Europe Tour Reviews — 1141 to 1170 of 6839

I enjoyed all of the villages/cities I stopped in and the lodgings were excellent. My pannier was broken and it was replaced right away which was much appreciated. Several of the GPS maps had sections which did not accurately reflect the route or were confusing. One route did not indicate that a very large road construction project was in progress and it took me an hour to figure out how to get back on track. Parts of the routes were marked as unpaved and while true, several miles of the unpaved roads were difficult to navigate. That being said, I always was able to find my final destination.

Top trip of a lifetime … cycling guides Tara and Filip were fun, skilled, delightful; boat crew including bar master Goldie were attentive and professional; the meals were plentiful and yummy; the boat and bikes well maintained and comfortable. But mostly … exploring the breathtaking islands by cycle, meeting locals, dropping anchor to swim, the history and architecture, sailing the Dalmatian Adriatic, our fellow travelers — all of it was beyond beyond.

Unfortunately, the most memorable part of the trip was the presesence of rain every day we rode. I understand that this was one of Denmark's wettest years on record.
I would like to suggest that the fitting of the bikes be more extensive other than matching the frame size to the persons height.
Because a GPS was not provided we had to purchase a phone mount so we could use their app to follow the route maps. Don't plan on using the printed directions otherwise you'll miss a lot of the landscape.
We did find it an issue that the route maps provided did not always have us arriving at our hotel at the end of the day. Instead they left us at a location that was often miles away from the hotel.
Overall, the hotels were very clean and comfortable. My only negative comment about the hotels was that some were located in sections of town that required us to uber to dining and sightseeing options. Breakfast was always plentiful and delicious.

We had a great time on this trip. Everything worked out perfectly. We would definitely repeat it.
As for suggestions for future travelers note that in some hotels you will be able to check in early but others won’t let you. Also that your luggage arrives later during the day so if you have plans in the afternoon make sure to pack a change of clothes for after biking.

The guided walking tours of Bruges and Antwerp were informative and interesting.

As always, the tour guides were wonderful. The boat was great, the food was great, and the itinerary was just what we were hoping for.

The trip aboard the Magnifique III from Brugges to Amsterdam was both stimulating and relaxing! Each day was filled with interesting cycling adventures with newly found friends! The evenings gave us the opportunity to relax enjoy a gourmet meal! The tour guides kept us laughing and they were all informed about each areas history and unique characteristics! Come prepared for fun, new friends and adventure!!!

The route was very good. Avoided heavy traffic and many back roads that showed us what the area was like. Very few heavily trafficked roads. Saw the memorable sites.

What I did like about this trip was that it was not solid biking for 5-6 days. I liked that we had a few off-days during the week to recoup and explore the villages, with optional rather than required biking on those days. I really enjoyed the towns where we stopped! All were charming and gave us enough to do but were not overwhelming in things to see. The option to have an e-bike made it more doable for some in our party, so overall it made it an enjoyable experience for all.

I would advise others to make sure you pack ample snacks and water, particularly on the first day. There were no obvious places to stop and regroup so unlike on some of the other days and we definitely felt that at the end of the day.

Finally, I want to shout out to Michael from - our arrival in Odense was delayed by a day due to unforeseen circumstances, and he was in constant communication with us to ensure we go sorted on our bikes and were on our way, even though we were behind schedule. He was also readily available to help when other minor issues arose. Excellent customer service - he certainly made us feel like we had someone watching out for us.

I loved it! all the routes are incredible, the places where we arrive, hotels, landscape, etc. The only thing that you have to be aware is to use google maps u other device because in my experience it was so difficult to follow the numbers of the route or to follow the maps. The rest was amaizing.

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Guides could have had more info. Sometimes they knew nothing about the cities we stopped in and just told us to read the brochure.It doesn't take much to give them a one page cheat sheet to tell us a bit about the history of the place and the buildings.
Went on the same trip six Yeats ago and the guide had a wealth of information. The guides were very nice ladies however.

