Europe Tour Reviews — 211 to 240 of 7333

Awesome trip. Really enjoyed biking along the Portuguese coast.
We had 6 on our trip, 3 e-bikers and 3 human powered bikes. The human powered bikers were able to keep pace with the e-bikes except for the steep hills. It turns out that the cobblestone streets and dirt trails are self limiting on the speed of e-bikes.

The Torre do Rio and Parador de Baiona hotels were the highlight of the trip.

I had some frustrations:
1. The Ride with GPS directions did not match the GPS device directions
2. The GPS device directions were wrong for the boat crossing and no advanced warning that the boat launch location may differ was given.
3. The route lead you to paths that were clearly marked as bicycles prohibited
4. The elevation gain numbers did not match across any of the literature. It was off by hundreds of meters depending on where you looked.

We had no previous experience with a bike tour. We really appreciated the guided aspect of this tour and Sergio and Pedro were excellent guides. We chose the e-bikes because of the flexibility it provided to make our riding as easy or as difficult as we wanted. We recognized that some in our group chose regular bikes and adjusted our riding on the steep inclines knowing it would take them longer to get to the rest stop and cheered them on as we waited for them. The scenery is so stunning and made ride that much more enjoyable. All the hotels were excellent and the food was all wonderful. Each city we stopped in was beautiful. The only suggestion we would make is to make less stops along the Camino and get to the hotel around 3pm each day. That way, even if the rooms are not ready people can can go have lunch and then return to check in and relax before dinner and site seeing.

Out cycle guide was excellent! We were less satisfied with the Arosa Stella. Promised free internet was not provided and paid internet was poor. Some issues with no AC in rooms, and intermitent hot water. Food was good but were expecting more local French meal options. The food was very German, probably because of large Swiss German and German numbers on the boat. Just seemed to be less of a Provence France experience with very German buffets.

I totally enjoyed our trip. The biking was wonderful and I appreciate Leslie taking time to brief us before each ride, it was so helpful.

The scenery on the biking routes were incredible and Brugge was amazing

The scenery on the biking routes were incredible and Brugge was amazing

Biking the wonderful trails along the Danube. The quality of the e-bikes was superb. breakfast was always great. Plenty of variety. Dinner was 3-4 stars. Fish was the most consistent as far as preparation and flavor. I did like the option of ordering more or less quantity. I didn’t appreciate being charged for water - especially when dining. Overload of information prior to next days ride. KISS. ALL IN ALL AN ENJOYABLE VACATION.

I did the self-guided pre trip, Bolzano to Mantova, the mountains and landscape are incredibly beautiful. Loved visiting places I had never been, i.e., Trento is lovely. The meal prepared by the chefs on the Ave Marie were amazing, better than other barge trips I've taken.
On the downside, I was a solo traveler so I was assigned single hotel rooms, and my room at the Magdalena in Bolzano was the size of a closet with a single shorter than average twin sized bed. But I booked and paid for a double on the barge portion of the trip. The same one time trip cost as couples paid. I should not have been penalized for being a solo traveler since I paid the same amount as couples.
The only other feedback is related to the group size. There were 25 or more of us on bikes. It's like herding cats, plus we overwhelmed the local coffee shops and cafes when made scheduled stops.

We enjoyed learning about the culture and history of the areas we visited. Our guides were knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

For the record, we are very skilled cyclists who do not use E bikes. We have been doing tours with the company Tripsite for over 20 years all over the world. We are not competitive cycle racers. We are very experienced Bicycle tourists. This Tenerife tour features very challenging and very picturesque cycling on literally, World Class, cycling training routes frequented by the pros. Because of the elevation profiles, the clean air and excellent hydration and nutrition options; we fully understand why they come here. The automobiles treat the cyclists with regard because of legal ramifications in this country. Yet, there are occasional fatalities just because high speed cycling is extremely dangerous for cars and bikers. This is not for the occasional, flat land only, recreational cyclist. It’s tough and beautiful too. We loved every hotel with each, their own, unique characteristics, whether it was in a more quiet part of town with great bus service or if it was in the stunning national Park. Many of these lodgings were associated with excellent dining options up to the Michelin level. The local operator provides high Performance Bikes, which are necessary for the steep grades of long ascent and descent, as well as wind, altitude and elevation challenges. The expert services support and recommendations from the logistical tour operators to the bike shop mechanics and each hotel reception were some of the best we’ve ever experienced. We loved that the hiking tour guide, Sandra, could facilitate climbing local mountains or give cultural and nature based tours. Likewise, the cycling company can provide cycling performance training as well as touring Bicycle logistics and not only on Tenerife, but on other Canary Islands as well. We admit that this trip did cost more than expected, but one must consider the long distances in the logistics between Hotels and the quality of everything provided. The company Tripsite does offer wonderful options at all levels of price point and challenge and we certainly appreciate working with them for so many years.
We were absolutely thrilled with the trip.

History of medieval towns and ways of life. The boat, it's crew and it's accommodation were of a very high standard. We will do more of these combined sailing and biking trips, for sure!

This tour is well planned and offers a intetestung cross section of the Costa Brava And inland areas. We chose th spend an extra night in two of the stops which enabled us to take those areas in instead of just pass through. Really enjoyed that.

Being the Madian voyage with the crew was a fabulous experience. Great guides, amazing food and wonderful experiences.

Thoroughly enjoyed our "boat & barge" trip on the Duoro. We were a group of 11 (family & friends) and enjoyed the time on both the boat and shore. Aside from our 6 cycling days, we were offered a walking tour of Porto, dinner at a winery and a port company tour and tasting. Cycling was enjoyable and gave us a good overview of the countryside, small villages and local customs. Our cycling guides, Horacio and Kevin were excellent! They were informative, supportive and patient in dealing with 16 riders of varying abilities and comfort levels.
Most of our meals were onboard and they were great - lots of options for every course and meal. Service staff were friendly and accommodating.
Cabins were comfortable & well appointed and housekeeping services were wonderful.