De Holland

  De Holland Authentic Holland
Netherlands

We loved everything about this trip! The cycling experience, the cruising on beautiful rivers and canals, the opportunity to explore interesting and historic cities, the camaraderie onboard the boat, and the care and support of the crew were all wonderful!

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

This was a wonderful trip, highly recommended to both cyclists and non-cyclists! The staff went out of their way to make sure all the guests were well looked after.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The De Holland is a lovely barge with a proficient staff and nice upper level staterooms. The food was above average and the after-ride beer is a great value. The North Holland area is very rural with small towns but mostly agricultural routes. Easy navigating because The Netherlands has an extensive network of bikeways and understandable wayfinding. The history of diking, watermills and pumping is fascinating and would be good to know about as you ride through this area. Our trip was in the beginning of October and we had beautiful weather although it can be windy along some portions of the ride.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The North Holland barge and bike is a fantastic experience and a great opportunity for a family to share a unique adventure together. The scenery is spectacular, the villages immaculate, the people friendly, the barge comfortable, the food good, the bikes new and the staff accommodating. To improve the experience, breakfast could be better and the lunch selections more varied. Early risers generally helped themselves to all of the pastries before others cold enjoy them. Seating could be unassigned so that more people could meet and enjoy different parts of the dining room. Otherwise they have this trip wired.

  De Holland South Holland Tour
Netherlands

This was a very positive experience. Bikers of all abilities can participate in this tour. The navigation can be a bit tricky. I would definitely recommend using the navigation app in addition to the maps & briefings. However, there was usually a friendly local or another member of the group not too far away to help get you back on the route. The barge was very nice. We had an upgraded room. Plenty of storage space. The guides were excellent. The staff on the barge couldn’t have been nicer. The food was very good. The tour itself exceeded my expectations. Holland is beautiful. The route took us through a variety of geography. Lots of quintessential Dutch experiences, windmills, cheese, delft, etc.. The de Amsterdam is a larger boat than most so you have a large group. Neither here nor there, just a note if you prefer a more intimate group.

  De Holland South Holland Tour
Netherlands

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

A number of things stand out. First, the size of the room (which was shown as 4 single beds but ended up being a tiny room with two bunkbeds where we could not all stand in the room). Second, the fact that after active days covering 50 Kms or more there was no water provided (a bottle of water was provided at breakfast only) and no food available in the hours before dinner. Third, all meals had to be taken at the same assigned table reducing any opportunity to mingle with other guests. Fourth, on an active holiday with healthy active people, the meals did not include any colorful vegetables. The staff were mostly lovely and the rides were picturesque, but the overall experience was not positive.

  De Holland South Holland Tour
Netherlands

Boat and bike trip was our first experience. It was really amazing and well- organized one :)) we just wish to have more options for healthy food on board and choose our table at dinner time to socialize with more people than having assigned seats every night. -Thank you

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

We have been on seven self-guided bike trips (two of them with boats) and this was truly one of the best! The accommodations on our Prague ship, the MS Florentina were nicer (larger lounges, expansive deck, etc) than the Angela Esmee to be frank, but the Angela's superb crew, the charming towns as ports of call, and along the route, and our tour leader, Margaret, more than made up for it. I highly recommend this tour!

  De Holland South Holland Tour
Netherlands

The scenery was beautiful and the barge was lovely. The most memorable part of the trip was the people - the Dutch are friendly and helpful, and the Angela Esmee crew was exceptional!

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

I already have recommended this trip to several people. By far this trip was the best trip I have ever been on. Thank you.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

Complete day from start to finish! Staff were super friendly and efficient! Breathtaking views of countryside and timeless villages! Supper dining was plentiful, varied and delicious! Basic rooms were always tidy and clean. Wow...what an incredible adventure.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

I would have liked was some variety in the lunch fruit. Apples every day but one ...... got a bit boring. I would also have liked to have a condiment (mustard or mayonnaise) to add to the meat/cheese sandwiches as they were a bit dry. All in all, a great trip! Too bad the weather wasn't a bit better, but nothing could be done about that.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

I would recommend the trip with reservations. The food on the boat was not special but ok. While our leader was competent I did not find him helpful at times and other times I found him condescending. The route descriptions were well done but we had to argue to have one for each rider even though it clearly stated we would each a have one. I would have like much more about the places we were visiting included on the daily route descriptions. Carrying a visitor guide is not easy on a bike. The bikes were not in good shape for our trip. The mechanic tried to do his best but they were not a "freewheeling" experience. On mine the gears did not work, others had similar issues. When the holiday depends on a good cycling experience then the bike becomes a priority.
I cannot recommend the experience whole heartily except for the amazing landscape of northern Netherlands. That part I really enjoyed. Also I enjoyed being part of a group. I would not recommend a person or couple try the trip because no effort was made to mix the people. I was part of a big group and so I always had people to cycle with.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The nickel and diming on the boat was annoying - i.e., free coffee until 4 pm but nobody gets back before then; coffee and tea not included with dinner (extra cost); bottled water sold at the same price as a beer (one token worth 2.5 Euros). Our guide, Marcel, was clearly out of sorts and was not someone I would recommend - rude, disinterested, unhelpful, condescending, and refused to answer questions. I trust that other guides are much better.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The bikes did show some wear but the two mechanics on our barge were wonderful in making repairs overnight. The maps were on the whole very good but each person on the trip should be given their own set of maps and the accompanied daily itinerary descriptions.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

This was a nice trip which I chose after research. I learned that I prefer smaller groups.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

Marcel is a great guide/tour leader.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

There was some disconnect in passing along information. For example the barge had to leave earlier than 6:30 but info was not passed on. Fortunately my friends and I arrived and boarded the sister ship and got the info that the Angela Esmee was instructed to leave the port due to some Dutch holiday celebration. Good thing we took the initiative. There was no one waiting on the dock to give us this info.
Info about running a tab for drinks was false. We had to purchase tokens from a machine to use at bar. Bikes were somewhat rickety, having seen their 2nd season (according to a mechanic I talked to). Mine and some others made a grinding noise the entire time. The mechanic tried to fix it, but eventually I just tolerated it. I heard one mech say the bikes had a couple more trips this season. Good luck to the next owner.
Food was very good and the staff were very friendly. I would recommend a Bike and Barge trip to friends, but we ran into another group on a similar tour riding green bikes...they LOVED their bikes. We couldn't come close to saying that about ours. The green bike tour paid similar costs.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

I found the conditions of the bikes quite poor. They were obviously wearing out after a season of use. The food was adequate but not spectacular. The information about how to get clean towels was given 5 days into the trip.
The routes were well described but I would have liked further information about the towns we were passing through and where we were staying the night. Our group happened upon a cemetery with Canadian war dead but it was just luck. That type of information should be included I the route description of the day. Despite the things mentioned I did enjoy the trip and would recommend it to others.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands

Marcel was a very good guide-Johnan helped keep our bikes in very good order.

  De Holland North Holland Tour
Netherlands