4 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 1051 to 1080 of 1207

Some of the directions from the bike path to the hotel were not great. In 2 cases, when hotel was far from bike path, it was only with GPS in our phone that we were able to find our way. Loved having the meal plan where possible. Thanks for setting that up.

Try and offer more non-meat entrees for dinner. Too much meat. Also, try and incorporate rail trails( voies ferrees) when possible. They provide relaxed cycling without worrying about constant traffic.
Very friendly staff and good display of professionalism. Bikes were easy to ride! And, it was hard to have to drink only what the boat offered. Can we have more choice, especially in wine country like Bordeaux? Thanks for everything.

Fabulous trip. Great, hospitable staff willing to please, answer questions, professional, share information. Boat was clean, comfortable, well equipped. Food was excellent and there was plenty to enjoy.

Overall I was very pleased. Croatia is a beautiful country. The Romantica was perfect! Thank you to all the staff.

Rooms really small; Guide was lost a lot; Staffers not very good with knowledge of E bikes;
But food was great..staff was kind..trip was pretty.

This is our third trip with Tripsite and this was our least favorite so far. The scenery was not particularly stunning and in France we were on more roads than we would have preferred. We also stayed in larger cities such as Basel and Freiburg than in previous trips. It is a personal preference, but we prefer the smaller towns such as the ones we encountered on our trip from Amsterdam to Brugge and from Prague to Dresden.

On the positive front, the lodging and equipment were the best that we have had from the three trips. The hotels were quite nice and truly were 4 star accommodations. The bikes had cushy seats and comfortable handlebars. Even the panniers were a step up with easy snap on and off functionality and very good water proofing.

We enjoyed the trip and it was high quality as we have enjoyed with Tripsite. The scenery just wasn't as nice and that's why we rank this as our least favorite of our trips so far. Have no fear, we will go again next year and are already looking at the Barcelona/Girona trip. We love working with Tripsite and will be long-term customers!

When I first heard of a bike & barge trip, I thought I would be sleeping on a cot under the stars! After obtaining more info, I realized we would have a comfortable room but I was very impressed with our accommodations. It was like being on a mini cruise. Food was great, tour guide was personable and entertaining, friendly staff went out of their way to make this trip extra special. We had an arranged canal boat tour complete with champagne after arriving in Amsterdam! I would highly recommend the Magnifique and this crew, for an awesome way to experience Belgium and The Netherlands.

The plan changed from recommending biking in Budapest...to it not being recommended - and therefore no briefing/description of the route was provided. While the stickers on signposts helped to guide the way, the book could have been more fully annotated. The boat was too full, there were not enough dishes for all passengers, dinner took 3 hours (2 hours too long). Bikes were generally in good repair and available when promised. Although the food was very good, bottled water was not provided every day as contracted.

We had the time of our life and look forward to our next bike and boat tour. Thanks so much for everything!

Exceptional staff, welcoming, friendly, informative, knowledgable. Perhaps on the rides having a buddy system so the guide doesn't need to count all the people to make sure everyone is present would be my only suggestion. I sometimes got the sense that people wanted to stop more often to take pictures and no one told them not to but then it can take time away from getting to visit town at the end of the day. Perhaps that needs to be discussed in more depth. Sometimes some of the breaks were longer than necessary. Again they were fine but took time from visiting a town at the end of the trip.

We just completed this tour and enjoyed it BUT there are some caveats to be aware of. We did not follow the itinerary as described. We did not tour Nin even though it was listed in the itinerary. We rode on some very busy roads/thoroughfares which were not fun. The map was not an accurate depiction of what we actually did on the mainland. That part was very disappointing. The food was great... The e-bikes were very heavy but the only way to do this tour. There were some VERY long hills to climb. Our guides were good, especially Bjoran. Just be aware that the itinerary changes and that seems to be at the whim of the boat captain, guides and weather. I was really looking forward to seeing Nin and spending a little more time in Sibenik. The boat was very nice and generally comfortable. Igor, the bartender and waiter, was fabulous. I'd rate the trip as a 3.5-4 star.

