Bordeaux boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 72
Paula H.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Our guide was wonderful. It made our bike riding less stressful. Meet some great people from different countries. Enjoyed our dinner every night. The staff was helpful.
Celeste N.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The trip was as we expected -- enjoyed both the biking & wine tours. Thanks for the ebikes.
Don B.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Not moving and sitting next to a mud bank and a muddy river made the first couple of days disappointing. The rest of the trip was very good with Bordeaux and St. Emilion being the highlight of the trip. The staff and food was exceptional!
Carol H.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The bike routes were good and some of the stops at vineyards were excellent but other vineyards were not really interested in providing tastings even when they had been pre-arranged by the boat company. The old bikes were in bad shape but the new bikes were of excellent quality. The e-bikes were a godsend to riders that struggled with the hills on the second day. Unless you are are a fairly strong rider the e-bikes were needed on 2 of the days. The bike mechanic was great and the GPS was helpful when it worked but it was not reliable. Paper maps were needed as a back-up. The rooms on the ship were cramped but OK overall. Our biggest concern was that the food was really BAD. We could not eat several dishes and they sometimes ran out of the main course.
Overall, given the steep price, we would not recommend this tour. Other barge and bike tours are much better value.
William A.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Biking in the Bordeaux region was memorable as well as the food and wine on our barge. The staff was welcoming too.
Elliot A.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The trip was fantastic, especially the other people on the tour. My recommendation to newbies is to definitely sign up for e-bikes and the guided tour.
The only bad thing was that the noise level in the dining area was painfully loud. My ears are still ringing! They really need to install some acoustical tile or something.
Ellen K.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Loved moving to a new spot in France every day and biking the country side. Exercise, vacationing with friends, drinking great wine - was wonderful. Fun to have so many options to enjoy the countryside - ebikes, guided, self guided, etc. easy to customize the trip for your desires.
Rick M.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The boat was quite old and noisy. Due to either river conditions or dock accommodations, the skipper had to move the boat off the dock multiple times during the days and at night, disrupting sleep for many of the guests. Air conditioning did not work in several of the cabins, and the crew was very slow to repair. At our "welcome aboard" briefing, we were told that there were 130 life vests on board the vessel, and that was the extent of the safety briefing - nothing about where they were located or how to don them. No word about where fire extinguishers were located. Nothing about how to get off the boat in an emergency. If there was an AED on board, it was well hidden!
Several of the young ladies in the crew were very friendly and helpful to the passengers, but others were not very helpful at all - The Captain could best be described as an old Curmudgeon. Time for him to retire! The bikes were Read More old and somewhat worn out. Very little help from the crew with getting them set up and ready to roll each day. The first day of "bike fitting" was pandemonium, with 80+ people all trying to get their bikes at once. Probably could have been a little better organized - as could several other aspects of the trip. Our guide was trying very hard to do the best he could, but he was handicapped by a lack of experience and local area knowledge. His regular job was working in the office for the boat company, and I suspect he was pressed into service as a guide, probably because so many people requested the guided option.
The food was generally good, but there was no choice during evening meals. If you happened not to like duck, too bad!
While the crew and the company had no control over the weather, it rained almost every day, and to top it all off, I found I really prefer California/Washington wines to any we tasted in the Bordeaux region.
While this was our first barge experience, we have taken many other cycling trips, with other companies. In general, they have all been far more organized an better executed than this trip. The bikes were always better in quality and better maintained by the crew. The tour leaders were far more informed and informative about the areas we were riding in.
Bottom line: I will not take another bike/barge trip through your company, nor can I recommend your trips to others.
Kevin M.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Cycling through the vineyards and countryside of France, Bordeaux area and spending time in France with friends.
Gina T.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The biking and the tour guides, Alex and Bill, were amazing! Beautiful scenery and quaint towns with many fabulous wineries to check out along the way. Also saw kiwis, wicker and corn fields and enjoyed the most amazing fragrances of the flowers blooming as we traveled. This was our first boat/bike trip, so we have no comparison point. The boat is aging and we rarely had internet. The rooms are extremely small, but we didn’t stay in our room much. The food was fantastic and having lunch makings every day was very handy! If you are adventurous, I’d definitely recommend this tour!
Mary U.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The scenery and biking in this region is fantastic. The quaint villages and all the wineries make great stops along the way. The e- bike's were so much fun and having a guided tour made it easy to just enjoy the beauty of the area.
Jaclyn B.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
It was the last week of the season and only 18 bikers joined the tour! This was so nice to have an intimate group and flexibility of activities. It was so helpful to have evening informing sessions on what to expect the next day along the route. It was absolutely necessary to have a GPS device to keep us on the correct route. The trip was a good value.
Jon F.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The bike ride is what this trip was all about. Great rides with great friends! We had 60 or so people from the same town on this trip, Fort Collins Colorado so there was many good groups to ride with! Food was good beverages could be upgraded eg: more beer choices and better quality wine, by the end of the week I was tired of the choices. The trip was very organized and I would recommend it to anyone who wants see France in this unique way.
Kevin M.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
A great chance to ride different areas of the French country side and taste different wines in the Bordeaux region. The difficulty of the daily routes is easy to moderate and the barge staff was very friendly and accommodating. If you like to bike and love wine, this tour is for you.
Margaret E.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The beautiful scenery and great bike routes planned for us. Only difficulty with the routes was navigating Libourne the last Friday in rush hour afternoon traffic. Perhaps a longer route, going around Libourne, could be investigated
Shelly B.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
My friends and I had a wonderful time on the Bordeaux Bike and Boat Tour! The bike rides were like riding in a postcard! The boat was very comfortable. The meals were delicious and based on the region! There was a wide variety of wine available at a very reasonable price! The crew were all extremely polite, pleasant, and helpful! I would highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to do a boat and bike tour!
