La Belle Fleur boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 46

I was impressed with how many sights we were able to fit into the 5-day tour and with such variety! The countryside was so beautiful and biking was a great way to see the landscape. It was exactly what I was looking for! The tour guide (Win) and barge crew (La Belle Fleur) were very professional and accommodating. I always felt very safe when biking behind my guide and the bikes were very well maintained. Everything was as expected or better! Would definitely book with Tripsite again!

The people we went with and the lovely people we met. The back roads we traveled and the wonderful tour guide...

The bike tour was immensely enjoyable. Even though it rained 6 of 7 days, it was still a highlight of our vacation in Europe. Thanks to Tripsite's instructions, we were well prepared for various weather from rain to warm and cool weather. Taking a barge is a great way to travel without unpacking each night, returning to the same room and delicious meals served on board. I hope to take a bike trip again trying out another river.

The adventure of biking through beautiful Luxembourg, Germany, and France. One can view scenry in a different manner compared to driving a car or viewing as a passenger. Biked thru small villages, metro cities, and rural countries.

The delicious gourmet dinners at the end of each trip will always be treasured.

The route instructions need a lot of improvement. It should not take 6 hours to bike 22 miles!

The scenery, the fellow riders the entire experience was so rewarding.
The boat however left a lot to be desired. The dining room windows were small and you felt confined. The food was below what i’ve experienced on my 6 other tripsite bike/barge tours.

Most Memorable Part: How Saunder, Els, and Rola were all so committed to making sure we had a great trip with terrific cycling, fantastic food, and comfortable accommodations.

Great riding, fantastic service on board. Unfortunately we hit a heat wave so nights were very warm. The GPS route on my phone was crucial to getting through.

The most memorable part of our trip was the Keukenhof. Would recommend packing clothes to layer, gloves, and rain gear.

We had a wonderful time on our trip from Bruges to Amsterdam, everyone was so friendly and helpful...we have booked another trip next Sept.

Awesome experience. Our guide was okay, but not great - and that did not take away from the beautiful scenery and meeting new friends.

Most Memorable Part? Staff on boat, people traveling and the scenery.

Enjoyed the staff, the group we met and the overall tour. I got to visit a part of France I might never have seen. Really enjoyed the champagne bottling winery the last day.

Loved the whole experience! The scenery was beautiful and we got to experience the country in a way you could not with a car or by train. We quickly bonded with the other people and became friends!

The kindness and attention of Sanders and Als, owners of the barge, the delicious and beautifully presented meals, the bike tours so different every day, the size of the boat allowing super relations with the others, Rola the so friendly and helpful guide and to top it all, 5 days of perfect sunny hot weather....ordered by Tripsite, no doubt!!

I took the Lorraine Tour this September. I was happy I chose to go Toul to Wasserbillig direction since it ended in a greener, more rural area. I love the countrysides and small villages best so this ended my week on the most positive note for my personal taste. There were interesting towns/cities to see along the way but this was also a bit more industrialized in some areas than tours I have taken in the past. If you are from the American midwest (I grew up in Ohio) you will swear you have been transported home many days it looks so similar. Others on our tour found it quite beautiful however. I was very impressed with the WWII memorials along the way. Even though I prefer a self guided tour I found our tour guide to be very pleasant and considerate of our physical abilities. I was disappointed with the conditions of the path one (our longest) day since I have been accustomed to fully paved trails on all my other tours. That day was exhausting due to the conditions of the route. They say this will eventually be fully paved at some point though. The La Belle Fleur was an excellent, clean, comfortable, and well maintained boat. The staff took good care of us and the food was fine. I especially enjoyed the camaraderie of the very small group. Having taken both large and small bike-boat tours I think this is one of the best aspects of a small tour. If I were traveling solo this size group would definitely be my preference. Overall, another wonderful week doing what I love and loving what I did.

Most Memorable Part: The people and the beer!!

The boat and the bikes were good, the food was good and sufficient, the crew was friendly and helpful. The scenery was not always beautiful, part of the tour leads through industrial area.

We truly enjoyed this trip, with beautiful flowers in every town and swans everywhere. One night, we had a bevy of swans peaking in at us as we ate dinner!. The bikes are great, with comfortable seats and smooth gearing. The dinners were always a delicious surprise. Sanders and Els were wonderful hosts, and our guide, Seitze, was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Mosel area, including Roman aqueducts, medieval castles, World War II sites, and, of course, the history of the EU. Nancy was my favorite big city but we also had a night time walking tour of a little town overlooking the Mosel, called Liverdun...where delicious Madelines come from! Very cute town. We went in early September and the cabins were a bit warm even at night. You can open windows, but it could be uncomfortable in the summer. Biking was mostly flat so not difficult but I definitely got some exercise. Another favorite: stopping for coffee and pastry each morning!

The most memorable part was the friendliness of the other guests.

The guide and crew were amazing. Great home cooked meals with personal atmosphere.

This trip was most enjoyable and the cities and scenery were gorgeous.

This was a very nice trip. Scenery, bike routes, side trips were all very good. We had a terrific guide who interacted well with the group. The barge was very nice and the owners/crew were exceptional. The dinners could not have been better - Els is an amazing cook.

