2 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 31 to 60 of 75

The route and group were amazing! The cities are very nice and historical… what I fell could be better is reception of participants of tour… inviting each one to identify oneself with others, to make a group… And I think our guide wasn’t so careful with the group… so quick some days… with no explanation about the beautiful little towns we were!! So pity!!
And they could help us about car parking before tour… You could have better support to guests.

This tour was described as having a dedicated bike path and great for families.After completing it today I have to disagree.
Long stretches (20 kms) of Parenzana path were like washed out river beds, full of deep loose gravel and rocks.Unless-you are used to this surface then it is very slow going,scary and dangerous .
My cycle buddy and I both fell off twice,and had cuts and bruises.We have cycled all over Europe and have never been on anything like this.We did cycle from Piran to Grojnan and Grojnan to Motovun and the path was really bad,a goat track in some parts.
We caught a taxi from Motovun to Porec as the Komoot map indicated 20 kms of unpaved path through the forest and no roads to turn onto if we needed to escape .
This state of this path really is atrocious and it’s the worst self guided tour I have ever done

This was a self guided tour and the directions provided were terrible. Spent a lot of time lost

We boarded the Primadonna on Friday & started our biking the following day. It was a little hectic & we didn't get any tips about the e-bike since we hadn't ridden one before. We got a briefing the night before about where to go but we had to wait until the German was completed before the English started. We were all very tired by then from traveling. The first day of biking went well as we got used to the e-bike. The second day we began our ride from Tulin to Vienna. The bike trail was crowded today and as we were coming up to a curve I had to move out of the way for on- coming traffic & I hit the gravel and crashed to the ground. My husband was behind me & had to stop fast so he also tipped over on his bike. I hit my face & landed on my left knee & my knee was bleeding heavily. My husband had multiple abrasions on his arms & legs. We continued our ride back to the boat so we could figure out what to do next. I checked my knee & I had a wide, deep cut that I knew would have to be sutured. The boat provided bandages & advised us to see a doctor in the next town. The following morning Terezka from reception took us by taxi to a near by hospital but they would not see us. We got into another taxi & went to a private doctors office where I had 6 sutures put in my knee. I was not allowed to bike so we stayed on the boat for the remainder of the trip. It took 3 days for us to get flights to return to S. Carolina. Bruce & Phyllis Ehlers

Comparing that ship to the one that I’m on now I would not give it a high rating. Bathroom was filthy, toilet kept running, floor stayed wet from condensation from the shower and toilet and the bed situation was not desirable. However I booked this knowing that it was a low budget trip so therefore I was not disappointed. The guide was superb. He gave us lots of history and really made the trip fun. The food was less than desirable.

I understand the latitudes taken in promotion and advertising. That being said, I highly resent being intentionally deceived. We were “warned” prior to leaving that there might be last minute changes in where the ship docked in Passau. Sure enough, 2 days prior to boarding we were informed of the change “due to construction.” There was no construction around the docks. We walked by there several times each day, and ships were docking all the time. No, this had to do with not wanting to dock in Germany where COVID restrictions were tighter for the ship to set sail.

What we were left with instead was a vague set of instructions that led us to the wrong place and a group of suspected fellow passengers (none spoke English) also waiting in several places for the bus. We tried your 800 number. No one answered. We tried the local “help line”. The person who answered did not speak English. There was no one at the presumed site to board the bus to inform us that we were at the correct location. Had the original one not broken down and caused an unexpected delay, we would have never made it to be bus, even though we left our hotel two hours earlier. Two unexpected cab fares and hours of stress wondering if we would actually make embarkation is not the way to start a voyage. We must have been your only clients on board, and that explains quite a lot of what happened. The only other English-speaking passengers were Danish. Daytime announcements were only made in German.

FOOD

If I were asked to describe the food on this voyage with one word it would be: BLAND. Presentation 10. Taste 3. Selection 2. They need to invest more in spices to make it taste better and less on garnish to make it look good.

PERSONNEL

The saving grace was the attitude and professionalism of all those who worked on board, from the Captain helping get the bicycles ashore, to the ladies at the information desk, to our waiter, bartender, and cabin stewardess. All worked hard, were extremely helpful, and I have no complaints whatsoever.

