5 Star France Tour Reviews — 241 to 270 of 596

Wine, good food and laughter with good friends at the end of the day each day. I loved the City of Trier, the hotel we stayed in in Piesport- Wiengut Lehnert-Veit, and the Eltz Castle outside of Trier.

I felt strongly the pull of the Mosel River as it flows across 2,000 years of history, spanning the Roman Empire, centuries of struggle between France and Germany culminating in World War II, and the formation of the European Union in 1985. From the bike saddle, we observe workers pruning vines and collecting grapes, children attending school and residents running daily errands. The experience unfolding before our eyes is enhanced by knowing a bit of that local history -- imagining Roman life here from 2,000 years ago, contemplating daily life in a medieval castle in the 16th century, and understanding World War 2 and postwar efforts to establish the European Union and the Euro common currency. All these historical events shaped life along this river; the evidence surrounds you, from Roman ruins, to castles, farms, footpaths, commercial barge traffic, and agriculture. Part of this journey is taking note of the layering of the modern world over deep historical foundations.

Riding along the river the entire time with beautiful scenery and good bicycling surfaces.

The route and scenery exceeded my expectations.

Crew and guide were fantastic.
Our dinners were amazing. Chef put much thought into selecting and preparing our evening meal always paired with a fabulous wine.
Enjoyed recapping our day’s ride after dinner with our guide, Mickey.
Each day brought a new adventure of riding. Lots of variety.
Might include a walking tour of Avignon as part of the trip.

We loved riding through the beautiful countryside and stopping to see the important landmarks along the way.

Our trip along the Moselle River from Metz France, through Luxemburg, to Koblenz Germany was a fantastic adventure! The route was easy to follow, especially with the GPS coordinates we were provided along with the detailed description of the towns. Our group of four travelled along the river following the mostly paved trail through fields and forests, vineyards, and city trails. The September air was crisp and cool and the vines were rich with clusters of grapes. Traveling comfortably an average of 35 miles on well-maintained e-bikes, we arrived at our destinations with plenty of time for exploration and discovery. Each town had its own charming character. Trier, one of the oldest cities of Germany was an incredible architectural experience with Romanesque arches, palaces and cathedrals. We discovered outdoor markets and enjoyed local Luxemburg cuisine as we learned about the creation of the Schengen agreement which led to the EEU. Old Roman castles dotted the terraced mountains and we took the time to visit a few of them, marveling at their size and strength, The small village of Neumagen-Dhron, with its historic and colorful architecture welcomed us with open arms as they celebrated their annual wine festival in the streets. Koblenz at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle shared its dynamic march through history with monuments and statues. Accommodations were consistently excellent in quality and service.
This was my first adventure with Tripsite but by no means the last. Thanks to all at Tripsite for making this such a memorable vacation!

The biking throughout was excellent: we had great guides and the barge crew was friendly, accommodating, and VERY professional. Plus there seemed to be a castle on every hill, like biking through a fairytale.

The scenery along the route is amazing. Rolling vineyards and hills are gorgeous. The chateaux were stunning with Chenonceaux the most spectacular (pro tip, GET THERE WHEN IT OPENS at 9am. You must reserve your time to visit online before you go. Also, get the audio guides whenever you can; really adds to the visit). We also took the canoe tour along the Cher river and saw Chenonceaux from the water; HIGHLY recommend doing this.
The chateau in Blois and Chaumont-Sur-Loire were gorgeous, as was Chambord. Cheverny was a treat with the hound pen and Tin Tin exhibit.
We found a winery on the route from Amboise to Vouvray (Caves Cathelineau in Chancay). We did a tour and then a tasting and it was one of the highlights of our trip
The route is rated Easy to Moderate. My wife and I are both experienced recreational cyclists and we opted for E-bikes. There ARE numerous hilly sections and wind; unless you truly love riding up hills, would strongly recommend an E-bike for this trip. Also, opt for the GPS guided route and use the app BikeGPX. I spent the $10 to upgrade the app and it was the best investment. I cannot imagine taking this tour using paper maps. Far too many twists and turns along the way to stay on track.

The trip was well organised, we saw lots of interesting new places, loved, the rides through the forests and the food was amazing! The most memorable part of the trip was the way the entire crew worked together to give us all a wonderfully enjoyable trip.Highly recommend a trip on board Feniks!

The wonderful guides who helped me, the splendid rides, the friendly stafff

Highlights was wonderful riding on French country roads with mostly minimal traffic. The official route takes a lot of twists and turns. We improvised (e.g. following marked bike paths in the general direction we wanted to go in, and at times a slightly busier road) and it went well.

The Zwaantje crew and guides were first rate: highly competent, upbeat and accommodating. Our guides were fun to ride with and loaded with local knowledge, and were flexible enough to improve the schedule of sailing and ride routing to better match the weather and riding group. Very well done! We will be back for more.
The bicycles were fine, and in good order. Next time we will bring strap-on water bottle cages so good hydration is closer to hand.

Burgundy is a wonderful place for a bike tour. Dijon and Beaune have nice tourist sites, and we ate well and had excellent wine throughout. We especially liked the restaurant at Hotel Le Dracy.
The routes were nice, highlighted by the bike path along the canal between Beaune and Dracy. The hybrid bicycles were good, if a little heavy for those of us used to road bikes. We had no mechanical issues.

This trip was fabulous. Outstanding service, incredible food, luxurious accommodations and an attentive crew. The best trip we've ever taken. Steve, Karina and their crew were so friendly. The countryside we cycled and cruised through was so scenic. Our excursion guide, Edita, took us to do many wonderful places. Tips for others? Be prepared to be pampered!

