Bike Tour Reviews — 4321 to 4350 of 6267

The bike and barge from Amsterdam to Bruges on the Magnifique was extraordinary! Whether you were aboard the boat or the bike there was never "a bad view". The route was a great mix of small villages, farmland and cities - our guides were fun and knowledgeable about the history of each region. Thanks to the fantastic staff of the Magnifique, the entire trip was memorable. Our fellow guests were a wonderful mix of folks from many countries and it was fun getting to know them. Thank you Tripsite for making the booking of this trip so easy - I would highly recommend your company to anyone considering this type of trip.

The views on this tour were breathtaking. Northern Italy is so beautiful. For a mountainous region the pedaling was not difficult. Take your time and soak it in. Great food and drink in the region.

The Loire environment was wonderful, and the well planned routes through the area, with so much off road or quiet road cycling was exceptional. The accommodation and overall organization was of excellent standard.
The one piece of feedback that you should receive concerning the bicycles is that they needed servicing. There was significant slippage of the gears throughout the trip, on both bicycles. This can very simply be fixed with appropriate servicing of the chain and rear cluster.

Most Memorable Part: The lovely scenery and the excellent condition of all the bike paths.

Most Memorable Part: Biking thru the countryside of Netherlands and Belgium

Much of the bike ride was difficult to navigate. Signs on the road are not always clear. Expected more country rides but much of the bike ride was through cities with many vehicles (somewhat dangerous). If we elect to travel with Tripsite again, we will do more research to determine ease of navigation along the bike route and how much of the route is through traffic.

The most memorable part for me was the camaraderie formed within the group. Mainly because our guide, Helmut, was so personable and caring. Also, Tripsite did a great job filling our time with memorable adventures. I'm so glad I chose to use an e-bike.

Really enjoyed the bike/barge tour on the Gandalf. The food & scenery were great. Enjoyed cycling into the forest & small towns. On the down side, be prepared for some wind. If new to cycling I would recommend getting the electric assist bicycle. The terrain is mostly flat but there are some hills which can be challenging with head on wind. Our guide, Fred, was very knowledgeable & friendly. He took good care of everyone.

Our guide, Chris, was exceptionally talented. He answered questions clearly and completely, and he offered many interesting comments about the various sites we traveled through. Our captain, Connie, was also thoroughly competent and provided additional insight about our travels, especially thru the various locks. Meals were good. Breakfast was standard European and I appreciated their encouraging us to prepare sandwiches and snacks for lunch. Be aware that the instructions for meeting the tour bus from the train station, Gare du Nord, were incomplete: You have to continue walking about 100 meters on Rue de Maubeuge beyond Rue Ambroise Pare to find the bus. Also, this bike trip was considered "easy" based on the relatively flat terrain and modest miles ridden.
However, the paths were not always very smooth; we experienced rocky, bumpy, pitted and muddy roads for much of the trip. In general, however, this was a very memorable trip; I'd do it again!

I did the 7 day Around Lake Constance. This was my 4th Tripsite bike tour. I will list the positive things first.
I booked the Category 4 hotel package and was extremely pleased with all the hotels. Location was good for all except the Park Hotel in Uberlingen. It is located at the top of a very steep hill and was very difficult to find even after you saw the sign pointing the way!!
The breakfasts at all the locations were amazing and so beautifully displayed. A wonderful way to start the day!
The bikes were comfortable and almost brand new. Panniers, front bag and trip meter were all very nice.
Now the not so positive...
I had read all the reviews before booking and noticed the negative comments about the bike route directions. Since these comments were from a year and 2 years ago I assumed they had improved this info. NOT TRUE. The book with the routes is almost worthless. Getting from city to city was not always the problem but once in a city the situation changes. It is even more challenging when you do not speak the language. The locals are more than friendly and always willing to help. However they often assume we know more than we do and even their help does not get us to our destination. A suggestion would be to provide the cyclists with GPS or a HOTSPOT so that we could download the routes on our phones. I realize that if the customer is from Europe they can do that easily but those of us from the USA depend on a wifi connection for this service. I stayed recently at a hotel in Madrid that provided each room with a Hotspot at NO EXTRA charge. If a mid level hotel can afford to do this you would think a cycling touring company could do the same. I realize Tripsite does not have control over some of these situations but if they could encourage this company to try some more advanced methods of guiding their clients I am sure everyone would be happier. I had a wonderful holiday with fabulous weather, beautiful scenery and memorable meals. I will be booking with Tripsite for my next cycling tour. Just wanted to raise this issue to help future travelers be aware.

