3 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 91 to 120 of 298

If you speak English be certain to book an English speaking tour otherwise you’ll miss a lot of interesting information.

This was a decent trip. The crew was FANTASTIC and the food was much better than typical- very good. The barge itself is okay, not the nicest we've been on, but fine. No sundeck to lay and relax, just an upstairs area, undercover, with some tables and a lot of plastic chairs. The rooms and bathroom are small but nice. Towels and garbage are changed mid-week. The ride itself takes you through a lot of farmland with few sites. Mantova is nice, Lido is nice and the "tour" of Venice is a walk to the top of a department store for a nice view of Venice. If you want to really see Venice, spend an extra day or two and book tours in advance because Venice is VERY crowded. We booked an extra day in front for Mantova- not really necessary aside from time adjustment- and 4 days on the backend for Venice (3 would have been fine). We spent the last day on Murano and Burano islands followed by a catamaran ride around some islands. That made for a nice relaxing way to end our time there.

Scenery was so beautiful but an e-bike is a must as there were many hills. The tour is marked as moderate but that would only be with an e-bike. Hotels were very nice but one was up a very steep hill with no restaurants around it. Also we had to ride through a long tunnel as the route road was closed.

This Trip should be rated Difficult and e Bike is absolutely must. Guided wiould be better option for this Trip. Hotels were supereb.

Pack lightly. Rooms are extremely small but well air conditioned.
I really don't have a favorite part. It was not a relaxing trip as the bruge to Amsterdam tour was. This took us through more crowded towns that were difficult to navigate due to traffic. It was extremely hot which added to the difficulty. Food on the boat was great but breakfast and lunch were repetitive. Crew was awesome and very accommodating.

Places we visited like Sens and Auxerre.

The most memorable part was trying to find the ship at the first day. When I receive at home the "How to reach the starting point", I already had doubts and wrote to you about it.
Trying to call the number you mention several time with no answer all did not contribute to a the starting of the journey.

It would have nice to have access to a tire repair kit or at the very least, a way to contact bike repair shops that are open. It would have been nice to be able to order water and not have to pay $7 for a bottle. It would have been nice to have shorter rides so that we'd have time to stop and see the sights along the way.

The crew was the best! A definite ten + in every way. Dinners were excellent and crew always available to us. Nelleka lent us her fan at night! Harm great guide. Fiona excellent skipper and Reinier always helpful. Great atmosphere. It would have been nice to have some special stops, maybe a cooking class, winery and more info about special sites would be good. Tour description clearly stated that barge has Wi-Fi and air conditioning. It was very hot and ac very spotty and not available at night. No wifi.

The scenery was amazing and everything I have ever hoped for! The hills were beautiful but would have been difficult to enjoy without the help of the e-bikes.

It would be helpful if the bikes were equipped with an odometer so that including distances to the next turn. In addition or instead of a 15 page direction packet with paragraph instructions on where to turn maps of each days recommended rides would have been extraordinarily helpful. Without google gps and our own planning we wouldn’t have reached each destination in our self guided trip without getting lost and having to backtrack to see where we went wrong. The first day was frustrating without knowing we just needed to use google instead of the provided information. In addition a plastics zipper bag to carry the maps was less than adequate in a country with so much rain. We took several wrong turns and didn’t feel directions telling up to look for a blue barn where helpful. A positive is that the locals are super nice and helpful!

I would have enjoyed to have more options of where to ride with a map marked with good routes. It is easy to get turned around in the mountains and one wrong turn not caught leads to a long day.

The highlights: the accommodations were overall great, my favorites included Huntington house (right on the shore, amazing food and cocktails), Coolakay (the best views), and Glendalough (loads of places to explore).

What could be better or I would change: Maps! Maps are a must have to navigate the mountains of Wicklow. When you pick up your bike make sure you check everything over yourself. Don’t trust that you picked it up from the cycle shop. I road about 20 miles with a loose front wheel. I assumed that picking a bike up at a shop my wheels would be secured on the bike but they were not, I feel very lucky I didn’t wreck. Longer ride days would have been fun for those of us that prefer a full day of cycling versus just a couple hours. The names of the reservations at each hotel or bed and breakfast were always different we never knew whose name to give. None of our names were listed on the room at The Bridge Tavern and we were told the room hadn’t been paid for, we were unable to reach our local emergency contact, in fact they never called us back. It was extremely frustrating, the fortunate part is that Tripsite emergency number answered the phone and solved the problem.