It was so amazingly organized. The tour guides were exemplary, the rest of the staff absolutely wonderful and so personable, the food was totally extraordinary, the bikes were really well maintained and wonderful.

And three of my colleagues on the trip - who had been, between them, on no less than13 other bike and barge trips - all said whole-heartedly that this particular July 23rd, 2022 was the best by far that they had ever experienced. Was I ever lucky as it was my first!!

This trip is and will be for a long time the most memorable trip I ever had. Our hotel was fantastic. Great rooms, great food. The bikes were top notch, couldn't have had a better bike. The owner of the hotel was very knowledgeable about the roads we took each day, and the road in the Tarn Valley are so smooth and well kept.

This tour takes you through spectacular landscapes and beautiful villages.

The captain and staff were all very personable and worked well together. Steffi is amazing!

The countryside was beautiful and excursions interesting. Luckily, we had magnificent weather, which made everything feel perfect!

The wine tastings could have included a brief tour, like the cider tasting excursion did.

Biking through the small villages was very picturesque. Only regret was not having a GoPro to video as we were riding through.

This was a fantastic bike trip! The weather forecast for our trip was not favorable but we had only 1 rainy day and we were prepared with rain gear. The route was beautiful and very safe. French drivers are very aware and respectful of cyclists. So many beautiful places to see! We highly recommend on the 5th day to visit the gardens and Benac castle. There is a choice to visit 2 other castles that day but the gardens include lots of walking as does exploring the castle. The optional ride in Sarlat is well worth it but don’t miss the canoe on the Dordogne. We did both. We stayed an extra day in Sarlat in June because high season is July so it was not mobbed. A lovely experience! If you do not speak French just try a few words and you will be well received. If you expect a non English speaking French person if they speak English they will say no and not attempt to help you.

The daily bike rides were more than I expected through beautiful countrysides and charming villages. The staff were outstanding in their efforts to make us comfortable- loved the swim off the barge after a long days ride! . The cuisine was superb and reasonably portioned - loved daily fresh baguettes.

From start to finish we had a great time and definitely lived up to all expectations
will definitely do another trip next year and for longer
communication with staff on arrival (Paul Garcia) and luggage forwarding was very good
accommodation was excellent in Dijon at Hotel des Ducs and Chateauneuf was charming
I would definitely suggest air con as essential at that time of year, we had two hotels without and suffered as a result
Directions around Nolay were very confusing and we lost an hour & a half trying to work it our but I can think of worse places to be stuck!

I love Provence. This is a fabulous tour to see both the countryside and villages. The L’Estelle is a very comfortable barge, the staff are amazing. I’ve been on several bike and barge tours and the food was the best. We had a full spread every day when we were back from biking. Our tour guide was great. There are several extra tours of castles , villages , olive farm included. The only thing to note is that the tour in Arles does not take you into the collegium, theatre or Roman baths. She stands outside and talks about them. If you enjoy history then this is for you but if you want to actually see the sites then skip the tour as there’s plenty of time to see them on your own. I also liked this tour as we didn’t just follow the river but did loops and came back which made it interesting.

Just completed this tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was amazing!! The boat was clean and well maintained. We did find the rooms very tight and agree on the steep staircase. Our guide was excellent and knowledgeable about the history of the area. She looked after all guests needs. The Captain and his wife were part of the team and we enjoyed their interaction with guests. Bert had some great jokes!!

We actually combined two Loire Valley segments - Tours to Angers, and Angers to St. Brevin les Pins, adding an extra day in the middle, in Angers. The Loire Valley is a wonderful cycling experience - spectacular scenery, countless fascinating historical sites, charming inns, excellent food and wine. The cycling was definitely on the easy side - mostly flat, reasonable distances each day, the trails well-marked, the paths mostly paved and separated from the roads. The bikes (Scott Sport 20) were steady and comfortable. The weather during our trip (mid-June) was near-perfect, except for a bit of unusual heat the last few days. Highly recommended for every aspect of the cycling experience.

The route was well planned and paced, the hotels perfectly fine and the sights were tremendous. What beautiful scenery! A few tricky spots, but some must be expected on a bike tour. Highly suggest using the app, suppled by Tripsite, for each day's itinerary; would not have wanted to follow the route using paper maps. A word to the wise on e-bikes: the last three days were very hilly, so care must be taken to conserve the battery when possible. Even being cautious, I ran out of juice on two days. It was not fun peddling these heavy bikes the last 4-5 miles. On the whole, highly recommend this particular tour, the third one we've taken with Tripsite.

Great Trip,
All the places were very nice.
The service was very good
It will better if yousay who little town is worth to go inside (if you have time) and which is better for lunch, etc

In the hotels.
The Hotels Mais d Agret in Les Baux is really very COMPLETE and GOOD
The Hotel du poete is good but need Manteinance, pinting, etc
The Hotel Ibis in Avignon os maybe the less..

Thanks for everything,

The coverage of the company is excellent. They fulfilled everything they offered. The bikes are new and of very good quality. Le Baux de Provence is a beautiful place

Wonderful trip. Great crew with Sarah and Joseph as cooks, Willy as captain, and Michaela (?sp) as our guide. I have some dietary restrictions which they handled very well. Cabins are a little small but not inadequate given the small boat size. The stairway is somewhat awkward but manageable.
Michaela was a good informant about historical facts about the area. She is also a very good bike mechanic, having worked in a bike shop recently during the pandemic.
Good tour mates from multiple countries. Everyone got along well. Would definitely recommend this trip.