Reviews

The Rhine river from Mainz to Basel does not lend itself well for cruising. It is flat and either void of points of interest (castles, villages, vineyards, churches etc.) or industrial in nature (gravel pits and smoke stacks). Our briefings were vague and hard to follow, the maps were in many cases incorrect and we spent a great deal of time scratching our heads at crossroads, guessing at the correct route. One member of our group had a gps otherwise we would still be searching for the ship. The ship itself was as expected: however, we were disappointed that their was no evening entertainment in the lounge. We expected a small dance floor and electronic key board. On the plus side, we spent the week with an interesting group of people. This was our second bike and barge trip and it fell way short of our expectations.

Initial correspondence while booking was great, everything was clear and questions were answered quickly. We arrived to the barge and were greeted by tour guide, advised to leave luggage, we had time for a bite to eat then back to barge for take off. Every part of this tour was timed well, the crew was friendly, the food was delicious. Accommodations were clean and comfortable, tours through country side were beautiful and well paced. Highly recommend, we thoroughly enjoyed

We spent a great week on the elegant Mare fan Frysland in picturesque Friesland. The staff was responsible, responsive and easy-going. Excellent and healthy food. The other bikers in the group, coming from Germany, Holland, England, Scotland and Switzerland, were very good company, Too bad we could not go to the island of Vlieland

Excellent value for your money. Staff were friendly and caring. During the trip they lost one crew member who had to depart for personal reasons. They all pitched in to help each other out and there was no disruption in service. The boat was clean and well kept.

Our bike tour from Bad Wimpfen to Koblenz was a wonderful experience. The staff on the boat were pleasant, helpful and always wanting to make sure we were well taken care of. The Patria is an older boat yet served us well. The only negative comments I have are: 1) There was an unpleasant odor in our room on the lower level. One got accustomed to it however it was always there when we walked in the room. 2) The dining room on the lower level got quite warm during dinner. They have fans but a few times it was uncomfortable. The bikes were good, comfortable and perfect for our trip. The scenery was fabulous and the many small towns we biked through made us appreciate the beauty of the Rhine valley. Most of our biking was on cycle paths, some paved and other compacted gravel. The signage along the way was well marked and we only took a few minor detours by accident. A couple of times we had to bike along side of traffic but those times were rare. I will definitely recommend this trip to my friends. We would also like to do another boat and bike trip as we really enjoyed this one.

We really enjoyed our week on the Magnifique II. The barge was clean and comfortable and the crew were great. The crew seemed to manage the challenges that arose with minimal impact on the guests and we felt welcomed and well cared for all week. The bike portion was a bit of an adventure with lots of riding. Would recommend some bike experience. Communication with the tour guide was a bit of a challenge at times which made it was hard to get exact distances and routing information. According to more experienced riders in the group, the bike route information that was provided daily was not sufficient if you were interested in a self guided tour. Would recommend to others to get as much of the route information in advance if you want to go off on your own. Overall the food was good and sufficient. Might be more interesting to have something other than the same sandwich selection every day for lunch as it was also part of the breakfast offering. My husband and I were on our own while some of the others onboard were part of larger groups. We felt that we lucked out as we had great people to share our week with so overall a very fun, first time, bike/barge experience.

We were blessed with perfect weather. Not sure what it would be like if it rained regularly. Be aware that you do ride into towns with cars and bikes going everywhere. So if you are inexperienced at riding this may present issues. Overall a great experience helped by a great bunch of people who all gelled as a group.

Loved our trip on Magnifique 2. Staff on board were excellent, very friendly. Food was great and rooms comfortable, though at times hot during the night. The bikes provided were excellent. Very comfortable, easy to ride and of good quality. The Locks on them were a great system too. As we experienced a heat wave for 4 days with temperatures over 30 degrees, our rides were adapted and changed which was good in that aspect, not sure how much we missed. It is hard balancing a biking holiday with a tourist holiday, but would have liked the opportunity to have stopped to take a few photos at scenic spots, after all that is why we came to a different country to go biking. However we saw and experienced great rides through scenic countryside. Some days were exceptional! Looking forward to doing another tour with Boat Bike Tours.

We had a wonderful time cycling the Rhine. The barge MS Andante was well equipped for the safe care of the passengers. Crew were very helpful, polite and friendly. Some of the directions for cyclists needed a bit of work for accuracy but we felt it added to the fun and mystery of the tour! Instruction was clearly given in all passenger languages. Cabins were sufficiently spacious and private. Catering was great for breakfast and dinner. Lunch was ‘prepare your own take away’ and eaten in transit. This was set up mainly for the European palate, mainly cheese, meat, bread and very minimal salad. (we missed not having more salads!) We would have appreciated being able to freely make a cuppa when one wanted one instead of just the set time for afternoon tea. Enjoyed the opportunity to get to know new people and to cycle with them. Playing cards, games or generally chatting in the evening was fun and a nice way to finish off the day.

The boat was comfortable but the air conditioning in the dining room was insufficient. Food was excellent with good variety. Wifi on board was not reliable most of the time. From our perspective the biking was more challenging than anticipated.

This holiday was a great success for a number of reasons including the nature of the cycling (not too demanding for one of us who is not a regular cyclist), the countryside and towns visited, the friendliness of the staff on the boat. Perhaps the most memorable feature of the holiday was the cohesion and bonhomie of the group with whom we cycled. Alas, this is not something that you can guarantee for every group but no little part of the group identity was provided by the leader, who guided us with tact and generosity of spirit.

We had a great time on this trip. The crew, accommodation, food and overall experience was excellent. Lovely rides through beautiful scenery and picturesque towns.