The actual biking in Ireland was a once in a lifetime trip for me!

Time spent in Bruges. Bruges is a beautiful small city.
Suggestions: More information for unguided bikers, e.g. places to stop, places of interest

Staying in Charlottetown … a lovely old town to explore. The Harbour House hotel was great.
Visiting all the sites associated with Anne of Green Gables in Cavendish.
The seafood was great.. would recommend the Blue Mussel at North Rustico and 21 Breakwater in Souris.
The side trip to Greenwich National Park from St Peter’s was great. There is an amazing floating boardwalk out to the dunes.
Tip : Take insect repellent… black flies were a problem in damp areas next to the trail

The boat itself, bike quality, the food and friendliness, professionalism and energy of the crew were top notch. The level of cycling is very easy.
Unusual for a Tripsite barge/bike tour, there were young children on this trip which had negative impact. It altered the adult vibe, caused extended wait times for that group to catch up and created very significant safety problems for the guides during highway crossings. Also, the breaks/stops were far too long (incl. a lunch break of over 4 hours in one case).

This was a nice trip. The boat and staff were amazing. The scenery of the Danube was spectacular but the most memorable part of the trip were the other passengers!

Great ride in Comacchio with very friendly staff in the hotel!
Palestrina is a short unworthy ride, and limitations on the ferry for bikes was a nightmare!
Road conditions were bad, and with some dangerous spots!

The district was very interesting and there were many scenic and historic areas of interest to me

The stops on Brugge, Ghent and Antwerp. Try to see as much as you can on those places, particularly The Cathedral I Antwerp. All along the Cycling Route the Countryside is superb

The boat, staff, food were all excellent. Could not have asked for more. The weather took an unexpected turn which I'm sure dampered my experience, but could not be avoided. The thing that I am upset about was the itinerary and guide. Perhaps it was my inexperience, but when the trip is advertised and easy and beginner and with descriptions of biking through the countryside, I did not anticipate having to navigate busy city streets and intersections. I was anxious, fearful and frustrated, owing to my inability to do it. I had a bad bike wreck and am still (2 weeks now) unable to walk and am seeking medical attention. I also had a very negative response to our guide. We had a group of 22 and one arrogarnt, surly guide. We needed and I thought we were promised 2, at a minimum. I received very little instruction of biking traffic rules and not much help on settings for my ebike. He did not believe it was his job to teach us to ride ebikes and he didn't. He made it clear that he did not like to guide with ebikes and most of us had them. Attempting to wrangle 22 bikes through busy intersections was complete chaos and for me, pretty disastrous. I was only able to bike 2 days out the trip before my accident took me off the bike. I have always known that a guide can make or break a traveler's experience and now i have experienced it. I would not recommend this trip or experience to my friends. I have heard from others that the self guided trips offer more autonomy in group size, pace and enjoyment, but I doubt that I will ever try even that. This experience has cured me from bike and barge. I'm sorry to be so negative, but this is honest feedback.

The tours were very educational & informative. We only had 1 guide and he was pretty cranky & could be insulting to several of the ladies. To be honest the women were not prepared either.

We loved our day at Keukenhoff Gardens. We also enjoyed the amazing dinners on the boat prepared by our chef, Paulina. As for suggestions, the bike leaders need to understand vacation culture more. The bike leader seemed to be in a rush wherever we biked, and was not happy if we wanted to stop and take pictures of the countryside. Many people like to stop and take pictures!! We would pass by beautiful fields of tulips and hyacinths, but couldn’t stop to take photos (except maybe a 30-second stop to get one quick photo) because otherwise we’d be too far away from the rest of the biking group. We weren’t given any kind of detailed maps of where we would be biking, so if we did want to stop and take pictures, or drink some water, or grab an energy bar from our sacks, and we lost sight of the others, there would be no way to find or catch up to the rest of the group later on. One of the reasons why we liked Keukenhoff so much was because we were on “our own time” for the entire day, and didn’t have to worry about being on someone else’s schedule. We would have also liked it if the bike leader would’ve pointed out some interesting facts and history about the different places we visited. We got almost no guidance about what to see or do at each of the villages/cities we visited.

