Europe Tour Reviews — 2101 to 2130 of 6850

Very good bikes, very nice roads,
Very good organisation and hotels and we the road and visit to Pisa

The itinerary was excellent and well selected, and the stages well judged.

We loved the inclusion of events, museums tickets. the vouchers were exxcellent!

For us the best part was the two excellent Hotels and amenities in Uberlingen (St Leonhard) and St Gallen (Einstein) - Many levels above the other Hotels selected - provided a welcome feel of quality and luxury. In general and in particularly for the less challenging tours as it is the Tour of Lake Constance, it would be good to offer at least two levels of options (and prices) with 3 ***/4 **** hotels and an option with 5 ***** stars hotels.

The one thing we did not like
, is the invariable time arrival of our luggage at the next destination. It was always 18.00 pm or slightly later. In case we arrived at our next destination earlier, that severely limited our options of what to do or even go for a swim as we have no alternative clothing options

We stepped aboard the beautiful Gassten with her wooden hull and spacious decks and were greeted by our Skipper Jamie and his mates Nick And Gunnar along with chef Dunkin , champagne set out waiting on deck with tasty bites . Bon Voyage out of Henningsvaer, a bustling fishing village that boasts the remote football field and plenty little shops to grab your Norway woolies . We woke everyday to the smell of breakfast and views so breathtaking you would find yourself just staring into the majestic fjords with their cascading mountains and rippling water gently slapping the hull. This boat is so sturdy I slept like a baby in the well appointed cabins with private bathroom for each , a must for our group of ten. They don’t skimp with fluffy bath robes and full line of toiletries and local cream available. Our skipper carefully laid out each day fulfilling our every need and ensuring all our adventures left us laughing and story telling around the dinner table at night , wine In hand , while the crew brought us one delectable course after another . The days flew by with fishing , paddle boarding , kayaking , horse riding , and mountain biking. If you love sushi , no problem . Just cast your rod , reel up a mackerel and Chef will deliver your catch freshly sliced on deck , wine in hand ! The only downside is we had to force ourselves to go to sleep there is just so much to see and do , if one could forego sleep for the trip of a lifetime they would surely be better for it . Thank you to tripsite and our coordinator Claudia for connecting us with this amazing experience for my 50th celebration and I cannot say enough about our boat crew who are top notch all the way .

We were very pleased with the boat, the team, and the itinerary. The guides were knowledgable and very helpful. The boat was comfortable. Food was good. overall, a great experience and highly recommended.

This was a decent trip. The crew was FANTASTIC and the food was much better than typical- very good. The barge itself is okay, not the nicest we've been on, but fine. No sundeck to lay and relax, just an upstairs area, undercover, with some tables and a lot of plastic chairs. The rooms and bathroom are small but nice. Towels and garbage are changed mid-week. The ride itself takes you through a lot of farmland with few sites. Mantova is nice, Lido is nice and the "tour" of Venice is a walk to the top of a department store for a nice view of Venice. If you want to really see Venice, spend an extra day or two and book tours in advance because Venice is VERY crowded. We booked an extra day in front for Mantova- not really necessary aside from time adjustment- and 4 days on the backend for Venice (3 would have been fine). We spent the last day on Murano and Burano islands followed by a catamaran ride around some islands. That made for a nice relaxing way to end our time there.

Overall the entire biking experience was fantastic even for non-bikers like 3 of the 4 in our group. E-bikes made all the difference. There were some miscommunications with the Tripsite team hear in the US, but the actual tour operators, Active Tours, who are in country did a phenomenal job of picking up the ball. If it has been a while since you were on a bike, I would double the time to get to each scheduled reservation for wine tasting. But once you get into the groove, being able to ride the "Route of the Grand Crus" and taste the wine along the way it will be an unforgettable experience.

This was a great week mostly due to the people. The crew, Capt. Luc, Francesca, Jen and Annita were first rate. Our fellow passengers made it so much fun and made for delightful dinners together, as well as, riding throughout the French countryside. The people we meet each trip is the reason we keep coming back as we develop lifelong friendships with riders around the globe!

We had a wonderful experience on the Harmonia sail and e-bike tour of the Croatian coast from Split to Dubrovnik. We really enjoyed the friendly and professional tour guides and the crew of Harmonia. The accommodations and meals aboard the vessel were first rate and the scheduled program were exactly right, lots of exercise and beautiful scenery punctuated by swim calls and informative lectures on Croatian culture, history, geography, and language. Riding e-bikes through the Dalmatian Islands was a lot of fun too! Our only suggestion is to equip the e-bikes with water bottle cages rather than requiring everyone to carry water in their pannier, as experienced riders can safely "drink and drive" at the same time!

