4 Star France Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 240

We had a wonderful time on our 4th bike and boat trip. Our guide, Hugo, gave us so much history and information on each of our stops. He was enthusiastic and engaging, and you could tell he loves what he does. The people and crew, as always, were phenomenal! The food, prepared by our chef (I think his name was Alessandro) was beyond delicious! Hugo made each evening memorable with a special video that he created after each day’s ride. He sent the videos to each of us after the ride was complete.

However, the pace overall was too fast. Most people, including myself were on e-bikes. If I hadn’t been on an ebike, I would had trouble keeping up with the pace set by our leader, and I would not have enjoyed the ride. I don’t normally ride an ebike, and I’ve used an ebike on only one other bike/boat trip (Croatia) but I’m glad I opted for an ebike this time. I had mentioned slowing the pace a bit, but apparently, it was the pace necessary to maintain the schedule.
Also, the boat is a bit cramped for 21 riders at meal times and socializing after the ride. Overall, we had a great time and we are planning another bike/boat trip in 2028!

Overall, it was a very enjoyable tour. The maps/guides were good and easy to follow. There were a couple of instances where there were detours, but it was easy enough to get back on track as the guide had a feature to return to the route. The hotels were generally modest, but clean and comfortable; no complaints. The breakfasts were all quite satisfactory. The ebike was pre-configured to my height, it was clean, well-maintained, in good working order, although it was a very heavy machine. The battery stored enough for several days ridding. For someone in their mid-seventies, the 50-60 km per day was doable as the terrain was mostly flat and the power assist came in handy towards the end of the day, especially as a couple of the hotels were higher up off the valley floor. The scenery covered rural, vineyards, quaint villages, industrial, but always there was the river. This trip has encouraged me to consider other river-side trips.

Tour was changed to Auvers to Moret thru Paris due to low water levels. The crew adapted to the change well and represented Paris nicely. The ride routes could have been better planned, but not bad for the unexpected change. We had a great time and loved the rides between dockings.

The wine tasting experience was quite special and helpful in understanding the viniculture of the region. The 850’ climb was a challenge but very memorable in terms of the amazing views of the valley.

The food & service onboard were excellent, and the guides were helpful and attentive.

Highlights included Seeing parts of Europe one wound not ordinarily see, learning about the history and culture of Belgium and Northern France. Also the camaraderie with fellow cyclists and the crew, especially our guide Harm.

This self navigated trip covers some beautiful untrammelled scenery, along solid bike trails. Little villages with hidden gems await. Locals are friendly and helpful, food great not to mention the wine! There is little traffic to contend with allowing freedom to enjoy the beautiful countryside. We found storybook villages, Roman ruins, good restaurants and comfortable accommodations along the way. The guest house stays were especially pleasant.

This self navigated trip covers some beautiful untrammelled scenery, along solid bike trails. Little villages with hidden gems await. Locals are friendly and helpful, food great not to mention the wine! There is little traffic to contend with allowing freedom to enjoy the beautiful countryside. We found storybook villages, Roman ruins, good restaurants and comfortable accommodations along the way. The guest house stays were especially pleasant.

Francois and Martin were absolutely fabulous. They provide a wonderful holiday. They showed extreme patience and deserve full points. We were a little disappointed with the ships meals. The last meal of the trip was very good. We were expecting that quality for the trip. When you are in France you expect French food.

Although the trip was rerouted to The Netherlands I thoroughly enjoyed the biking and exploring the various cities that we rode through. All of the staff were wonderful.
It would have been nice to at least cruise an hour or two on the barge. If you biked every day this did not happen. Other than that it was a wonderful experience.

Boat was well organized, food was delicious Staffs were cheerful,knowledgeable and helpful in all aspects. At the end of the tour staffs and guests were like family, happy bunch.

Amazing views, great locations for lunch breaks (especially near lakes), beautiful towns

Hard to say a most memorable!
The fabulous crew and leader, Sara, Lisa, Didi and Micky really made this a special trip but so did the group I cycled with. It is a fabulous adventure.

