Provence - Wilderness of Camargue Tour Reviews — 31 to 60 of 105

I love Provence. This is a fabulous tour to see both the countryside and villages. The L’Estelle is a very comfortable barge, the staff are amazing. I’ve been on several bike and barge tours and the food was the best. We had a full spread every day when we were back from biking. Our tour guide was great. There are several extra tours of castles , villages , olive farm included. The only thing to note is that the tour in Arles does not take you into the collegium, theatre or Roman baths. She stands outside and talks about them. If you enjoy history then this is for you but if you want to actually see the sites then skip the tour as there’s plenty of time to see them on your own. I also liked this tour as we didn’t just follow the river but did loops and came back which made it interesting.

Just completed this tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was amazing!! The boat was clean and well maintained. We did find the rooms very tight and agree on the steep staircase. Our guide was excellent and knowledgeable about the history of the area. She looked after all guests needs. The Captain and his wife were part of the team and we enjoyed their interaction with guests. Bert had some great jokes!!

Wonderful trip. Great crew with Sarah and Joseph as cooks, Willy as captain, and Michaela (?sp) as our guide. I have some dietary restrictions which they handled very well. Cabins are a little small but not inadequate given the small boat size. The stairway is somewhat awkward but manageable.
Michaela was a good informant about historical facts about the area. She is also a very good bike mechanic, having worked in a bike shop recently during the pandemic.
Good tour mates from multiple countries. Everyone got along well. Would definitely recommend this trip.

Great crew
Great food
great guide
awesome captain
wonderful eclectic group on board ... only 16
did i SAY unbelievable food ..... themed to the regional herbs .....which transformed food into a cultural lesson on the region
and Michaella the guide what a great trip she road us through or we road her through!
the camaque ride is a ride through the french wetlands - through the history of the crusaders and Knights Templer - the salt trade - then you get in the other side of Provence with its chic chic villages - fields of flowers and lavender and poppies .... a few hills that were daunting - but on the whole we had great bike paths minimal traffic and just a whole lot of wonderful vistas and aromas as we rolled through this beautiful part of the world ....(in this covid world being able to smell the flowers and fields was also a good daily litmus test ...) its a great trip a great experience with a great crew - i would happily do this ride again....

All of it was wonderful. Guide Michela was fun and a great leader. There was a nice mix of stops for tours and riding. Scenery was beautiful. Also Liked the boat cruises from the deck. Hills and wind made it a little more of a challenging of a ride. Crew and cooks took good care of us. Would recommend.

Beautiful area. The small towns were charming.

The hills were a little more difficult than I anticipated. Suggestion for others would be to prepare for a lot of hills.

Great staff. The staff went out of their way to make all guests comfortable. Our group of 9 fit in well with the 11 others on tour. The close quarters make this necessary. The Staff works hard at making sure that all feel welcome.

Riding through the French countryside and small towns.

Riding through the fields of fruit trees, medieval villages, sipping beverages in the little outdoor cafes, tasting olive oil in the factory, learning to use the bike to it's potential, and enjoying the ambiance back on the boat with spectacular meals.

Staff and food were wonderful. Caprice barge has nice upper deck and dining facility. But cabins are beyond tiny, which we could have been happy with (and given 5 stars) if not for the following: Each guest is issued one towel set to be changed only once during the 8 night stay. The problem is during a humid or hot athletic trip, there's no way to dry the towels or to wash or dry athletic clothing, no place to hang them in ventilated area. We packed light with intent to wash, and couldn't. Clothing was "toxic" by end of trip! On an active trip, there needs to be laundry available, even if guests do it themselves. We found out on last day of trip there was full size washer/dryer on boat, but not accessible to guests.

Our tour guid was amazing (Melanie) She made sure everyone was safe and I believe everyone enjoyed themselves it was just a lot of fun what a great time with good friends and Melanie

I loved the integration of sight seeing and bike riding. The visit to the olive oil producer was very interesting. Also loved the opportunity to see the Cezanne Immersive theater. Melanie was a wonderful tour guide and made the trip very fun.

Our original trip was cancelled due to Covid and we took the Camargue trip in its place. It turned out to be a lovely replacement. I had felt this covered ground I previously knew but seen from the perspective of biking round places previously seen the trip added such a new and fresh layer, as well as previously unknown places, that it was like seeing things for the first time.
The boat was comfortable and the food really excellent thanks to the innovative hands of chef Sara.
Highly recommended.

