Europe Tour Reviews — 3571 to 3600 of 6857

Four intrepid bikers completed the 8 day tour just ahead of covid-19 March 20, 2020. Lisbon and the coastal bike route were grand, as described. Maps could have been better quality. Two GPS supplied with route loaded, finding the correct route in towns and leaving villages was a challenge. Lodgings and restaurants very nice, some staying open when we were the only guests. Sergio, Enrique and Diego, and Tripsite were extremely helpful daily! Thanks. We are home now, finished with the virus quarantine, well and ready to create a photo log of the trip.

Our tour on the Merlijn was a wonderful trip, a great way to get in the Christmas spirit! My favorite part was relaxing on the boat and the delicious meals prepared by our hosts, and visiting all the Christmas markets in the cities along the way.

I am truly amazed about quantity of 5 star reviews for this tour, as I could only give it a 2 star! And, this 2 rating is for the wonderful restaurant and housekeeping staff , as the boat crew , bike assistants were unpleasant to deal with, and the captain kept his distance. This was such a drastic difference from my very enjoyable Netherlands, and Croatia bike and boat tours. The maps and directions were inadequate and usually incorrect. The "tour guide" (who never lead a tour) Jan was unbelievably nasty, rude and impatient about any and all questions and concerns. He sent many on what was to be an easy, level ride only for it to take us over a mountain where our bikes were unsuitable and directions e completely wrong. I would not recommend neither this boat or trip to anyone.

Biking was just ok, could have been more challenging but I knew going into this tour the biking was rated easy. The towns and villages are beautiful. The breakfast was good but the lunches they gave you for the tour during the day were horrible, thankfully there were places to eat along the way. The dinners were also poor quality, many dinners were a repeat of the day before presented differently ,especially the fish dinners. There also seem to be a discontent among the staff they could’ve been a little bit more accommodating and friendly. The rooms are basically neat and clean and comfortable the bikes were also good and the mechanics that maintain them were readily available to assist anyone in the morning before the ride. My main concern was the constant smell of sewage that was present throughout the boat and especially in the main lobby ,they often kept the sliding glass doors on both sides of the ship open to alleviate the smell. This was an obvious problem they couldn’t solve. At times, we were rafter up to other ships at port and had to walk through these other boats to the Carissima, it was obvious that the Carissima was no- frills compared to these other boats. If you are considering a tour along the Danube I would suggest looking into other cruise ships.

This was the best bike trip of our lives. We took it in early June, 2019 with e-bikes and upgraded accommodations. Unless you're a strong cyclist, e-bikes are the way to go for this trip. First, the hotels were amazing and in each one after the first the specific rooms reserved were wonderful. The first hotel in Avignon was simply awful. Not only because the air conditioning was out, but the room was tacky, in bad repair, and was musty. The tour needs to have this changed. The common areas were just fine, it was only our room. Another thing to change would be the route on the first day through Avignon - heavy traffic, a lot of road construction, and then cycling on a road with a narrow shoulder, semi trucks, and 30 mph winds. This was still a five-star trip. I hadn't done much research ahead of time, and so Les Baux de Provence and Fontaine de Vaucluse each came as a complete and wonderful surprise - I had not even imagined places of such beauty and charm. There were some minor problems with the GPS, particularly the road barred off in one place. Fortunately we had a hotspot which we took with us each day, and were able to figure out how to reroute ourselves using Apple maps, but we would have been in trouble otherwise. We went to the market at Isle sur la Sorgue, but it was impossible to visit with bikes due to the crowds of people. We didn't dare leave the e-bikes, even locked, so we had to take turns going in - but still fun!

We took this trip in late May, 2019, with e-bikes. It was a great trip with some amazing accommodations. Thoughts in no particular order: The first 3 hours of biking on the first day were pretty miserable, through industrial areas with no good place to ride on either the sidewalk or the road. Day 4 and Day 6 were spectacular, Day 4 was almost like a fantasy of a bike trip once we reached rural areas. The GPS was hard to read when the sun was out, and in several places we needed one person using the GPS and another the printed instructions. We've been on a number of bike trips, and the drivers in Spain were the most courteous and safe of any country - usually giving us at least 6 feet of space and never rushing us. The hotel (Organista) in Santillana del Mar was our favorite, with a wonderful host, Rafe, and an enchanting outdoor breakfast. (Note: this is right close to the Altamira cave, and we were glad we took the time to visit, even though it involved finding our own route back to the regular tour). Much better instructions are needed to find the ferry into Santander - we nearly missed it even after 30 minutes of going back and forth when hot and tired. Take all the small side trips the instructions suggest - you'll never be sorry and could easily miss amazing views and beaches just a 1/4 mile off the route.

