5 Star Europe Tour Reviews — 2011 to 2040 of 4480

The scenery along the route is amazing. Rolling vineyards and hills are gorgeous. The chateaux were stunning with Chenonceaux the most spectacular (pro tip, GET THERE WHEN IT OPENS at 9am. You must reserve your time to visit online before you go. Also, get the audio guides whenever you can; really adds to the visit). We also took the canoe tour along the Cher river and saw Chenonceaux from the water; HIGHLY recommend doing this.
The chateau in Blois and Chaumont-Sur-Loire were gorgeous, as was Chambord. Cheverny was a treat with the hound pen and Tin Tin exhibit.
We found a winery on the route from Amboise to Vouvray (Caves Cathelineau in Chancay). We did a tour and then a tasting and it was one of the highlights of our trip
The route is rated Easy to Moderate. My wife and I are both experienced recreational cyclists and we opted for E-bikes. There ARE numerous hilly sections and wind; unless you truly love riding up hills, would strongly recommend an E-bike for this trip. Also, opt for the GPS guided route and use the app BikeGPX. I spent the $10 to upgrade the app and it was the best investment. I cannot imagine taking this tour using paper maps. Far too many twists and turns along the way to stay on track.

Kudos to chef Joost! Great food.
Also to tour guide Ingrid who gave us background into Dutch culture and history.
I did fine on the heavy Dutch bike but if you want to have an easier time of it, rent an e-bike and have no worries about the cycling.

The most memorable part is the memories of our group of 8 being able to experience the biking and river crusing together. The staff on the boat were marvelous and a lot of fun.
A suggestion is to have the full itinerary of the trip available at the beginning of the trip. Often we had no idea what time we were arriving or leaving from the dock, or what time we were getting on the bikes and waht time we had to be back to the ship. So more clarity of the weekly schedule would have been very beneficial.
Other than that the trip was incredibly scenic and overall we had a wonderful experience.

What a truly wonderful trip. The team at Top Bikes, specifically Sergio, John, John N and Miguel were totally fantastic. We had so much fun. The E-bikes were brand new and very useful on the trip. They loaded the GPS maps (which were very reliable) onto my Edge 1030 which was very helpful. They did a great job getting us setup. Miguel happily led us out of Porto on our first day. While this trip is relatively flat the first three days the terrain is extremely varied. Paved roads, cobblestones, narrow streets, wooded paths with branches and pine needles through forests, boardwalks (some elevated) and SAND. The portions of the path particularly on the first two days with stretches of sand along the coast required some walking. But the scenery is varied and beautiful and all the pilgrims on the route are very pleasant. All of the hotels were quite nice and two are in beautiful centuries old buildings. We did self guided but were lucky enough to meet up with Sergio, Miguel, and John N on our sixth day when the group they were leading caught up with us. We had a great hilarious dinner with all three of them. These guys know their stuff and love helping their clients have a great vacation. We are already telling other folks to come do this trip with them next year!

The beautiful water of the Adriatic Sea and the beautiful coastal views. Food on board was exceptional and bikes were excellent. I would suggest e-bikes for those shy of hills as there are a few tough climbs. Also bring water shoes as the beaches are more rock/pebbles. Kuna is most easily acceptable currency so have lots on hand

The beauty of the whole trip with the sea, the forests and the quaint towns.

The beauty of the whole trip with the sea, the forests and the quaint towns.

The trip was well organised, we saw lots of interesting new places, loved, the rides through the forests and the food was amazing! The most memorable part of the trip was the way the entire crew worked together to give us all a wonderfully enjoyable trip.Highly recommend a trip on board Feniks!

The wonderful guides who helped me, the splendid rides, the friendly stafff

It was amazing! The most memorable part was the people! The crew of the Pape Prvi were personable, friendly , professional...a complete joy! The guides were the same; very enthusiastic, engaging and fun. The food was delicious. The cycling was more challenging than I expected. Many big climbs and steep, steep downhill runs. The scenery was indescribably beautiful...coastal beaches with clear turquoise water, grape vineyards, fig and pomegranite trees...

Suggestions for others: train on hills if possible!

Bike and barge was amazing! We were on the Fluvius, staff there were great! Pre-trip planning with Trip site and Anna was stress free and informative! We have already recommended tripsite and bike and barge trips to our friends. We will probably book another one next year!

How can I choose a most memorable part? There were so many! Cycling across the New Bridge to Bratislava, and in the breathtaking cities of Budapest and Vienna, relaxing drinking wine with new friends on the upper deck of the barge floating down the Danube. The whole trip was filled with memorable and precision moments.every day.

The family/crew of the Pape Prvi provided excellent service and friendly advice. The food was wonderful and always enjoyable. The Croatian islands and coast were very beautiful and memorable. The guides, Dora and Shinz were fun and made the trip even more enjoyable. Thanks for such a great trip.

When I first heard about Friesland from an acquaintance, I didn’t know much about that part of Holland. But I’m sure glad I did my research because biking in Friesland was one of my favorite bike trips ever! The countryside and the sea were so beautiful and full of life. The hotels we stayed in were both modern and quaint, with comfortable rooms, and well connected to town for dinner and shopping. The breakfasts were fit for a king with so many choices to be had. The things I will remember the most are: 1. The many many canals along the ride with people in their boats waving to us as we rode by, 2. The beautiful green farmland with cows, sheep, horses grazing and farmers working their fields, 3. The houses and buildings in the very clean towns with the interesting colorful facades, 4. The sheep grazing along the path on the coast; so fun to watch them graze, rest, and wander! 5. Seeing old windmills in a few places but many modern windmills dotting the landscape, 6. The sea in all its splendor, 7. The French fries and mayonnaise, a true taste treat! At the end of each day it became a tradition for us to have a beer to celebrate our ride that day, especially on the very windy days along the coast! Our 27 speed bikes were sturdy and comfortable and easy to use the lock and key, though it might have been helpful to have someone help us the first day to get acquainted with the bikes. The maps with the numbers were well done and helped us navigate, though getting in and out of the towns was sometimes a challenge. Also, not all of us had maps (couples share one) or a pack attached to hold a map; so with only 2 of 4 of us navigating, it was sometimes tricky; every single person should have a map on a self guided bike trip. One thing I wish we would have done was perhaps to stay an extra day in a couple of the towns along the way, both for rest and exploration, and maybe have gone to one of the islands; more emphasis that this was an option could’ve made the tour a bit longer, but less rushed. But all in all, this was an amazing trip that I would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys both biking and adventure!

