4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 811 to 840 of 1196

The boat and crew and guide were all top notch

My onboard experience was wonderful. The staff was awesome, very helpful and accommodating. The biking was quite an experience, a bit challenging at times due to some unpaved paths, however it was rewarding.

London to Amsterdam was a great trip. Beautiful scenery especially along the North Sea and canals and farmland of Holland.hotels were unique but comfortable. Breakfast was always good. Dinners were good but more variety needed in menu choices. Loved the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk and all the small towns we rode through. There were 12 of us plus 6 others on the self- guided which made for a lively and interesting, diverse group.
What was disappointing and could be improved was communication from the guide. Very little information was given ahead of time as to what was next and no information about the towns history, culture and facts regarding where we were. This would have made the trip more enjoyable and interesting.

The history and the countryside was fantastic. Need work with maps - took us over an hour to find the hotel in Dresden as we were never given a city map of Dresden with hotels marked as other cities. Do not recommend dinner package as fixed menu at some of restaurants was not very good.

We loved the trails that ran close to the sea shore, as well as passing through the small towns. It’s really important to watch the signage along the way in order to stay on course. It’s sometimes challenging to locate the overnight spots based on the descriptions in the tour materials. They would be better if they provided more detail.

As professional as the staff were and as delicious the food, the most memorable part of the trip was interacting with fellow travelers. Since the boat can only berth around 40, I was able to get to know almost everyone and learn about their countries and personal histories.

Fantastic Value; super helpful staff. Only 80 riders. Very friendly guests attracted. Beautiful sights. Good food. Bikes heavy and clunky with no choice in quality except electric. Excellent trip overall.

The highlights were the following:
RIDING - Sergio and his team were outstanding in every aspect ...nothing was too much trouble for him!
We loved every day of cycling except the day from Praia de Mira to Figueira da Foz - I would recommend that you cut this day out of the cycling completely as it is not only ugly due to the fire but it is uncomfortable for 35km. We would recommend that you have two nights in Coimbra ...even if you must transport the cyclists in order that the day is not too long. Figueira da Foz is not as nice as the other towns either.
HOTELS - all hotels were wonderful except for the one in Porto - I would recommend a different hotel - maybe one a little closer to the town (the wifi didnt work and the water was cold and just not the same standard as the rest)
RESTAURANTS- the recommendations were brilliant and we had amazing meals every night
HIGHLIGHTS - We would suggest that as well as the booklet that the guests are given a small"daily highlights" card which they can peg onto the front of their bikes (so that they dont have to get the booklet out of the bag) The card could indicate the "attraction" / "highlight" and the number of kilometers so that they are easy to find.
We have cycled with various companies in France and Italy and these would be the tips which we feel could benefit your company

Briefing by tour director daily with clear instructions on the following days ride. Highlighting and suggestions where to break for coffee and lunch, and points of interest along the way.
Breakfast and evening meal was delicious.
A great range of reasonably priced good quality bike attire, including wet weather jackets ,and bike helmets for sale.

Denmark was incredible! The Baltic and the forests were lovely. The people were good-humored and helpful.

The bike and barge tour was great! The bike route along the Danube was easy to follow but sometimes the days seemed repetitive. We found the last day of riding the most picturesque. The boat crew was awesome- everyone spoke English well except for the tour guide who struggled with communicating the day to day instructions. The food was very good and plentiful.

Riding in the foothills/vinyards in Austria. Stopping for a beer and a slice of homemade cake at a hotel on the trail.
The boat was too slow traveling upstream against heavy current. This meant we were late in docking for our next ride. Yes, the current was heavy but this is likely to happen every spring.

Tour operators were very nice. For example, they gave us ride back to town rather than call a taxi.
Two days were relatively flat, two were hilly, especially the last day when riding back to the farm from Ludlow. Plenty of historical sites. Recommended lunch stops didn't meet our schedule, so be prepared.
Be aware:
-no cyclometer (I had my own Garmin),
-no TripSite water bottles - take your own,
-no detailed directions for optional rides - just a list of way-points,
-only one handlebar bag per couple - for the person carrying the map. (each bike has a pannier)
There is a heavy-duty road map included, which was helpful. I also traced the routes on Google maps the night before to know what landmarks to look for, as many streets and roads are not signed.
Some of the riding is along narrow roads between tall hedgerows. It's like riding in a tunnel - not very scenic.
Overall, we enjoyed the biking experience, the stops, and Ludlow.

All of the scenery, the quiet roads, Trosa, and the adventure and weather on the roads were all magnificent.

The routes probably could use some updating. We were lost on a few occasions, but were able to double back when we realized this. Some of the signage and actual directions needed re-working. I would suggest that the company go out there and check it out. The single accommodation in Mariefred was not up to standards. I had to ask to be moved from the first room as the window was right at street level and did not feel safe, nor could I keep the shades open so the room was very dark. The second room I moved into was nicer, but it also faced a parking lot where people could look in, but felt safer on the second floor. The location was superb otherwise.

The breakfasts at all of the hotels were yummy and the staff friendly.

Highlight: The cycling and the swimming off the back of the boat.

