Looking for an adventurous trip for your next holiday? We recently took an amazing cycling journey with Boat Bike Tours Europe! Over one week, we sailed along the Moselle and rode over 200 miles through Germany, France, and Luxembourg. The Magnifique I boat acted as our floating hotel and followed us along the beautiful route. Before setting off though, we had a few questions about what to expect! Hopefully, our firsthand experience helps you plan for your own Boat Bike cycling tour of Europe.
10 Questions (Answered) About Boat Bike Tours
1. What’s The Best Route With Boat Bike Tours in Europe?
First off, we should tell you are a little biased from our own Boat Bike Tour! Our route went from Metz, France, to Cochem, Germany over 7 incredible days. However, know that they offer dozens of different options depending on the time of year.
While we had done plenty of river cruising prior, this was our first full-on cycling trip. Active holidays are becoming more and more popular in Europe, and we can completely see why.
Boat Bike Tours is based out of the Netherlands, with many of their most popular excursions within the country. Yet, as you’ll see on the Boat Bike website, they host trips all over Europe! From the islands of Croatia and Greece to the canals of Amsterdam, there’s really endless options to choose from.
While we’ve only done one tour with Boat Bike, we felt the incomparable difference between the river and your standard ocean cruise vacation. You’re seeing something new practically everyday instead of just staring out at the vast sea.
On our own trip, the time biking was spent coasting between the small villages, vineyard vines, and gazing up at historic castles. Some of our favorite stops in Germany were Saarburg, Bernkastel-Kues, Reil, Beilstein, Traben-Trarbach, and Zell. You’ll really see the scenery in a way you never would with a car!
2. Electric or Regular Bicycle?
You’ll have two options to consider before your cycling trip. If you’re up for a challenge, you can easily just go with a standard bicycle. This would certainly be tougher on the Level 2 or 3 routes (more on this later), but still just as fun!
For an easier experience, you can upgrade to an electric bike. We would say close to 75% of the travelers on our journey went with the electric option.
We decided on the electric bicycle ourselves as it was our first cycling adventure of this length. For us, it wasn’t about getting the hardest workout or taking an intense bike ride. We really enjoyed cruising through the countryside in an active and taking in the scenery.
Riding With an Electric Bike
Never used an electric bicycle? Well, don’t be afraid to try it out! It’s not at all like a motorized bike as you will have far more control.
Think of it more as an assisted pedal if anything. The best part is that there are multiple speeds so you can toggle between the settings. There is everything from eco to tour, sport, and even turbo mode when you need some extra assistance.
Also, know that you always have the option not to use electric part during your trip. You can leave it off and cycle as if it was a normal bicycle whenever you wish!
Using a Regular Bicycle
With all of that said, normal bikes are a great pick for Boat Bike Tours Europe. The 7 speed cruisers will allow you to navigate any hills or long flat stretches without issue.
You will also have bikes with more gears for the harder routes. The obvious pro to using one is that you don’t have to pay the additional money for the e-bike. If you’re an active biker or used to riding long days, then you might not need the assist that the e-bike offers.
Honestly, it’s all about personal preference at the end of the day. The one thing we did notice is that it was slightly more difficult for these riders to keep up with the speed of the electric bikers in the group.
This is just something to consider if you’re torn between the two. The overall pace on Boat Bike can tend to be faster because of all the e-bikes.
3. How Hard is the Biking?
That brings us to our next point about Boat Bike Tours in Europe! When scanning their website, you will notice there are different levels for each destination.
Level 1 is the easiest and more inclusive for all skill levels. However, if you are an avid biker, there are much more difficult routes available to choose from. Level 3 is for very experienced bikers only, as it includes more hills and technical routes.
Either way, this isn’t a place to learn how to bike. Keep in mind that everyday we rode between 15 and 30 miles.
While we had plenty of breaks and stops, it’s still a full adventure filled bike tour. If you’ve only ridden a bike once (or haven’t in years), it’d be smart to train with some longer rides where you live beforehand.
4. Can You Add Extras to Your Bike?
You might not think about this one, but there are some things you can bring that might make your ride more comfortable. All bikes come with a little holder on the front so you can attach your phone to it.
Also, there are large saddle bags that connect to the side where you can pack anything you’ll need for the day. It’s completely waterproof if rolled up and tightened properly.
So what else do you need for your Boat Bike Tour in Europe? Personally, we bought jell seat covers which definitely came in handy after 200+ miles. We also saw others in the group bring an attachable water bottle holder, and a small mirror so you can see behind you while riding.
We found it super helpful to have a small backpack as well on the rides so you can get to your essentials easier. We’ve used folding packs like this for years while traveling around the world.
You will be given small Boat Bike Tours water bottle which you can keep as a souvenir. They are great and we used them the entire week! Still, we always had some extra water in our side bag in our reusable water sleeves so we wouldn’t have to worry about refilling.
5. How Was the Weather?
Obviously, the weather can be random with any vacation. Even in the summer months, some areas of Europe can be hit with heavy rains unexpectedly.
This is one of those situations to plan for the worst, and hope for the best! In no way should this deter you from booking a cycling trip. Just know that you can’t control the weather and plan ahead for it.
We took our own trip through France, Germany, and Luxembourg in early July. While the large majority of our Boat Bike Tour was clear blue skies, we did get some rain!
If it got too heavy we would pull under a tree or stop at a cafe when possible. The riding eventually continued on no matter what, but you do have the choice to remain on the boat.
As long as you are prepared for all weather you will be fine. Even on the stormy days, it was still beautiful biking along the Moselle River with a light drizzle and clouds in the distance.
