France Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 241 to 270 of 726

The Captain and crew were outstanding especially our daily tour guide Machiela who was extraordinary with kindness, Knowledge, and very eager to please everyone
Tip to others would be to expect about 20% riding on ruff gravel and ruff tarmac

The most memorable part of our tour? Impossible to limit to one thing! This trip has it all: miles of gorgeous countryside roads and trails, small villages that look plucked from a travel brochure, access to castles and fortresses that are beautifully frozen in time... and experiencing all of it in springtime glory was tremendous. Being able to see Carrieres des Lumieres -- the Van Gogh immersive exhibit -- was such an unexpected treat. Perfect biking weather. It was our first bike and barge with electric bikes and it was fantastic... SO easy to manage the headwinds and longer uphill climbs with the pedal-assist. Really, we can't say enough about this tour... so wonderful on every level!

(** If you print this review, can you please just list me as "Kristine S"? Thanks so much!)

We went on this tour in late September of 2022. We had previously been in southern Europe and became accustomed to the eighty degree temperatures. We were initially scheduled for the Loire Valley tour on the same barge (Clair de Lune), but the low water levels resulted in canceling the Loire and replacing it with Strasbourg to Nancy. Strasbourg is incredibly beautiful - we'd go back.

The barge - I'd been on a barge for three weeks (Bruges to Epernay on the Zwaanje - great trip) so knew what to expect. Can't say enough about the captain and crew. All aces. The chef (cannot call her a 'cook') was beyond excellent. She got applause every night after announcing the dinner selection. Truly wonderful dining. The weather, however, did not cooperate.

To coin a phrase, it was ratty. Rain, rain, rain. Temps in the fifties. I'm from the Seattle area and will not ride in this kind of weather. Nothing the barge crew cold do about it. I got in three days of riding.

Locks were amazing - one had more than fifty feet of lift. The barge elevator was really an experience. Seeing the abandoned locks was also quite cool.

The tour guide needs to be upgraded. His English was not excellent. eBikes were a bit tired, but adequate. Good tour, except for the weather. Would liked to have done the Loire Valley - maybe next time... Nine out of ten for the tour - the weather hurt.

The boat was comfy and well appointed, the beds were very comfortable, the biking along the river was fabulous with knowledgeable and friendly guides. I also enjoyed the sumptuous dinners each night. One of the best parts of this trip was getting to know our fellow travelers and make new friends.

My wife and truly enjoyed this tour on the Caprice in 2018. The reviews previously posted are very informative and descriptive about barge life on the Caprice, the itinerary, guides, and dining. We booked early July in order to take pre-boarding day trips to the lavender fields outside Avignon. As with all of our bike-barge tours, we have met and befriended the most interesting and wonderful people. Summer heat and some challenging ascents could be mitigated by reserving an e-bike.

There were several memorable parts:
Both Strasbourg and Nancy are beautiful cities with a great deal of medieval charm; the Valley of the Locks with its dried abandoned channels and locks, and of course, the St Louis-Arzviller lock, where lock, water and boats are lifted (or lowered) 42 m, replacing 17 locks we saw abandoned; our boat, the Clair de Lune and its friendly and competent crew, the smallest barge we had ventured in till then, but that it showed us the efficiency of its cabin layouts to remove previous concerns about barge size to the point that we are booking another trip on a similar sized barge next year.

This was my fourth bike/barge tour with Tripsite, and it was just as amazing as the other trips. Loved every moment. The ship and crew were simply outstanding. The only disappointment is that the itinerary said we would be in Metz for the evening, to even include a walking tour. We were greatly looking forward to it. However, we left Metz within an hour of boarding. It was a great topic of conversation among many passengers, who were also disappointed. So I’m not sure why we even started in Metz, to only leave right away and travel quite a distance to our first port. Other than that, it was as wonderful as each of my other Trip Site vacations.

The itinerary was terrific. We had fabulous guides who gave us lots of information about the sites we were visiting. The boat was very comfortable and the food was great. We had just 20 participants and everyone was very interesting and friendly. Can't wait for our next trip!

I worked with TripSite to plan this trip for 20 friends and family and they were fantastic to work with: flexible, friendly and professional. And the trip costs half of similar trips offered by US based bike tour operators. The Iris was a superb boat in great condition and the crew were amazing, with a special shout-out to the fantastic food! The riding was hard to believe: miles and miles of flat, scenic, history drenched wine country. Every days ride was enjoyable and had nice prizes and surprises along the way. Some of my group decided to stay on board for one or more days and got to relax and watch the castles go by, read a book, drink some great local white wine, and chat with the friendly crew. This particular tour: the Mosel between Cochem and Metz, was referred to me by a good friend who has done a dozen packaged bike tours and said this was his favorite. Now it's ours!

The bikes were a problem everyday- not well maintained or just end of season but not good
The barge was very warm- esp with comforters- suggest availability of a sheet for these conditions. A soap dish is needed in the shower, the hair dryer was very inadequate. Need to have some sort of wax paper or plastic bag for the sandwiches- wrapping in napkins does not work. The barge should offer/highlight local wines!!! The whole point of this trip is particular.
Our guides Heddy and intern Micah were fabulous.

Reik welcoming and friendly nature & Omar's cooking.

I learned never to be on the last trip of the season, the exterior of the boat was kinda 'sad' looking.

Guides should actually know where they are going and put safety of riders at the top of their concern. Paul was so careless he was dangerous.

I don't think I would've gone on this trip if I would've known that I wasn't free to ride/stop when I wanted to or even provided the route information. I've been on several trips with Backroads and this did not measure up.

