Provence Bike Tour Reviews (page 2)
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★★★★★ Nancy Mackay October 12, 2022Great experience
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
This trip was a wonderful way to see the areas from Aigues Mortes to Avignon with a very experienced guide. Much information was shared with our group that was beyond our expectations. The pace of the daily ride was comfortable and our skilled and enthusiastic cook always had a great treat waiting for us when we arrived back at the boat. The crew on the Caprice are thoughtful and kind and made us feel at ease.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 12
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Charlotte Dewar October 11, 2022
A beautiful journey
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
We loved this trip. It was wonderful you hired a professional guide in Arles to spend 1.5 hours with us talking about the history, the Roman architecture and Van Gough. Provence is so beautiful and we are very blessed with the good weather and a wonderful group of travelers who cared for each other and enjoyed the company of each other on this trip.
As a professional travel planner for 30 years, I wish to share my honest feedback so you may improve your tours for future clients.
1. The chef Irene made the most delicious dinners for us every evening. We were always looking forward to her food at the end of long and exciting journey.
2. Our Captain was excellent and so was the assistant Phillipo. 3 crew members worked together beautifully and treated us like royalty.
3. Our guide Hens is not as professional. He never counted the number of guests. We had people falling off the bike everyday, no major injuries. Hens was out at the front riding quite fast. He rarely looked back and kept an eye on the group. Every time we had an accident, we had to send someone from behind to catch up with him and asked him to stop and wait for the folks falling behind.
4. The internet on the boat is very choppy. I had important business to communicate with my travelers going to Asia. Most of the time I couldn't receive or send emails. My PayPal app, my airb&b app and my VRBO app all stopped working. I had free roaming data on my phone and that had issue working on your boat either. it's very important you have a functional internet on the boat so people like myself could still carry on business while we are on your trip.We love the concept of bike and boat! We will come back for more of your tours. I am considering introducing your product to my high-end Chinese clients.
I am raving about this trip to all my friends in California. Thank you for putting together a fantastic journey for us.
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ John DesRosier September 28, 2022
First bike trip was a great success
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
We had never been on a bike tour before and absolutely loved the Provence tour. The ebikes made a big difference in making the trip so enjoyable. The food on the boat was excellent night after night and the staff friendly and helpful. Special thanks to Claudia, our tour guide, for making the week wonderful.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September, 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Diana Helmbrecht September 19, 2022Beautiful tour through vineyards.
· Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
This was a very beautiful and fun tour. Our guides Sam and Tim were excellent - knowledgeable and pleasant to be with. Riding paths through the vineyards were absolutely gorgeous, and wine tasting a definite plus :). Every day ended with a gourmet dinner, wine and good company.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Richard Butler September 5, 2022
Great trip
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Our August trip onboard the Caprice was fantastic. Good weather, a little windy at times, but not many hills. No equipment problems and the boat operated without a flaw (no AC problems, thank God). Guides Helmut and Alex were excellent, as was the assistance of the captain, Filippo. But if you want the best, highest quality cuisine aboard any bike/barge trip...just look to see if Chef Sara is listed. She was exceptional at combining the wines and flavors of Provence with her meals.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Shirley Burche August 29, 2022
More than I expected
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
This was a great way to experience the Provence area of France. Our tour guide, Helmut, was pretty good about instructing us especially in the areas where we needed to merge into traffic for the traffic circles.
The crew on the barge, Filippo and Sara, were fantastic and took very good care of us. Especially enjoyed the gourmet dinners that Sara prepared.
I will never forget this trip especially my time on the Bike and Barge portion of it.
- What was the date of your tour?
- August 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was my first one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Htim November 10, 2019Beautiful and Fascinating
· South of France: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Beautiful routes, fascinating history, quaint, picturesque towns, grand castles and walled cities. Lodging ranged from excellent to very good. Bicycles and computer were great—we opted for carbon road bikes. Only negative was that the tour was short—one day had to be cancelled because of very heavy rain, and the last day was just a loop from Carcassonne to Limoux and back.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ tricia November 4, 2019
Provence bike and boat tour
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
This trip was a fabulous way to experience southern France. I loved the mix of biking, touring specific sites, and sit down dinners on the boat; I appreciated our guide's flexibility in accommodating various preferences--she was knowledgeable, attentive and fun. The entire crew was outstanding and aimed to please. The food was beyond my expectations and was plentiful and presented beautifully. There was a reasonable balance of "together" time and "alone" time with opportunity to join in group activities or wander off on your own. Very well done! As a casual biker, the e-bike made it possible for me to not only do the trip, but enjoy every minute.