The barge route was very nice and the food was excellent.
The Fluvius is an old barge and had several maintenance issues including; no hot water for 3 days, electrical problems and other maintenance issues. In their defense, the captain did his best to make it up to us with reduced bar bills and a free canal ride.
Bettina was superb particularly since it was her first time on this tour. Tom seemed to want to be elsewhere. His communication issues were almost nonexistent and attitude gruff.
Ride with GPS was very good though those of us who chose self guided were pretty much on our own.
The patch kit provided did not include a wrench so fixing a flat would have been tough for a bike mechanic and impossible for any other.
We did have wonderful entertainment one evening. I would have loved more history as it is such an important part of these countries.
All in all, if the Fluvius had been in better shape and Tom not so gruff, it would have been a wonderful tour.

Riding through the countrysides of the Netherlands was on my bucket list and it did not disappoint! The incredible beauty of the wetland areas and the diversity of bird life far exceeded my expectations!

I must sing praises for our tour leader Nico! He was always there when we needed him! Are there more than one of him?

Watching the De Amsterdam crew one day sail the boat through the canals is a must! It was a peak part of my trip watching them maneuver sideways and make the turns ! Such incredible scenery and seeing the huge variety of boats and vessels was outstanding!

There were several memorable parts:
Both Strasbourg and Nancy are beautiful cities with a great deal of medieval charm; the Valley of the Locks with its dried abandoned channels and locks, and of course, the St Louis-Arzviller lock, where lock, water and boats are lifted (or lowered) 42 m, replacing 17 locks we saw abandoned; our boat, the Clair de Lune and its friendly and competent crew, the smallest barge we had ventured in till then, but that it showed us the efficiency of its cabin layouts to remove previous concerns about barge size to the point that we are booking another trip on a similar sized barge next year.

The islands and the guides on the boat!
This is a moderate to difficult ride even with e bikes.

Reik welcoming and friendly nature & Omar's cooking.

I learned never to be on the last trip of the season, the exterior of the boat was kinda 'sad' looking.

Guides should actually know where they are going and put safety of riders at the top of their concern. Paul was so careless he was dangerous.

I don't think I would've gone on this trip if I would've known that I wasn't free to ride/stop when I wanted to or even provided the route information. I've been on several trips with Backroads and this did not measure up.

Dinners on the boat. The pace of biking was not to my liking. Not enough time for pictures. I felt pressured to keep up with the group. Planned stops were longer than needed. Would have liked a slower pace with more, shorter stops. Many of the roads were rough, and roads through cities were scary with traffic.

Appreciated that all on the trip were from USA. Trip leaders and crew were very nice.

I have used Tripsite for 10 bike trips and have always enjoyed the concept, scenery and people I have met. Nothing I am about to say has anything to do with those qualities I have come to expect and love about bike/barge experiences with Tripsite.

However (and there's always a "however") this tour, which was described on your website as "easy" was anything but.
I am 68 years old and have never used an e-bike on any tour, including the hills of Provence, but the hills encountered on this trip were challenging even for the riders half my age. The tour description was erroneous and misleading. I say misleading because looking at the tour guides' maps, the elevation levels were clearly labeled but not communicated to the guests. So those on e-bikes had a much different experience than those of us (4 out of 10 guests) who did not. Those of us who did not struggled.

The other complaint was a lack of things to see in the middle of the tour, unless churches are your thing and that's all I seemed to see in the form of tours, which got repetitive.

Nothing I have complained about here would prevent me from traveling with Tripsite again, as I am a true believer in this experience. BTW, the crew and the culinary staff were superb, as always.

O percurso de cruzar a ilha, as cidades visitadas e os hotéis propostos foram muito bom e agradáveis. Já fiz outros passeios semelhantes com a Tripsite e achei q o roteiro poderia ser mais sucinto se os caminhos fossem melhor sinalizados. O mapa era confuso e não ajudou. O GPS só serviu pra validar se a rota estava correta. Se nos caminhos houvesse uma marcação, como no passeio que fiz anteriormente, resolveria todas as dificuldades.

I liked the app showing the tracks, it would be even better if it automatically zoomed in around intersections. The bicycles are good (we used the non-electric enhanced ones), smooth gear switching, adequate gear ratio.

I am not sure if this is obvious to others, but a large part of this route (60km give or take) goes over gravel trails, which is not fun to say the least.

While hotels along the route are generally good, one night accommodation was a real dump, I did not expect that, and it was very disappointing.

A couple of suggestions:

- bring your own phone holder to make sure the phone with the map is mounted properly
- sometimes the luggage is left in the reception area, and sometimes put away in a storage room. Ask the receptionist if the luggage arrived to be sure, to avoid wasted time.

The boat elevator.