CYCLING EXPERIENCE

The bicycles were good quality, well-maintained, and those who instructed us in their use were quite helpful. The young lady who instructed us each evening about the day ahead was superb. But her graphics, maps, handouts, were awful. The biking experience itself was nothing like I imagined. Cars, trucks, pedestrians, and multitudes of other cyclists all trying to pass on the left at any opportunity. Some very dangerous gravel trails and quite a bit of city riding with cars whizzing by at breakneck speed. The distance vs. time allowed created a “race to the finish line” experience rather than the comfortable, leisurely ride through the countryside with frequent stops to take in the scenery that I had come to expect from your promotional materials.  SHOW MORE 

I am truly amazed about quantity of 5 star reviews for this tour, as I could only give it a 2 star! And, this 2 rating is for the wonderful restaurant and housekeeping staff , as the boat crew , bike assistants were unpleasant to deal with, and the captain kept his distance. This was such a drastic difference from my very enjoyable Netherlands, and Croatia bike and boat tours. The maps and directions were inadequate and usually incorrect. The "tour guide" (who never lead a tour) Jan was unbelievably nasty, rude and impatient about any and all questions and concerns. He sent many on what was to be an easy, level ride only for it to take us over a mountain where our bikes were unsuitable and directions e completely wrong. I would not recommend neither this boat or trip to anyone.

Suggestion for others: Take a different bike/barge trip!

The boat was quite old and noisy. Due to either river conditions or dock accommodations, the skipper had to move the boat off the dock multiple times during the days and at night, disrupting sleep for many of the guests. Air conditioning did not work in several of the cabins, and the crew was very slow to repair. At our "welcome aboard" briefing, we were told that there were 130 life vests on board the vessel, and that was the extent of the safety briefing - nothing about where they were located or how to don them. No word about where fire extinguishers were located. Nothing about how to get off the boat in an emergency. If there was an AED on board, it was well hidden!

Several of the young ladies in the crew were very friendly and helpful to the passengers, but others were not very helpful at all - The Captain could best be described as an old Curmudgeon. Time for him to retire! The bikes were old and somewhat worn out. Very little help from the crew with getting them set up and ready to roll each day. The first day of "bike fitting" was pandemonium, with 80+ people all trying to get their bikes at once. Probably could have been a little better organized - as could several other aspects of the trip. Our guide was trying very hard to do the best he could, but he was handicapped by a lack of experience and local area knowledge. His regular job was working in the office for the boat company, and I suspect he was pressed into service as a guide, probably because so many people requested the guided option.

The food was generally good, but there was no choice during evening meals. If you happened not to like duck, too bad!

While the crew and the company had no control over the weather, it rained almost every day, and to top it all off, I found I really prefer California/Washington wines to any we tasted in the Bordeaux region.

While this was our first barge experience, we have taken many other cycling trips, with other companies. In general, they have all been far more organized an better executed than this trip. The bikes were always better in quality and better maintained by the crew. The tour leaders were far more informed and informative about the areas we were riding in.

Bottom line: I will not take another bike/barge trip through your company, nor can I recommend your trips to others.

Maps must be improved.
We got lost more than one time.
The signs are very poor in many places.
Local people are not used to the signs used in the bike route used in the maps. So they could not help us.

The first day of the trip is too long. It would be better to do it in two days.

The normal package hotels are not good. For few cities we payed for upgrade hotels. This ones were very nice.

I took the Bordeaux bike and barge trip the first week of September 2019. I am comparing it to the Danube bike & barge trip I took in October 2017 via Tripsite. The Danube trip was great all the way around, good food, nice dining service, white linen, well cooked and good variety of food. Excellent value for the money. The itinerary, guides, and crew service were great. The Bordeaux trip on MS Bordeaux held great expectations. The itinerary and scenery were fantastic. The quality and variety of food needed a lot of work. The morning coffee was dreadful each day, and there were no proper coffee mugs, teacups or teapots. Paper placemats did not add to the breakfast atmosphere. We were offered the same overcooked eggs each morning. One morning garlic carrots were on offer. Our make yourself lunches were exactly the same ingredients each day. The dinners were often overcooked with a complete lack of fresh greens or fresh market cheeses. In fact, the cheeses on offer each morning were pre-sliced cheese. This is not what one expects in France.
So the food was very disappointing for the price we paid for this trip. The food servers were very friendly and worked hard to please. The bike mechanic was great and solved any issues we had with the bikes. The captain of MS Bordeaux was always impatient and gruff with passengers as we disembarked each day. On the Danube trip, the staff ensured the bikes were on land for us each day. The GPS's in Bordeaux did not work most of the time and the maps in the books need updating - this is a comment that has been in the Bordeaux reviews for several years now. A team discussion and group effort allowed us to find our way.
The most disappointing aspect of the trip is that my concerns were expressed to Tripsite and left unanswered for over a month until I called Tripsite back, and nothing was resolved for me. Just be sure to evaluate if the quality of food and customer service are an important part of your trip - otherwise, enjoy the great rides!

