Whether you fly or drive the starting point of this holiday it is very easy with a good rail link to get you back to where you started. We have done the trip both ways and found Saarburg a good place to leave the car or transfer from Luxembourg Airport. A Hotel on the river bank gave us a lovely start on the Friday night and free parking for the week.This year, a 2 hour train journey from Saarburg found us in Koblenz. Walking from the Station to the boat is possible with wheeled cases but a taxi is less than 10euros.Patria is happy to store the cases until they are ready for passengers to board and Koblenz is a city with plenty to see and places to eat.The staff on Patria are like a welcoming family. In 3 trips we have never heard a cross word or experienced anything other than tolerance towards the passengers and each other, As and Sheba (well behaved dogs) add to the family feel.We enjoy the not too strenuous cycling each day with plenty to see and places to stop for coffee. This year could have been a challenge with some of the cycle path at the beginning being under water but with warning and taking care it wasn’t a problem.We thought that as we had already done this trip in the other direction we may be a bit bored but found we saw completely different things and thoroughly enjoyed it.Daggy had the difficult job of taking over the tour guiding at the last moment but was very friendly and most of all had a sense of humour. She talked you through the route each morning and offered appropriate visits to wine tastings and Castles etc.We loved the food on the boat and the freedom to make a packed lunch from the breakfast table. The quality of the food was very good and the service excellent. Tea and cake in the afternoon when you got back from a day cycling was really welcome.The cabins are small but you soon get used to moving around in a small space.The lounge and bar is a good place to chill out if the weather isn’t good. The bicycles are solid, comfortable and easy to ride and we have had no problems in our 4 trips. We love the fact that as you arrive back at the boat you know the staff will look after the bikes and they will be ready for you when you next need them. The panier bags are adequate and very useful for storing layers and the lunch box on the handlebars with the seethrough top good for reading the map while cycling. There is also an integral lock which means it is relatively safe to leave your bike if you want to sightsee.There was enough variety in the path contours to keep you interested and the surrounding countryside with nightingales, fieldfare and Egyptian geese meant there was always something to look at. It is a fascinating area that has evolved an original system for vine tending in a difficult terrain.MG England