4.7/5 (23 ratings)

Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges

Belgium, Netherlands Bike + Barge Tours

Come see the beautiful spring flowers of this famous cycling route!

In April and May all of Holland is blooming and this tour shows you some lovely old Dutch towns like Dordrecht and Gouda, famous for it's delicious cheese! Crossing the border to Belgium takes you to the Belgian pearls of Antwerp, Ghent and on top of that, Bruges! Highlight of this tulip themed bike and boat tour is a visit to the world famous Keukenhof.
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2019 Prices
Merlijn: £ 1213 $ 2,183 € 1480 NOK 14553 kr 13434 $ 1,746
Single supplement: On request
extra options
Tandem or electric bike rental on the Merlijn (rate is per day): £ 20 $ 37 € 25 NOK 246 kr 227 $ 30
Electric bike rental on the Clair de Lune (price includes mandatory bike protection): £ 141 $ 254 € 172 NOK 1691 kr 1561 $ 203
please note
Rates are per person based on double occupancy.
Information to read before you book.
We recommend purchasing bike trip insurance.
† Currency exchange rate set 90 days before travel.
Please see our FAQ.
Travel
Fly to Amsterdam.
Local Travel
Take a short train ride from Amsterdam Schiphol airport to Amsterdam Central, then short walk or taxi ride to the boat.
Climate
Check local conditions prior to departure. Average high/low temperatures in °F for Bruges are: 51/44 for April and 58/49 for May.
Recommended
Extra time in Amsterdam before the tour.
Remarks
Please note: tulip season in Holland extends from the end of March to the middle of May but is dependent on temperatures and the weather. Going early or late in the season may affect what is in bloom.

Skill Level

Easy, guided bike & boat tour. Bicycle routes follow mainly flat bike paths & country lanes with little traffic. Occasionally heavier traffic is encountered when entering the bigger cities. Daily cycling distances range from approximately 16 to 25 miles (25 to 40 km). Guide bikes with the group but it’s also possible to cycle on your own.

Where You’ll Stay

Click barge information for further details about the classes of boats.

What’s Included

On the Merlijn
Accommodations for 8 days/7 nights on board
Welcome drink
All meals: breakfast, packed lunches and three-course dinners (excluding two dinners)
Entrance fee to the Keukenhof
24-gear tour bike, incl. water bottle, universal sized helmet and bike bag
Tour guide
Unlimited coffee, tea and hot chocolate during the trip on board and portable ice water during meals
Harbor fees

What’s Not Included

On the Merlijn
Excursions not mentioned
Drinks on board
Biking maps (for sale on board)
2 x dinner
Bicycle protection
Trip insurance

Tour	Bike+Boat
Type	Guided
Skill	Easy
Length	8 days
From	€1480 Rates
	Client Reviews

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Tour Dates

2019 Dates

On Comfort Plus boat:
Merlijn: April 20, 2019

Tour Boats

Merlijn

Day-To-Day Itinerary

*All distances are approximate. Itinerary is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstance, including but not limited to weather, last minute mooring changes, and restructuring of locks or bridges.

Aboard the Merlijn 2018 (2019 Itinerary to be announced!)
Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam, cruising to Harlem
Day 2: Haarlem - Keuhenhof - Leiden, 25 mi. (40 km)
Day 3: Leiden - Gouda - Dordrecht, 21 mi. (35 km)
Day 4: Dordrecht - Willemstad - Tholen - Antwerp, 27 mi. (45 km)
Day 5: Antwerp - Baasrode, 21 mi. (35 km)
Day 6: Baasrode - Merelbeke - Ghent, 27 mi. (45 km)
Day 7: Ghent - Bruges, 24 mi. (40 km)
Day 8: Departure from Bruges

Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam, cruising to Harlem
The Merlijn, your sailing hotel, awaits you in Amsterdam. Embarkation is between 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM. The barge departs at 2 PM to cruise to Haarlem. It is necessary to leave on time because of the operating hours of the bridges. The crew will welcome you on board and while you enjoy a welcome drink, you will be informed about the barge and the daily tours. The barge stays overnight in Haarlem.

Day 2: Haarlem - Keuhenhof - Leiden, 25 mi. (40 km)
During breakfast the Merlin will take you a little further on to Cruquius, where your bike tour will start. Today you will visit the Keukenhof, the beautiful flower exhibition. After this visit you will bike to Leiden, where the Merlijn awaits you. Dinner on board and overnight stay in Leiden.

Day 3: Leiden - Gouda - Dordrecht, 21 mi. (35 km)
Sailing breakfast while we cruise to the starting point of the bike tour at Boskoop. You will start biking through one of the most beautiful parts of Holland – the so called Green Heart of Holland - and will visit the city of Gouda, with its candles and stroopwafels, afterwards you will reach Kinderdijk, world famous for its windmills. Here appears an impressive row of large windmills, built to drain the Alblasserwaard. You can visit one of the mills. From Alblasserdam you will embark the ferry and you will sail to Dordrecht, where the Merlijn will await you. Dordrecht is one of the oldest towns of Holland, where you will enjoy a walking tour through this charming old city before you will go out dining at your own expense in one of the many restaurants. The Merlijn will stay overnight in Dordrecht.

