4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 931 to 960 of 1196

A wonderful self-guided bike trip. Perfect weather in early October. Map & instructions occasionally confusing, but adequate.
Hotels & food very good at all stops. A few climbs, but not really challenging for an experienced rider. Highly recommend!

Most memorable part was stopping for lunch in little Italian towns.

It was our 35th anniversary and we had lots of alone time to tour ourselves but also met the nicest people on the boat

I really enjoyed the first and last days a lot which were in the beautiful countryside along the Danube. It was good to see the cities but the visits too short to really visit anything in depth.
I recommend the Mozart concert which I really enjoyed.
I loved meeting people from other countries and wish we could have had meal seating change every couple of days to mix with other people who also were interested in meeting others.

Most Memorable Part: Riding on the bike paths without having to worry about road traffic.

The most memorable part of the trip - this is in reference to Cologne to Mainz trip on the MS Andante Sept 16-23, was the scenery and the visits to the small towns along the way. It would have been more enjoyable if we had been able to go through some of the small towns along the way instead of just going by them as we followed the route along the river. The guide did mention some things to see along the way for some of the routes we followed. Some detours and construction was not mentioned or alternate routes given along the way. Tips for others if someone is sick on board there should perhaps be some guidelines given for keeping yourself healthy or tips for not spreading the "bug".
The dinners were the most disappointing food on this trip. Few fresh veggies, the entres were often not well prepared nor were they tasty options (eg fish was on the menu frequently and was soggy, or prepared the same way again and again).

The trip wasn't exactly as I understood it would be. The staff were absolutely great, couldn't be any better. The guide was also very good, knowledgeable and patient. However, it seems to me that the objective of each day's ride was to get from point A to point B; we didn't stop enough to enjoy & explore the sites along the way. Also, I wonder about riding thru farmers' fields. Perhaps that was the only way to reach certain destinations. We needed better introductions in the first meeting. We should have introduced ourselves at that meeting. We were 32 strangers together for 8 days, let's start with introductions.
The food was pretty average. Breakfast was fine; once in a while there was hot food served but you had to be aggressive to get any, there wasn't enough to go around. Food available for lunch was fine, no complaints. Dinners were disappointing. We didn't need gourmet dinners, we needed substantial meals. The best meal was the BBQ, there was enough food. Other meals were inadequate. Dinner on the last night was abysmal and the dessert was a joke, 1/2 a glass of liquid. I would like to see bar prices posted and a statement produced on the last day. I have no idea if I was charged the correct amount or not; not that I don't trust the staff, as I said they were great. In spite of sounding like a chronic complainer, my wife and I are talking about doing another Bike & Barge trip, we really enjoyed this one. Don't take my comments as negative criticism, take them as suggestions for improvement, no one is perfect.

Scenery was beautiful. Biking was not overly strenuous. All in all very enjoyable.

Most Memorable Part: Biking the rural/countryside of Holland

The ability to view many little towns throughout the trip along with the amazing historical buildings. The daily bike routes could have been clearer, or at least exact precise maps to follow.

We participated on this Bike N Barge tour in May of 2017. The Carissima is a former "Viking Cruises" ship which is now doing the bike and barge tours for a year or so and it provides such luxury in accommodations, living quarters, dining rooms, swimming pool and so on that is unlikely to find on any other ship and tour of this type. The bike paths are by most standards quite good and the scenery is simply wonderful. The first day or riding the Engelhartszell - Aschach bike path is majestic and the Great Loop of the Danube unforgettable. The Wachau / Krems - Melk trail on the last riding day is by far the best and most interesting. We also rode our bikes on our own through the city of Bratislava and also through most of Budapest which is by far one of the nicest cities east of the Iron Curtain. We did not take a day of rest in Vienna. We rode our very comfy e-Bikes for 4 hours throughout the city and stopping at the huge number of venues for photos as time in Vienna is absolutely very limited. If there is something wrong with this trip is the fact that this ship does not stay overnight in any of the main stops on the tour so it lacks the opportunity to explore the city at night and enjoy some of the local events and specialties. The ship leaves almost as soon as your requested time of return from cycling is scheduled and you spend much of the time on the ship deck watching the river go by. The tour guides were outstanding and the directions given are flawless. Having been given the gps routes in advance was immensely helpful. By the way, while e-Bikes are not essential they are good to have if you plan to climb the hills to see the castles and other high up the horizon venues on this tour. If you stay on the assigned paths regular 7-8 gear bikes are just fine. The Hungarian dance evening excursion is quite good and recommended and so is the Vienna Orchestra evening excursion if it is your first ever classical music show. It provides some of the well known classical music by well known music geniuses but leaves a lot to be desired if you are well aware of this musical era. The orchestra is small just 16 or 17 musicians in a small and poorly designed venue for that type of music. 3 out of 5 for this excursion. The overall trip is well designed and gives nice riding opportunities, great views, lots of culture, great comfort and the Danube is a treat. The meals on Carissima are less than good in quality and taste but better than most for showing off. The breakfast are excellent. The rest is average at best. The crews are all top quality for service and attendance. I dislike sitting at the same table with the same 6 persons every days every meal. It supresses the opportunity to meet people and reduces the fun of getting to know others from different countries, cultures, ethnicity and customs. For the reasons of not overnight stops and the food quality and table seating system we rate this at a 7 of 10 stars or 3.5 on this scale.

