France Tour Reviews — 181 to 210 of 932

Its May; pack for all weather, it'll happen within your 4 hour ride, yes there are hills - spend the money, get an ebike! Such great guides McEel & Marcel. So glad to be lead by them, their knowledge, trail guidance was reassuring, you felt safe with them knowing where the group was going and looking out for you. Stopping to enjoy coffees and "should see" items. Steffie; owner of the boat and also our chef made such delicious dishes; duck, salmon, sea bass and lovely bought the day of vegetables...did I mention the the morning cheeses and breads, yum, yum. It would be nice to know the name of the cheeses...sadly, can't remember them now.
We hesitated taking a smaller boat but thoroughly enjoyed learning how canals work, river tunnels, felt like we part of the water system way, not knowing where the Fleur was going to park added to the excitement of finding her.
Absolutely loved it. Great way to experience the waterways of Europe as they did hundreds of years ago, though with a shower and warm bed...

Food on boat (ship ) as they refer to it was wonderful. Chef was full of energy and very creative

Cycling through farmland and so many small towns and villages, stopping at a bar/cafe, this is a great way to see a place. The other cyclists were kind and friendly, the staff was attentive and lighthearted.

We love this region and this trip so we decided to do the trip again with friends and ride from Avignon this time .... It is a pretty easy ride except for a few huge hills - but so worth the effort to get to the top and see the town the quarry and the show - so worth the effort....just saying ....This trip takes you through many little villages filled with jasmine - stopped for quite a few pastries and beers and coffees and pain au chocolat.... besides all these sensory overloads of jasmine and and fields of poppies - you are riding through so much history ...... the camaque - Aiges mortes - the crusaders - the roman ruins everywhere - and then the marshes the salt flats and flamingos - great ride - great barges - the food always amazing

Beauty of the Dordogne region. Great pull-offs for picnicking every day. Lascaux caves and museum, brilliantly well done!! Don’t miss it. Also, a last minute side trip to Les Eyzies prehistoric museum! Also fantastic!

Great Crew
Group
Guide
Bikes
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Lascaux Caves were unbelievable, as were the cliff dwellings and Natural History museum in Les Eyzies. Sophie was inccredible, always responding in a timely fashion with our questions and concerns. My bike seat kept sliding down, and I had to stop many times a day to raise it again. The biggest dissatisfaction was not having audible cues with our road navigation system. And it wouldn’t tell you that you were off course right away, so often we found ourselves turning around. The food was very difficult if you were a vegetarian and after riding bikes all day, we would have liked to have eaten before 8 o’clock at night. I know you don’t have control of that, but, just saying…

The biking itself and the dinners and stay at L’ostal de Pombonne
We were glad we took an e yea day in Bergerac.
We would have liked to receive the detailed booklet with information about sites to see on the route much earlier than our arrival in Bordeaux! We would have planned differently
For others: be aware you have to reserve a spot at each Lascaux cave. We didn’t know this, and unfortunately we’re not able to go to any of them.

1. The excellent, cheerful leadership by Helmut
2. The meals
3. The many fine trails, especially around Avignon. Wonderful biking.

The memorable part of the trip were the WWI sites including the beaches, American cemetery, and the German fortifications. If you plan to go to Point du Hoc to see the cliffs the army rangers climbed, note the navigation tool does not include this add on. We traveled on some scenic roads to get there and then heading to Omaha Beach found a bike path along the cliffs that took us right to Omaha Beach. This was actually backwards because we did not want to be at the beach at high tide. So if you are traveling the route the suggested way you will find the path to Point du Hoc at the end of Omaha Beach. We stayed in Bayeux and loved the town with its great restaurants. The navigation tool was a bit of a hassle because had to keep going out and coming back into the ap to see whether or not we were still on the route. Even so it was a great trip. Oh and highly recommend the e-bikes because where most of the ride was fairly level, we encountered some pretty long hills several times.

How many castles and what is the schedule for this tour?

This is a beautiful region and accessing it from the river trails is wonderful . The boat was very comfortable and the wonderful staff met our every need with a smile . We had rainy days , and closures due to local holidays which impacted our visits to small town restaurants and shops . I would avoid national holiday weeks in future .
My suggestions to improve this already wonderful trip :
- have bike storage racks that allow a little more deck space for sitting out .
-eliminate the hot tub , it’s only used by a few and takes up too much deck space .
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Great way to see Normandy and learn about D-Day. Some of the museums are a bit redundant, so pick carefully to avoid repetitive experiences.

The hotel selection was wonderful. The bike route was designed perfectly. The local travel agency staff is super easy to work with and very helpful.

