Germany Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 571 to 600 of 1360

The ability to cycle along the countryside, enjoying a peek around the many small villages/towns, and be exposed to the 'day to day' observation of locals e.g. harvesting wine, picking walnuts, walking paths. The scenery along the Mosel River was absolutely stunning.

Not the cities but the cycling outside of the cities. Perhaps cycling the Wachau Valley was our favorite but we enjoyed all of the pre-planned cycle routes.

There were no complications due to COVID-related issues on the tour. The only frustrating steps were the Denver to Frankfurt flight and the return. We never seemed to have the right forms and in the end, no one ever checked the forms except at the airplane check-in.

We did the Mosel-Saar B&B trip on the Quo Vadis that began Sept. 5, 2021. We had fantastic weather virtually the entire trip, which helped. My wife and I were part of larger group of 4 couples from Boise, ID, and one couple from Detroit, MI. We had a fantastic time; the Mosel wine country is spectacular. The Dutch crew were not only outstanding running the boat, they were compassionate, sensitive, helpful and fun human beings. I cannot say enough good about them. As representatives of the Netherlands, they did a real service for their country and for Tripsite. Thanks for such a memorable experience!

Our bike and barge was changed two weeks prior to leaving - that was hard - had to change plans and do a different barge trip
This was our second trip with Trip Site (which we really enjoyed the first time). This one was hard because of the change BUT
we did enjoy the Patria and did enjoy cycling down the Mosel river. Dagmar was a great tour guide. The younger staff were very pleasant but
Smoking outside the doors where we entered was not too pleasing.
Even with the changes - we had a good trip and hopefully will book again with TripSite.

We really enjoyed the diversity on the ship. English was definitely the second language, but people did their best to be welcoming and accommodating. It’s important that people understand and are willing to go with the flow! The paths weren’t always as clear as they were supposed to be, so be prepared. We were thankful that all paths eventually went to the Danube!

The Merlijn was the best way to see Germany! It's a clean beautiful haven to come back to after touring the countryside on our bikes with our fabulous guide! The crew made sure we were always prepared and ready to go, and made sure that our return was relaxing and fulfilling. We all enjoyed interacting and learning from them, and the food was delicious. I cannot say enough about the experience!

This was our first bike and barge tour and it was great. The Merlijn is a beautiful barge that is extremely comfortable and well maintained by the owners. The food was sooooo good and the atmosphere, even in the midst of Covid, was friendly. Our trip leader, Lia, was absolutely the best. Her upbeat demeanor, her competence in handling all the “little things” that could have interrupted the pleasant days of biking was amazing. I’d highly recommend this trip but folks should realize an “easy” tour is still 30-50 km/day

Looking forward to another one next year.

The most memorable part was biking with new friends we made on this trip, also the 80s dance night was very very fun. I would suggest to not include every lunch in the package as usually we are out no need for sandwiches, and give the option to have dinner out when we dock in a city. The organization was great, the self biking part very easy as the cruise director was amazing. We felt safe and taking care off very well. I would recommend a longer time in Vienna.

The boat, staff and tour guide were all absolutely amazing. The boat was clean and the food was great, having dinner on the boat each night was a blessing after a long day of biking and sightseeing. Biking through the small towns and along the river was very scenic. The tour guide was very prepared and handled any small hiccup along the way. I've never really biked or did a tour like this before and most days were fine, but I was glad to have been able to switch to an E-bike for the day we had to do more of a uphill climb.

The views were amazing and the staff was great!

More biking per day would have made the trip perfect!

I understand the latitudes taken in promotion and advertising. That being said, I highly resent being intentionally deceived. We were “warned” prior to leaving that there might be last minute changes in where the ship docked in Passau. Sure enough, 2 days prior to boarding we were informed of the change “due to construction.” There was no construction around the docks. We walked by there several times each day, and ships were docking all the time. No, this had to do with not wanting to dock in Germany where COVID restrictions were tighter for the ship to set sail.

What we were left with instead was a vague set of instructions that led us to the wrong place and a group of suspected fellow passengers (none spoke English) also waiting in several places for the bus. We tried your 800 number. No one answered. We tried the local “help line”. The person who answered did not speak English. There was no one at the presumed site to board the bus to inform us that we were at the correct location. Had the original one not broken down and caused an unexpected delay, we would have never made it to be bus, even though we left our hotel two hours earlier. Two unexpected cab fares and hours of stress wondering if we would actually make embarkation is not the way to start a voyage. We must have been your only clients on board, and that explains quite a lot of what happened. The only other English-speaking passengers were Danish. Daytime announcements were only made in German.

