3 Star Bike Tour Reviews — 241 to 270 of 327

This is a great ride, if you use the right company. We used Tripsite, who contracted Austria Radreisen, not the company to use. We were told that Austria Redreisen would meet us at the hotel in Passau the day before the trip was to start...they did not show( a competitor company, Donau, spent 2 hours with their clients, in our hotel). We tried to contact Austria Radreisen at their 'emergency' number...no one answer/no answering machine. The day the tour was to start, they delivered two bikes which were extremely heavy, and with 7 speed changers....we had specifically ordered 21 speed hybrids. The bikes were delivered by the person who picked up the suitcases, and we were told by him that he had no knowledge of how the bikes worked...we were on our own to figure them out. In spite of being in good physical condition, we found the bikes very difficult to use, as they would not coast. After 2 days with the heavy bikes, we had to take a day off as we were exhausted. Thanks to the help of a receptionist at the Courtyard Marriot in Linz, the company delivered replacement 21 speed hybrids(which we should have received in the first place) at our next hotel (we had to take the train to get there), which we used with no problems the rest of the way. The hotels provided by the company were excellent, and the travel maps adequate. We certainly will not go with this company again when we plan our next bike tour.

Beautiful chateaus. Great wine. Not allowed to drink in cabin. Cabin extremely small. Shower barely fit one person. Guide excellent. No sauna or hot tub. I would recommend this trip but not this boat (the Bordeaux).

A great trip in many ways. Good staff - helpful and friendly. Good scenic route with chances to visit places of interest, very good food. Only draw back was problems with 3 out of 4 'E' bikes and a lack of expertise in how to fix them causing stress to some riders.

The Magnifique II was fine and the food was good. One thing I found odd was the staff joined us at the bar at night. The bar had limited seating and they took up the stools while passengers stood. Not cool. I found the biking boring. There were no interesting stops other than the cities. Amsterdam, Ghent and Bruges were very nice. The Netherlands were rather dull. On other tours we stopped at wineries, Chateaus or interesting landmarks. Here the guides just stopped and said there is coffee or a church you can visit. Not very organized. Their goal seemed to be to keep us out long enough to reach the boat. I would not recommend this tour.

Much of the bike ride was difficult to navigate. Signs on the road are not always clear. Expected more country rides but much of the bike ride was through cities with many vehicles (somewhat dangerous). If we elect to travel with Tripsite again, we will do more research to determine ease of navigation along the bike route and how much of the route is through traffic.

The cruise through the iron gate was a highlight of this trip. Cruise director did a great job throughout the cruise. Weather was much warmer than average and many days of biking were at 90 degrees F on roads and trails with little cover or shade so were somewhat more difficult than anticipated. It was a great experience but people need to be aware that most of the riding in the Eastern European countries are on the side of roads sometimes without a bike lane and there was some traffic.

The attentiveness and skill of the crew was most memorable. Chris was an awesome guide, encouraging everyone and being a wealth of knowledge about the environs. Conor was personable and available to share her knowledge and experience. Kim is a great cook and quite a character. Together, they overcame the limitation of an outdated too small barge to create an environment that allowed the riders to really enjoy the countryside and each other.

I am a very experienced cyclist (raced in my younger days). The condition of the bicycles left something to be desired. For example, the headsets of the bikes were not tightened after the handlebars were straightened out as they were distributed to the group. The loose headset contributed to an accident that resulted in an injury.

I suppose it is a common type of bicycle in Holland, but the upright positioning and lack of rake on the front fork made the bike inherently unstable. I got used to it pretty quickly, but some of the group never did. Only about half of our group were regular cyclists, and that made riding in/with the group an exercise in self-protection. Fortunately, my brakes worked well.

Also, lessons on how to cycle in the Netherlands (rules of the road, etc.) could have been more complete and reinforced each day. Our group tended to bunch up whenever stopped, blocking the way for others, and again, verging on dangerous. The guide said nothing. After one of our group said something to the guide, he finally started paying more attention to keeping the group together at traffic signals. Another part of the group tended to ride in the pedestrian lanes- they stopped doing that after getting a thorough tongue-lashing from a Dutchman walking his dog.

All this said- the general content of the trip was wonderful- the tulips, the cities, the countryside... we thoroughly enjoyed that. Would we do it again? Unsure... perhaps if we could be with a more experienced group.

Overall, it was a great trip - boat and crew, bikes, guide, fellow passengers. Where this trip fell short of a previous bike boat trip that I did, was that this trip lacked interesting stops along our cycle route. It felt more like getting from point A to point B with a brief coffee or lunch stop - no tours along the way. From my understanding in talking with the boat owner/captain, the cycling routes and stops are planned by the local partner.(https://www.tripsite.com/about/our-partners/).

The Quo Vadis was super! The food, accommodations, staff and bikes were all terrific.
However, we were unprepared for the traffic and city riding intensity. Marsha is an experienced recreational rider but had no idea how to deal with traffic. She completed the first day and began another, but turned back after the first half kilometer and packed it in after that. City traffic and congested cycling is something only urban folks experience, so we and others were unprepared. We were were really expecting a leisurely paced scenic tour, not the frantic paced marathon we got. The trip was listed as easy, but a 12 mph average speed for 36 miles is ridiculous for most recreational cyclists, especially when you’re there for scenery and cultural experience along with cycling.
Additionally, once you start for the day, there is no practical way to drop our.
So, if we were to look for another bike barge trip, we would be looking for:
Quo Vadis or equal
20-25 mile days maximum
8-10 mph average speed maximum
Route maps
Routing to avoid urban traffic
More short stops to smell the flowers.
Ultimately, we were disappointed in the cycling portion of the trip feeling it was not so much for tourists who like to ride. We (and others) felt the guide placed too much emphasis on covering miles and not enough on making it pleasurable.
Tripsite staff is superb and did everything they promised. Thanks.

