France Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 691 to 720 of 743

Almost perfect in every way. Only bad was I wanted more of everything.

We have done several bike barge trips in france and europe and other places. This one was just too crowded with tourists. Of course it was August, so that explains a lot. Our least favorite that we have done.

Only the good, no bad. This was our second bike/barge experience and we will do more. On our last trip we brought 12 family and friends with us. They all loved it.

I recommended it to Dave Ford who is joining you in September 2016 with his large gang. Do I get a free shirt?

Our guide was not good, would ride off too fast, often the tail end riders were lost and confused as they could not keep up. Everything else was excellent!

We are return users of Tripsite, we have found both the service from Tripsite and the tours (now 3 in total) have all been excellent. Great tours because of the combination of places, organisation and staff. Am looking forward to taking part in more in the future.

Loved the trip and the Merlijn. Hoping to do another tour in 2017.

Our guide was awesome!

Loved the crew, but Clive (our chef) was the best. I have since done another bike and barge trip with another company and was totally disappointed with the food we were served. I am looking forward to doing another bike and barge trip this year.

The guide was not well prepared with maps and the boat kept changing docking locations. The Rhine is very industrial from Basel to Mainz. The rides were not very interesting or long. It was not one of your better offers.

The bike part was more challenging than in the discription. You have to be a strong biker used to hills. There are many hills and one very challenging hill. So I would not consider this an easy tour as in the description. However it was well worth the effort if you are well trained. Our guide Wiro was awesome and kept us together and on time which was very much appreciated. I would recommends this trip in spring or early summer. By the time we went end of August the vegetation was all dried up and there were no flowers because they had such a hot dry summer. I prefer a comfort plus boat as you have more space in your cabin. These cabins were very small. However all in all it was a beautiful, historic and worth while tr which I would recommend to avid cyclists.

Everything about the trip was as described, well planned and executed.

Great trip. Everything we were hoping for.

Had a wonderful time. Only problem was the weather, very very cold.

The guides are young and very athletic. People who sign up for this level of bicycling aren't usually top bikers, unless they are doing it to be with friends or spouse. I think a bit more thought could be put into the introductory ride the first day, bridge crossings, sudden merging into traffic, sudden turns to go steeply uphill. I've done much longer bike rides, but at this age, I didn't want that much challenge.

I was pleased with the points of interest on the tour (Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Colmar, Breisach), however, the route was very industrial at times and there was just nothing special about it. The maps and route descriptions were terrible and I'd say that was the number one complaint of fellow passengers. I talked to the guide and he said they will redo the route for next year so hopefully with some changes, it will be much better.

The boat itself is nothing remarkable, but quite comfortable and clean. The staff was amazingly friendly. Route descriptions were sparse in some sections so there was some guessing involved. The maps themselves didn't have any road names on them if you did get lost they were of no use. We honestly didn't rely on the maps/route descriptions as much as the info from our daily meetings with the tour guide. There were good and bad days as far as scenery on the rides, a few days were pretty boring with not a lot to look at, while others were quite beautiful. We docked within walking distance to town on all days except one (where you had the option of one lonely restaurant). On board you are provided with maps and flyers for each overnight town. The bikes were super heavy and cumbersome (not bikes I am used to) but this is the norm in Europe. The food on board was excellent. I would recommend this trip as I know the routes are being reviewed and descriptions/maps updated.

There seemed to be tension between the owners of the barge and guy doing the cooking, cleaning and maintenance. The guy was trying to do the job of more than 2 people by himself. One day when he needed help with a cranky generator the captain was in a bar. We did not get clean towels half way through as promised. I have been on 2 bike and barge trips and this had the worst staff. The guide was good but left slower riders at several critical junctures. It did not happen often. Seems the system works best when the owner is captain. Means he is present and accountable.

We highly recommend the Paris to Bruges bike and barge on the Elodie but one must be a strong cyclist as there are hills. The food was really excellent. Comradery among the group was high, and that's one of the great aspects of the trip.

This was the first trip of this type that we have ever done and my first time to France. It was a great way to experience the country and it was nice to see rural areas, historic small towns, castles and the big city of Paris. The crew was wonderful-- friendly, accommodating, knowledgeable and thoughtful. The trip price was a great value for all that we received and experienced. It was great to get so much exercise while on vacation-- walking and biking makes it possible to see and do so much in the fresh air and to burn off the great food and wine we enjoyed. I highly recommend this trip!

One of the best holidays we have ever experienced. Great cycling along the Moselle with excellent and knowledgeable guides and then returning tired but exhilarated to an most welcoming environment on the barge - the IRIS. Meals were excellent and entire crew and owner went out of their way to ensure we enjoyed the total experience. Would recommend this trip to anyone. We will be back for more.

