Florentina boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 18 of 18

3.5 out of 5

 


May B.
4 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina The Elbe River and Prague
Czech Republic

Great traveling companions and great boat and food!

Greg T.
5 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina The Elbe River and Prague
Czech Republic

The boat and crew and guide were all top notch

Lavonne B.
5 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina The Elbe River and Prague
Czech Republic

My onboard experience was wonderful. The staff was awesome, very helpful and accommodating. The biking was quite an experience, a bit challenging at times due to some unpaved paths, however it was rewarding.

Kathleen S.
5 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina The Elbe River and Prague
Czech Republic

The boat was very clean and spacious. The crew very friendly and accommodating. The food delicious and a good variety.
The trails we rode on were not very good, however. A lot of pot holes and very narrow. We could not look around and enjoy the scenery as we had to keep our eye on where we were riding.

It was a good experience for all of us.

Lia P.
5 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina The Elbe River and Prague
Czech Republic

Visiting Prague. What a magical city. The bikes on our trip were very nice. I rented an ebike and my husband had a regular bike. We love biking in Europe but I would not recommend this trip. Lots of the paths were dirt paths that were rough to ride on. The trails were not marked very making it easy to miss a road sign because you had to look where you were riding due to the rough terrain. The towns were small and poor. Not many places to stop for a lunch or beer. The villages were very boring to our group of 12. The MS Florentine was very nice and the food was good. The restaurant manager provided excellent service. Our tour guide Frank was very disappointing. His English skills were marginal (he is German) and he wasn’t very friendly. We hated to ask him questions, he always acted put out by us bothering him. The map and written description of the daily route needs improving making it easy to get lost. I was grateful we were traveling with 10 friends since most of the guests were German and we never connected with others on the ship. I will do another bike and barge trip but I will pick a more interesting itinerary.

Cynthia Y.
5 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina The Elbe River and Prague
Czech Republic

It was nice just to boat and bike along in the river, seeing the Czech people relaxing and enjoying life along the riverbanks.

On the negative side, we had an uncomfortable experience when we first arrived at Prague train station, needing to get on the bus. The email that Tripsite sent us said to wait on the side of the train station OPPOSITE the car park - near the restaurant inside (restaurant name has changed, so did not agree with the name given in the email). Well, the bus was parked on the OTHER side of the street for at least a half hour. I did not notice it over there, as I was focused on the station/restaurant side of the street, checking every bus that arrived, but none said "MS Florentina". Well, eventually the bus did drive to the side of the street we were on, but when we got on board there were not enough seats for us! We were willing to stand, but the driver would not allow that. The tour guide didn't bother to come on the bus, so no one was in Read More

Nancy Q.
5 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina The Elbe River and Prague
Czech Republic

We booked this tour last fall with 10 friends and unfortunately the route had to be changed in Jan due to repair work done on one of the rivers that prevented the boat from departing from Prague. Unfortunately miss directions were given to us about where to wait for a bus that would pick us up at the main train station and drive us to the new location of the MS Florentina. This caused much confusion as we were waiting on the wrong side of the street. Once we boarded the bus there was not enough room for everyone to be seated. The driver did not speak English nor was there a representative on board from the MS Florentina who could direct us. Four of our friends had to take an Uber. This set the trip off on a very disturbing note and delayed our arrival.
In addition our guide, Frank seemed condescending when asked questions about our activities and often times gave us miss information about the routes. Our bike paths often took us past areas that were not scenic and quite bumpy.

Although we enjoyed being with our friends on this journey the logistics of the trip were less than satisfying.

Emily H.
5 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina The Elbe River and Prague
Czech Republic

The most memorable part of the trip was actually the time spent with friends. We had five couples join us on this trip. They were all new to bike and boat, and it was our fifth. They all enjoyed their experience. Since we were the only group of Americans on the trip, we were happy to be joined by friends who spoke English!

Philippe R.
5 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

Trip was overall multidimensional satisfying, boat, food, drink, bike, route descriptions, local colour, culture, language, guides, value for money (ten factors).

Mary C.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

Trip went way above my expectations. Everything started exactly on time, the food and entertainment was excellent. The maps and bike routes were well detailed and went through beautiful countryside. Routes also gave you many opportunities to stop and enjoy the culture of each city.

Jan W.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

Just finished this trip, in August 2017. We had a 2 bed (twin) room and had plenty of space for our suitcases and also to unpack for a week. Loved the international favor of all the guests, my group of 3 were the only Americans. Biking was easy but with a few challenging hills to keep you interested. Many people used electric bikes, but my 7 speed bike was fine. ( I bike in Northern NJ so I am very use to hills) Experience following a cue sheet would be recommended to anyone who goes on this trip. But most of the routes were easy to follow, although wrong turns is always part of the adventure! Although most of the information said Euros on board, you can pay your ship bill (bar bill) with Czech Koruna, Euros or Credit card. But any excursions you book had to be paid with Euro cash. Food on board was good and seconds were always offered. Boat is docked in the Old Town very close to Charles Bridge. Easy to arrange your own walking tours if you find like I did, the boat Read More

Suasan O.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

In the height of the tourist season 4 of us booked the Golden City of Prague bike/barge and enjoyed every aspect of this route and three nights on the boat in the heart of city. The Florentina is a fabulous accommodation for this venture up the Vltava and Elbe Rivers. The staff provide good but not obsequious service. The food served was a pleasant surprise and our guide was helpful and informative. I would recommend that bikers have experience in wayfinding or be able to download maps to assist them. Along with this skill, the presentations (in English) and the written descriptions/maps in the booklets kept us on track. Much of the bike trails are along the rivers' edge and the condition varied from paved to gravel to rough, but that just made it more interesting.

All the Czech people we encountered were helpful and friendly. We enjoyed the historic towns of Litomerice, Melnick, the birthplace of Dvorak and the many Lobkowicz palace(s.) We did a short bike ride Read More

John F.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

Our favorite part: Viewing Prague at night from Charles bridge

Jan M.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

Boat and crew were great. Biking and shore excursions were confusing. Explanations not always clear in English.

Henk Vanden Hengel
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

Wonderful tour through the northern part of the Czech Republic. The local people are quite reserved. The boat works well as a big floating hotel and the crew is well trained. Lots of people to meet on board or along the way. Prague really is the jewel in the middle of Europe. Pictures aplenty!
I won't forget it.

L. Tindula
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

I think the most memorable part was all of the different people from other countries that we met on the boat along with meeting and learning about the Czech Republic and their people! Great tours offered as well!

D. Dray
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

Our first day was quite rocky… The directions were not good and the routes were not well marked. Everyone was frustrated. The guide promised to bike out again from Prague and redo it--hopefully that happened.

Becky Nuttall
9 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Florentina Golden City of Prague
Czech Republic

I have mixed feelings about this tour. The boat was nice- clean, and incredibly well run; the food was good. The Czech Republic was beautiful (albeit unusually hot) and we enjoyed the countryside and the towns. However, if you did not speak German, which was the native language of the tour guide, Hans, you were in for some difficult times. He was outwardly pleasant, clearly organized (although the trip sheets needed updating), and I believe he gave the updates to the German tourists. Unfortunately, he did not provide all of the info in English and it made things difficult for us. He said that the other Germans didn't like it when he gave the presentation and then gave it in English (to all of us together). At one point, we (Americans, Aussies and Swedes) took him to task and he had a meeting with us to discuss - but had difficulty accepting our point of view. Also, the tour excursions, which were supposed to be available in English, didn't all happen. So we missed some of Read More