Europe Tour Reviews — 1771 to 1800 of 7333

The scenery was spectacular and the barge crew was excellent

The tour was very well organized. Pieter was waiting for us at the Abcoude train station when we arrived and he took the time to thoroughly explain everything about the bikes, the equipment, safety rules and tips, hotels, etc. Most of the pedalling is through the country side and small and quaint villages. The scenery was beautiful and relaxing. All hotels were excellent, with well appointed rooms although a few were on the smaller side. Nevertheless, all hotels had their own unique charm and all breakfasts were excellent.

Before starting, we thought we could average around 18 km/h but in reality, we were closer to the 15-16 km/ average pretty much every day. Main reasons for that were :
1. Head winds (sometimes quite strong) more than half of the time which slow you down
2. Stopping/starting to take pictures, admire the scenery. Every time you stop, you have to get back up to speed.
3. Cycling through towns and villages, you can't go very fast as there are pedestrians and you are cycling on (sometimes very) uneven coblestones.
4. Getting lost. The GPS worked quite well in the country side but not as well once in larger cities. Not all wrong detours were the GPS fault though!

Some tips :
- Leave early if you would like to make some stops along the way (take a coffee, visit a windmill, etc.) and not arrive at your destination at 6 PM. This is especially true if you want to visit something at your end destination for the day as most attractions close around 5 PM.
- Plan your next day's itinerary the night before. Some days there aren't many lunch options along the way so make sure your timing is right. On day 3, we ended up doing a little more than 40 kms before lunch and ate around 2:30 PM because the area where we wanted to stop turned out to be a commercial area with no place to eat.
- Expect to do a few more kms every day because of wrong turns, things to visit, etc.
- Have a data plan. For us, because the GPS didn't always work so well in town, that's what we used to get to the hotels 4 of the 6 days.
- As mentioned in the documentation on how to prepare, make sure you are saddle ready. Based on our experience, the most difficult/painful day was the second one. After that, it got better every day.

Overall, we loved our experience and we highly recommend this tour without hesitation.

The villages we biked through., the people we met & the city tours we did.

The entire crew was exceptional! The only complaint, and it’s a big one, was lack of communication from headquarters when unexpected flooding altered the itinerary. The boat was not able to land where planned and there should have been an email sent out to inform us that they were working on it and to stand by for more information when they knew more. We had friends on the previous cruise and they knew Saturday morning that they were not going to land in Passau. No messages were sent from headquarters to inform us that things were in flux and we had passengers on our cruise that went to an empty dock in Passau and this could have been easily avoided had headquarters been set up for group emails.

We cruised with the crew of the Zwaantjze from Epernay to Paris. The captains (Barry and Eric), the chef (Frank) and first mate, Brendo were friendly and highly competent. The cabins are tiny, but comfortable. The quality of the bikes was excellent to poor. My bike was fine, however, the bike my husband had, which was a large frame, had no rear brakes. Even though there were only 7 guests, there was not another bike available for him larger than a small. The small bike had faulty electric assist, it did not work consistently. He was not happy about that. Our guides were wonderful people, but we do not understand the decision your company made to assign three people who were not familiar with the route or the history of the area. On two previous tours we have taken with your company, the guides offered extraordinary insights about the history and architecture of all the towns we visited. That info was not offered on this tour. We suggest you prepare a short video to be shown each night describing the towns and the types of roads that will be ridden on the following day. That would greatly enhance the experience.

This boat and bike trip was really an ideal combination accessible cycling for all in our party (with a mix of e-bikes and gravel bikes), fantastic gourmet food onboard the Andela Lora and great way to experience getting to know Isteria. The boat was well-appointed and comfortable for the 34 guests and we all felt very well looked-after!

The director and crew were very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the ride through the scenic landscape and quaint towns. The tours were very good too!

We had a wonderful experience on the tour. The boat exceeded our expectations in terms of accommodation and the food was delicious. Our tour guides were knowledgeable and very organized - clear about bike directions and safety conscious. Biking was a mix of roads and gravel trails. E bike recommended unless you are a strong cyclist.

The tour was great. The staff were very attentive. The guides were helpful.
The breakfast was basic but the lunch and dinners were excellent. The beds are comfortable but the AC could be better esp if traveling when warm. Toiletries are not included so one should bring or buy when you arrive. The bikes are comfortable and really ding thru the countryside was beautiful

We had an amazing time on our Istrian bike/barge trip in May/June 2024. We loved the guides and the crew and the food was amazing! The scenery and bike routes were spectacular and we really enjoyed the extras (Croatian language lesson, Croatian history/geography lecture and city guides) ! Would recommend and hope to do again.

A note and not a review. Some colleagues returned to the Fluvius a few minutes after midnight and the sliding glass doors on either side of the main deck were locked. These doors were locked with a key on both the outside and the inside. My concern is that if there were an emergency and crew were not available, passengers could not open the sliding glass doors from the inside. I think this is a safety issue and those doors should have an emergency inside lock that can be opened by any passenger or crew without a key or without specific training.

Overall, a great trip. Excellent meals - thanks to Mirka and her staff. Carla and Laura were great tour guides and I hope Carla recovers from her accident soon.

Another suggestion - review mirrors on the bikes would make keeping groups together a bit easier.

