Mantova to Venice or Venice to Mantova Tour Reviews — 211 to 240 of 288

My most memorable part was the daily bike riding thru the beautiful scenery. My only suggestions would be to spend a little list time at the beaches.

The scenery, the biking experience, excellent travel guide, Helmut, the outstanding crew, other bikers and the canals were very memorable. Our only suggestion would be to shorten the time at the beaches.

Great trip. Irene was a great guide. She adopted my suggestion that she wait for the stragglers to catch up to the stopped leaders so the stragglers could have a short rest also. Her suggested side tours were great. Our chefs, Samuel and Enrico were great as well. Superb food. First class trip.

The most memorable part was stopping for lunch in a vineyard!

The most memorable part was the chef and guides!!

I returned May 9, 2017 from Italy from the best trip of my life. It started out from a conversation with a retired flight attendant a year ago and became a reality on April 29, 2017 when I had the great pleasure of boarding The Ave Maria from Mantua Italy to Venice Italy. From start to finish it was perfection. The boat was quite accommodating with our 3 bunk cabin, lovely dining room and sun deck to visit with our group of sixteen from Michigan, Nevada, Florida and Texas. The crew of 4 were fantastic and the food was superb. Everyday something different and delicious. The bike riding and touring through the countryside was phenomenal all because our guides Hein and Alain were exceptional. At age 64 I have enjoyed a lot of different destinations, but this trip by far exceeded every expectation I had and I would attribute it all to the fabulous crew and guides. Thank you so very much!

The most memorable part was the guides and crew of the ship - the customer service was OUTSTANDING!!!!!

I would absolutely recommend this trip. We felt we were very lucky to have Hein as our guide. His insight was wonderful.

The scenery on this trip,while biking, was not memorable or especially unusual which was to be expected given the flatland of our itinerary. I was hoping it would be more dramatic but not surprised that it wasn't. Still I loved being there and next time will consider a more challenging terrain which ought to improve the views. ( ps lunch stop venues need more thought- in general unattractive.)
Memorable: the towns of Mantova and Ferrara were lovely and I enjoyed having time to spend in them , instead of merely riding through. The food was glorious and I felt the staff went the extra mile for us with a few perks and personal attention if needed. Clearly they like their jobs and it showed.

The entire staff was impeccable. They aimed to please and all had wonderful personalities. My only regret was wifi being shut down at 11pm. This was the best time for me to talk to loved ones. Other than that, it was great. Feedback from my group was positive.

Everything was memorable from the wonderful cabin to the great gourmet food to the wonderful leader Hein and fabulous staff. The route is scenic and we made stops at interesting places like the Rides Museum, Grano Padana, and the non-bird sanctuary! Loved it and have highly recommended it to friends.

The staff on the Ave Maria was fantastic. They made sure we got everything we needed. I liked the way even the captain of the boat helped serve and clean up. They really worked as a team and worked very hard! The food was awesome and I really enjoyed the stops we made and the tours we had.
Great trip!

Bike guides (Michaela & Ronnie) and boat staff ( Erica, Juliano, Enrico and Luciano) were all exceptional. Their care, expertise and concern throughout the trip was what made it exceptional.

The Tour Leader Hein was amazing and showed us a wonderful experience. The cycling was spectacular and the food so exciting and very innovative. The bikes were heavier than I am used to but they were appropriate for the terrain. Everyone was helpful -- fabulous staff. I've already recommended it to my friends. I would do it again, but only if Hein were the Leader.

Everything was great. I really enjoyed our guides, Tammy and Ronnie. The staff on the boat were great. Our bikes were top notch. The tour and countryside were scenic. I loved biking on the sea wall. I thought the other bikers were friendly and easy to get along with.

The most awesome trip and staff! The barge was clean and well equipped. The staff was stellar, the meals great, the guided bike rides the best. No room for improvement and I hope to do another Bike and Barge on the Merlin. I especially enjoyed the bike routes, touring small villages along the way, and the guide Lia who was well informed about the area and Germany in general.

