4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 751 to 780 of 1278

Our tour guide Corrie was the best!

Beautiful countryside, wonderful chateau’s. We stayed at the Hotel la Breche which is 2 blocks from the train in a quiet residential area and a short 10 minute walk to town. Included was an unbelievable 8 course meal. It was very fancy and fun to try French cuisine. Breakfasts were wonderful also. Hosts are very hospitable. We enjoyed sitting in the gardens when not in use for the restaurant.
The bike routes were great in that we were mostly on bike trails. It was great to have a focus for the days ride. We found the directions co fusing and had a hard time figuring out which voucher for chateaus went with which day tour. The bikes were also very cumbersome. They had a deep V and there was no room between the V and the water bottle so it was hard to get on and off and to stand. Once on them they did work well.

Most Memorable Part: The castles, garden, beautiful paths for biking.

The food on the barge was excellent, much better than I anticipated. The staff was friendly, very hard working and seemed to enjoy working together to make our trip special. The accommodations on the barge were very comfortable. We biked through the countryside, past farms, and small villages, places a tourist wouldn't normally see. Even though this tour was rated "easy" it did require a certain amount of biking skill as the terrain on the bike paths varied from cobblestones, brick, gravel, dirt, narrow and sometimes crowded with other bikers.

The windmills and the cheese farm were the most memorable. We found the cafeteria style dining to be at least unromantic and that the portions could have been bigger. The crew was awesome. The ship gorgeous, the weather incredible. But it was always odd on the boat - not enough camaraderie among the passengers with no encouraged social interaction outside of forced togetherness at meals which with Covid rampant was a concern. I think it was a shame that the boat didn’t include the windmill tour as part of the activity because we felt it a fabulous understanding of what we were traveling through and by. Thank you for a wonderful vacation! Fredda and Derek

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Offer a less congested route out of Amsterdam. The route we were given took us through the areas with the most traffic and a lot of confusing turns. An alternative route could easily be offered and would have made the first day's ride a lot less stressful.
2. Several of our bikes had problems with shifting and other things. My bike often would shift down and up with no input from me other than pedaling. Two other bikes in our group of four had shifting issues. Also, my seat kept tilting forward on the seat post, despite the fact that I had a multi-tool and would crank the Allen bolt as tight as I could. Unbelievably, there was no interest from Dutch Bike Tours in identifying which bikes had problems.
3. Although most hotels were nice (we had the upgraded package), a few were very disappointing. In particular, the Woerten Best Western and the Vlissingen Hotel Piccard were quite bad and depressing, with tiny rooms and no charm at all. These were unacceptable.
4. The ride was scenic and very pleasant-- the bikes themselves and a few bad hotels were the only bummers.

Just returned from this cycle tour and had a wonderful experience. The castles just kept getting better each day. Our favourite was the Leonardo portion. We stayed at Le Breche which was very comfortable. Our one dinner there was amazing and have never eaten like that before! The court yard was beautiful, large and private and the owner allowed us to being our own wine and snacks to enjoy before the restaurant opened. Our only complaint was the bikes! They were extremely heavy and way to large for our lady group. The water bottle holder caused a lot of leg bruising and after the first day we had to remove it. Once we were able to get up in the saddle they rode ok. Countryside was lovely with all sorts of crops and vineyards. The instructions were ok and only had a couple hick-ups. The roads wondered through small villages and roads with very little traffic. Over all a good trip.

The Camino itself since the scenery was exceptional and picture perfect! Living on a small island, greenery is lacking so seeing all the lovely meadows, rolling fills and forests was breathtaking. The final ceremony at the Cathedral in Santiago was amazing as we witnessed the botafumeiro swing and we all felt a special emotion which we will never forget! Thank you Tripsite for materialising our dream and for the professional way you have led this journey. Now on to the next one ☺️

This is a very beautiful and historic area of Spain. We were enchanted by the scenery and the antiquities. The people are very friendly and helpful. We certainly needed that friendly help several times as the information provided by Cycle Catalonia was not accurate, often mixing left and right, or direction to turn but there were two or more possible turns in that direction.