Diane F.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
So the food was very disappointing for the price we paid for this trip. The food servers were very friendly and worked hard to please. The bike mechanic was great and solved any issues we had with the bikes. The captain of MS Bordeaux was always impatient and gruff with passengers as we disembarked each day. On the Danube trip, the staff ensured the bikes were on land for us each day. The GPS's in Bordeaux did not work most of the time and the maps in the books need updating - this is a comment that has been in the Bordeaux reviews for several years now. A team discussion and group effort allowed us to find our way.
The most disappointing aspect of the trip is that my concerns were expressed to Tripsite and left unanswered for over a month until I called Tripsite back, and nothing was resolved for me. Just be sure to evaluate if the quality of food and customer service are an important part of your trip - otherwise, enjoy the great rides!
Michel D.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
This was our second experience with Tripsite. Our first was in the Netherlands and the second in France. Everything has been positive from the time of booking to the end of the trip. Great food, great cycling, comfortable ship, scenery and most importantly, the other guests on the trip. We have already booked our third trip for May of 2020!
Lou O.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Guides were absolutely world-class in all respects: knowledgeable, safe, proactive and TOTALLY guest-oriented. Is there a description more favorable that "FANTASTIC?!"
Julie W.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
A wonderful travel experience for our first time on a barge. The staff were helpful, friendly and fun to be with, the food was first rate and the scenery and biking experiences were fabulous!
Inga M.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
I booked this first-time adventure for my husband and myself and another couple based on the location, itinerary, boat size, and online reviews. Ultimately it came down to my decision so I was feeling some anxiety regarding the success of the trip. I needn’t have worried! We had a fabulous time. Everything was well organized and on time, the boat was clean and efficient, the bikes were well maintained and any problem quickly looked after by a very friendly onboard bike mechanic, the food was mostly excellent (one night the steak was chewy), the staff was fabulous -never tiring of our endless requests or questions! We met likeminded people from all over the globe and made some lasting friendships! The biking distances sounded daunting but the pace was surprisingly leisurely with stops along the routes to visit wineries or beautiful old structures in many quaint little villages. And to top it off we had a rousing farewell party on the last night complete with champagne and dancing! We’d definitely do this again. Biking and boating is the ideal combination of exercise and relaxation accompanied by beautiful surroundings - what more could one ask for!
Beth M.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
I am commenting on the Bordeaux tour which I decided to go on last minute. If I had done my research on the boat & room size I wouldn’t have gone. My husband is 6’6” and the cabin was too small & very uncomfortable. I don’t know how it gets the Comfort Plus rating, all of the cabins on the lower level with the exception of one were all very small, & from other fellow pax comments, the upper level was not much better. This was our third trip with TripSite, we thoroughly enjoyed the 2 prior trips. We are sorry to say that the Bordeaux trip was underwhelming as far as scenery & bike routes.
Wendy from Tripsite • 5 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Beth,
I'm sorry that you found the boat not up to the comfort plus standards you are used to from your other tours. Yes, the cabins on this boat are smaller than other boats in this class. To clarify the classification...in the past, boats that offered air conditioned cabins were automatically placed in the comfort plus category which is why this boat was in that class. However, we have recently reconfigured our boat classification system and now rate the Bordeaux boat in the comfort class. I personally think the scenery doesn't get much better than this beautiful region of France!
Nicola F.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Bike guides were wonderful. Also, walking tour of Bordeaux.
Brian M.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Who knew that pomegranates grew in Bordeaux or the Romans built a coliseum there? Great guides make the trip as you are exposed to knowledge and places you would have overlooked.
Jennifer S.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Excellent trip, well organized and lots of fun.
Kimberly F.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The Bordeaux Wine Country trip was absolutely the best vacation ever! The guides were wonderful, full of interesting information and fun. Doing the guided tour allowed us to take in the scenery without having to worry about where to turn next. The scenery was so amazing. Every other word was "oh my" or "Wow"! A simple review cannot begin to convey how fantastic this trip was. We are already planning another trip with you. Thanks for the wonderful vacation.
Sergio G.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The scenery and staff on board were the most memorable parts of the trip. Although the tour says easy to moderate, there are 2 to 3 days that there are a few steep hills. You need to be bike ready. Or as an alternative rent an E Bike. As long as you just want to enjoy the scenery, places, vineyards, and not in a hurry, look at the guided portion for the extra cost. The guide we had was wonderful in explaining any questions we had. There are many things said that you would not get by self guided. If you are a wine fan and history and culture, this tour is for you. Stay in the city of Bordeaux also a couple days before or after. Very vibrant city with great restaurants and things to do in the city centre. Enjoy!
Charlie A.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Amazing scenery and locale. The biking maps leave a lot to be desired. Some riders had a trail app and they were lifesavers for those who were left to just the paper map booklet. Very difficult to follow. Maybe more tour guides to help out.
Doreen S.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Bourg / Blaye was a wonderful ride with minimal traffic and enough gradient to make it interesting. The fortified town at Blaye was an interesting diversion from vineyards. In all a well organized tour with excellent staff. The bikes were a little heavy but that gave me an excuse for an extra creme brûlée!
Sam
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
A GREAT experience on a bike & barge trip! I LOVE Bordeaux and the bike routes were beautiful !!! absolutely amazing from the start to the end.
The staff members were superb and we had fun !!!
I highly recommend this trip !!!
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