We cyckled Ennis-Doolin-Kinvara-Ennis. Bikes arrived in Ennis at the scheduled time, and our suitcases was always ahead of us an waiting for us as we arrieved the next stopover. We enjoyed every place we spent the night, wether it was a cottage, a gutesthouse, a B&B or at hotel. Especially Ballyvaughan Lodge, the hosts Pauline and Gerry gave us a warm welcome and the best breakfast of the trip.
Before we got so far we visited Inisherin, recomended! and we saw The cliffs of Moher.
In Ballyvaughan we visited Burren Destillery, and got a very educational tour of the place. We enjoyed the dinner in Hylands Burren Restaurant very much.
On the way to Kinvara we split up, and took two different routes, so we got to see New Quay, Burren Perfumery, Corcomroe Abbey, and Hazel Mountain Chocolate factory.
We had a nice trip going back to Ennis from Kinvara.
The roads are narrow but the traffic is not bad, so cycling is fine. The bikes were very good, incluing helmets and bags.

My wife and I booked this trip and absolutely loved it. Fell in love with the Netherlands so hard that we would move there in an instant.
This was our first trip through Tripsite since our honeymoon almost a decade ago, and I cannot say enough great things about how wonderful and easy it is to book through them. We upgraded to category A, and were extremely pleased by how nice the hotels were- well worth the slight price increase.
Highlights: Everything? The scenery is unbelievable. The North Sea ride was gorgeous. Gouda is as beautiful a city as I've ever seen. Swans everywhere, hardly any hills; Bruges is captivating; Willemstaad is idyllic; Zierkzee is quaint and beautiful; Middelburg is bustling and brimming with life. Unreal.
Lowlights: I can't really say there were. Papendrecht is an oddity here, Dordrecht across the river is much much cooler and worth wandering around. I will say that the hotel in Dordrecht and their lovely staff made it worthwhile.
Recommended: RAIN SLICKER. It rained or misted all but one trip, I think. E-Bike, too- this isn't selling out. The headwinds and crosswinds are utterly brutal at times! We would 100% do this trip again!!!!

Seeing all the old buildings along the canal, seeing the North Sea, eating authentic stroopwafels, and having mussels in Belgium. Honestly the entire trip was amazing.

My only tip would be to rent an e-bike! We didn’t and encountered strong headwinds that significantly slowed us down, so we didn’t get to explore as much as we wanted to. Also, spend two nights in Bruges!

We had a lovely trip Vienna to Budapest! The organisation with bicycles, maps, app, and really great hotels were outstanding! We had extra nights in Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest and that was good to get rest days and also more time for cultural things. Luckily we brought swimsuits and towels in the saddlebags - Danube has great beaches and calm fresh water to cool down in. Hungary was a great positive surprise. The small towns Mosonmagyaróvár, Györ, and Esztergom was as taken out of a fairytale. Great food to good prices.
We had three days in Budapest and with the bikes we could easily discover all corners of the city. Magical evenings along the river in Budapest. The bustransfer back to Vienna went as smooth as everything else. We will surely come back!

This was an amazing, once in a lifetime trip! The Harmonia is a beautiful boat, with a friendly and competent crew. The meals were amazing!! Our tour guides, Ivan and Ana, were funny and engaging. They taught us a lot about Croatia history and geography. They clearly are very proud of their country and happy to share it with others. The riding was challenging, but the e-bikes made all of the rides accessible. I can’t overstate how beautiful the country is and how wonderful this trip was!

Beautiful countryside. The route book gave direction in tenths of a kilometer but our odometer only had whole kilometers. We got lost a couple of times.

Scenery was so beautiful but an e-bike is a must as there were many hills. The tour is marked as moderate but that would only be with an e-bike. Hotels were very nice but one was up a very steep hill with no restaurants around it. Also we had to ride through a long tunnel as the route road was closed.

The scenery was breathtaking, the biking was not difficult with the e-bikes, and the swim stops were amazing. We were riding on roads and some were quite busy so I would not do this trip with children. The air conditioning in the cabins was just ok so if I were to go on the Magellan again I would bring a small fan.

The promenade at Split! Cycling was fantastic and perfect! City tours so informative! Loved the boat, guides and food! Best scenery ever!

The scenery in Croatia is just beautiful. And the seaside towns are gorgeous. Being able to cycle through all of that, connecting the sea with the mountainous terrain, was perfect. The e-bikes made it possible considering the hot temperatures and my age! Our boat, Harmonia, was a very comfortable home for the week. The meals were delicious and beautiful. Swim stops on the boat were great and we also visited many refreshing beaches during our bike rides.

Everything was excellent!
I am thankful for the help with the hotel accommodations before our tour started. The Splendid hotel was very nice. The boat Harmonia was perfect; the crew was kind, hospitable and competent. Our Island Hoping guides were excellent. I even enjoyed the Croatian language class sweet Tara gave us on day one! The food was elegant and delicious. We were under the impression that we needed to pack our own bike helmets, which was a packing challenge, but later realized that we didn’t really need to. Guide Ivan was an excellent shepherd for our group; we learned so much about Croatia; he was quite passionate about his country! We will hopefully be returning for another tour in the future.