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 11, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 0
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Kathy B October 28, 2019
Something for everyone
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Roman ruins, midieval hilltop castles and walls, vistas and views that will take your breath away. Our crew and guide were outstanding, informative and fun. The food was fabulous: local, interesting, well prepared and well presented. This could have qualified as a food tour alone!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 12, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ RobtheSlowSwimmer October 27, 2019
Great Trip
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Terrific guide, terrific food, terrific tour. I loved the routes. The views were amazing. The riding was not challenging, except for the one climb which was a nice workout. I would recommend an ebike for those less than fit. The room on the barge is a bit tight, but you don't spend much time in your room. I had a great time, and will do it again.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 12 - 19, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- one
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Michigan group October 27, 2019
Bike trip of a life time
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Shawnmarie October 26, 2019
Great way to see Provence
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Everything about this trip was wonderful! The Captain, chef, and steward were so warm and gracious. The French dinners onboard the barge were thoughtful, creative and delicious! Our cycling guide, Tamara, went above and beyond to give us a truly amazing experience! Cheers to L’estello!
Job very well done! Merci Beaucoup!- What was the date of your tour?
- October 12 - 19, 2020
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ klrea October 23, 2019Touring Provence
· Provence Getaway: The Secrets of Southern France (4 nights)
This is an amazing and beautiful part of the country to visit, and our bike tour organizers set up a really great agenda. However, we don't feel that bicycling was the best way to see the area, and next time we will rent a car instead.
We opted for the self-guided tour because we wanted to be in control of when and where we stopped. The tour organizers were super helpful and friendly and did everything possible to set us up and get us on our way. However, the bikes were extraordinarily heavy, much heavier than what we are used to riding at home, and, for the amount and type of riding that was on our schedule, made the touring harder than we expected it to be. Also, this was my husband's first bike tour, and the first self-guided tour for me. I found that having to watch the GPS and navigate detracted from being able to enjoy the countryside as we rode through. Finally, while, the little towns along the way were lovely and a delight to see, we were not accustomed to the provincial French practice of closing up shop in the afternoon until opening back up for dinner at 6pm, and so were often without food for the day. It was hard to time the riding to arrive in time for lunch when we didn't know how the riding would take.
One more unexpected event was the arrival of the Mistral winds on the last day of our ride, which came blustering in at 30 mph. So, while the weather was nice otherwise, the strong and cold wind made riding heavy bikes uphill something we took a pass on. Fortunately, we were able to find transportation by car into the area that we wished to visit.
For these reasons, although I think this is a great company, I think there are some places that are best visited by car, even though I am an avid and strong cyclist at home.- What was the date of your tour?
- 4 October 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ griffin vulture October 16, 2019
· Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Bean October 14, 2019
Beautiful Area - Terrible Bikes
· · Provence by Bike and Boat
Great way to see Provence, but the bikes were really really heavy and the guide was not very good.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept 28-Oct 5
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10+
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ Michelle2019 October 10, 2019
· Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
I would not recommend ChainGang as a tour operator for this area. Far better and more savvy operators with better maps and navigation are out there. At the end of the trip no one from the company checked in with us. A bit strange having all their equipment. Their printed material in a folder was ridiculous. We asked for map holders and ended up using clothes pegs and a plastic bag. Why the maps?
- What was the date of your tour?
- 17 Sept - 3 Oct
- How many tours have you completed?
- Several
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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BikeTours.com staff reply from Chloe October 11, 2019
Hi Michelle, and thanks kindly for the review. We appreciate you letting us know that the maps and navigation left something to be desired. On many self-guided tours, the operator will not meet with you at the end of the tour. They will simply pick up the equipment from the final hotel. However, each operator handles this differently. Based on the rest of your review values, it seems like you enjoyed the other aspects of the tour. We certainly hope so!
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★★★★★ lifejazz October 7, 2019
Amazing Sights in Provence
· Provence Getaway: The Secrets of Southern France (4 nights)
We enjoyed our bike tour through Provence. Our first time to use e-bikes, which given the winds and the hills, seemed like the thing to do. Really enjoyed the e-bikes for their ease of use and making the windy or hilly sections enjoyable. The orientation was very thorough and the combination of the gps and the paper charts made navigation very easy. The two hotels were, not to understate it, wonderful. Excellent accommodations, lovely people, great food. We even got attached to a French Bulldog, Cinquante, belonging the owners of the hotel in Collias. Quite the character! On the whole the ride was through vineyards and side roads. The only unpleasant bit was from Collias to Tarascon. We spend too much time on heavily trafficked shoulder-less roads with trucks and cars whizzing by at 50 miles an hour a couple of feet from us. We've been riding for several decades and as a practice, I would never ride on that kind of road. So that bit needs some adjustment (which is why this is a four star instead of a five star review). But other than that, the rest of the ride was a delight.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/16-20
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
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★★★★★ BadgerBiker October 6, 2019
Provence self-guided
· Provence’s History, Landscapes, and Luberon National Park
Excellent tour through spectacular scenery & history. Good hybrid bikes & hotels. Only complaint is self-guided directions are a little sketchy. GPS routing definitely a big help, but had a couple glitches too (e.g. bridge out on one back-road trail!). Highly recommend this tour, would be perfect if GPS routing was spot on.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- France
