Bike Tour Reviews — 1141 to 1170 of 6274

Excellent, tasty dinners! Chef (Meeka?) prepared delicious, well-displayed meals

Barge staff were excellent--great chef and friendly hostess. Dinners were great but breakfast and lunch were very repetitive. The staff needs better training in safety. We had 20 guests in our group with 2 bike guides. We were divided into 2 groups and rode with our group each day. Our guide was not friendly. Other than that, the bikes were new 7-speed bikes which were adequate for the mostly flat rides. The scenery was beautiful and the museums and city stops were interesting. I didn't enjoy having to ride with the group at a pace set by the bike guide and the slowest riders, and I don't trust Ride with GPS enough to ride on my own.

We had an absolutely amazing trip on the Sailing Home! The crew was outstanding and the experience memorable. I would love to do it again. The only complaint that I have is that for such a large group, we should have a rear guide that is part of the team.

The crew was fabulous! The tour was good. I thought we were going to stop at a cheese factory snd that did not happen. Most of our group was not thrilled with the bikes-tippy with handle bars that were raised up. The boat was great and meals delicious!

The food on the barge was amazing. Our tour guides were attentive to our needs every day. I definitely would recommend an e-bike. It was a game changer on windy days.

How many castles and what is the schedule for this tour?

Most memorable was the stunning countryside along the Dutch canals-- grass waving in the breeze, sheep grazing all around, wildflowers, and the occasional swan swimming by. Bonus: not a hint of litter anywhere. Honestly, I kept asking myself if it was all real.

There were so many memorable parts of our trip from Burges to Amsterdam. The gorgeous countryside we rode through, the fantastic accommodations on the Manifique II and of course the outstanding crew and guides. We have done similar trips before but this one topped them all. The offer of two different length rides each day , the stops in the countryside to sightsee, traveling through locks, riding our bikes on to ferries and generally feeling like a local. The meals that the chef offered us out of his small kitchen were 5 star. The enthusiasm of the crew added so much to this rich experience. Upon returning to the boat each day they all made us feel like we had won the Tour de France! I would highly recommend this trip to anyone looking to ride through the beautiful countryside of Belgium and the Netherlands and to have a great time doing it!

From the moment we boarded the Magnifique IV to the morning we left everything was exceptional…Mariela was our cycling guide for the week and she couldn’t have been more lovely. We had beautiful weather and each day of cycling was interesting and fun! All members of the crew went out of their way to make us comfortable and the food prepared by Jules was delicious! We had a great group of travellers and enjoyed our social time on the barge each evening. We would highly recommend the adventure!
John and Kate

Beautiful countryside and small towns; our guides were knowledgeable and helpful. The boat was beautiful and comfortable. Staff on the boat were friendly, accommodating, and professional. Oh--and the food was 5 star delicious!

Incredibly warm, friendly and extremely customer-focused crew, all 7 of them!

This was a great trip and the guides and crew on the boat were wonderful! Karin, Eric, Frank and Brando made the trip and the food absoulutely great! Every day we had delicious meals and wonderful desserts! Despite some days of cold and rainy weather, the guides made sure we cycled through the beautiful countryside with good stops for rest and lunch. Keukenhof and the beautiful tulip fields were a highlight. The boat is so clean and well-taken care of. I would definitely recommend Zwaantje for this trip!

The farm house was a beautiful environment, the small group made for cozy chats in the evenings. We enjoyed the daily rides through small villages. A special treat was a day to kayak on the lake. The staff were all friendly and wonderful.

The equipment wasn't adequate for route. The batteries on ebike expired before route completed on days 2 and 3. Rating should've been difficult. I think it would've been impossible to do as a self-guided tour. Our guide was fabulous and made adjustments to route due to closed roads and to avoid tunnels.

