4 Star Metz to Cochem Tour Reviews — 1 to 27 of 27

The little towns like the v one pictured above. Use deutsch bank ATM to exchange for euros

Biking in the Mosel wine region watching grape harvest.
Exploring the city of Trier was a highlight.

My wife and I traveled on the Magnifique 1 from October 1, 2024 to October 7, 2024. We absolutely loved the staff; very friendly and helpful. The stop in Trier, with a guide, was great. The food on board was pretty good but the bikes were not. They were quite heavy and had too few gears, which made climbing even moderate hills quite difficult.

What a great way to explore several cities by bike! If you're seeking fun, exercise, meeting other like minded cyclists, this is a must do!

The riding and sights we saw as we rode. Our tour guides we awesome and the boat staff were too.
The food was first class and the new friends unforgettable.

We have 1 complaint. The room and storage were insufficient. It looks like they designed the renovation on looks alone and not practicality.

Staff, food and biking experience were all first class. Rooms on Manufique 1 were small and needed more shelf space to put small things. Small round stool should be replaced with a small table with drawers. Air conditioning was broken down for last 3 days of the trip. Small rooms were therefore hot for sleeping. Beverage prices were very reasonable. The staff were really great. Would book again but maybe on a larger boat in their fleet..

Boat, bikes, Crew, food, cabins, and service were fantastic. Memorable was the villages visited. I just wish we had more focus on the history of the places visited as well as the wines of the region. We had to do that by ourselves, I was glad the GPS app used work great and we could ride on our own.

This is a beautiful region and accessing it from the river trails is wonderful . The boat was very comfortable and the wonderful staff met our every need with a smile . We had rainy days , and closures due to local holidays which impacted our visits to small town restaurants and shops . I would avoid national holiday weeks in future .
My suggestions to improve this already wonderful trip :
- have bike storage racks that allow a little more deck space for sitting out .
-eliminate the hot tub , it’s only used by a few and takes up too much deck space .
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The Magnifique III Is a wonder boat with well appointed cabins and public space. The Mossell river is one of the prettiest and easiest to ride along. Getting to Metz from Paris was an easy train ride. We did not have to rush to the boat by 2 PM. The first day you get fitted on your bike and then are free until dinner. I would recommend an E -bike as there are sudden uphill grades and it make life easier. The GPS for your phone is very easy to follow So I would recommend that if you are traveling with a group of friends that the group goes self guided because there are many quaint villages along the way that you could see. The rides each day are from 22 to 37 miles and with the guide and take about 5 hours. The guides are on a schedule to meet the boat and not arrive early. They stop every 8-10+miles and linger for 30 minutes. Lunch is in nice towns but you do not have enough time to enjoy them. Overall, it was a beautiful trip however really fast and experienced riders would be frustrated.
The crew and guides change with each sailing so we cannot comment on our experience. I will say both crew and guides were extremely competent and friendly.

Loved the tour of the Reichsburg castle. To think that it is still standing intact after 100's of years is amazing!

Bicycle riding along the Moselle was terrific. Beautiful scenery.
Guides were knowledgeable, but could have been a little more aware of riders in traffic situations.

Our chef was outstanding! Our stop at a winery along the way was outstanding. Wish there were more fun stops along the way.

We were amazed at all the vineyards! We knew the area was famous for Riesling but we had no idea how immense the area was. We also loved the small villages. So much history there.

The scope of the vineyards in the river valley. The manual biked were absurdly heavy and improperly geared for the route

The guides and boat employees were very good. The food was excellent. The boat’s air conditioning was okay to poor in the rooms and nonexistent on the main deck. Many people had daily issues with their bikes (brakes, gears, e-bikes not always working, etc.). The guides were excellent but had limited bike mechanic skills. These trips need a full time bike mechanic and extra bikes available to trade out when some bikes are not working well.

There were so many memorable parts of the trip. The places we biked to were amazing. Astrid's meals were exceptional and beyond 5 stars. The staff was so friendly and helpful with any concerns we had.
However, the bikes we had were awful. The majority of the group had problems with both the ebikes and the regular bikes. My wife's ebike did not work properly for the first 2 days and she had an accident because of it. The power kept going off and the guide set it permanently on turbo, however, when she was going up a hill and turning onto a bridge the power cut out again and she was not able to pedal and fell into the cement barrier. Fortunately, nothing was broken but she was very bruised. Each day there were a number of bikes needing repair with problems with brakes and gears. We had friends who biked the same tour in the fall and he said the bikes were terrible then and was told it was the end of the season and that all the bikes would be refurbished and repaired before the tour began in May. I guess this wasn't done as only 2 or 3 actually had no problems.
Also, the guides were not that familiar with the routes and we went off track a few times. There seemed to be a personality clash between them and at one point they actually argued in front of the group, which was not very professional. Both guides, however, were personable and helpful when needed.

Cycling along the Mosel was magical! Vertical Vineyards! Who knew? Fabulous rides!

The wonderful paved cycle paths

The bikes were a problem everyday- not well maintained or just end of season but not good
The barge was very warm- esp with comforters- suggest availability of a sheet for these conditions. A soap dish is needed in the shower, the hair dryer was very inadequate. Need to have some sort of wax paper or plastic bag for the sandwiches- wrapping in napkins does not work. The barge should offer/highlight local wines!!! The whole point of this trip is particular.
Our guides Heddy and intern Micah were fabulous.

Great scenery, great chef on the barge, nice boat, and great guides! Overall a great experience. However if I must find something that needs a bit of upgrading, it’s the bikes. They were getting pretty tired and needing tune ups. Some had bald tires and most lacked correct air pressure in the tires, on previous Boat Bike trips the bikes were much better maintained. It was the end of the season and the bikes had gone through a lot over the year was the reasoning, but I paid so I expect good bikes regardless of the time of year.

Traveling on the IRIS was nice. Highlights: Bike ride from the extinct volcano down to the Mosel was a great 40 mile ride (almost all down hill). The wine tasting excursion was set up by our guide Paul. Quite different than others I have been to. It was an intimate meeting with the owner of the winery that had been in his family since the 1600s. It rained (really just a mist) during 2 of our rides but with rain gear, it didn’t effect us.

Give me a call if you would like to hear some minor suggestions for improvement.

The crew was fantastic. The chef made delicious farm to table foods daily. The first mate was personable and fun as well as the captain and hospitality director.

Bikes are as described and worked well. Scenery was also interesting.

The preparation and presentation of the meals, especially the evening meals was outstanding. And the fellowship with the other passengers was also a great highlight aided by the small number of guests.

The Barge Iris was outstanding to say the least. 24 guests were the perfect number, not too many, not too few, the crew was over and above terrific, the food was something we looked forward to each day and the whole experience was memorable.

We thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip but the weather was a bit average - no rain but lots of cloud and a bit cool.
The food was great as were the crew, the bikes, the other passengers and the boat. We thought Wouter (the guide) needs to "loosen up" a bit and learn more of the history etc. of the region. We also found the first couple of days on the bikes a bit boring, too much forest and not enough villages etc.
All in all very good!!

Overall a great trip and experience. The Mosel exceeded my expectations.
Collaborative and friendly staff; very good chef, very good captain and crew. Host was efficient but not overly friendly. Bike tour guide was ok but not very organized.

The guides are young and very athletic. People who sign up for this level of bicycling aren't usually top bikers, unless they are doing it to be with friends or spouse. I think a bit more thought could be put into the introductory ride the first day, bridge crossings, sudden merging into traffic, sudden turns to go steeply uphill. I've done much longer bike rides, but at this age, I didn't want that much challenge.