All of it was wonderful. We loved the final day reaching the coast. It was so beautiful

The Mantova to Venice trip cannot be broken into more or less memorable. It is just one great memorable experience. From the skipper who manoeuvres that large ship in tight spaces, to the chef and sous chef with their delicious meals, the skippers mate who cuts breakfast fruits with such delicacy and the guides who have such a knowledge and love of their country. All are top knotch. The itinerary varies with stops on the way to visit local places of interest so that one gets both exercise and to learn about the area.

Best scenery , around every corner of the ride, was an Oooo and Ahhhh moment. An amazing way to see the Croatian Islands, and discover so much more than the often spoken about Dubrovnik and Split destinations. Cycling along scenic olive groves or amidst grapevines, and then the overwhelming views from atop our hilly climbs. Accompanied with our stays in the little ports of the islands.

While an avid cyclist, the climbs on the hills had me switch quickly over to an Ebike. As many others mentioned, the majority choose Ebikes, only 3 people muscled through without them on this ride. Hence I suggest the Ebike for a more enjoyable experience and vacation. Bikes were in good condition, and our lower cabin room while small, was more than comfortable.

The guides, Luka and Matt were great -KUDOS to them both ensuring we had a pleasant trip and more importantly muscling all the bikes on and off the boat every day. Remember this is a guided tour, hence no need for a daily route map is needed, though one is sent out via WhatsApp. (Fortunately the person I was with had it updated on their phone- so we could join the daily posts). We would have liked a bit more detailing of the rides the night before, or greater details of the days ride ahead so we could keep fresh in our minds, as apposed to during little stops. The hardworking boat crew were also friendly and the captain played his accordion during the captains dinner to everyone’s delight.

Two of the rides were a full day, though the others were partial days, allowing to enjoy the relaxing boat ride to our next port or bonus swims right off the boat into the Adriatic. Equally a surprise are the 3 guided tours, Split, Dubrovnik and Korkula, which we did not expect and very informative.

Make sure to bring cash or have a way to access cash as many places are cash only & will also be required for paying the drink tally at the end and any gratuities you wish to leave (2 envelopes are left on each riders bed- 1 for the crew and 1 for the guides to leave at one’s own discretion).

A bit of advice concerning the added water charge would be adding a water station and to suggest bringing a reusable water bottle ( or offer to sell a logo’d one), this would be more eco friendly as well, considering I know that on average I went through 3-5plastic water bottles a day. A complimentary self serve Coffee or a tea station would be an easy addition to the boats services. Equally mixing up the breakfast offerings would be appreciated, as by the 3rd day, the daily offering, yogurt, cereal and 2 meats, ham and salami with a cheese and bread became lackluster even with scrambled eggs being offered every other day. Otherwise the food was plentiful and enjoyable.

The communication with Tripsite was great, we have used them before and will continue to praise them to all our friends

Finally our fellow riders on the boat were all great, and many we still connect with.  SHOW MORE 

This barge trip was my second one but definitely it wasn’t better than the first. The main reason of this disappointment was the guide. We were a group of 12 with a wide range of ages and personally I think he wasn’t able to adapt to every bodies needs and we had to look after ourselves. The guide didn’t explain much about the history and meaning of the places we visited, which, to my mind, diminishes the value of this experience.

The most memorable part of the trip was being guided by competent guides and entertained by International riders along the breathtaking Moselle. Tips: consider taking a Camelbac to have easy access to water and a clothesline and soap to wash clothes since it was hot and our clothes needed to be refreshed in the middle of the trip.

Misunderstanding on inclusion of meals at the hotels other than Vienna, Bratislava, & Budapest. We specified that we’d like them included and they were not. We were able to find restaurants, but obviously that increased the cost for us.

the best part was the absolutely most beautiful scenery in Belgium and the Netherlands! Be sure to check ahead for the latest weather to be prepared for biking and be prepared to have very spotty internet on the boat.

The boat/barge Merlijn. We have done more than a dozen bike barge boats and the Merlijn is by far the premier of the lot. The service and cuisine on board was superb as well.

The way the trip was arranged was very interesting. The cities were educational and the trails were easy to navigate.

The entire trip was just so wonderful, the food, the accommodations, the guide, the staff and the places visited. The food was probably the biggest surprise. Each and everyday we had a delectable 3 course dinner. Everything was fresh and tasty. The beds were very comfortable and each stop was so peaceful and quiet, it was easy to get a good night's rest. We opted for e-bikes, more so for the wind than hills. We were fortunate to have only one ride with extreme rain (so have good rain gear or opt to stay on the boat if you know the weather is going to be really bad). After the trip, we have put this vacation as our best ever!

