5 Star Europe Tour Reviews — 901 to 930 of 4477

Great Crew
Group
Guide
Bikes
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This trip had everything you could want in a vacation. All the crew made every moment special. Starting with the Captain's handling of the boat to the chief's handling of the meals. The food was excellent every single meal. The tour guides made sure you saw every special cove and mountain range on the journey. The biking was just enough to give you a great work out without feeling you needed a doctor following you. Each member of the crew, sailors to bartenders understood why we were there. They made sure we were the focus of their attention. Outstanding!!

And then there is the beautiful scenery, from blue sea water to mountain ranges. We saw the coast lines, small towns, and ancient building as the locals do everyday.

The locals Croatians are proud of their country as they should be and they related a very welcome feeling to us.

Defiantly one of the best trips I have been on. And yes "people" do make a difference.

The itinerary was fabulous! It was perfect for our level of activity interest; the directions were easy to follow and the bikes were perfect. Our hotels were great and we were very happy to have our luggage arrive before us; one hotel even put the luggage in the room for us.

The suggestion to be in Gouda on Thursday was perfect - we absolutely loved the cheese market! We modified our cycling on that day to fit the weather and interest, so the flexibility in our schedule was an additional bonus for this sort of trip.

I'm so glad we planned to stay over night in our first city, as it gave us the opportunity to explore before cycling off to the next spot. I would recommend that anyone taking this tour also plan to spend the night of the last day of cycling in the destination city as well, as it was very relaxing on the other days to put the bikes away, rest and explore which was not an option for the last day. Also note that anyone taking this sort of tour should have a gentle reminder that in most hotels, the stairs are narrow and steep, so less luggage will be much easier to manage in the long run, lol.

Regarding the garmin and RideWithGps directions - there were a few places that the paths were slightly different; this wasn't terrible but it was a bit annoying and if that could be resolved, i think that would be very helpful.

The coastline of Croatia and the is lands were picturese, brilliant clear blue waters, positively balmy for swimming , after a challenging days cycle. The crew and guides , were courteous, friendly and very helpful .all contributed to a memorable holiday .

The most memorable parts of our trip were riding down from high in the mountains through the vineyards to the Douro River each day. Nuno and Matias ,our tour guides, were outstanding hosts and companions for our entire experience.They worked very hard to make sure that everything ran smoothly in order for us to maximize the enjoyment of our bike rides. The views and scenery on each ride were simply breathtaking, as the routes had been very carefully planned to be not only safe ,but stunning for miles and miles at a time.

The biking was amazing. Can’t believe how good the bike paths/trails are! And flat

Every aspect of the trip was first rate, but the luxury of the barge, the quality of the meals and the attentiveness of all the staff deserve special mention and praise. Well done everyone!

Once again, we just came back from a memorable experience with this tour. We began with the self-guided section from Balzano to Mantova which was very well laid out with our GPS, then was welcomed aboard the Vita Pugna to continue the tour all the way to Venice with the most interesting and amiable Hugo, our guide for the week. Life aboard the Vita Pugna was excellent… friendly crew and excellent food! I would not change a thing.

THE RIDES ... we loved the options for self-guided daily rides - the GPS system for the rides was fantastic and the tour guides were so awesome in supporting us to do the self guided rides when there were issues with the trails and/or tips for the day. We like to go at our own pace and stop when/where we were ready for a break. The ability to use the GPS off data was an amazing benefit and a big PLUS for this trip.

The tour guide(s) and the staff on the Magnifique 1 made this trip memorable as well - they went above and beyond to ensure the trip was MAGNIFIQUE!

The entire experience was most enjoyable and spectacularly scenic. The guides were fun and professional. They knew the roads, and provided appropriate guidance about the traffic or terrain. E bikes allowed a group of 29 riders to stay together. We had opportunity to swim and explore the ports towns. Rooms and common space aboard was very comfortable,

I really enjoyed the Iris barge. First class barge with an attentive crew. The chef was amazing and created very good meals from a small onboard kitchen. The two guides were first-class. Great cycling routes in rural Netherlands. Lots of interesting stops and tulips galore. I would definitely book another tour aboard the Iris

This trip was amazing! The organization, dedication to Safety, communication and just plain fun made it one of the best trips we have taken. Mirta and Ivan, along with the rest of the crew, were profession and very knowledgeable. The boat was very comfy and clean, and had everything we needed. The bikes were great and if anything went awry (flat tire etc) they were able to fix it right away. We loved the What's App group for communication and sharing of great pics - would definitely recommend using that as a standard.

A couple suggestions:

The meals, especially lunch were delicious but very heavy. With such an active tour no need for potatoes and a big piece of meat for lunch. Even the 3 courses at dinner could have been brought down to 2 - a nice salad and pasta or meat, not necessary for both. Breakfasts were great.
The lunch at the Vineyard on our trip was fantastic! Loved the atmosphere and also supporting a local business. Would love to have a couple more of these experiences as opposed to meals on the boat.
We did not have experience in Croatia before so were a bit surprised how much they want cash (seems every country is a bit different). Adding this to the pre-trip brief will help everyone bring enough cash for shopping and restaurants.
We were very happy with this trip and hope to see you again with a bunch of our friends for another adventure!

The route was varied, mountains the first half of the week then the coast the second (of course we were lucky with the weather). Food was great in various places. Hotels, especially along the coast, were very nice.

A good experience of a less well-known part of Europe to many tourists, especially Americans (Cadiz is well known but not the other parts of the Spanish Atlantic coast.

