3 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 301 to 330 of 340

Route descriptions need significant updating and elaboration. There were many detours that are not indicated in the guide - took us off track, added many km and much confusion to the ride. Became VERY frustrating. Bikes need much better maintenance - friend had a broken chain day 2 . Arranging the repair was difficult - they lost a day of cycling. Very poor communication around the repair, no one seemed to know what they were doing. Really took away from the trip. Would have been much worse had we been in a more remote area when the break happened - would have been stranded for hours. The most helpful person was a local tow truck driver - he saved the day. Never saw a representative from the company in person for the whole trip. What??? Should, at the very least, have one at the beginning to review procedures, answer questions. Liked the biking, but some routes along canals got boring. We ended up going off route - saw much more. Hotel, luggage transfers were smooth. With the exception of the hotel in Bornem, hotels were nice. Overall, quite pleasant when things were going well, but did not feel that we got good personal support or service for the money we paid. Emergency support services need a LOT of improvement.

Lovely being in the area at this time near harvest but the routes, route preparation in the evening and historical information that might enhance the experience were severely lacking. The GPS devices were difficult to work with and virtually no help was given as to how to correctly operate them.

It was lovely being in the area at this time near harvest but the routes, route preparation in the evening and historical information that might enhance the experience were severely lacking. The GPS devices were difficult to work with and virtually no help was given as to how to correctly operate them.

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 tour we did was aboard the MS Andante in late September. The riding was easy, and for the most part trail was easy to follow. A few times riders had to be rescued by Garrett, our tour leader,as the route had changed. The scenery was beautiful with rolling hills, castles, vineyards, and of course the majestic Rhine. The Andante is an old ship that could really use some refurbishing. The lounge feels like you're in an old Sinatra movie, the dining room is cramped and there's no option of sitting with other passengers. The chef did a very nice job with the dinners, they were not overly elegant but were quite tasty. I can't say the same for breakfast. It alternated between boiled eggs and greasy sausage, to scrambled eggs and greasy sausage. The staff was not overly friendly, the front desk girls seemed more interested in their afternoon smoke, than greeting passengers. The cabins were accessed by treacherous stairs, but once there they were not too bad. The carpet has seen better days, and the bathroom was shower/toilet combo. Overall, if given the choice I would definitely do this cruise again, but might look into a different ship.

This Bordeaux trip needs a lot of attention and improvement. It started out badly at the Bordeaux train station attempting to catch the bus to embark. It took us 2 hours to find the place to catch the bus. I understand that the station is being renovated but you know this, yet you post no signs, no information, have no greeters, nothing to help people find the bus. The maps were really bad - difficult to follow especially given lack of adequate road signage at each location. We spent more time lost and trying to find our way around that enjoying the scenery in many locations. We eventually just gave up on biking because we didn't want to get lost any more. I am not sure what the local statutes are but you could post little signs marking the way for bikers to follow. This would not be hard and would help your patrons to find their way. The food needs help. Why would you have the EXACT same breakfast items for 7 days in a row? I understand you have limited staff but it would not be difficult to vary it up every other day. There were a three dinners that I did not even eat because the food was bad. Granted there were a few meals that were good, I was overall disappointed with the meals. Some of the crew were fantastic, but I felt like communication was poor regarding when we would have to leave the port for "le mascaret" (tidal surge wave) - it seemed like they were always an hour behind when they said it would happen or there was a last minute rush to get people off the boat or get stuck on it for the day. The captain seemed impatient all the time with getting people off the boat. Many things could have been better communicated in the evening "tour talks." And the tour talks were really boring....they weren't especially helpful for biking on the next day. They would literally put us to sleep. Also, we spent 3 nights and two days in the village of Cadillac. While it was a very charming place that I enjoyed, 3 nights and 2 days in such a small place was too much. Why not spend 3 nights and 2 days in Bordeaux, where there is a lot to see and do? I am glad I went on this trip but I would not do this trip again, nor would I recommend it. I met people who have been on other Tripsite boat/bike tours who said this one was far inferior to others they have been on. I would like to call out specifically two staff members who were really great - Arnaud and Sebastian. They were always smiling and fun and really seemed to enjoy their jobs. They made the trip so much better.

My grades given to this trip show my displeasure with several items encountered while on our trip. First, the pickup at the airport was bungled by "Pepe" our guide. He did not have a sign for us to recognize the tour! It was a miracle he finally found us. The boat was laid out well, the crew was very pleasant, however none of the 3 crew members spoke fluent english (necessary for the Americans, Canadians, Dutch, and German passengers). My major complaint was regarding the cabin Air Conditioning. The captain only turned on the AC from 6PM to Midnight. In August, the temperature was in the mid 80's - too hot to sleep in an enclosed cabin after midnight! I would discourage any potential guest not to take this trip unless the captain changes his AC rules and provides cooling throughout the night!
The food was OK with little variation from day to day but the last "onshore meal" at a local restaurant was inedible!! Skip the restaurant meal and eat onboard (not a current option) or give the guests an upscale restaurant or eliminate the meal altogether and each guest is on their own for the last supper.

We knew the barge was old, but weren't prepared for the very tiny, cramped cabin space which was definitely not the one advertised!
Most of the bicycles were in fairly good condition, but my husband got one on which the chain kept coming off and had a fall because of that.
The barge operators, Stephan and Florence, were lovely and worked very hard to provide a good experience, cooking traditional French meals each evening complete with dessert. The tour guide, Jan, did an excellent job keeping the cycling group on track and adjusting our days to accommodate the extreme temperatures during the hottest week of the summer!

