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.

This was our first VBT trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The guides were knowledgeable, positive, friendly, helpful and very professional. The GPS navigation was great. The routes were scenic, culturally diverse, and well thought out. The excursions/tours were interesting too. Recommend the ebike for the hills!

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

The trip through Normandy and Brittany was beautiful, historic, and fun! It was the perfect mix of biking though the country, visiting historic sites, and enjoying special treats along the way. Our guides Luc and Kevin were outstanding!

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 .

First rate! Definitely will do more VBT trips in the future.

The trip was overall wonderful. The guides were great, flexible, helpful, kind, efficient and made all run smoothly. The ride routes were interesting and lovely. The boat was luxurious with excellent food and fun entertainment.

Everything about this tour was amazing. Highly recommend!

We have done barge cruises and bicycle trips, but this was the first barge/bike trip and it exceeded our expectations ! The crew on the Magnifique I were fantastic and tended to all of our needs on the barge. The guides worked hard and tirelessly to be sure we had a grand experience. Axcel and Arnot were great! We brought our grown children and they were closer in age to the guides than the rest of the guests, which was nice for them.

The bike&barge on the Moselle is better than advertised. We were very lucky with the weather and our group of six enjoyed every moment.

Excellent tour & guides. We are planning another tour next summer. Recommend the barge part to create a community of fellow bikers. Excellent meals & service. All staff was quite friendly & knowledgeable. ***** for Axel, Aernold & Werner and The chef!! Need for improvement: other bikes stored on the barge & mixup upon shuttle pick up in Luxembourg with no VBT personnel to greet us or give instructions.

The self-guided Beaujolais tour is a reasonable value and can be enjoyed without the guide (although the VBT guides are always great).  We appreciated the excellent lodging and quality bikes, per usual with VBT.  Locals in this region are very friendly but fewer folks speak English than in the big cities. The Beaujolais tour has a few really nice views, but the views and scenery aren't as good as other VBT tours. Twice on our tour, the hotels said they didn't have our luggage (not a great thing to hear when you arrive bedraggled after a day of riding) but eventually the hotel found it after some haggling. This tour includes a miserable hilly detour around what appeared to be a perpetually closed tunnel, and it was hard (for us and other riders) to find our way back on the route once we slogged the unplanned hills. The "Ride with GPS App" was okay in general but gave confusing and contradictory directions more often than I'd think...but it wasn't much of a problem.

My husband and I really loved this trip. We have taken many guided tours (which we love) but really enjoyed the independence that a self-guided tour gives you. The accommodations were excellent, the bike routes were challenging (we did the long options each day with road bikes), and the scenery was pretty French countryside on quiet bike paths and small roads. We needed some mechanical assistance one day and our local contact was just a phone call away and very helpful. Overall a great experience and in the right location we would definitely consider another self-guided tour.

Great trip, fantastic views, perfectly organized and exciting

Excellent trip with superb location selection, exceptional leaders, and really great rides. Highly recommend this VBT tour.

We loved our first ever VBT bike and river cruise from Lyon to Nice in June. Accommodations on the boat were great - comfortable cabins, helpful crew, interesting tour options and fun evening activities enhanced a beautiful trip down the Rhône. The bike tours were fun and memorable with stunning vistas along each route. Both of our bike guides were friendly and helpful which was especially important for a bike novice like myself. The VBT team was able to find the right size E-bike for my small stature, and even switched standard tires to a smaller size to accommodate me. Our group of 9 riders bonded and although individuals/couples rode at their own pace, we all met up at various points for fun experiences together. It was a fabulous trip and we look forward to our next VBT experience!

Our VBT trip starting in Lyon France was well organized and the route was beautiful and interesting. Our leaders, Bruno and Sophie, were reliable and a joy to be with. The Emerald ship was clean, food was delicious, and the staff was friendly and helpful. We will certainly do more VBT trips.