3 Star France Tour Reviews — 31 to 52 of 52
Brad W.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Arlene II Mainz to Strasbourg
Germany, France
Much of the bike ride was difficult to navigate. Signs on the road are not always clear. Expected more country rides but much of the bike ride was through cities with many vehicles (somewhat dangerous). If we elect to travel with Tripsite again, we will do more research to determine ease of navigation along the bike route and how much of the route is through traffic.
Howard B.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Clair de Lune Around Paris
France
The attentiveness and skill of the crew was most memorable. Chris was an awesome guide, encouraging everyone and being a wealth of knowledge about the environs. Conor was personable and available to share her knowledge and experience. Kim is a great cook and quite a character. Together, they overcame the limitation of an outdated too small barge to create an environment that allowed the riders to really enjoy the countryside and each other.
Margie A.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France
The Elodie bike/barge trip was fabulous in terms of scenery, routes, staff, food. However, 2 couples on the barge were not able to keep up with our very leisurely pace. I would advise your company to stress level of fitness for participants, and also to recommend 2 guides for different ability levels.
John G.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Anna Maria IV Loire Valley Bike and Boat - 2019
France
This trip, rated moderate, was the most challenging of the four tours we have booked thru Tripsite since 2012. It stretched us to the limits of our biking abilities.
The tour was thru pleasant countryside but lacked the highlights of our previous tours- no Eiffel Tower, Venice canals or Pont du Gard.
The barge itself was a weak point, although it was not advertised as a strength.
Most disappointing was the food, especially the evening meals featuring mostly starches- pasta, mashed potatoes, quinoa and rice. Don't know whether this was a budget or skills problem.
The guide was excellent, competent, friendly and caring.
The bikes themselves were mostly good although there were some minor problems-with a tire once and an ebike battery that didn't fully charge overnight. Giro Libero bikes were in better condition than those Read More of Hat Tours based on our two tours with each of them.
The Loire Valley tour was enjoyable, but the weakest of the four trips we have taken.
Our fondest memories will be those of great conversations, lots of laughs with new friends we will probably never see again and a sense of accomplishment for what was for us an arduous trek.
As a tip for others, as I mentioned to bike and barge rookies, check out other trips as advertised in Tripsite's catalog.
Gloria P.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France
The Itinerary was very well planned out and the staff were all amazing!!!! This was the perfect trip for our group!!!!
Jerry K.
6 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Zwaantje Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France
We met a lot of really nice people. We were surprised that our guide was largely unfamiliar with the route!
Pete & Norma T.
7 years ago
Verified Reviewer
L’Estello Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France
Guide, Antonella, crew, food, tour and route were fine, but the Estello was not, surely not "comfort plus". The boat is tired, lounge furniture was dirty, lead to believe the boat was not equivalent to Ave Maria but close, Girolibro providing better boats than FR companies. Were tied up close to a FR boat, was better. Cabins in comparison to other boats we have booked are poor, shower was not separate from remainder of the head so everything was soaked after shower. Since we booked the entire boat for Coastal Cruisers, even though no one seemed to complain, we expected better. Your bike and barge tours continue to be good value with folks who provide services compensating for "tired boat".
Nancy R.
7 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Caprice Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France
Most Memorable Part: Cycling itself throughout southern France
Karen A Thompson
7 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Famous Villages of Provence
France
This tour should be rated moderate/difficult. There are many steep climbs. I had an E bike so not bad for me. The non E bikers had a big job. If everyone had an e bike, a very enjoyable journey. The scenery was gorgeous. The hotels were beautiful and welcoming. The maps provided by the trip organizer and rather GPS could have been more detailed.
Peter V.
7 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Mosel Bike Tour
Germany, France
The Route Guide that we received was in German. We called Velociped and they said that they ran out of English guide - Basically we were SOL and not getting the Route Guide in English. They knew it way before hand that they did not have any English Route Guide - they should have let you or us know and maybe sent us written instructions for the route. We had difficulty in the first 3 days of the trip. We did not even get any instructions of how the electric bikes worked or how to operate it. The first day - my wife struggled on the ebike because it was not working right- we had to call. Instructions on what to do and how to start it would have been good. Very poor customer service. In addition, we signed up for CLASS A hotels, which was supposed to be 3 or 4 stars - not one of the hotels provided was a 4 star. The scenery along the Mosel River was spectacular, the luggage transfers between hotels was great.
Carla • 4 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Peter - Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback. I am sorry our local partner could not provide the English route book. Fortunately, the German version has very good maps and we still always have the English route descriptions available. I do highly encourage any rider to elect the GPS tracks for this tour. These provide flawless directions. You can use them on your own GPS device or smartphone GPS application. We'd be happy to help you with this option.
