4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 811 to 840 of 1207

I loved the convenience of all the planning and coordinating by Tripsite which allowed my party to really enjoy the biking, hotels and experience of the trip. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and care of the bikes which could make or break of this trip. Working with Tripsite was easy and pleasant.

Our experience was simply exceptional! The shared experience and fellowship created new friendships. The Merlijn was an exceptional venue for seeing Germany and our hosts took great care of us. We got great value for our travel dollar and created terrific memories that will bring lasting joy.

The trip was rated easy to moderate! I would rate it moderate to hard! If you do this boat trip- get an electric bike! Parts of the bike riding were on roads with traffic and on gravel roads!

The guides were great and fun! The scenery and town were wonderful!

The Cycling and travel along the Danube River. Still more markings on the Bike routes.

Most Memorable Part: Food & last day of riding + Vienna

Did the Amsterdam to Bruges bike & barge tour on the Tijdgeest. My wife & I had a great experience. Arje was a great guide & the entire boat crew made it a fantastic trip. The riding was quite easy & the evening city tours fun & informative. Would recommend to anyone
Thanks All
Dane & Kim

As always, Croatia excels!! The towns, the people and the unbelievably clean, warm waters were great!! Our guides and boat crew were also wonderful. For us, this trip had too much boat time and not enough bike time. For others, they enjoyed the ride and the scenery. We would also recommend stopping at the old penal colony rather than the mile walk into a state park as it was very pretty but no more so than most of the coast lines we had already seen. Thanks for a great trip - we will be back for a different tour next May.

The food on the Boat Romantica was wonderful.

We really enjoyed Wachau. Definitely stop for the wine tour, and enjoy the biking through the vineyards. It was absolutely beautiful.

The best part was the first three days self-guided tour near the Dolomites on our 10 day tour.

The Iris is a well equipped and comfortable barge with a fantastic crew. Our guide, Thomas, was knowledgeable and very helpful and the Italian chefs (husband and wife) cooked delicious food and were super cute! Lenny, the owner of the Iris, was present throughout the trip and this added a special warmth to the trip. This was the first time this itinerary was offered on the Iris and it went off without a hitch. Many of the guests had E Bikes (which I recommend even though it was rated as an easy route) which made the several small hills a piece of cake! Would definitely recommend this trip on the Iris.

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.