Europe Tour Reviews — 6031 to 6060 of 6836

Some of the other people that came on the trip were not prepared to ride a bike 20-25 miles per day. They said that they had not ridden a bicycle since they were a youth. Consequently, this significantly held up the entire group. I would recommend emphasizing the importance of being in good riding condition for the bike/barge trips. Thank you.
The staff of the Merlijn absolutely made the entire trip a pure delight! We would definitely sail with them again in the future!

Okay, I admit I'm jealous. What an inspiring retirement life you lead. I do want to know more about the Scotland hiking. That's on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing your adventures and amazing photos.

The itinerary was excellent. A nice blend of bike routes and city site seeing along the way. We spent a couple days in Vienna before the trip and then used our Vienna day to bike on the island. Glad we didn't have to cram Vienna into a few hours. It was our cruise director's first trip and his enthusiasm was greater than his organizational skills in his presentations.

Being born and raised in Holland I always enjoy seeing the Dutch landscape ... but these pictures are exceptional. I received this link through Norma, who I believe is your aunt. I am glad she did. Beautiful Holland, gorgeous pix!

This was a fabulous trip! The best way to see the Netherlands is by boat and barge. This cruise far exceeded my expectations. The barge was homey and warm, the crew was so special. They took care of our every need, and did it in a friendly and caring manner. The chef was phenomenal! The value for your money was great. I would do this again in a heartbeat!

The boat, the crew, the bikes, the food....all great. The bike guide was on her first tour and on several occasions, we had to stop, wait while guide asked for directions. In her defense, route markers were often confusing or hard to locate, making it difficult to take off on our own, or to pause along the way without group consensus. As the farewell meeting on the boat, the entire group voiced positive comments and satisfaction with the experience.

The Magnifique II ship was beautiful and very comfortable. The ship's crew were outstanding and very friendly. We especially enjoyed touring with tour guide Tom. We would love to take another trip similar to this in other regions and countries.

The entire trip for all 13 of us was superb !!! From the quality of the boat, the skipper, the chef, the cycle route, the guide, the food on board, all excellen !! A must do!! The quality of the cycles were excellent ! Which made the experience memorable! I did get a chance to compare it with other boat and bicycle tours, ours was far superior, practically new bicycles.

Our Normandie trip from Passau to Budapest was spectacular! The weather, the boat, the food, the fellow bikers, the countryside and the bikes were all a delight. We were also pleased to learn that our guide rode each day. He was very knowledgeable; however, under stress was verbally contentious and short with guests. It became almost comical and so we learned to stay out of his way during certain times of the day. Nevertheless, the trip was a dream and we thank-you!!

Second time on the Merjlin. We would definitely book a third. Bike/Barge trips are so much fun!

Highly recommend this trip!

We loved the entire trip. The bikes trips were great - always lots to see with just the right amount of time in the saddle. My sister (who is not used to much cycling) loved her electric bike.

The entire bike-barge trip on the Ave Maria far exceeded our expectations. I would highly recommend this trip.

I would have appreciated written directions each day of the turns so that we could do a self guided trip. Also, it would help to have a staff as a sweeper to make sure the group urging in the correct direction .

It was a wonderful trip. The hostess is exceptional, the food fabulous, the guide very good and all the passengers were nice to be with.

Overall I really enjoyed our trip. However, our guide Piet left a lot to be desired. He got us from the boat and back each day but that was about it. We had very few stops during the day for water breaks or photos. He did not provide any "tour guide" type of information like history or pointing anything out of interest, or even a clear idea of the details of the following day. While we got to all the towns on the itinerary, everything was pretty much closed after dinner so we couldn't do any sightseeing in towns on our own. The guide on our sister ship "Liza Marleen" did much more with her group.

On the plus side, the barge Sailing Home was excellent and the crew was great - very friendly and helpful. Our chef Markus was amazing.

I had an electric bike and I loved it. It made the trip much easier and enjoyable. Highly recommend it for inexperienced bikers.

Best time we ever had. It was like coming back to home after the day cycling. Staff was very friendly and felt at home. Food was good. Look forward to come again in future for sure. The E-bikes were too good and very good for us who are not regular cyclist.

The tour was wonderful! We had clear weather the entire week and a great group of people to ride with. The "Sailing Home" really was comfort plus, with an attentive and helpful staff.

Everything exceeded our expectations. Crew made us feel like family, food was excellent and tour was perfect including the weather and the tulips.

This was such an amazing trip on the Gandalf with Captain Hans and Fred the guide. The description does not do this trip justice. You go through such varied terrain like forests, along the water and the towns were sooo charming! I've been to Holland many times and yet I saw such a beautiful side of Holland that blew me away!

Sounds like you really enjoyed the trip. I know your feeling about biking and traveling. I think it is the only way to travel. I leave on August 12 with four friends to Bolzano, Italy and venture to Venice. Cannot wait.

Thank you for the post!

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...

Great 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!

I enjoyed your pictures and commentary ~ allowing me a bit of insight on your trips!

The boat crew were both very nice, friendly and helpful. The bike guide was wonderful - such a great guy, wonderful sense of humour, very kind and considerate. He was also very knowledgeable about the places we went. The bikes were excellent. The routes we took were wonderful - made very good use of the great Dutch biking infrastructure, and we went through a very interesting mix of countryside, villages, pretty urban neighbourhoods, etc.

The staff,food and barge were exceptional. Just a wonderful experience. I would definitely recommend the tour.