Provence - Wilderness of Camargue Tour Reviews — 31 to 60 of 135

Our guide Hugo was amazing! So knowledgeable and just a great person to cycle with. We loved the history of the area and the number of things we were able to see on the trip was really great. The bicycle was great and we moved efficiently together as a group. We were fortunate to have good weather despite the forecasts. Note that cabins are very small, but that they are also very efficient with lots of storage. Food by Nadia our chef was fantastic, and overall we loved the crew on this ship.

Provence’s history is very interesting & our guide, Alex showed us some less touristy archaeological sites. Loved cycling down shaded country lanes especially as the 90-95 degree heat in Sep was a struggle at times. Be prepared for potholes and gravel on many of those scenic backroads. Add a visor to your bike helmet to ward of some of the heat & keep your energy up. The L’ Estello had a lovely upper deck lounge & eating area. The cabins are small & do not all have the same amenities (hooks, storage). The bathrooms are quite small & for anyone over 5’7” hard to move around in. There is no separate shower stall therefore everything in the bathroom gets wet; you must remember to remove anything that you don’t want to get wet which is a daily task when cycling. Instead of a train from Paris to Provence, consider a flight to Montpellier; it is a 30 min taxi ride to Aigues Mortes. Good connections from/to your North American flight make it possible for you to avoid a layover in Paris or a 4 hr train (with transfers) ride.

Trip was good, food was good, routes were good, the condition on the roads / trails chosen were not the best but that is really out of the control of Tripsite. A bit disappointed that there were no cycling jersey's on the boat for sale as well as we did not receive a Tripsite pre trip gift as we had in the past for being a repeat customer.

We have done four cycle trips in Europe using Tripsite and we loved this one the best. Our cycling tour guide Alex was so familiar with the tiny lanes, quaint villages and back country roads and we saw southern France through a lens that would not have been available to us if we had driven ourselves. She was passionate and knowledgeable about all the history that we were witnessing and there were many additional tours along the way. The Estello boat was compact, clean and well-run with delicious meals. I would highly recommend this Provence, Wilderness of Camargue tour to anyone wanting to experience the rural beauty of southern France. PS Bring your own water bottles as they are no longer provided.

The chef! The crew were fantastic and made the trip. The barge is basic and aging, but clean and well equipped. The cycling routes were full of history and beauty. A few of the back roads and bike paths were rough but manageable. The rest were fantastic.

The crew were fabulous and provided a wonderful experience. Beautiful scenery and Alex our guide explained the history of each area during our cycling adventures which was an added bonus.

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.

Beautiful French countryside with amazing staff aboard the L'Estello. A special shout-out to our outstanding chef, Josef;steward, Alice; tour leader, Alessandra, and Captain Filippo. The daily rides were fun! There were interesting places to visit everyday.

Wonderful
Company, attentive crew, and delicious food. I enjoyed the comfort of the common area for visiting and the deck for the sailing. The cabins were very. Lean, but the small windows made it somewhat claustrophobic by the 6th night. Other than that, all was very satisfactory.

Overall it was a wonderful trip and experience. It was well organized and the 4 person crew was just fantastic. Food and ambience above expectations. All went smoothly for us. Note some headwinds which may be seasonal.

The crew was absolutely the best and this was my 4th barge trip. Amazing chef, 5 star food. Cleanest boat and everyone had a great time.
Our guide, Michela was the best and worked so hard everyday.

3rd Barge trip. All have been excellent. The barge, crew, food, bicycles and tours all very very good. We all had a great time!! Such a fun and simple way to travel and enjoy your own group of friends!!

We thought the crew were wonderful. Very engaging and helpful. Michaela was awesome and did a great job.
Got tired of the same items for lunch daily .
A variety of items would be my choice. This was 5 th or 6 th trip with Tripsite for me.
Great job . Joanie Farina

What a beautiful and interesting region of France to travel through. We loved the historic towns and monuments we visited and once again doing it with a small group of lovely travellers and cyclists was most enjoyable.
The crew were fantastic and our guide went above and beyond to keep us all safe and have a wonderful trip.
Would easily recommend this trip for anyone who loves France, history and beautiful French countryside.

Food/staff were AMAZING!!!
I felt that the difficulty rating may have been slightly off. But the trip was overall fantastic!!

The Captain and crew were outstanding especially our daily tour guide Machiela who was extraordinary with kindness, Knowledge, and very eager to please everyone
Tip to others would be to expect about 20% riding on ruff gravel and ruff tarmac

The most memorable part of our tour? Impossible to limit to one thing! This trip has it all: miles of gorgeous countryside roads and trails, small villages that look plucked from a travel brochure, access to castles and fortresses that are beautifully frozen in time... and experiencing all of it in springtime glory was tremendous. Being able to see Carrieres des Lumieres -- the Van Gogh immersive exhibit -- was such an unexpected treat. Perfect biking weather. It was our first bike and barge with electric bikes and it was fantastic... SO easy to manage the headwinds and longer uphill climbs with the pedal-assist. Really, we can't say enough about this tour... so wonderful on every level!

