2 Star France Tour Reviews — 1 to 14 of 14
Sharon E.
12 months ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux to Sarlat Wine and E-Bike Tour
France
Several of our friends have used your company in Portugal and have been very pleased. They mentioned meeting an area manager before the ride for an orientation, as well as raving about their awesome hotels. Please let us know if you would like further details, but sadly we were quite disappointed in this ride that we were very much looking forward to.
Carla • 2 months ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Sharon, Thank you so much for leaving a detailed review. I am so sorry about the inconvenience of the detour you had to take. Unfortunately sometimes we are not aware of construction until a client informs us. The route has since been reviewed and adjusted accordingly.
We are also disappointed to hear you did not enjoy the L'Ostal de Pombonne. This is a highly rated accommodation and most of our customers enjoy their stay, however I understand it may not be everyone's cup of tea. For future reference, it is possible to request city center accommodations for the duration of your tour.
Nevertheless we hope you were able to bring home many great memories from your trip!
Silvia S.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Caprice Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France
The route and group were amazing! The cities are very nice and historical… what I fell could be better is reception of participants of tour… inviting each one to identify oneself with others, to make a group… And I think our guide wasn’t so careful with the group… so quick some days… with no explanation about the beautiful little towns we were!! So pity!!
And they could help us about car parking before tour… You could have better support to guests.
Richard S.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Luxury Castles of the Loire
France
This was a self guided tour and the directions provided were terrible. Spent a lot of time lost
Carla • 7 months ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Richard - We appreciate you taking the time to leave us feedback. We're so sorry the inconvenience the route descriptions may have caused. We'd like to point out that we do offer GPS tracks for download on your personal device (GPS or GPS app on your phone) to avoid getting lost at all! The routes & descriptions are reviewed before the start of a season to ensure all is well marked and correct. We always say, sometimes getting lost is inevitable when you're too busy enjoying the sights, but certainly it should not be a reoccurring issue.
Rick M.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
The boat was quite old and noisy. Due to either river conditions or dock accommodations, the skipper had to move the boat off the dock multiple times during the days and at night, disrupting sleep for many of the guests. Air conditioning did not work in several of the cabins, and the crew was very slow to repair. At our "welcome aboard" briefing, we were told that there were 130 life vests on board the vessel, and that was the extent of the safety briefing - nothing about where they were located or how to don them. No word about where fire extinguishers were located. Nothing about how to get off the boat in an emergency. If there was an AED on board, it was well hidden!
Several of the young ladies in the crew were very friendly and helpful to the passengers, but others were not very helpful at all - The Captain could best be described as an old Curmudgeon. Time for him to retire! The bikes were Read More old and somewhat worn out. Very little help from the crew with getting them set up and ready to roll each day. The first day of "bike fitting" was pandemonium, with 80+ people all trying to get their bikes at once. Probably could have been a little better organized - as could several other aspects of the trip. Our guide was trying very hard to do the best he could, but he was handicapped by a lack of experience and local area knowledge. His regular job was working in the office for the boat company, and I suspect he was pressed into service as a guide, probably because so many people requested the guided option.
The food was generally good, but there was no choice during evening meals. If you happened not to like duck, too bad!
While the crew and the company had no control over the weather, it rained almost every day, and to top it all off, I found I really prefer California/Washington wines to any we tasted in the Bordeaux region.
While this was our first barge experience, we have taken many other cycling trips, with other companies. In general, they have all been far more organized an better executed than this trip. The bikes were always better in quality and better maintained by the crew. The tour leaders were far more informed and informative about the areas we were riding in.
Bottom line: I will not take another bike/barge trip through your company, nor can I recommend your trips to others.
Diane F.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
So the food was very disappointing for the price we paid for this trip. The food servers were very friendly and worked hard to please. The bike mechanic was great and solved any issues we had with the bikes. The captain of MS Bordeaux was always impatient and gruff with passengers as we disembarked each day. On the Danube trip, the staff ensured the bikes were on land for us each day. The GPS's in Bordeaux did not work most of the time and the maps in the books need updating - this is a comment that has been in the Bordeaux reviews for several years now. A team discussion and group effort allowed us to find our way.
The most disappointing aspect of the trip is that my concerns were expressed to Tripsite and left unanswered for over a month until I called Tripsite back, and nothing was resolved for me. Just be sure to evaluate if the quality of food and customer service are an important part of your trip - otherwise, enjoy the great rides!
Jayne Allerton
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Loire Valley Bike and Boat - 2019
France
Trip Name: Loire Valley rerouted to St. Mammés/Sens
We have new two lessons learned from this experience:
1. Never book on a boat that is not crewed by the owner; and
2. Never book accommodations that do not show you the state and size of the washroom.
After reading the mostly average reviews of the barge before booking, we decided to take a chance on booking the Loire Valley boat and bike itinerary on the Anna Maria IV. However, due to low water conditions on the Loire, the itinerary was changed to the Seine and the Yonne rivers. While disappointed in the change, the new route was more than fine with challenging rides and beautiful scenery.
John, the tour guide did a great job leading us through new territory.
The new bikes were excellent, and John was able to fix the odd flat tire along the way.