Great scenery, great chef on the barge, nice boat, and great guides! Overall a great experience. However if I must find something that needs a bit of upgrading, it’s the bikes. They were getting pretty tired and needing tune ups. Some had bald tires and most lacked correct air pressure in the tires, on previous Boat Bike trips the bikes were much better maintained. It was the end of the season and the bikes had gone through a lot over the year was the reasoning, but I paid so I expect good bikes regardless of the time of year.

I have used Tripsite for 10 bike trips and have always enjoyed the concept, scenery and people I have met. Nothing I am about to say has anything to do with those qualities I have come to expect and love about bike/barge experiences with Tripsite.

However (and there's always a "however") this tour, which was described on your website as "easy" was anything but.
I am 68 years old and have never used an e-bike on any tour, including the hills of Provence, but the hills encountered on this trip were challenging even for the riders half my age. The tour description was erroneous and misleading. I say misleading because looking at the tour guides' maps, the elevation levels were clearly labeled but not communicated to the guests. So those on e-bikes had a much different experience than those of us (4 out of 10 guests) who did not. Those of us who did not struggled.

The other complaint was a lack of things to see in the middle of the tour, unless churches are your thing and that's all I seemed to see in the form of tours, which got repetitive.

Nothing I have complained about here would prevent me from traveling with Tripsite again, as I am a true believer in this experience. BTW, the crew and the culinary staff were superb, as always.

Traveling on the IRIS was nice. Highlights: Bike ride from the extinct volcano down to the Mosel was a great 40 mile ride (almost all down hill). The wine tasting excursion was set up by our guide Paul. Quite different than others I have been to. It was an intimate meeting with the owner of the winery that had been in his family since the 1600s. It rained (really just a mist) during 2 of our rides but with rain gear, it didn’t effect us.

Give me a call if you would like to hear some minor suggestions for improvement.

Biking from Noyon - Compiègne, the Compiegne forest was very beautiful to bike through.

As we neared Paris, the biking was sometimes more difficult due to traffic on some sections of the route.

Comfortable lodging, excellent food (especially the soups- thanks Frank) knowledgeable guide and unforgettable landscapes - what more could you ask for?

OK. So we weren't expecting luxury at this price and on a barge trip. The rooms took a bit of getting used to but we really only slept there and mostly ears the comfortable common areas. Loved every minute of the biking and every bite of the food. Chef was amazing. The crew worked their butts off looking after us and the bike guide was everything one would want. Knowledgeable competent careful and patient. My only wish would be for a larger room and a bigger window but hey I got what I paid for and more

Tamy is by far the best guide we have ever had lead a trip.
The boat was wonderful with brilliantly laid out facilities, especially in the guest rooms.
Last but certainly not least, all the boat staff were exceptional and the food was amazing.

Enjoyed all aspects.Nancy and Strausburg really nice to visit at beginning and end.

The captain and crew were wonderful! The boat was very comfortable. The food was amazing. The bicycle route was beautiful with interesting stops.

The places we biked to were wonderful....villages, river views, vineyards. The Iris was fantastic. Great crew, wonderful boat. Was very hot part of the trip and the crew did a great job adapting to the heat. Would highly recommend this trip.

The chance to (finally) reunite with friends made on a previous bike and barge tour! As before, we met many very nice people on our trip. The crew and guides were excellent, as were the accommodations. Iris is a lovely vessel. Ellen’s meals were superb. I can’t believe I didn’t gain weight!
The scenery along the Mosel was very nice and the biking was generally as advertised- easy. Day 2 was more challenging than expected with more hills (not steep but long). It might have been helpful to know in advance, as the description only mentioned the downhills. Strictly speaking, I’m not sure I’d classify it as an easy ride. Having said that it was a truly gorgeous ride.
I also enjoyed the ride through Trier. Rikko did an excellent job giving the historical background.
Rikko and Paul were eager for feedback on the days rides and open to suggestions during the evening briefing. As a result we often split into 2 groups, allowing riders to go at their own pace. They also adjusted the daily rides as we had a couple of very hot days. Their flexibility was appreciated.
I would certainly recommend this trip to others. It was worth the wait!

The boat elevator.

Captain and crew of Clare de Lune were great. Enjoyed time aboard piloting down canal and through locks and down canal elevator, (not kidding... elevator). Barge cook delivered top-notch meals. Biking along canal was easy... but would recommend taking some of the more difficult routes away from the canal for beautiful rural scenery and panoramas. Enjoyed Nancy and Saverne and loved Strasbourg.

The start (Nancy) and the end (Strasbourg). In between, we biked a lot but did not visit much...

The crew, the guides and the scenery. The stops at historical places was a really nice bonus.

The crew was fantastic. The chef made delicious farm to table foods daily. The first mate was personable and fun as well as the captain and hospitality director.

Bikes are as described and worked well. Scenery was also interesting.

This was our sixth bike and barge trip. Our over-all experience was great!! The food was fantastic, the service from staff was excellent, and the bikes were better than our own. The Caprice is older and very tight quarters, both in the cabins and in public areas. This was a small inconvenience compared to the total experience.

The amazing crew, some of the key sights, the cycling (despite some rain storms), and the Clair de Lune overall. While rooms are small, they are fine and efficiently appointed and always clean. Marco was a great skipper, and Jen was a superb chef. Great food; happy clients! A combination of electric and hybrid bikes which allow all age groups to ride.

The crew made this trip, a wonderful group of people!