Mertzig to Koblenz (Moselle river) bike barge trip review

My husband and I greatly enjoyed this trip. It was relatively flat terrain from Koblenz to Mertzig, but you need to be fit and have some biking experience in order to enjoy it properly. For example, you need to be used to being 3 – 4 hours on the saddle at a time, ride at a pace of 10 miles/hour, able to cycle up some short hills (unless you want to walk it), be comfortable in cycling for short periods in traffic or over bridges. It also rained for short intervals in 2 out of our 6 days of cycling so bring appropriate clothing and be prepared to get wet. The cabins in the boat are very small with not much storage space so you cannot pack too much stuff. However, there is always plentiful hot water in the shower. There were 3 small port holes that could be partially opened in each cabin, but the room still got stuffy since all the cabins are below deck without AC. A small electric fan is provided in each cabin that is placed on a high shelf above the head of the beds. The fan would be much more effective for cooling if the fan could be mounted at the ceiling at the foot of the beds. The food on board is also good with different menu themes every night (South Africa, Dutch, Indonesia) but there was no German cuisine despite the entire trip taking place in Germany. Beer (mostly Dutch) and wine are provided on board for purchase on an honour system. However, it would be nice if some German beers and wine from the Moselle region would be provided as well since the tour takes place in the Moselle region that is famous of its wines. One wine tasting was arranged for our group in Zell but we would have liked to have more wine tastings at different wineries in Trier and in Saarburg. Our bike guide Weiger was excellent. He was very patient and accommodating to guest’s requests. He is also very knowledgeable and is always watching for the safety of his guests. We highly recommend Weiger as a guide. My only major complaint is that we originally booked the Metz, France to Cochem, Germany trip so we arrange flights into Paris and out of Frankfurt. 20 days before the start of the trip, we were contacted by Boat Bike tours that our trip was cancelled due to last minute cancellations by other guests. We were offered other alternative trips but none of them originated in France and finished in Germany so we booked the Koblenz, Germany to Merzig, Germany tour. Due to this, we had to change our flights to fly in and out of Frankfurt. This change of flights within 20 days of our departure resulted in a 60% increase in our airfare. Although I told Boat Bike tour about the increased cost of our airfare, there was no offer of any compensation.