5 Star Germany Tour Reviews — 181 to 210 of 1145

Having dinner at Fisherman’s Bastion overlooking Budapest at night was just magical. Also, our first day ride at Danube Bend was a fantasic experience with the bike road along the Danube and the little bike ferries we used (and the Schapps wasn’t bad either!). All in all, great ship, great bikes, great time!

Our Tripsite bike and barge tour with the Merlijn was absolutely fantastic!!! We now have such wonderful memories of the crew, food, our cycling guide, and the new friends we shared this adventure with. We can’t wait to go on another trip!!

The trip was a great way to see rural eastern Germany and Denmark. The bike paths and low-trafficed roads were a great way to see a part of the world I had only seen in pictures. Saw things I never would have imagined seeing. Only for a very small fraction of the trip, well under 5%, did one have to be concerned about significant vehicle traffic. The accommodations were more than satisfactory. Please note though the accommodations met European decent quality standards NOT what some North Americans would expect. Some of the rooms were a bit smaller. no AC and low volume flush toilets. The quality of the breakfasts more than made up for any minor issues regarding the rooms. The map data was well laid out. Would definitely recommend downloading the GPX route files and using them on your phone to go from town to town.

We had a great time on our bike & boat trip down the Danube! We were aboard the Primadonna. The highlight of the trip was Budapest. What an amazing city! It was a rest day so we had all day to explore. We left by night when all those incredible buildings were lit up and reflected in the Danube.
Optional city tours were available when we weren’t cycling. I recommend them because we learned history & facts about where we were. The organ concert in Linz was a wonderful experience too.
The boat was great. The staff was helpful and friendly, the meals were good, reflecting the region and our lowest deck room was comfortable. It did surprise us the first morning how close to the water level our window was!
The last day, cycling through vineyards and villages in Austria was delightful.
We would recommend this trip to others. The terrain is easy so you can enjoy your surroundings. We were glad we opted for the e-bikes. The Primadonna doesn’t provide helmets though but sold them in their little bike shop on board for €35, so we bought them.
Most of the people on the trip are retirees. Not many young people. They still have to work! They would enjoy it too though.

We had a great time on our bike & boat trip down the Danube! We were aboard the Primadonna. The highlight of the trip was Budapest. What an amazing city! It was a rest day so we had all day to explore. We left by night when all those incredible buildings were lit up and reflected in the Danube.
Optional city tours were available when we weren’t cycling. I recommend them because we learned history & facts about where we were. The organ concert in Linz was a wonderful experience too.
The boat was great. The staff was helpful and friendly, the meals were good, reflecting the region and our lowest deck room was comfortable. It did surprise us the first morning how close to the water level our window was!
The last day, cycling through vineyards and villages in Austria was delightful.
We would recommend this trip to others. The terrain is easy so you can enjoy your surroundings. We were glad we opted for the e-bikes. The Primadonna doesn’t provide helmets though but sold them in their little bike shop on board for €35, so we bought them.
Most of the people on the trip are retirees. Not many young people. They still have to work! They would enjoy it too though.

The evening cruise out of Budapest with all the illuminated building was so amazing.
Take your time in the smaller towns and cities as you bike to the larger cities. Most of the big cities are more difficult to get around. With the exception of Vienna, the guided tours were superb.

Our Merlijn adventure was a magical package- from the cozy cabins, fabulous food, smooth! charming bike paths, and superior guide -to congenial fellow bikers. And the ebike made it possible for my elderly knees. The scenic rides were away from the hustle and bustle of large cities. Idyllic, highly recommend.

Experiencing the great scenery, this was our very first trip to Europe. Loved it our ship, crew, guides were all first class.

The beauty of the cycling route and the relaxed yet active daily schedule

Beautiful countryside, fantastic views and nearly all the route was on cycle paths...recommend extra night in Augsburg at the end of the holiday.

The best part of the trip was the cycle portion through Austria’s Wachau Valley winery district. Truly picturesque!
Advice: Bring a Tupperware type container to pack your lunch. The boat provides a small sandwich and fruit but if you prefer to eat something else or just more than the sandwich, you need to have a container for it. We started packing the hard boiled eggs, and fruit in our bike bags but a container would have made it much easier. There are not very many opportunities to eat lunch at a restaurant while you are cycling, but plenty of gorgeous places to have a picnic. A travel picnic set with a cutting board, an a knife and fork would come in very handy.
We signed up for all the bus/walking tours to give our saddles a break. They were all great but the bus tour in Budapest we could have passed on because the boat docks right in the center of all the tourist spots so it was just as easy to navigate touring there on your own. Friends we met on the boat did the bike tour there and said it was great but I couldn’t face getting on the bike again that day:). Vienna is harder to get around so unless you feel pretty adventurous, I recommend the tour. We also did the trip to the concert and it was gorgeous- well worth it!
The e-bikes were awesome, and very comfortable. We bought gel seat covers and brought them with us which I think helped a lot. Unless you are a seasoned cyclist, it’s a lot of time on the bike and the tush gets tired.
Overall an amazing trip, the staff was fun and helpful. Our tour director was a substitute for the regular person and he was good but cranky. The regular tour director had awesome reviews so I think we just happened to get an off week!
I highly recommend this tour and now am ready to do another bike and boat in a different location!