FOOD

If I were asked to describe the food on this voyage with one word it would be: BLAND. Presentation 10. Taste 3. Selection 2. They need to invest more in spices to make it taste better and less on garnish to make it look good.

PERSONNEL

The saving grace was the attitude and professionalism of all those who worked on board, from the Captain helping get the bicycles ashore, to the ladies at the information desk, to our waiter, bartender, and cabin stewardess. All worked hard, were extremely helpful, and I have no complaints whatsoever.

CYCLING EXPERIENCE

The bicycles were good quality, well-maintained, and those who instructed us in their use were quite helpful. The young lady who instructed us each evening about the day ahead was superb. But her graphics, maps, handouts, were awful. The biking experience itself was nothing like I imagined. Cars, trucks, pedestrians, and multitudes of other cyclists all trying to pass on the left at any opportunity. Some very dangerous gravel trails and quite a bit of city riding with cars whizzing by at breakneck speed. The distance vs. time allowed created a “race to the finish line” experience rather than the comfortable, leisurely ride through the countryside with frequent stops to take in the scenery that I had come to expect from your promotional materials.  SHOW MORE 

The Barge and Ride tour of the Danube was outstanding. Providing more detailed directions to the demarcation point in Passat would have helped. The staff were excellent as were the meals and the scenery.

The setting, the sites, the views, the experiences... it's all memorable. But what was most memorable for me was being able to have a packaged vacation and not have to worry about my food or lodging. I have a food allergy, which makes travelling a challenge - especially in group tours. I usually have to bring my own food, make sure we stay where there is a kitchen, visit a grocery store, etc. The cook and other crew on the Quo vadis made sure that i was well-fed with healthy, appetizing food. On some other types of tours i have been accommodated, but the food was just basic (or awful). This was the first trip i have ever been on where all of my dietary needs were met - i did not have to worry at all about getting sick (which can ruin a vacation). So while it was all absolutely wonderful, for me the "icing on the (gluten free) cake was that i was able to eat so well!
Also great: the information sent ahead of time was extremely useful. It was hard to go through it all at once, a suggestion i might have is to send topic specific emails. Maybe not weekly, but maybe monthly. Especially appreciated the extra work that was done to make sure we were prepared for the covid requirements, and especially that you took the care to make the decision to change the route to ensure there were no issues.
The crew and guide were all great. Some of the time I wished there could have been a little more education about the area and the things we were seeing.

Please do not consider this a review of your company, but a review of the cruse company. First, this garbage of moving the dock location from Passau to a small town in Austria was a total sham. They said that was done because of dock construction in Passau. This was a Trump type of Lie! There was no dock in the city of Passau being worked on. Total BS!
Secondly, the bus pickup at the train station in Passau was a real mess up. No one was there to help direct or at least tell people there were in the correct place. You could not talk to anyone to make sure you were in the correct place because there were at least four different languages being spoken. Then the bus was about an hour late - not helpful to already lost and confused people.
Other than the above, I enjoyed the trip. I really want to express my thoughts about the staff on the boat. In all my travels, I have NEVER seem a staff who worked so hard, friendly, and helpful. Them never ran from work or being helpful. Everyone from the captain to the dock workers jumped in when needed. This was the best bunch of service staff that I have had the privilege to observe and interact with.
Thank you for your efforts and willing to listen. Sincerely, Leo Dennis Roos

There were so many memorable experiences on this trip. The Moselle River area is spectacularly scenic, and fortunately we had perfect weather days to enjoy the river, the towns, the castles, and the vineyards. We also loved returning each day to our "home", the Quo Vadis for yummy dry Riesling, exceptional food and social gathering with our trip mates. Highly recommend this trip!

It was fantastic. The tour guide was amazing and really connected with you so much that he would bike with you and converse with you on each bike excursion. the scenery was so beautiful and was the best trip experience we have every had hands down!

The boat, staff and passengers were a delight. They were very COVID conscious. We loved the meals, and relaxation time on the deck. I would totally recommend the Quo Vadis! Hope to do another tour with them next year?