The crew was very helpful and engaging.

The bicycle riding and scenery while pedaling is most memorable.

Compared to our other trips, the Caprice felt very cramped i.e very limited on deck room for groups. Probably should add a Caprice clothes line to dry clothes, minor but very handy
breakfast was ok but repetitive, other trips had a buffet and especially cooked hot items
suppers were hit or miss, I thought ok but most of our group thought mediocre
guide was excellent as were bike stops, especially the Aqueduct-Pont du Gard, Palais des Papes, swimming in the med, light show. Probably should add a visit to a winery. Consider precharging for some events i.e. colosseum, light show kamisky and Cezanne) , museums,--Palais des Papes, Van Goughs asylum etc) rather than make them optional as some folks are tightwads and really miss out on a fuller experience.
Cycling guidebook is excellent

Good crew

The Ponte de Guard, the landscape and great food.
Great bicycles and charming and efficient staff.
The boat could use a wash line

The trip overall was well organized and executed in all respects with one exception. The crew were all very competent, friendly and helpful. The meals and service were also excellent, well prepared and presented. Our only complaint was with the execution of the required COVID test which was necessary within 72 hours of our departure. We were lead to believe that this important and necessary test would be all arranged by the crew and we would know where to go and what to do. This was NOT the case. Our group had to research and find the location of the testing on our own with some difficulty. There was much difficulty locating the testing site at the appointed time. We think the charge of 50 Euros per person was excessive. We did not fault our crew as they obviously had no idea that arranging COVID testing was their responsibility.

Most Memorable Part? The sites we biked to
Tips: Perhaps separating the electric bikes from those like me who used our own pedal power or 2 leaders for 20 bikers vs the one leader. Our group depended on fellow bikers as volunteers and we were fortunate in having several expert bikers in our group!!!

Riding through the south of France along quiet country roads with the occasional stop to learn about the history and people of the place.

The crew of the boat Caprice was wonderful. Each crew member did their utmost to make the trip perfect for everyone. The food was outstanding, our compliments to the chef Joseph who prepared a gourmet meal every night. The tour guide Alessandra was wonderful and kept the group moving along together. The size of the tour was perfect, 20, the route was ideal and that part of France was beautiful. Highlights were the Ponte du Gard, the villages in Provence, Avignon and the tour of the winery and La Moulin d'Huile. We also enjoyed the company of the others on the tour very much.

Suggestions: bring raingear if it's the rainy season, stop in the cafes in the little towns along the way for beer, wine, french fries or desserts.

Everything was perfect - the biking, the people, the food and the sites.

Most Memorable Part: Riding through the countryside and small villages, visiting Arles and Les Beaux.

It is impossible to single out a single most memorable time. The food was delicious, the tour guide wonderful, the cycling routes took us to a variety of historical, cultural, and geographical places. We saw castles, an abbey, art, old villages, wildlife, walled cities, mountain top views, and took several short cruises on the river, The days were full, we had downtime when needed but were always kept busy if desired.

Cycling through historic monuments and the Camargue wilderness was magnificent!

I loved the day that we visited Les Baux de Provence and went to Carrieres Lumineres. We also visited the asylum in St. Remy where Van Gogh spent a year and produced many paintings. We rode through so many beautiful landscapes and villages in Provence and many times it felt like we were part of a Van Gogh painting. My other favorite part of this trip were the meals with everyone on our boat. It was so nice to have wonderful food and wine and sit and talk to people from all over the world. This was my first bike and barge experience and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. All of the guides and staff on the boat were great as well!

Provence is a great area to cycle in and with the exceptional guide we had it made it even more enjoyable. The crew worked well together and could not of been more accommodating. This was our 6th trip with Tripsite and that in itself should be a solid endorsement for this company! A must do!

The mutual congeniality among the group was especially memorable and was facilitated by every element of the trip! Antonella, our cycling guide from Avignon to Aigues-Mortes, was the glue which brought us all together - she was a delight! The accommodations, with several locations for socializing in comfort, encouraged us to relate to each other in multiple group configurations. Finally, the variety of daily itineraries gave us many options to enjoy beautiful scenery and cultural highlights.

The scenery on the Provence trip was amazing.

The Avignon to Aigues-Mortes bike-barge trip was terrific. Our guide, Antonella, was knowledgeable about the area as well as about the route. She did an amazing job of ensuring our safety and making it a really fun ride. We would have loved to stop at a winery or two!