The excursion cycling around Budapest was very memorable and our tour guide was excellent! The park on the island was definitely the highlight. We made some wonderful new English speaking friends and really enjoyed meal times with them.

The final night's celebration party was super fun and everyone enjoyed the 70's theme. Dinner on the upper deck was amazing! The restaurant manger was so kind and helpful at every meal. He made the dining experience top notch. Hopefully, the air-conditioning in the dining room is fixed for next time.

Another suggestion would be to streamline the briefings for the cycling routes by using prerecorded media and then allow Leslie to answer questions in person at a later time.

Leslie the cruise director was awesome. He was always at the ready to help out with any questions or problems.

Everything on the boat was great except the smoking policies were not enforced. People smoked everywhere on the top deck and took away from the experience. No one stopped them and as a result my wife's asthma was triggered.

Loved the great bike paths

Weather was great! no rain at all. Biking was very easy. I had no idea. I was the sweeper for the group. There were quite a few Americans that really had no clue about the rules of the road for bicycles and how bikes interact with cars and pedestrians. A quick overview at the start would be helpful for them. Especially who has the right of way at intersections. At times the group was too big and therefore the train too long. Also a break-up according to ability might be wise. My bike was really too small for me. It was an "L" frame and it should have been an "XL" frame, which is what I had requested.

The most memorable part was the biking itself. We had an E bike so the trip was very comfortable. The bikes were in great shape, it seems even the regular bikes. The route chosen was very memorable and scenic. Marjan the guide, was very capable as it was a challenge at times to keep the group all together. And some suggestions: one guide for 24 people really was not enough. Although we had a sweeper in the back this should not be a paying guest responsibility. If there have been a serious accident, not sure what the rest of us would’ve done if Marjan had to take this person to a hospital. Also the speed was very slow probably due to the fact that we had 24 people in one group. Going too slow also increases the chance of accidents. It was also challenging in towns and busy areas like Amsterdam for safety reasons. It also would it be nice to learn more along the route. Marjan gave some titbits of information but more of this would have been appreciated. We stopped at a wooden shoe making factory but no actual tour and it would’ve been nice to have a tour like this included and some other interesting tours. Also all coffee stops we had to pay for ourselves which would’ve been a nice touch to include. Seven full days of biking was also a lot and it would’ve been nice maybe to combine the biking with a couple of interesting outings. We did get to cruise a little bit after a couple of bike days so that was enjoyable. We only saw one other bike tour once so it was nice not to be herded along with a bunch of other tours. The staff were all very friendly and capable, the cabins were comfortable and clean and the public areas had enough space for everyone. We would definitely consider another type of trip again but maybe as mentioned a combination of bike and sightseeing or something else. Thanks very much

Beautiful beaches, great rides in the country.
Download maps.me before to help you with directions. Invaluable…

The scenery was incredible. The bike paths are well maintained and made for an easy trip. My only suggestion is to have the hotel in Bolzano closer to town. It was pretty far from downtown however the people were very pleasant. Luggage was late a couple of times. One was due to car trouble. Can't predict that.

Most Memorable Part: The extensive bike trails along the river and in the larger cities

The garden festival at Chaumont-Sur-Loire was probably the nicest surprise visit for us all tho there were lots of high points and each person of our group would have slightly different takes different.
Quality of routes and ease of following was wonderful.
Canoe and wine experiences could have been better.
Better indications of facilities for coffees and sandwiches en route would have been helpful as well as advising impact if weekends and bank holidays.
Hotels quite variable - one excellent, two good albeit rooms not great, one disappointing - I had to generalise in giving rating below but Amboise for example would be very satisfied on all and Cheverny ‘neither’ apart from food which would be ‘satisfies’
All in all a great trip

Beautiful countryside and amazing cheap beer. A few of the roads were a bit busier than I would have imagined but that didn't stop us enjoying the awesome scenery the Bohemian countryside has to offer. Rides are challenging (a little hilly in places) but well rewarded with some great beer in every town.