Best Part? The nice people on the boat

Earlier this year (May), my wife and I did the 4 country bike - barge tour, on the Danube. First I have to remark that everything "Tripsite" advertised was delivered at what we thought to be a reasonable price. In spite of unusually cold (damp) weather, our first experience (s) in Passau, Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna were very memorable highlights. However, aboard the "Normandie" we did have some concerns with the overall tour management. There were some particularly disappointing moments with an apparent strategy to keep the English speaking guests, and non-english speaking guests (mostly German) separated? For our part, we were keen to mingle - assimilate with all the guests aboard. That should not reflect our overall impression of the boat crew, who were very courteous and helpful.

Sailing down the Danube at night under the full moon we witnessed the beautiful lighted bridges and magnificent buildings of Vienna. It was magical!

Biking through the countryside of the Netherlands and Belgium at a pace that allowed us to learn about both cultures and their histories was an opportunity not to be missed.

Most Memorable Part: The friendliness and helpfulness of the staff as well as the beautiful scenery.

This was a wonderful way to see Northern Europe, leisurely experiencing a diversity of landscapes, towns, and scenic attractions.

Biking through Belgium and Holland. Great bike paths, lovely scenery, good companions made for a memorable journey.

This was a great experience. Andreas was a wonderful tour director/leader. 2 weeks aloud us to have a great experience. As this was the ship's first cruise of the year we did experience a problem with our room but Andreas resolved the problem promptly and provided some compensation for our troubles. The crew provided excellent service. The meals were better than expected( I am not a gourmet but enjoyed every meal). the bike routes were very interesting. Our only issue was with the a/c but as this was an older ship some things are not always up to modern standards. Great value.

My wife and I did the self-guided Camino tour. It did not start well, as promised reception at airport did not appear, definitely the fault of Trip Site staff, who were barely apologetic. Level of difficulty was billed “easy” to “moderate,” but for this weekend biker it was more like “moderate” to “difficult.” Nonetheless, it was a really gratifying experience. Our e-bikes were top notch, and with GPS we were able to navigate pretty well along the route, some of which was definitely “off the beaten track.” When the description of route says "hard surfaces," implying smooth going, what they often mean are hard-on-the-butt cobblestones Cannot say enough about Sergio and his team in Oporto. Maybe it was because we were older and didn’t look like Tour de France candidates, but he made it a point to check in with us 3 or 4 times during the week to make certain we were ok. If anything had gone wrong, we knew he’d be there in a flash. The accommodations were excellent, and the gratification of making it into the cathedral square at Santiago de Compostela was profound. If your purpose in taking on this challenge is at all spiritual, highly recommend.

We just finished this tour of Crete, and for context I should say we are both in our 70's and ride quite a bit. So, Crete: The scenery, mountains and beaches are beautiful, the people are friendly, warm and accepting, the food is out of this world, and the biking was great for us. Some thoughts about the bike tour itself:
We were provided with new Ideal eBikes that were exceptional.
The routes were varied and generally perfect for us.
Routes were described adequately, but GPS directions were great.
Total elevation gains were substantial, but ok with eBikes.
We were driven to each daily tour starting point, generally at high elevation.
Our driver driver was excellent and extremely helpful.
The price of the tour was very reasonable.
We should have upgraded the hotels - some were minimally adequate.
Overall we give the tour a thumbs-up and are very glad we went. The operator is very competent and provided a wonderful experience.

We recently completed the 11 day Amsterdam to Brugge tour on the Quo Vadis. We really enjoyed ourselves. The boat was very nicely appointed, the cabins are not large and the bathrooms small but very adequate, lots of hot water which is really appreciated after a day of cycling. Food was very good, especially the dinners. The staff did everything to make our trip enjoyable and mixed well with the guests. We had 2 excellent guides who both had extensive knowledge of the history and geography of both countries. The tour itself gave us a really good taste of the Netherlands and Belgium, from the beautiful countryside, through the dunes at the North Sea, over the dams that prevent the floods, past and into windmills, into the cities and large towns like Rotterdam, The Hague, Ghent and a day visiting the World War 1 sites around Ypres. We were very fortunate the on most days the wind assisted our travels and we had very little rain. All and all a great adventure.

This was my 5th bike/barge Tripsite tour and it was just as amazing as my first. The guide was knowledgeable and the group was an interesting blend of former and present U.S. Air Force personnel as well as Italians, Americans, French and Flemish. The weather in mid April was the biggest challenge with hailstorms and thunder, which made the trip all the more memorable.
The bull fights (humane but sad), the aqueducts, and the food, oh the food! As always a nice cross section of people who are like minded in their zest for life and the enjoyment of experiencing Provence at 11 mph at sea level. (Oh, and they do warn you about the hills and the wind, which I glossed over BEFORE we went). The reason I rated this a 4 Star is I'm reserving the top prize for something that knocks my socks off!

Amazing staff and great guide

Meeting the native people from the Netherlands and Belgium. Meeting other cyclists on the tour routes.

The best trip i’ve ever done was through Danubio, from Passau to Vienna. It was perfect, the scenery, the route, the boat. It was my first time in a bike and tour trip. It was in 2016 and since then it,’s the only way i like to travel. A new world for me, I felt like a child recovering my childhood near from nature!