5 Star Germany Tour Reviews — 361 to 390 of 1145

Review of local cycling etiquette would have been helpful

Everything about this trip was enjoyable. Excellent barge and crew. Friendly group of riders. Beautiful biking routes each day.

The bicycle was perfect. The hotels were TOP rate. The routes took us to beautiful out of the traffic bike paths while routing us through charming villages. There were clear options for alternative travel on bad weather days.The service and attention to questions while preparing to leave was very prompt and thorough. Overall a great experience. I would recommend tripsite to any interested in an action adventure.

Great self-guided tour! We received best written directions we have ever had on a self-guided bike tour. The route was basically flat along the rivers and the route directions were clear, understandable, and often offered options. The route information also included recommendations and directions along the way to get to sightseeing points, cafes, pubs, and restaurants. Lukas provided a thorough review of the trip on our arrival, and was available to answer our questions. We used the recommended GPS as a supplement, which was helpful for confirming our location and when there was an instance of unexpected road construction on the route. We also very much enjoyed the bike tour of Prague with Daniel and his willingness to share his personal insights into the history of the city.

The boat was comfy and well appointed, the beds were very comfortable, the biking along the river was fabulous with knowledgeable and friendly guides. I also enjoyed the sumptuous dinners each night. One of the best parts of this trip was getting to know our fellow travelers and make new friends.

The cycling, food, and service by ship’s staff were all great! We had the good fortune to meet some very interesting and fun people from Canada and Scotland, attended a couple very good concerts in both Vienna and Prague, and basically saw a part of Europe we never thought we’d see. Budapest, Vienna, Prague were all very interesting, and beautiful cities, and our guide, Thomas, made it all even better! Juergen, the cruise director, was very helpful, as well, finding us when we lost our group at one point and getting us back to the ship. Between Thomas and Juergen, we were able to sample a lot of good food while on the bike rides, and they provided great company at dinner, as well. I believe Thomas ate with us nearly every evening.

A couple notes: 1) I brought pick-pocket proof pants, as I’d heard that we needed to be careful. I didn’t really need them. Probably a better purchase if you’re visiting Paris and/or Barcelona. 2). The 3rd level rooms had balconies, where the 2nd level rooms do not. The room for the balcony is taken from the indoor room space, so you actually pay more for a balcony, but lose space in the room. We had a 2nd level room and the other 2 couples we traveled with both had balconies. They were envious of our extra room. Be sure to take along a travel clothes line to dry your clothes.

We also found the e-bikes were well worth the extra $$. Both my wife and trained using standard bikes, and physically were in decent shape for the bike rides, which were all pretty easy, fun rides. We found the e-bikes let us relax and enjoy the trip a bit more than we might have on regular bikes.
The ship, the Swiss Crown, was in excellent condition. The food was very, very good, and seemed to get better each day, as did the bike rides. The table service on the ship was excellent and the servers were all very personable, helpful, and friendly. One member of our group was vegan, btw, and the ship did a great job of accommodating him.

In all, we had a great trip and would do it again! Thanks to all for a wonderful time!

This was our first Bike & Barge, but it won't be our last! The whole trip was fabulous, the biking, the crew, the food, the other passengers and Tripsite for organizing it all!

Bicycling through the beautiful vineyards and the opportunity to visit picturesque towns.

This was my fourth bike/barge tour with Tripsite, and it was just as amazing as the other trips. Loved every moment. The ship and crew were simply outstanding. The only disappointment is that the itinerary said we would be in Metz for the evening, to even include a walking tour. We were greatly looking forward to it. However, we left Metz within an hour of boarding. It was a great topic of conversation among many passengers, who were also disappointed. So I’m not sure why we even started in Metz, to only leave right away and travel quite a distance to our first port. Other than that, it was as wonderful as each of my other Trip Site vacations.

The itinerary was terrific. We had fabulous guides who gave us lots of information about the sites we were visiting. The boat was very comfortable and the food was great. We had just 20 participants and everyone was very interesting and friendly. Can't wait for our next trip!