Visiting Saarburg and Treier. Eating delicious food. Being on board with a great group of people. And the crew who helped us. Riding through the different towns and being able to see life from their view.

Boat and Crew was absolutely Fantastic. Lia our Bike Guide was Amazing.

The most memorable part of the trip was being guided by competent guides and entertained by International riders along the breathtaking Moselle. Tips: consider taking a Camelbac to have easy access to water and a clothesline and soap to wash clothes since it was hot and our clothes needed to be refreshed in the middle of the trip.

The way the trip was arranged was very interesting. The cities were educational and the trails were easy to navigate.

The premium bikes were very good for the trip and a nice selection of hotels to stay at along the way.

Leslie, the cruise director made this trip the best one I’ve ever experienced!!!!

This was an amazing trip on so many levels! Perhaps the best aspect of it was that it was very personal, including a small intimate group of people where everyone had the opportunity to connect both with each other and also with the open and welcoming staff on board - Alice, our host & all the crew - Stefan, Captain Dick & First Mate, Adriane, not to mention Chef Joost and our guides Thomas and Treasa. I believe this is a selling point for your marketing team. The next thing worthy of mention would be the attention to detail provided by your staff on the boat. Everything was as close to perfect as you can get - our rooms, meal service, and programming. And topping that list would be the food prepared by chef, Joost. It tasted and was presented at a 5 star level, leaving no one disappointed including anyone with food allergies/preferences. In fact, for people with food issues the staff went above and beyond to ensure satisfaction. Our host, Alice, made particular arrangements for my wife to have everything she needed including special daytime snacks while riding. Last but not least was the daytime programming. The guides, Thomas and Treasa, were outstanding, to say the very least. Their skills and abilities complimented each other and meant that every rider’s needs were always addressed with ease. The two of them worked as a team as we cycled the incredible German landscape making our way through cities, towns and countryside along the Rhine and Moselle rivers. Their knowledge of the local history and the importance of each place including churches and castles (ABC’s), museums, wineries and monuments was exceptional. It went beyond the surface layer providing important detail and significance within the larger history of Germany. We could not have asked for a better trip. Thank you to all who made our particular cycle voyage so memorable, so special. These memories will be cherished… Gord & Mo

Great trip, castles galore, our guides leading us into medieval towns, palaces, gardens.
Easy biking and having two guides meant both faster and slower bikers catered for.
Iris barge conversion provided both indoor and outside lounge areas perfect for after bike social time.
Fantastic food. Thankyou chef.

The staff was amazing Tereasa with all her knowledge of the historical information of the area , the chef Joust with his amazing menu
The crew and captain making us so welcome on board and Thomas leadership through hill and dail.
This made the days so good.

Ability to make last minute decisions based on flooding conditions and unpredictable weather

Saw the usual number of castles and coffee shops

Great overall experience
The Ship and crew were great, the bike guides were very professional.
We loved the wine tasting evening
One tip, it is a good idea to practice one’s bike before the trip.

The most memorable part of our trip was the ability of the cruise director and crew to adapt to the high waters of the Danube. It was a wonderful trip; the bike rides we did were all enjoyable, even when many of them were ended by flooded back paths or required unexpected detours. The food was great!

The director and crew were very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the ride through the scenic landscape and quaint towns. The tours were very good too!

Food and service, cleanliness was excellent. The Staff was fantastic also. Only drawback was charging for coffee and water during non- meal times.

The Vivienne and its crew were all exceptional! I would not change anything. Our guide, Leslie went above and beyond.

I loved the trip, but I would make sure that the tour group meets you prior to the take off...They left the bikes and we never saw anybody to help us get started. We were three hours trying to get the ebikes moving, turned out it was the connection between the control and the bike. If we had, had some help that frusteration would have been resolved quickley. Didnt feel like we were helped at all. We did love the trip, we feel like we are stronger because we overcame so many obsticals. The maps were in german, and the road instructions were in a seperate book, it was hard to coordinate the 2.

Doc

Overall the trip was amazing. The most memorable part was just doing it, and so glad we did. The service staff on the ship was terrific. The food was pretty good but not quite 5 stars. The routes were fairly easy to navigate but in trickier areas, a guide or more detailed maps would be helpful. The tour guide was okay and did an adequate job if approached with questions. He did ride right by us on the trail on the last day and didn't even offer a friendly hello. That was a bit surprising to our group and fellow riders. No worries, though, it was a really fun trip. It was great to visit all the amazing cities along the way. The whole crew was first-rate from start to finish. I would easily recommend this trip to interested parties.

Beautiful scenery, good excursions, very professional staff, international community.

This is the perfect way to see the Danube for anybody who enjoys easy cycling with beautiful scenery. The MS Vivienne is a great boat, very recently refurbished with small but comfortable cabins, extremely friendly staff, and very good food. Everything was very well organized and the tour director provided plenty (sometimes too much) information regarding the next day’s ride or city visit. Take advantage of tours offered in Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest as the time in each (especially Vienna) is brief. The biking is mostly on paved trails with just a few places where we had to ride with traffic. We booked e-bikes, but could have easily done this with regular bikes. Our cruise was about half German speakers and half English speakers (with largest group being from US, followed by Canada, Australia, NZ, the Netherlands and the UK). The staff on board all speak English and the tour director is fluent in both German and English, so language is not an issue.