Santana Adventures Avis 191

We had a magical time in Tahiti this past November. The rides were fantastic, the ship was wonderful, the staff was terrific and all of team Santana did a wonderful job.

Great trip! Loved it all, except for mask & Covid testing! Food great! Rides great! Always love learning about the places we go to!

This was our first ever cruise/bike adventure. We joined at the eleventh hour, thanks to a last-minute cancellation and thanks to the encouragement of Lauren Lasky (pma.bike).
We did not know what to expect, having done only land bike trips in the past.
The cruise/bike combination was most enjoyable. The cuisine on board the Star Breeze was of the highest quality. The organization (logistics for 123 bikers every day is not an easy matter) was impeccable.
We came away so energized by this experience that we promptly signed up for a cruise in Japan in 2023 using the same boat (Star Breeze). We look forward to seeing a few familiar faces on our next Santana Cruise.

This is our best trip yet Santana adventures adds a certain sense of panache that really makes an exceptional trip exquisite!

This was our second trip with Santana Adventures and it was fantastic. Bill and Jan really know what they are doing. Our bikes were ready to go every morning early.
Their mechanic Lealand made sure everything was in working order. We are so happy we are signed up for two more trips next year. Thank you Santana staff and specially Bill and Jan.

I contracted with Santana Adventures to book a cycling cruise to Tahiti for August 2020. As per Santana policy, full payment was advanced. I received several e-mails from McCready containing a bunch of self-serving information that was less than credible. On May 23, 2020 we received information that the travel date would, (subject to a vote of the participants, the results of which were not disclosed) be rescheduled. We were unable to travel on the revised date and voted against the proposal. In the May 23rd e-mail McCready stated "if enough of you surprise us by responding with the word"reject", Santana and Windstar will make sure that all who have previously paid-in-full will receive a full refund within 90 days." I spoke to McCready on May 30 at which time he indicated that the funds were being held in trust.
Because the funds were being held in trust, Santana and McCready had a fiduciary responsibility to act in the tour participants' best interest. Further, he clearly stated in writing that they were in a position to issue refunds.
Anyone who was registered for this tour and were unable to travel knows that is not what happened.
I feel this is coming very close to mail fraud and I am not prepared to let them get away with this.
I am interested in putting together a group who are in a the same position as I am to take this matter to court.

We just finished our 10th Santana Adventures cycling trip and are looking forward to the additional two that we have scheduled. What a great job they did in such a challenging time to navigate a trip like this with many moving parts such as weather, COVID changes and routes. We love the camaraderie among the guests and the fact that we didn't have to worry at all about logistics with scheduling. A ship as our hotel is an added advantage to these trips so that you can board and unpack for the duration of the trip. The pretour was also very easy and fun to attend. One suggestion would be to know the next days routes and options the night before, instead of the morning of, so we have more thoughtful time to put into the preparation for the day. We had some weather challenges with forecasts of high winds and rain, which Bill and the Captain did a great job minimizing it's impact by modifying our destinations. We were able to ride every day with only one day of light rain. See you on the next adventure!

What a mess of a cycling tour company.
My wife and I are seasoned cyclists with many national and international cycling trips under our belts. We’d heard good things about Santana Adventures, so we thought we’d give them a try.
BIG MISTAKE!
Based on our experience and those of numerous other cyclists on our Venice to Bari cycling cruise trip, one would guess this was Santana Adventures’ maiden voyage. Poor vertical communication between staff, lack of information provided to guests on a constant basis and most seriously NO scouting of any of the route options prior to sending us on our way each morning.
We encountered impassable roads, closed bridges and tunnels and travel on busy highways with heavy truck traffic with no prior notice by staff. This is dangerous and reckless. It’s a minor miracle some of the less experienced cyclists did not get hurt…or worse.
One morning I asked the staffer handing out Garmin route chips(at the last minute, of course) if he had driven the route and what we could expect to encounter. He casually stated he had scouted the route. Sadly, we came to find out he was untruthful as the route had been closed for many months due to construction. Bill’s morning updates would include museums or churches to see during our daily rides, only to find out some of them were not open at the time of our arrival. The staff’s poor prep work on many occasions such as this resulted in us missing out on some fun stops during our daily rides.
Most of us felt we would likely need a vacation after THIS vacation due to the undercurrent of stress and chaos created by Bill McCready, the owner and observed on a daily basis.
Bill was openly antagonistic to his guests on multiple occasions, and rarely accepted responsibility for the many missteps his guests experienced due to company disorganization that bordered on incompetence.
Oh, and BTW…this excursion was undertaken on a cruise ship in the middle of a pandemic. However, one would be hard pressed to know this based on the tone set by Bill and his staff. Bill’s orientation meeting was in a packed lounge with very few of the 200 guests wearing masks, the majority of whom just arrived from across the US by plane. We were greeted by an unmasked Bill spouting falsehoods about COVID-19, such as the virus being much less severe than the common flu. As Chair of my county’s local Board of Health, I was appalled.
We experienced very few moments of peace and mindfulness during this trip that was supposed to be all about peace and mindfulness. It was exhausting due to the constant stress imparted on us by Bill and Company.
A couple of positive notes to end this otherwise negative review:
Cruise staff on the ship was exceptional. Extremely service oriented with a wonderful attitude throughout our trip.
Leland, the head bike mechanic on our trip was amazing. Extremely talented at his craft and a great guy as well.
Although Bill was a master at creating chaos around him, he was also very good at solving unanticipated problems when they arose. Unexpected pandemic related port closures and choppy seas meant some changes to our itinerary. Bill was able to mobilize trucks and buses on short notice when needed to offer alternative tour experiences for his guests. This was most appreciated by all of us.
We are already planning our next cycling adventure overseas, but rest assured it will not be with Santana Adventures.