Regardless of the forecast, we always made sure to pack our rain gear. We also always had our sunglasses and sunblock for when it warmed up!
6. What’s the Actual Boat Like?
As we mentioned, we sailed on the Magnifique I, which is one of the companies premium boats (check out all their ships here). The capacity is only 32 passengers which made for a more enjoyable and intimate experience.
After cruising on much larger ships previously, we really enjoyed our experience with Boat Bike Tours Europe! You will get to know everyone else on the boat, especially during the lovely dinners at night.
The guides and staff are very social and happy to answer any questions you have before the rides. The Magnifique I has twelve twin cabins and four junior suites available.
All of them are located on the bottom deck and are equipped with a safe, air conditioning, and en-suite bathrooms.
We had the opportunity to stay in one of the twin cabins with Boat Bike Tours Europe. The twin beds were comfy and could be pushed together or kept apart.
The rooms are quite small on a ship of this size. Nevertheless, the modern amenities and small porthole window give it a fun, but authentic vibe!
To be honest, we really were only using our rooms for sleeping. While on board, we mostly hung out on the upper deck in the lounge area or outside.
Rooms were cleaned daily and you can refresh your towels as you wish. The lounge area doubles as the dining room with many comfy couches and chairs. They also have a full bar with wine, beer, and spirits.
You can also bring your own local bottles on board and pay a small corkage fee. This definitely came in handy on our route as we were biking through the German wine region of Moselle!
Our favorite area to hang out was on the outdoor deck. So often, we were parked in an ideal spot on the river with fantastic views. In Cochem, we had a direct view of the castle which was so stunning!
Overall, we were very happy with our small ship experience. We are excited to try a bigger boat, but we would totally sail on the Magnifique I again.
7. Can You Ride On Your Own?
You may have noticed by now that our Boat Bike Tour was a group trip. These are the most popular options with the company as you ride along with a guide each day.
However, they do offer self-guided tours as well! On these excursions you can bike on your own and meet the ship at the end of the day.
Don’t worry though! With the group tours like we did you can totally go off on your own when you’d like. The exact routes are uploaded by Boat Bike Tours to the cycling app Ride With GPS. This provides you with a detailed map so it’s easy to break off and meet up with the group later.
There were times where we were with the guides, but wanted to spend longer in a specific town. Sometimes, we even just preferred to be on our own so we could get more photos, and go at a slower pace.
As long as you let your guide know, it’s totally fine to split from the group when you’d like. We loved riding with the team, but having the ability and freedom to bike on our own was so great!
8. Does the Ship Have Wifi?
Yes! We were so surprised how well the wifi worked on the Magnifique I ship. We have cruised with other companies that said they provide wifi and it hasn’t always been so great.
Yet, on our Boat Bike Tour in Europe, we didn’t even have so much as a hiccup with the wifi. This was important for us as we took the opportunity to get some work done in the early morning hours.
You can likely depend on the wifi for your tour. Nevertheless, it’s not a bad idea to get a local sim-card to have while you’re off the boat.
9. How’s the Food on Boat Bike Tours Europe?
Onto the next important question! You may be wondering what the food is like on Boat Bike Tours.
While we can’t speak for other chefs, Michel on the Magnifique I definitely knew his way around the kitchen. Below is what you can expect for each meal. Know that it will change based on the ship and route.
Breakfast: Every morning, we would have a large breakfast spread set out for us. You can help yourself to a variety of meats, cheeses, salad, eggs, and even pancakes. We also loved the yogurt and granola bowls!
Lunch: Your mid-day meal is done a little differently with Boat Bike Tours in Europe. After breakfast, you actually make your own sandwich and to-go snacks to bring with you on your bike.
It was great to not have to worry about lunch, and they always had amazing breads. Most lunch stops were about an hour as well. So if you want to switch it up one day from the sandwiches, you’ll have the time to grab something before continuing your ride.
Dinner: Now for the very best part! Dinnertime was an extravaganza of three course meals every night.
The chef seemed to outdo himself each evening, with a mixture of tasty meat, veggies and fish dishes. They had vegetarian options as well that looked very good if that’s your thing.
Boat Bike Tours always had something after dinner for those with a sweet tooth. Our favorite dessert had to be the Dutch sweet bread!
10. Is the Schedule Overwhelming?
I know we just went over dessert, but we’re not going to sugarcoat anything here. The 7 day route with Boat Bike Tours Europe could be demanding depending on your age and activity level.
Keep in mind, you’re cycling every day for miles on end! Still, that’s all part of the fun with an active holiday. It’s really hard to comprehend everything saw and did over the week.
We’re not telling you this to deter you in any manner. Just know what you’re signing up for!
It was town after town of colorful architecture, historic sites, and so much delicious food. Every evening, our guides would give a briefing on the next day.
We appreciated the fact that they broke into 2 groups most days (slow and fast paced), and sometimes even had the option to do a shorter route.
One day we decided to stay on the boat for the morning, and go with the shorter mileage option. It was awesome to experience sailing on the Moselle River as most of the time we were riding or parked.
When it comes to the schedule, use it as a rough guide to plan your own adventures. You can easily make your own day out of it if you don’t feel like cycling with the group. Some passengers also decided to skip a day of riding if they were tired and needed a break.
After our one week tour, we are so excited to do this type of holiday again! It completely changed our outlook on cruising, and the biking element was so much fun.
Have any questions on this article or have more questions about Boat Bike Tours Europe? Leave us a comment below!
Safe Travels,
Brigitte & Jake
This experience was made possible in collaboration with Boat Bike Tours. As always, any opinions and recommendations remain our own.
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