Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 4351 to 4380 of 5176

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.

Outstanding guide, great staff on boat, wonderful food. The beautiful scenery from Bolzano to Mantova was probably the most memorable. Really happy we took the additional 3 days before boarding the barge.

Would have liked more time biking. 2 days had less than 10 miles. We were in the guided group and were told the group would decide how much to bike on those days-we were never asked as a group-the guide decided himself we would do the shorter distance. Barge "purser"-a woman-not very friendly or helpful or available. Trip booked as a Bordeaux start and end, but the location of start and end of trip changed and we had to pay extra to get ourselves to Cadillac and back to Bordeaux from Libourne. The boat company should have provided that transfer free of charge. The 2 wine tasting charges should have been included in the trip charge. The boat charged 20 euros for a bottle of wine in the wine country of Bordeaux and we were not allowed to bring on any wine from the outside. You could buy a nice bottle of wine for less than $10.00 in town. Disappointed that we had twin beds-expected a double in the suite room.

I would absolutely recommend this trip. We felt we were very lucky to have Hein as our guide. His insight was wonderful.

The scenery on this trip,while biking, was not memorable or especially unusual which was to be expected given the flatland of our itinerary. I was hoping it would be more dramatic but not surprised that it wasn't. Still I loved being there and next time will consider a more challenging terrain which ought to improve the views. ( ps lunch stop venues need more thought- in general unattractive.)
Memorable: the towns of Mantova and Ferrara were lovely and I enjoyed having time to spend in them , instead of merely riding through. The food was glorious and I felt the staff went the extra mile for us with a few perks and personal attention if needed. Clearly they like their jobs and it showed.

The entire staff was impeccable. They aimed to please and all had wonderful personalities. My only regret was wifi being shut down at 11pm. This was the best time for me to talk to loved ones. Other than that, it was great. Feedback from my group was positive.

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.

I really enjoyed the off-road trails and quiet back roads near Aigues Mortes.

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.

Barge, service, guide, food, comfort, weather and on and on...all great.

We really enjoyed the trip but the self-guided instructions could have been better. We relied on Google maps more than we should have had to; would have been quite lost without it.
We were a very small group and we all got along very well and became friends throughout the week.

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!

Barge was great, crew was excellent, could use more air conditioning, bikes need new pedals with more grip, very slippery especially when wet, boat could review policy of not letting riders use their own pedals.

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!

The scenery on the self guided from Bolzano to Mantua.
The expert guide (Hein ), the food and the staff on the boat.
They all went out of their way to make it a very pleasant experience.
We could not have asked for a better crew.

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.

A great trip. The area was great loved the villages we rode through.

Everything was memorable from the wonderful cabin to the great gourmet food to the wonderful leader Hein and fabulous staff. The route is scenic and we made stops at interesting places like the Rides Museum, Grano Padana, and the non-bird sanctuary! Loved it and have highly recommended it to friends.

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!

Most memorable was the friendliness, patience and helpfullness of the staff!

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 barge crew were exceptional. The cook treated each guest as a friend. Accommodated our request for a birthday cake. He even baked it on his own time. The scenery was exactly as anticipated.

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!

My companion and I broke from the main group and visited a small vineyard and were given a complete tour including a tasting by the owner

The scenery was beautiful and the barge was lovely. The most memorable part of the trip was the people - the Dutch are friendly and helpful, and the Angela Esmee crew was exceptional!