I worked with TripSite to plan this trip for 20 friends and family and they were fantastic to work with: flexible, friendly and professional. And the trip costs half of similar trips offered by US based bike tour operators. The Iris was a superb boat in great condition and the crew were amazing, with a special shout-out to the fantastic food! The riding was hard to believe: miles and miles of flat, scenic, history drenched wine country. Every days ride was enjoyable and had nice prizes and surprises along the way. Some of my group decided to stay on board for one or more days and got to relax and watch the castles go by, read a book, drink some great local white wine, and chat with the friendly crew. This particular tour: the Mosel between Cochem and Metz, was referred to me by a good friend who has done a dozen packaged bike tours and said this was his favorite. Now it's ours!

The biking.

Hard to say! We loved every bit of it! The peddling around the beautiful sceneries, the picturesque little villages, and the two amazing cities of Dresden and Prague! All spectacular! Take your time, maybe add more days so you can really explore the places around.

This was my first bike and barge trip and it was wonderful! I plan to do more biking and cruising! It was fun traveling with 14 friends.

The whole experience was fantastic!
The operator was extremely well organized - all our bikes were ready, the explanations were detailed and thorough and the maps/information booklet was very useful.
Hotel selections were fabulous and a real treat to arrive at each after day of riding. Hotel staff were well prepared to deal with biking groups; our luggage was always easy to retrieve.
The "extra" day we spent in Lindau was also very enjoyable.

It doesn’t get any better than this !
What a fabulous time. After two years of rescheduling due to Covid we were so excited to take our trip aboard the Zwaan to cycle along the Mosel and Saar Rivers. Totally worth the wait.
The crew aboard the Zwaan was exceptionally helpful and friendly. The rooms comfortable and clean , and always a hot shower. We enjoyed having drinks on the deck watching the sunsets. Our meals were very good and we had fun trying to guess the ingredients and urge our chef to share his recipe. The energy expended from the staff to ensure we we happy and comfortable was commendable.
The cycling path was way going and we were pleased we chose to take our trip in early October because it was the time for harvesting grapes and the process was fascinating. Our weather held out albeit a bit cool at times but it’s better than biking in the heat. The towns we visited along the way were charming. We would have welcomed more time in Trier. The cycle paths were well maintained and mostly paved and off any busy roads with few exceptions.
Certainly would recommend this trip. Suitable for all ages, even for one turning 75 years old !

Took the Guided option. Glad we did. Our two guides, Michaela and Honza, weren't just helpful, they were upbeat and fun even if it rained. Most of the entire route was on quiet paved well-maintained paths. Having guides meant we were able to gawk around, stop and shoot photos at a whim and get inside info on the many castles visited along the way. We've cycled many times in Europe but this was the first time we set foot in Czech Republic. It's great. How can you not like a country where cake is served for breakfast! In fact, both Prague and Dresden cry out for extra days before and after the cycling even begins.

Seven cycling trips we've enjoyed in Europe. This one ranked way up there. Two reasons why: Honza and Michaela. As our guides, they thought of everything. They knew the route inside-out and quickly got a feel for our interests, tastes and abilities. They went out of their way to assist. Once we needed distilled water for a CPAP sleep apnea machine. But it was a national Czech holiday. All stores and pharmacies were closed. Honza didn't give in; he actually convinced supply personnel at a hospital to provide the water. Being alongside the beautiful Elbe for the most part meant the terrain was primarily flat and manageable. Both cities, Prague and Dresden, cry out for additional days before and after the cycling begins. As for the accommodation, we chose the upgrades and we're happy about it. Breakfast at the Hotel Clement in Prague deserves special mention. It was outstanding. In fact, we had cake for breakfast every single day in the country.

Riding the trails through the beautiful forests!

Biking with family, romantic views from the river, the friendliness of the boat puppy and crew, wonderful dinner , and the stadt tours

The bike rentals were heavy, I normally ride an enduro style mountain bike which is super light compared to the rentals. Next time I would look into different bikes as there was two big hills we had to climb for one hotel.
All hotels were amazing and paying extra for city centre was worth it.
We were surprised to find that there was a huge language barrier in Germany- they were not at all accommodating and even rolled their eyes when we spoke English. All European countries I have been to will at least try and we can get a meal ordered.

The trip is allways on the river bank. So its very ease to bike this tour. The sightseeings are memorable. The most remarkable part was the view, the biergartens besides the bike path. Tip: dont let behind the visit on the rock bridge monument. Enjoy the small villages on the trip, they are very nice.

