France Tour Reviews — 271 to 300 of 981

Our group of 4 friends (2 couples) enjoyed the chateaux that we visited, the French countryside, cuisine, wine tasting, accommodations, and friendliness of the French people. We would likely not have found the hotels selected if we planned the trip ourselves and several were very unusual and enjoyable. The hotel locations were typically near a variety of restaurants. In Tours we found a very interesting museum housing journeyman crafted works in all trades that were exquisite. We also encountered a "self-service" ferry boat that was fun to operate. Angers had a chateau housing the Apocalypse tapestry that we found worthwhile.
This ride was a mix of flat and hilly days with the last day longer and hillier than the rest. One of our riders was "fit" and in his 60's and had no difficulties; I, fortunately, upgraded to an e-bike and managed fine but struggled the week before on several of the Amboise based rides (I am 74 and a lifetime rider). In addition to the subjective difficulty rating, it would be helpful to include the total elevation change in the tour listing so one can better decide between a regular bike and e-bike.
The other complaint was the quality of the maps and instructions. They are not adequate without the app that was provided though I was told the maps and ride instructions would be sufficient. (I've seen some comments on other tours about app problems, too.) I was expecting maps and instructions of the quality provided on rides in the past and these were dissimilar. Sign posting was generally good but not always. The app did manage to keep us on track, however. The app also routed us to the destination city but not to the hotel so we had to use google to find the hotel. All part of the adventure, I suppose.
The bikes were flawless and appropriate for the roads and the support from Tripsite before and during the tour, especially with my last minute request for an e-bike upgrade was excellent and greatly appreciated - a big shout out to the Tripsite team. This was our 4th Tripsite trip and we look forward to our next one.

Loved this tour. The scenery was beautiful , the historic sights amazing and our guides Sarina and Fabien were wonderful. They prepared delicious picnic lunches each day, so pretty they were worthy of a food magazine cover. The winery tour was really fun but I think my favorite part was the last days ride through the Ardeche canyon. We met up with a herd of goats who were completely unpreturbed by our presence or that of the several vehicles they blocked!

Cycling through the stunningly beautiful and varied landscapes. Not to be rushed and stop for coffee breaks to enjoy watching the locals .

I thought the whole trip was fantastic, the scenery so beautiful.
The length of the rides could have been a little longer - which a few of us took advantage on a couple of occasions to ride extra kilometres..
The guide’s first on this Trip, and the bikes were not in expected condition hence my 4..

Riding up Restonica Gorge outside of Corte really showcased the rugged beauty of this island. The pedal-assist bikes were necessary and very good quality. We appreciated our guide Georg who had encyclopedic knowledge of the history and geography of Corsica, among many other things. As the only Americans in this all-German group, we still still achieved a lively camaraderie by the end of the week. Two of the hotels were wonderful, charming and stylish; two other hotels were disappointing in their setting and service level (from someone who is picky about hotels!). Bring layers for cycling - even in hot weather there were shady downhills that got very chilly!

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.

Road cycling in and between small villages in the Loire Valley countryside is a great experience that we will remember for a lifetime. The air was fresh and clean; the farm roads and paths quiet and almost entirely car-free; and the locals we encountered along the way were delighted to attempt conversation with us. We often stopped along the way at small local patisseries, boulangeries, and ice cream shops for sustenance, which was heavenly and inexpensive by American standards. We traveled by train from Paris to the start of our tour in Orleans and again by train from the end of our tour in Le Croisic back to Paris. The trains conveniently ran frequently, quickly and on-time.

We bookended our self-guided cycling tour with a few days in Paris at both ends of the tour. We were glad that we gave ourselves time to adjust to the nine-hour time difference and the attendant rigors of travel before getting on our rental bikes in Orleans. Taking a few days at the end before returning home gave us an opportunity to visit the Palace at Versailles, the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, as well as learning how to navigate the Paris Metro and RER transit systems without the pressure of catching a flight or a train.

Our tour was customized at our request to include the routes of three six-day tours offered by Tripsite, run back-to-back. If we were to do this tour again, we'd include some extra overnight stays in the tour to give us a chance to spend more time doing activities off the bike.

