Europe Tour Reviews — 2221 to 2250 of 6870

The cycling and the boat Yolo exceeded my expectations. The boat was 5 stars. The rooms were beautiful and the staff were very helpful.
The cycling on e bikes made it an enjoyable experience. It was hot and hilly so e bikes made it so much easier. There was plenty of time for sight seeing in the islands and there were plenty of swimming spots that were perfect

It was an amazing experience for an active individual. E-bike is the way to go. Early risers should pack Instant coffee.

It’s very hard to pick the “most” memorable…but probably the day of cycling through the Wachau Wine valley would top the list. The scenery was just magnificent that day. But truly, every day was beautiful, whether we were directly along the river, or cycling through farmlands. We upgraded to e-bikes this time, and that was definitely the right choice for us. The terrain is mostly flat, and the daily distances are not far, but having e-bikes made it more relaxing for us. I felt like I could linger in the small towns without having to check my watch to be sure I could make it to the boat on time. About half of the 90 passengers on our tour had e-bikes. Seeing the big cities was another highlight, but of course we only got a small taste of them. The staff of the Vivienne went out of their way to make us comfortable, and I can’t say enough about the food! Five course dinners every night, and everything was delicious.

For me the most memorable part of the trip was meeting all the passengers and crew and enjoying their company for a week. The rides each day that were planned were great and I can't say enough about the food we had on the boat. I would do another boat/bike trip again!

The scenery

As our trip leader was well aware, I preferred the scenic countryside to the hectic intersections of the bigger cities. Though I was glad to see Leiden, Haarlem and Delft, it is a consideration when picking a tour. Crew was great and the meals surpassed expectations!

We were dissatisfied with the fit of the bikes. Care was not taken to size the bike to the rider and several of our members dealt with bikes too big for them - a safety issue! Also, my nephew had to trade seats with me to make my ride much more comfortable - that left him with a less desirable seat - those options should be the responsibility of the tour company and back up equipment should be available on site.

We will always remember the ride through the beautiful scenery of the Danube river, and the chance to meet so many people from different countries and learn the different cultures. We were also impressed with the crew members skill to get the barge thru multiple locks, the smooth ride on the boat. In addition, the tour director, Leslie's attention to details, Hans, the bike master to fix and adjust bikes for us. It was a wonderful experience for us. We loved the challenge to ride and comfort to be on a boat and relaxing afterwards. The only bad thing about the experience is to allow people smoking in the back of the sundeck and it would be best to make it nonsmoking tour.

The accommodations were very good in each case.

The GPS for the 3 of us had problems and others riding with us from Hong Kong (They may not have been trip site) had GPS problems also.

This is a very unique trip and feels like a hidden treasure. It is also very personalized with a "guide" all to your group- this off course dependes on how full it is for the specific week, but it doesn't seem like they carry more than 4 people often.

We were 2 and were able to decide departure times, small detours or stops.
This felt like a luxury!
It starts in the first finger of the Peninsula, with a very nice first ride (on the second day) where you hopefully arrive to Costas apartments who is the nicest host you will meet.

The thermal waters were a nice smelly treat and walking distance - it is a one hour activity as it is not a fully functioning spa.
The second day bike ride is nice, stopping at a unique beach. And then an hour car ride to the second finger.

The third ride is the most beautiful ride of my life, it has some off road. The roads that are just for yourself, don't expect any coffee stops as there is basically nothing in the road.

Because we book late we were not able to stay at port Kofu and that was probably the nicest stop, so we skip one of the rides and had a relaxing day at Vourvorus which is a nice beach touristic town. The last day of riding takes you to the last finger which is a beautiful ride with some steep but very nice climbs.

My highlight of the trip is how different the three fingers are.
This peninsula is where Greeks, Bulgarians, Romanians go to vacation and that also makes it very unique.

Tips:
If you have a computer bike take it with you or if not a bike holder for your phone, it helps you be very independent on the rides. The maps are easily uploaded to komoot or wahoo computers.

Start early, you will get beautiful sunrises and no intense heat.
We planned the breakfast to go or stopping somewhere with the guide as we don't like to ride full, but that is personal preference.

Cons
The bikes were not the best and more than that they needed to be serviced. In hindsight we could have asked them to have them serviced and assure the size since we are both small and they brought the wrong size of bike for my partner.

