Bike Tour Reviews — 6121 to 6150 of 6475

This tour delivers excellent value, service and amenities. In addition to excellent cycling, we were treated to three guided historic city tours, a 5-Star picnic in a historic, rural pavilion, and refreshing swim stops in the Adriatic. Every meal featured a unique salad and entree made with fresh ingredients. The staff are professional, accommodating and the service superb.

I thought we would bike every day, not a problem, but it would have been nice to know.

Upon boarding, there was confusion regarding our room assignments. All 12 of us in our party were assigned different rooms than our vouchers indicated, even on different decks. Fortunately, the cruise director was able to sort everything out, but not without some angst on the part of the hotel manager, who was in the midst of boarding all the passengers at the start of the trip.

I felt bad the employees hadn't had a break since the beginning of the season. Leslie the tour director was burnt out. He was a little defensive when we mentioned some of the route was poorly signed. Many people missed some turns. Other than that we loved the tour, food, staff and have recommended this to many friends!

Everything surpassed my expectations. I would be happily do it again! Thank you for your good services!
I want to know where I can find a bike seat like the one I used on your tour . . . it was the most comfortable bike seat I've had the pleasure to sit on! ;-)

Excellent trip. Look forward to trying another one.

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.

I broke my arm 3 weeks before our trip to Alsace so was not able to bike; instead of cancelling my husband and I decided to go anyway and we are so glad we did. We would never have discovered the lovely town of Osthouse and especially the beautiful renovated Hotel de la Ferme; we discovered some beautiful walks in the region, over meadows, woods and rivers. L'Hotel de la Ferme is very charming with a lovely garden and a ping pong table which we had fun with. The dining area at the hotel was very comfortable with a delicious, plentiful breakfast buffet; fruit of every kind, cheeses, breads and cakes. Lunch was always a hearty piece of french bread with butter and cheese! And dinner, 2 nights at the hotel and the rest of the evenings at the Aigle d'Or, a 4 star restaurant which has been in the family for 40 years, were always a fun surprise and delicious.
Our room was on the second floor with a balcony and was very spacious, especially by European standards. Bathroom, sitting area, beds, everything comfortable, clean and very quiet. Our hosts could not have been nicer. They offered to pick us up and bring us back to the train for a small fee and took us to an amazing modern museum in Erstein. All in all a wonderful vacation!

The Green Hills of Abruzzo was great. The guides were wonderful and the accommodations were were perfect (some better than others but all good). The difficulty listed on the Tripsite Guide lists the trip as Moderate but I think it would be more fair to categorize the routes as Moderate to Difficult (based on the elevation changes). We recommend the trip highly.

Only hitch in the whole experience was confusion when we arrived at the boat for check in. In our group of twelve, those who had paid extra for upper deck rooms were assigned lower deck rooms and vice versa, causing a few flared tempers and a less than welcoming start to our excursion. After that was sorted out everything went smoothly. We liked some of the extra excursions more than others but the biking was really the highlight of the trip. Biking through the Wachau Valley with vineyards climbing the mountains on either side, many with castles on top, through charming villages - priceless!

Our first bike and barge experience made unforgettable by creative, delicious and healthy meals, an outstanding guide with a great sense of humour, extensive knowledge of the areas we cycled through, and much patience and warmth. We arrived as nervous neophytes and left feeling we were part of the family....and cycling athletes to boot!

Best trip ever.

Tour operator got us from AP to hotel, fixed us up with two able bikes with all accessories, and provided thorough pre-ride instruction including, most-importantly, how-to operate the provided gps. But there is more: One of our ride days was stricken with particularly bad weather (30 km headwind with gusts to 50 km, dead against us). About 25 km in, exhausted, wind with rain now, tour operator tracks us down with his van and transports us to our next hotel. Great attention to detail, we couldn't be happier with the whole experience.

With 100 passengers & half German speaking/half English speaking I would recommend 2 guides instead of one. At times our guide seemed overwhelmed with questions, assistance, etc....

The whole experience was awesome! Mantova is a great little place to visit. Lots of history, architecture, fine people, good restaurants. The barge was comfortable, spacious, clean. Food excellent. Staff extremely courteous, helpful, upbeat. Bikes were adequate for the terrain, sturdy, in excellent condition. Some of the trails were uneven, even rocky, but I personally had no issues. Some of the less experienced riders felt a little uneasy on them. The city of Venice was a disappointment (crowded, polluted and dirty) but Venice is Venice... The whole bike 'barge adventure was, plain and simple, unforgettable. Highly recommended. Thanks to everyone for making it so special!!!

I was pleased with the points of interest on the tour (Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Colmar, Breisach), however, the route was very industrial at times and there was just nothing special about it. The maps and route descriptions were terrible and I'd say that was the number one complaint of fellow passengers. I talked to the guide and he said they will redo the route for next year so hopefully with some changes, it will be much better.

I had a good time on this trip, however, there was not enough time on the bicycle. As well, compared to the other biking trips we have taken, this one was very dependent on time. We did not have all day to get to the next spot. I felt rushed on three of the days, and we only biked on four. Also you lose the sense of discovery when every spot is picked out for you ahead of time, as to where to eat, shop, etc. The cruise staff were wonderful, but it seems to me that they think people only want to see cities, whereas I love the countryside and the villages. I would not do a combined boat and bike again.

