5 Star Clair de Lune boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 37

The crew were fantastic, the early weather ...not so much. I look forward to the booking another sometime in the future

The group dynamic and the excellent stewardship of our knowledgeable, enthusiastic and amiable cycling guide, Roseanna! The rides were exhilarating and the sights beautiful with rich history!

Having experienced and enjoyed bike and barge vacations for over 10 years, I can say, without a doubt, that the Clair the de Lune's crew were the most attentive, professional, and charismatic. Like most, we select our tours based on destination, daily tour activity, and pleasant docking locations. Those factors are easily researched. The wild cards are often the barge condition, crew personality, and of course, the dining experience. Marco resolved all those concerns by keeping an impeccable barge, bringing on chef Jenny, housekeeper Catalina and tour guide Dick. Our rooms were clean and include both heat and A/C. The dining was inventive and locally sourced. Daily tours were perfectly planned and well managed to optimize our group members. The adage that you must sacrifice amenities if you choose smaller comfort barges over the larger boats did not hold up. We had uncooperative weather (they dried our clothes), flat tire, chain issues (rapidly addressed), difficulties getting to the Briare train (they loaded up personal vehicles and drove their bikes to ensure our timely departures). Bravo Clare de Lune!

The staff—Marco, Dick, Jenn, and Catalina—were wonderful, professional, knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly! The trip through the French countryside was awesome! The Clair de Lune Barge was comfortable, and clean! The food was delicious! It was a marvelous journey!

The boat was smaller than the others I have been on for other bike trips but the crew was great!! Very friendly and helpful. Dick our guide was the BEST! THEeals were very good too

Most memorable: Crossing the Briare Aqueduct was awsome. The barge, Clare de Lune, and the captain, chef, crew, and tour guide made our trip most enjoyable.

The scenery was spectacular and the barge crew was excellent

The daily rides were wonderful. We saw lots of the French countryside plus the use of the canal locks. Advice: be sure you are comfortable on a bike, touring or e-bike. We left the boat at 9:00 and returned by 4 or 5, so we're riding all day. Some in our group hadn't ridden in decades and it was rough. There is always an option to cruise the canals on the boat, which is great!

We recently completed the bike and boat trip from Briare to Nevers , it was an excellent vacation. The Claire de Lune was the perfect size, very clean and Captain Marco did an outstanding job navigating the boat through the locks and canals. The bicycles worked perfectly and our guide Annita led us around for 165 miles through the French countryside seeing farms, small villages, castles and chateaux's. There was a surprise stop every day and we even visited a small goat cheese farm. The food was excellent every day, breakfast and dinner were well prepared and we had fresh baguette's daily with ample cold cuts and condiments to make lunches and the kitchen also provided a nice container to carry the lunch on our bikes. Every morning we had an optional yoga class from our hostess Dita and we also did outdoor stretching before we started our ride The tour slightly deviates from the itinerary because some places are closed on certain days and there can be road issues. Sancerre was a nice place to visit and the hill climb to get there can be challenging but well worth it . I highly recommend this trip if you are looking to do a relaxing bicycle ride through the quiet French countryside and seeing the canals and bicycling the cycle paths , this was a first class trip on a first class boat

I had a wonderful time! The crew and guide were kind, friendly and helpful. The meals onboard were excellent. The guide was patient and confident. I appreciated his willingness. Thank you.

We had an amazing time. The barge was quite spacious compared to the pics we saw and very comfortable. The food was amazing, our Chef Chris was too good with a 3 course meal at every dinner and he explains in detail every course. We had some great food. Biking through the Loire Valley was just beautiful. We cycle through vineyards, farmlands, little French villages & towns, watched boats going thru locks and sailed through a canal over the Loire River. We did some wine tasting and pastries, quiches. The list goes on. We totally love it. Just a side note, there was no spare electric bike, cos one of the girls wanted to change to an Electric Bike and there was none. Other than that it was totally amazing ❤️

Amazing food, every meal!
Personable and knowledgeable staff.
Even tho it was our guide (Ed)’s first tour on the route, he managed to sleuth out some great sites, side routes and stops. He was a fun guide yet responsible.
The overall route was beautiful.
I would make one suggestion about the barge: in the cabin where we stayed there was too little storage space. This could be easily remedied by adding hooks and small shelves.