The boat was well maintained. Beds were comfy for bunks. Our cabin [#9] had huge bathroom. With the hot Aug temps, a fan would have been appreciated. Bring a small personal 4" or 6" USB fan if you can find the space in your luggage. A small soaking pool on the deck was a welcome relief from the heat.

Meals were basic, but tasty and filling. Els did a nice job of accommodating my dietary restrictions. Ample cooler filtered water was available on the boat - remember your water bottle. Lunches were packed in zip lock baggies. Bring your own insulated lunch bag / Tupperware to keep your lunch fresher.

GIANT bike were like new and well maintained. I was disappointed we could not use the bikes during the city stops that were part of the day trips or after dinner when we returned to the barge. Even though the bikes have locks, Sander and Els don't allow this to minimize theft risk. Besides my husband and I, all participants were in there mid-60s to mid-70s and didn't seem to mind.

Our guide, Weiger, did an outstanding job of leading our daily tour as well as guiding us through the cities we were docked in at night. He managed the multiple languages within our group with ease. The participants on our trip were German [6], Spanish [3], Austrailian [2] and American [2-us]. By the end of the week, our group had bonded even though our shared vocabulary was easily less than 50 words!

The countryside between Thionville and Wasserbillig was very beautiful and what I had envisioned - river and hills covered with vinyards. The other days were nice paved bike trail with the river on one side and trees on the other. I could have taken a picture and convinced friends that I was still in the US Midwest. I guess that is why there are so many French and Germans in Wisconsin and Iowa! I think I would have preferred more time off of the trail and in the countryside, but perhaps if we did do that, the car traffic would cause me to have a different opinion. Certainly the cities we stopped in were old and had a quaint European feel.

A good combination of biking and seeing the sites along the way. Plenty of time in the cities (Nancy, Metz) to wander around. This trip was not about putting on the miles every day on the bike but a good balance of biking and site seeing. Easy biking along canal paths mostly. Our guide got turned around a couple of times getting out of the cities. Els and Sander were great hosts on the barge. Very friendly. Els cooked me a birthday dessert one day that we enjoyed with our group after a day of biking. It was very hot in July and the air movement in the rooms was limited. A small fan would have been very much appreciated. As it was we slept with our door open (as did the others) just to get more air circulation. The barge is in very good condition. The bikes were brand new this season. They are owned by Els and Sander and not leased through a secondary company so they were in good working order.

Beautiful way to travel from Luxembourg to France. Bike quality was very Good. Our Bike Guide Arie was very knowledgeable. Every evening we had Four course Gourmet Dinner. Sander and Els were the best Host and Owner of the Barge.

I really enjoyed my first Barge and Bike Tour(June11th to June 17th)Sanders and Els were very Good. I would like to give them 10 out of 10 for their Hospitality. Our Bike Guide Arie was Great.

I fully enjoyed the Lorraine/Moselle bike trip (May 14-20, 2016) with the staff of La Belle Fleur. This was my first bike and barge trip and it certainly was a stress free and relaxing way to see the region. The owner/operators of the boat (Sander and Els) were not only very professional, but charming, enthusiastic, and helpful. Els was also a superb cook so our meals were always delicious. Pieter was the perfect guide (and quite the character!), fun to bike with, patient, knowledgeable of the route and the potential sights, and willing to change the agenda to meet the interests of his clients. The pace was leisurely and we had ample time to view both the valley scenery and the grand old cities along the route. The bikes were in good repair and suitable for the mostly level countryside we were traversing. Another delightful aspect of the trip was that the route was mostly off the busy roads and on dedicated bicycle paths (except, of course, in the cities). The weather, though often cloudy and brisk with occasional light sprinkles of rain, was never a problem. The passengers got along well together and we had fun evenings relaxing aboard ship along with the crew. One week of biking seemed just the right amount of time. I came home with many wonderful memories of people, places, and experiences. I can highly recommend this trip and this boat company. The folks at the Tripsite office in the U.S. were also very responsive and easy to work with so they get my "thumbs up" award too!

This was my second bike and barge trip on the La Belle Fleur for the tulip tour and it was fantastic. We had an excellent guide, Koehn, who selected lovely routes thru rural settings and we saw amazing fields in bloom, the national park leading to the North Sea and the Amsterdam Forest on return. The barge sparkled and Sanders and Els were very warm and welcoming. Our room was very comfortable. The new bikes had very comfortable seats and were lighter & BETTER for riding the 13 to 23 miles/ day distances. Unfortunately we hit a week of rainy inclement weather so we wore every warm layer we had plus scarves and rain gear. Our fellow travelers from Canada and Brazil were very good sports. I can't wait to try the France river trip on the Mosel River next time!! Thank you for making this trip of memories possible!!

The trip was awesome... Even tho it rained EVERYDAY...had a great time. The guide was great and he was able to adjust route to accommodate group. The scenery was incredible and enjoyed every day . The bikes were perfect with 8 gears to meet the needs of trip...

Absolutely fabulous people(both tour guide & barge owners), amazing routes and clean accommodating facilities. The food was plentiful and some of it quite good. Some meals were a bit thin and breakfast & lunch too much the same stuff. However, for the cost of this trip it was very satisfactory; I have recommended the Fleur d Bell and thank all organizers for a smooth and memorable trip!