We do not provide a welcome meeting for this tour but we can try to arrange one, on request. I am sorry you could not operate the electric bicycle. With that said, I do not recommend renting an electric bicycle if you have never ridden one before. Lastly, we are happy to send a hotel list before the tour start so you can be satisfied before you leave.
We hope you still enjoyed the tour and were able to bring home fond memories!
Barb M.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Lovely being in the area at this time near harvest but the routes, route preparation in the evening and historical information that might enhance the experience were severely lacking. The GPS devices were difficult to work with and virtually no help was given as to how to correctly operate them.
carla • 7 years ago Tripsite Staff
Thanks for your feedback, Barb. We agree! We have totally redone our routes, descriptions, and presentations for 2017. They have been prepared by professional local guides and we do not anticipate any problems for the upcoming season.
Barb M.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
It was lovely being in the area at this time near harvest but the routes, route preparation in the evening and historical information that might enhance the experience were severely lacking. The GPS devices were difficult to work with and virtually no help was given as to how to correctly operate them.
Amy M.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France
Wendy • 7 years ago Tripsite Staff
Thank you for your feedback! Unfortunately there were a lot of glitches to the Bordeaux's first year of bike and boat tours some of which I also encountered during my trip. However we are confident we have fixed the problems and look forward to a great 2017 season!
Jennifer M.
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Anna Maria IV Loire Valley Bike and Boat - 2019
France
We knew the barge was old, but weren't prepared for the very tiny, cramped cabin space which was definitely not the one advertised!
Most of the bicycles were in fairly good condition, but my husband got one on which the chain kept coming off and had a fall because of that.
The barge operators, Stephan and Florence, were lovely and worked very hard to provide a good experience, cooking traditional French meals each evening complete with dessert. The tour guide, Jan, did an excellent job keeping the cycling group on track and adjusting our days to accommodate the extreme temperatures during the hottest week of the summer!
Jehiel • 8 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Jennifer!
Thank you for sharing feedback for this tour. I'm sorry you found the cabins too small for your liking but we mention on the boat page that the "...ship is especially suited to motor the narrow French" and provide pictures of the cabins and dimensions. I am glad you had a great trip and enjoyed Stephan, Florence, and Jan. We hope to help you orgainize your next trip!
T. Gihring
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Anna Maria IV Loire Valley Bike and Boat - 2019
France
Sorry, it rained the entire trip. Route and scenery would have been fine if not for that. Barge has seen better days. Staff (Stephan and Florence) are very pleasant.
Suggestion: Give the tour riders a sew-on patch to remember the tour.
C. Bauer
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Zwaantje Champagne Tour
France
The guide seemed lost most of the time. He didn't know where to stop for a picnic and one day we ate our lunches at a bus stop. I realize cafes mostly close in France between 12 and 2, but his lack of knowledge of where to find a toilet after lunch was a problem. He chastised us for being slow to re-organize, but then later we'd stop for no reason and wait for up to a half hour with no info from him. He was good at describing architecture.
Jehiel • 8 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hi C. Bauer,
Thank you so much for your comment. We have contacted our local partner and assure you we are working very hard to improve this tour based on your feedback. Thanks again for sharing!
Lynn Tindula
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Heart of Alsace
France
I would recommend the trip only if the biking instructions we changed. Alsace is a wonderful area and the people, food, and accommodations were great! But the instructions for the bike routes were too confusing and unclear and not in English. They were in Dutch - not even French or German!
Francis Duckworth
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Soleo Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France
We have done several bike barge trips in france and europe and other places. This one was just too crowded with tourists. Of course it was August, so that explains a lot. Our least favorite that we have done.
Donald Stockwell
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
La Belle Fleur Lorraine Tour
France, Germany, Luxembourg
Our guide was not good, would ride off too fast, often the tail end riders were lost and confused as they could not keep up. Everything else was excellent!
Jessica Kiedrowski
8 years ago
Tripsite Staff
MS Andante Mainz to Basel
Germany, Switzerland, France
I was pleased with the points of interest on the tour (Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Colmar, Breisach), however, the route was very industrial at times and there was just nothing special about it. The maps and route descriptions were terrible and I'd say that was the number one complaint of fellow passengers. I talked to the guide and he said they will redo the route for next year so hopefully with some changes, it will be much better.
Gregory Akin
9 years ago
Verified Reviewer
MS Andante Mainz to Basel
Germany, Switzerland, France
Francis Duckworth
9 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Soleo Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France
Not my favorite part of France. 6th bike tour there and the least scenic and inviting.
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
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- Sarah
- Stella
- Sundial
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- Thalassa
- Flying Dutchman
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- Zwaantje