Janine was the ultimate host and an excellent chef. She worked very hard to assure guests were satisfied with the trip.

I would recommend it, but with reservations. I think there should have been two guides, one to take a faster group and one for a beginner group. A few people on the trip should not have been. They were not comfortable on their bikes, and were a daily danger to whomever they were near. Something should have been done about it.
I also would have liked to ride faster, and spend more free time in the little towns.

I have planned to contact you with feedback, but haven't. The staff was great except the guide. He was not friendly or helpful. We were all disappointed in his lack of leadership and "guiding". Of the three trips we have taken, this was the least appealing. The route was not attractive, and mostly industrial, urban or rural. We were near places we know were charming and interesting, but did not visit them. I'm left wondering if it is that tour company. For 35 people biking there really should have been more staff on the road with us. Still love you!

Sorry, it rained the entire trip. Route and scenery would have been fine if not for that. Barge has seen better days. Staff (Stephan and Florence) are very pleasant.
Suggestion: Give the tour riders a sew-on patch to remember the tour.

The guide seemed lost most of the time. He didn't know where to stop for a picnic and one day we ate our lunches at a bus stop. I realize cafes mostly close in France between 12 and 2, but his lack of knowledge of where to find a toilet after lunch was a problem. He chastised us for being slow to re-organize, but then later we'd stop for no reason and wait for up to a half hour with no info from him. He was good at describing architecture.

My sister and I have taken many bike and barge tours. This trip was the first that we were disappointed with accommodations, staff, meals. We were not the only ones who felt this way. Sorry I would not recommend the tour. I will continue to monitor your website for future excursions.

I would recommend the trip only if the biking instructions we changed. Alsace is a wonderful area and the people, food, and accommodations were great! But the instructions for the bike routes were too confusing and unclear and not in English. They were in Dutch - not even French or German!

Yes, but only to the most experienced rider as the route is very diverse and at times rugged which would be very difficult for the average rider. coupled w/the bike/equipment is substandard making the ride even more difficult than it should be.

Croatia and the scenery were beautiful. However I felt the description of the bike ride was misleading. Most of the trip was on gravel roads, quite a few hills and biking in more traffic than I anticipated. The staff was great and the barge was great.

We prefer guided trips because we miss the guides knowledge of area. We start riding and don't take time to check out the sights

Tough for an American who doesn't speak German... Our shortcomings, and the only reason I might not recommend it but nothing wrong with the trip.

Our trip was for very good/strong bikers unless you got the electric bike which was great! The scenery was spectacular along the Amalfi coast!

Support people from Hooked on Cycling were never there. Bikes were just left at our first guest house along with a very poor set of directions. The bikes were great. We had to get them adjusted ourselves. The directions were incomplete, we got lost a few times. The flooded out Alythe hotel should have been substituted with somewhere else. The rooms were OK but the whole place was very musty smelling. My husband is very allergic to mold. He had to take medication before going inside. I know this trip was self-guided but even the locals couldn't figure out which way we were supposed to go when they looked at our maps.

One of our hotels was not up to our expectations or the trip rating. Most of our maps/directions were good but missed a detour/construction.

I would recommend the trip with reservations. The food on the boat was not special but ok. While our leader was competent I did not find him helpful at times and other times I found him condescending. The route descriptions were well done but we had to argue to have one for each rider even though it clearly stated we would each a have one. I would have like much more about the places we were visiting included on the daily route descriptions. Carrying a visitor guide is not easy on a bike. The bikes were not in good shape for our trip. The mechanic tried to do his best but they were not a "freewheeling" experience. On mine the gears did not work, others had similar issues. When the holiday depends on a good cycling experience then the bike becomes a priority.
I cannot recommend the experience whole heartily except for the amazing landscape of northern Netherlands. That part I really enjoyed. Also I enjoyed being part of a group. I would not recommend a person or couple try the trip because no effort was made to mix the people. I was part of a big group and so I always had people to cycle with.

In Ghent, too far from city centre to explore after biking unless take a taxi into the city. Antwerp museum was closed, as it was a Sunday. Very disappointing. Breakfast and lunch meals were almost always the same, got too uninteresting.

We were a bit late in the season so weather not great. Food brilliant.

Road surfaces were rough. Ride routes were hilly. Brought our own bikes.

We have done several bike barge trips in france and europe and other places. This one was just too crowded with tourists. Of course it was August, so that explains a lot. Our least favorite that we have done.

Accommodations were too cramped. Our first boat trip had more adequate rooms.
Breakfast was great but supper was so so. Not good vegetarian options .

Our guide was not good, would ride off too fast, often the tail end riders were lost and confused as they could not keep up. Everything else was excellent!

I found the trip operator a bit disorganized. Nobody told us that the tour guides & map etc were put in our room, and we did not know until the briefing time. During the briefing we went through the material kit, but we were not offered any additional info. The options re the accessories with the bike were not chosen by us, but the operator insisted we chose it and refused to exchange reading board for bike bag.
The map and guide do not always match. We expected bike route would be traffic free and for bike only, but apparently 90% of the time it was not the case. The bike was a bit heavy for me, especially I am only slightly over 100lbs.