Coming around a corner in rural netherlands and seeing a tradition windmill complete with thatched roof! Beautiful!

1. There were only about 10 castles on the tour. Most of the castles were not open to the public to visit.
2. The maps and written instructions given to us upon arrival were in German which we do not know. There was an option to download these instructions onto a smart phone but we were not given this information until on day 3 of the tour. We had made no provisions to attach a smart phone to our bike and protect it from the weather.
3. The scenery was pleasant for a few days but became boring as there was not much difference each day.

We have completed many boat and bike tours all through TripSite who have always done an outstanding job to make sure the customers get their information on time. Carla and her team do a great job.
The North Holland tour is the least desirable tour to choose for a number of reasons.
The De Holland boat is the least agreeable thing to ever float on a river, a box with no charm at all. On the other hand the cabins inside even though they are small, they are clean and the bathrooms are fitted nicely and roomy. It also has a decent deck from where to enjoy the view when in port or sailing.
The administration of this company are not doing themselves any favours. They have cut down the crew to the level that they are unable to properly serve their customers. The persons working as crew on this boat are killing themselves to provide the best service possible without much success most of the time. Just not enough people to do the jobs. Furthermore if you plan to charge for WiFi service you are simply daft by asking for the 10 euros for the week. Just up the trip price and tell everyone WiFi is FREE. What a a bargain! Nickel and dimeing your customers is a poor way of doing business. Also changing the itinerary in order to save fuel is a disservice to your customers. The excuse that the boat is not able to dock at Ouderchild on Texel is rubbish as they have been doing it before and cycling through the harbour there, we saw no difference to facilities or space than all the other docking places we did dock at. So boat wise and management wise this trip is poor.
However, the guide person was outstanding. She knew everything about the area and the routes and she was soooooo patient she was great! The day (Day 3) of cycling the dunes east of Alkmaar can easily be deleted. There is little to see and of very little interest to almost all the riders we spoke with. It is far more interesting to cycle in Alkmaar city and explore the city museums and other historical venues than riding the dusty windy dunes. The most interesting cities visited are Alkmaar, Enkhuisen and Volendam.
The food on board was adequate but nothing special or even Dutch. Not a single Dutch meal or treat was offered during the week. Then the issue with the coffee and cake time upon return after a day of cycling. Are they nuts or what? One day coffee time is 4 to 5 pm. The next day 3:30 to 4:30 and the next day different again. Get real and set the time 3:30 to 5:00 and get on with life. No need to confuse things and have people expect a cup of coffee and then find out that the time was earlier today. Really?
Asking for ice in the water was like asking for gold plated silverware. One napkin per person like napkins are a euro each. Are you kidding? Put a napkin holder on each table like every where else. What is this 1910 world paper shortage or are you pretending to be the world leader in paper napkin savings??
The bikes were of top quality and well maintained. The crew that was looking after the bikes were there when you needed them and helped everyone to make sure the bikes were set up properly and safe for them. First Class service.
What is great about these trips? The people you meet and the fun things that happen during the tour. The fun places you meet strangers and have lunch with, the help you may get or give on the way to a destination and memories that stay behind. I am afraid to say this trip was short on great memories, but some nevertheless. Perhaps another boat and this trip could have been a better one.  SHOW MORE 

Most Memorable Part: The biking and comradery of the other bikers on the trip.

Most Memorable Part: The black mold (or something) that had many people coughing in their rooms. I had to take allergy pills each night.

The crew & food were great & acceptable respectively. There were very few vegetables served. The ship was terrible, moldy, poor lighting nonexistent waste baskets except in private rooms. The ship had a strong sewer odor which our cabin boy could not remedy. This problem involved several rooms. We would not return to the The(odor) Körner.

