Santana Adventures Avis 191

Just completed the Tulip Time 2026 trip in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with the Pre-Tour in Haarlem, about 10 miles outside of Amsterdam. This is our 5th trip with Santana and we love them, the community and the camaraderie of the other tandem and single riders. Everything you can imagine on a Dutch check list, we checked off, except for ice-skating. (wrong season). Like black licorice, the people who like it, really, really like it. And the people who don't, don't. If you want Bill to fill up your water bottle, and coddle your every need, this isn't the trip for you, but if you can go with the flow, have some self sufficiency and understand things change and not all events in life a planned perfectly. You can have a really great time. We'll be back for trips 6,7,8 and 9......

We went on the Bordeaux to Amsterdam trip. Loved Europe and the Windstar Cruise staff. I would recommend Windstar. The Santana Cruise group was disorganized, didn't want to answer questions about destinations and overall bad. "Bill" stated someone biked the routes the day before. That person was on the cruise, so how could that person ride the routes for the next day and get back to the ship? Bad route planning and failed to reroute for construction. La Rochelle was one of our stops. Bill didn't know if the ship could dock because it's an industrial port. This trip was over 2 years in planning! We eventually docked with much drama. Bill likes to talk about himself but, nothing of substance about routes or sights of interest for the next destination. Bike storage was chaotic. For those who didn't bike, a tour bus was available but, the Santana crew member stated she was not a tour guide. She had never been to places we visited. On the flight home, I saw a woman who was on the the trip. She stated to me that she liked Santana but, knows management is unreliable.
My advice find another bicycle tour group. Don't waste your money.
I do very much recommend Windstar Cruises. They were fantastic.

Barcelona-Lisbon, Sept 2026. My wife (67) and I (68) went on our first SA cruise. Had scheduled one before but chickened out because of SA’s hard financial commitment and some bad reviews. If you look closely, those bad reviews are almost entirely a result of the post-Covid Japanese cruise which sounded like a horror show and I recommend ignoring any review regarding that trip. Based on our trip, and conversations with many of the vast majority of repeat SA customers that were on our cruise, that Japan trip doesn’t represent SA. The truth: Pre-trip communication with SA was non-existent, just pay the bill (in full a year or more in advance) and hold your breath. If you need to communicate, don’t email, call instead – they do respond to calls. The flyer for the trip and activities (but not the pictures) was extremely accurate so studying the details of the flyer will provide comfort for what you are buying. However, as other reviews point out, there were no routes provided at all before the trip. Not having any indication of the routes, their difficulty, conditions, inclines, lengths, etc., was extremely disturbing to me as I am a planner and like to know what I’m (we’re) getting into, but once the stress of day 1 was over, all was good. Once on board, each evening we were given a detailed verbal and hardcopy (yes, hand-drawn but detailed) review of the route. Turn-by-turn Ride by GPS and Garmin files were provided the morning of the ride. All routes were SA created (and verified/tested for accuracy and necessary last minute changes by SA “runners” the day before) and are not found in any RBGPS or Alltrails library. Most routes were overlapping short, medium, long routes and most days SA would provide a “boost” to shorten the route for those who wanted it, usually on parts that were uphill. My wife and I averaged 45 miles per day (typically the long and sometimes the medium route) and didn’t take any “boosts”; we did walk up some hills. While we occasionally rode with others, it was not common to be in any significant group; just drafting a little sometimes. SA tried to provide flat-ish routes and people cheered when Bill would say that the day’s ride was mostly flat. We used rented road bikes (about 60% did also), 25% used rented tandem bikes, and another 15-20% brought their own (I don’t know about assembly, but watching them disassemble at the end looked like quite a task). The rented bikes were very good and SA had very good mechanics on-board and on-route to help with any problems (and flats which a few people had). Our ship (MS World Navigator) was terrific with terrific food including vegetarian/vegan, but repeat customers said it was the best ship they’d had with SA, so not sure what that means. Totally open bar but drinking was not what people came on the cruise for. As a matter of fact, after riding, except for dinner, the lounges, pools, etc. were almost totally empty all the time. Really great people by the way, as you would expect with almost everyone being cyclists – average age about 55. At the end of the cruise, SA told of a couple of open slots on another cruise which we signed up for but then cancelled a few days later. My wife and I decided that cruising was generally not our thing as we prefer “living” with the locals instead of hoping back on the ship for shower, food, etc.. Not a knock on SA, the cruise, or food, just want to provide full disclosure.