Great group, amazing food!!, beautiful surroundings, well chosen routes, catered to a variety of capability and fitness levels. We all could do it. The e-bikes were reliable and made the trip doable for all.
The ship was clean and comfortable and the crew super congenial. We were grateful to have an above deck cabin.

The excellent food, for me, was the most memorable. The biking and the guides were great but the quality of the food stood out for me

Crew was amazing! Food was gourmet. Itinerary was perfect. Bike rides were the perfect combination of scenic and challenge. Boat was comfortable.

The weather went North: 14C feeling like 12, very windy gusts of plus 45 km/h and rain for 10 days now. So wonderful train service replaced the bicycles. We prepared for 17 to 22 C weather so our clothing was inappropriate.

Food and service, cleanliness was excellent. The Staff was fantastic also. Only drawback was charging for coffee and water during non- meal times.

The tour route was for the most part easy to follow and had little exposure to traffic. The trip takes you through a lot of the highlights of the area and if you love wild flowers you will be overjoyed. The hotels were quite nice but you may want to upgrade your room in some places so you can get an ocean view instead of the parking lot. Our only complaint was related to the bikes. The ebikes had slicks on them and these heavy bikes would skid a lot on the loose gravel. The regular bikes didn't have front end shocks and some of the trails were filled with broken jagged pavement that jarred the wrists significantly.

The whole trip was amazing. The people, the food, the beauty of Italy. Illenia our tour guide took great care of us, along with Eunice. I am ready to do it again!!!

We were on the boat "Sailing Home" and we went from Bruges to Amsterdam. We've never done a Bike & Barge trip before and this trip far exceeded our expectations. From the moment we stepped on board, there was a warm welcome from the 5 fantastic crew members. These 5 could not do enough for you to make your trip a trip to remember. There were 22 travelers on board and having breakfast and dinners with them was so much fun. The food was 5 star every night, the captain was awesome with our boat... smooth and easy travel. Our bike guide was outstanding. We went to so many different places, learned about the history in the villages, she personalized the trip by taking us to a cheese farm and was calm under pressure! The biking was incredible... it was so beautiful everywhere! The rooms were cozy and it was so nice having a bathroom in each room! I highly recommend this trip. It was spectacular!

The route is carefully planned to include as much rural bike paths and beautiful country side. As someone who grew up in the Netherlands, I am very impressed in the careful planning of green and agricultural area versus urbanization. The route led us via these green parts of the Netherland I hadn't experienced before. The cultural aspect in the selection of stop=over cities is also noteworthy and admirable.

All in all a great trip and highly recommendable.

Our bike guides, Luka and Luka were amazing. They were friendly, informative, and very helpful. We look forward to biking with them again! The tour of the Southern Dalmatia islands was fantastic; Solta and Korcula being two of our favourite islands.
The Magellan, was very comfortable and clean, with an air conditioned cabin and great bathroom facilities. Personally, I loved the bathroom, with a separate, good sized shower. Ivan, our captain, docked us in the most perfect spots. We also must say the chef onboard, Bojan, was amazing! All the crew and staff were very friendly.

My wife and I had already taken the trip from Bolzano to Venice.
This year we invited three more couples and did the upper part of the Adige River, which was fantastic!
From Bolzano to Vernona is also a spectacle and, even passing through for the second time, neither the river nor we are the same.
Pure enjoyment, even though I cycled one day with heavy rain.
I highly recommend this tour.

I loved the trip between Trieste and Portoroz.
The hotels were good anywhere. If I Can suggest I would prefer bicycles whit shock absorbers. The roads somethimes were very hard.

The Vivienne and its crew were all exceptional! I would not change anything. Our guide, Leslie went above and beyond.

The staff aboard the Magnifique IV were fabulous. We had great bike tour guides. The people we met on the ship were from all over the world and we all became friends. I would highly recommend this tour and we will be doing this again

Not many memorable parts of the journey.

The information provided about the mileage each day was inaccurate. The rides changed and the downloaded GPS maps were useless.

The guide lost members of the riding group and we had to wait long periods of time.

I requested fish and had vegetarian meals instead

I could go on. Very unexpected experience and very disappointed

Our Coastal Camino experience (self-guided) was truly amazing! The incredible scenery, the amazing hotels, and the connections we made wth fellow pilgrims from around the world. The tour company in Portugal was very responsive and went out of their way to ensure our experience was special. We stayed in the most incredible locations, including a fortress, a castle and an incredible old textile mill that has been converted into a literal ‘Garden of Eden’ with its own waterfall. We loved walking 5-6 hours per day (very achievable) and the routes were so beautiful (they took our breath away). Arriving at the Santiago de Compostela was an emotional and joyous experience. This trip exceeded our expectations and we are already planning our next Camino adventure!

Beautiful landscape and cultural events of National day. We had 9 days of warm weather 60-70s with only a half of rain one morning. This was unusual according to many locals with whom we talked. The contrast between the snow cover mountains and the roads along the fjords was extraordinary.

A fantastic value for the money! Our guides Mirta and Luca were fantastic, and the entire crew went out of their way to ensure we had a great time. The bikes and the rides were excellent and the entire group had so much fun. Would definitely do again.

The view of the enviorment !! The security of the route and the group of friends were wonderful !!