing the text on their website. There were several incorrect descriptions.

Wonderful experience

The bike & barge trip from Paris to Brugge on the Feniks was an amazing experience. The crew was exceptional, the scenery beautiful and the price was terrific. I highly recommend this trip.

The scenery was a photograph almost each moment. Incredibly knowledgeable guide made every day a new adventure. Plus a very doable ride for all skill level.

Most Memorable Part: The knowledge of our guide, Wouter, and the beautiful vineyards along the river. I loved how we were riding on a flat, easy and beautiful path, but could see and appreciate the steep mountain vineyards! This is our third Tripsite adventure and we have enjoyed each one. In fact, as we were driving home from the airport my husband was booking our next trip - Northern Holland!

We really enjoyed the bike rides in the country side, and visiting the wineries, especially the day Viktor took us to Clos de Bigos. Staff on the boat was great. Boat is older and can get very damp in the lower cabins. The cabin did have air conditioning which is very nice. The areas we visited were beautiful, and we were surprised at how beautiful Bordeaux is.

Most Memorable Part: Cycling itself throughout southern France

Amazing scenery - good guide, manageable route, fantastic food. Only thing that could have been improved was wifi on the boat. If more than two or three people were using it, it was impossible to connect and always very slow.

We really enjoyed our trip. It was nice to have our own group on the boat. Everyone had a great time, the crew was great, the food was awesome and you can't beat the places we visited. Thank you for a great trip!

The routes of this trip were fantastic, even though the Lavender was not in bloom the fragrances hung in the air as we rode by the harvested fields. We rode to some of France's National Monuments which was special in of itself. I thought the routes and itineraries were great. I always looked forward to what they had planned for us next. Our guide and all the staff on the barge were all wonderful and so happy to share this journey with us! The food was excellent - who knew there would be such fine dining on the barge! This is an adventure not to be missed!

We were on a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest last year, and we noticed that the rivers we were on had beautiful paved and much-used bike trails, often on both banks. Then our friends from Chicago, a couple our age, learned about a barge biking trip in Europe and went on it last fall. They invited us to join them this year on a similar trip on the Moselle River, from Metz, France to Cochem, Germany. Here's the concept: at Metz, we arrived at the Iris, a small ship fitted out for 24 passengers and five crewmembers. Besides the passenger cabins, the ship had a dining room, a lounge, and an outside deck- not all the other things you associate with a cruise ship. Each day at around nine or 10 o'clock in the morning, we would get off the ship with bikes provided by the outfitter, and bicycle about 30 miles along the bike path on the river. We were led each day by Wouter, our guide, who was a history major as well as a very competent tour guide. He and the other four members of the crew were all Dutch, as was the registry of the ship.
When registering for the trip, we included our physical measurements so that the bikes were almost perfectly fitted to us when we arrived. I was pleased that my bike was large enough for me because I am tall. Dianne had reserved an e-bike since she hadn't had a lot of experience in doing long road rides over multiple days, and because she had just had knee replacement surgery at the end of January. Five of the 24 people in our group used e-bikes, and they were all very happy with their performance. The bike does between 20 and 60% of the work (three levels—20, 40 and 60%) and you do the rest. It's not like a moped-- you still must pedal. It also has a readout that gives your speed, distance, and battery power.

The bikes we used didn't employed derailleurs but instead had gears inside the rear hub that worked very smoothly with the two lever system on the handlebar. Most of the bikes were Gudereit hybrids, a German brand. All the bikes had front and rear lights, which turned on automatically, and were powered by a generator device inside the front hub that involved rotating magnets, so there was no friction. I was impressed with the smoothness and comfort of the bike I was given. The outfitters provided the bike, a pannier, and a helmet for each cyclist. Helmet use was not required but highly recommended.

The nice thing about the bike paths along the Moselle River is that they were quite level, with only occasional small climbs when we needed to go up a ramp to cross a lock and dam for a bridge, and once when we made a little more of a climb to get up onto one of the tiered roadways in the vineyards. The Moselle Valley is wine country, and there were vineyards every day in every direction. Every morning we made a coffee break in a small town, and later we stopped again for the lunch we had packed that morning before leaving the ship. Each day, we’d see the Iris passing us on the river on its way to that day’s destination city, with Jacques, the captain, waving from the pilot house. On two of the days, we could opt to stay on the ship longer and join the other bicyclists enroute, or leave the ride early and “sag” on the ship. Guests also had the option to just stay on the ship all day and not bicycle if felt they needed a day off. But most biked the entire way.  SHOW MORE 

The guide was attentive to each rider and knowledgeable about the towns and history.

Bordeaux the best city on trip for us. Trip is not easy because of traffic and hills---scary!!!

Gourmet dining aboard the Clair de Lune was five star fabulous! The tour guide, Henry, was extremely knowledgeable about the area, and inspired the highest level of confidence in his ability to handle any situation. The Clair de Lune was very clean and in excellent condition. All the staff were wonderfully friendly, helpful and welcoming.

We were on the 9-16 Sep sailing on the Bordeaux from Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne. The provided daily road maps were difficult to follow and easily confusing; most folks saved the $200 euro apiece, and did the self-guided rides -- and folks were going off trail everywhere. Luckily, I had downloaded Ulmon maps, so I could always find my way back to the trail. They did offer 3 bike computers with pre-loaded maps which were very helpful. You state they can be rented for $15 euro, actually, they are available for free, with a $100 euro refundable deposit, unless it is lost or stolen.
Otherwise, the trip was a delight, and great kudos to the bike guide Victor, the ship's owner Pascale, and her fine crew.

Most Memorable part: Going through the locks on the barge in Paris. The kindness of our fellow bikers and staff.

I just got back from the trip and had a wonderful time! The Boat, Bikes, and Food where the best that could be provided and the scenery was amazing! I found the description to be exactly as the trip experience. I felt like I was fully prepared for everything and cannot wait to do it again next year.

We truly enjoyed this trip, with beautiful flowers in every town and swans everywhere. One night, we had a bevy of swans peaking in at us as we ate dinner!. The bikes are great, with comfortable seats and smooth gearing. The dinners were always a delicious surprise. Sanders and Els were wonderful hosts, and our guide, Seitze, was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Mosel area, including Roman aqueducts, medieval castles, World War II sites, and, of course, the history of the EU. Nancy was my favorite big city but we also had a night time walking tour of a little town overlooking the Mosel, called Liverdun...where delicious Madelines come from! Very cute town. We went in early September and the cabins were a bit warm even at night. You can open windows, but it could be uncomfortable in the summer. Biking was mostly flat so not difficult but I definitely got some exercise. Another favorite: stopping for coffee and pastry each morning!

Most memorable part: The incredible scenery and the knowledge of our guide.

The Zwaantje and crew are top notch, and present a great value. Some of the routes in northern France had a little too much traffic. Riding in Belgium and Netherlands seems nicer. Once is enough for this tour.

The most memorable parts was the Saar River part of the ride, biking above the River with our guide and riding thru the vineyards. The little towns and the Roman History. Had no idea about the Roman history in this region before this trip. The Levees on the river. Just the general beauty of the area. The grapes growing on the sides of the mountains. Both our barge crew and all the people on the trip. FUN! FUN! FUN!

The total crew got involved in the trip and were always available to assist us with any problems or questions. It helped to break the ice with other bikers and soon we were one cohesive and fun group.

Most memorable are the meals. The daily ports and after dinner walks. 1 issue - directions to the barge were horrible.