We loved our 'Best of Northern Zealand' tour. The hotels and breakfasts were amazing! A real treat. A must-stop is the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art at Humlebaek - fabulous. Also Sophiero palace in Helsingborg with impressive gardens.. would recommend this trip.

Great bike routes. Vast majority on nice bike paths.

The Merlijn and it's crew are extraordinary! Jantien and Henk treat guests like family. We had a great time riding in central Germany. Lots of agriculture, forests, small villages and history. Our guide, Ilsa, is extremely knowledgeable and makes the rides fun and interesting. Thank you for a wonderful and memorable trip!

The full range of stimulating experiences of all things Dutch with so many things different every day. The impressive first day, in particular, through and out of Amsterdam set up exciting anticipation for subsequent days that was maintained. If one highlight has to singled out, which is somewhat unfair, it would be the spectacular and unique ride over the Zealand Bridge and competing there with the raw forces of nature. Our tip would be to ensure you use the route maps and GPS in combination noting the advice that there are variances, and each evening check out the actual start of the route for the following day.

Most memorable part: We stopped at a small bar and had a fabulous time dancing and singing!

A fantastic tour, with knowledgeable guides that led us through Holland and Belgium. Everything aboard the Magnifique III was top notch and any concerns we had (our room was a little musty) were dealt with immediately and to our satisfaction. The biking was very enjoyable, primarily on bike paths and even when on roads the cars are very respectful of bicyclists. The routes at 50km lengths sound daunting but were the perfect length to fill the day along with frequent breaks for pictures and beer! I do recommend saddle time prior to the trip and bike shorts! The bikes were in excellent condition too. Overall one of the best vacations we’ve ever had. Highly recommend. If you are more adventurous you can download the maps on your phone and go self-guided. Many in our group did that and had no issues.

Scenery was great, our main problem would be that the advertising did not really give enough information as to the degree of difficulty as while we are both middle level riders some of the many up’s and downs were a lot more than the advertising suggested. The close gearing of the bikes did not help with that either.

The crew of the Merlijn were fantastic and very concerned with guests comfort. It was a great combination of leisure and biking, a well seasoned and flexible guide, and great food beautifully presented.

The staff on the boat were wonderful. Very helpful, friendly and hard working. The food on the boat was excellent. They consistently turned out perfectly prepared delicious meals. The bicycles were in excellent condition and performed perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip.

The bike ride from Amsterdam to Bruges was a great way to connect 2 tourist destinations and get a different experience going through the amazing countryside. The fact that the Netherlands is so bike-friendly makes all the difference! The [local partner](https://www.tripsite.com/about/our-partners/) has a lot of experience with planning the right routes and selecting optimal locations to stop at night.

There were 3 of us from the USA traveling together. They told us to lock our bikes and take the key with us when we went into a store or restaurant. Toward the end of the trip we ( all 3 of us ) went into a store and did not luck our bikes. When we came out of the store one of the bikes was GONE. We took one of our other phones and called the USA to have the spouse lock the missing phone and track the bike on the GPS. The missing bike was 6 miles away at a big store. The shop owner called the police- the police went to the store- closed the store down for 45 minutes and locked all the 4 doors to the store. The police walked into the store looking for the red and black bike bag- saw it- walked up to the man , who was using the stolen phone and arrested him. He had stolen bikes before. They were so happy to catch him this time. The police never found the helmet and the man took $100, US dollars. They found the bike in the front of the store, as we knew the bike's # and brand. The phone was recovered. The thief was put in jail for 2 nights- we were told. The bike was returned to the barge. The victim was returned to the barge by the police. Lesson learned- NEVER LEAVE YOUR BIKE UNLOCKED and TAKE the KEY! On a lighter note- the wildflowers and wildlife a long the canals, were unbelievable! Would do it again, but lock our bikes.