So, to start off this section I will state that "Part II" would not even exist if it were not (as another reviewer mentioned) that Santana challenged my "Part I" review. As detailed and specific as it was, they questioned if I had actually been on the trip and required that I prove it. Trustpilot reached out stating that if I could not provide documentation showing that I had been on the cruise the review would be taken down. I provided our invoice from Santana and at this point the review remains up. I ran out of space to finish my review in Part I and would have been happy to leave it at that, but as Santana (Bill) tried to have it removed, I was motivated to post the remainder of my experience. I now understand why I didn't find negative reviews when I first looked into this trip. Bill confidently states during the cruise that some people don't like his cruises "In fact some of the people here will likely leave a negative review after this trip." He seems unconcerned and it comes across as quite cocky. It is no surprise once you realize how they lead you to leave a review in a place where few will see it AND they can remove the ones they don't like. After the cruise you get a friendly little email asking you to rate your experience. The link takes you to a legitimate looking place to leave your review, but what I am guessing few people realize is that it is the "WeTravel" site. The software service they use to handle all of your bookings . It's from here that you are invoiced, where you pay, where your "consent" forms are processed, etc. The catch here is that you can't freely access this site. It is only available by invite when you participate in one of their tours. This means that the only people who will see the reviews are people that have already signed up for a Santana Adventure. It also means that they have control over which reviews stay posted. I had to find my way to Trustpilot on my own to leave a "Public" review. And again, as another reviewer mentioned, they obviously watch for these and challenge them hoping the person can't provide the required documentation, or can't be bothered. This is all very shady and once again indicates that Bills primary concern is a continued audience and income from these trips.
Now, to pick up where I left off in Part I, I was talking about the ship "La Belle D'Ladriatique". There are zero amenities other than a "lounge" with couches. WiFi is spotty at best, the more people trying to use it, the worse it gets. There were two "hot tubs" (in name only) on the upper deck. One was luke warm, the other freezing and no matter how many people fussed with it to try to raise the temperature.... no go. In conclusion, if you're a "Tourist" and you already love cruises and being surrounded by people at all times, this might be just the right trip for you. But, if you're a person that values your time and freedom and love to ride a bike.... this is a nightmare.
My final complaint is what I shall call, McCready Madness. Bill’s style and need for attention shape the culture of these trips. It’s an acquired taste, and the many repeat riders are used to it. Most around me just laughed and rolled their eyes while he babbled away at the twice daily microphone sessions in the lounge. Even his own staff acknowledge during their part of the discussion that Bill is never happier than when he has a microphone in his hand. Rather than emailing critical information to participants, Bill posts a Google Doc and expects everyone to refresh and re-read it daily to see what has changed. Usually, it’s nothing, but sometimes an essential change appears in the middle of the document. This is easy to miss and puts the burden on you rather than the provider to make sure you have the essential information you need. Bill has a support team that does good work putting out fires, lurching from one problem to the next, but you rarely feel that Santana prioritizes your interests. AGAIN, MANY PEOPLE LOVE THESE TRIPS. These are selection effects, of course. You are not going to meet people like us, who tried it once and decided to never do it again. We’d vastly prefer to be with 15-20 cyclists in a conventional group tour than with 200 people on a cruise ship. Bill’s personal quirks and lack of transparency aside, the time taken for disembarkation, getting all the bikes and riders ashore and the need to embark each port by 4 PM or so each day limits how much time you can spend riding or learning much about the place you are visiting. Santana does not mention these limitations in their marketing of the tours. Bill obviously has a successful business and an arrogance and flippant attitude that go along with that - I know what I'm doing - my way or the highway - but his trips are definitely not for everyone. I have never been as disappointed by an amount of money I have spent in my life.

