4 Star France Tour Reviews — 121 to 150 of 212

It was the last week of the season and only 18 bikers joined the tour! This was so nice to have an intimate group and flexibility of activities. It was so helpful to have evening informing sessions on what to expect the next day along the route. It was absolutely necessary to have a GPS device to keep us on the correct route. The trip was a good value.

The bike ride is what this trip was all about. Great rides with great friends! We had 60 or so people from the same town on this trip, Fort Collins Colorado so there was many good groups to ride with! Food was good beverages could be upgraded eg: more beer choices and better quality wine, by the end of the week I was tired of the choices. The trip was very organized and I would recommend it to anyone who wants see France in this unique way.

Most Memorable Part? The sites we biked to
Tips: Perhaps separating the electric bikes from those like me who used our own pedal power or 2 leaders for 20 bikers vs the one leader. Our group depended on fellow bikers as volunteers and we were fortunate in having several expert bikers in our group!!!

A great chance to ride different areas of the French country side and taste different wines in the Bordeaux region. The difficulty of the daily routes is easy to moderate and the barge staff was very friendly and accommodating. If you like to bike and love wine, this tour is for you.

The tour was beautiful but I don’t know if there was a misunderstanding in communication I had believed the bike riding was mild rides and not so advanced. I suffered grave pain in my body after our first bike tour. This not recommended for elder persons with any arthritis problems. Thank you.

The beautiful scenery and great bike routes planned for us. Only difficulty with the routes was navigating Libourne the last Friday in rush hour afternoon traffic. Perhaps a longer route, going around Libourne, could be investigated

The bike tour was immensely enjoyable. Even though it rained 6 of 7 days, it was still a highlight of our vacation in Europe. Thanks to Tripsite's instructions, we were well prepared for various weather from rain to warm and cool weather. Taking a barge is a great way to travel without unpacking each night, returning to the same room and delicious meals served on board. I hope to take a bike trip again trying out another river.

Make sure you bring layers in case of rain

The adventure of biking through beautiful Luxembourg, Germany, and France. One can view scenry in a different manner compared to driving a car or viewing as a passenger. Biked thru small villages, metro cities, and rural countries.

The delicious gourmet dinners at the end of each trip will always be treasured.

The route instructions need a lot of improvement. It should not take 6 hours to bike 22 miles!

Cycling through historic monuments and the Camargue wilderness was magnificent!

The scenery, the fellow riders the entire experience was so rewarding.
The boat however left a lot to be desired. The dining room windows were small and you felt confined. The food was below what i’ve experienced on my 6 other tripsite bike/barge tours.

London to Amsterdam was a great trip. Beautiful scenery especially along the North Sea and canals and farmland of Holland.hotels were unique but comfortable. Breakfast was always good. Dinners were good but more variety needed in menu choices. Loved the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk and all the small towns we rode through. There were 12 of us plus 6 others on the self- guided which made for a lively and interesting, diverse group.
What was disappointing and could be improved was communication from the guide. Very little information was given ahead of time as to what was next and no information about the towns history, culture and facts regarding where we were. This would have made the trip more enjoyable and interesting.

This was a wonderful way to see Northern Europe, leisurely experiencing a diversity of landscapes, towns, and scenic attractions.

This was my 5th bike/barge Tripsite tour and it was just as amazing as my first. The guide was knowledgeable and the group was an interesting blend of former and present U.S. Air Force personnel as well as Italians, Americans, French and Flemish. The weather in mid April was the biggest challenge with hailstorms and thunder, which made the trip all the more memorable.
The bull fights (humane but sad), the aqueducts, and the food, oh the food! As always a nice cross section of people who are like minded in their zest for life and the enjoyment of experiencing Provence at 11 mph at sea level. (Oh, and they do warn you about the hills and the wind, which I glossed over BEFORE we went). The reason I rated this a 4 Star is I'm reserving the top prize for something that knocks my socks off!

Amazing staff and great guide

The preparation and presentation of the meals, especially the evening meals was outstanding. And the fellowship with the other passengers was also a great highlight aided by the small number of guests.

The e-bikes are essential for enjoying the beautiful, hilly terrain!

Amazing scenery and locale. The biking maps leave a lot to be desired. Some riders had a trail app and they were lifesavers for those who were left to just the paper map booklet. Very difficult to follow. Maybe more tour guides to help out.

My main disappointment was that we did not go to Chateauneuf du Pape, that was one off the considerations in picking this tour. I understand the reasoning for the change in itinerary but it should be removed from the description if it is not being included. The gearing on the bikes could be better, higher top gear, lower bottom gear, for this tour. I hope this doesn't sound too negative as we did enjoy the tour. Most memorable sites were Les Beux/Les Carrieres de Lumieres and Pont-du-Gare.

It's hard to choose a most memorable part of the trip. Aigues Mortes was a big surprise -- the history, the walls and the tower, and the special celebration -- the bull games -- taking place while we were there. The Camargue was amazing, with the waterways and the vineyards, the distinct breeds of horses and the bulls. Provence was beautiful with the olive groves and apple orchards, and of course more vineyards. It was exciting to visit the sites where Van Gogh had painted in Arles, and Hugo's commentary was superb. Singing Starry Starry night on deck under the starry night was lovely. The visit to Les Baux, with the spectacular scenery and Les Carrieres des Lumieres in the quarry were fabulous. We enjoyed visiting the Pont du Gard and singing Sur Le Pont d'Avignon as we cruised passed the bridge itself.

