4 Star France Tour Reviews — 121 to 150 of 165

4.5 out of 5

 


Jim S.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

The scenery , chateaus and winery were beautiful.

Pat R.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

Would have liked more time biking. 2 days had less than 10 miles. We were in the guided group and were told the group would decide how much to bike on those days-we were never asked as a group-the guide decided himself we would do the shorter distance. Barge "purser"-a woman-not very friendly or helpful or available. Trip booked as a Bordeaux start and end, but the location of start and end of trip changed and we had to pay extra to get ourselves to Cadillac and back to Bordeaux from Libourne. The boat company should have provided that transfer free of charge. The 2 wine tasting charges should have been included in the trip charge. The boat charged 20 euros for a bottle of wine in the wine country of Bordeaux and we were not allowed to bring on any wine from the outside. You could buy a nice bottle of wine for less than $10.00 in town. Disappointed that we had twin beds-expected a double in the suite room.

Bruce C.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Auxerre to Paris
France

Barge was great, crew was excellent, could use more air conditioning, bikes need new pedals with more grip, very slippery especially when wet, boat could review policy of not letting riders use their own pedals.

Lisa S.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

I would rather recommend a trip to Germany or the Netherlands, but that's just my preference. The staff on the Bourdeaux was very nice.

Patsy V.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

I would recommend the trip if the operator makes improvements to the selfguided route finding; the narrative, GPS, and detail maps were inconsistent with each other and recommended routes were sometimes difficult to find. We had large area maps that allowed us to navigate and a crew member who helped but especially during the first couple days it was a bit challenging. The route narrative should include more information on sites to visit or note along the way. The bikes were heavy in comparison to other trips we have booked.
I really enjoyed the scenery and sites; it is a lovely area to visit and bike, especially during late September. Grapes were cascading from the vines, just pre-harvest. The vineyards, wine tasting,chateaux, churches, fortresses, medieval towns, history and landscapes were wonderful along the routes. Experiencing the tidal surf (the mascaret) was also quite interesting.

Reid H.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

The staff on the boat were terrific, especially Sebastian. The breakfasts were the same every day which really got old quickly. Their new bikes had terrible shifters and were really heavy. The route descriptions led us to be lost on many days and we finally had to rely on Google maps.
The scenery was great and when we got on less well-traveled roads, the riding was great. Unfortunately we spent too much time (IMHO) on roads with a lot of traffic.

Elaine C
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

The scenery in the Bordeaux region was lovely, as were the people we encountered along the way. Some of the staff were extremely helpful and added to our overall enjoyment of the trip.
We thoroughly enjoyed our days of cycling, despite the many problems my husband experienced with his bicycle (locked brakes, flat tires, a pump that didn't work, loose bearings in the pedals...)
More accurate written descriptions and an updated GPS would have helped with the navigation on the our self-guided routes.
Asking for a dinner without red meat resulted in being served an omelette on more than one occasion (not a great alternative).
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable trip!

Leonidas R.
7 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

The barge BORDEAUX and all of the staff were great. The rooms small as expected but comfortable. The food at dinner was adequate and well presented but certainly not excellent for taste and quality. Breakfasts were ok often some of the hot food was served cold. Plenty of food and variety for breakfast.
The guide, Scott, is a very nice person and tried extremely hard to help everyone but the maps and supplied route instructions are poor. Need a lot of work to become usable for everyone. No problem for me as I had a GPS unit with me. All of the time the routes include highways and roads. There are NO dedicated bike paths and that should be made clear on the trip description so people come in full knowledge of that issue. Such roads are likely to be unsafe for many ""first time"" riders. For that reason I would not recommend this trip to others. There are far safer bike routes in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with just as nice and memorable scenery and Read More

Jacqueline Eger
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Burgundy - Paris to Auxerre
France

We loved this trip. The captain and crew could not have been more accommodating. Due to low water levels, we started our tour a little further north of Dijon than usual and as a result were a day ahead of schedule. This prompted the Captain to make a small detour down the lovely Canal du Nivernais where we had some of the best biking of all. We were blessed with great weather and enjoyed most dinners out on the deck. And coming into Paris - who knew there was a 2km long underground canal through the city! A wonderful experience. Look forward to another trip on the Feniks in the future.

Gerti L.
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

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.

Susan W.
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  La Belle Fleur Lorraine Tour
France, Germany, Luxembourg

The boat was well maintained. Beds were comfy for bunks. Our cabin [#9] had huge bathroom. With the hot Aug temps, a fan would have been appreciated. Bring a small personal 4" or 6" USB fan if you can find the space in your luggage. A small soaking pool on the deck was a welcome relief from the heat.

Meals were basic, but tasty and filling. Els did a nice job of accommodating my dietary restrictions. Ample cooler filtered water was available on the boat - remember your water bottle. Lunches were packed in zip lock baggies. Bring your own insulated lunch bag / Tupperware to keep your lunch fresher.

GIANT bike were like new and well maintained. I was disappointed we could not use the bikes during the city stops that were part of the day trips or after dinner when we returned to the barge. Even though the bikes have locks, Sander and Els don't allow this to minimize theft risk. Besides my husband and I, all participants were in there mid-60s to Read More

Mark G.
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

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.

Gloria S.
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Elodie Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France

Accommodations were too small. The rest of the journey made up for lack of space. No room to put our belongings.

