Germany Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 1111 to 1140 of 1360

I speak as one who has done three previous bike/barge tours via Tripsite. It was marvelous, "gezellig," being the Dutch term. Capt. Rendert Jan and his excellent crew went out of their way to please the passengers, including providing a guitar for my wife to practice with. The scenery along the Mosel is like a fairy tale. The bikes ran perfectly. The food was plentiful and excellent. Considering that it was late October, even the weather cooperated--except for the first day when our small and perhaps unwise contingent got drenched. We had a bonus because it was the last trip of the season so we stayed on past Koblenz for two nights and left the Quo Vadis in Arnhem where we overnighted in a hotel in order to catch the crack high speed train to the Frankfurt airport. Said crack high speed train broke down in Cologne and we barely made our flight.

The e-bike option really made the trip for me. It allowed me to bicycle each day, get plenty of exercise, and not overdo it. As a result, I was able to enjoy the sites and experience much more.

Overall, the trip was good. There was, however, a disconnect among what our trip itinerary described and what the guide and the captain thought in terms of mileages and what entrance fees were included. The guide used the corner system. That means that the entire group has to ride together and do the same mileages each day. The trip description notes that each participant will receive maps and be able to ride on their own. We did not receive maps and therefore it made it impossible to ride on our own.

Route was easy. We especially liked the fact that the boat stayed overnight where each day's ride ended. Our guide was a replacement so we don't think he was familiar enough with the route to give us the best guidance.

The Wachau Valley was our favorite!
Our only complaint is that the toilet in our room was backing up sewer gas. Would have really welcomed a bathroom fan to duck it away or an improved sewer trap to prevent this.

This was a great trip that the group from Spokane (Tom & Mary Kay R. Mike and Mary M., Jan and Mark B., John and Helen W. -UK) recommends to anyone interested in seeing a beautiful part of Germany. It was not just the scenery that was great, but also how the Merlijn ""crew"" always made you feel at home and took care of any problems. Special thanks to Jantien, Henk and Jacques!

There were many memorable parts of this trip. The vineyard/bike trails around Melk were very nice.

The people I was on the trip with we all had a just terrific time. A truly wonderful trip with a great staff great a wonderful trip.

The trip was very nice. Everything was nice. If I can figure a route will do it again next year!

Biking thru Wachau valley. Our guide, Hugo, was not real informative. We had to drag info from him. He was better later in the week when we kept asking. Wine tasting was fun. Loved quaint villages.

Everyone was amazing: Welcoming; friendly; accommodating; delicious food and informative.

I organized a trip with 20 friends and family to take the boat and bike trip up the Danube. I was a bit concerned because my co-travelers varied in age and fitness. I was delighted to find that with the option of the electric bikes and choices of long or short bike paths, everyone was accommodated. The entire group had a magical time. They loved the boat, the staff, the food, and particularly enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment after cycling through gorgeous towns and scenery.
I have organized many group trips in the past, and this one allowed me to enjoy myself more fully because I knew that the crew was taking care of my friends and family's needs, and I didn't have to be dealing with questions or problems. Because we had such a large group, we could all break up into smaller groups and enjoy the sights, knowing that we would all converge later on the boat and share our stories from the day.
Even though we already had a large group, we all made new friends on the boat.
I take an international adventure trip every year, and I would put this one among the top of my list!

Klaus, Jantien and Henk!!!! This is a fantastic bike and barge trip. The rooms were the best we have ever had (this is my 3rd bike and barge trip). Very spacious bathroom and lots of storage in the room. Klaus, our guide, was the main reason I loved this trip. He didn't just cycle along the river trail. He took us through villages, back alleys, cobblestone streets, pastures, and hillsides. We never knew what adventure the day would bring. LOVED IT!! We learned about the history, geography and economics of the area. Jantien, our angel of the Merlijn, made every day fun and prepared wonderful meals. Henk capably mastered all the locks and made us laugh frequently! The level of cycling is very easy and can be accomplished by anyone. Miles and miles of vineyards, castles and churches. DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

The e-bike option really made the trip for me. It allowed me to bicycle each day, get plenty of excercise, and not overdo it. As a result, I was able to enjoy the sites and experience much more.