Not a good experience.

- Price: very expensive. Had to put down a deposit almost 2 years in advance - no cancellations or refund. (To their credit, there are a lot of repeat riders. Our cruise appeared to have been sold out in a few days.) $1000+ p/per day, double occupancy + bike rental and admission to places that they subsequently cancelled without accounting or refund.

- Biking: very chaotic. No advance planning. You have to attend morning or afternoon briefings to get the route for that day or next day if lucky. Maps are chicken scratches on a paper as Bill himself calls them. Routes are often on very busy highways. Sometimes no restrooms for a long stretch.

- Frequent changes, removing ports and listed sites without advance notice; no apologies, much less compensation for the inconvenience. We were assigned to a wrong cabin, so had to repack and move. Bill said the ship got it wrong, so tough.

They have nice pictures in the original description of the trip, but we went to probably 1/3 of those places if lucky.

Granada was in the schedule, but on the evening before, we were told that the ship couldn't dock at the original port for us to go. They took a port out of the published schedule but did nothing to make up for it.

- Bikes are problematic even when you pay for the "performance" bike. My clip broke because their pedal was defective. I requested repairs and was promised to get a spare next morning - I didn't; they were too busy to find it. In the afternoon they were again too busy, until I just demanded that they get it to me, which took them 5 minutes!?

- They hired some guides that took us to snake oil salesmen while they stood by without giving any warning except to their favorite few passengers.

Some positives:

With the cruise, no need to pack unpack everyday. Laundry is included in the price. The crew on the ship is super friendly and efficient. The food and drinks are just ok.

Other riders are all friendly and pleasant, a bit on the older and richer side, so the defects of Bill's cruises don't seem to bother them. "That's Bill"...

Will not go again. If you are a person that likes organization, this is not for you either.

Im afraid the Greekl Islands cycling cruise didn't live up to the advertisement. 3 of the rides were very poor with busy and poor condition roads. One of the rides, advertised in the trip materials as outstanding was so poor that the organizers discouraged everyone from riding that day.

Boat was clean but dated with mediocre rooms and some of the public spaces were given over to storage of bikes and equipment, it had slightly downmarket feel.Bathrooms smelled very bad and doors had to be kept closed.

Island routing looked great in materials and had some super moments, but constant changes and often very busy with lots of herding on and off tenders and into ports.

Boat and bike staff were lovely. Food was quite nice but wine terrible.

Organization was quite erratic with lots of last minute changes (despite being repeat trip from previous 10 days), often sold as improvements, but usually not. I suspect many of the changes were for organizers to save money. Overall, just felt underwhelming, rushed.

Organizer briefings were not my cup off tea, quite self-serving and at times bordering on rude - usually 1-2 hours of wasted time to which you are almost captive. Age demographics is old with lots of repeat customers - something of a cult like following, which just seems strange given the quality deficiencies.

We were lucky enough to be on the first Mekong river cruise and the trip exceeded all of our expectations. Bill and Jan always have wonderful surprises, such as exploring street food on the back of scooters, that no other travel company would attempt. It was the perfect blend of biking, cruising and cultural experiences.
One of the many highlights of the trip was the warmth and friendliness of the people we encountered. We were able to see and have experiences that you could only have on a bike.
Traveling with Santana is a unique experience that can’t be duplicated.

The trip is well planned, yet full of surprises. Full of unique experiences. Great immersion into local culture along with varied opportunities to get a lot of exercise. These guys know what they are doing!

The guides and the events made the trip special. Great rides and camaraderie.

We just finished our eleventh Santana Adventures bike and boat trip. Each trip takes us to new and exotic locations that we get to enjoy on our bikes. This trip to Cambodia and Vietnam was different from any trip we’ve been on before. Each day revealed new experiences. We highly recommend Santana Adventures!

Another unforgettable Santana Cycling trip is in the books! This time, we explored the Mekong River, cruising through Vietnam and Cambodia. Although the rides weren't very long, they were perfect for discovering the stunning countryside and immersing ourselves in the rich Vietnamese and Cambodian cultures on two wheels. Before the pre-tour, we added five extra days to visit Hanoi, Sapa, and Phong Nha in northern Vietnam. As always, Santana delivered the best experience on two wheels.