Avoid trips on this barge!
Trip Name: Loire Valley rerouted to St. Mammés/Sens
We have new two lessons learned from this experience:
1. Never book on a boat that is not crewed by the owner; and
2. Never book accommodations that do not show you the state and size of the washroom.
After reading the mostly average reviews of the barge before booking, we decided to take a chance on booking the Loire Valley boat and bike itinerary on the Anna Maria IV. However, due to low water conditions on the Loire, the itinerary was changed to the Seine and the Yonne rivers. While disappointed in the change, the new route was more than fine with challenging rides and beautiful scenery.
John, the tour guide did a great job leading us through new territory.
The new bikes were excellent, and John was able to fix the odd flat tire along the way.
Unfortunately, no evening city walks were provided due to the itinerary change.
The boat captain was only on the barge for 4 days and 3 nights. While we had very little interaction with him, he was pleasant and got us from dock to dock with no problems- always a challenge with low water levels.
The barge. Well, we knew it would be small since this is our third bike barge on the same category of ship. But this was by far the smallest and least comfortable. The sinks are in the sleeping area and take up much of the non-bed space. One’s feet were actually in the shower when using the toilet. And, there was literally no room to unpack items - the small bins under the bed didn’t stay on their racks, making them useful for only the lightest of items.
But, the worst part of the entire week was the service provided by the crew/host. Unfortunately, there was only one crew member for 13 guests - thank goodness we were not at the 18 guest capacity.
Our feeling is that she did not like her job and found us an inconvenience to her social life. We felt like we had to fit into her schedule rather than her recognizing we were customers! And, boy, was she not a morning person!
While one can accept a person having a bad day or being a few minutes late once in a while, one should not have to experience the lack of organization and attention to detail that we received the entire week. If this was our first bike barge trip, I doubt we would ever do one again.
In summary, the captain was responsible for the movement of the ship. The guide was responsible for our cycling experience. The host was responsible for our on-board experience. But with no one in charge, there was no single person responsible for our overall experience.
While the on-board experience was extremely disappointing, the cycling was great, and the other passengers amazing. In fact, without the camaraderie of the other passengers this would have been a miserable week.

Trip with some room for improvement.
As positive:
1. Bike guides were kind and always trying to fulfill all of our requests.
2. Waiter was really helpful, efficient and nice with all of us
3. Meals on board were tasteful
As 'not so positive':
1. All the the bike routes run 100% by car roads
2. We just were able to take a swim from the boat 2 or 3 times during the full week
3. Captain had to change the itinerary, that initially it did not sound as a problem until we finally spent 24 hours with the ship docked beside the garbage containers in a city with absolutely nothing to visit or to do... while enduring flies and really unpleasant smell...
4. Captain and part of the crew far from 'nice behavior' during the full trip until the last moment that they started to open the tip envelopes and count the money in the dining room with all of us still on board

As a summary, this National Park 'bike & Boat' trip was far from expectations.

The general biking was above average , with some awesome sites visited.
As far as the accommodation was concerned this was below average.
Although the space was confined more emphasis could have been done to the quality and hospitality of stay.

Visiting Prague. What a magical city. The bikes on our trip were very nice. I rented an ebike and my husband had a regular bike. We love biking in Europe but I would not recommend this trip. Lots of the paths were dirt paths that were rough to ride on. The trails were not marked very making it easy to miss a road sign because you had to look where you were riding due to the rough terrain. The towns were small and poor. Not many places to stop for a lunch or beer. The villages were very boring to our group of 12. The MS Florentine was very nice and the food was good. The restaurant manager provided excellent service. Our tour guide Frank was very disappointing. His English skills were marginal (he is German) and he wasn’t very friendly. We hated to ask him questions, he always acted put out by us bothering him. The map and written description of the daily route needs improving making it easy to get lost. I was grateful we were traveling with 10 friends since most of the guests were German and we never connected with others on the ship. I will do another bike and barge trip but I will pick a more interesting itinerary.

Porto was extraordinary as was Aveiro. The bike routes were primitive or sand covered. Local company was extremely nice and accommodating. Portuguese people couldn’t have been friendlier.