The friends we made during the trip were the highest point of the tour. We biked and hung out for drinks at the boat deck every night. The crew eas efficient, gentle and friendly. The food was exceptional. The cabins and showers were rather small.

The Patria is a beautiful boat with highly motivated and cheerful staff so that every day is a party. The tour guide was very helpful and focused on making your holiday a successful one. The route is picturesque and beautiful, beautiful villages like Saarburg, Traben Trarbach, Beilstein, Trier. Places where you can drink your tea and eat the traditional cakes and have a beautiful view over the Mosel, those are the most precious moments. We have now done this tour for the second time, every day has his nice spots to see en enjoy of the river. We are already thinking about doing it again when the autumn colors are there. This is one of our favorite tours.

The visit to Burg Eltz was fantastic. If I could suggest, it is worth having it be the focus of an entire day, as going and coming back involves a relatively strenuous walk, as well as a ride.

This September my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed taking this tour for the second time (first April 2015). After taking 7 Tripsite tours this still remains our favorite due to the consistantly beautiful countrysides, lovely interesting villages, quality bike paths, and fantastic experience aboard the Patria. Not only are the port towns excellent, there are many wonderful places to investigate and enjoy along the ride every single day. We like it so much we plan to do it again in the future a bit later in fall to catch some color on route. Having taken both directions now our personal preference is Koblenz to Saarburg. We enjoy the northern villages with a hike to Berg Eltz most and feel the current routes are set up to enjoy this most fully coming from that direction. If your concern is avoiding inclines the south to north direction is your best bet since that is actually downriver. The southern villages are still outstanding, you just see more Roman influence mixed with the Bavarian half timber.

Another very well organised tour with a well selected route on quiet roads and cycle tracks mostly The Accommodation was very good and the bag drops very easy. The bikes were excellent. The info book accompanying the maps was clear with good additional information
Thank you
Dara

This trip was made by me and my wife around lake Konstanz, which is located in the border areas of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Lake Konstanz is a clear and clean water lake. Is is a very beautifull path, very well signalized and safe one. You travel through open green fields, huge orchards, with beautifull nature scenarios. The paths are easy ones, some of them have some slope, but I would quote the overall trip between easy and intermediate, for people like us: active 57 year old people. We would say this trip is an intense one which combines biking and visiting places, so you are 8 ~ 10 hours down the road daily.
The bikes were brand new, the luggage transfer worked on time in all 10 days. GPS files, map, and overall guide were excelent ones! Make sure you have a local internet connection in your mobile, it hepls you locate yourself a lot anywhere.
The selection of hotels were very good, we had a problem with street noise in one of them.
We´ve travelled from Brazil to Germany and started next day the trip. We had a jet lag of 5 hours time difference and this has caused us to start late in the first day. Then we arrived in first destination late, so it took us some days to start leaving hotels earlier. I would strongly recommend this trip for any friend, just pay attention to the time of the year to avoid extreme temperatures or excessive rain.

Was, everything wonderfull. very nice. Your organizacion was fantastic. Thanks for all.

Great tour and fantastic boat. The Merlijn had it all - amazing food, friendly professional crew, gorgeous interior design, solid internet, spotlessly clean, and great communication. Several passengers had special diet requests that were thoughtfully accommodated. There are many small special touches - personal cabin intro, laundry folded neatly on bed, flavored cold water after biking, different table decor each night, espresso and small snacks available at all hours.

Our guide Lia was super energetic, friendly, knowledgeable and catered to the group's "wants". The first day fell into the moderate category - challenging surfaces (cobblestones, tank tracks, grassy sandy trails) and a long grunt up a hill in a field. Each day got easier with the last being an easy flat paved surface. Lia provided lots of information about the area's history, especially around WWII and its impact preunification. We visited churches, a castle, an artist's studio, and a concentration camp (briefly).

Tips: brush up on WWII era history before trip, reserve ebike early (6 onboard), ok to pack light as laundry is provided (for a fee).

I've been spoiled by their outstanding quality and don't want to book anywhere else. I'm looking forward to my next trip on Merlijn next summer!