Germany Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 1081 to 1110 of 1379

The bikes were in excellent condition The maps were hard to read and did not even show what country we were in on the route, however the route was clearly marked. That saved us many times. The carry out lunch was great. Maybe some variation in granola bars throughout the week. Meals were good. Staff seemed rushed and understaffed at dinner. It was overall a great trip. Suggestions for others: pack light!

Great trip and a lot of fun. The staff was excellent and Carsten made sure we got to where we were supposed to go.

The boat its self is quaint. The cycling was scenic, beautiful and had a variation of easy to moderately challenging rides for an average cyclist, pretty doable for anyone. My only suggestion is to provide more water and provide it daily weather if cycling or not. In saying that, do bring yourselves 4 to 6 large bottles of water.
Packing -nothing too heavy do plan on layers, it was warmer than expected .
If you bring alcohol on to the boat you can only drink in your room.
Crew were great as was the guide and the food prepared by the Cook!!!

Cycling along the Danube of course was the highlight for sure.

The entire cycling tour was fantastic. Each day was different, and with a guide who was absolutely terrific, we enjoyed every bit of it!

All our needs were addressed. Being a guest on the Merlin was a pleasure. Our guide, Felix was very informative.

From making the arrangements to enjoying the trip, the guides, hosts, and accommodations, the experience was all excellent. Can't wait to do it again!!

Most memorable part: Biking through the small towns and rural parts of our route.

I am very glad that I did this trip: the boat, cabin, food, bike, everything was very good. But there were some challenges, which I would like to mention.
1. The tour guide (Jan, his first name) was not rude, but more like indifferent to your problems. Very often his answer was ""It's up to you. You want this, go this way, you want that, go that way."" Hr didn't try to understand your problem and to find the best solution for your situation.
2. Bike path pavement sometimes was bad and poorly marked. For people with not good vision (like myself) it was a big problem. European bikers are more aggressive speed wise and more comfortable in the crowded environment. It was a problem to have pedestrians and bikers in both directions at the same time. So, for me it was easy to complete 50-60 kilometers physically, but it was stressful psychologically to be in such crowded place.
3. Unguided tour is a challenge: you can get lost, something can happen to you, your bike, and no help is available. One person locked a bike and lost a key. I even do not know how he came back on the boat. I am writing all these problems to give future fellow travelers more real picture before making a decision to take this trip, and moreover how to prepare yourself for the trip. My mistake was that I was thinking that if I can do 40 miles on the bike, I am ready for the trip. Physical part is not enough. You should be ready physically, but also you should be able to function in the crowded city environment at low speed, be able to repair your bike, if needed, to read a map, and not to expect that all people in the world like Americans. Sorry for being so long, but I really wanted to give the most truthful picture of my experience.

The most memorable part was the friendliness of the other guests.

Touring by bicycle is the best! It's a great way to take in the scenery, small villages, and larger cities while getting a little exercise along the way. It was a very relaxing trip and I was glad to be a part of a larger group on the trip. The food and cycling directions could be improved, but the service and itinerary were great.

The best combination, boat and bicycle, without packing in every place.
Every morning a new city to visit and the best way is by bike where you can experience the sound of the win through the forest, the river just by your side and beautiful villages where always will be a huge church and a restaurant to have a beer.
And unforgettable experience, I just love to do it and would like to experience again.

The trip was very well organized, the scenery was beautiful, boat staff very helpful. All the meals were great. The packed lunch was a nice feature for the day rides. Rooms were very nice, lounge staff treated us well.
We liked the City of Budapest very much, glad we had the day to explore.
Biking through wine country on the last day was a great way to finish the experience.

The most beautiful part of the bike trip was he Danube Bend, eye candy around every corner! The thermal pools at Szechenyi in Budapest are not to be missed! It is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. Plan on spending 3-4 hours there, it is an unbelievable experience. Also, in the Jewish Quarter you can feel & experience Jewish life before WW II inside old shops; the communist period of Hungary at retro restaurants; and contemporary Budapest through street food and street art.

The most memorable part was our free time in Budapest. What a beautiful city.

My wife and I enjoyed the variety of the destinations and getting off the boat to explore small villages, ruins and interact with the local people.
The staff was very friendly and always helpful.
One tip we would suggest is to make every effort to be on top deck or in the parlor to see the cities we visited during arrival and departure.

