4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 391 to 420 of 1207

This trip had been postponed several times so we were really excited about finally getting to bike the islands and explore Croatia. From the experiences we have heard about from people who did this trip in the heat of summer, we knew that we would have a better chance in mid Sept for better weather and riding. That was definitely the case, although there were still some rather hot days.

Which leads to the boat, Romantica. This boat was okay, not great by any means. Small cabins which tended to get musty and damp. And the few days the weather got hot the indoor dining was extremely uncomfortable. The upper deck, unlike many boats, did not have a cover, so other than a few stretching sessions, became rather useless. No outdoor dining options on the boat. I would say the Romantica needs a major retrofit.

The guides, Alan and Ivan, on the other hand were amazing. Just a pleasure to be around and so helpful all week long. They were informative and kept the days interesting.

As others have mentioned, this is NOT bike trail biking. It is streets 99% of the time. Mid Sept was fine. But even the guides said in the summer some of the roads were almost unrideble.

I'd say stay away from July and August and do this trip in either the Spring or Fall.

Gordes and Rousillon and St Remy where the best bike rides. Very Scenic and interesting. This is our first self guided bike ride. Hotels were friendly and great. Avignon is a great place to visit and see local culture and history.

Ride book is almost useless. helped with start of ride location. Maps are unreadable; trip route lost in all the colors. Without GPX phone maps would not have been feasible to do the rides. One phone battery is not enough for a days ride. Important you stress riders need backup phones or portable charger unit.
Bike set up was poorly handled. Phillipe was unavailable, his wife came late instead. She did not discuss all relevant issues for first time riders - pedal change mechanics, two different bike computers and operation, use of map book. Got a late start for ride in morning

It was an amazing trip, only issue was getting an e-bike as a tall person. I was able to get one from a local bike shop in town who were great, but if It was something that caused a little more work on my part and considerable worry that it would be there.

The ride from Selva to the coast. Lots of downhill and beautiful scenery!

Internet sucks. Needs to be available throughout the ship, not just in the bar. Also we were not told how to use our electric bikes. And some parts of the bike route were hazardous, e.g., loose gravel, fast auro traffic. 3 of 4 of our group wiped out at least once.

The only thing keeping this trip from 5 stars is the boat we were on. The Allure was disappointing.

We did the entire Great Danube bike trail from Passau to Budapest. It was actually 2 trips Passau to Vienna and Vienna to Budapest. The first one Passau to Vienna was on a very well defined bike path that followed the Danube River. There were many bikes on this route. The second trip Vienna to Budapest, was on a combination of paved and gravel bike trails and roads. Certainly for the more adventurous rider. Personally we would dont think we would do 2 weeks of straight biking, one week would have been plenty. Highlights were Vienna and Budapest each would have been better with longer stays as there was so much to do.

The most memorable part of our trip were our fellow passengers. Great group of fun people willing to meet and exchange and have a fun time

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

Good trip. I knew of 2 people who complained of having a "cold" toward the end of the tour. 3 days after returning home I tested positive for covid having minor symptoms. Not the fault of Tripsite but I think you should be aware.

For the most part, the trail was paved and easy to ride. It was a great trail to do. The Iron curtain monument on the way to Bratislava by Devin Castle was moving and should not be missed. Take some time to visit Budapest at the end if you have never been there, it is a beautiful city.
There was one glitch: one of our hotels from the final list that we had gotten from Tripsite changed shortly before we left. The representative never mentioned this when he gave us our package the night before we started. On the fifth cyclin day, we were supposed to stay in Esztergom but had to stay in Visegrad that night which meant we had to take two trains that day. The tickets for the first train were in our package, but not for the second train. We had to called about this. The tickets were supposed to be with our luggage one day and they weren’t which meant another call. The tickets did come the day before. Suggestion-when you get your package carefully look at the list of hotels and compare it to the list you had received. It would have been better and we wouldn’t have had to waste time calling when we wanted to sightsee.

Ireland is a beautiful country and we enjoyed our trip very much. Our bikes worked well. Thomas, the bike guy, was exceptional. The trip itinerary changed a bit from the time we booked, one less biking day and shorter distances, but it allowed us to stay in Doolin for 2 nights as well as Ballyvaughan for 2 nights. We used the extra day in Doolin to take the ferry to Inis Mor, which was wonderful. The biking map and directions were a bit hard to follow while riding, so we opted to use Google Maps, which sometimes routed us different ways than what was provided, but it meant we could hear and see directions from our phone. Providing GPS tracks would be a great improvement. The hotels and B&B’s were great.

The scenery was amazing! The guides were great about stopping for restroom breaks and great about taking photos and videos of the group. The bikes were top notch with thick tires and great shocks. A helmet was included which helped with packing. Saddle bags were also provided for carrying extra items like a windbreaker and sunscreen. Riding as a group meant we didn't lose a lot of time reading directions or getting lost. The meals we ate together were a lot of fun - I wish we had more of them! The hotels were very nice and most had good restaurants. Fresh fruit and other snacks were provided throughout the day. My only suggestion would be to set up a WhatsApp group at the beginning of the trip to allow people to communicate with the group and guides and to share photos. Overall a wonderful trip with great people and guides!

