3 star rated Germany Bike Tour Reviews 1 to 30 of 37
Country: Germany • REMOVE
- 76% 5 star: 572 reviews
- 18% 4 star: 132 reviews
- 5% 3 star: 37 reviews
- 1% 2 star: 7 reviews
- 1% 1 star: 4 reviews
janet a. 2 weeks ago Verified Reviewer
Best part: Route we rode. Some of the small towns and countryside.
Donna G. 1 month ago Verified Reviewer
Best Part: Interactions with passengers from around the world
Boat: Arlene II
Geraldine D. 1 month ago Verified Reviewer
We really liked the MS Arkona, the staff and our F&B head mgr. Routes were Ok, but need better route descriptions esp for English speakers. Electric bikes were excellent! Def the better way to really enjoy the ride!
Janis B. 8 months ago Verified Reviewer
The scenery, hotels and food were great. People were very friendly. The maps for this self-guided trip around Lake Constance were not detailed enough, did not provide information for intersections and turns. We had many times that we did not which way to go. Definitely need better maps.
Estela B. 10 months ago Verified Reviewer
This is a great tour, with wonderful cities to visit and scenic bike rides. The barge was perfect, great food and service. We enjoyed the evening music and dancing very much. A heat wave happened while we were there, so we had a great time on the sun deck
I was not as happy with the bikes. I was in charge of a group of 25 and at least 6 of them had bike issues: brakes that worked only in the front or back, e-bikes that only assisted when pedaling at full throttle, and more. Even though we reported this, and we were told they would fix the bikes, in reality the bikes were not repaired by the next day, and it took time and effort to get them replaced. I expected more from Rad & Reisen, the bike company. Also there was very little instruction on how to use the e-bikes. My suggestion is to have a person at the dock on the first day to give a 10 minute one-on-one instruction on the e-bike and make the person do a little test ride. It was not as intuitive how to use them if you Read more… never have done it.
Another issue that could have been better is a bigger, clearer map on how to get to the path from the barge location. That part is usually the hardest.
All that said, it was still a nice, memorable trip.Boat: Carissima
Florence B. 11 months ago Verified Reviewer
This is a great ride, if you use the right company. We used Tripsite, who contracted Austria Radreisen, not the company to use. We were told that Austria Redreisen would meet us at the hotel in Passau the day before the trip was to start...they did not show( a competitor company, Donau, spent 2 hours with their clients, in our hotel). We tried to contact Austria Radreisen at their 'emergency' number...no one answer/no answering machine. The day the tour was to start, they delivered two bikes which were extremely heavy, and with 7 speed changers....we had specifically ordered 21 speed hybrids. The bikes were delivered by the person who picked up the suitcases, and we were told by him that he had no knowledge of how the bikes worked...we were on our own to figure them out. In spite of being in good physical condition, we found the bikes very difficult to use, as they would not coast. After 2 days with the heavy bikes, we had to take a day off as we were exhausted. Read more… Thanks to the help of a receptionist at the Courtyard Marriot in Linz, the company delivered replacement 21 speed hybrids(which we should have received in the first place) at our next hotel (we had to take the train to get there), which we used with no problems the rest of the way. The hotels provided by the company were excellent, and the travel maps adequate. We certainly will not go with this company again when we plan our next bike tour.Brad W. 1 year ago Verified Reviewer
Much of the bike ride was difficult to navigate. Signs on the road are not always clear. Expected more country rides but much of the bike ride was through cities with many vehicles (somewhat dangerous). If we elect to travel with Tripsite again, we will do more research to determine ease of navigation along the bike route and how much of the route is through traffic.
Boat: Arlene II
Mary R. 1 year ago Verified Reviewer
The cruise through the iron gate was a highlight of this trip. Cruise director did a great job throughout the cruise. Weather was much warmer than average and many days of biking were at 90 degrees F on roads and trails with little cover or shade so were somewhat more difficult than anticipated. It was a great experience but people need to be aware that most of the riding in the Eastern European countries are on the side of roads sometimes without a bike lane and there was some traffic.
