5 Star Iris boat/barge tour reviews — 61 to 90 of 118

Overall, a great trip. The crew and guides on the Iris were wonderful and helped to make the trip a memorable experience. Thought the tour itinerary was a great balance of Dutch culture, historic towns and places, canals, dikes and locks, windmills, and fields of flowers. Fun seeing the Netherlands on a bike. Chef was amazing and the Food was superb. Made good friends and enjoyed everyone on the bike tour. I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants to experience the beauty of springtime in Holland.

This trip was amazing. The pre-planning info, the easy to follow arrival, and the overall organization made my first trip an enticement for future excursions. The crew iof the Iris and our guides were engaging and easily created a family-like experience. Every day was greeted with smiles and experiences which made all of us feel the excitement of the voyage. Thank you for the great memories!

Oh my, this is a difficult question as every part of our trip on the IRIS Tulip Tour was memorable! We loved the biking and felt totally immersed into the Dutch culture as we meandered through cute villages, lush green grazing pastures adorned with baby animals (lambs, ducks, goats, cows), by castles, windmills, and, of course, the spectacular, vibrant tulip fields! Our tour guides were, hands down, the best tour guides ever!! Genuinely, wonderful people who were so knowledgeable about their culture and history and eager to share! Each stop we made on our bikes whether it for a coffee break, lunch break, or a site to see, was unique and fabulous! We loved the different cafes (w/ to-die-for pastries and treats), lunch stop areas (an old schoolhouse; a beach on the North Sea; adorable towns), and the many Dutch experiences (castles, windmills, cheese farm, tulip fields, and the spectacular tulip gardens at the Kuekenhof)! The boat staff and meals were amazing also . . . first class!!! We all felt spoiled and loved. Our rooms were perfect with plenty of space - with every detail of design being well thought-out. Last, but not least, we relish the friendships we developed with our delightful fellow bikers/bargers! If you enjoy "active" vacations, then this is a trip of a lifetime!!!

Suggestions for others:
1. Be sure to do some bike rides (and make sure you are comfortable on a bike) before coming on this trip. Also, if you plan on using an electric bike, practice at home first.
2. Rain pants and a good raincoat were my best pre-trip investments! Dress in layers and be prepared for all types of weather! The weather is not a problem if dressed properly. Also, bring two pairs of gloves so you always have a dry spare pair.

Loved everything about our boat bike vacation! Great crew, accommodations and guides. Thanks so much. We look forward to more trips

I worked with TripSite to plan this trip for 20 friends and family and they were fantastic to work with: flexible, friendly and professional. And the trip costs half of similar trips offered by US based bike tour operators. The Iris was a superb boat in great condition and the crew were amazing, with a special shout-out to the fantastic food! The riding was hard to believe: miles and miles of flat, scenic, history drenched wine country. Every days ride was enjoyable and had nice prizes and surprises along the way. Some of my group decided to stay on board for one or more days and got to relax and watch the castles go by, read a book, drink some great local white wine, and chat with the friendly crew. This particular tour: the Mosel between Cochem and Metz, was referred to me by a good friend who has done a dozen packaged bike tours and said this was his favorite. Now it's ours!

The biking.

The places we biked to were wonderful....villages, river views, vineyards. The Iris was fantastic. Great crew, wonderful boat. Was very hot part of the trip and the crew did a great job adapting to the heat. Would highly recommend this trip.

The chance to (finally) reunite with friends made on a previous bike and barge tour! As before, we met many very nice people on our trip. The crew and guides were excellent, as were the accommodations. Iris is a lovely vessel. Ellen’s meals were superb. I can’t believe I didn’t gain weight!
The scenery along the Mosel was very nice and the biking was generally as advertised- easy. Day 2 was more challenging than expected with more hills (not steep but long). It might have been helpful to know in advance, as the description only mentioned the downhills. Strictly speaking, I’m not sure I’d classify it as an easy ride. Having said that it was a truly gorgeous ride.
I also enjoyed the ride through Trier. Rikko did an excellent job giving the historical background.
Rikko and Paul were eager for feedback on the days rides and open to suggestions during the evening briefing. As a result we often split into 2 groups, allowing riders to go at their own pace. They also adjusted the daily rides as we had a couple of very hot days. Their flexibility was appreciated.
I would certainly recommend this trip to others. It was worth the wait!

the biking in beautiful towns.

This was my first bike and barge and I truly enjoyed it. We did have some rain and I didn't even mind it. We had come prepared. The staff were very kind and accommodating and the guides were just terrific! The room was more spacious than I expected including the bathroom. We had hot water everyday after getting back to the boat after biking all day. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and I would definitively go on another one.

