Reviews

I booked this experience as a retirement gift for my wife. She loves to cycle and cycling in Europe was a dream. Now it became true. I have mobility issues and stayed on the vessel all the time where I had a hoot with captain Stefi and her crew of three. Cheryl had the time of her life, 335 kilometres with lead Thomas and sweep Francine. The vessel, Fleur, accommodates 20 passengers, but each is treated as a king or queen. Fleur has secrets in every nook and cranny, and the meals were sumptious. We started with 10 stranger riders, 6 new “staff” and parted 11 days later as warm friends. We would join Fleur again for this priceless experience

Loved everything and everyone. We will do another trip in the future. Food was excellent. Guides were excellent. I rented an e-bike, loved it! Would always rent one. I might say that on this trip there were only one size of e-bikes to rent: Large. I am 5’8” so I was fine but there were 2 women on the trip that were 5’1” or 2” and they looked liked kids of the big heavy bicycles. They also had more difficulty handling them. I live in the country and I’m not used to bicycling in cities with a lot of people. It was a learning curve for me, but honestly I thought it was a great experience. I will do it again next year for sure!! It was a great adventure!

Low water was a challenge for our route but didn’t have any effect on the fun and enjoyment experienced on our bike/boat cruise from Sens to Paris. The smaller boat hosted just 16 passengers which was great for getting to know the others on the trip and creating new friendships. The crew and our guides were wonderful. We were served a hearty breakfast with plenty of options to build our lunches for the days ride, followed by dinners that were exceptional. This was our 2nd bike/boat excursion and we’re looking forward to cruising with them again in the future. Having a “traveling hotel” makes for a convenient and carefree holiday experience.

I think overall the tour was enjoyable and food was a highlight. Having to modify the tour route because of canal water levels made it difficult for all. I felt the tour leaders were somewhat unfamiliar with some of the routes. The first full day was a ride of nearly 50 miles and quite hot. This was not described as being this long so many were not prepared with sufficient water. I think your bikes are tired, I had issues with brakes dragging which made the hill climbs even more difficult. Mary Ann and Andre attempted to adjust this in route to no success. It took returning to the boat and loosening the wheel nuts to better center the tire between the calipers. The last night on-board the Fleur was not enjoyable as there appeared to be issue with air conditioning the cabin and it was unbearably hot sleeping.

As the Montargis to Paris trip was described as ‘premium’, our expectations were high relative to other boat-bike trips. On the positive side, our tour leaders were good – pleasant, accommodating, entertaining, and kept us at a good cycling pace. However, the boat itself was disappointing. It felt run down, common areas were shabby, we seriously questioned the level of hygiene, and the food was so-so at best.

Our 3rd trip with BoatBike Tours did not disappoint us. We love the smaller boats where we can get to know our fellow travelers well. The Fleur offered clean, neat, air conditioned cabins. Plenty of food and amazing dinners! Our 2 guides worked very hard to give us a wonderful experience, even with the change of itinerary caused by the drought in France. We had a perfect blend of biking through the countryside, visiting historic sites like the Castle at Fontainbleau and the village of Barbizon, plus touring a winery and an ostrich farm. The entire crew created an atmosphere where we passengers became a family for a week and we enjoyed getting to know guests from several countries who all shared a love of biking.

The app had many issues and our guides got lost almost every day. The guide should be more knowledgeable able bike repairs like flat tires. The boat and its crew were great.

I absolutely loved our tour guide Tamara! She made the trip very very special and most of all made us feel safe. I also appreciated the staff on the Fleur. However, I felt Peter ( the 2nd guide) could improve his explanations and patience with our group. He definitely favored the German guests over us Americans. I would be interested in another tour in the future, if Tamara was our guide.

I very much enjoyed my recent vacation with boat and bike tours in France. The landscape was stunning, the boat was clean and well kept. The boat staff were friendly and helpful. The food was very good especially the fresh fish meal. The bike tours were challenging for me but I enjoyed the experience. The weather was very hot, but there was areas on the boat to escape the heat when needed. There were always plenty of cold beverages available. I very much enjoyed sampling the local wines. Thank you

The trip was magnificent from start to finish. The scenery was gorgeous, the guides and crew were outstanding and the other passengers were terrific. I was a bit intimidated by the idea of hilly countryside but was able to manage it without an electric bike.