Great trip. The captain, guide, chef, and crew were wonderful. They made me feel very welcome and safe. While meals could be served earlier (breakfast at 8 and then heading out to ride at 9) and (dinner at 6:30 which lasted until about 8) the meals were very tasty. One thing I wish were different, we had our destination "tour" after dinner when everything was closed and often walking around in the dark. We didn't therefore get to really experience the lovely towns we were docked in because we left at 9 each morning and had little time to explore. It would be great to have a timeline and not just the riding itinerary because we could have gone faster through the open fields and farmland if we knew the plan for the day and seeing the towns, cities, villages. Our guide was very fun and made the days throughly enjoyable.

We loved travelling on the Magnifique II from Amsterdam to Bruges. It’s a beautiful, intimate barge with nice sized rooms. With only 30 people on board we got to know almost everyone. The food was amazing everyday and all 7 staff were friendly and accommodating. The guided biking was the highlight even though we didn’t have great weather. Both of the biking guides were great fun, informative and kept everyone safe.

The staff on the Iris were excellent. They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. The passenger capacity of the Iris (24 people) was just right. It afforded us the opportunity to get to know the other travelers. Although the cabins were small, they were well laid out; comfortable; and quiet. We thoroughly enjoyed cycling throughout the Netherlands with the exceptional guides on the Iris.
We would've preferred more time allocated to exploring the towns where the Iris moored daily. Most of our exploration time was limited to after dinner walks in some towns.

Riding our bikes through the countryside and small towns. The staff and food on the Fluvius was spectacular. Renting e-bikes was definitely a plus

The route was a great mix of countryside, nature and village. The cruise director, Leslie, provided invaluable information for route and highlights.

This is an amazing tour in the interior region of South Africa – we all loved it! It is a perfect balance of biking, safari game drives/nature walks, and other local cultural sights/tours. Every day was an adventure and we visited beautiful places with spectacular scenery. The experiences in the private game reserves as well as Kruger Park provided ample opportunity to see the African animals – we were lucky enough to see four of the Big Five and have a nature walk with cheetahs!

Lizelle, the tour director, was brilliant in taking care of the logistics - she is a very skilled biking guide and a wonderful cook. Wendel, the tour guide, has an incredible knowledge of region’s natural world and provided so much context to all the sights we were experiencing. These two leaders were welcoming and accommodating always ensuring that we were well taken care of and safe.

Three of us opted for e-bikes and it made the trip super enjoyable as we did encounter a few hills. We also opted for the three-day extension in Buffelshoek Camp which was another adventure of staying in a bush camp and experiencing long safari game drives. If you like biking and are planning on visiting South Africa, I would highly recommend this tour – it was fantastic!

Our party of 4 had an amazing time on this tour. We loved the cycling and each day was different. The accommodations that we stayed in were all comfortable and had amazing breakfasts!
You will need some extra Euros for ferries and we crossed the Danube 3 or 4 times and it was not always covered. Also, the stairs at the train stations can be challenging with your bikes, especially for heavier e-bikes. We managed though and had a great time!

We cycled through some lovely countryside and saw some very lovely towns. Assisi was wonderful, but understandably busy given its historical importance. We had some very memorable events booked.

I had a great trip and meet some really fun new friends. Our upper level stateroom was pretty standard, small but comfortable. Itinerary was great and our guides were very accommodating, making a special stop at an olive mill per the request of a couple of our passengers. E-bikes were in good operating order and were a must for all but one person on our trip. We did a lot of uphill climbs, one was really steep, the rest just long and steady uphill. Probably due to the terrain/hills, most rides were on the shorter side (less than 20 miles for the day). Food was plentiful, but poor quality, vegetable soup without any trace of vegetables, thin chicken cutlets that were over cooked, and a main course of pasta daily. I ended up stopping at a grocery for snacks to bring onboard.

Unfortunately our barge had major mechanical problems ( thrust motor) from Day 1. As a result our first 4 full days of biking were changed, shortened significantly and day 4 spent almost entirely on the boat going to Antwerp with mechanical engineers working to fix it. We were very disappointed to lose this much biking on what was supposed to be a wonderful biking journey.

To add to our disappointment our biking tour guides, Tom and Laura, gave us very little information on what was wrong with the boat and what changes to expect. Generally they were not very communicative about our daily itineraries.

