France Tour Reviews — 571 to 600 of 737

Burgundy - Paris to Auxerre
France

This was a great bike and barge trip, although we originally had not chosen this one. Our original trip around Paris ,unfortunately was cancelled just shortly before we were supposed to leave. The staff at Tripsite was very helpful and we were able to book the Bourgogne one on the Feniks. The bike routes had to be changed a bit, due to the barge being delayed on the canal a few times. That meant a lot of riding along the canals, which made it easy riding, but not quite as interesting. However, the "plan B" as a whole turned out to be very nice and we saw many beautiful and interesting sites. The only complaint would be that there were a lot of mosquitoes, which of course is not the captain's fault. Next time I would come up with some kind of solution to put some "screens" on the windows, so we won't wake up in the morning full of mosquito bites...... Our guide was great, as was the whole crew. The cook was fantastic and we had the most wonderful meals during our tour. Good thing we did a good amount of bike riding, or we would have ended up putting on quite a few pounds.... All in all, we highly recommend this bike and barge trip.

Auxerre to Paris
France

The boat was great and food wonderful. All staff couldn't have been nicer.

Auxerre to Paris
France

I am a tag-along non-bicycler, but I was really happy on the barge reading, drinking coffee and watching the enchanting scenery.

  Zwaantje Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France

  La Belle Fleur Lorraine Tour
France, Germany, Luxembourg

Metz to Cochem
France, Luxembourg, Germany

Overall a great trip and experience. The Mosel exceeded my expectations.
Collaborative and friendly staff; very good chef, very good captain and crew. Host was efficient but not overly friendly. Bike tour guide was ok but not very organized.

  Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France

The boat staff was great. Food, service and cleanliness was excellent.

  Fleur Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France

What stands out is the friendly competent crew - Coba, Marianne and Petra, the gourmet chef - Franco, the experienced knowledgeable guides - Piet and Wouter. Together they made the two week journey both comfortable and memorable.

  Fleur Bruges to Paris or Paris to Bruges (copy)
Belgium, France

What stands out is the friendly competent crew - Coba, Marianne and Petra, the gourmet chef - Franco, the experienced knowledgeable guides - Piet and Wouter. Together they made the two week journey both comfortable and memorable.

  Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France

The Zwaantje barge crew were most excellent - great accommodations, food and customer service!! I would take another bike and barge trip with this group....it was an experience of a lifetime!

  Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France

Mega-kudos to the Zwaanje crew, headed by Martin. They're an extraordinary group.
Our guide, Mintje, was good and well-intentioned, but she sometimes didn't grasp entirely the group's priorities.
The route was fantastic -- scenery, length of rides, etc. The tours (champagne, brie, etc., were excellent, especially the family-owned company, Nowak. We learned things and had a lot of fun.
We appreciated how Martin and Mintje responded to our requests for flexibility in developing distance options for less- and more-eager riders.
Also, availability of electric bikes made it possible for spouses (of both sexes) to accompany on rides they usually wouldn't be able to do. We know electric bikes are controversial in some corners, but they made the trip possible for some of our group.
One last thing ... TripSite's PDF summarizing the ride, proposing packing lists, giving directions and tips, was excellent. Congratulations.

  La Belle Fleur Lorraine Tour
France, Germany, Luxembourg

A good combination of biking and seeing the sites along the way. Plenty of time in the cities (Nancy, Metz) to wander around. This trip was not about putting on the miles every day on the bike but a good balance of biking and site seeing. Easy biking along canal paths mostly. Our guide got turned around a couple of times getting out of the cities. Els and Sander were great hosts on the barge. Very friendly. Els cooked me a birthday dessert one day that we enjoyed with our group after a day of biking. It was very hot in July and the air movement in the rooms was limited. A small fan would have been very much appreciated. As it was we slept with our door open (as did the others) just to get more air circulation. The barge is in very good condition. The bikes were brand new this season. They are owned by Els and Sander and not leased through a secondary company so they were in good working order.

  Clair de Lune Around Paris
France

This was our first bike/barge tour and we loved it. Riding through the French countryside was wonderful and it felt like we were in a Van Gogh painting. The boat was nice and the crew was great, with a welcoming attitude and GREAT meals! The bikes were perfect and I'm a bike snob. We made new friends from around the world. Do it, you won't regret it!

  Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France

The staff on the Zwaantje made the trip!

Famous Villages of Provence
France

At the start there was mix-up with our believing we were in Option A (written on receipt) but placed in Option B. Small issue but a surprise. Otherwise, maps worked fine once more used to the + or - aspect figured in to almost all mileage. We had a wonderful time!

  Iris Metz to Cochem
France, Luxembourg, Germany

The trip was enjoyable. Only drawback was that follow along Moselle River, some of the scenery of the vineyards became boring after a while. On previous trips we traveled more inland, seeing sights and then meeting up with barge at next destination.

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

Really impressed by the effort and kindness of the staff on the boat.

  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!

  Soleo Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

My travel advisor (Carla) is already aware that, although we registered as two vegans and sent a reminder a week or so before we left for Europe, the information had not been transferred to the chef. So we ate as vegetarians (eggs and dairy) for the trip rather than eschewing all animal products as is our preference.

Our trip leader was not experienced on the route, having only travelled it once before in the opposite direction, and this meant a few wrong turns to be corrected... But Ronnie was as pleasant, friendly, encouraging, and multilingual as you could ask for! The only problem I encountered with the bikes was the lack of suspension -- which meant for a bruised tail bone after the first day when we travelled a very bumpy, broken pavement back road on the return from Chateauneuf de Pape ;-)

  Iris Metz to Cochem
France, Luxembourg, Germany

We sailed on the Iris, from Cochem to Metz, 18-25 June. It was a most delightful and joyful experience. Even with initial high water from unseasonal flooding and occasional detour from the bike paths, it was an incredibly memorable experience -- the crew, the tour guides, the food were all top notch, and the camaraderie among the other bikers was phenomenal. Special thanks to our two bike leaders and guides, Roelie and Wouter, who were fantastic in making the rides safe and mostly easy, and with an in-depth knowledge of historical sites. A special treat was having the ship's owner on board, Lenny was very engaging and most pleasant. Aline, the chef, served delicious meals, especially the final banquet was a true feast! Again, our thanks to Lenny and the entire Iris crew.

  La Belle Fleur Lorraine Tour
France, Germany, Luxembourg

Beautiful way to travel from Luxembourg to France. Bike quality was very Good. Our Bike Guide Arie was very knowledgeable. Every evening we had Four course Gourmet Dinner. Sander and Els were the best Host and Owner of the Barge.

  Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France

I highly recommend the Swaantje barge. The captain is both technically experienced and oriented toward customer satisfaction. The staff was very attentive to passenger needs.
The bike guide was competent, but needed a bit more familiarity with the routes.

  Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France

Rooms really small; Guide was lost a lot; Staffers not very good with knowledge of E bikes;
But food was great..staff was kind..trip was pretty.

  Fleur Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France

We had a fantastic trip on the Fleur, It was well above our expectations.
The crew were fun and helpful in every way. ( food was excellent )
Bikes were easy to ride, i would take a gel seat cover for extra comfort.
Cabins were bigger than expected and the bathrooms clean with a instant hot water.
Our guide was informative, she took us into places that you would not normally enter.
We had a fun team of riders, thanks guys from the Smurfs xxx