We were on the 9-16 Sep sailing on the Bordeaux from Castets-en-Dorthe to Libourne. The provided daily road maps were difficult to follow and easily confusing; most folks saved the $200 euro apiece, and did the self-guided rides -- and folks were going off trail everywhere. Luckily, I had downloaded Ulmon maps, so I could always find my way back to the trail. They did offer 3 bike computers with pre-loaded maps which were very helpful. You state they can be rented for $15 euro, actually, they are available for free, with a $100 euro refundable deposit, unless it is lost or stolen.
Otherwise, the trip was a delight, and great kudos to the bike guide Victor, the ship's owner Pascale, and her fine crew.

Most Memorable Part: Beautiful scenery! Great attention by bike staff.

Most Memorable Part: Riding through vineyards and orchards.

Great vistas of remarkable vineyards. More WWII history info prior to the trip and designated site visits would truly be great.

Most of the boat staff were great, personable and added to the quality of the trip. The food was DELICIOUS! The boat captain was generally ok but he had moments when he his language was offensive. There was a bit of conflict between our biking guide(s). I enjoyed our time on the boat. The biking was mixed. Some routes were in beautiful settings but along narrow and sometimes sidewalks shared by oncoming people walking, laying or oncoming bikes. I much more preferred the open roads, come cars but more enjoyable. Overall, I enjoyed the trip but the itinerary could use some tweaking.

Great experience, although a very large group to be riding together. The food was good but not great. Made some friends and really enjoyed the trip.

The Zwaantje and crew are top notch, and present a great value. Some of the routes in northern France had a little too much traffic. Riding in Belgium and Netherlands seems nicer. Once is enough for this tour.

So many memorable parts it's hard to pick just one. On this trip, I'll say the warmth of the chef and captain, the meals were outstanding, and I loved meeting and cycling with people from all over!

We thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip but the weather was a bit average - no rain but lots of cloud and a bit cool.
The food was great as were the crew, the bikes, the other passengers and the boat. We thought Wouter (the guide) needs to "loosen up" a bit and learn more of the history etc. of the region. We also found the first couple of days on the bikes a bit boring, too much forest and not enough villages etc.
All in all very good!!

My wife and I did the 13 day Prague to Krakow self guided cycling tour the last week of August thru the first week of September 2017.
We both enjoyed it immensely. Europe Bike Tours spent a couple hours with us reviewing the trip material. The paperwork Vitek went over with us included:
A contact list and program itinerary.
A description of the day, route description, problematic turns/crossroads/tips, highlights, bike repair shops, medical care, places to eat, plus a graph showing distance and climbed meters.
Turn by turn directions for each day.
Regional maps with the trip route highlighted.
Plus a map of the town we were staying in each night.
Hotel vouchers
A GPS route was also available which we used and highly recommend.(It makes the biking more care free as you do not have to reference maps constantly, which saves a lot of time.)

We were provided with hybrid (crossover) bikes which were very comfortable and suitable for the terrain. The terrain varied immensely from paved trails to rough trails through the woods.
The bikes held up well. We had no flat tires or any other mechanical issues. The bikes had a bag on the front to hold what you needed during the day plus a cover in cased it rained. Helmets’ were also provided.
We chose the standard hotel accommodations. They were all good and some were exceptional. The hotel location was always great; right in the center of town.
The luggage transfer was great. Our luggage was at the next accommodation by 4pm or earlier each day.

