4 Star Ave Maria boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 41

4.5 out of 5

 


Bruce Z.
3 months ago

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The boat and crew were fantastic. The bikes were the best we have experienced so far doing these kinds of trips. Some wonderful excursions and side trips while biking . A few things could be improved upon I think. We all arrived (group of 10) in Mantova and ended up dragging our luggage through town (on sometimes very cobblestone bumpy streets) to get to the boat. Have heard this happens a lot. Taxi/uber service is kind of non-existent. For any older travelers the option of dragging luggage would not be realistic. Something need to be set up for customer pickups. Also, I know from talking to the tour guides that the amount of time we get to spend in Ferrara is an issue. It's a wonderful city and we were in and out much too quickly. Not sure there is an answer to this. Overall an amazing trip with a crew that seemed to be having as much fun as we were.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

carol h.
4 months ago

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

Venice back canals. Swimming in adriatic sea. Feedback bikes should have mirrors or tell people to bring them.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Denis S.
4 months ago

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

This was the seventh bike/barge tour, in Europe, which I have taken. It was a wonderful tour. The boat, the crew and the guides were among if not the best. In particular the quality and the presentation of the food was outstanding,. I have three suggestions that in my opinion would have made the trip more comfortable. The first is quite minor but most North Americans use a facecloth in the bathrooms, I would prefer this to the two handtowels which were provided for each guest, Secondly, on each of my earlier trips better accommodations were made for guests to dry out light laundry or wet clothing. A clothesline set up on upper patio could work well for this, Finally, my experience is that cycling in a group of 31 is awkward and potentially dangerous. Our two guides worked together very well to control the traffic and allow the whole group to cross major roads safely but two smaller groups would mean shorter traffic delays.
Overall a great trip which I will gladly recommend yo others

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

ANGELA S.
7 months ago

Verified Reviewer

· Bolzano-Mantova-Venice

I the whole experience was memorable, but the most exceptional was the food. Danny was truly a chef who was interested in preparing the meals with a purpose. He also kept good eating habits in mind, offering a great variety of vegetables in each meal.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

David M.
9 months ago

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The general organization of the trip, and the great staff aboard!
Disappointed with the scenery along the routes - often quite monotonous

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Carl Magnus M.
9 months ago

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

Biking by river Po, the visits to the distillery and cheese factory

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Cheryl W.
9 months ago

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The staff was amazing, so friendly and very helpful. It was nice to see how they all worked so closely. The food was amazing. Great job.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Richard C.
November 30, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

My favorite part of the trip was touring Montova. This was our 3rd bike barge trip and I'm sorry to say that the scenery we saw while riding 3 of the 5 days was a bit disappointing. The barge and the food was the best of the 3 trips. We also rode a little too much along some busy roads without much of a shoulder.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Martin (Marty) H.
November 1, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

There were several very memorable moments on this trip! Our guide, Hein and his wife Margolien were outstanding with their historical knowledge about every town we toured. That was an added benefit of which I had not expected. They were extremely passionate in sharing their information with everyone which made it so interesting. Another highlight for us was just the sheer beauty that surrounded us on the trails we traversed to each of our destinations. My wife and I are not really bikers but enjoy staying physically fit. She questioned whether she could do the mileage each day. The trails and picturesque views through the countryside took your mind off anything other than just appreciating God’s creation so you were never aware of whether you rode 10 miles or twenty. I could probably go on but will end my remarks with the view we were able to get of Venice as we pulled up to our mooring site on Pellistrina Thursday evening. What an experience. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys biking or just being outdoors. We would definitely do it again but maybe choose a little more difficult ride!!

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Johanne P.
November 1, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The time spent touring around
Venice and the food on the boat!

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Umberto M.
October 25, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The attention of de guides for sure.
The food was so good too
About of the begining of the travel, when we were buying our trip we didn’t have a good help.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Frank C.
July 27, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

This was our second Bike & Barge trip. If you are thinking about it, do it! Both trips were with a group of friends. We had a wonderful time together with the crew. I'd recommend going with a group of friends or family. This trip required longer distances which at times were a bit exhausting but much of that had to do with our pace and the weather. Most of the biking on this trip is in the countryside, not many towns to see. Arriving in Venice on the boat was incredible and a great way to end our trip spending two nights and a day in the city.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Karen U.
July 3, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

An opportunity to see and bike the less traveled. The barge moored in quiet off the beaten path places - but each had something to offer. The crew on AveMaria was amazing, worked well together, made our travels very comfortable and the chefs were top notch. It would have been nice if half way through the trip the bed linens were changed out. We appreciated access to the wonderful cappuccino maker and access to chilled drinking water (both still and bubble). It would be helpful to include that guests should bring along their own water bottle. It was a very memorable adventure.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

James B.
June 14, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The times together with others. Dinner, riding etc.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Bernard D.
April 29, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The accommodations on board , the food, and the staff were excellent.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Elizabeth J.
April 29, 2023

Verified Reviewer

· Bolzano-Mantova-Venice

The dolomites were incredibly beautiful. The food aboard was the best we’ve had!