This was tour #6 for me and it was completely different than my former experiences. My previous tours were full of tourist sights and charming villages with little shops, coffee/tea/bakery cafes, and restaurants (with restrooms) to stop at along the way during the day and actual bicycle paths. Krakow to Warsaw (Warka) Poland tour was very unique. Positives: Krakow is absolutely charming and has some interesting day trips available to the salt mines and concentration camps. Once on tour the bicycles, hotels and food were excellent. The forests and farmlands were lovely. The birds were singing, roosters crowing, and the spring blooms were abundant. We saw wild boar in the woods the first day and wolf tracks another. The route maps were detailed and easy to read. The tour company was quick to work out any issues such as transporting us on day 2 of cycling due to severe weather and flood warnings. This being said, I must point out this was not a bicycle path but a bicycle route utilizing narrow roads with usually light traffic (but some sections were busy), logging roads, dirt and gravel (possibly rutted), and horror of all horrors...soft sand. The third day of cycling was bone jarring at times and though only 40km we were exhausted. The last day of cycling was 65 km instead of 55km listed. We traveled all week through extremely rural areas with no restrooms, restaurants, shops, or tourist sights during the whole cycling part of the day most days. (be sure to take snacks!) When a village appeared on the map it normally meant a group of houses and a church...but no commercial establishments. Friday we did see a few businesses but it was a holiday so they were closed. If there were castle ruins at the beginning we didn't see them. The bunker mentioned on day 6 was closed. The Abbey/Castle was closed for renovation which was a major selling point of interest when booking (we were put in a nice hotel as a substitute). The last hotel though nice was very crowded with young families and it was very noisy late into the night. It also required a taxi drive to town. This tour takes you through the former soviet block section of Poland. Overall my friend and I didn't mind doing this tour since we have experienced the other tours first, but feel you should be aware of what you are signing on for: remote cycling in non tourist/commercial type areas over possibly challenging surfaces.

We had a great time touring the area. The hills were a challenge! The hotel food was varied and tasty.

I am commenting on the Bordeaux tour which I decided to go on last minute. If I had done my research on the boat & room size I wouldn’t have gone. My husband is 6’6” and the cabin was too small & very uncomfortable. I don’t know how it gets the Comfort Plus rating, all of the cabins on the lower level with the exception of one were all very small, & from other fellow pax comments, the upper level was not much better. This was our third trip with TripSite, we thoroughly enjoyed the 2 prior trips. We are sorry to say that the Bordeaux trip was underwhelming as far as scenery & bike routes.

Two of the islands with national parks were removed due to weather concerns. High wind and rough seas evident with the first one, the second the weather did not happen and some of the guests thought we were taken to our final port of Zadar a day early (two nights there instead of one) perhaps for the convenience of the crew. Release the captain a day early, save on fuel? Food on the boat was institutional. Bikes were very comfortable and handled well, but should have rear-view mirrors. Guides Ivana and Kristofer have a lot of personality and were very engaging. Some of the scenery was spectacular. Guided walks provided for us at some of the ports were excellent. Tripsite should send trip info farther in advance of the trip. When it finally did arrive, it included info about flying to Dubrovnik, etc. By then, we and likely most other clients had made plans.

Breakfast good. Bagged lunches okay but not great and they only had sparkling water which I don't like and can't drink. No option to get still water without paying extra. Dinners good but not great. Only one meal very good. Most upset about not being able to drink the water from the room sink (which was announced over the PA system just before dinner after we had been onboard for a few hours)and then having to pay for still safe water for the cabin, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Bike barge nightly talk about the following day was always the second talk of the evening (made for later evenings or no room in the bar). Would have liked to share the first time slot for half of the evenings.
Concierge staff outstanding and serving staff in the dinning room good.

The Danube / bike path was wonderful , My bike was a red girls bike that clunked “hate it”, my wife’s ebike was great, the food was good except the hair in couple of dishes, the tour dir and the hotel mgr were friggen rude (not just us to about 14 others ) would Never take a SE tour again. The people we met on board were great, Austria was very nice. Omg Austria wine was fantastic. thx Mik

Ps
Still like Tripsite’s

The best part was traveling with friends. I would have enjoyed more information about the area and towns we were traveling through.

The biking itself was fabulous. The staff looked after the bikes well, and the routes were lovely. My problems are with the boat itself, and there are several significant issues. First, our room was next to some machinery near the bridge that woke us up frequently during the night. The bathroom smelled bad, and other guests on a lower floor had major issues with smells too. The boat broke down on one occasion, and we had the feeling that it was on its last legs. The food was okay, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. The staff were very good, although the music was mostly orientated to non-English speakers. I know that this is not a Viking riverboat, but I have a reasonable expectation of having a comfortable and fairly quiet room. Never again on this boat.

I was disappointed in this tour, the scenery was mostly uninteresting and much more difficult than expected due to high winds on 2 days. I am short and was given a crappy bike to ride, having been told I could not fit on the e-bike I wanted. However, after 2 days of suffering my tour guide was able to find me a bike that fit (even after the company itself said it could not accommodate). The ship itself was wonderful, with big bright cabins and excellent food. I was on the guided comfort relax package, and the tour guide was way too laid back for my taste. I thought we did not have much time in the big cities to explore.