We purchased the half board dinner option which we would not recommend. Although the food was good to excellent in all the locations except for two, I was led to believe that we would receive 3 main course options and this was not true. You took what you got. We do not feel there were any benefits with this option. There were plenty of restaurants available to choose from for the same cost where you could select from a full menu.
Prague and Krakow are both beautiful cities, with incredible architecture and history. Both cities have stately market squares, bridges spanning the rivers which run through them, plus numerous parks, cafes, restaurants, cathedrals, clock towers, castles, palaces, etc. We added four extra days to our trip giving us 2 extra days in both cities which allowed us time to explore them, which was totally worth it.
The cycling route takes you through beautiful towns and countryside. It follows rivers where ever possible.

Overall I highly recommend Europe Bike Tours. Vitek took very good care of us ensuring all went well.

Most Memorable Part: Getting lost!
The Bavarian Lakes region is lovely and not many travelers that I know have been there. Despite a cool rainy spell, we enjoyed our ride. When it was pouring rain for 2 days, Eurobike transferred us with our luggage and we were quite happy that they allowed this. The lakes and historic old towns were interesting and the countryside was outstanding. September may be a little late in the season to do this ride; the temperature was in the 50's and 60's and the rain was a problem.

The most memorable part of our trip was people we met, we made some fantastic new friends. The Dutch countryside was especially beautiful, just like out of a fairy tale. Lots of other great countryside and small villages as well, quaint and old European.
The rooms on the Fluvius were poorly ventilated, and the A/C was extremely noisy. The dining room, lounge, bar and upper deck were great.
One of our rides included having to take a short ferry ride. We were all asked to pay .70 cents for this. Many of us felt that was being extremely cheap, and should have been included. Really...70 cents!!!!
For each day of cycling we were only given 1-500ml bottle of water. This is not even close to daily requirements, especially given that on several days we were riding in 30 degrees C. It should have been at least 2L/person/day.
Our guide lacked enthusiasm. He told us to fill our empty water bottles in the bathrooms, he talked about bathroom breaks in the pre-ride briefing but despite being told (during the ride) that we'd need a break, he just kept going. Rarely did he stop for photos; there was some beautiful countryside that many of us would liked to have captured. For the most part, the only time he stopped was for coffee and lunch. He did not seem overly concerned about safety; when there was a car coming from behind the riders would shout "CAR" and that kept getting shouted up the line. One time I was behind the guide, so we both heard it at the same time...the guide then very flippantly said "Good for the car". Crossing major intersections was dicey; many times he would cross despite the traffic, while the group would then wait on the other side until it was CLEARLY safe to go. This seemed to frustrate him.
My bike was great, but it would have been nice to have a water bottle holder mounted on the frame, and include a cycling water bottle for it, which people could then take home. Not all bikes were the same; some had 2 hand brakes, while others had a hand brake and a foot brake, which took some getting used to for those that were assigned that type of bike. There was no option to swap.
The Fluvius crew were amazing. Very, very hard working, yet personable and great senses of humor! Shout outs to Alex, Nadia, Marianna, David & Captain Arno!!! (PS, we hope everything is okay with Nadia's mom).
Despite the negatives, we had a great time, met some amazing people, saw stunningly beautiful countryside, had lots of fun & laughter. And, we would go again!!

The bike journeys were terrific taking us through beautiful towns and scenery! The last day's trip to Melk was spectacular BUT it was recommended that we take the ferry across too early on the ride. This sadly led to a long and unnecessarily arduous climb to Melk that could have been avoided by staying on the other side of the river and crossing at Melk. That said, we very much enjoyed the trip!

We had a a great time . The only feedback I would give is that most of the passengers were German and there was very little information given in English.

The scenery was excellent. The 4th leg from Helsinger to Hillerod was a very demanding trail, off beaten paths, steep hills, and the markings and mileages in the booklet directions were not accurate. Several of the bikers we talked with had the same problem. We biked as a group of 7, with 5 of us being on our third Tripsite European bike trip. If not for this leg, the rating would have been higher.
Also, at the assignment of equipment, there was a lack of organization, no checklists as to who requested what equipment, and at the end, there was also no checking.

Most Memorable Part: The trip to kinderdijk was fantastic.

It was 38 degrees in Croatia with very little shade to be found on the biking route. Tip: Recommend an Ebike.

Most Memorable Part: The 3rd day of riding downhill.
Tip: The first two days are difficult. When you train for this trip be sure to train on hills.

Most memorable: The scenery in Venice, Lodi and Chiogga.