3 Star France Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 52

  Clair de Lune Loire Valley Bike & Boat
France

Arriving in Nevers I was surprised at how difficult it was to get a taxi at 4:30 pm and no ride share companies, took well over an hour.
Was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was, Chris has a great personality and a fabulous chef. Sara, served us well and the bike/barge trip was good. It was slow season so towns we rode to were pretty but desolate.

  Clair de Lune Loire Valley Bike & Boat
France

Crew was engaging and friendly.
Hats off to Chris the food was delicious.
Bike maintenance was sub par. My front bikes never worked. Some riders had Saddle issues, chains/derailers not shifting correctly. One of the e-bikes was broken and the guest was forced to ride hybrid bike. Another ebike should have been offered to her.
Ed, our guide did the best he could regarding the route since he was not familiar with the area. Most of the ladies were under the impression there was going to be more wine tastings along the way. I was there to cycle and easily could’ve done 60 miles a day or more. I realize there was many different cycling levels in the group. I personally own Mtn ebike and an analog mountain bike. I wasn’t too impressed with the e-bikes provided.

  Feniks Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France

Riding through the Belgium and France country-sides on our bicycles..

  Caprice Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

Pack lightly. Rooms are extremely small but well air conditioned.
I really don't have a favorite part. It was not a relaxing trip as the bruge to Amsterdam tour was. This took us through more crowded towns that were difficult to navigate due to traffic. It was extremely hot which added to the difficulty. Food on the boat was great but breakfast and lunch were repetitive. Crew was awesome and very accommodating.

  Fleur Northern Burgundy
France

Places we visited like Sens and Auxerre.

  Feniks Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France

The crew was the best! A definite ten + in every way. Dinners were excellent and crew always available to us. Nelleka lent us her fan at night! Harm great guide. Fiona excellent skipper and Reinier always helpful. Great atmosphere. It would have been nice to have some special stops, maybe a cooking class, winery and more info about special sites would be good. Tour description clearly stated that barge has Wi-Fi and air conditioning. It was very hot and ac very spotty and not available at night. No wifi.

  Clair de Lune Strasbourg to Nancy
France

There were several memorable parts:
Both Strasbourg and Nancy are beautiful cities with a great deal of medieval charm; the Valley of the Locks with its dried abandoned channels and locks, and of course, the St Louis-Arzviller lock, where lock, water and boats are lifted (or lowered) 42 m, replacing 17 locks we saw abandoned; our boat, the Clair de Lune and its friendly and competent crew, the smallest barge we had ventured in till then, but that it showed us the efficiency of its cabin layouts to remove previous concerns about barge size to the point that we are booking another trip on a similar sized barge next year.

  Clair de Lune Strasbourg to Nancy
France

The boat elevator.

  Fleur Northern Burgundy
France

Being in France on a bike with new friends and having a wonderful barge and crew to meet our needs.

Amboise in the Loire Valley
France

The most memorable part was the quality of the bikes. Negatively memorable. They were very heavy. Definitely not of the same quality we had on the barge. I recommend a different supplier. Otherwise enjoyed the area and the hotel.

  Caprice Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

Staff and food were wonderful. Caprice barge has nice upper deck and dining facility. But cabins are beyond tiny, which we could have been happy with (and given 5 stars) if not for the following: Each guest is issued one towel set to be changed only once during the 8 night stay. The problem is during a humid or hot athletic trip, there's no way to dry the towels or to wash or dry athletic clothing, no place to hang them in ventilated area. We packed light with intent to wash, and couldn't. Clothing was "toxic" by end of trip! On an active trip, there needs to be laundry available, even if guests do it themselves. We found out on last day of trip there was full size washer/dryer on boat, but not accessible to guests.

  Caprice Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

Compared to our other trips, the Caprice felt very cramped i.e very limited on deck room for groups. Probably should add a Caprice clothes line to dry clothes, minor but very handy
breakfast was ok but repetitive, other trips had a buffet and especially cooked hot items
suppers were hit or miss, I thought ok but most of our group thought mediocre
guide was excellent as were bike stops, especially the Aqueduct-Pont du Gard, Palais des Papes, swimming in the med, light show. Probably should add a visit to a winery. Consider precharging for some events i.e. colosseum, light show kamisky and Cezanne) , museums,--Palais des Papes, Van Goughs asylum etc) rather than make them optional as some folks are tightwads and really miss out on a fuller experience.
Cycling guidebook is excellent

Good crew

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

Not moving and sitting next to a mud bank and a muddy river made the first couple of days disappointing. The rest of the trip was very good with Bordeaux and St. Emilion being the highlight of the trip. The staff and food was exceptional!

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

The bike routes were good and some of the stops at vineyards were excellent but other vineyards were not really interested in providing tastings even when they had been pre-arranged by the boat company. The old bikes were in bad shape but the new bikes were of excellent quality. The e-bikes were a godsend to riders that struggled with the hills on the second day. Unless you are are a fairly strong rider the e-bikes were needed on 2 of the days. The bike mechanic was great and the GPS was helpful when it worked but it was not reliable. Paper maps were needed as a back-up. The rooms on the ship were cramped but OK overall. Our biggest concern was that the food was really BAD. We could not eat several dishes and they sometimes ran out of the main course.
Overall, given the steep price, we would not recommend this tour. Other barge and bike tours are much better value.

  Anna Maria IV Loire Valley Bike and Boat - 2019
France

The castle tours were amazing. Sophie (coordinator on the Anna Marie IV) was adorable. Really enjoyed her and her nightly meals. The trip was not the Loire, because of water levels and sorry to say that it was just OK, but not much more. The main thing missing that I had expected was a trip to a vineyard. That would have made a big difference.

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

Guides were absolutely world-class in all respects: knowledgeable, safe, proactive and TOTALLY guest-oriented. Is there a description more favorable that "FANTASTIC?!"

Castles of the Loire
France

The Loire was wonderful, Jon the guide was wonderful and Lunch in Adon was Magnifique!

Mainz to Strasbourg
Germany, France

We really liked the MS Arkona, the staff and our F&B head mgr. Routes were Ok, but need better route descriptions esp for English speakers. Electric bikes were excellent! Def the better way to really enjoy the ride!

  Anna Maria IV Loire Valley Bike and Boat - 2019
France

Most memorable-one big friendly group. Chef and Pilot were fine; guide and barge were adequate.

Famous Villages of Provence
France

My trip was the Villages of Provence. A wonderful area to bike through. I would suggest that the orientation be set for a determined amount of time to allow for complete question and answer time. Also it would be helpful to go through the use of the GPS thoroughly. The bike maintenance was not done prior to our week long trip. The tail light and the computer on my bike did not function properly. All in all the hotels, service, food, and ambience were wonderful. I’d highly recommend this trip to intermediate to advanced cyclists.

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

It was an altogether pleasant experience; the highlight was the lovely little village of Saint-Émilion.

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

Beautiful chateaus. Great wine. Not allowed to drink in cabin. Cabin extremely small. Shower barely fit one person. Guide excellent. No sauna or hot tub. I would recommend this trip but not this boat (the Bordeaux).

  Feniks Paris to Reims
France

A great trip in many ways. Good staff - helpful and friendly. Good scenic route with chances to visit places of interest, very good food. Only draw back was problems with 3 out of 4 'E' bikes and a lack of expertise in how to fix them causing stress to some riders.