3 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 121 to 150 of 340

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.

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.