De Willemstad

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

Riding through the woods of the Schoorlse Duinen and the Friesland ride.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

This definitely is a trip for fairly independent travelers as the guidance and recommendations from the trip leaders was limited. On board food was mediocre so finding a good lunch spot off boat while cycling provided a fun challenge and interesting diversion mid ride. The boat crew did a great job managing the bikes and staterooms were simple but adequate. Despite some really challenging weather (we were not allowed to ride two days due to heavy winds), the beautiful Dutch scenery and some terrific people we met onboard made the trip a positive, fun experience.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The North Holland bike and barge trip in Oct was very memorable! Beautiful scenic rides thru villages, seaports, sand dunes and more.
Although Holland is flat as a pancake, the ebike was very helpful on windy days and those 25+ mile routes. The Holland bike trail system is amazing and drivers are so safety oriented compared to Americans. Such a joy!
The barge and room was very comfortable. My favorite part was relaxing on the upper deck and watching the pilot navigate the De Willemstad carefully thru the locks and under bridges.

Our routine of evening trail orientation, breakfast (and pack lunch), ride and sightseeing, back for drink and dinner, was very enjoyable! Everything except the food was 5 star.

Packing a small thermos might be helpful for some riders who would like some tea or a warm drink if they tend to get cold. Padded bike shorts important.

Our guides were helpful and fun! They even offered walking tours thru some of the towns.

The Dutch are very warm and kind people!! Can’t wait to go back!

More Information on last day details would have been helpful with planning flight times. (Could leave late that day if needed)

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

Having issues with the battery while bicycling in Friesland where it was very windy was the most memorable part of our trip! We had to ride our e-bikes with no power assist for approximately 10 kilometres. The food was good, the option of the drink package was really nice. The staff were well trained, they were courteous and friendly. When I had an issue with my bike, it was replaced the next day. This was a self guided trip, the guides who reviewed the route for the next day failed to inform us that there was a route detour, some of the guests became lost and had trouble finding their way back to the boat. All guests should have a Sim or eSIM card on their phone ( Canadian and Americans) or cell phone coverage (Europeans) so they have access to Google Maps when there is an issue with navigation. The App was very good, but it did not assist when there is a route detour.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The bike friendly routing of each day's ride and the expert, friendly guidance by Ronald and the helpfulness of the entire crew. Meeting many new folks on the boat/bike tours. The GPS guidance (Ride GPS) was invaluable and very simple to use.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

If you are planning a bike trip, this is the one. We have been on 11 bike trips and this was the BEST! The weather was perfect, the food outstanding, the staff was great, Ronald the tour guide was always about in case one needed him on the ride, and of course the country was magnificent. Don't pass this opportunity up!!!!!

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

All parts of the trip were memorable. From the start to the finish. Crew on board took excellent care of all bikers.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

Participants should be advised to have internet capability if doing the self guided tour. The GPS system worked well. We had no dietary issues, but some people at our table did. There was a bit of an odour in the hallway outside our door on the top floor, but our room was OK. We sized ourselves for our bikes, some of the frames were too large for the person it was assigned to.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

Amazing trip… So many small towns and villages that were cute and quaint to stop for lunch. The dunes and the beaches were spectacular. The GPS system worked beautifully. The routes were marked well. Always wear layers. It can be cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon or can rain . Out of 90 people, there were only 7 English-speaking guests;but the good news is the ship staff spoke English. The food was OK. On some of the smaller barges I’ve been on the food was spectacular. I understand. They have to serve a lot more people. Our guides were exceptionally informative and they rode the routes with us. They were helpful kind and fun, Johan and Jerome … the entire crew was polite and helpful. I would recommend strip it was great.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The best part of the trip was to feel the wind on my face and realizing that I could be successful with the comfortable hybrid bike and the guidance of my tour guides and the gps app. A wonderful tour of the northern part of Holland: cultural, historical and scientific points included.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The bike boat trip and all the scenery! Wonderful!

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

Biking through the sand dunes and pine forest

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

We had a wonderful trip. We went with a group of 20 people some we knew and others we met for the first time. Everyone had the freedom to do what they wanted to do. The food was fabulous, the GPS app worked great, good size rooms and very clean, staff was friendly and helpful, the one night of entertainment was fun and the drink package was a nice surprise.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

We had a group of 20 family and friends that booked a trip in May, ages 23-88. We were treated amazing by the staff on the DeWillemstad. Captain Michael was so caring and made sure that our rooms and bikes were in tip top shape. He even assisted us with additional train schedules and bookings. Our waitress Petra was charming and took care of our table and became a friend.
We truly loved the Holland countryside and biking options. We had so much fun dancing and spending time on the upper deck.
I would recommend this boat & tour and I have to give a shout out to Captain Michael and the crew, they truly made this an experience and not just a trip !!!

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

The bike tours through the quaint countryside. The crew on the boat were helpful and the food was incredible.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

You can make this trip exactly what you want -- a great adventure by biking every day; a relaxing cruise by staying on the boat and curling up with a good book; an educational trip by picking up loads of history while walking through the wonderful old towns and villages the boat docks at; or a combination of it all.

  De Willemstad North Holland Tour
Netherlands

My memorable part of the trip was seeing the colourful tulips, cycling through the quiet farm land. Perfect weather for me to cycle in, some may think it's too chilly.

Wished we had stopped over each city/ town longer, had a guided walking tour each evening after dinner. Dinner was too long, need to trim down on the dining time.