France

This was our first VBT vacation and we have already registered for a second trip. Provence and the Alpilles is a beautiful region of France with abundant fruits, vegetables and other agriculture. The bicycle travel through the French countryside gives an up-close and personal travel experience.

Great trip! Our guides were great hosts and made sure everyone was safe, comfortable, and getting the most out of each day. Gorgeous part of the world.

We had an amazing time - And I can't speak highly enough of every aspect of this trip! Our VBT leaders, Sophie and Bruno, were exceptional, planning everything down to the smallest detail. They were a pleasure to be with in every way. We loved every hotel, each unique, and in the heart of a city, with lots to do in the area. Our e-bikes were brand new, and easy to navigate. We were blessed with beautiful weather and enjoyed our rides each and every day. I would highly recommend this trip - it will definitely not be our last. We are already booked for one next year!

This trip was better than anticipated. We expected a great time, but this was outstanding in service, leadership and bike friendliness.

Biking in Normandy and Brittany was recommended to us by a fellow VBT biker on our previous trip and we are so happy that we listened to him. The daily parade of classic French villages, farms, gardens, and estates were simply beautiful. Our guides Sophie and Jean were The Best, and we learned more about French culture, history, and language than we could have hoped for. We recommend this trip to everyone!

We had a wonderfully-planned week of cycling along small, beautiful farm roads with itineraries bringing us to the coast of most days. Riding in August in 70 degree weather was great. We all loved seeing the texture of rural, historic France and learning more about Normandy and Brittany. The trip includes a focus on local food culture - the visit to the Cider farm was really special, as were the Cancale oysters and dinners at local restaurants. We also got so much out of learning more about WWII even though I did not choose this trip primarily for that reason. There were helpful guided tours, and the option to visit museums if you wanted more depth. I'm so glad we could take advantage of this aspect of visiting France. The Trip Leaders were extremely knowledgeable, good humored, well-seasoned guides who knew the area well and had set up a number of local experiences. We found the cycling to be engaging - beautiful rolling farmland that left me in a little better shape by the end of the week but wasn't overly challenging. (The shorter option was also always available.)

The Burgundy Wine Route trip was an exceptional vacation...it was a great mix of activity, leisure, learning and sightseeing. The trip leaders were personable, knowledgeable, and fun-loving, our fellow travelers were all interesting and friendly people, and the food, accommodations, and scenery were all first class. The daily route length choices ensured that everyone would be happy with their activity level, too. I’d highly recommend this trip to anyone who loves good food, wine, and outdoor activity. The pre and post trip extensions are also well worth it...especially the pre-trip in Lyon...there was so much to explore there!

This was our first Vermont Bike vacation but it certainly will not be our last! What a great time .For us it was a perfect mix of activity,culture ,wine and food. The countryside is just delightful and beautiful. The guides were excellent and our fellow travelers were wonderful .

The activities selected for cyclists were wonderful. The guides were amazing, despite a few slip-ups, as this was the first tour of this region.

This was our first river boat and bike tour and it was a very enjoyable tour. It was nice to only unpack once at the start and not pack up until the end. The guides were great and knowledgeable of the areas. Everyone in the group rode the first day in the rain, we didn't want to miss a thing! Accommodations on the boat were great and the ship's crew were attentive and polite. Only suggestion for making it better would be to cut down on the time allotment for lunch and spend more time exploring the areas instead of eating. Enjoyed the pre and post extensions also, especially Den Haag.

Recommend the Berlin pre-trip. Fun and educational. Interesting city. The bike riding along the Moselle is spectacular. Great paths, easy pedaling, beautiful scenery. Very tiny amount of riding on roads. Bike riders dream. The Mystique II barge - updated interior. Very small cabins, limited storage, nice bathrooms. Small rooms are to be expected on barge. VERY loud in common areas especially during meals. Couldn't hear person next to you so the decibel level keeps rising. We ate off the boat, when possible, for dinners. This let us explore the local areas and got us away from the loud dining. Barge staff was very good. Chef was not very good with vegetarian meals. Luxembourg post trip was interesting and 2 nights was plenty of time to explore the city. City walls were pretty amazing. This trip is worth the riding. It is a large group, up to 30 so that makes it less personal than a regular VBT. I did miss the closeness from guides and other guests that you get with a smaller group. The Barge is the reason for my lower score. It is nice not having to unpack for a week but most of your clothes remain in your suitcase under the bed - a pain. I would not go on this barge again because of the loud decibel levels in the common area and the food quality.

We couldn't not possibly have enjoyed this trip more. To begin with, the setting of the Mosel River exceed my expectations—it was far more beautiful than I'd anticipated. As someone who's always been comfortable with self-organized travel, I didn't know how I'd feel about a guided trip, but it was flawless. The cycling routes were excellent, the support on the road was everything one could need, and the accommodations on the barge were outstanding. All the personnel were delightful to deal with. I particularly want to call out our guides Axel and Arnoud, who were deeply knowledgeable, funny, and personable in a way that set a tone for all the tour's participants. They helped create an atmosphere of relaxed congeniality.

Enjoyed the ride, the food and the people. It was a good trip.

The gentlemen leading the biking were fantastic, 5 stars on them. Good bikes. The captain, his first mate, and the cleaning person did a good job, another 5 stars. That wraps up the good part. The unstable and unconnected to the wall plumbing fixtures in the first room on the boat caused us to be moved to a second room. The second room we were given, and ultimately just stayed in, had a bathroom that left the floor of the bathroom covered in water after every shower. This bathroom had a broken shower hose, we had poor shower drainage and water over the floor. A pain moping up the floor after every shower to avoid an accidental fall. And yes we said something. Some parts of the meals were good, especially the soup, but the two fish dishes we had were undercooked. You won't add weight on this trip. There needs to be some way to initial or sign for drinks at the bar. I had NO drinks at the bar but was stuck paying for drinks I did not order or consume. Be careful.

This tour has a little bit of everything we wanted. Great riding in gorgeous French countryside, excellent accommodations (as always with VBT), our bikes were perfect and GPS maps were easy to follow. Having an affinity for wine doesn't hurt, but this ride would be great just to experience the culture and atmosphere of the area.

Beaujolais, Chardonnay and beyond, this tour was all I dreamed of.

Sophie, Jacki, and Eve were all nice and attentive. We would have been happier to pay a higher price upfront so more meals were included and drinks were included with meals.

Good sights, leaders and food. Unfortunately got injured on day one which deeply limited my ability to participate in biking. Disappointing and depressing.

A wonderful week of biking, boating & site seeing. Our guides, Sophie and Bruno, left no detail unturned.

Good flat rides in interesting rural areas of the Rhône Valley. Staying on a river boat and not living out of a suitcase was a plus. Accommodations were quite comfortable. The food on the ship was excellent and it was nice to not have to hunt for restaurants.