Ever been on a river cruise? How about a cycling tour? Both sound great, but what if you combined the best of both and created a Cycling Cruise! That is what Santana Adventures does and this was our first Santana Adventure (Prague to Budapest). Instead of small groups with van support moving from hotel to hotel. Santana charters the whole ship and fills it with eager cyclists. Santana controls the ship's itinerary so the ship moves to maximize the excellent cycling. Multiple GPS routes are available for morning and afternoon rides. The ship re-positions for lunch, then select an afternoon route and meet the boat further downstream, or just stay on board for a relaxing afternoon. With over 150 cyclists on board, there were lots of folks on all the routes! Emergency van support was available (we didn't need it), and we had lots of company on the rides.

The best part, our fantastic stateroom moved along with us, so no daily packing and unpacking. On this cruise, daily laundry service was complimentary for our cycling clothes!

We'd give 6 stars if that was available!

Absolutely wonderful! Wish we had signed up decades ago!

Wonderful trip under difficult Covid circumstances. The ship was spotless. Rides were well planned and the go’s worked well. Side trips were interesting and fun. The show with the medieval knights was terrific. We loved Bratislava and Prague.

Even with the unpredictable events caused by COVID and high water this was one the most enjoyable vacations I have taken. Great Santana staff, great people to cruise and bike with, the most enjoyable biking I have done. Beautiful and challenging routes. Very happy with my rental bike. Thank you.

Our first Santana trip was a wonderful experience. The boat support as we rode along the Danube was just the right amount of elegance. The Santana staff and the ship's crew were always attentive and helpful. Guided excursions in Prague, Vienna and Budapest completed the package perfectly.

Trip of a lifetime.

In 2018 my husband and I traveled to French Polynesia with Santana Adventures. Although we had been on other bike tours, it was the first time with them.

One element that makes Santana stand out is their use of small, chartered cruise ships. Instead of going to different hotels each night, you can unpack and settle-in your private space for the trip. No van rides needed!

I love water and cruising, and this particular trip was on a Windstar ship (Windspirit) with real sails. Each evening as the ship departed into the glorious sunset the sails were unfurled as music played. And each time I felt emotional at how fortunate we were experiencing such beauty.

The rides were on a different island each day! What a way to see French Polynesia, a magical place! Bikes were taken ashore each day, we would ride, maybe stop for a swim, to see a pearl farm or musical event, and return to the ship for lunch. Some would go back out for more riding or another excursion. Others, like me, would enjoy the option of swimming off the ship. They had floats and stand up paddle boards to enjoy the warm, pristine ocean.

Being a first time participant I was amazed by the repeat travelers. In fact they were majority, some having been being on a dozen or more trips all over the world with them. Primarily tandem riders, but maybe about a dozen of us were single riders.

We are booked for two more trips and look forward to seeing more of the world from my bike and the deck of a ship!

Matt Harris with Santana Adventures made our day!!! We were able to switch Norway Trips from 2 to 1. It helped us out and another couple who were wanting to do the same 1 to 2. Santana was very understanding and accommodating. We can't wait for our Norway and Sweden adventure this coming June and July. Outstanding service!

My wife and I have been traveling with Bill and Jan, with Matt's behind the scenes guidance for 20 + years. Over 8 trips all over the world with 3 more booked in the next 2 years. Santana is the best by far. We have used the two other biking adventure companies ( the B's ) and they are fine, just not at the high level of Santana. The no changing hotels, the energy of Santana's customers, the itineraries available, the quality of the ships and the GPS route control makes for a great trip regardless of age or athletic ability. Try them, you will love it and never be disappointed. Roger and Katherine Hinds

We have been traveling with Bill and Jan for about 30 trips. Each one is an adventure of a lifetime which is holding us over during the pandemic. True to form Bill has been absolutely on top of all the changes needed and in fact negotiated a lot of extras with the cruise companies for our substitute trips. Way to go Bill! Gail and Alvin

Overall our Tahiti trip went very well and was enjoyable. The ship was beautiful and the crew was great. Would have been better to have a more detailed daily itinerary, explanation of items up front such as how the wine, beer and bar expenses would work, what's included and when. On prior trips we would have appreciated better knowledge upfront of what sites would be visited, especially when there were options for that specific day, to help with planning and expectations. Providing the routes on GPS chips is great now, saving upfront planning worries. Overall very enjoyable tandem cycling adventures.

My wife and I participated in Santana’s French Polynesia tour. We would both agree that every aspect of the trip exceeded our expectations, from the route planning and support, quality of the on-board dining, extra activities besides cycling, travel logistics and communication. Additionally, one of the most satisfying aspects of the trip was the opportunity to become acquainted with so many wonderful people also participating in the tour. Though my wife suffered an injury to her foot during one of the daily rides that sidelined her from further riding during trip, she nevertheless felt well looked after and enjoyed the other aspects of the trip, especially since the ship was well suited for on-board activities and relaxing. We both look forward to future trips with Santana.

Santana Adventures creates great experiences for both tandem and single bicycle riders . . . and even makes certain that non-riding participants are taken care of. I highly recommend them!