Clair d’Etoile boat/barge tour reviews — 91 to 117 of 117

Most memorable part? There were so many, but Chantilly Castle and the Montmontre area of Paris that we had a tour of immediately come to mind. Make sure that you can ride a bike and can manage at least 30 miles on a route with the same level of climbing, otherwise use an e-bike to help you along. Bring 2 pairs of street shoes, as some days they might get wet. Remember that there will be an opportunity to leave a tip at the end, and it should be about 5-6% of the booked price. Drink wine and beer, talk to people, don't be shy about anything and remember to have fun.

Wide range of scenery and experiences especially going on the barge through the tunnel and excellent guiding by Fred.

The overall experience of the barge & bike tour through wonderful countryside, villages & towns was excellent. The barge skipper/owner & staff were very good & most pleasant. The meals were of a high standard & variable throughout the two weeks.
The bikes were also very good. I had ordered an electric bike with our booking but the order did not go through. However, the ordinary hybrid bike provided did the job so I happily stayed with that.
We were also to have a double bunk, but that request did not get through either, but that was OK.

Crew, guide, staff were attentive, cordial and helpful. Barge was clean and comfortable. Bike routes were very scenic and interesting. Mary Ann, our guide was very knowledgeable, and simply terrific. Will we go again?....absolutely yes.

The most memorable part of the trip was the scenery and atmosphere.

The Captain and crew were just wonderful. While the sights were certainly great, like cheese making, Champagne tasting, visitng the ruins and the WWII cemeteries it was the warm welcome from the Captain and crew that really made this trip. There was nothing they wouldn't do for us including getting fresh baguettes every day, finding out our personal preferences for drinks after a long day in the saddle, and in general giving 110% to keep everyone happy. I strongly recommend the Captain and crew of the Zwaantje! I also must mention a big thank you to Carla and her crew at Tripsite for their assistance in getting us additional e-bikes. Without the e-bikes some of us just wouldn't have made the hills, with them we enjoyed every minute. Thank you!

The most memorable part was the wonderful hospitality we experienced on the Zwaantje. The captain and staff were great and I could recommend them to anyone. It was a fantastic way to enjoy a siblings reunion.

The crew on the barge were fantastic. The trip exceeded our already high expectations.

We were very pleased with the bike/barge tour on the Swaantje. Being a slightly smaller boat, it took us right into the heart of the towns. Boat staff most friendly and accommodating. Our bike guide Felix was a gem. Great sense of humour and understanding of everyone's concerns.

This was a fun trip full of historic sites. Would have liked to have maps so we could go off at our own speed sometimes. The side trips for additional mileage were great. Got to ride some of the "Tour de Flanders" route with cobbles and hills. Chantilly was fantastic! Also took a side adventure to a roman ruin, something we weren't expecting in that part of France.

We did the bike barge trip from Bruges to Paris on the Zwantjie. We would absolutely recommend the trip. Our comments are:
1. While the cabins are small, they are still adequate and good layout in the bathroom ( each cabin has it's own) . They are kept very clean. They all have AC as the porthole does not open.
2. The rides was rated easy to moderate. It was MUCH harder than Bolzano to Venice so be prepared. I would say it should be rated moderate. The second week is easier than the first - perhaps due to improved fitness but also l think there are less hills.
3. Meals were good and wholesome.
4. Staff were incredibly obliging. Nothing was too much trouble. Thank you Martyn ( the Captain ), Michael ( mechanic ), Chris ( chef/cook ), Gosha ( amazingly efficient at serving meals/alcohol and cleaning the cabins ) and our great guides, Christain and Elia.
5. Size of about 24 riders is excellent. For us, better than say 30-40 as on the Ava Maria. You get to know all the riders are we had a great group of people, Australians, Americans and Poms.
6. When we stayed in Perrone we went to Villers Bretonneux. This is particularly relevant to Australians - whose troops saved the town from the Germans in WW1. A stunning memorial site -very moving. We also rode through a number of memorials to WW1 victims. Also quite moving.

Boat and crew were first class as was the bicycles. Lots of fun and enjoyed the evening company. Beautiful scenery and city visits. Most memorable was the 50 km day trip my 86 year old father-in-law did with 7 other family members.