The tulip tour trip is too short, but cycling around the flowering bulb fields was wonderful. Visiting Keukenhof gardens in bloom was great. I didn't like assigned seating for our meals and the buffet organization on the Fluvius was terrible, especially when trying to make lunches in a tiny space with everyone grabbing stuff. Food arrangements were the weakest part of the tour, although they also hired an awful lounge singer one night.

This potentially could be a great tour but it was not a great tour for us. The tour guide book was in German which we do not read, thus we wasted a lot of time every day being lost! Also, the provided bikes were not of the best quality, and pedaling them was not easy! The hotels were fine, but we would not recommend this tour unless you read German!

The Elodie bike/barge trip was fabulous in terms of scenery, routes, staff, food. However, 2 couples on the barge were not able to keep up with our very leisurely pace. I would advise your company to stress level of fitness for participants, and also to recommend 2 guides for different ability levels.

The Rhine Valley is a wonder to bike and very enjoyable.

Most Memorable Part: The last day of our trip we cycled through small towns and vineyards. Stopped at a beautiful small church and were able to hear the choir practicing. We (6 of us) will never forget that part of the trip.

The group was excellent. We had a great time together. Jean and I were the only Americans aboard but everyone spoke English.
This trip, rated moderate, was the most challenging of the four tours we have booked thru Tripsite since 2012. It stretched us to the limits of our biking abilities.
The tour was thru pleasant countryside but lacked the highlights of our previous tours- no Eiffel Tower, Venice canals or Pont du Gard.
The barge itself was a weak point, although it was not advertised as a strength.
Most disappointing was the food, especially the evening meals featuring mostly starches- pasta, mashed potatoes, quinoa and rice. Don't know whether this was a budget or skills problem.
The guide was excellent, competent, friendly and caring.
The bikes themselves were mostly good although there were some minor problems-with a tire once and an ebike battery that didn't fully charge overnight. Giro Libero bikes were in better condition than those of Hat Tours based on our two tours with each of them.
The Loire Valley tour was enjoyable, but the weakest of the four trips we have taken.
Our fondest memories will be those of great conversations, lots of laughs with new friends we will probably never see again and a sense of accomplishment for what was for us an arduous trek.
As a tip for others, as I mentioned to bike and barge rookies, check out other trips as advertised in Tripsite's catalog.

The Itinerary was very well planned out and the staff were all amazing!!!! This was the perfect trip for our group!!!!

Most Memorable Part: Our fellow travelers and Jacko, the chef on the Quo Vadis.

We met a lot of really nice people. We were surprised that our guide was largely unfamiliar with the route!

Compared to previous tours, the Merlijn was very well organized on board, but maybe over-organized to the point it was less fun and spontaneous. Very low key with lots of rules - no partying for sure. Also, we found the food was very disappointing by comparison. Highlights included the actual cycling, with beautiful countrysides, storybook towns, the wine tour, etc and the cycling guide was excellent. We were also fortunate to have another good group on the tour which was both interesting and fun. All in all, a satisfactory trip.

Guide, Antonella, crew, food, tour and route were fine, but the Estello was not, surely not "comfort plus". The boat is tired, lounge furniture was dirty, lead to believe the boat was not equivalent to Ave Maria but close, Girolibro providing better boats than FR companies. Were tied up close to a FR boat, was better. Cabins in comparison to other boats we have booked are poor, shower was not separate from remainder of the head so everything was soaked after shower. Since we booked the entire boat for Coastal Cruisers, even though no one seemed to complain, we expected better. Your bike and barge tours continue to be good value with folks who provide services compensating for "tired boat".

Book from Brugge to Amsterdam to avoid headwinds. Expect riding in country with nothing special to see.

Scenery que sheets needed to be more precise. Several of us got lost on our last day and therefore couldn't tour the Melk Abbey. I was very disappointed we ended up biking 50 miles instead of 26.

Most Memorable Part: Cycling itself throughout southern France

We had an exceptional guide. He had a lot of local knowledge and often altered our route in order to extend our cycling experience.

My most memorable part of cycling along the Rhine River was seeing the beautiful country side hills with castles and fortresses and stopping for coffee and delicious baked goods in villages.

Most Memorable Part: The people on our tour were great. A bunch of fun people.

Overall this was a great experience. The boat was clean and the staff friendly. The itinerary and scenery was beautiful. The only negative was that the website had several inaccuracies. For example, the mileage each day was much longer than published. Also, the number of meals provided was less than published.

Croatia is gorgeous and the food was great. The cook, ivanna, and the guide, ben, were amazing with understanding the participants skill level and dietary needs. The cycling was not as described or the descriptions could have been better. One full day we were on a pedestrian path with many people to dodge- not fun and not real cycling. Molat was the best route!
The captain was difficult, drunkenly, egotistical, chauvinist and making lewd comments whenever addressing women.

I have done this trip from Amsterdam to Bruges as well. I found this version to not be as enjoyable. The reason was there was not as much on the route to see and take in. I think that there are some differences do to which barge you are on which may restrict the routes. Bruges is amazing as was Amsterdam but in between nothing exciting. The barge was amazing (Sailing Home) with a wonderful chef. I love this style of touring and have done 8 of them and will do more!