Even for a novice biker I was looked after and given the opportunity to cycle shorter legs and enjoy the sailing on the boat. Bikes - we had a couple of bikes that had gear problems, otherwise they were fine.

Garrit, our bike tour leader, was a novice on this route as well as a poor communicator to the english speaking clients. The docking area changed at each stop from the printed instructions, and the maps and turn-by-turn instructions were only partly correct! Everyone got lost at some point in the trip!! I had asked for GPS routing for my bike Garmin GPS but was told the route was to new and that it was not available! I think some accurate preparation would have made the trip more pleasant.
Second - the route along the Rhine is not scenic (as on the Danube) with few small towns to stop and look/snack on the way. The most notable sights were gravel pits and cement manufacturing. Of course, that is not the fault of the tour operator, however, they should have provided a detailed description of the small towns on the way (although not on the river) to give us the option of exploring the interesting ones and forgetting about the towns with 3 streets and no interesting sights.

Boat staff need to learn how to be more polite and friendly. The management seems to be in the military service.

The Rhine from Mainz to Basel, for the most part, is industrial and not as picturesque as other European bike and barge routes we've enjoyed. There were a few cities (Heidelberg, Germany and Strausbourg, France) which were beautiful and offered much to do, but we were expecting the scenic bike routes with quaint towns for cake and coffee, or beer stops along the way and were sorely disappointed. But the most disappointing aspect of this trip was the inability of the on-board guide to give proper instructions nor enlighten us of things to see or visit. We found out about popular sites from all channels except the guides. In Strausbourg, while chatting with tourists, we heard of an amazing evening light show projected onto an enormous cathedral - huge crowds gathered to enjoy this historic presentation, yet nothing was mentioned of it by our guide. We have needed so little guidance to enjoy our bike and barge trips, but this one missed the mark. Based on previous trips that we've done, we'd convinced 2 other couples to join us and they were underwhelmed and disappointed as well. The barge and accommodations were adequate, though rooms were random sizes no matter which deck you choose. One couple paid extra for the upper deck, but their room was much smaller than another couple's on the lower level. The staff and meals on this barge were top notch and we can't say enough about the gourmet chef and tireless staff.

Not my favorite part of France. 6th bike tour there and the least scenic and inviting.

I really enjoyed the bike/boat tour on the Rhine. Accommodations on the boat were very good and the meals were excellent. On our arrival we found that our boat was not at the dock as listed but had changed locations and was on the other side of the river. This created a longer taxi drive thus a much bigger fare (54 euros instead of 21 euros) for the 3 of us in each taxi. We had a briefing each morning by our tour guide and on almost every day, the directions were not detailed enough. One of the people we biked with had a GPS and with that and along with discussions among all of us, we managed to find our way back. I really feel this was a big gap and should be rectified before another tour. However it was a wonderful experience and we met many lovely and
interesting people. I would love to do a different bike/boat tour at some time in the future.

This Paris Tour exceeded our high expectations. Highlights included a madcap ride through Paris stopping at Notre Dame and the Eiffel tower and visiting Auvers with the Van Gogh sights. Professional multilingual staff, experienced tour guide and wonderful accommodating cook made us welcome. We quickly became friends with the other 14 riders who were all fun adventurous travelers. The bikes were sturdy and well designed for the changing terrain of cobblestones, gravel. dirt pack through forests, city streets and local roads. Bring layers of lightweight clothes for changing weather and bike shorts or liners for riding comfort. The ride could be challenging for inexperienced riders so it is helpful to do training of rides to 15-20 miles in preparation.Cabins are small in this canal boat but adequate especially at this price point. We loved it and look forward to our next bike barge tour.

I give this tour the highest possible recommendation! I have never been to Europe, and this was the best way to get introduced. Of course, Paris was fabulous! I enjoyed even more the time cycling in the countryside along the rivers and through the small towns. The crew on the boat was outstanding, professionally competent in their duties as well as friendly and intent on taking care of our every need. The cycling was relatively easy for the people who cycle regularly, but not too hard for novices. We rode on a wide variety of surfaces from pavement to gravel to dirt. The terrain was mostly flat. The bikes we rode were sturdy Dutch hybrids which were perfect for the task. Beautiful scenery, exercise, great food, many new friends! All this for a very low cost. Don't miss this tour!

Food was substandard...cabins stink and are excessively damp and basically the trip plan was an underwhelming experience. WE stayed on the boat for the first night and then as I recall stayed again the second night. We could have stayed at 5 star hotel in town and enjoyed a great meal instead of a barge in need of many repairs.