There are some great recommendations for lunch stops on the tour and it was nice to be able to see smaller villages that you wouldn't normally see.

Prepare to put on a few pounds as even the cycling won't work off all the amazing food and beer!

Cycling from Vianen to Schoonhoven, and the walk through Bruges beautiful historic city. Bring cycling waterproof gear and be ready to take lots of pictures…

The scenery was incredible

The guides, Senad and Martin, were fabulous. The Romantica crew we’re also excellent. Meals were great. Cycling was generally good, although there was one day where the roads were a bit busy and there was really no scenery to make it worthwhile.
The Romantica is an older boat, and some of the mattresses and pillows are much too soft. The other thing is that there is no soap or shampoo supplied for the shower. Supplying that wouldn’t cost much and would go a long way to increase satisfaction.

It was amazing biking through the country side of Hungary and Austria. It is not your typical USA tourist destination but I am so glad we were able to experience it.

Biking through the amazing Wachau alley wine region of Austria was a highlight, but the lesser-known towns of Krems and Melk were amazing, too. I just wish there had been more time to explore, but the 7-day tour needs to keep moving, so we understand. Great crew, if obviously overworked (7 days per week for 21 weeks straight?!), made the trip.

Hotel in Caldas de Reis was outstanding as wel as the last journey to Santiago de Compostela.

Our tour Guide Joao in Oporto was excellent, he was always worried how the trip was going on and ready to help us in case something went wrong

The weather was perfect and the food out of this world. Just be aware that off season means just that. While not a huge issue but some of the restaurants etc were on reduced hours.

The trip was all memorable--the scenery from the boat, the biking in Austria, the cities of Vienna and Budapest. The staff and crew were outstanding, especially the tour director. Our only complaint was that a vegan menu option was promised and the kitchen struggled to deliver the quality and variety we expected.

Beautiful area. The small towns were charming.

The hills were a little more difficult than I anticipated. Suggestion for others would be to prepare for a lot of hills.

Great staff. The staff went out of their way to make all guests comfortable. Our group of 9 fit in well with the 11 others on tour. The close quarters make this necessary. The Staff works hard at making sure that all feel welcome.

Pros:
The tulips were gorgeous, Keukenhof was a highlight and a nice break.
The bike paths were easy, fun and relaxing,
Food was plentiful and the chef did a good accommodating various diets and planned varied and delicious menus.
The other guests were friendly, fun, and interesting.
The crew were all kind and patient.
The hybrid bikes were comfortable.
The guide (Piet) was knowledgeable, and gave historic walks almost every night.

Cons:
Riding in the cities was stressful. There was too much urban riding with many treacherous intersections, bike and pedestrian traffic. It seemed very unsafe.
The e-bikes mixed into the group were a problem. Some of the riders couldn't control the e-bikes. Also, riding up and down hills through the dunes, with a strong head wind was gave the e-bike riders an advantage.
The size of the group (24) was too large for a single guide. He struggled to be present for everyone.
The large gap in abilities of the riders was problematic. This tour was rated easy, but some riders were extremely fit and pushed the pace.
Some of the schedule didn't work well. On the hardest riding day, we started the bike tour very late, after shopping in town and museums. We barely had time to eat lunch that day . But the ride through the dunes was difficult. I'm not sorry we went, but I wish we had left earlier and taken some breaks.
We were close to the end of tulip season and so didn't see as many as earlier tours.

Visiting the beautiful cities of Bruges and Ghent

The fellowship on the Magnifique IV was wonderful. However, several of our fellow travelers tested positive for COVID right after leaving the ship. More options for testing and keeping the travelers free of COVID need to be provided.