Now the areas for improvement: The bikes were not good enough for the Provence segment. We understood that we would be provided with 27 gear bikes, but had an infinite gearing system instead, and the lowest gear wasn't enough for the hills we encountered. Those with electric bikes were happier. Also, through some poor communication between Tripsite and the tour operator, Girolibero, a part of the trip route that our group had been particularly interested in -- a visit to Chateau Neuf du Pape -- was no longer included. Hugo did his best, with a vote (which came out even) to see whether we should go to Chateau Neuf du Pape or take the shorter route that had been promised to the others on the trip. Then he flipped a coin. We accepted the decision as appropriate, but were disappointed that we had not got what was advertised through Tripsite.

We didn't know what to expect on such a small barge/boat: however it was very enjoyable Our hosts were great and always helpful even when we knew it was a busy time for them. Being a small group and despite some language differences, we all bonded and managed to communicate well. Our leader Anna was particularly competent and took us through some interesting situations without a glitch. We will be known as the group who loves limericks as one guy in our group started by writing one for each cyclist...then of course we all started to write them. The last dinner was quite hilarious. You can't beat these tours for economy, traveling through history and spectacular scenery and commaradorie. I left off one star as the rooms and bathroom were super small and hard to manouver in. Everything else, including the meals, were something to write home about.!

Enjoyed the staff, the group we met and the overall tour. I got to visit a part of France I might never have seen. Really enjoyed the champagne bottling winery the last day.

Awesome trip with a wonderful crew. The only misleading part was the description of easy to moderate biking. The hills of France made this trip more difficult than expected.

The crew on this barge and bike trip were outstanding. The weather was unseasonably hot and adjustments were made to the schedule to accommodate everyone's comfort. The route and attractions were well planned and interesting. We had some difficulty with the bikes provided by HAT tours - several (5 in total) punctures and one unfixable issue with a bike. This meant delays whilst the tiress were being repaired - approximately 1 hour per puncture. This meant that we missed out on seeing some of the attractions and had to cut short our time at others. The unfixable problem meant that one volunteer had to return to the boat via taxi and forego the rest of that day's itinerary. I would like to congratulate the crew on this tour as they did their utmost to ensure that these issues kept the disruption to a minimum. The group of travelers were also a very friendly and tolerant group of people who got on well. This also assisted in managing the issues with the bikes.
My recommendation to HAT tours is to provide maintenance support for the tour if they are going to continue to use these bikes. I have been on another company's bike and barge tour through Provence in 2014 and they had maintenance support which could be contacted promptly to fix and/or transport bikes/people when required.

Very nice tour following much of the Avenue Verte. Girolibero and Adriano were fantastic hosts on the unguided tour from Paris to London. The route was probably a little more unpaved then I expected an as such would not recommend bringing your own road bike to do the tour. We met and road with some amazing people from around the world making new friends and seeing areas that were amazing sites in the small villages and countryside.

Having a guide for this trip was very beneficial. For the first 3 days our guided group consisted of 30+ people. This was too large of a group and was pretty much a pain. We eventually broke into a group of 8 riders with Dorian as our guide, that was perfect. We were able to travel at a much more leisurely pace, visit many wineries, tasting rooms, small villages and churches.

Excellent routes, well marked and the Châteaus are breath taking. Make sure you have a rain coat.

Sailing into Paris in the seine was spectacular, what a way to get acquainted for the first time and also enjoy how Parisiennes live and play along the river. Make sure you bring your sunscreen.

The experience of being able to see the countryside, remote villages and sites at a slower pace with the experience and knowledge of a guide is the highlight. It is good to leave your luggage onboard the barge and know you return each evening to great food and rest.

We were on this tour from June 16-23, 2018. First let me say that we had a fabulous time and I'll attempt to breakdown both the good and the challenging.
1. The boat was outstanding (5 star)
2. All the meals were nothing short of scrumptous (all three..every day) (5 Star)
3. The SE staff were knowledgable, polite and always willing to help. (5 Star)
4. Embarking and disembarking was seamless. (5 Star)
5. Our onboard guide was outgoing and fun to talk to. (5 Star)
6. The rooms were tight, but manageable. two single beds, good storage for your clothes and a small but efficient washroom.
7. The bikes were well serviced and enjoyable to ride. If you're not a seasoned cyclist, don't worry, the gears were easy to change and many of the people opted for the ebike option which really helped.
8. Biking directions were a challenge. At first we thought it was a language issue, but many of the German people were getting lost as well. We saw no vineyards, one castle, and we traveled through many cities. We had three in our group take spills, mainly because of the city routes we had to take. The "Look for Signs" were often non-existant or hard to find and we found that our group of 10 cyclists were spending too much time conferencing, trying to find the correct route.
Twice we encountered local people who actual lead us to get us back on track. This was definitely challenging, but boy did we bond!! We stopped in small towns having lunch in the town squares, trying local beers and cheeses. Restaurants willing to let us eat our bagged lunches in their restaurant when we bought some drinks.
Suggestions:
1. Arrive a couple of days early to explore Mainz, it's a beatiful city.
2. We flew in and out of Paris and the train system is amazing, but I would suggest closer Airports (Frankfurt to get to Mainz and Paris for Strasbourg).
3. Get comfortable being lost and embrace the journey. We always found our way and have some incredible stories about our rides.
4. Talk to the locals they are magnificent and were always willing to help.
The bottom line is that we are already planning our next bike and barge adventure, there are lots to choose.
My actual rating would be a 4.5 out of 5