We elected to purchase a dinner package. This was helpful as it made sure we had reservations at suitable restaurants where we sampled French haut cuisine that we likely would have missed had we not bought the package. In France, many smaller towns have limited dinner service on Sunday and Monday evenings, so having reservations in advance saved us from going hungry a couple of times. We also elected to purchase a château tours package, as we anticipated long lines at the ticket windows for château tours.

Our accommodations were excellent. All of them were well suited to cycle tourists, providing safe and secure places to park our bicycles overnight.

The rental bikes we used were very suitable for touring and well-maintained, and came with repair kits that came in handy when we experienced a couple of flat tires. The rental service was very accomodating when we wanted to change our pedals to SPD-style pedals and replace a non e-bike with an e-bike during the tour. The e-bike had a removable battery so we could charge it in our hotel room.

Tripsite provided an app for our smartphones, “Roadbook for Discovery.” The app proved to be useful for navigating the trip stages as it would notify us when we were off-course, provide use with descriptive information for places of interest and the availability of food and picnic areas along and near the route. It also includes an “SOS” feature that we did not need to use. Having the routes on our GARMIN GPS devices with European cycling maps would have been an improvement in navigating the routes. We learned to rely on the Loire Vélo road signs for most of our journey. Having a GPS is helpful when the "official" route is blocked or detoured.  SHOW MORE 

Bicycle riding along the Moselle was terrific. Beautiful scenery.
Guides were knowledgeable, but could have been a little more aware of riders in traffic situations.

EXCELLENT staff on the barge, Magnifique lll. Only tip for others: ENJOY the beautiful scenery and the lovely staff

Food prepared for dinners and beautiful scenery on the rides

The city of Dijon is a wonderful place to spend a few days before starting on this tour. Riding from Dijon, which I loved, I was struck by how soon I was riding through wine country. The terrain is very gentle and the vineyards are beautiful. I stopped at several vineyards and sampled some very nice pinot noir, Chardonnay and rosé wines. I found several wineries that were recommended to visit, and a few that I went off the tour route to find. The weather was beautiful, the accommodation was nice and the wineries were world class.

Cycling through french villages was simply out of this world! Take the time to get to know how to use the Sat Nav before you start, as it took us the first day to get it right, but after that it made the trip much easier. The electric bikes (although were heavier than I'm use too) were great as there are quite a few tough inclines.

Our trip was another trip of a lifetime. Number 5 with trip site. This company is the best. There is no other that will give you this type of service for the money. We have used them five times over the last 10 years and will continue to. Each trip has surpassed the last one in regards to being another trip of a lifetime that out does the one previous. Our group has gone on two trips to Croatia want to Greece/Turkey, one to Brussels and one to Germany. I will be planning the next one soon. You are missing out if you did not take advantage of this opportunity to book with trip site for any of their biking boating trips. Germany gear grinders, Croatia crazy crew, Greece gear grinders, Belgium bike bashers, more to come.

Our chef was outstanding! Our stop at a winery along the way was outstanding. Wish there were more fun stops along the way.

The Crew, The CHEF*****, The Views, The Guides, The people we met along the way!!

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

We had a great time on this trip. It is easy cycling so good for newbies. The cassoulet at the Castelnaudary lodging was excellent. As was the place itself.

We used the GPS files so no problem navigating. Others mentioned the written directions could use work. Bikes were very good and we had no problems.

Would recommend taking the alternate routes some days. They go off the canal for better views.

For a picnic lunch go to Le Relais de Sully in Villesèquelande. Very well provisioned store.

If having lunch on the last day go to Marseillan Port, not Plage. Very limited options. Or power through and stop at La Parenthèse (accès N°23) almost at Sète. For which you will pay more but beautiful beach and food.

Carcassonne was a highlight of this trip. It is an exceptional city. I plan a return visit. The weather cooperated, only one day of showers. This is my 4th bike trip using Tripsite. I highly recommend them. They are extremely responsive and helpful in planning your dream vacation.

Provence’s history is very interesting & our guide, Alex showed us some less touristy archaeological sites. Loved cycling down shaded country lanes especially as the 90-95 degree heat in Sep was a struggle at times. Be prepared for potholes and gravel on many of those scenic backroads. Add a visor to your bike helmet to ward of some of the heat & keep your energy up. The L’ Estello had a lovely upper deck lounge & eating area. The cabins are small & do not all have the same amenities (hooks, storage). The bathrooms are quite small & for anyone over 5’7” hard to move around in. There is no separate shower stall therefore everything in the bathroom gets wet; you must remember to remove anything that you don’t want to get wet which is a daily task when cycling. Instead of a train from Paris to Provence, consider a flight to Montpellier; it is a 30 min taxi ride to Aigues Mortes. Good connections from/to your North American flight make it possible for you to avoid a layover in Paris or a 4 hr train (with transfers) ride.