The combination of biking in the beautiful countryside and also being on the water on a boat for my lodging was wonderful and just enough time to enjoy the cultural hubs of the amazingly beautiful cities. I loved it all and for me just the right combination of it all.
I would suggest that the navigation on the bike routes was confusing at times so the next time to enjoy it more I would opt for being guided on the biking versus self-guided.

The new friends we made! We absolutely enjoyed the other travelers we ate with every meal! They became great friends despite language differences. It was a fantastic trip. We [blogged our trip](http://bikeandboatthedanube.blogspot.com/)!

The scenery along the Danube was outstanding and riding thru the vineyards on our last day was beautiful. Would do it all over again!!

Really enjoyed the quality of the bike paths in Germany.

Have done a number of trips with Tripsite and this ranks among the best. The Merlijn was a first class barge run by a first class staff! The biking through the forests and countryside of East Germany and Poland was magnificent and very ably guided. Would recommend this trip to anyone. Looking forward to next years adventure with Tripsite!!!

Great Crew! Very friendly! Food was amazing. Never mind trying to pack a small suitcase, pack a big one there's plenty of room under the bed.

This is a trip that we probably would not have done on our own. It was well organized with a great crew, about (the Majestic) and guides that were most informative and will to do anything for the group. We had a great diversity in biking ability but all were handled with respect and in a light and friendly manner. The trip through the forests and lands of East Germany and Poland was magnificent and would recommend this trip to anyone. As repeat customers of Tripsite I can think of no reason to book with anyone else! Looking forward to next year already!

The MS Normandie took us on a fabulous adventure down the Danube from Passau to Vienna. The last day of biking was the most memorable as we rode thru some gently rolling hillsides and were enveloped by vineyards and orchards. The quiet and the beauty of the scenery was breathtaking!
Because it was all so beautiful we would on a daily basis become distracted and veer off the designated route (or maybe we were lacking in the map-reading skills). Therefore, after the second day we decided to each rent an e-bike so that it wouldn't be a huge deal if we got off the beaten path and put on extra miles. Best decision we made all week! Our new equipment helped us to keep up with some new found(older) friends who were rocking the routes every day.
The evenings were mostly composed of a nice slow 4-course meal (stellar offerings) and catching up with friends and family via the sketchy internet service. I would suggest you bring along a game or two and some books.
Couldn't have imagined a more complete and perfect vacation. We just had to get ourselves to and from the launch and dock sites and the staff of the MS Normandie took care of the rest!

The most memorable part of the trip was the wonderful friendships made being a part of the guided tour group. There were six English speakers and seven Germans including the guide. Truly a remarkable experience. Budapest was also a memorable location. One tip we could recommend would be a portable hot spot. Wifi was not very good because it is satellite feed. Which caused issues with paying for some trips with a credit card.

This trip was an excellent opportunity for travel with our mother who could stay on the boat while my sister and I biked through the countryside - meeting back up for meals and comparing experiences. Tripsite was very helpful and we got to know one of our Tripsite staff as she joined our trip to learn more about the tour and help others in the future. She couldn't have been nicer or more helpful.

The majority of the Danube cycling routes are truly beautiful. We were worried about the bikes only having 7 speeds, however it was only an issue when we made the climb to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Otherwise, they were fine. The staff on the Normandie were fabulous, as was the food. I esp. want to thank Ani and Mikki who were a huge help to us prior to the trip. We had lots of questions and they always answered them quickly and thoroughly. I plan on continuing to book my trips with Tripsite. What a great company!

The Wachau Valley is breath taking. Austria and Bavaria are absolute gem locations. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone. Tripsite made it easy to book, offer very reasonable prices and answered all our questions.
My only complaint was our German bike guide. We were the only primarily English speaking riders in a group of 14. The rest mostly spoke German. Our guide explained the vast majority of what we were seeing in German. This is somewhat understandable given that we were in the minority, but we felt that we missed out on so much historical explanations. In addition, he admitted that he didn't really know much about all the areas we visited and often deviated from the guide book. We ended up leaving the guided tour and going solo the last 2 days.
We rented e-bikes, which we loved, but had to figure out how to use them as we went along.

Loved the ship-the Primadonna. We liked it that the servings were not big and that you could ask for seconds. Appreciated the lunches they prepared. It was a great trip. Staff was helpful and efficient.

Beautiful scenery, interesting architecture, wonderful boat, staff , food, participants , but awful reminders of wars.