I would recommend this trip but only if a group of friends were going or if there was some way to know the mix of language of fellow travellers. I was the only person who did not speak the German language. I felt very isolated. A number of German people did try to speak English but it was hard work for them and they were on holidays. One English sailor on board as staff was very kind and attentive. The cook made wonderful gluten free dishes for me!! The guide did an excellent job of switching back and forth from German to English. The cycling and countryside was very pleasant. Sometimes the stops were a bit long but perhaps that was because I couldn't chat around with other travellers.

We had a problem with sewage odor in our room - which they boat crew was unable to fix - Also room was hot and we had to use a fan. When we complained to Rad and Reisen about the temperature they denied that the AC was not working. We complained to Rad and Reisen and they issued us a 10% refund which Tripsite matched. We appreciated your concern attentiveness to these problems and you willingness to offer some compensation.

Despite these problems, overall the trip was great - good people, great rides and beautiful scenery and points of interest. We would definately book another trip with your company, but not with Rad and Reisen.

The trip was great! Mostly all positive. Tom and I would like to have the pace a bit faster....that was the only negative.

We requested electric bikes, but the guide and company was not very familiar with them, and the bikes provided were outdated and clunky compared to newer bikes that are available, and were not sized properly for the taller riders. E-bikes are a growing trend - they allow people to take bike trips that they otherwise would not have, and the company should get competitive with promoting them.

Our guide Jeff got off to a rough start by being late and because he was alone trying to resolve faulty bikes, was not able to provide several walking tours that were discussed in the itinerary. He wasn't a ""people"" person and didn't respond well to equipment problems and various requests by the guests. Toward the end of the trip, he really tried to redeem himself though, and knocked himself out to be helpful. Jeff is a wonderful person and I enjoyed his company and expertise very much. I think it was a little much to have 10 guests with only one guide to handle everything.

The hotels were fine, some a bit dated, but acceptable. I would have been willing to pay a little more for slightly better accommodations in Seville and Granada.

Breakfasts at the hotels were all very good, but the group dinners provided in Seville and especially Alcala a Real were seriously awful. Definitely needs to be rethought and the restaurants upgraded. We would have preferred to dine on our own.

The approach to Granada was a big buzz-kill. We had been riding for days in bucolic serenity, and to navigate the busy traffic circles and congested streets, trying to follow the guide's van was frightening, dangerous and a big let-down. Just as we took a local bus from Seville to our bike point in Carmona, the same should have been done with our ending. I would recommend that taxis be called at the last lunch stop outside of Granada to take guests and their bags directly to the hotel, with the bikes finally put away in the van at that point. Much better than the guide trying to transition everything on a busy sidewalk in front of the hotel after a harrowing ride. There was simply no reason to continue the bike course into the heart of Granada.

Other than Granada, the bike course overall was outstanding -- I can only say wonderful things about the beauty, friendliness and road quality, including the Via Verde, what a treat. The rest day in Zuheros was actually our favorite day, with a lovely hotel and pool to enjoy.

My negative comments are only meant to be constructive and to improve upon what was a fantastic vacation for us. We only want to do bike vacations from now on, and can't wait to plan the next one. Congrats to Tripsite for having such a great site and ability to find unique tours and operators all over the world. "

Everything did not go perfectly all the time but we had a great time and the guys from Girolibero were always doing their best to help out when needed.

Great bike leader. Have name tags for participants or for bikes to help us w names. Would like to have been brave enough to ride on my own! Some participants were not really regular cyclists. Would have been good to have a briefing re group bike rules, including spacing, passing, signaling, warnings, etc.

We had a long line of riders of various abilities even though it was basically a flat ride. There should have been an official sweeper at the end of the line. Our guide was a great guy but seemingly casual in this regard. Toilets on the boat needed continual tweaking - a bit unnerving. Loved the crew- all hard working, super upbeat and friendly.

Everything did not go perfectly all the time but we had a great time and the guys from Girolibero were always doing their best to help out when needed.