(** If you print this review, can you please just list me as "Kristine S"? Thanks so much!)

My wife and truly enjoyed this tour on the Caprice in 2018. The reviews previously posted are very informative and descriptive about barge life on the Caprice, the itinerary, guides, and dining. We booked early July in order to take pre-boarding day trips to the lavender fields outside Avignon. As with all of our bike-barge tours, we have met and befriended the most interesting and wonderful people. Summer heat and some challenging ascents could be mitigated by reserving an e-bike.

This was our sixth bike and barge trip. Our over-all experience was great!! The food was fantastic, the service from staff was excellent, and the bikes were better than our own. The Caprice is older and very tight quarters, both in the cabins and in public areas. This was a small inconvenience compared to the total experience.

This was my 5th bike and barge trip—they have become my favorite kind of vacation. They take you away from your day-to-day life with full days of activity and slow, macro touring of a new, beautiful part of the world. It's a moving hotel; you bike all day, then find all your things as you left them in a new location without having to pack every morning. They have great food on board, and with all the exercise you do—you just eat what you want! The crew on The Caprice was excellent. Willy, the captain, told us everything—even the few wrinkles we encountered. One afternoon, he gave all of us a chance to steer the wheel from his deck up top. Irene, the chef, was superb. Every night's dinner including starter, main course and dessert where beautifully prepared, delicious and pertinent to the locale of our docking. Karima, the steward, was very attentive to us, a wonderful personality, a great wine sommelier—and creative folder of dinner napkins! Our riding guide Micaela (Micky) was even-keeled, never rattled and dealt with all of our personalities like a pro. The group signing that she organized of Sur Le Pont d'Avignon melted our hearts. She was excellent and made the trip! The boat itself was a little small. The traffic pattern in the dining area needs some work to go a little smoother. The highlight of the trip was the visit to the Pont du Gard—and it would have been nice to have 4 hours there.

Mickey, our tour leader, took us out after dinner on the barge, on a walking tour in Arles. I had been asking when we would see the location of where The Bedroom at Arles was painted. That is where she took us. In addition, we saw the location of where Starry Night was painted. She let me bring a friend from our sister barge.

Crew and guide were fantastic.
Our dinners were amazing. Chef put much thought into selecting and preparing our evening meal always paired with a fabulous wine.
Enjoyed recapping our day’s ride after dinner with our guide, Mickey.
Each day brought a new adventure of riding. Lots of variety.
Might include a walking tour of Avignon as part of the trip.

We loved riding through the beautiful countryside and stopping to see the important landmarks along the way.

Arles (Van Gogh & Roman buildings), Barbegal Acqueduct, Les Baux, olive oil mill visit, Pont du Gard. Camaraderie on board the Caprice and while riding. The hospitality and warmth of the Caprice crew. So many other great sites and experiences too. Our guide Miki was great; bike routes were pleasant and relatively free of traffic interference. I felt safe while riding and saw a lot little things along the ride that interested and pleased me - things you don't see from a car, train, or bus.
One area needing improvement: Poor WIFI aboard the Caprice. Higher capacity and more reliable WIFI would have been appreciated.

The guide, the itinerary and the chefs were superb!! 5 stars for them!! But the boat, and specifically the boat owners, get a 1 star. How cheap can they be??!! They didn't even provide a plastic bike water bottle. And they charged a hefty fuel surcharge, even after the price of fuel had plummeted. This was my third bike and barge, and I will never go on another barge owned by this company.

We really enjoyed our trip through the Provence region of southern France! Our guide, Michaela, was very knowledgeable of the history of the area, kept us on low trafficked roads on our bicycles, and was in general a lot of fun. Additionally, our eBikes were in great condition and we enjoyed using them throughout our tour. The only downside was our cabin on the Caprice as we both have allergies and there was a persistent mildew/mold smell which necessitated keeping the A/C on relatively high to dissipate it. The cabin was also quite small for us traveling as a couple—one of us literally had to crawl over the other to use the bathroom. The hardworking staff is to be commended.

Great aspects=the guide, food, staff
Less were the comfort of the beds and space in the bathroom

Our guide, Michaela, started each beautiful ride through the country side with such a positive attitudes and great information!
Loved the trip up to Le Baux!

The route and group were amazing! The cities are very nice and historical… what I fell could be better is reception of participants of tour… inviting each one to identify oneself with others, to make a group… And I think our guide wasn’t so careful with the group… so quick some days… with no explanation about the beautiful little towns we were!! So pity!!
And they could help us about car parking before tour… You could have better support to guests.

Biking through the small villages was very picturesque. Only regret was not having a GoPro to video as we were riding through.