Unfortunately, no evening city walks were provided due to the itinerary change.
The boat captain was Read More only on the barge for 4 days and 3 nights. While we had very little interaction with him, he was pleasant and got us from dock to dock with no problems- always a challenge with low water levels.
The barge. Well, we knew it would be small since this is our third bike barge on the same category of ship. But this was by far the smallest and least comfortable. The sinks are in the sleeping area and take up much of the non-bed space. One’s feet were actually in the shower when using the toilet. And, there was literally no room to unpack items - the small bins under the bed didn’t stay on their racks, making them useful for only the lightest of items.
But, the worst part of the entire week was the service provided by the crew/host. Unfortunately, there was only one crew member for 13 guests - thank goodness we were not at the 18 guest capacity.
Our feeling is that she did not like her job and found us an inconvenience to her social life. We felt like we had to fit into her schedule rather than her recognizing we were customers! And, boy, was she not a morning person!
While one can accept a person having a bad day or being a few minutes late once in a while, one should not have to experience the lack of organization and attention to detail that we received the entire week. If this was our first bike barge trip, I doubt we would ever do one again.
In summary, the captain was responsible for the movement of the ship. The guide was responsible for our cycling experience. The host was responsible for our on-board experience. But with no one in charge, there was no single person responsible for our overall experience.
While the on-board experience was extremely disappointing, the cycling was great, and the other passengers amazing. In fact, without the camaraderie of the other passengers this would have been a miserable week.
Mark H.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France
The general biking was above average , with some awesome sites visited.
As far as the accommodation was concerned this was below average.
Although the space was confined more emphasis could have been done to the quality and hospitality of stay.
Kathryn K.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Northern Normandy
France
We had a great time touring the area. The hills were a challenge! The hotel food was varied and tasty.
Beth M.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
I am commenting on the Bordeaux tour which I decided to go on last minute. If I had done my research on the boat & room size I wouldn’t have gone. My husband is 6’6” and the cabin was too small & very uncomfortable. I don’t know how it gets the Comfort Plus rating, all of the cabins on the lower level with the exception of one were all very small, & from other fellow pax comments, the upper level was not much better. This was our third trip with TripSite, we thoroughly enjoyed the 2 prior trips. We are sorry to say that the Bordeaux trip was underwhelming as far as scenery & bike routes.
Wendy from Tripsite • 5 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Beth,
I'm sorry that you found the boat not up to the comfort plus standards you are used to from your other tours. Yes, the cabins on this boat are smaller than other boats in this class. To clarify the classification...in the past, boats that offered air conditioned cabins were automatically placed in the comfort plus category which is why this boat was in that class. However, we have recently reconfigured our boat classification system and now rate the Bordeaux boat in the comfort class. I personally think the scenery doesn't get much better than this beautiful region of France!
Patti P.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Anna Maria IV Loire Valley Bike and Boat - 2019
France
The best part was traveling with friends. I would have enjoyed more information about the area and towns we were traveling through.
Ann B.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Fleur Montargis to Paris
France
The time on the boat was fun and enjoyable. Your description of the bike ride being easy to moderate was way off. It should have been described as hard to difficult!! It was very misleading.
Elaine Newman • 3 years ago
Could you please tell me what you found difficult about this trip? Were there a lot of steep hills etc?
Lisa S.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
We traveled on the ship Bordeaux in France. The bike routes were beautiful, but the instructions provided by not so great. No worries, we had maps and a GPS, we made each day into an adventure!!!
Veronica H.
7 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Bordeaux the best city on trip for us. Trip is not easy because of traffic and hills---scary!!!
Wendy from Tripsite • 6 years ago Tripsite Staff
This tour is a mix of days with flat/easy riding and days with occasional hills/moderate riding hence the rating easy/moderate. It is important to keep in mind that our ratings are based on riders who ride often and are accustomed to riding on varied paths and terrain. There are times that you will be on shared roads and depending on the time of day, you may encounter some traffic so we recommend a vest like our reflective one.
D. Miller
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France
The ship, captain and crew were wonderful. Our guide was totally unacceptable!
My only complaint regarding the boat was due to the small cabins. The French locks are narrow, so the boat is narrow, making the rooms a bit to small for my comfort.
Our main concern was the unprepared tour group leader. She was constantly undecided on how to proceed. I think it was more trying to please the group than not knowing what to do. There should have been a route guide for each person (all we received was a large map with no route shown on it). She needed to be a leader rather than a friend!
All Tour Reviews by Country
Boat/Barge Reviews
- Magellan
- Magnifique I
- Magnifique II
- Magnifique III
- Magnifique IV
- Mare fan Fryslân
- Merlijn
- Florentina
- Normandie
- Princess
- Olympia
- Panagiota
- Pape Prvi
- Primadonna
- Princesse Royal
- Prinzessin Katharina
- Romantica
- RV River Kwai
- Sailing Home
- San Snova
- Sarah
- Stella
- Sundial
- Swiss Crown
- Thalassa
- Flying Dutchman
- Vietnamese Junks
- Vita Pugna
- Vivienne
- Wending
- Zwaan
- Zwaantje