Our group of four completed the nine-day Prague to Vienna Tour from 21st to 29th June 2024. Our experience was wonderful and memorable. We highly recommend this tour!

First, we had good support in the lead up to our tour and during it. All of our questions were promptly answered, both before we made reservations and when a few issues arose during the tour.

Second, the tour was very well organised. We had a detailed briefing and support before we started. Clear group communication was set up on WhatsApp among our group and with the tour’s support team. We were given maps and written guides for the ride each day, which pointed to tourist highlights and places to eat. Our rides were guided by Ride with GPS on our phones (bring a lithium battery to extend your phone’s life each day). Each bike had a phone mount to facilitate the use of Ride with GPS. The bikes and equipment were very good quality. We never worried about a breakdown. We were quickly back on the road after a punctured tire because we had the right tools for the job. In short, we never felt like we were on our own, even though we had no guide on the road.

Third, we found the daily routes, and options, to be outstanding. Each daily destination was a notable place to visit. We rode mainly along roads, and also on paved cycle paths, gravel and, at times, trails. My partner and I chose the extra distance routes whenever they were available, whereas the other couple on our tour selected the shorter options that catered to their interests. This is a tour for experienced cyclists with a good level of fitness, not novices or casual tourists.

Fourth, the accommodation was very good. We chose the upgraded facilities and were happy with all of them. Each day, they were close to the main historical or cultural sites. We could easily visit them, usually by walking or riding up to the castle at Vranov and Dyji.

We were very fortunate that we had very good weather. It only rained briefly on two days. I suspect that the riding would have been fine if it was wet, except for a few short stretches when we encountered rough cobbles or when we rode on short trails that linked roads or riding paths. We were well prepared for wet weather and would not have been challenged had it rained.

If we had to do it over again, then we make a few changes. We would use TripSite partner hotels before and after the tour. This would facilitate early briefing before we started the tour and easier hand-over of bikes when we were finished. We had planned to use .GPX files on our Garmin GPS units. Unfortunately, we didn’t download local maps onto our GPS units before we travelled, so that wasn’t feasible. We rented road bikes because that’s what we ride at home. There were places when a gravel bike would have been a better choice. One member of our group rode an e-bike. This made the rides less physically demanding.  SHOW MORE 

This was our 3rd trip like this and by far the best! It was a wonderfully well organized trip. We went with our children (3 and 11) and two of our friends in their 50s. Everyone have a great time. The distances and difficulties were doable. The towns were beautiful and interesting. And the routes provided a good variation of scenery. The non-biking days were well placed throughout the tour. Finally, the trip organizers were amazingly supportive when we had questions or needed to make adjustments. I can't recommend this trip enough!

The staff on the barge, Gandalf, were friendly and accommodating, Meals were exceptional; kudos to Chef Hans!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Green Belt biking of Holland, the fields, forests and windmill areas!
Our tour leader, Patrick, did an excellent job of leading and managing the group.
However, I do feel the local partner fell short; by not having an extra staff member biking in back of the group, as the “Sweep”.
Patrick asked for someone to volunteer, each day, to be the Sweep and I don’t feel we paid for this tour to have this job and responsibility.

The trip was wonderful. It was great to visit the 3 unique Baltic countries, they are each beautiful and welcoming, The cycling was terrific, on wonderful quiet roads through scenic fields, forests and towns. There is quite a bit of of time spent in the van traveling from one location to another, but that makes it possible to see and cycle some of the very special, but far-flung locations such as the Curonian Spit, a real highlight. Plus, our group and our leader were great, so it was all enjoyable.

The Magnifique III was great. It is a barge, so don’t expect The Ritz, but for instance, It’s much nicer than most chartered Catamarans in the British Virgin Isles.
Meals were delicious and plentiful. The chef did an amazing job feeding us a great variety of tasty meals.
Most importantly, the guides were great. They had a great sense of humor and managed the various personalities, skill levels, expectations and behaviors diplomatically and graciously.