The "guide" was very nice and extremely accomodating. I was hoping he spoke Greek and it would have made some check-ins easier, but he was prepared for the trip.

Very nice hotel, Enjoy Garda Bike hotel, we recommend to stay there and the staff is so helpful and nice.
Perfect stay :)

Biking through the sand dunes and pine forest

The scenery was great. The other riders in our group coupled with the ride was memorable. Tip: next time I will bring shirts from Goodwill, wear them, then donate them in whatever city we are in. That way I won't have smelly shirts in my luggage and more room for souvenirs.

The TripSite trip could not be improved upon!
I have made a trip like this to Europe 15 times and this one was the best!

Biking through small villages and seeing castles and gorgeous churches on the hillside.

An opportunity to see and bike the less traveled. The barge moored in quiet off the beaten path places - but each had something to offer. The crew on AveMaria was amazing, worked well together, made our travels very comfortable and the chefs were top notch. It would have been nice if half way through the trip the bed linens were changed out. We appreciated access to the wonderful cappuccino maker and access to chilled drinking water (both still and bubble). It would be helpful to include that guests should bring along their own water bottle. It was a very memorable adventure.

The most memorable part was trying to find the ship at the first day. When I receive at home the "How to reach the starting point", I already had doubts and wrote to you about it.
Trying to call the number you mention several time with no answer all did not contribute to a the starting of the journey.

This tour was a big disappointment for me. Before you book read this review!
First of all, the itinerary: Days 1-4 are a waste of time. Don’t expect to see anything scenic or interesting for 4 days. First night/day 2 are in maestre, you may as well be in Akron Ohio. Boring, industrial, hotel is next to some car dealerships. Cycling begins with a trek through Maestre into Venice where you catch 2 ferries. BEWARE, ferry #2 takes max 4 bikes, as 28 lined up behind us to load only 4 every half hour. Some waited 3-4 hours to get on a ferry. Day 2 ends in Carole. What a dump. Cheap cheesy family destination for young families on limited budget, hotel smells of wet towels. The cycling is a grueling mix of relentless sunshine with nary a patch of shade, endless cornfields and gravel and dirt “roads”.
Did you want to see the Adriatic? You will have to wait, cornfields, and bumpy gravel roads await you. Occasionally we passed through some of the most unremarkable towns that I never needed to know and will now forget.
Day three description reads: “ride towards the Julien alps”. Why even write this? You could write “ride towards Ireland” and it would be equally as relevant. There is not a hill or mountain in sight. Day three you wind up in Portogruaro. Another subpar hotel. Tiny tiny room, uncomfortable beds, more weird musty smells and poorly functioning AC. ( we paid for the hotel “upgrade”, I shudder to think what the base price rooms were.)
Finally at the end of day 4, suffering from Stockholm syndrome we encountered a few columns from an ancient Roman structure and took some pictures so our friends and family wouldn’t know what fools we were to be spending time in Italy this way. Aquileia is comparatively cute, but perhaps we were starved for scenery by then. There are probably 5 or 6 restaurants and there’s a pretty church.
Days 5-7 offer a bit more to see and we finally spend some time cycling by the Adriatic. The route provided to exit Trieste on day 5 was a one hour tour of shipyards and industrial parks, thanks for that. Slovenia and Porec were both charming. Most of our group were exhausted upon arrival every day, one gentleman was injured. Everyone seemed generally disappointed in the bike routes and the lack of scenery.
Hotels ranged from nothing special to downright bad throughout. I DO NOT recommend this tour. For reference, last year we did Norway cycle/hike and were blown away with the hotels, scenery, inclusions, route etc. Book that!

A wonderful experience! Lovely like-minded people on board, the staff were professional and very nice people, the boat comfortable and well appointed. Meals were outstanding and the entertainment was fun in the evening(especially 70s night). Bikes are well taken care of and suit the terrain well(glad I had an E bike and it was worth the supplemental fee). The time in the cities didn't seem long enough to visit many of the famous sites, but we knew this was the trade off in this type of adventure, and the time on board while travelling the Danube was easily spent talking with new friends or having a beer with the 7 friends I travelled with. The Trip Site staff were great in their support during the entire planning process, especially Claudia. Highly recommended

The boat, staff and experience were exceptional, plus the food and 5 or 6 course meals were incredible. This was a memorable experience for my group of eight. We loved every moment of this amazing bicycle trip along the Danube River through small villages, into large cities and along the peaceful beautiful Danube River. Our rooms were very nice with a good sized bathroom. We had plenty of room for storing our clothes and gear, even hiding our suitcases in the provided storage cabinet under our beds. The crew has thought of everything, they even have a small store on board to buy all sorts of gear, clothing and other items. They even lent helmets to those that wanted them - we had lugged our from home.