Santana goes above and beyond in adventure and does not fail to deliver surprises of authentic cultural experiences, great rides and so much learning. The bike rides were well planned out and easy to navigate, taking us through villages, farms, and urban market areas so we could see the real world in Vietnam and Cambodia, and it's modern day life. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I felt taken care of and safe in 2 countries I was not so sure about when I left the US. The hotels were wonderful and the boat was so welcoming every time we came back from a ride, greeting us with a clean towel and fresh juice, we were pampered and happy. As guests, we were reassured that the places we visit would welcome us and teach us many things. We were treated to shows, a local school, how food is made, and special rides on carts along the way! It was ALWAYS an adventure. The group was very happy and relaxed together and I met wonderful people! I have always said seeing the world is best on a bike, but the Santana Adventure crew showed me it is also great to combine rides with cruising from one ride to the next. Brilliant vacation!

We have done almost 20 Cycling Cruises with Santana Adventures. We don't believe anyone provides the unique combination of luxury cruise, country highlights across a broad geographical area and biking experience than Santa does.

Our trip to Viet Nam and Cambodia was the most unique fun and culturally diverse trip we have ever experienced. From Ho Chi Min City to Phnom Penh it was a new exhilarating experience every day.

Our trip from Dubrovnik to Venice exposed us to a history of the Adriatic we never new existed with unique historical sites from the Venetian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine eras.

Norway was an unspoiled land of beauty.

These are just three of the Amazing trips we have done with Santa.

Our latest trip to New Zealand gave us the chance to see both Islands and experience another new part of the world.

Santas small ships are wonderful, all the amenities of a 4 or 5 star cruise, including cabins, food, entertainment and service plus handling all on board and off ship bike handling plus the ability to enter ports larger cruise ships can't.

The Santana staff is plentiful and available and can assist you with any biking needs including mechanical, GPS routing or emergency on road support.

If a small ship cruise vacation with 80 to 100 other cyclists being your only traveling companions is something would enjoy, you should do yourself the favor of logging onto their web site and seeing the trips around the world they offer.

Traveling and riding from a ship that can get into numerous ports is the best way to travel in my opinion. Additionally every area is experienced to the fullest due to the tours with expert guides and places of interest that are arranged throughout the day. We have been on 4 tours with Santana and currently have three more planned.

The tour itself was well-organized---I can't remember the last group trip that I was on in which absolutely everything went as planned. We (my husband and I) had never been on a cruise prior and we were very happy with the rooms, the food, and most of all, the staff on the ship---fantastic. Bill's staff was also superb. We stopped at a variety of ports and did a lot of riding so we saw a lot, and the majority of the rides went through drop dead gorgeous places ---however, what we did was a bit less than what we anticipated doing per the literature that accompanied the tour. All in all, we (my husband and I) were extremely happy with the trip and would consider doing another with Santana in the future.

Great rides. Great staff on the ship. Love the days with point to point rides "chasing the ship". Santana has Croatia dialed in.

This was our tenth Santana trip, and we’ve signed up for five more over the next two years. We love that Santana gets to many places we’ve never been and gives us unique experiences even in places we’ve previously visited. The bike and boat model is the best way to explore new lands!

We thoroughly enjoyed our Adriatic Cycling Cruise. The daily route options were great and gave us flexibility. Once we got away from ports the roads had light vehicle traffic. Zero problems navigating thanks to the GPS routes. As the stoker I was able to enjoy the views! Typical of a Santana tour, the cultural activities and walking tours lead by locals were informative. Appreciate the support provided by the Santana crew and the staff on the ship was 5star. Looking forward to our next adventure!

Well-planned, organized, and executed bike rides and side trips. Excellent accommodations on the cruise ship.

I was planning to take a trip with Santana Adventures. I put a deposit down. After that I had no response to numerous emails. calls. left many vmails. sent more emails. more vmails. messaged thru facebook. Based on their lack of response I would NEVER trust them to manage a trip. I still have not received a response.