Scenery from Mantova to Venice was agricultural for the most part. A broad mix of surfaces to ride on and some detours on the self guided which could be confusing.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Gary M.
November 5, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

For me, the most memorable parts of the trip were the moments our trip guide, Hein, stopped, got us off our bikes and took time to do some interpretation of the landscape, or when he brought us to little known local places. One example was a local museum for traveling entertainers and amusements. In the states we would call this a circus museum. Hein described life for us in the walled and protected castles and the city-states of Italy before there was an Italy, and the power of the family heads in the se little kingdoms. He took us on a tour of one of those castles that is not generally open to the public. I also appreciated the 90-minute guided tours by Christina in Mantova and her counterpart in Venice. Passionate about the cities that they call home, they both really brought these special places to life for me.
Not to overlook the moderate exercise we got on bikes everyday, which was helpful because the delicious food our crew served was difficult to turn down. I would have preferred longer distances, but the biking was as advertised: easy.
A couple of tips: take precautions to protect yourself from Covid. If you choose a water taxi to get you around Venice, ask the boat driver when reserving your ride, and again before you board the boat, what the fare is; the cost tends to inflate when it comes time to pay the bill. And ask your tour guide to reserve tickets in advance to see the interior of San Marco Basilica and the Doge's Palace in Venice. I didn't do this and was unwilling to wait in a long line to get in, so I missed both. But we did see a number of other unbelievable churches from the Rennaissance era all week in Verona, Mantova and Venice.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Ward A.
October 30, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

Crew was amazing. Everyone helpful. 30 person biking too big. Suggest it be split into 2 15 person groups.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Linda N.
October 29, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The most memorable part of the trip was time aboard the Ave Maria. The crew made every effort to make sure all our needs were met, suggested places to visit that you wouldn’t find in guide books, fed us the most delicious local foods prepared from ingredients found that day and recipes from their grandmothers, their creativity and their obvious joy in cooking. I can still taste the lasagna with squash flowers! The other passengers were all fascinating people as well, all very experienced travelers and bikers. The thing I want others to know is that some parts of the trip, especially leaving Chioggio and Ferrara, we’re on busy roads with cars whizzing by you and crossing roundabouts and corners, and that even on the low traffic, one lane roads, you’ll frequently hear “car up” or “car back”. There were times when you could not enjoy the scenery because you had to watch for potholes and negotiate gravel. We bike on an at least weekly basis but often struggled to keep up and keep going on some of the 44K+ plus days. We preferred the easygoing pace of the self guided Danube trip. We booked pre and post tour accommodations through TripSite in Venice and Mantova. Both hotels were charming and accommodating with wonderful breakfasts.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Margaret Jay B.
October 29, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

Lovely route, wonderful guides, comfortable accommodations. Absolutely superb food!

Bring your own water bottle - despite the tripsite literature, one is not provided

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Nancy P.
October 18, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

The food on the trip was excellent. We enjoyed the local fare, the wine pairings from the various regions .
The crew work very hard to deliver a positive experience . Helmut was a great guide offering lots of information about the different places we stopped at. We loved the cheese factory tour and tasting

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Laurie H.
October 18, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

What a wonderful mix of larger cities and small villages and towns that we would never have been able to locate on our own . An opportunity to enjoy both Venice and all its treasures while staying on the barge in beautiful, quiet Giudecca with it's charm of churches and artisan craftmanship . The biking along the Po River nature reserve was beautiful and a reminder of how important it is to care for our environment. Mantova along with other stops were charming with guides who shared their expertise of cities. The guides and staff on the Ava Maria did an admirable job of following the itinerary and keeping everyone safe, The chefs and dining staff served Italian local dinners that were the best I have eaten and a breakfast that appealed to all. Despite Italy being in a heat wave we were still able to enjoy the beauty of Italy.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Maria F.
October 8, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Bolzano-Mantova-Venice

Wonderful trip cycling. The Ave Maria crew were friendly, helpful, and clearly worked well as a team. The bikes were well maintained and rode smoothly.
Some communication with the TripSite org (most notably the portion before the Barge part of the trip) could have been better but overall it was a fun and enjoyable adventure.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Robin P.
October 5, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Bolzano-Mantova-Venice

I most enjoyed the first three rides of the tour from Bolzano to Mantova, the scenery was amazing.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Tracy R.
September 26, 2022

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

Enjoyed everyone on the boat, great staff and food. Good bikes, some of the paths and roads were a bit on the rough side.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Cynthia A K.
October 30, 2021

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

Scenery riding on the bike. Sunrise and sunset. The staff were amazing and the food delicious. The staff went above and beyond to handle special requests.
Disappointed the AC didn’t work and the room was between 75-77 F at all times. The WiFi rarely worked. The staff did get fans for some of the rooms. With the rooms being so hot and no option to have laundry done other than in the sink, things took days to dry.
Thirty people riding as one group is too many.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Ruth B.
October 30, 2021

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

Overall, the scenery was pretty-perhaps a trip in the summer would have been more brilliant. I would suggest bringing your own helmet or the boat supply appropriate helmets.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Tina C.
December 3, 2019

Verified Reviewer

· Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova

I truly enjoyed this tour that included daily rides through the picturesque Italian countryside. Each day we biked through a variety of landscapes, stopping in small towns along the way for cappuccino breaks, lunch and local tours. The bike tour staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. The boat crew was equally as wonderful, preparing wonderful meals each evening and serving them with a smile. Everyone bent over backwards to make this a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
As for suggestions, I think the last leg from Pellestrina Island to Venice could be improved. The morning was wasted in a small town that was not really open for business. Why not take an earlier Ferry to Lido and spend more time there before heading to Venice?

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Rachel F.
September 4, 2019

Verified Reviewer

· Bolzano-Mantova-Venice

The best part was the first three days self-guided tour near the Dolomites on our 10 day tour.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy

Terry W.
August 3, 2019

Verified Reviewer

· Bolzano-Mantova-Venice

As professional as the staff were and as delicious the food, the most memorable part of the trip was interacting with fellow travelers. Since the boat can only berth around 40, I was able to get to know almost everyone and learn about their countries and personal histories.

Countries included in this tour?
Italy