For me it was the first time I saw the Quo Vadis and met Captain RJ and the crew. They were warm and friendly and the boat was beautiful.

Cycling in Austria was my favourite part of the trip. I rented an e-bike for the entire eight days and was very glad that I did—for the hills and for the long distances. I would certainly rent an e-bike again on future bike and barge tours. The food on the barge was outstanding and the buffets plentiful. Lots of different lunch foods for the sac lunch, to choose from. Looking forward to booking another bike and barge tour in Europe!

My most memorable moment of the trip was when we ended up in a small Hungarian village. We looked around for somewhere to have our morning coffee. We found a small local establishment with their regular customers.
We went inside to see if they had coffee. The young woman inside could only speak Hungarian (which we could not).
At the end of the encounter we had our coffee the way we wanted and smiling faces all around.

The crew was awesome. The barge design, furnishings and workmanship was first class.

The scenery along the Rhine and Main Rivers is something to behold. Our guides also made a point of taking us into quaint little villages along the way where my passion of photography was in overload. Exquisite trip from start to finish.

I am truly amazed about quantity of 5 star reviews for this tour, as I could only give it a 2 star! And, this 2 rating is for the wonderful restaurant and housekeeping staff , as the boat crew , bike assistants were unpleasant to deal with, and the captain kept his distance. This was such a drastic difference from my very enjoyable Netherlands, and Croatia bike and boat tours. The maps and directions were inadequate and usually incorrect. The "tour guide" (who never lead a tour) Jan was unbelievably nasty, rude and impatient about any and all questions and concerns. He sent many on what was to be an easy, level ride only for it to take us over a mountain where our bikes were unsuitable and directions e completely wrong. I would not recommend neither this boat or trip to anyone.

Biking was just ok, could have been more challenging but I knew going into this tour the biking was rated easy. The towns and villages are beautiful. The breakfast was good but the lunches they gave you for the tour during the day were horrible, thankfully there were places to eat along the way. The dinners were also poor quality, many dinners were a repeat of the day before presented differently ,especially the fish dinners. There also seem to be a discontent among the staff they could’ve been a little bit more accommodating and friendly. The rooms are basically neat and clean and comfortable the bikes were also good and the mechanics that maintain them were readily available to assist anyone in the morning before the ride. My main concern was the constant smell of sewage that was present throughout the boat and especially in the main lobby ,they often kept the sliding glass doors on both sides of the ship open to alleviate the smell. This was an obvious problem they couldn’t solve. At times, we were rafter up to other ships at port and had to walk through these other boats to the Carissima, it was obvious that the Carissima was no- frills compared to these other boats. If you are considering a tour along the Danube I would suggest looking into other cruise ships.

This is the best kept secret for those of us that enjoy intimate, caring, luxurious adventure with people that will care and spoil you along the way. Quo Vadis will always be our first choice if available and the standard by what we measure all of our other trips.

The beautiful scenery along the Mosel River is the star of this Bike and Barge trip! The vineyard along the steep mountain face for miles and miles, the gorgeous river meandering , the church steeple in every village, and the ancient castles on the mountain top! I could not believe I was there in the midst of this! Would not hesitate to recommend this trip to anyone and I have!

Loved the buffet meal in Poland-delicious food, great sitting outside by the water, great band & fun dancing!

My favourite parts of the trip were spending time in Cochem, the happy hour the entire group would spend “debriefing” at the end of the day on the deck of the boat, both vineyards that we visited and the incredible gardens we saw as we rode along the Moselle river.

My suggestions:

Clear instructions about the day we board the boat. Everyone was confused about whether we simply drop off our luggage, stay on the boat, is there dinner on the boat?? Etc.

It would have been nice to have some background music on the boat during breakfast, happy hour, dinner or the evening. I heard a number of people mention this.

A few planned activities on the boat would have been a lot of fun. A theme dinner, trivia night, learn to make the local cocktail, a local historian gives a presentation, a quick and simple local language lesson, etc. People also commented on this and would have gladly paid another 100 Euros for a few little “extras” like these.

Gorgeous Mosel with quaint towns cycling and being on a gem of a boat! Surrounded by great people and a great crew!
Thank you for wonderful memories!