4 Star Loire Valley - Tours to Angers Tour Reviews — 1 to 3 of 3

This was the second leg of our Loire valley bike ride as we had done Orleans to Tour 2 years ago.
We started in Tour this time and again enjoyed the ease of the electric bikes, which was needed more so on the section especially the last day being the longest. There was an adventure on the last day having to cross the river and put our bikes on a small barge and pull ourselves across... I must admit we definitely needed my friends husband as just 2 females together i don't think we would of managed.
Overall another fabulous trip. I must say the best accommodation was at Chinon. The rooms were huge and Maurice had everything to make you feel at home,we didn't want to leave. Breakfast in the morning was like being king and queen of the castle sitting at a huge fancy dining table so much different to the other generic hotels. We will go back just to stay with him again.

Our group of 4 friends (2 couples) enjoyed the chateaux that we visited, the French countryside, cuisine, wine tasting, accommodations, and friendliness of the French people. We would likely not have found the hotels selected if we planned the trip ourselves and several were very unusual and enjoyable. The hotel locations were typically near a variety of restaurants. In Tours we found a very interesting museum housing journeyman crafted works in all trades that were exquisite. We also encountered a "self-service" ferry boat that was fun to operate. Angers had a chateau housing the Apocalypse tapestry that we found worthwhile.
This ride was a mix of flat and hilly days with the last day longer and hillier than the rest. One of our riders was "fit" and in his 60's and had no difficulties; I, fortunately, upgraded to an e-bike and managed fine but struggled the week before on several of the Amboise based rides (I am 74 and a lifetime rider). In addition to the subjective difficulty rating, it would be helpful to include the total elevation change in the tour listing so one can better decide between a regular bike and e-bike.
The other complaint was the quality of the maps and instructions. They are not adequate without the app that was provided though I was told the maps and ride instructions would be sufficient. (I've seen some comments on other tours about app problems, too.) I was expecting maps and instructions of the quality provided on rides in the past and these were dissimilar. Sign posting was generally good but not always. The app did manage to keep us on track, however. The app also routed us to the destination city but not to the hotel so we had to use google to find the hotel. All part of the adventure, I suppose.
The bikes were flawless and appropriate for the roads and the support from Tripsite before and during the tour, especially with my last minute request for an e-bike upgrade was excellent and greatly appreciated - a big shout out to the Tripsite team. This was our 4th Tripsite trip and we look forward to our next one.

The cycling trip is most enjoyable amid stunning scenery and charming towns.
Please be transparent about your costs. I booked the chateau experience and paid more than I expected for the trip only to discover the Tripsite did not include the chateau experience in my vouchers. I received several emails in response to my queries re cost only to be given different answers re bank charges, currency conversion and hidden credit card charges, despite the fact I paid with a debit card. This is an American company that uses the dollar to suit it figures. I urge anyone using this company to get a detailed invoice before starting out. We were over charged for our trip but the company was not willing to accept this.