France Tour Reviews — 61 to 90 of 964

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!

Iris and all the staff were terrific. Food was superb. Guides were very good. All around a great experience for our group of 12

We had an amazing time. Just biking through those beautiful landscape, the delicious food and amazing wine made that trip unbelievable.

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.

We really loved the Alsace region. The first few days we followed the Alsace Wine Route and you really do ride through the middle of vineyards. The scenery is beautiful and the villages are very picturesque. We opted to spend the day in Colmar and I was so glad we did. It was a highlight of the trip.

We found the description of the ride as Moderate to be misleading. We expected rolling hills and some climbs, but the steepness of the hills going into Riquewihr and Kayserberg was extreme. All the other riders we saw on the route that day were on e-bikes. So unless you are a very strong rider, I would recommend getting an e-bike.

The only disappointment with the itinerary was that the trip was changed to end in Saint-Louis, France rather than Basel, Switzerland. There really isn’t much to see or do in Saint-Louis. If this is going to continue, the trip description on the website really needs to be changed.

We had a wonderful time. Thank you for taking care of us. All the accommodations where great. The luggage transfers were flawless, and the bike were fun to ride.

It was wonderful travelling through the vineyards and chatting with the local farmers as they harvested the grapes. We also enjoyed travelling along scenic rivers and canals. Almost everything was paved, and only a small percentage of the trip was on roads with traffic. But the description of the ride is misleading. it should be described as moderate to difficult. In the material, it gave estimates of the grades of the various climbs. I rode with a Garmin GPS and it showed much different grades. For example, the last (#5) climb on Cycling Day 2 from Obernai into Riquewihr is described as a 3.3 percent grade over 5.06 km. What it doesn't say is that 3.3 percent is the average. In fact, much of the climb was between 3 and 6 percent, and a portion was over 9%. I registered 13% on my Garmin. This is not a moderate activity. We experienced similar discrepancies on some of the other days.

Very good boat, great food, excellant guides, staff and captain on Iris.

Unfortunately, our flight was cancelled at the last minute, and we missed the first day riding on our tour. However
Sophie came to the rescue and was able to get our bikes delivered to the second hotel, and we were able to ride and view the fabulous Chateau Chambord. We took advantage of booking the meals at each destination. Sophie's choices of restaurants in each town were top notch and within walking distance of the hotel. We met a different group of riders each day on the trail from England, Germany, Canda and Denmark each group bonded together and road in a pack. this is our 4th tour with Tripsite, but our first with baggage pick up which we were a little hesitant about, however the execution was excellent which now gives up a lager selection of trips for our next adventure!

Since we only got to spend 1 day in the champagne area, that part was not memorable. The historic features we did see were WEI museums and cemeteries.

The Clair D'Etoile is a very nice barge with a great captain and crew. The chef was amazing and the meals outstanding. This is a very easy ride, on mostly flat terrain. More advanced riders might want to look for somewhere with more challenging terrain. Beautiful woods near Paris and lots of places to visit. Really nice to come into Paris at Sunset and sail past all of the sights.

The route was perfect, gorgeous nature and pace full all the time.
The boat is great, food very good and very kind staff.

My husband and I had an absolutely fabulous time! The sightseeing was wonderful, the bike riding was lovely, the culture and history lessons were informative, and the fellow passengers and staff were all fabulous. The Magnifique III boat is incredible… and the food!!! Exceeded all expectations.

My only comment for consideration is regarding the choice of an e-bike or regular bike. My husband and I rode regular bikes. About 3/4 of the group did e-bikes. You travel as a group so I was a little nervous about keeping up with everyone, but I did OK. That said, riding for 25+ miles per day for a week is a lot, even if you’re in decent shape. If you enjoy the challenge of exercise, by all means go regular bike. If you want to be more relaxed so you can enjoy the scenery, I recommend e-bike.

The entire crew on the boat were wonderful. The two guides, Mieke and Wim worked very well together. The chef prepared wonderful meals for us each day. Scenery was fabulous.
Now that most riders are riding ebikes that should be all that is offered. The push bikes with only 8 gears were impossible for riders to keep up with the ebike riders, Never had enough time to stop and take pictures.

The vineyards along the Moselle River were loaded with grapes ready to be harvested. A couple of evenings we played card games. The captain joined in!