I loved this trip. It was a great combination of physical activity, culture, phenomenal scenery , great guides and interesting fellow passengers. No question that I will do more bike and barge trips. Very well organized.

The biking throughout was excellent: we had great guides and the barge crew was friendly, accommodating, and VERY professional. Plus there seemed to be a castle on every hill, like biking through a fairytale.

The guides and crew were wonderful and really made the trip special. Although you will be riding and walking a good part of the day, don't expect to lose much weight as the food is delicious

The biking route was just perfect. The scenery and sights were wonderful. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable.

The new bikes were so great to use. There were 2 smaller people on our trip that had bikes that were too big for them. One had a couple falls and we were always afraid they might be injured.

Another thing that could be helpful is to have some more road safety tips. The shark teeth at intersections, the red path is for bikes etc. While these were explained to us it might be more helpful to see a video with these actually shown. I loved having Lenny as sweep the one day just reinforcing "you are on the right so he will stop " and "he has shark teeth so you can go".

Thank you for a wonderful vacation

The guides and staff were extremely engaging and accommodating . The chef selection of food and wine pairings exceeded expectations . The guides were knowledgeable and personable . The tour route had the right balance of cycling , exploring and relaxing .
To improve
Rooms stuffy . Better ventilation needed for sleeping . Suggest a check to set the climate control .
Two members of our group required extra small bikes not available .
Face clothes in rooms .

The e bike was a fabulous way for me to be able to keep up. It was of superior quality to mine at home and I’d unequivocally say that almost any riding capability would be able to enjoy this trip by requesting the Gazelle e bike offering. For the barge, we really noticed the lack of air circulation in our rooms at night. They advised us when we got there that ac wasn’t working- they worked on fixing that during our time aboard but it was the one thing that prevents me from giving it an absolutely perfect rating.

When thinking about the trip, the biking is what I thought about most. Once the trip began, I realized the "extra" aspects of the trip were the most meaningful:
- visiting a cheese farm to learn about
- walking through the cities with our guides learning about their history
- fabulous meals on board
- friendly and talented staff

This trip had it all great cycling through gorgeous and historic NL with some fun informative guides, delicious meals prepared by chef Ellen, spending time with great friends and meeting new people. Highly recommend this trip. Lenny is an excellent host.

This trip was perfect. The boat was clean, roomy and comfortable. I liked the ride and stay in Haarlem best, but wait the ride to Leiden … really loved it all! Did I mention the Chef and meals, wow.

Amazing rides through the countryside, full of spring blossoms

Great trip, staff was very helpful ,food was wonderful. The bike trails in the Netherlands are never ending and scenic. Would highly recommend.

Love the scenery. The canal with the houses and beautiful yards next to them, Keukenhof gardens snd the tulip fields were absolutely gorgeous.
If I did this tour again I would get an e bike. The wind was blowing pretty hard so I was struggling to keep up. Also it was a lot colder than I thought it would be.

Love the scenery. The canal with the houses and beautiful yards next to them, Keukenhof gardens snd the tulip fields were absolutely gorgeous.
If I did this tour again I would get an e bike. The wind was blowing pretty hard so I was struggling to keep up. Also it was a lot colder than I thought it would be.

The staff of the Iris was great! We loved the intimacy and comfort of this barge. Biking through the Netherlands was a very immersive and great way to truly experience the various layers and beauty of their culture. We are hoping to do a Bike n Barge annually to explore other countries.

The communication from Tripsite could have been better. We were dismayed to see others in our group received Tripsite vests and gaiters. We had not. We literally received our travel documents/tips 5 days before departure.

Everything about this trip was excellent! Great boat, great staff, great guides, great food! What an amazing experience!

Most memorable was the cycling through the countryside and smelling the flowers, hearing the bird song and enjoying the fresh air. Also the friendliness of our hosts, like being with family.

A wonderful experience overall. Premium barge, excellent service and friendly staff made the trip much better.
Like the fact that we could break the group into two (fast and slow) riders.
Suggestions: a little more breaks during riding to allow time to enjoy the countryside.

In my opinion, the bike barge experience with the Tripsite guides is the absolute best way to see and experience any country. The guides were both informative and fun and kept to the expected schedule.

The bike and barge trip of the Netherlands was incredible...much more than I had anticipated. Biking through the fields and canals brought us enchanting views of geese, sheep, cows, horses, swans, charming houses and villages, not to mention the tulips! The pace was perfect, and the diversity of each day well chosen. We enjoyed an excellent array of gourmet food and the laughing companionship of new friends from different countries. Our tour guides were full of information and made us feel safe on our travels. Lodging was very comfortable and private. After hearing me rave about this trip, several of my friends now want to take it too!

Great barge, good people, great guide and good food. The only thing missing was a good detailed map of where we were riding.