The boat staff was great. Food, service and cleanliness was excellent.

The Zwaantje barge crew were most excellent - great accommodations, food and customer service!! I would take another bike and barge trip with this group....it was an experience of a lifetime!

Mega-kudos to the Zwaanje crew, headed by Martin. They're an extraordinary group.
Our guide, Mintje, was good and well-intentioned, but she sometimes didn't grasp entirely the group's priorities.
The route was fantastic -- scenery, length of rides, etc. The tours (champagne, brie, etc., were excellent, especially the family-owned company, Nowak. We learned things and had a lot of fun.
We appreciated how Martin and Mintje responded to our requests for flexibility in developing distance options for less- and more-eager riders.
Also, availability of electric bikes made it possible for spouses (of both sexes) to accompany on rides they usually wouldn't be able to do. We know electric bikes are controversial in some corners, but they made the trip possible for some of our group.
One last thing ... TripSite's PDF summarizing the ride, proposing packing lists, giving directions and tips, was excellent. Congratulations.

My husband and I had a great bike trip. Riding through the Belgium/Netherlands was delightful. The staff made the trip most memorable- Jacob (bike guide), Els (boat captain), Thomas (cook).

The staff on the Zwaantje made the trip!

The ship, captain and crew were wonderful. Our guide was totally unacceptable!

My only complaint regarding the boat was due to the small cabins. The French locks are narrow, so the boat is narrow, making the rooms a bit to small for my comfort.

Our main concern was the unprepared tour group leader. She was constantly undecided on how to proceed. I think it was more trying to please the group than not knowing what to do. There should have been a route guide for each person (all we received was a large map with no route shown on it). She needed to be a leader rather than a friend!

I highly recommend the Swaantje barge. The captain is both technically experienced and oriented toward customer satisfaction. The staff was very attentive to passenger needs.
The bike guide was competent, but needed a bit more familiarity with the routes.

Rooms really small; Guide was lost a lot; Staffers not very good with knowledge of E bikes;
But food was great..staff was kind..trip was pretty.

Your tour was so damn good l find l'm getting naught done cause l want to go again - tomorrow. Seriously, l received courteous service that was pertinent and addressed any of the issues that l might have experienced. Personally, l think the whole Bike and Barge tour was run to the highest professional standards under what were adverse weather conditions. You can't plan for the tidal wave like flood of water that swept down the rivers and the very fact that you were able to 'tap-dance in the snow' and continue to operate at all does you no amount of credit. So from me, a big thank you to all the staff and keep up the good work. it was indeed a distinct pleasure for me to bear witness as other professionals surmounted adversity and came out on top.
D. Quigley - Melbourne, Australia.

For the most part the trip was wonderful, I would like to put most of my answers right in the middle of satisfied and not satisfied, I just thought the scenery and the landscape etc. was not what I expected. That is not your fault, enjoyed my trips to Italy and Germany were much more scenic

The guide seemed lost most of the time. He didn't know where to stop for a picnic and one day we ate our lunches at a bus stop. I realize cafes mostly close in France between 12 and 2, but his lack of knowledge of where to find a toilet after lunch was a problem. He chastised us for being slow to re-organize, but then later we'd stop for no reason and wait for up to a half hour with no info from him. He was good at describing architecture.

The boat, the crew, the bikes, the food....all great. The bike guide was on her first tour and on several occasions, we had to stop, wait while guide asked for directions. In her defense, route markers were often confusing or hard to locate, making it difficult to take off on our own, or to pause along the way without group consensus. As the farewell meeting on the boat, the entire group voiced positive comments and satisfaction with the experience.

The trip was great as were the hosts of the boat. Everything was exceptional even though it rained daily, that was not a detriment as everything made up for it.

The trip was great as were the hosts of the boat. Everything was exceptional even though it rained daily, that was not a detriment as everything made up for it.

We had a great time and plan on another bike-and-barge trip sometime. We loved the mix of passengers from different countries. Some of the other passengers, using other tour companies, had a few more details of the ports of call, and this would have been helpful for us, and may be a useful selling point for Tripsite.