3 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 91 to 120 of 327

Day One Bolzano to Trento, hilly wine route, was excellent.
All routes are ( with very few exceptions) paved and in good shape.
Most difficult was navigating into and through large cities.
The night at the Terme was wonderful!
And finally, we would have preferred to be located in 3 star hotels in more central zones of Verona and Vicenza.
We added the 2 extra nights at end of trip in Mestre, which afforded easy bus access to Venice.

We had a wonderful time on this very active vacation. I most enjoyed seeing Dutch country life in a relaxed and independent way. We did face many challenges on this trip as the three of us in our group were the only English speakers. The trip leader debriefed us separately each evening but I feel we missed out on a lot of the information that the German speakers received in their debriefing later. We weren't given an orientation on how to use the e-bikes and had to figure that out on our own. We also weren't given an orientation for the boat the first night as it was given all in German and we had to figure out where everything was on our own as well. While everyone on the boat was very cordial I felt like a burden because I didn't speak German and was excluded from the larger group because of it. The maps and route descriptions were difficult to follow and it took all three of us to find our way each day. One of us needed to have the app open (my phone wasn't working so the app was useless to me), one of us had the map and the other used the route description. We frequently missed junctions and turns either because the sign was down or the route wasn't explained in enough detail. Riding in the cities was the most difficult. The app often contradicted the route description and the map. When we asked the trip leaders about it at the end of the day we were given the impression that we just didn't follow it correctly. I'm wondering if the debriefings had been better the night before that maybe we wouldn't have had so many issues.

The best part of the Costa Rica trip for me was the visit to the Sloth Sanctuary and the zip line adventure.

The guides were outstanding. We got lucky with the weather, but when it didn’t cooperate they figured out alternatives that didn’t feel like compromising. That said there was an emergency where we swam in a current and three people needed assistance. The guides responded, but not one of the crew did anything. This was very disturbing.

Nice group of people. I suggest tighter and better organized biking component.

The boat and food were great. Beautiful area along the river. Nice wines. Wait staff were incredible

Not getting a bike that fit me. The frame was too big. It created a hazard that I couldn't overcome. Make sure that they know your exact wants. I didn't and was hurt on the first day. I don't feel that the office was as helpful as they could of been in getting me from city to city afterwards. I spent well over $150. On taxis.

Arriving in Nevers I was surprised at how difficult it was to get a taxi at 4:30 pm and no ride share companies, took well over an hour.
Was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was, Chris has a great personality and a fabulous chef. Sara, served us well and the bike/barge trip was good. It was slow season so towns we rode to were pretty but desolate.

Hi!

The most memorable part was able to ride to several different places (different landscapes and villages), in beautiful Croatia and meeting other travelers.

We gave a 3 star review (more likely 3.5) due to the following reasons/observations/experiences during the trip.

a) We were originally scheduled to travel on the ship Yolo and while we were given a discount to participate in the adventure on another boat, we feel that the boat the Pacific was definitely a downgrade and not worth the partial discount. We were assigned to cabin #12, which sits just above the engine room and adjacent to the boat's generator. We expressed our concerns during initial boarding but we were told that all the cabins were taken therefore, sleeping was simply impossible when either the engine or generator were running (which was most of the time). We could not take naps before dinner in our room and of course, sleeping during the night was a challenge. Perhaps cabin #12 should not be allotted to a paying customer.

b) Another issue with cabin #12 was the smell coming off the bathroom. The smell showed up when the boat was in port and it was being serviced. We do not exactly know what caused the smell but we shared our concerns to a boat member. I believe cabin #13 adjacent to cabin #12 was also having the same issues. The name under cabin #13 is John Campbell who was the leader of our group.

c) Group size of 36 people plus 2 guides was not only dangerous but challenging due to the fact that several individuals have never used an e-bike and did not have a lot of knowledge about biking. We could tell our guides were concerned while trying to keep everyone safe.

Finally, the room compromised our enjoyment of the trip but we were glad to be able to return to Croatia, a place where we got engaged over 15 years ago.

On the positive side:

a) The guides and the boat crew were amazing, especially during difficult situations.

b) The chef was outstanding! He was only 19 years old but very good and very gracious!

c) The diversity of villages and landscapes was stunning!

d) The opportunity by the crew to allow us to swim of the boat on various occasions was greatly appreciated.

Overall we had fun other than not sleeping but we will forever cherish our memories in Croatia!

Hilda Yount
Tim Van Meter

Climbing the very steep road through the vineyards to the view point.

Crew was engaging and friendly.
Hats off to Chris the food was delicious.
Bike maintenance was sub par. My front bikes never worked. Some riders had Saddle issues, chains/derailers not shifting correctly. One of the e-bikes was broken and the guest was forced to ride hybrid bike. Another ebike should have been offered to her.
Ed, our guide did the best he could regarding the route since he was not familiar with the area. Most of the ladies were under the impression there was going to be more wine tastings along the way. I was there to cycle and easily could’ve done 60 miles a day or more. I realize there was many different cycling levels in the group. I personally own Mtn ebike and an analog mountain bike. I wasn’t too impressed with the e-bikes provided.

Lovely towns. Nice roads. Very little traffic. Wonderful way to see Italy.

The accommodations were unfortunately, the worst part. This was our second Tripsite trip and we found it much more expensive than out last one, while several of the hotels were shockingly dirty and uncomfortable.

This was our third self-guided bike tour with Tripsite. The local operator did a great job. We had a pre-meeting about a week prior to the tour where they overviewed the tour and helped us set up the RideWithGPS app on our phones. They met us at the hotel in Muggia with our bikes, panniers, chargers (we upgraded to ebikes which I would recommend), bike locks, spare tubes, etc. The bikes were in excellent condition and the GPS navigation worked well. I purchased a handlebar phone holder on Amazon which was convenient for following the route on RideWithGPS.