Trip was good, food was good, routes were good, the condition on the roads / trails chosen were not the best but that is really out of the control of Tripsite. A bit disappointed that there were no cycling jersey's on the boat for sale as well as we did not receive a Tripsite pre trip gift as we had in the past for being a repeat customer.

We were amazed at all the vineyards! We knew the area was famous for Riesling but we had no idea how immense the area was. We also loved the small villages. So much history there.

Gordes and Rousillon and St Remy where the best bike rides. Very Scenic and interesting. This is our first self guided bike ride. Hotels were friendly and great. Avignon is a great place to visit and see local culture and history.

Ride book is almost useless. helped with start of ride location. Maps are unreadable; trip route lost in all the colors. Without GPX phone maps would not have been feasible to do the rides. One phone battery is not enough for a days ride. Important you stress riders need backup phones or portable charger unit.
Bike set up was poorly handled. Phillipe was unavailable, his wife came late instead. She did not discuss all relevant issues for first time riders - pedal change mechanics, two different bike computers and operation, use of map book. Got a late start for ride in morning

The scope of the vineyards in the river valley. The manual biked were absurdly heavy and improperly geared for the route

I just did this tour from Paris to Bruges. It was awesome. At 80 I was the senior participant. Marius(Captain), Henk ( Mate), Barbara(Chef), Harm (Guide) were the highlight for me as I could converse with them in Dutch and they were most accommodating of my age. Meals were awesome, daily laundry service was a life saver and the guide, Harm was informative and entertaining with a great sense of humor. The accommodations were very comfortable. Marius obviously took great pride in his boat and the experience he provided to his clients. I would certainly sail with him again.

We have done four cycle trips in Europe using Tripsite and we loved this one the best. Our cycling tour guide Alex was so familiar with the tiny lanes, quaint villages and back country roads and we saw southern France through a lens that would not have been available to us if we had driven ourselves. She was passionate and knowledgeable about all the history that we were witnessing and there were many additional tours along the way. The Estello boat was compact, clean and well-run with delicious meals. I would highly recommend this Provence, Wilderness of Camargue tour to anyone wanting to experience the rural beauty of southern France. PS Bring your own water bottles as they are no longer provided.

I have cycled in many parts of France and this was one of the most beautiful. The tour takes you through vineyards, fields of sunflowers, fields of produce, hilltop villages, castles. We found fabulous coffee stops and great food. We choose the basic hotel package. 2 of the hotels are very basic but the beds were clean and comfortable and the meals provided were excellent. I personally would opt to upgrade next time. This tour has 2 days of hills which were doable and provided fabulous views. You need to be a regular cyclist to enjoy. It was quite something to cycle through these high vineyards and villages. I highly recommend this tour. The bikes were excellent and similar to what we use at home. We had a good hand off.The gps provided stopped working after 2 days but we easily used the ride with gps app that we had downloaded. I would make sure I had this as a backup. A couple of the restaurants and sites were actually closed down so double check before you head out. I love dealing with Tripsite as everyone is so helpful.

Cycling each day in beautiful weather. I found the seats quite hard even though I took my own memory foam seat cover. The rides are long and sitting on hard seats can be a problem, so I’d recommend taking a comfy lambs wool seat cover. Friends had one and they looked great. The guides do stop every 20 mins for a water & bathroom break which was great. The boat was really lovely, nicely decorated, our cabin downstairs was big enough to be comfortable, the food was exceptional and plenty of it. A wonderful experience overall.

The chef! The crew were fantastic and made the trip. The barge is basic and aging, but clean and well equipped. The cycling routes were full of history and beauty. A few of the back roads and bike paths were rough but manageable. The rest were fantastic.

The crew were fabulous and provided a wonderful experience. Beautiful scenery and Alex our guide explained the history of each area during our cycling adventures which was an added bonus.

Great itinerary, good hotels, beautiful scenery. Bikes in excellent condition.