Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 3751 to 3780 of 4712

Boat and bike trip was our first experience. It was really amazing and well- organized one :)) we just wish to have more options for healthy food on board and choose our table at dinner time to socialize with more people than having assigned seats every night. -Thank you

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.

Great trip - exceeded my expectations- first class in every respect.
Bike courses were challenging but you can't beat the scenery.

The trip was fun despite almost nothing going as expected. It rained so much we often could not ride so we had fewer days of riding and less distance when we did ride, it was impossible to get clothing dry once they got wet, the cabins were tiny, and neither the guides nor the crew were Scottish or knew much about Scotland. And other than this superficial survey no one has asked for any substantive feedback. Nonetheless, the group bonded and we had fun.

The most memorable part were the people we met, both crew and guests. The route had been well chosen to let us experience the beauty of the area. I would have rated the guide and food higher except for the following reasons: although the guide was very personable and knowledgable he did not carry a first aid kit or tools to deal with emergencies. I think this could be easily remedied. Although the food was well prepared the captain could have spent a little more money on his selection of meats, cheese, and wine.

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

Having never taken a bike and barge trip I didn't know what to expect. Wow....it exceeded my expectations. Boat was luxurious for a barge, what friendly, hard working staff. Tom our tour leader was terrific. Other than the fact that the single cabins are really small everything else outstanding.

We have been on seven self-guided bike trips (two of them with boats) and this was truly one of the best! The accommodations on our Prague ship, the MS Florentina were nicer (larger lounges, expansive deck, etc) than the Angela Esmee to be frank, but the Angela's superb crew, the charming towns as ports of call, and along the route, and our tour leader, Margaret, more than made up for it. I highly recommend this tour!

Besides the beautiful scenery, the staff on the boat were so friendly and helpful. They worked as a team, and the relationship with the guests was wonderful. We made many new friends, and had such a good time. Leaving, we had tears in our eyes. We loved the wineries and tasting many new wines. Although we understand the purpose of corkage fees, we thought they were too high, as we came back with one or two new ones every day! Loved the trip!

The entire week was fabulous. Loved cycling through the towns and country side. Tom our guide was very nice and an excellent guide. I also enjoyed our evening walking tour, especially when he brought us to the home of an artist and his wife. I bought a few pieces of jewelry.
We were very lucky with the weather and even ate outside 2 nights.
Loved that we were a small group and I knew everyone after a couple of days . I enjoyed everything.

We were glad that we did the independent bike ride starting in Bolzano 3 days before meeting up with everyone on the barge. The scenery and biking were incredible, especially on the alternate route. We did go solo the first day and got very lost 3 times! The next day we tagged along with others on the same trip. The directions could be more explicit ( Ex. It would be helpful to state directions that avoided questioning routes i.e. ""go this way, not that way""; caution - fork in road- bear right, but not up that 14% grade hill!) And what is a fly-over? (An overpass, we found out later) And what is considered a ""fountain""? (It's a small water spigot at a bikers rest stop). However, it was an adventure we won't forget. We learned we needed to have GPS through Google or another mapping/biking program. This would allow us to be more independent and ride self guided as biking with 28 or more people and 2 guides is slow going. The biking is on flat terrain, very easy. However, many days you bike around 30 miles, with many stops for breaks, tours, and sights. It was very warm in early June. Bring lip sunscreen and regular sunscreen!
The Ave Maria is fantastic, our rooms were cozy but totally comfortable. The boat is in mint condition. Food is amazing! Our 2 chefs were top notch. Staff are fun and we really were lucky to have a great group of fellow travelers. Ronnie and Silvia were our guides and they were great. They were very patient, helpful and fun to be with. We had a competition one night, all the 5 groups from different countries did a skit. It was hilarious!!
Also, arriving in Venice by boat at the end of the tour is the best way to go in our opinion. We stayed an extra day in Venice and took water buses to some of the islands. It was cooler there, we saw beautiful places and we used up our 3 day transit pass.
I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, we had an unforgettable, wonderful trip and are thinking of where to go on our next bike and barge adventure!

The routing in Bordeaux was great. Amazing scenery, passing through little towns and managing our way through a city or two made for an amazing adventure. One day I had a big problem with my bike and with a phone call I had a young man show up and fix it. He was my hero.

Loved the beauty of the rolling hills, vineyards and chateaus. Due to the hills, I would rate 2 of the days more moderate to difficult, leaning more to moderate. The maps and booklets are hard to follow, definitely have 1 person in your group get the GPS, it should be mandatory with all the turns. There is only a deposit required.
The staff were attentive, hard working and fun! The food was exceptional. We highly recommend this tour!

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.

Most memorable parts: The camaraderie of the group and of course the fabulous meal by Chef Franco.

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 most memorable part was riding bikes to quaint small towns and Bruges.

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 most memorable part was hoisting sails as a team.

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

Loved all the windmills, museum's, and bike routes. The food was delicious. Staff were excellent. I recommend to do the long routes as you get to see more.

It was all very memorable. Wish the bikes had a water bottle holder and a map clip or holder on the handle bars. The tour info from Tripsite was not completely accurate as we rode a lot more than we anticipated every day. The barge was 'Magnifique'!

Cycling along canals, stopping at picturesque locations, short tours of historic locations, all with a knowledgeable, patient, funny guide made this a most fabulous way to see the countryside of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Really enjoyed the quality of the bike paths in Germany.