The most memorable would be the countryside, farms, the wonderful bicycling trails. The cows and sheep :)
very bucolic landscape.

One suggestion for the future to consider.... I think it best to do the trip in reverse of what was laid out. The reason I say this is, because of prevailing winds of the North Sea (Waddell Sea), we had head wind (sometimes severe). Had the tour been as I suggest, we would have a tail wind to our backs. I noted that most of the Dutch weekenders did in reverse of us (They obviously knew their country side best!) great time was had by all! Cheers :)

Loved riding through the farmlands leading to Gent at the beginning of the trip. Beautiful scenery and so peaceful! Our boat tour up the canal was magical.

I would rate this trip excellent and well beyond my expectations. The staff were always cheerful and accommodating. Guides were informative and all of the days were well paced and eventful.

The bicycling each day through fabulous scenery led by a wonderful guy and guide - Mark Van Rossom. The leap-frogging of our comfortable barge each day to pick us at at a new spot along the way from Netherlands to Belgium.
Also extremely impressed with our barge’s captain Coba.

Every aspect of the trip was delivered as advertised. Crew and cycling guide were outstanding. Sailing Home was more than comfortable and food was plentiful and delicious.

The beautiful scenery, wonderful camaraderie, and helpful guides made this a remarkable and enjoyable experience. For those not comfortable cycling who might be traveling with an experienced cycling partner, I highly recommend an e-bike. It took all of the stress away for both is us!

Very well organized
Suggestions: make coffee available before breakfast.
Food was great and we loved the 4 course dinners, but the wait between courses was consistently a bit too long.

The Magnifique IV was a lovely barge, we’ll set out and nicely appointed. Meals were delicious, the suite was spacious and the bathroom was the equal or better of many we experience in quality hotels. The staff including the guides were excellent and contributed to a delightful week of seeing the Netherlands and Belgium.

Wonderful trip! Beautiful scenery, easy bike trail, nice accommodations. Tripsite did a great job organizing and setting up the trip. The representative at Austria Radreisen (the on-site bike company) was friendly and helpful in fitting our bikes, answering our questions, and making sure we were satisfied. The bikes were especially nice, easy to ride and shift with plenty of storage. Our luggage was always waiting for us at each hotel when we arrived.

It was a fantastic trip. The magnifique 2 was classy with a hard working and friendly crew from the chef to the captain and beyond. We enjoyed everything about the trip. Cycling everyday through farmlands, quaint towns, along dykes and rivers was a truly memorable experience.
We plan to book another bike barge adventure soon. We felt very well taken care of. We highly recommend it !

All was very well done.. food, tours, boat. Great trip.

Highlights was wonderful riding on French country roads with mostly minimal traffic. The official route takes a lot of twists and turns. We improvised (e.g. following marked bike paths in the general direction we wanted to go in, and at times a slightly busier road) and it went well.

The Zwaantje crew and guides were first rate: highly competent, upbeat and accommodating. Our guides were fun to ride with and loaded with local knowledge, and were flexible enough to improve the schedule of sailing and ride routing to better match the weather and riding group. Very well done! We will be back for more.
The bicycles were fine, and in good order. Next time we will bring strap-on water bottle cages so good hydration is closer to hand.

This was a fantastic bike and barge trip! We loved all aspects of it: the delicious meals, the beautiful scenery, the great staff and guides, and wonderful travel companions. For me as an avid bicyclist, the biking was pretty easy, but for my wife it was more challenging. However, Francesco and Carlos were fantastic guides, and kept a pace that worked for everyone. We loved stopping and exploring the small towns along the way, as well as the larger attractions in cities such as Ferrara. One of our favorite memories of the trip was sitting on the top deck of the Ava Marie in the evening after a day of biking and sight-seeing, and playing cards with our new found friends. We appreciate the energy the crew and staff put into making this a great trip for everyone! We can't wait to go again! Ciao!

Burgundy is a wonderful place for a bike tour. Dijon and Beaune have nice tourist sites, and we ate well and had excellent wine throughout. We especially liked the restaurant at Hotel Le Dracy.
The routes were nice, highlighted by the bike path along the canal between Beaune and Dracy. The hybrid bicycles were good, if a little heavy for those of us used to road bikes. We had no mechanical issues.

Lake Konstance was a wonderful biking experience. The ebikes were great! I would recommend some type of rearview mirror on the bike. We did the 5 day “easy” trip but there were 3 fifty mile legs. We cut thing short by taking the ferry and that worked well. Anna from Tripsite was excellent switching our hotels as a result of shortening. Luggage delivery to the hotels was seemless! Both hotels were great with excellent breakfasts.
We had perfect weather the whole trip.

The cycling was fantastic! The beauty of the towns along the Danube and the chance to get a closer look with the ability to stop to rest, shop or taste wine or beer at will was just phenomenal! The food on board was so good, and the staff was very welcoming.