The incredible countryside through which we traveled both by boat and on bike as well as the wonderfully hard-working, pleasant and attentive staff who made my trip so memorable. Lastly, the food was fantastic!

All of it was memorable - the scenic routes through lovely towns, stopping at wine tasting, castles, cathedrals, the day in Vienna. Lovely wait staff, house keeping and front desk!! Top award goes to the extraordinary chef -- who listened attentively to my request for whole foods, plant based and each evening created an extraordinary delight of color and tastes -- wonderful food combinations, spices, herbs.

The ride through the Wachau valley was by far the most memorable. We were happy with the overall trip. The staff were very helpful and cheerful. The one disappointment was with the info from the cruise director on the trip. At times it was inaccurate. This trip could be improved by updating the notes in the bike route, providing information and maps on side trips to the villages we biked through. Many bikers were concerned to vary from the route to find other attractions for fear of getting lost. One section of the trail was on a small sidewalk yet the cruise director and the printed information did not mention this. A lot of bikers were confused. It seems like the cruise director never biked the route or it has been too long ago.

Great Trip, Great Barge, and Great Staff. This is a very scenic trip along the Mosel and Saar. The vineyards make the view even better. The staff was very helpful and friendly and helped make the trip even better. I highly recommend this trip to everyone.

The owners of the barge were outstanding, in every way!

Sometimes we were unsure if we were on the route or not. Maybe could have had some additional signage along route.

This trip was most enjoyable and the cities and scenery were gorgeous.

The scenery was wonderful. We loved going thru the German countryside. The personnel were wonderful, they genuinely like what they do. The tour guide was fabulous! We suggest more attention to bike maintenance and using better bikes. They could have better quality and more attention to fitting bikes would be great! Thanks so much!

This was a very nice trip. Scenery, bike routes, side trips were all very good. We had a terrific guide who interacted well with the group. The barge was very nice and the owners/crew were exceptional. The dinners could not have been better - Els is an amazing cook.

Boat staff was terrific.

Loved the entire experience. Barge accommodations and food amazing. Staff superb. Lea, our biking guide had such knowledge of area and was an expert at leading a group of different ability bikers. Also solving any problem which would arise. Cannot say enough positive about the Merlijn and her staff. Wonderful trip on so many levels. Kudos to Jantien and Henk for providing me with a trip to cherish!

We had a great time!! Our guide was fabulous!! Staff on the boat couldn't have been better. I would definitely recommend this tour. We would go on another trip on this barge in a heart beat!!

The itinerary times/distances covered was not necessarily followed because of where the barge could dock and time allowed to get through the locks. Minor problem. People should have been given more instruction/introduction for the ebikes. Guide was excellent except he was not always knowledgeable about the route. His first time in that area. Otherwise, my wife and I loved the trip. Extremely difficult if not impossible to name a most memorable part of the trip!

The guide, Cornel, was great, despite the fact that this was his first time guiding this route.

Great trip but two minor issues
Room - hopeless shower curtain meant water went all over the floor. Other rooms had screens so why not all rooms?
Ride into Bratislava is ugly - need to find a better to arrive at this lovely city. A real low point in an otherwise fantastic itinerary - last 3 days were sublime.

The trip overall was great. The boat is showing its age, and the cabins are adequate but not overly comfortable.
The route descriptions provided by the cruise director could have been much better. Simply using visuals to indicate map directions would have helped a lot. There was some unnecessary confusion on our trip. A friend who took the trip two weeks earlier on the same boat with the same crew made the same comment.
Overall the lovely scenery, the interesting people on board and the beautiful cities we visited made this trip very worthwhile.