Great guide (Paul). Food and cabin only marginal. Dinners were almost always cold.

This was the second leg of our Loire valley bike ride as we had done Orleans to Tour 2 years ago.
We started in Tour this time and again enjoyed the ease of the electric bikes, which was needed more so on the section especially the last day being the longest. There was an adventure on the last day having to cross the river and put our bikes on a small barge and pull ourselves across... I must admit we definitely needed my friends husband as just 2 females together i don't think we would of managed.
Overall another fabulous trip. I must say the best accommodation was at Chinon. The rooms were huge and Maurice had everything to make you feel at home,we didn't want to leave. Breakfast in the morning was like being king and queen of the castle sitting at a huge fancy dining table so much different to the other generic hotels. We will go back just to stay with him again.

The staff and the tour guides made this trip awesome. I would have given it a 5, but we were stuck on the boat in Auxerre for the week due to a broken lock on the Yonne river, so I can't rate what we didn't see. That said, our tour guides developed a beautiful series of bike rides based in our near Auxerre (all on the fly). The staff on the boat were awesome too - working together as a team and making relationships with all the guests. I can say with certainty that all 22 guests had a fantastic week.

Memorable points or cities were: Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine tasting . After lunch at the very good Aubergue de Tavel restaurant; memorable cities like Gordes, Venasque (in this hilltop town we had lunch at Les Reparts with a wonderful view); Roussilon the orange and yellow city and to close the trip with the feeling of visiting incredible places, Le Baux-de-Provence. In this town you need to leave the bike aside and walk around it, understanding the history that took place there. The whole way to get to Le Baux is beautiful, as is the return to Saint Remy.

We had an excellent on-barge experience. The crew—Didier, Omar, and Sara—were fantastic. Our captain, Didier, a fifth-generation (!) barge captain, was delightful and engaging. Omar anticipated every passenger's need, whether spoken or unspoken. Sara was an inventive chef who brought fantastic energy to the boat; her nightly descriptions of the menu made every meal feel like "dinner and a show."

Additionally, we were lucky to have an exceptional group of passengers. Our four-person group from Boston clicked immediately with the travelers from Canada and Florida. In addition to enjoying our time with them on the barge, we collaborated well during our rides to ensure everyone stayed safe, which truly enhanced the trip.

While our experience with the tour guide—an experienced biker but not a natural tour leader—was less positive, it was not enough to dampen our overall enthusiasm for the journey.

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.

Biking the back roads in Provence were the highlight of the trip for me. Stella is a comfortable boat and rooms were comfortable. Crew on the boat friendly and efficient. It would help the breakfast lines if there were two grills cooking eggs because that area became a bottleneck. The WIFI on the boat was terrible. It's one thing to have poor and inconsistent WIFI but to be charged for it is bad business practice.

Chiverney!
The scenery and castles were wonderful. We did have some problems, however. Touring Chiverney and Chamont in one day, plus riding 55k would have been too much! Only one castle a day, please. We did not ride that day due to high winds, so we took Uber to the Castles and back to Blois. The app worked sometimes, and sometimes it did not. Getting to the start point was problematic with the app. We were not told our bikes were in Blois until the guy arrived to bring our helmets and he told us. We could have been better prepared to ride if we'd had access to the bikes before 9am.