Terrence Z. 1 year ago Verified Reviewer
This potentially could be a great tour but it was not a great tour for us. The tour guide book was in German which we do not read, thus we wasted a lot of time every day being lost! Also, the provided bikes were not of the best quality, and pedaling them was not easy! The hotels were fine, but we would not recommend this tour unless you read German!
JoAnn G. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
The Rhine Valley is a wonder to bike and very enjoyable.
Boat: Arlene II
Karen K. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
Most Memorable Part: The last day of our trip we cycled through small towns and vineyards. Stopped at a beautiful small church and were able to hear the choir practicing. We (6 of us) will never forget that part of the trip.
Boat: Normandie
Robert E. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
Compared to previous tours, the Merlijn was very well organized on board, but maybe over-organized to the point it was less fun and spontaneous. Very low key with lots of rules - no partying for sure. Also, we found the food was very disappointing by comparison. Highlights included the actual cycling, with beautiful countrysides, storybook towns, the wine tour, etc and the cycling guide was excellent. We were also fortunate to have another good group on the tour which was both interesting and fun. All in all, a satisfactory trip.
Barbara M. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
Scenery que sheets needed to be more precise. Several of us got lost on our last day and therefore couldn't tour the Melk Abbey. I was very disappointed we ended up biking 50 miles instead of 26.
Boat: Carissima
Gordon M. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
We had an exceptional guide. He had a lot of local knowledge and often altered our route in order to extend our cycling experience.
Boat: Sailing Home
Penny S. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
My most memorable part of cycling along the Rhine River was seeing the beautiful country side hills with castles and fortresses and stopping for coffee and delicious baked goods in villages.
Boat: MS Andante
Mona W. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
Most Memorable Part: The people on our tour were great. A bunch of fun people.
Boat: Quo Vadis
Judee W. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
Riding the Danube was the most memorable part. This trip was trying to do too many things for too many diverse folks at one time. A bike trip and a boat trip are different experiences. For biking, I think a smaller boat with more cycling is important. The staff worked hard with several languages, those who wanted to sun, those who wanted to tour cities, and those of us who wanted to bike: tough job. They did a great job, but for bikers, I think another option should be recommended. There was a great deal of confusion because of the diversity of activities. The cyclists actually lost a full day of cycling due to conflicts/changes/who knows? Descriptions of the next day's activities were very confusing, because they were trying to give instructions for a variety of different folks. We were always wondering, confused about our ride instructions for the next day. Thank goodness for the bike guides who tried their best to keep us informed!
Boat: Carissima
Deborah M. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
Biking through the wine country around Melk. The villages were amazing and the people were friendly. I'm only 5'2" and the bike's weren't a good fit for me I needed a smaller frame but none were available. The bike I was given for the 1st day of riding was in very poor condition which made the first 27 mile ride rather uncomfortable but several people complained and the staff fixed the bikes. Make sure you get on your bike the 1st day as early as they will let you so there is time for fixes if needed before the boat leaves and you need to ride off on your first journey.
Boat: Carissima
Ileana G. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
The visit to Strekov castle was one of the more memorable moments. We had time to explore the ruins. Otherwise, we did not stop anywhere for long. The other spot where we stopped for a while was Terezin, site of a Nazi concentration camp. At Pillnitz castle near Dresden, we were given 15 or 20 minutes to tour the gardens if we wished. Overall, the pace was fast and the trip felt a little rushed. The description of the ride as easy is a little inaccurate. There were some hills to contend with, especially on the first day. I would have liked a little more free time in the pretty towns of Melnik and Litomerice. Most accommodations had no air conditioning, and it was very hot when I made the trip in late July-early August.
Brad T. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
Riding through southern Bavaria was simply beautiful. Murnau, Garmisch and Wallgau were amazing towns. The route that this ride took was perfect, if only the bikes were better. Close to a third of this trip was on gravel/dirt roads, with a few decent climbs, and the heavy clunky bikes definitely took away from the enjoyment. This was my second trip through Tripsite, but I would be hesitant to do it again or recommend it to others simply because of how bad the bikes are.
