3 Star Czech Republic Tour Reviews — 1 to 12 of 12

Feedback:
1. The WhatsApp group were very good & followed up any issues or queries
2. The bike handover was a bit tricky as Simon had limited English & apart from bike matters didn’t seem fully versed in addressing some initial queries by someone that had never done a self guided bike tour
3. Inappropriate bike hire: the Agogs City Liner e-bike was ergonomically unsuitable for a bike tour of over 800km.
The seat angle & the handle bars meant I was very upright. It was uncomfortable.
A more appropriate style is that of a touring bike configuration, in which you are leaning forward and able to propel easily & with comfort.
4.Having 2 app’s - Ride GPS & Trip Plans a bit tedious to go in & out of for directions & guidance plus more draining on phone
5. An overnight in any large city is not enough time. A suggestion that 2 nights be factored into itinerary for say Vienna.

Disappointed that twin beds werr not provided on several occasions and that we had to get that sorted. The quality of some hotels was also not greaT as in tiny room, inadequate facilities and as already said, not suitable for 2 individuals travelling together. I think you should upgrade the ebike option as well. A city style ebike for an 800 km ride is ridiculous, un comfortable and ineffecient. The luggage transfer was excellent and the navidation with RWGPS worked.

Make sure you don't get booked on s boat as a hotel, dirty and bugs. They say gravel bikes but they are not. They do not send a mechanic to set up bike, just a tour guide who knows nothing. Bike was dirty and needed oiling. They said safety checked but found issues when given the bike. If traveling in pairs they only give you one copy even though you paid full price for both. They also only give one lock when we were told each would get one. Printed map and instructions not accurate. No instructions to specific hotels. Breakfast and luggage pick up times do not align.

Great traveling companions and great boat and food!

Krumlov, Telc and Znojmo are truly heritage towns, and worth more time than we had to explore them. Moravia in general is a great biking area, with more and prettier villages and squares.

Lovely countryside, getting lost a lot. I would strongly recommend that the company heavily promotes the trip ap, as directions often were not clear and we got lost a lot. Due to type of hybrid bike and being lost there was not time to fully explore the region - so I would recommend the use of e bikes or shorter days.
Also reminding people that nothing is open on Sundays and most small towns did not have any shops for food/drink.

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.

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 charge. Eventually, four of our friends exited the bus and took an UBER. I think they were reimbursed for that expense, but not right away. This was very uncomfortable for us! All the German speaking people on the bus must have thought we were idiots, and holding up the entire show!
Later in the week when two buses drove us into Prague, they told us repeatedly that the bus would return to the boat at 4pm. When we arrived in Prague and were exiting the bus, the driver told us 5pm!!! There really seemed to be a breakdown in communications between the bus driver and the boat.
I also didn't like the markup on the drinking water. You can buy a big bottle of water for about 75 cents, but the boat charged the equivalent of $3.00. When we booked this trip were had no idea there would not be potable water. Then to have that kind of markup seemed petty.

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.

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!

The visit to Strekov castle was one of the more memorable moments. We had time to explore the ruins. Otherwise, we did not stop anywhere for long. The other spot where we stopped for a while was Terezin, site of a Nazi concentration camp. At Pillnitz castle near Dresden, we were given 15 or 20 minutes to tour the gardens if we wished. Overall, the pace was fast and the trip felt a little rushed. The description of the ride as easy is a little inaccurate. There were some hills to contend with, especially on the first day. I would have liked a little more free time in the pretty towns of Melnik and Litomerice. Most accommodations had no air conditioning, and it was very hot when I made the trip in late July-early August.

Tough for an American who doesn't speak German... Our shortcomings, and the only reason I might not recommend it but nothing wrong with the trip.