This was my first bike tour. I’m 47 and exercise regularly with a focus on cycling/spin. I travelled with a friend and we had an amazing experience. We did the tour a few weeks after the major storm and had great maps and GPS which included a personal sit down with Javier (Lazypedals) to explain the tour and bike fittings. (This did not happen on the next tour we took and were greatful we had this one first). I’m 5’11 and found the bikes to be very ergonomic. Be prepared for extra weight in the panniers for tools and bike locks. Bikes also included a light that we did not need but can see it how it could be necessary depending on your activities.
We loved the varied routes but found there to be quite a bit of hill climbing for the rating easy to moderate. In end we felt very accomplished!
The sights and smells of the countryside were amazing. i can not emphasize this enough. We had outstanding (above avg temps early oct) weather, amazing accommodation for the star ratings and food. Augusto’s family farm was a highlight with meals served from his garden.
We do not speak Spanish and can’t thank the people enough for their assistance and patience. Gracias! ❤️
Tripsite was also very helpful with choosing the trips and offers excellent support for 1 day when we required it. The website is very user friendly complemented by people behind the scenes. I will look to book through this company again.

Excellent overview and pics!
Thanks for sharing!

Amazing riding with different terrain each day. Wonderful scenery. Bikes good. Company good. Food good. Guide very good. Best cycling trip I have been on and I have been on a few. Can't wait to go back to Ireland.

I recently returned from a bike and barge trip in France which I booked through Tripsite. The trip was from Montargis to Paris and was provided by Bike Boat Tours based in Amsterdam. This trip was exceptional as it was for myself and 9 of my family members, eight of whom had never traveled to Europe before. I have personally used Tripsite many times in the past and as in all previous instances they were totally professional. They handled any communication to the tour provider, provided a link for trip insurance and all last minute advice regarding clothing, tipping, currency exchange, location where to board the boat, etc. Working with Tripsite is key to making foreign travel easy and I'm sure I will be contacting them again.

The Lake District of Poland is an undiscovered region of outstanding beauty in Poland and Europe - full of forests, farms, WWII history, fabulous food and welcoming Poles! Add a day or 2 in Warsaw with interesting free guided walking tours and you get a good sense of urban and rural Poland.
The itinerary for riding is a spiderweb of forest dirt roads, very challenging sandy farm roads, traffic for short distances on some paved roads, and lovely low traffic paved roads. This trip reqiires diverse biking skills but with an adventurous spirit, lots of rewards.

This is the best kept secret for those of us that enjoy intimate, caring, luxurious adventure with people that will care and spoil you along the way. Quo Vadis will always be our first choice if available and the standard by what we measure all of our other trips.

The beautiful scenery along the Mosel River is the star of this Bike and Barge trip! The vineyard along the steep mountain face for miles and miles, the gorgeous river meandering , the church steeple in every village, and the ancient castles on the mountain top! I could not believe I was there in the midst of this! Would not hesitate to recommend this trip to anyone and I have!

The trip was much harder than I expected. The rating was easy to moderate but I felt it was moderate to difficult. Going through the sand and gravel paths was challenging even though I had an e-bike. My first trip was from Bruges to the Amsterdam and I had wonderful experiences on a regular bike. But if this Mazuria lakes district was my first trip, I would not have signed up for a second. The Magnifique 2 was much more comfortable and there was free coffee, tea, and even hot chocolate all day long. On the classic lady, there wasn't even free water. The state rooms were comparable on both trips. But the magnifique had a sitting area where we could gather and talk. On the classic lady, we had to sit at the dining room tables to socialize. The food was good

Loved the buffet meal in Poland-delicious food, great sitting outside by the water, great band & fun dancing!

We loved the scenery and the overnight communities. The trip was well organized and easy to follow with the Garmin. The bikes were excellent. I highly recommend this tour!

Barge trip out of Paris was special. Great way to begin trip and see Paris on Sunday morning. Biking through back roads and trails of France and Belgium was great.

Excellent hotels! Make sure your bike is fitted by a mechanic at the bike store the day before your first ride. Our local host Ian was excellent but would never have been able to adjust the bikes to our requirements. We brought our own seats. A second device for holding the cell phone on the handlebars should have been provided.

What a trip! I felt like it was meant to be since we had just started talking about going on a Xmas market trip just before the email came announcing this maiden voyage. Every stop was memorable. Landschaftspark and getting to see the industrial side of the Rhine was an added bonus to the beautiful Xmas markets. We didn't think we'd want to spend too much time outside while the boat was cruising, but we even had some comfortable cruising time outside. The crew and the other passengers made the trip though. What a great bunch!

Seeing the Netherlands by bike is an enjoyable way to do so. It was also fun to share our experiences each day on the barge with a group of like-minded people. Our bike leader made sure that our needs were met.

Our guide was wonderful. It made our bike riding less stressful. Meet some great people from different countries. Enjoyed our dinner every night. The staff was helpful.

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The itinerary, written directions and maps were great. Taking the ferry out of Venice and riding through the historic town centers were definite highlights.

Trip was great.
Crew treated us to a very friendly and efficient environment. Food was amazing, dinners each night had a theme from different countries. It was a highlight of each to have this kind of dinner waiting.

Bike ride started in Bruge with great trails and welcoming towns. As we moved to France a few days of rolling hills with interesting stops during the day.

Our guide had his hands full with 24 riders but he was professional, organized, well informed and was just a great person to sit and talk with.

A great trip with a great crew looking after us.

Blaine Larsen