The boat, staff and food were all exceptional. A quality operation for sure. Having the owner Pierpaulo stop in for a visit and having dinner together was a nice touch.
We booked this trip for a group of riders with a wide range of abilities and it worked very well for all.

It was all enjoyable. Food was amazing. Staff were very accommodating. Rooms were spacious and clean.
Only negative was it said it was a 7-day bike trip and only rode bikes 5 of the 7 days. Falsely advertised.

The whole experience was very memorable. The changing scenery, the background info provided etc. was great. The quality of the barge added to the overall enjoyment. One of the highlights was watching how well the crew worked together and genuinely seemed to be having fun. It was a very unique experience that surpassed my expectations. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this trip to anyone.

This is my first bike and barge experience and will definitely not be my last. Although others in reviews said the Vita Pugna was "tired". I saw it as wonderfull vintage barge, with a crew that loved it and showed their care for it in their care for us. The food was outstanding and any hopes I had of losing weight on the trip were quickly dashed with each evenings meal.
We joined a large group of Kiwis onboard, with 2 Brits and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
One thing that would have made the trip even better would be a different pillow; the one I had was too high and too hard for my taste and left me with a stiff neck in the morning.

I loved the small villages. The international mixture of the group made for excellent discussion among the group. Food on the barge was excellent!

This was a fabulous trip all around! The group was friendly, and guides were helpful and knowledgeable! Dinners were delicious and varied, stronger than expected for this type of trip. We really enjoyed being able to purchase wine on board the ship, also. The riding was varied, and we really appreciated that our guides made sure to schedule a mid-morning break for coffee/water/toilet. What a great way to get a sense of this part of Italy - from small villages and farm fields to Venice - just spectacular!
One suggestion for improvement: for riding in really hot weather, it would be great if there could be a little more flexibility. We rode during a heat spell (40 degrees Centigrade one day). It was difficult to shift schedules or shorten our rides due to logistics, and this created some health issues.

A fabulous experience. We will seriously consider further barge/bike holidays with you.

It was a wonderful trip! I liked that we got to be on the barge when it moved (one time at the end of the day and another in the morning). The food was outstanding and I liked that the chefs described dinner and suggested wine pairings. The barge was very comfortable - even with 3 in a cabin.

Our son (22 years old) was outnumbered by the over 50 crowd but Hein made him feel welcome. Only suggestion - mirrors on the bikes (although I realize that makes them difficult to store and move) and a brief intro on riding in groups.

This trip gets a +10!! The staff (Tamy, Ilena, Luciano, Enrico, Guilio & Alberto) were amazing - fun, personable, knowledgable, friendly and engaging. They were truly a team and clearly enjoyed each other which ripples out to the experience of the guests. I loved that they gave a 'brief' the night before to let us know what to expect the next day. The food was creative, fresh and lovingly prepared. The accommodations on the AveMarie were great -- the cabins were well thought out with lots of storage so that the room felt spacious. The dining room was lovely with plenty of space to relax. The price of wine/beer was very reasonable and loved that we could keep a tab and pay it at the end, so easy.

Oh yea the bikes --- a good ride and comfy enough for the distances ridden. The routes were well planned, even the few times we had to ride in traffic. The trip leaders were excellent at managing the group and making it fun, no matter what we were doing.

For the whole week I felt well cared for :)
I am already dreaming of my next trip.
Kindly -- Victoria

P.S. The bad and the ugly -- honestly I don't have anything to contribute for improvement.

The crew were AMAZing! Every single one of them. Tami is an amazing guide - super friendly and helpful. All of the crew helpful and a delight. I would definitely go on this type of trip again because of my experience on this trip.

This was my first bike & barge. The bar has been set very high!

The entire bike-barge trip on the Ave Maria far exceeded our expectations. I would highly recommend this trip.

The biking was not as scenic as other trips I have been on. However the food, staff and guide were excellent.

Crew and guides were friendly and extremely helpful. Meals and snacks were great! Good sense of comradery due to the small number of passengers. Good bikes, rides were interesting and manageable.