The cliffs of moher and Aran islands. The narrow roads were very fun as well

The cycling tour was excellent. We felt we got to experience the Cottswolds, which was our intention.

Cycling the Danube is memorable and the accommodation was excellent. Melk and the Wachau Valley were high points. The bicycles were a disappointment: Heavy & Clunky. We were expecting 24 gear Hybrids. The directions for Linz and the last day in Vienna need work. Perhaps you could a more detailed map for each city that show the route in street map detail. These would be separate from the daily cycling maps. There was confusion regarding where stayed : Ardagger Shift and not Grein! The daily cycling map suggested that we end the day in Grein.

The coastline rides, most restaurants and hotels were to our expectations. The scenery inland was not something I would do again. The landscape inland is littered with dead olive trees and and after 1 day of it, it becomes very repetitive.

The crew was absolutly great the bikes were of good quality the food was also. We had a great time. The reason I gave a 4 was the fact that you couldn't drink the tap water and they charged you for bottled water. Water is a basic necessity and should be free.

The scenery and overall experience was absolutely wonderful! We enjoyed the boat, the cycling and the guides. The food on he boat while plentiful was mediocre. We had some wonderful meals on the tour when off the boat.

The chosen routes were well done as they minimized interaction with heavy traffic.
The instructions were good but we found we were continually having to stop and flip the page. What would be better is to use something like Ride with Gps that gives verbal instructions and notifies if you take a wrong turn. We stayed at Es Torrents. It was difficult to get a taxi from Campos. As it was our first night we had to stay at hotel for dinner as we didn’t have bikes. We found the food mediocre and very expensive. The hotel also neglected to pass on envelope with maps.all other hotels were excellent. Equipment was good.

The parador in Baionne. Crossing to Spain. The last hotel before Arriving in Santiago

It was fun and relaxing riding bikes along the Saar and Mosel rivers. The vineyards climbed up the hills and ran down almost to the river. The many small villages were so attractive and Trier, a larger town, was interesting. The 20 passengers were great. The food could have been better.

Great Trip!
Best part was night at Torre do Río hotel WOW. Second best was boat crossing into Spain. Third best was night at the castle Parador de Baiona.
The trip lost a star because of the death bridge Ponte Effle, the long walk across bridge Ponte Fao and riding in traffic of Vigo and Porto.
thx-mik Sep23

Biking through the countryside of Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary offers an experience you can get no other way. Our group experienced an "insider's view" of these countries, towns and cities you can't get by car. If you want an immersive experience that leaves you fulfilled at the end of the day, biking is the way to go.

Camaraderie among the bikers from many different countries. Beautiful scenery.

Good trails, good food and the app “Ride with gps” was the best.
The bikes were good, seats comfortable.
The bar on the ship had reasonable prices.
The Fluvius boat needed updating. The room smelt musty and the air conditioning didn’t always work.
The first day something made us late so we were given our bikes at dusk to try them out and get adjustments made. Not enough time before it was dark.
It was pretty bad to run out of water numerous times.
The ice machine didn’t work so occasionally they bought ice.
The staff turn over was incredible. None of the staff seemed to be with the company very long.
The guides were excellent. We did self guided and we think that had GPS on us as everytime when we weren’t sure which way to go a guide would show up and help us out. The app was very good to tell you when you were off course.
This was my first bike and barge trip so I can’t compare it to another.

The best part was the international makeup oif our group which booked through Island Hopper (German, Swede, Pole, Hungarian, Canadian, Australian and we 7 Americans.

The lower deck rooms were fine, as we were a bit nervous. The food was more than enough. The two cooks were fabulous, the rides varied. bikes excellent, good gides

Our trip down the Saar and Moselle Rivers was fantastic. The boat, Quo Vadis, was well equipped and our rooms very comfortable with ample room to move about.
We traveled with 7 couples that knew each other through a few of the people and that quickly built camaraderie. The others on the tour were included in all of our fun and we set up a WhatsApp group to share photos and experiences. The riding was relatively easy and the river sights continued to call for photo stops. We were fortunate that our guides were flexible and understood our desire to stop at nice coffee shops, pubs and restaurants for snacks and the occasional meal beside the cut lunch we carried.
The only reason we scored this trip as a 4 rather than a 5 was that the meals were far below our expectations. We had traveled on a previous trip on 'Sailing Home' at "comfort' level and our meals were of much better quality and quantity than this 'Deluxe' trip. This was unfortunate as we believed we were paying for a higher level again than the previous trip.

The biking, particularly the unscheduled ride that accommodated our wishes, and the ample opportunities to swim. A little less road biking would be preferred but realize there are limited options. The staff were great. The food was plentiful, especially breakfast. I would suggest ensuring there is a four slice toaster that worked both sides.

The GPX viewer app generally worked well for the walk. However, the estimated walk time should be increased to 3 hours for the Assisi to Spello walk & the difficulty increased to slightly challenging. After the walk to the winery, transportation should be supplied to Spello as people may not want to walk to Spello after Winery lunch & several glasses of wine.
The GPX viewer shows the location of the Winery stop as 1.1 km from the actual location of Tili 21 which is hard for the walkers after trekking from Assisi.
The next day’s walk through Collepino should specify that the final 1 km to Collepino is a steep uphill climb. Otherwise, a great experience all around.
Thank You
Dane Graburn