The experience of being able to see the countryside, remote villages and sites at a slower pace with the experience and knowledge of a guide is the highlight. It is good to leave your luggage onboard the barge and know you return each evening to great food and rest.

Best part: Riding through amazing scenery and picturesque villages in Northern Italy!

[CycleTours](https://www.tripsite.com/about/our-partners/) gave us a unique and thoroughly enjoyable way to see a country that was new to us. We cycled through farms and villages where there were no tourists -- met local folks and saw how they lived. Our delightful and knowledgeable guide made sure that the pace of each day's cycling was do-able by people of different abilities -- often we'd cycle for an hour or two, stop for coffee; cycle for an hour or so, eat lunch. Cycle for an hour and stop for refreshment; cycle an hour and we're "home", where bowls of nuts, cookies, and tea/coffee/juice welcomed us.

It's a shame that the incompetence and the misogynistic attitude of one person can affect what could have been a fantastic trip, our guide on several occasions got lost and we ended up doing many more kilometres of riding including a very long and steep hill climb that we had to walk in the hot sun.
I can not praise the Captain and crew of the Zwaantjie more highly it's a shame he has no control over the guides that are allocated to various trips.

We were on this tour from June 16-23, 2018. First let me say that we had a fabulous time and I'll attempt to breakdown both the good and the challenging.
1. The boat was outstanding (5 star)
2. All the meals were nothing short of scrumptous (all three..every day) (5 Star)
3. The SE staff were knowledgable, polite and always willing to help. (5 Star)
4. Embarking and disembarking was seamless. (5 Star)
5. Our onboard guide was outgoing and fun to talk to. (5 Star)
6. The rooms were tight, but manageable. two single beds, good storage for your clothes and a small but efficient washroom.
7. The bikes were well serviced and enjoyable to ride. If you're not a seasoned cyclist, don't worry, the gears were easy to change and many of the people opted for the ebike option which really helped.
8. Biking directions were a challenge. At first we thought it was a language issue, but many of the German people were getting lost as well. We saw no vineyards, one castle, and we traveled through many cities. We had three in our group take spills, mainly because of the city routes we had to take. The "Look for Signs" were often non-existant or hard to find and we found that our group of 10 cyclists were spending too much time conferencing, trying to find the correct route.
Twice we encountered local people who actual lead us to get us back on track. This was definitely challenging, but boy did we bond!! We stopped in small towns having lunch in the town squares, trying local beers and cheeses. Restaurants willing to let us eat our bagged lunches in their restaurant when we bought some drinks.
Suggestions:
1. Arrive a couple of days early to explore Mainz, it's a beatiful city.
2. We flew in and out of Paris and the train system is amazing, but I would suggest closer Airports (Frankfurt to get to Mainz and Paris for Strasbourg).
3. Get comfortable being lost and embrace the journey. We always found our way and have some incredible stories about our rides.
4. Talk to the locals they are magnificent and were always willing to help.
The bottom line is that we are already planning our next bike and barge adventure, there are lots to choose.
My actual rating would be a 4.5 out of 5

The cruise through the iron gate was a highlight of this trip. Cruise director did a great job throughout the cruise. Weather was much warmer than average and many days of biking were at 90 degrees F on roads and trails with little cover or shade so were somewhat more difficult than anticipated. It was a great experience but people need to be aware that most of the riding in the Eastern European countries are on the side of roads sometimes without a bike lane and there was some traffic.

Most Memorable Part: Sharing the beautiful scenery while biking with great friends

The attentiveness and skill of the crew was most memorable. Chris was an awesome guide, encouraging everyone and being a wealth of knowledge about the environs. Conor was personable and available to share her knowledge and experience. Kim is a great cook and quite a character. Together, they overcame the limitation of an outdated too small barge to create an environment that allowed the riders to really enjoy the countryside and each other.

The routes were described well before each ride and usually easy to follow, however at least one person in your group should have a GPS. The guide and scenery were exceptional. The food was great but it was difficult getting vegetarian food for dinner even though I had requested vegetarian when I signed up.