Reviews

We were on the Princess Royale with 31 guests, a premium trip. Fortunately, the weather was great. Despite our complaints, we highly recommend this tour group and trip.

Things we loved:
– Our e-bikes were well maintained, though one person’s seat fell of despite requests to fix it. The e-bikes are not heavy and very easy to ride. Turbo 1 speed was great for the hills!
– Food was good quality though repetitive
– Beer and wine were not too expensive on board. €5 for beer and €7-8 for a glass of wine. Two choices of draft beer and lots of wine options.
– The room was very comfortable and very clean
– The Dutch crew were very pleasant
– The scenery and stops along the way are incredible.

Improvements needed:
– I emailed several questions before the trip that were not answered, after I had paid
– I have read many comments about separating e-bikes and pedal, but BoatBike seems not to have made any policy about this despite acknowledging the issue. The pedal bikes slowed down our group as well. You must be able to maintain a speed up to 20km/hour for over an hour to keep up with the e-bikes.
– There was no protocol about riding discussed ahead ie staying to the right on a hill to let the faster riders go ahead. This resulted in backlogs and several falls. Every day an end sweep was assigned from the guests, which helped the group though the sweep duties was not discussed ahead. The sweep got a free beer.
– The biggest issue was our two guides. They were friendly and helpful but it seemed like they had not ridden this route before as they were not always sure of the route and did not know where toilets were. They had little historical/cultural knowledge about the stops we made, so we had to read up ourselves. One of them did not speak German well. The other did not check behind on the group and often rode ahead with a few of the guests leaving others behind. A real safety issue especially riding through towns. He did this on a walking tour as well. We would not ride in his group.
– Apparently since covid the guiding/bike company has been contracted out and the disconnect with the crew was obvious. There was an uncomfortable tension at times.

The ship, food, staff help were all great. The riding itinerary was also good. However, the guides were not very informative about the areas being visited nor did they really have that much knowledge about the area. More time could have been spent stopping for a few minutes during the bike ride to taker photos of the scenery rather than wasting time at an ice cream shop, lunches, etc. The guides make or break the trip and the guides, although very nice, were definitely lacking in informational skills.

May 10, 2025 Passau to Passau boat bike trip review.

Lots of fun!

Accommodations were great. The food was very good. The bikes seemed brand new. Our staff worked hard to make us feel welcome. We were well served especially by the wait staff and the bike boys!

There is room for improvement with communication. For example, I never received this message to provide a review. One of my fellow passengers forwarded it to me. We booked almost a year in advance and received very little from Boatbike. One of the most important emails describing the trip only went to 3 of the 9 couples who were participating. Luckily we noticed and were able to forward important information to the rest of the group.

Some of the pre-biking guidance was confusing and sometimes even incorrect.

All in all, I enjoyed the trip and would recommend it.

This time we did an 8 day Passau to Budapest and back with Island Hopping booked through Boat Bike Tours. Biking was unguided, and the app was not great so some chaotic biking resulted. Boat comfortable, food and service good but preferred the pure Boat Bike experience with smaller guided biking group. Finally, this tour catered to German patrons. English not good and poor communication to our group resulted.

Value for money excellent guide good food onboard

This was a great tour. We had a good variety of rides, from small towns, through beautiful countryside and small villages and a few big city centres (use the app, don’t get lost).
Food onbiard was very good. Lunch was whatever you packed from breakfast buffet, so if you want something more exotic than fruit and a sandwich, stop at one of the many great restaurants or cafés along the route. My husband and I were celebrating a special occasion on this trip, and the crew went above anything I could have expected, to help us celebrate.

This trip was utterly amazing and exceeded any expectations I had. The guides were knowledgeable and took us back into the history and culture of days long ago. Riding through the countryside was so relaxing and beautiful to see. It was so cool to watch our boat sail by us. The corner and sweep concept worked quite well. It would have been nice to have all the riders with a bright vest of some sort to pick them out of the crowds in the busy areas when riding.

The crew was helpful and fun, not to mention the other passengers. It was one big family by the end of our week.

The booking through boatbiketours was easy and safe; the company who did the tour was girolibero cycling holidays. I was impressed of the service, the food and the crew who covered minimal details that make this trip the best bike and barge I have attended.
Omar, Silvia, Michaela and the captain where a excellent team, you feel all the time being pampered.
The boat was comfortable, clean an spacious compared with similar. They where paying attention to your needs 24/7. INCREDIBLE.

The entire bike & barge tour exceeded our expectations. The barge was comfortable, the bikes were easy to handle, the itinerary was great, the countryside scenery and towns were beautiful. Our cycling guides, Corrie and Corine, were fantastic. They were knowledgeable about the places we went to, and made sure that everyone was comfortable and having a good time. The biggest surprise was the quality of the food! We had expected tasty and wholesome meals, but we never expected gourmet offerings from a fantastic chef. Every meal was something to look forward to. We had a wonderful time sharing the experience with interesting, fun-loving and like-minded people from around the world. Will definitely do another trip with Boat Bike Tours.

Every crew member cheerfully chips in on all tasks, even the captain,