Beautiful French countryside with amazing staff aboard the L'Estello. A special shout-out to our outstanding chef, Josef;steward, Alice; tour leader, Alessandra, and Captain Filippo. The daily rides were fun! There were interesting places to visit everyday.

The trip allowed us to see the smaller cities and beautiful country side of northern Italy. The crew was outstanding and the food wonderful.

Leaving Wachova toward Tulln. The gentle rolling hills covered with terraced field of grapes; it was breathtaking.

Wow , what a well organized trip , our bikes were out every morning just waiting for us . The staff on the boat were fantastic, they are hard working people from different parts of the world . Very friendly and willing to help in anyway . I would recommend this trip and your company to everyone. The boat was very clean ,food was great and if you didn’t like a certain food they did a great job accommodating you . We will certainly be doing another trip with your company . Very please with or service . The scenery along the route was spectacular ! Beautiful countryside. I highly recommend this trip. Janet M

THIS TRIP IS AMAZNG! This was probably one of the most beautiful trips I have ever been on and I have travelled to over 40 countries! The boat director, "Leslie" and the crew of the Vivienne were bar none in their service. The food was high grade, the boat clean and elegant and the crew was OUTSTANDING. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys food, art and FUN! Even on the hot days, Leslie and crew made it memorable. Loved the 70's party! Leslie proved over 200 outfits for the guests to wear and he was attentive to every guest, even with a broken wrist. THANK YOU for a the trip of a lifetime. You can be darn certain that I will be back! Such a great time! Thank you Tripsite and Rad-Riessan Eurocyle (spelling?) for making this happen All of the venues were amazing but the last ride in the wine country of Austria was spectacular! LOVED EVERY MINUTE! THANK YOU to the professionals at Tripsite, the crew of the Vivienne and Leslie the amazing cruise director. WIth much gratitude and appreciation, Wendy.

It would have nice to have access to a tire repair kit or at the very least, a way to contact bike repair shops that are open. It would have been nice to be able to order water and not have to pay $7 for a bottle. It would have been nice to have shorter rides so that we'd have time to stop and see the sights along the way.

The tour from start to finish was better than 5 Star ,we could not fault anything from the navigation,hotels ,routes and the staff that collected and fetched us were superb,we had time during the day to stop at the outstanding beaches and have a swim or food and drink.

Just completed this tour a couple of days ago. The scenery was beautiful and diverse. The tour organization was excellent with super responsive local personnel who appreciated being contacted as the tour progressed. The luggage was moved efficiently and on time. The hotels, although basic for the most part, were well placed along the route. We used e-bikes, and were happy with their operation. We were especially glad to have them in the face of head winds that tended to blow through the canyons. It was a great way to see the natural surroundings and the cultural lives of local folks. It was a good one!

The Magnifique IV is as comfortable and roomy as a canal barge can be. The crew and guides were caring and attentive, performing their roles perfectly. The meals were lovely, excellent, beautifully prepared and presented.
The daily routes were delightful, with a dramatic scenic build as we entered The Netherlands and approached Amsterdam.
Bring a strap-on water bottle cage for easy and frequent hydration during the day.

Most memorable were the seaside and inland bicycle and leisure experiences: swimming the Adriatic was a surprise along with the picturesque medieval coastal cities and medieval hilltop towns. All in the company of fun staff and other bikers, despite the fact that there were only 2 of us from the US. Almost everyone on board spoke English. Mid-June was a great time to go, with lovely green vineyards and olive groves, lots of blooming flowers, more moderate air temperatures with refreshing water temperatures for swimming. E- bikes made the otherwise challenging uphills easy.
Patsy Venema

Beautiful days of biking with great options for tours on the ‘rest’ days. Seeing a small part of Bratislava and Budapest was fascinating. Our cruise director Leslie offered great suggestions for unique restaurants, special tours for specific interests (historical, foodie, libraries, best photos of the area, etc. ). Onboard food was excellent with many tasty vegetarian choices.