Museum in Spakenburg was self directed but very interesting and beautifully laid out.
Using an e bike for the first time really made the daily biking more relaxed and enjoyable.
I would suggest the evening meal be presented as family or buffet style and available earlier than 6:30.

This route was really great. Most of the biking was on dedicated bike paths. Following the route took us through and by many picturesque spots. There were 8 of us on the trip ranging from 11 years old to 46. On days we didn't stop to rest much because of rain, the kids were worn out by the end, but overall the length were good. We stayed two days in Apeldoorn and were happy with that decision as there was a lot to do and see. The Palace Het Loo and the high ropes (klimbos) were highlights. We felt there was plenty to do and see at each stop. And great food along the way. The only downside was that we requested helmets from tripsite but the local guide never got that request. It was frustrating because we ended up buying helmets.

The Berlin to Wolfsburg was an amazing experience. This was my second trip on the wonderful boat, Merlijn and it won't be my last. We already have one booked for next year! The pedaling was fun and easy and the historical sites fascinating with a great guide. I highly recommend this trip!

The Feniks was a fine boat, and the accommodations were better than I expected. There were only 4 other passengers, with 4 crew, so we were well cared for. The bike was comfortable and efficient. The (vegan) food was EXCELLENT. It would have been nice to have more of a mixed group (others were ALL Dutch, but it worked out ok.

Few pointers: there was no internet on the boat, some days we rode as much as 70K, but mostly flat, we mostly docked outside of towns/villages.

Meeting all the pilgrims on the trail was lots of fun. Everyone was friendly and kind. The trail was a challenge at times with lots of rough rocks, quick hills, little streams to cross but we had e-bikes and can’t imagine doing it without them. Probably avoid doing this route in July and Aug because of the number of pilgrims on the trail.

This was our 3rd Bike and Barge experience.
Everything about the Bike and Barge tour on Merlin was first class.
We have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed many large ship ocean cruises and rail holidays throughout Europe and can confidently say that Bike and Barge tours tops them all.
My wife, not being a cyclist hired an electric powered bike and although always being a little dubious about cycling every day finished the tour saying; " We must do this again, it's much better than the fancy cruises".
The accommodation on the barge Merlin although being tight is excellent, the food (breakfast, lunch and dinner) exceptional as were the crew and of course the scenery as we slowly cycled along the Mosel and Rhine rivers was stunning.
Thank you TripSite and particularly the good Barge "Merlin".
We highly recommend this amazing holiday experience to all those young at heart.
The 24 guests (maximum number) on board ranged from their early 40's through to an average age of about 65.
Despite several very inexperienced cyclist on board all managed the ride comfortable

Only one concern (being Australian) and that is that making payment was a bit messy.

Peter and Christine Dearle
Perth
Western Australia

The Primadonna was comfortable, well-organized, had good food and created a good tour of beautiful parts of Europe. The bikes were easy to ride and very high quality. My biggest concern is that without GPS, the routes were impossible. Even the few German speakers had trouble with the routes. I would not recommend this trip to anyone who does not know how to use it. I believe you have to have a specific plan for your phone ( and/or a European SIM card. The ship claims to have wi-fi but it is erratic. I could not text or email most of the trip. The tv’s in each room had no English channels so we were not able to track the news. We were the only Americans on the ship so we good friends of other nationalities and that was great.

This Trip should be rated Difficult and e Bike is absolutely must. Guided wiould be better option for this Trip. Hotels were supereb.

My daughter and I had an incredible time! The crew and the guides were amazing and skillfully managed any complications that arose. Despite weather complications and a variety of skill levels every day was wonderfully executed and incredibly enjoyable for all! The food was delicious and served in portions that ensured no one was leaving the table hungry

Muito Obrigado pelo passeio!!!
Superou todas as minhas expectativas, os guias ofereceram conhecimento e entretenimento e a equipe de bordo muito entusiasmada, a alimentação sensacional. E o tamanho do barco proporciona interação entre os passageiros.
Agradecemos a toda equipe do návio em especial ao Ronald, Steve e Jolene.
Luciana e Giovanni

Até Breve!!!

We loved our entry into Spain from Portugal when traveling on the Camino de Santiago. In the morning hours we boarded a small boat and huddled with our bike, we crossed the river landing on a sandy shore where we disembarked directly on a beach (felt like survivor!). Later that day we entered Baiona where we stayed at the beautiful ancient castle Castillo de Monterreal that sits prominently at the entrance to the bay. The journey rewarded us with deliciously varied seafood, awesome biking and a spiritual uplift which we felt directly when entering into Santiago de Compenstela where hundreds of other people had pilgrimaged and shared their journeys. Don't miss the delicious handmade almond cookies made by nuns (it's a bit of a puzzle to find) and the Portugese Pastal de Nata. Thank you TripSite for everything you truly were our caretaker making our travels safe!