This was the most wonderful trip I have ever taken. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the trip was very well organized. We met some wonderful people who were also on our barge and the ebikes we used made the trip delightfully doable (we did bring along extra gel seat pads for the bikes which were welcomed after a few days of riding!) Our guide was knowledgable and funny and kept our group on target. Our group was pretty large and it would have be nice to have had an extra guide as our sweep but our guide Maryann did an excellent job of handling mishaps when they occurred.This will go down as one of the most wonderful trips I have taken and I would encourage everyone to sign have this adventure!

Everything. Loved the idea of biking through the country and spending time on the barge with the guests. The boat crew were very friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and the accommodations were great. I would do this again and have recommended it to my friends.

The Bruge to Amsterdam trip was great! It was wonderful to see parts of the Netherlands and Belgium that you wouldn’t see just touring by train or car. Using the ride with GPS App made the self-guided trip seamless and the odd time some unexpected construction appeared on the pathway, the always pleasant tour guides managed to be there to redirect.

Beautiful scenery, good excursions, very professional staff, international community.

The scenery was amazing, the food was outstanding, and the group of riders and guides we were with really made the trip special. The roads were a mix of paved and dirt, hilly and flat, some, especially on the first few days, were bit sandy, enough to have to walk it in some short sections, but overall a good, well-planned route. I highly recommend this tour, it's one of our favorites!

We ar booked for the Best of Tuscany bike tour on Sept 16,2024. Our daughter Carly booked it for my husband, myself, and her. I’m just curious how many are you up to now on that week. We are so looking forward to coming to Italy.

Too many highlights to list! Our guides and the rest of the boat crew were incredible. They are proud to show off their beautiful country of Croatia and truly love their jobs. There is not a better way to see the spectacular scenery and learn about the history of the country than with this tour.

This is the perfect way to see the Danube for anybody who enjoys easy cycling with beautiful scenery. The MS Vivienne is a great boat, very recently refurbished with small but comfortable cabins, extremely friendly staff, and very good food. Everything was very well organized and the tour director provided plenty (sometimes too much) information regarding the next day’s ride or city visit. Take advantage of tours offered in Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest as the time in each (especially Vienna) is brief. The biking is mostly on paved trails with just a few places where we had to ride with traffic. We booked e-bikes, but could have easily done this with regular bikes. Our cruise was about half German speakers and half English speakers (with largest group being from US, followed by Canada, Australia, NZ, the Netherlands and the UK). The staff on board all speak English and the tour director is fluent in both German and English, so language is not an issue.

The crew was exceptional. I loved the self guided trips, the maps we downloaded before trip was accurate and easy to follow, it was easy to make this trip your own. We found lots of hidden museums and churches to explore.
A few areas could be improved. With so many good bag teas available, the pecwick teas had little to no flavor. Also, disappointed seeing no seals in wild. Description of trip needs to let customers know, very unlikely to see these. We were able to see some seals in rescue aquarium.
Highly recommend this trip! Can’t wait to pick our next adventure

I've been on several bike tours. This one was one of the best! The Magellan was beautiful with plenty of public spaces to hang out. The cabins, though small were comfortable. Even the beds were comfortable. The other guest were so much fun, friendly, and interesting. The onboard food was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting mediocre food (as I've had on the other bike/barge trips). The food on Magellan ranged from above average to excellent - and there was so much of it! No one was ever hungry. They even accommodated vegetarians, gluten-free, and other palettes. The staff onboard were kind, patient, and attentive. And our guides, Dora and Alan were simply wonderful. They were knowledgable, fun, funny, caring and were always smiling. It seemed like nothing was too much trouble for them. Dora set up a WhatsApp site for our group where we shared photos, information, and where she suggested the best restaurants for port meals. It was brilliant. We're still posting. We also enjoyed the walking tours of the various towns where we docked. Those local tour guides were all excellent. The e-bikes were ok. The first one they gave me wasn't the right fit for me (I was too stretched out and had trouble reaching the handlebars). Fortunately, Dora and Alan came to the rescue and were able to swap it out for one that fit me better.

The most memorable? That's tough. Maybe climbing the Croatian hills with ease on the e-bike. Maybe the final dinner which ended with champagne, dancing, hugs, and even some tears. Maybe watching the brave souls cannonballing from Magellan's swimming platform into 60 F water (too cold for me). Maybe relaxing on the top deck gazing out the gorgeous crystal clear Adriatic as we sailed.

There are a few nit-picky details I could complain about but I won't. None would prevent me from doing the trip again.

This is a delightful area to visit; the history of the walled cities along with the coastline, warm climate and great ride leaders made for an enjoyable trip. The climbs can be a bit challenging but e-bikes are available and they were the bikes of choice by 95% of the travelers. If you haven’t seen the “Pearls of Dalmatia”, you need to add it to your list or make it your next ride.

The bike friendly routing of each day's ride and the expert, friendly guidance by Ronald and the helpfulness of the entire crew. Meeting many new folks on the boat/bike tours. The GPS guidance (Ride GPS) was invaluable and very simple to use.

Very luxurious ship with superb dining and service. Highly recommend the Iron Gate cruise.

Great itinerary and biking. Often guides offered options of a short or a long bike ride. A lot of wind to contend with so an e-bike may be an added comfort for some. The Iris was exceptionally clean, apparently newly renovated during Covid. A high quality of rental bikes available and appreciated! Thanks for a great holiday!!

Our tour guides, Hein and Irene made the tour so special! The chefs, Alberto and Francesco were amazing. Captain "Van Gogh" was great. The tour was a blast from start to finish!

That it was PERFECT !
My advice to others would be to book specifically the Magnifique II

Everything we experienced was wonderful- the biking, the routes, the food on the boat, the excellent service , the room, the smooth transitions for tours. I highly recommend this trip and hope to go on another Swiss Crown trip in the futurez