Most memorable were:
The evening spent with a family-run wine farmer; tasting and purchasing wine from the guys who made it;
Seeing the cathedral in Trier;
The covered market in Metz and other open farmer markets along the way;
The moderate biking through the picturesque Moselle wine country;
Cultural and historic insights and explanations by our guide Wim;
Getting to know other Americans on the same journey;
The great food and wine offered all but one night on the Iris;
A few minutes spent on the bridge with our captain;
And finally, enjoying the hospitality, friendliness and accommodation of the crew of the Iris and our guides Wim and Alice.
On the, "Items in need of improvement" list:
One of our guides was more knowledgeable and willing to share his knowledge than the other; she has good guide skills but is inexperienced and needs to study the route and its attractions and features a bit;
There were several falls experienced by several of our group, which was 100% composed of seniors. Seniors fall, it's a fact of life, and they fall more often on bikes, especially those who don't bike much and are awkward on a bike. Some of these "accidents" can be avoided. A better orientation the night before we depart that clearly states the rules of the road would be advisable, and reminders each night about what the guides saw that day and coaching on what could be doe to assure the safety of guests. That coaching should include: do not ride side by side to have a conversation - single file only; obey traffic signals; signal when you're coming to a stop; move your bike off the path when stopping. This kind of basic rules of the road talk is needed and some direct, private conversations with the violators would go a long way towards increased safety. I was relieved no one needed medical attention. It's unrealistic to think that none of your seniors will ever have a fall on a week-long trip, but many of them can be avoided.
The bikes have seen a long season by a variety of guests and by mid-October they have a lot of wear and tear. Might be time to sell them and replace with new ones.
The Iris is a great boat for 20 guests; I found myself hoping for a space where I could read a book in private. On another bike and barge trip in Italy on the Ave Maria there was a second deck with deck chairs and an awning. Guess I'm saying I would have preferred a larger boat.

Great tour leader and staff on board. Interesting itinerary. Accommodated our food preference.

The first part of the tour was more difficult than anticipated because of the many hills. Feniks is the smallest of all the boats we have toured with and the accommodation was very cramped. We really enjoyed our fellow travellers - 4 Canadians and 8 Australians - and the boat's crew. Our guide, Seitse, who we have travelled with on a previous tour, is one of the best in the business.

Riding along the Moselle amongst the vines and stopping at gorgeous little towns.

Distances on the bikes were reasonable and allowed sufficient time to enjoy our surroundings.

Our guide François and support staff were fabulous. The weather was perfect to see these magical sites and to enjoy cycling across the landscape. The boat staff were welcoming and the rooms very comfortable. The only reason that we are not giving this a 5 star rating is that it only became clear shortly before the trip that most of the passengers on the boat were from 1 country (in this case Germany), what that meant is that we were traveling in France yet having a German experience so more like voyeurs than a French immersion experience. The food on the boat catered to a German diet instead of a French diet (yes there were croissants in the morning and dessert crepes yet that was about it). It also seemed that none of the staff on the boat were from France. We are grateful that our tour guide and all the city guides were French and really made an effort to share the French experience!

We had an excellent time on the tour. The sites we great, biking path was paved, food and the care on the Iris was excellent.
Biking on the city bridges were not always easy. A little scary with the traffic. Loved the e-bike. Would definitely go on another bike and barge trip.

Coming down the Seine and seeing the Eiffel Tower from the boat was great.

Un general the castles we visited and the ride the last day was the best one in terms is the mix of castles and view a round the road.
On data 2-3 it was a little bit too “underpopulated”, not mucho too see for a big part of the day.. and we experienced lot of wind!

The bike paths, scenery and charming villages were amazing and as advertised. The Obernai to Riquewihr ride was not as advertised. Due to the steep climb at the end, we all ended up walking our bikes up the last portion as e-bikes passed us. I don’t think this should be advertised as “moderate”.

The hotels were generally very good, a few comments:
• On arrival at Hotel Diana Dauphine in Strasbourg, we were advised that our bikes would be made available the next morning. When I confirmed this shortly after, we were given access to our bikes that evening, however the receptionist did not have the required luggage tags. I contacted the hotline and the representative from Espace Randonee, was rude and insisted that the receptionist had the tags. After I assured him we had checked with 2 different receptionists, he said he would contact them. The luggage tags were made available shortly thereafter. Communication with Espace Randonee was an issue.
• In Colmar we were advised that, due to the large group from Vermont Bike Tours, there were only 2 superior rooms available (not 3).
• We were disappointed that the trip ended in Saint-Louis, France. The hotel was underwhelming and there wasn’t much to do. As of today, your website still reflects Basel, Switzerland as the final destination. This is misleading and should be changed.