Everything was great! Exceeded my expectations. I would recommend a GoPro !

Everything was great! Exceeded my expectations. I would recommend a GoPro !

The best part of our trip was the crew! Our captain, guide, cook and cabin staff made this trip special. From the first day we were welcomed, encouraged, and accommodated. After 600km of memorable cycling it was indicative that the entire group chose to “sail” the last 20km. into Paris with our new family. A fabulous ending to a great two weeks.

We particularly enjoyed the four crew members who took care of us. The guide, captain, cook and cabin leader couldn’t have better. They cared for each cyclist in every way. We all chose to ride the barge into Paris on our last day and it was a very special day.

The Around Paris tour on the Clair de Lune was a wonderful trip for us. Entering Paris by bicycle, having our barge room follow us, and being guided, fed, and hosted by Marcus and his crew was a great experience we recommend.

Around Paris as guests on Clair de Lune was a great trip! The scenery, the history, the visit to Fontainebleau, cycling the streets of Paris, and more! This is such a wonderful way to experience a country!

Highlights: The kindness of the tour guide (Jan-Anne), the captain (Marco), and the chef (Sylvia); the beautiful landscape; sailing into Paris; riding through Paris.

We were in great hands with our captain, Marco, chef, Sylvia and guide, Rob, on the Clair de Lune! We truly enjoyed our week biking along the Seine and L’Oise. We highly recommend this barge and bike experience.

Most Memorable? For me the day we cycled through the city of Paris. We got to experience a very authentic side of Parisian life, zooming along the myriad of bike paths with the locals, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells and knowing we were in the capable hands of our guide. Having a guide removes all of the navigational stress and allows for the freedom to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Our guide, Chris, was exceptionally talented. He answered questions clearly and completely, and he offered many interesting comments about the various sites we traveled through. Our captain, Connie, was also thoroughly competent and provided additional insight about our travels, especially thru the various locks. Meals were good. Breakfast was standard European and I appreciated their encouraging us to prepare sandwiches and snacks for lunch. Be aware that the instructions for meeting the tour bus from the train station, Gare du Nord, were incomplete: You have to continue walking about 100 meters on Rue de Maubeuge beyond Rue Ambroise Pare to find the bus. Also, this bike trip was considered "easy" based on the relatively flat terrain and modest miles ridden.
However, the paths were not always very smooth; we experienced rocky, bumpy, pitted and muddy roads for much of the trip. In general, however, this was a very memorable trip; I'd do it again!

Overall the trip was great. Route was rated as easy, but it was a little more difficult than expected. Lots of traffic in Paris and trails and streets were often more like off-road or mountain biking. That should be made clear from the beginning.

This tour of the Seine was delightful. The boat and crew were top notch. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history and bike routes of the area. And the weather was c'est bon. It was the trip of a lifetime.

Tips: Pack light. Bring layers of clothing. People great. Barge crew and bike guide wonderful!!

The trip was amazing!! It was exactly as described. There were no surprises. The bikes were very comfortable and perfect for the trip we were on. The boat and the sights were amazing. I loved the staff, the food, and the guide. If you are new to biking, I highly recommend spending some time on a bike before you go just to get used to handling it in both traffic and on dirt trails in the forest. Enjoy!

Have forwarded the link to your website to a number of our friends as we describe the fabulous experience on our tulip tour. Most memorable was being our timing in seeing the tulips in full bloom in the fields. But, every day was memorable!

The guide was attentive to each rider and knowledgeable about the towns and history.

Gourmet dining aboard the Clair de Lune was five star fabulous! The tour guide, Henry, was extremely knowledgeable about the area, and inspired the highest level of confidence in his ability to handle any situation. The Clair de Lune was very clean and in excellent condition. All the staff were wonderfully friendly, helpful and welcoming.

Most Memorable part: Going through the locks on the barge in Paris. The kindness of our fellow bikers and staff.