Jeff E.
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Discover the Dordogne-old version
France

Fantastic trip! An amazing area of France to explore by bike. The views were amazing, lots of interesting history, great food and drinks. The tour was well organized and staff were friendly and helpful.
Our only comment: it was rated as 'moderate', and ratings are averages and are relative of course, but there were sections of the route that were quite difficult, e.g. steep dirt/stone roads that we had to walk the bikes up (and we are in good condition and have done a lot of bike tripping before). Should probably note this in the description.

L.G. Germishuys
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

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

C. Machado
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Bordeaux Bordeaux - Châteaux, Rivers & Wine
France

Try and offer more non-meat entrees for dinner. Too much meat. Also, try and incorporate rail trails( voies ferrees) when possible. They provide relaxed cycling without worrying about constant traffic.
Very friendly staff and good display of professionalism. Bikes were easy to ride! And, it was hard to have to drink only what the boat offered. Can we have more choice, especially in wine country like Bordeaux? Thanks for everything.

C. Robinson
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  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.

K. Hagan
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Southern Alsace - Basel to Strasbourg
Switzerland, Germany, France

This is our third trip with Tripsite and this was our least favorite so far. The scenery was not particularly stunning and in France we were on more roads than we would have preferred. We also stayed in larger cities such as Basel and Freiburg than in previous trips. It is a personal preference, but we prefer the smaller towns such as the ones we encountered on our trip from Amsterdam to Brugge and from Prague to Dresden.

On the positive front, the lodging and equipment were the best that we have had from the three trips. The hotels were quite nice and truly were 4 star accommodations. The bikes had cushy seats and comfortable handlebars. Even the panniers were a step up with easy snap on and off functionality and very good water proofing.

We enjoyed the trip and it was high quality as we have enjoyed with Tripsite. The scenery just wasn't as nice and that's why we rank this as our least favorite of our trips so far. Have no fear, we will go again next year and are already looking at the Barcelona/Girona trip. We love working with Tripsite and will be long-term customers!

J. Farina
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Soleo Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

The trip was great! Mostly all positive. Tom and I would like to have the pace a bit faster....that was the only negative.

E. Greer
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Paris to London
France, England

Everything did not go perfectly all the time but we had a great time and the guys from Girolibero were always doing their best to help out when needed.

Dianne Cunningham
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Discover the Dordogne-old version
France

Initial bikes provided were in very poor state. They were replaced when we contacted local agent at the end of the first day.

Alex Ladouceur
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Bordeaux Wine Country
France

Some hotels definitely better than others. Also some of the road directions were not translated well. Overall, however, generally satisfied with the trip but the service could use some improvements.

Paavo Kivisto
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Feniks Bruges to Paris
Belgium, France

Issues related to the boat: bad smell, cabin room was cozier than we would choose in the future. Laundry facilities were inadequate. We really enjoyed the trip, the guide and the experience!

Ross Densky
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Soleo Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

This is the second barge and bike trip we took with Tripsite and I would have to say we liked the scenery more on the Taste of Burgundy than we did with Provence. Riding the in the Camargue got a little boring. Other than that we enjoyed the overall trip.

Rebecca Posante
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Soleo Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

My main concern about this particular trip is that we did not know ahead of time that staying on the barge and not biking was not an option unless one was sick. The winds were pretty bad (25-50 miles per hour) so that some of us did not feel up to the rides. On the particularly difficult day, it would have been nice to just remain with the boat.

Robert Burt
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Soleo Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

The Soleo was a disappointment in all respects.

George Bibeau
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Soleo Provence - Wilderness of Camargue
France

More time in certain areas would have been nice. There were instances where it felt like we were being pushed along, and I appreciate that we had 22 people of varying age, skill experience and physical ability, and that we have to get back to the boat. Our guide was very good, but you needed to try and understand his manner, which could be short at times. He was knowledgeable, insightful and caring, but his manner did not necessarily reflect that. Meals were good but thought it would reflect more French cuisine of the Provence area, not a complaint, just an observation.
Staff was excellent and I continue to recommend this bike trip and company to friends."

Joseph Paladino
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Breisgau & Alsace Wine Road
France, Germany

A great trip overall and a good value. I would've preferred an upcharge option for better hotels. The downside was the directions book, though well made and attractive, it was not helpful or practical. I found it was much easier to follow the road signs and ignore the book. Also, the book needs to point out attractions and diversions and points of interest. People are coming from all over the world to see this one particular area, it is so important to know what there is to explore in the countryside rather than just following the route.

Edward Nyland
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

Famous Villages of Provence
France

Somewhat inadequate initial bike instruction due to bike shop rescheduling at their convenience. Bike maintenance was only average causing the bikes to not operate as described.

Deborah Putnam
8 years ago

Verified Reviewer

  Fleur Montargis to Paris
France

One of my discoveries for this trip was that I think I prefer a self-guided tour to a guided one. The group was larger than what I was really comfortable with, as I like to stop for photos and wasn't comfortable doing that with the large group. (My spouse and I had just finished a 6 day self-guided tour thru Holland). The bikes were fine, but one of our group had constant problems with hers. The food was fine, but I prefer more options, and would have liked eating away from the lunch basket-type of fare we fixed ourselves from barge foods. I loved that the guides gave us interesting evening walking tours.