The trip followed a beautiful terrain along the Moselle surrounded by beautiful vineyards! The tour guides were very knowledgeable about the region and its rich history. We sampled a lot of local wines and dishes! So delightful.
This was out third bike and barge trip! Each one just incredible!!!

Arriving in Paris early evening along the Seine. Food was great-Frank did a fantastic job.

Wonderful trip on a beautiful barge. Marion and Irna were fantastic guides. The e-bikes are so easy to ride. The chef served delicious meals. The scenery was beautiful with the grapes ready to be harvested. Nice flat bike trails. The whole crew was just the best. Highly recommend.

Wonderful crew and guides. The group was great fun. The guides made efforts to accommodate any concerns about the rides that were planned.

The guides and crew were outstanding. The accommodations exceeded our expectations.

The great people we met & the staff on the boat.
My negatives about the boat was the lack of an outdoor seating area to enjoy - probably due to the size of the boat. Also I felt 18 people for one guide was not great from a safety perspective. No mirros on the bikes or communication capabilities between the guide & the person identified as the ‘sweeper’.

This was an awesome bike/barge trip! The bike routes were interesting and beautiful. Our guide Helmut was excellent - keeping us safe while biking and giving us information on the places we visited. He was very patient and helpful. The bikes were well maintained and my E-bike was charged and ready to go all week.
The Caprice barge was clean and efficient. The rooms were small but have shelves and under the bed drawers that were great for organizing clothing etc.
The crew was wonderful and the food was delicious.
I really enjoyed this experience. Definitely will do a barge and bike tour again!

Route was beautiful. Guides were careful, knew the routes and had good senses of humor. Also patient.

Riding the bicycle through the gorgeous rural French countryside.

The trip was fantastic! From beautiful accommodations, to the fabulous staff on the barge and the outstanding tour guide! We couldn't have asked for a better trip! We will definitely be back. Thanks Tripsite!!!

Everything was great from start to finish. Giorgio our guide was amazing. He was the only guide for the entire group. His techniques our having a “ corner” person to direct us when we made a turn out as well as a sweeper to be the last person to make sure that we were all together. Kept everyone safe and together. He was very humorous. He had lots of information and history of everywhere we went. He always had his eye out to make sure that we were happy we were content, and we were enjoying the trip. He took any information that we gave him in regard to our needs very seriously and did everything he could to make us happy and comfortable, and he succeeded beyond belief. The chef Sylvia had our elves watering from breakfast all the way through dessert. She always had a smile on her face saying while she cooked it was a true passion of hers, and it showed in the quality of the food as well as the presentation. Emma our steward took care of all of our needs again with a smile on her face. There wasn’t anything that was asked for that she did not deliver. This crew was absolutely amazing and they made the trip more than I could’ve expected.

Seeing the poppy fields in bloom was best part. Worst was map book not matching gps file for first few directions of isle de sorgue to st. Remy ride. Hotel in St. Remy was excellent.

Lots of comfortable cycling over easy terrain, even in extreme summer heat. The cities that are visited are unique and interesting with lots of things to see from cathedrals to the Gutenberg museum. Keep in mind that except for one evening, travelers are not on the boat when it is traveling along the Rhine. Instead, the boat goes from port to port while travelers cycle from port to port. Also keep in mind that this is not the most scenic portion of the Rhine except for the last day, where we cycled through vineyards on the slopes down to the Rhine. Otherwise, the terrain was mostly flat with dikes between the cycle path and the river making it hard to see the river. Once we got out of the heavily industrial cities, the ride was pleasant and flat through wooded areas, grassland, and farmland. Roughly one-quarter of the ride was along the Rhine, one-quarter through cities or industrial areas, and one-half through grassland/forest, and farmland. Food was outstanding; the rooms on the boat were clean and comfortable, but a little worn. Staff was outstanding -- very helpful and friendly. We would definitely do another bike/boat cruise on the Olympia.

The crew were outstanding. They went above and beyond to ensure we had a fantastic trip. The route was gorgeous. Bikes and barge well equipped.

Cochem to Metz Tour
We are believers! Now we know why so many people love the boat and bike (bike and barge) thing. The boat was excellent, we loved the Princesse Royal. Even more so, we thoroughly enjoyed the personable service of the staff ~ boat crew and the bike guides. All of them "bent over backwards" to make our experience seamless and memorable. The food and drink was excellent and the overall organization of the trip was superb. We will definitely be doing more of these, with the same providers and "Princesse Royal" fleet.