Reviews

Just finished our tour aboard the Ava Maria from Venice to Mantova. The vessel is a great custom design and purpose built for doing bike tours. State rooms are spacious with comfortable beds, well designed storage that enabled to be able to completely unpack. Suit cases have lots of room to be stored under the beds. Nice bathrooms with a very well designed vacuflush toilet that can be used like your toilet at home. First time I have seen a marine toilet system work so well. Our guides Alex and Elana were a fantastic team. The kept our large group of 32 riders safe. There were no accidents, mishaps, flat tires or breakdowns. Alex was by far the star of the crew. Years of bike guiding experience, went the extra mile in customer care and made the trip very fun. New bikes. We had e bikes and was very impressed with how light weigh they were, lots of quick adjustment features for a great fit. Best coffee machine in over 17 small group boats I have been on. “17 tours”. Meals at dinner were ok but 2 meals are fish only. So if you do not enjoy fish please let them know in an e mail before the trip. You make your own lunch that included fresh buns and breads, chocolate bars and fruit. My only small complaint that there were 2 sets of salt and pepper on the table at dinner but none at breakfast.This was brought to the captain’s attention but failed to happen. 1 salt and one pepper located at a very busy morning buffet held up the line. Captain Richardo was very good and worked harder by far than any crew member. He also helped out in the kitchen and serving meals. He bake his mother’s dessert recipe that was fantastic for our final meal. The sauce contains lots of alcohol so is your us and don’t drink it can be a challenge.

guides were great. room was very comfortable. rides were a bit hectic since you could not dilly daddle. Good to have e bike since then all riders could keep together

We enjoyed the biking and sailing very much. We have wonderful photos and special memories. The weather was unusually cold but we had a great time. We enjoyed meeting the other guests and the team was excellent! Keep up the great work!

The trip met my expectations — a great location, great service from the boat staff.

The biking routes were very well planned. They had stops at interesting places along the way and we learned a lot of history about Netherlands as well as seeing some great landscape. The guides were tireless in helping everyone have solid rides and taking care of the bikes when we finished. The captain of the Fleur ran a fun but efficient ship and was well respected. The rest of the crew were very pleasant and seemed to enjoy their jobs. The chef made some fantastic meals to sustain us and there was plenty of food. We had a great time even though we are elderly, we were able to keep up. We met some fine people and maybe we’ll see them again on another trip.

The crew and guides made this an amazing vacation! Everything on the boat was great…food, drinks, hospitality and the professionalism of the captain. Love the small boat experience! Our bike guides made for a stress free/fun riding experience by letting us know what to expect. Highly recommend!

Two friends of many years traveling together…We loved the barge, Fleur, and her captain Evert! Our home away from home for seven nights, we had a cozy cabin, lovely common area and fantastic crew. The chef, Camilo, bent over backwards to make everyone happy, and prepared delicious and creative dinners. Our fantastic guides, Michael and Maryanne were knowledgeable, patient, savvy (especially regarding weather planning!) and resourceful. I would definitely travel again with this company. Tip: Bring multiple clothing layers, wind and rain protection for this time of year. Waterproof shoe covers and gloves, a waterproof helmet cover recommended, in addition to the obligatory rain pants and jacket.

The captain , crew and guides were all amazing. The Fleur is a beautiful boat with extremely comfortable cabins. The food was excellent.

Thoroughly enjoyed our trip, the organisation was great from start to finish. The staff onboard were really friendly and helpful. The boat itself was spacious and to a very high standard, exceeding our expectations. Bikes were all brand new, so great working order and comfy saddles! Distances covered and speed of riding was as expected. The weather was changeable but as expected for April, however the scenery and tulips easily took our minds off it.

Warm hospitality, friendly people, great food and beautiful sights as we travelled through the country led by knowledgeable guides! It was always a delight to see the Fleur after a day of cycling – she felt like home. We had a trip to remember! Even though the weather was challenging it was a fantastic trip from start to finish.