Great way to do an active vacation. Will definitely book again!!

The boat itself is nothing remarkable, but quite comfortable and clean. The staff was amazingly friendly. Route descriptions were sparse in some sections so there was some guessing involved. The maps themselves didn't have any road names on them if you did get lost they were of no use. We honestly didn't rely on the maps/route descriptions as much as the info from our daily meetings with the tour guide. There were good and bad days as far as scenery on the rides, a few days were pretty boring with not a lot to look at, while others were quite beautiful. We docked within walking distance to town on all days except one (where you had the option of one lonely restaurant). On board you are provided with maps and flyers for each overnight town. The bikes were super heavy and cumbersome (not bikes I am used to) but this is the norm in Europe. The food on board was excellent. I would recommend this trip as I know the routes are being reviewed and descriptions/maps updated.

The Bike and Barge cycling trip was a great way to experience new countries. The cycling paths along the Danube are excellent and the riding was very enjoyable. We will be looking at other bike and barge options through Tripsite.

Marcel is a great guide/tour leader.

The Wadden (Frisian) Sea Netherlands sail/bike trip was tops. From the initial greet to the end of trip farewell to "old friends", my only recommendation for improvement could only be that one uncontrollable element - weather. Most days were punctuated with moisture but this did little to dampen the spirits of all who took advantage of this wonderful excursion.

There was some disconnect in passing along information. For example the barge had to leave earlier than 6:30 but info was not passed on. Fortunately my friends and I arrived and boarded the sister ship and got the info that the Angela Esmee was instructed to leave the port due to some Dutch holiday celebration. Good thing we took the initiative. There was no one waiting on the dock to give us this info.
Info about running a tab for drinks was false. We had to purchase tokens from a machine to use at bar. Bikes were somewhat rickety, having seen their 2nd season (according to a mechanic I talked to). Mine and some others made a grinding noise the entire time. The mechanic tried to fix it, but eventually I just tolerated it. I heard one mech say the bikes had a couple more trips this season. Good luck to the next owner.
Food was very good and the staff were very friendly. I would recommend a Bike and Barge trip to friends, but we ran into another group on a similar tour riding green bikes...they LOVED their bikes. We couldn't come close to saying that about ours. The green bike tour paid similar costs.

They need to provide better maps or route sheets. Manager of the boat (Peter) was very unfriendly and sometimes rude.

Staff was incredible. Only change I would make is in the dining room. To be allocated to a table with the same people for every meal was restrictive. We go on trips to meet people from different countries and to make new friends. On speaking with other travellers they mentioned that open seating would have made the whole experience that much more enjoyable. We thoroughly enjoyed our dining companions, but what if you didn't you were stuck all week.

Can't say enough about how accommodating the staff were, especially in the dining room. Many thanks! Want to do the trip again next year add bring my siblings.

I found the conditions of the bikes quite poor. They were obviously wearing out after a season of use. The food was adequate but not spectacular. The information about how to get clean towels was given 5 days into the trip.
The routes were well described but I would have liked further information about the towns we were passing through and where we were staying the night. Our group happened upon a cemetery with Canadian war dead but it was just luck. That type of information should be included I the route description of the day. Despite the things mentioned I did enjoy the trip and would recommend it to others.

I had a lot of trouble with the bike seat. That created pain/discomfort for the whole week. We saw other barges participants en route with much better bikes than we had. Ours were quite old and clunky but they worked OK when you got used to them. The bike mechanics were great. The seven gears were adequate for the terrain.

We should each have our own maps and route descriptions, not just one per cabin. You don't necessarily cycle with your cabin mate and sometimes people get separated from cycling partners during the day.

Our guide Marcel appeared to have a very arrogant attitude towards guests, particularly those who asked for clarification of various things. He was rude to me when I asked a question about the availability of public washrooms along the way - and what was customary in Holland. He snapped "So you think Dutch people don't go to the toilet?" He seemed to make a lot more effort as the week went on and was quite knowledgeable about a variety of things. He got off to a bad start with quite a few people however.

Re Food: The food was good and varied. We had a lot of salads/vegetables (generally overcooked) which I appreciated. Tea, coffee and water should be available for free all the time, not just till 4. A euro for hot water and a tea bag is chintzy.

I enjoyed the trip and the route. The route was quite varied in a lot of ways and very beautiful. Luckily the weather was reasonably cooperative and our group had a great time. The barge is a fun experience, and I would recommend it and consider another trip for myself as well.

Marcel was a very good guide-Johnan helped keep our bikes in very good order.

Would be helpful if bikes had water cages

There seemed to be tension between the owners of the barge and guy doing the cooking, cleaning and maintenance. The guy was trying to do the job of more than 2 people by himself. One day when he needed help with a cranky generator the captain was in a bar. We did not get clean towels half way through as promised. I have been on 2 bike and barge trips and this had the worst staff. The guide was good but left slower riders at several critical junctures. It did not happen often. Seems the system works best when the owner is captain. Means he is present and accountable.