On the positive side, the barge crew were mostly fabulous. Mieke, the chef and her staff were very personable and hard working. The bartending staff were also very good. The food was excellent and the boat in good condition .

Overall we enjoyed the trip, especially the last 4 days once the barge was repaired.

Effie Henry
( part of a group of 10 Canadian women)

Bruges to Amsterdam Fluvius May 5/24 - 8 day bike trip

Unfortunately our barge had major mechanical problems ( thrust motor) from Day 1. As a result our first 4 full days of biking were changed, shortened significantly and day 4 spent almost entirely on the boat going to Antwerp with mechanical engineers working to fix it. We are very disappointed to lose this much biking on what was supposed to be a wonderful biking journey.

To add to our disappointment our biking tour guides, Tom and Laura, gave us very little information on what was wrong with the boat and what changes to expect. Generally they were not very communicative about our daily itineraries.

On the positive side, the barge crew were mostly fabulous. Mieke, the chef and her staff were very personable and hard working. The bartending staff were also very good. The food was excellent and the boat in good condition .

Overall we enjoyed the trip, especially the last 4 days once the barge was repaired.

The tour itself was spectacular once we were under way. However, we arrived at the Fluvius as scheduled on Sunday only to find out that the boat had a broken bow thruster - that happened on Friday. There was a lack of communication from the captain and the tour guides. We were told, hesitatingly, that the breakdown had occurred and the part was expected Monday morning and then we would be under way. We did not sail Monday and were provided a substitute ride, with no GPS, for the day. ..a bit of a nightmare ride. Very difficult to navigate - confusing! The part came finally Tuesday morning and we had to stay on board to catch up with the schedule - no riding that day. We were not actually told that we couldn’t ride. We had to surmise that ourselves. The day after we were able to pick up our scheduled ride and the following days were lovely.
The staff were wonderful at all levels. The Captain was in communicative and the lead guide Tom was terrible.
Bottom line is, things happen. The fact that the boat was unfortunate but if we had been informed and communicated with

This is a beautiful region and accessing it from the river trails is wonderful . The boat was very comfortable and the wonderful staff met our every need with a smile . We had rainy days , and closures due to local holidays which impacted our visits to small town restaurants and shops . I would avoid national holiday weeks in future .
My suggestions to improve this already wonderful trip :
- have bike storage racks that allow a little more deck space for sitting out .
-eliminate the hot tub , it’s only used by a few and takes up too much deck space .
-

This trip was a perfect couple tour with spectacular scenery, safe well maintained bike paths on a gently descending route and great hotels each night.

Trip was a good value but communication was not very good . The chef and the food and waitstaff were very good . There was a huge engine issue and we lost a day of biking . This was out of your control but the communication about what was going on was really poor .
Meike the chef should be the standard , she was terrific .

The staff on board the Fluvious was wonderful, especially the chef, Mika. The food was plentiful and great. The dining and lounge area very comfortable. Americans should be advised about the difference in bikes. Both manual and E bikes are heavier than we had experience with and that does effect balance issues around sharp turns. The Amsterdam to Bruge trip is listed as easy on well maintained routes,perhaps a few more qualifiersare needed. We experienced some rough riding - it may have been the result of winter damage- but riding on dirt and a sandy portion of the trail was challenging as are coblestomes.

Another disappointment was that I was only able to ride three days. And on those days we had no special tours. I was especially looking forward to going to a cheese factory which we missed, Much of that was due to the fact that the Fluvious had some problems which effected steering. We did not have a chance to practice on the bikes as scheduled, which made the first day very difficult for some of the riders. Those of us on Manual bikes were separated from the leader and all the e=bikes and often took the wrong turn at a Y. On one day we completely missed a castle and on the first day, the option to hear more about the old windmills was missed due to our being late (due to the boat arriving later than scheduled due to the boat issues). Additionally on the Ghent biking we were discouraged going because of the busy city and no other option was offered ie. bike the countryside and tour Ghent and the canal tour by going on foot or parking the bikes outside of the busy city center.