5 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 1531 to 1560 of 4514

We were very fortunate that we had beautiful weather the entire trip, except for a brief hail storm as we returned to the barge in Bratislava. The alternate days of biking and city touring was excellent in that it allowed time to recover from saddle sores, and the e-bikes were very comfortable for the long distances we biked. The crew was fabulous and accommodating to every need, and the Cruise Director (Leslie) made sure we were prepared and had everything we needed to make our biking a pleasure and free of stress.

We finished this trip in May of 2023.

We did the self guided with just my wife and I. We are in our late 60s so we used the e-bikes as there are some hilly areas. We picked the highest hotel category and also spent three nights in Prague prior to the trip.

We loved it. The spa towns were amazing as were the hotels. The breakfasts every morning were fantastic. The rides were almost entirely on very lightly traveled roads or bike paths. The countryside is amazingly beautiful and so were the towns. We felt very safe everywhere we went. We called ahead and signed up for spa treatments several times. We have done many rides and this ranked up there with the best.

Our entire experience was way beyond our expectations. The city, seaside and countryside route allowed for a great snapshot of Portugal and Spain, the service provided by the guides and the amazing lodging where 2nd to none. And we were fortunate the other 18 attendees from Brazil, Canada and the USA were fun and courteous. No matter your bike skill level you will have a more enjoyable experience if you select E-Bikes.

We had a wonderful trip from beginning to end. We decided to trust that it would all be good so we didn't research anything ahead of time so that we could be surprised. Every day was a pleasant surprise. We chose E-bikes and were very glad. We were all E-bike snobs and this trip totally changed that perspective. The routes were split between paved roads and dirt roads. The dirt roads were rugged and we loved them. The paved roads were well chosen. The side trips were well thought out and truly worth doing. We used the provided GPS device and the Ride with GPS device. We found the Ride with GPS easier to use and cross-referenced it with the GPS device for accuracy if we ever got off course.
The hotels were great. Each one was different and represented the region/village we were in. Part of the fun was seeing what would be for breakfast every morning. We were always greeted warmly and they accommodated the charging needs of the bikes. The hotels were convenient to towns to explore and sample the local cafes, mercados, etc. The one hotel that was not close to a town had an amazing restaurant, heated pool and beautiful farm to explore.
The local bike guide, Top Bike Tours, did an excellent job of planning the trip out and supporting us throughout the trip.

The interaction with your wonderful crew and guides. They made everyone and every day special.

We loved every part of this trip, but especially our guide, Giulia. She really brought Puglia to life for us, knowing the area so well! We left feeling as though we had made a new friend. The contrast of biking the countryside and the historic towns was fantastic.
Being avid cyclists we would have like to bike a little faster or been able to bike ahead of the slower participants. Since we had only one guide we had to stay together. Adding a guide to the trip would have allowed the group to spread out a little.

Sergio was an excellent guide. The accommodations far exceeded my expectations - extremely high end/luxury hotels. We had a large and diverse group - many from Brazil, Canada and US - with no language or riding skill barriers to making our journey an absolute blast.

This was a fantastic trip! The boat was great and the crew was the best. Meal were great and nicely served - significantly past my expectation for a trip focused on biking. If you are doing this trip, here are some things I wish I had known....

- You will spend more time on the boat than you might think - pack clothes for that and excursion days as well as what you were for biking

- Speaking of clothes, it is hard to get things to dry if you wash them out by hand - there is a clothesline in the shower but bring your own clips

- You won't have much shore time on biking days or excursion days, so don't bother looking up 100 things to do in a city. Think in terms of a few hours not a whole day

- That being said, I would suggest setting something up on your own in Vienna in the evening - especially if you are into Classical Music - that is, after all, the town for it. We went to the ballet and it was wonderful. Our friends went to the Opera - you might want to take nicer clothes for either of those - they still dress up for concerts..

- Don't bother getting Florints (money) in Hungary - everyone we talked to took Euros, but do get train tickets from your tour guide if they are offered - they are hard to find and the machines are not in English and VERY hard to figure out (we finally found some young people who graciously helped us out)

- Don't count on Wifi. Period. We never managed to pull in any

- The app they use sounds really good but we found it completely useless - even our cruise director said not to use it. It doesn't help, and most of the time when we had a question on the route I couldn't pull in cell service

- Speaking of cell service....play around with what service your phone pulls up. Sometimes if I changed carriers I got a much better signal

- Try to find a group to ride with - it really helps with directions and is much more fun

- The Ebikes are VERY heavy - someone said 65lbs - I don't know if that is true, but they are very heavy and hard to manage. They might help when you are riding, but they are hard to handle - not for anyone who isn't pretty strong especially stop and go in small towns - it is a challenge.