This was our first experience on a bike and barge tour and it left us looking at more in the future. We enjoyed everything about the trip- the most memorable part? The friendships formed and our absolutely spectacular meals. The crew [Claudia, Lyla, Stephania, and Didi) worked so well together and provided us with memories we will cherish. We opted for E-bikes although we would have been ok without them- it provided a more relaxing pace. The only suggestion I would make is to have the free dinner on your own to be a day other than Sunday. I had planned ahead when first notified and made reservations at a nice place in Avignon but many struggled to find a place open on a Sunday night. Midweek would have been better, possibly in Arles. All in all, it wonderful and everything we hoped it would be.

So many to choose from, but the routes were amazing. Beautiful towns, lovely scenery.

Scenic ride along the Loire using quality bikes. Overall accommodations were comfortable enough, and breakfast were adequate but basic.
Looking back, I wish we had downloaded the Road to Discovery App beforehand, as we were tired after travelling down to France and it would have been more seamless if we'd have had all road info in front of us.

This trip was amazing! The directional app was excellent— we were always able to find our way. We purchased the dinner package and the cuisine was fabulous, especially in the small restaurants along the trail. The people who assisted us were incredibly patient, helpful and courteous.
Overall our experience was wonderful and unforgettable ! Thank you!

My husband and I loved the trip, our first bike/barge adventure. The boat, captain, crew, chef, and tour guides were wonderful. We enjoyed the other guests as well, which included couples and singles from the USA and Europe. The miles and miles of bike trails and visited sites were beautiful and memorable. Since experiencing the biking adventure, I have the following suggestions for potential guests. Bike riders should already have good bike riding skills. There are many path twists and turns to navigate, including sometimes in metropolitan areas. Before the trip, find out how many guests have selected e-bikes. If the majority are on e-bikes, it will be hard for the average bike rider on a regular bike to keep up with the group, even when the tour level is stated as “easy.” And, "easy" does not mean there are no hills or quick elevation gains. The group stays together. The tour is not at your own pace. We look forward to booking another tour through tripsite.

We experienced the most amazing trip for our wedding anniversary. The self-guided tour was a great way to visit this beautiful region at your own pace. The hotels picked out were absolutely gorgeous and well situated, all the main sights were at walking distance. I have to say that the itinerary was a bit harder than we expected and there were some very steep (and long) climbs. We highly recommend this trip!

RJ and the crew on the Quo Vadis were amazing. Every day Rikko and Wim would lead us through beautiful countryside and lovely towns. They shared much history of the Mosel region and educated us about the vineyards and wine production. The pace each day allowed exploring in the towns and then time to relax before dinner. The meals were delicious with attractive presentation and kept us fueled for the day's ride. Thanks to Inma, Marianne and Kim for taking care of us. It was a great vacation that I would highly recommend - physically active, beautiful scenery, history and much fun with the other riders and crew!

Everything was perfect!! The bikes awesome. The places and the experience amazing! We had a wonderful time, even though the weather was not very good.

Our guide Hugo was amazing! So knowledgeable and just a great person to cycle with. We loved the history of the area and the number of things we were able to see on the trip was really great. The bicycle was great and we moved efficiently together as a group. We were fortunate to have good weather despite the forecasts. Note that cabins are very small, but that they are also very efficient with lots of storage. Food by Nadia our chef was fantastic, and overall we loved the crew on this ship.

We loved the camaraderie of the fellow guests. Our tour guide Wim was knowledgeable and entertaining. The crew made every effort to ensure we were made welcome and looked after in every possible way. The food was wonderful! Our daily rides were full of great experiences and amazing scenery. Overall we loved our tour!

The Magnifique III Is a wonder boat with well appointed cabins and public space. The Mossell river is one of the prettiest and easiest to ride along. Getting to Metz from Paris was an easy train ride. We did not have to rush to the boat by 2 PM. The first day you get fitted on your bike and then are free until dinner. I would recommend an E -bike as there are sudden uphill grades and it make life easier. The GPS for your phone is very easy to follow So I would recommend that if you are traveling with a group of friends that the group goes self guided because there are many quaint villages along the way that you could see. The rides each day are from 22 to 37 miles and with the guide and take about 5 hours. The guides are on a schedule to meet the boat and not arrive early. They stop every 8-10+miles and linger for 30 minutes. Lunch is in nice towns but you do not have enough time to enjoy them. Overall, it was a beautiful trip however really fast and experienced riders would be frustrated.
The crew and guides change with each sailing so we cannot comment on our experience. I will say both crew and guides were extremely competent and friendly.

The scenery, the history, the superior quality of the staff, the appealing pace of the active elements & the great food!

This was a great trip for beginners - the hotels and bike journey were extremely well curated. These bike paths are also much more traveled than we were expecting (in a good way), but be sure to ask your tour provider to provide lunch options in the GPS route.

Bike guides fantastic, boat crew amazing. So many wonderful memories to pick out just one. Beautiful bike paths, scenery

The bike tours were wonderful and the guides were very knowledgeable! The boat staff was great, they made you feel like family!

The crew was outstanding❣️and the guides were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The food was superb