Why only three stars for this review? We did not think the route along the rail trail was very interesting. Much of it was through scrubby forest and fields. Very few villages. Parts of the trail were quite rough gravel. The last couple of days up the coast were more interesting. We felt that the other two self guided bike tours we have booked through Tripsite (Around Lake Constance and Camino de Santiago E-Bike Tour) were much more interesting. Lake Constance was almost entirely paved bike trails and The Camino tour passed through many beautiful villages. While we were quite happy with the service provided by the local partner. I would not recommend this particular tour.

The chef was extraordinary! All of the meals were delicious and plentiful!
The islands were a bit disappointing. Very barren and not much to see or explore.
Wish we spent more time biking than sailing.

The small towns and inns we stayed in were lovely. The people we met in these areas were warm and friendly. Not everyone accepted credit cards or cashless payment so it is necessary to bring cash along to these areas. The bike path was very well marked and easy to ride. The company in Austria that facilitated the ride was less than helpful. We used there app but it was not setup with our exact ride so finding hotels and restaurants was a challenge. We also did not get a proper first night introduction about our itinerary and therefore we were missing critical train tickets and boat information.

Riding through the Belgium and France country-sides on our bicycles..

One of the guests arrived on the barge not well. Instead of isolating himself in his cabin until he was better and or testing himself for covid he carried on. Within a few days a number of guests came down with covid.Even though the captain suggested covid is just like having a cold a number of guests were very sick , were unable to cycle, and obviously had a horrible time.

The people made this tour. Some of the cycling routes were on major roads. Others were on gravel. Our guide Christopher was wonderful. Boat was ok. We had a room that had not been refurbished. Most other rooms had been updated. The main course of each meal was good but the vegetables accompanying them were overcooked and mushy. I would give the food a 5 out of 10.
Bikes were in great condition and repaired by the guides quickly if needed.

Riding along the Atlantic coast. Views of the Atlantic Ocean were stupendous. It rained daily so it was a difficult ride at times. When the sun came out and a rainbow appeared it was heartwarming.

The local tour operator did a great job. We had our pre-trip meeting via Zoom a few days prior to our trip where Andrej overviewed the trip and answered all of our questions. The nine e-bikes for our group (we paid the small upgrade fee for e-bikes) were delivered to our hotel in Muggia on the second morning of the tour. They also provided chargers, locks, spare tubes, pumps, tire irons, and large Topeak trunk bags with expandable panniers. They were very organized and the equipment was in great condition. We had all installed RideWithGPS on our phones and downloaded the route. The logistics of the trip worked out well.
Why only three stars? The route along the Parenzana rail trail is not very interesting. It does not go through many villages and many parts of the trail consist of coarse and/or loose gravel. The last two days when we left the rail trail and rode along the coast were much more interesting. We have done two other self-guided bike tours with TripSite (Lake Constance and the Camino de Santiago E-Bike Tour) and found them to be much more interesting.

The boat was high class, the crew & chef were excellent, the guides were fine, although their strong accent made it a little difficult to understand. The last 3 days were what I expected, learning the history of that area of Italy and interacting with the people and viewing their beautiful architecture. The first part of the tour had us going thru farm land, over paved and gravel roads and not so charming small towns. It was not what I expected and I would not recommend it to my friends. There are better trips to take in Europe.
I did get to visit and tour the beautiful cities in the Venetian isles, and that made the trip worth it.

The Islands that we visited were stunning. The scenery on way to islands

The Mosel River valley is quite beautiful and made for a great cycling trip. The Allure staff were great. Very helpful and cheerful. That said the boat is in need of a refresh including maybe at least fans in the cabins which gif hit and stuffy. The cycling guide seemed I’ll prepared to work with a group of various cycling tour experience.

The scenery was so beautiful and all the hotels were very nice. The signage around the lake was confusing at times. There should be an option, for an extra fee, to have quality helmets provided along with having bikes delivered and picked up at hotels at beginning and end of tour.

The guides and the people we met were wonderful. The locations we visited were also great.
The bikes were quite worn and a number broke down regularly causing delays. We should not have been charged another $75 for drinking water as soon as we boarded. It was very strange that soap and shampoo were not provided for the showers. The bathroom had a bad smell and was very old and in poor condition. We were unable to do about 20% of the biking due to fears about the weather that were incorrect. We let you know that we could not have dairy when we booked 5 months in advance and yet the only alternative for dessert every day was a fruit cup while others enjoyed great desserts. I could go on but will stop as the guides, Dora and Alan were great. The captain was also very good but the bar/server could use some manner lessons.

The food on board was outstanding. The chefs made every dinner like it was a high end restaurant. We spent days before and after the trip trying several mid range restaurants with top reviews, and none of them were even close to the food levels on the boat.

Our tour guides, Jeroen, Hilco and Linda did an excellent job. I loved the countryside riding.
I did not enjoy riding through the large cities to get to our destination. It is important that when the paths are narrow walking is necessary for safety.

- Update your bike tour description - there's a route that is not active since 2021 and you put it in the programme
- We received 5 day programme with no proper descriptio, additional info from the hotel did not correlate exactly with the programme
-Every route on paper, no gpx track, not even pictures. Impossible to follow.

I feel you should do much more effort of you are selling a bike route experience. We ended up going up and down the Rhine using trains and not following the routes.

The bike tour in Vienna was very good. Management did a poor job in communication. We were told conflicting information. We were surprised that the boat did not meet us in Passau and had to take an hour long buss ride. Food was from the region and Germans Austria are not as good as the Italian' s and French. Liver is not popular with us. We are spoiled with the other culture food.

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