- Every day you have to catch the boat before it leaves port. You don't have to be a professional biker, but you do have to ride along at a pretty good clip. That took us by surprise...it was no jaunt through the countryside - but I am older (60) so maybe that is a matter of perspective

- They set out salad stuff for you to take with a sandwich for lunches - I would suggest taking a small tupperware if you think you want salad on the road, but I would also suggest taking baggies just in case you don't want their prepared sandwiches (which were OK, but not real exciting). They put out cold cuts and breads/rolls and several days we made our own (helpful hint - don't put mayo on in the morning - take the packets and put them on when you eat - just to be sure it is fresh). I also made up some trail mix and took rolls (with Nutella packets) for snacks so the baggies were really helpful.  SHOW MORE 

There were many highlights.
Poppies growing in the fields, fantastic meals, especially the dinners, amongst them. Thanks to the crew for very efficient bike deployment in the mornings and end of day. Captain very skilled.
We are used to boating, so cabins quite good. However some type of screens on the portholes would make sleeping a bit more comfortable without as many mosquitoes and not having to use aircon so much - so a good investment to invent some screens.
On the biking side, keeping the group together was good, but having one day being more free to bike with map and explore on our own might be nice. However we understand the importance of not loosing anyone. Stops in shade would be better than in the sun.
Loved Georgio's sense of humour and depth of knowledge.
Overall a fantastic experience and first time at bike and barge!

The genuine customer service of the guides and boat crew to make us feel welcome and taken care of.

The best part of our trip was the crew! Our captain, guide, cook and cabin staff made this trip special. From the first day we were welcomed, encouraged, and accommodated. After 600km of memorable cycling it was indicative that the entire group chose to “sail” the last 20km. into Paris with our new family. A fabulous ending to a great two weeks.

The bike tour was everything that was promised in the description. Our guide, Sonia Teh was wonderful. She was knowledgeable about the area, pleasant and professional.

This was such a special experience to visit small towns and areas we would never see otherwise. Using e bikes was a breeze and allowed us to focus on the scenery.

Stunning views and quiet lanes are uniquely beautiful during the month of May in Puglia. Prime wildflowers, fresh food and easy navigating were assets . The route is practically perfect.

The accomodation was excellent. The Netherlands are a wonderful place to explore on a bike, it looks like a natural park in whixh a few people live. I have rarely seen such respect and care for nature and animals, it was breathtaking.
Bike lanes are also in a very good shape.

We particularly enjoyed the four crew members who took care of us. The guide, captain, cook and cabin leader couldn’t have better. They cared for each cyclist in every way. We all chose to ride the barge into Paris on our last day and it was a very special day.

The beautiful places we bikes. The sights. The out of the way country roads.

We were taken on some one way streets in many of the towns which was a bit confusing but added to the story.

The food was incredible and the selection of restaurants was wonderful. It made it easy each night. We just went where the planners selected for us and we did not have to ponder each day where to go. One thing though....too much food! It was wonderful but three selections for each dinner was way more food than any of us could ever eat.

I had an issue with my E bike but was told I did not know how to use it which upset me. I did know what I was doing and one of the owners saw there was a problem but there were no extra bikes on hand to swap out with me. It turned out OK. My bike functioned when I most needed it but I had to switch it on and off frequently to get it to work. I managed just fine but at the end when I was told by one of the employees at the bike shop that the bike was fine...I just didn[t know how to operate it ....I was a bit upset. When I picked up the bike the person checking me out on it told me "people do not like this bike". I did not complain. I just wanted them to know that it should be checked out because the next person might have issues too and might not be as flexible as I was.

All in all it was a wonderful trip. The cooking class at the bike owner's mother's home was so much fun.

This is a wonderful way to see Croatia! All the islands are beautiful and being on a bike gives you the best views!!! Loved our trip and can’t wait to book another bike & boat!!

This was our 3rd. Bike and Boat trip and by far the best. The smaller boat experience on the Magnifique III was wonderful, it gave everyone on board an opportunity to meet each other and become friends. Our tour guides, Arnold and Marie-Jose, were excellent. Both gave informative narratives on various cities and local stops, Arnold's witty sense of humor added an extra touch of enjoyment. The entire crew; Captain Hank, Emily and others, whose names I cannot recall, were all above and beyond. Now for the meals, absolutely delicious! Every dinner was wonderful with a different flavor each day, his "presentation" of the meals was outstanding. We had a suite, which was comfortable and slightly larger than the standard rooms. I'm not sure if the extra $$$ was worth the cost of the suite, but having a sliding glass door that opened was a nice feature. We are planning next years vacation on the Metz to Cochem trip, which the Magnifique III will be featured. I would highly recommend spending an extra 2-3 days in Bruge at the end of your journey..................amazing city!