Steve C. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
While the scenery was wonderful, I don't think that I could recommend this type travel to someone who would like to take more time to see the sites. This tour, just in my opinion, is much better suited for someone prioritizing cycling over site seeing. I (and some others in my group) discussed how there was a "rushed" feeling to the trip. That being said, the itinerary is posted online for all to make an informed decision. Lastly, there was almost a sense that we, the customers, were an inconvenience to many of the staff until the second to last day when there was an announcement that a tipping envelope would be left in each cabin. Staff personalities completely changed for the better on the last day and a half. This opinion was quietly shared by most of us who had done this type of tour numerous times before.
Jennifer Formolo 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
The food and scenery were magnificent. The boat was better than I had expected. Don't pay extra for the upper deck cabins on the Normandie because they are identical with the exception of being able to open the window on the upper deck. Our tour guide was rude. He spent a lot of time talking to the Germans and very little time talking in English. He scolded us if we asked questions that could be found in our book or were only relevant to the next day's bike trip. Peter at the front desk was also very rude. He made you feel stupid for asking any questions. He is in the tourist business and should expect questions and answer them gracefully. I wouldn't tell someone to avoid this trip, because of the beauty, but don't expect a lot from the staff. The rest of the staff were quite nice, but there were three men that should not be in this business!!
Peter V. 2 years ago Verified Reviewer
The Route Guide that we received was in German. We called Velociped and they said that they ran out of English guide - Basically we were SOL and not getting the Route Guide in English. They knew it way before hand that they did not have any English Route Guide - they should have let you or us know and maybe sent us written instructions for the route. We had difficulty in the first 3 days of the trip. We did not even get any instructions of how the electric bikes worked or how to operate it. The first day - my wife struggled on the ebike because it was not working right- we had to call. Instructions on what to do and how to start it would have been good. Very poor customer service. In addition, we signed up for CLASS A hotels, which was supposed to be 3 or 4 stars - not one of the hotels provided was a 4 star. The scenery along the Mosel River was spectacular, the luggage transfers between hotels was great.
pam 3 years ago Verified Reviewer
The tour we did was aboard the MS Andante in late September. The riding was easy, and for the most part trail was easy to follow. A few times riders had to be rescued by Garrett, our tour leader,as the route had changed. The scenery was beautiful with rolling hills, castles, vineyards, and of course the majestic Rhine. The Andante is an old ship that could really use some refurbishing. The lounge feels like you're in an old Sinatra movie, the dining room is cramped and there's no option of sitting with other passengers. The chef did a very nice job with the dinners, they were not overly elegant but were quite tasty. I can't say the same for breakfast. It alternated between boiled eggs and greasy sausage, to scrambled eggs and greasy sausage. The staff was not overly friendly, the front desk girls seemed more interested in their afternoon smoke, than greeting passengers. The cabins were accessed by treacherous stairs, but once there they were not too bad. The Read more… carpet has seen better days, and the bathroom was shower/toilet combo. Overall, if given the choice I would definitely do this cruise again, but might look into a different ship.D. Dalebout 3 years ago Verified Reviewer
Janine was the ultimate host and an excellent chef. She worked very hard to assure guests were satisfied with the trip.
Vickie Butte 4 years ago Verified Reviewer
Yes, but only to the most experienced rider as the route is very diverse and at times rugged which would be very difficult for the average rider. coupled w/the bike/equipment is substandard making the ride even more difficult than it should be.
Mari Jo Krebs 4 years ago Verified Reviewer
We prefer guided trips because we miss the guides knowledge of area. We start riding and don't take time to check out the sights
Cecil Harris 4 years ago Verified Reviewer
One of our hotels was not up to our expectations or the trip rating. Most of our maps/directions were good but missed a detour/construction.
Ivy Higgs 4 years ago Verified Reviewer
We were a bit late in the season so weather not great. Food brilliant.
Boat: Allure
Deborah Stone 4 years ago Verified Reviewer
Accommodations were too cramped. Our first boat trip had more adequate rooms.
Breakfast was great but supper was so so. Not good vegetarian options .Boat: My Story