Well organised overall. In honesty the food was at times ordinary with great emphasis on fish & pasta. Bit more variety would have been good. Riccardo (tour guide) was excellent - he really made the tour worthwhile with his enthusiasm and knowledge. Not all staff on board were as friendly or able to communicate which did make a big difference to the overall atmosphere on board. We did have some difficulties with the booking process initially which remained unresolved in that we were unsure of why someone was phoning us from US.

Only thing missing was quality wifi on the boat. The trip more than met our expectations

Due to the length of the cycling routes, there should have been better quality bikes. All gears should have been in working order.

This is a great route and the cycling areas are excellent in so many ways. Scenic paths through forests, parks, graphic small towns and with well defined directions given daily by the guide. The barge cabins were quite adequate in size and even though the bathroom was small it served the purpose for the week long trip. Having porthole windows that we were able to open was great in order to bring in fresh air. The disappointment was that the barge was not very clean overall (dust and cobwebs), there was very little deck space to enjoy the views during cruising and having two large dogs on board did not help matters.
The food quantity was good but hardly any quality in it. Four out of seven meals were rice oriented, little meat substance and overall not comparable to other similar meals on other barge and bike trips we have taken and the first time we have ever had "fish" lasagna!
Breakfasts were by far the best meals and there was always plenty to go around and to prepare for your take away lunch. The crew were friendly and welcoming. I would most definitely recommend this trip if done on a better ship. The trip gets 5 out of 5 stars, the ship hardly 3 out of five.

Some wait staff could have been more accommodating. We seemed burdensome at times. Running out of food & then having to wait for more or not refilled at all was an annoyance.

Overall I really enjoyed our trip. However, our guide Piet left a lot to be desired. He got us from the boat and back each day but that was about it. We had very few stops during the day for water breaks or photos. He did not provide any "tour guide" type of information like history or pointing anything out of interest, or even a clear idea of the details of the following day. While we got to all the towns on the itinerary, everything was pretty much closed after dinner so we couldn't do any sightseeing in towns on our own. The guide on our sister ship "Liza Marleen" did much more with her group.

On the plus side, the barge Sailing Home was excellent and the crew was great - very friendly and helpful. Our chef Markus was amazing.

I had an electric bike and I loved it. It made the trip much easier and enjoyable. Highly recommend it for inexperienced bikers.

Absolutely fabulous people(both tour guide & barge owners), amazing routes and clean accommodating facilities. The food was plentiful and some of it quite good. Some meals were a bit thin and breakfast & lunch too much the same stuff. However, for the cost of this trip it was very satisfactory; I have recommended the Fleur d Bell and thank all organizers for a smooth and memorable trip!

The accommodation was excellent! (although we weren't very please with the location of our room in Evora at the Pousada Convento dos Loios as we were right next to the eating area which was occupied by diners from 7 am for breakfast and up to 10 pm for dinner)

However, there are two things something that could easily have made the trip more enjoyable: putting kick stands on the bikes and improving the maps and written directions.
It was incredibly annoying not to be able to stand the bikes up as we stopped frequently for pictures and most of the time, there wasn't anything to lean the bikes against. Having to lay them down on the ground sometimes resulted in the rear pannier getting knocked off centre which then meant readjusting it.

Even though a gps was provided and was invaluable, we found the maps to be very poor most of the time, one time even the local tourist office couldn't help us! It would be very helpful if simple written directions were included on how to best leave the hotel and / or town to start the day's journey.

We were impressed with the care and attention given to the safety aspect with the tools and equipment provided including a phone. We very much appreciated being picked up by Francisco at the train station in Pinhal Novo and also by Sofia who drove us from Evora to our hotel in Sintra. Thanks again!

We would have like more written details of the areas we were seeing. We also would have liked a stronger wifi connection. Food and service was excellent.

More hot breakfast food. The route was semi-urban and suburban and that could have been made clearer beforehand. I liked doing one or more interesting stops each day. Keukenhof day was terrific, including cycling by tulip and hyacinth fields.

We were looked after by our guide and the route was good. Spanish drivers were very considerate.