My wife and I just finished this beautiful tour of Segovia and the medieval towns nearby. This was our 6th self-guided bike tour in Spain and we loved this tour. The roads in general were quiet and when you did encounter cars the drivers were very considerate and went well over to the side of the road to carefully pass us. We live in California and it's nothing like this in California, an understatement. You start off in Segovia which is a remarkable city with the massive Roman aqueduct dominating the city as you enter. The hotel was nice and we spent an extra day there walking the city and that was well worth the time. The accommodations were all nice with excellent staff. You will find it challenging if you're a vegetarian on this tour. This is land of meat meat and more meat with pork being the dominant meat. One special surprise was the wildlife. Eagles, storks, foxes, massive vultures in the canyons outside of Sepulveda. I grew up a birdwatcher and the rides were filled with incredible birds and wildlife. Quite incredible. We biked Umbria, 300 plus miles and didn't see anything like that there so that was a special treat. The storks on top of the churches were fun as well and you could see their offspring spreading their wings. A great tour and one we both highly recommend.

Excelent experience. All was Anna tell us.

The hotel & bikes woooow!!!

The only why, the Tulipanies was cut 1 week before. We don’t see this espectacular view.

All right. Great travel.

The scenery while biking. The small towns we explored along the way. The staff on the boat.
The upscale dining experience each night.
The comfort, storage options, and arrangement of our cabins. The wonderful duvets on the beds. The large windows in our cabin.

The biking on dedicated bike paths through vineyards and apple orchards with soaring mountains in the background was the most memorable part of the trip- so beautiful! My only suggestion for improvement would be to provide one handlebar bag for each person on the trip- they did come in handy!

The magical moments were riding in avenues of trees along the Danube, on paths in the villages in northern Hungary, the old city In the stunning giyor and in all of Hungary it is a complete surprise in the landscapes and the historical cities.

Definitely the biking part was the most memorable. The scenery was incredible and I loved riding through the vineyards and small towns along the Mosel.

The cataclysmic flooding event was memorable. We appreciated Javier’s support and direction when our route was blocked.
Unfortunately we were unable to remove one of our spd pedals at the end of the trip in Parma because the staff person in Bologna over tightened it. We are beginning the Mur river trip on June 4 and would appreciate your delivering it to us for that trip.

Loved entire trip, but best of all was cycling through the quiet, pastoral countryside with the cow and sheep bells accompanying us: don't hurry through farms and small towns to reach each day's hotel! Also, santillana del mar is just incredible, a step back in time.

Our excursion along the Ebro River was spectacular . The ever changing scenery was breath taking . The roads , for the most part , were quiet and free of traffic . Accommodation along the way was well organized by the tour company , Iberico, Our hosts were very welcoming , rooms were clean and comfortable and the excellent evening meal and breakfast that were offered reflected the region .

I would strongly recommend that e bikes be the chosen mode of transportation as there are many, many very long and steep climbs. Perhaps Pack and Pedal in their rating of the trip, could state «  Easy to Moderate «  with E bikes .

This particular trip will be remembered as one of our very favourites.

Many thanks to Trip Site for organizing all the details for us .

Pat

Great tours, especially the cheese farm, and of course anything tulip related, and windmill tour. Beautiful boat, excellent bike rides.
Great guide.

The tour was wonderful and our guide, Francine, was terrific. This trip was well organized, the equipment was first rate. The bikes and helmets provided were wonderful. Our guide categorized this trip as a "sightseeing by bicycle" adventure and that is a perfect description. There are fast-paced bike rides if that is what you are looking for, however, we thought this pace was excellent for seeing the countryside, taking photos, and visiting smaller towns/cities that we would have otherwise driven past.

The barge we were on, the Merjlin, was amazing- first rate service and food. The rooms were very comfortable and quiet. The common area was a great place to relax before meals and converse with our fellow travelers. The food was amazing and the service was great.

One thing we were not prepared for is the issue of tipping- the suggested tip was for $10/pp/day for the ship staff and $10/pp/day for the guide- which would add $440 to the cost of the trip. Of course as we are from the US, we are very familiar with the tipping culture but we were not expecting it on a European adventure. Yes, it's mentioned on the information section but I guess we skimmed over that. I would prefer they pay their staff a living wage and skip the tip. It costs the customers the same.