Day 4: Dordrecht - Willemstad - Tholen - Antwerp, 27 mi. (45 km)
During breakfast the boat cruises to Willemstad, where your bike tour to Tholen starts. Tholen was once an island in the middle of the large Zeeland streams, where many people were fisherman by trade. Today, Tholen is connected to the mainland in various ways, but it is still a picturesque village with many relics of an eventful past. Today's bike tour ends here and the barge takes you into the Willemdok of Antwerp. Antwerp is not only known as the diamond city, but also as the native city of the painter Rubens. In the Rubens House, you can admire his work. In the heart of the city you will see the Cathedral of Our Lady and beautiful town houses from a rich past are situated around the Market Square. Tonight you will enjoy your dinner on your own in one of the many local restaurants in Antwerp.

Day 5: Antwerp - Baasrode, 21 mi. (35 km)
After breakfast, you will have more time to explore the city of Antwerp. At around 9 AM you will board a tram that brings you into the heart of Antwerp. You may want to visit the Rubens House if you did not get an opportunity earlier, or a diamond factory. You can also go shopping in the lively center. After your visit, board the Merlijn and have lunch on board while cruising to Rupelmonde. Here, your bike tour for today begins. The tour follows the river Schelde further upstream via Temse to Baasrode.

Day 6: Baasrode - Merelbeke - Ghent, 27 mi. (45 km)
After breakfast, bike along the river Zeeschelde. Our first stop will be in Dendermonde, a nice country town on the Dender estuary. The route follows this beautiful but capricious tidal river, Schelde, upstream to Ghent, a lively university city. This city has a rich past with origins in Roman Times, and is located at the place where the rivers, Leie and Schelde converge. This favorable situation brought a great deal of prosperity over the years, which had its peak late 13th, early 14th century. The textile industry brought great wealth. In the city center, many old patrician houses have been preserved. In the Clothmakers’ Hall (1425) textile merchants used to meet. The major church is St. Baafs’ Cathedral, built in various ages and in various styles. In the cathedral, you can admire a number of medieval paintings, including, ‘Adoration of the Lamb’ by Jan van Eyck.

Day 7: Ghent - Bruges, 24 mi. (40 km)
During breakfast, the barge cruises to Aalter, where your last biking tour begins and leads through the pleasant countryside of Western Flanders to Bruges. Bruges, also called the Venice of the North, maybe is the most beautiful of all Flemish cities. Its old center, which dates from the Middle Ages, is almost completely intact. At the time, Bruges was a metropolis, the center of trade and art. Bruges is also great for shopping. In the afternoon, enjoy a walking tour through this city. You may even want to include a ride through the canals. Farewell dinner on the Merlijn and your last overnight stay on board.

Day 8: Departure from Bruges. Disembarkation after breakfast, approximately 9AM.

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Customer Feedback

Read reviews for all bike tours

John S. 3 weeks ago
This was our first bike and barge trip. It is a great way to travel. There is time to see the area and not have to worry about finding lodging. The crew of the Merlijn was first rate. I will sign up for another trip with them. Jantien was like your mom welcoming you on your trip home.
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
Frederick S. 1 month ago
Our trip aboard Quo Vadis exceeded our expectations; the food and crew were great. We ended riding more than the itinerary suggested (averaging about 35 miles per day), but we lucked out and head great weather the entire trip.
Boat: Quo Vadis
Reply
Derek G. 6 months ago
The most memorable was the food on the barge, it was very high end. It just added to the rest of the great experience we had.
Boat: Holland
Reply
Richard H. 6 months ago
Most Memorable Part: Our fellow travelers and Jacko, the chef on the Quo Vadis.
Boat: Quo Vadis
Reply
- Julie Worger 3 weeks ago
  Hi Richard-
  We enjoy biking but have never considered a trip like this. You mentioned the things you enjoyed... what were the disappointments?
  Thanks for your help.
  Reply
Susan C. 6 months ago
We have been on five trips through Tripsite and each one is better than the last. This authentic Holland trip through Central and Northern Holland was great cycling and of course the Merlijn was wonderful.
Reply
Marty W. 1 year ago
Marcos , captain and Kim, cook were at the helm of our trip with the Claire de Lune. They did an outstanding job; food excellent, conversation and safety of boat exceptional - we were taken care of very well. Paul, tour bike guide kept us all together on the back streets and roads, never lost and always got us back to the boat in time for relaxation time and dinner. He knew the area, well versed in the country's history and strong bicyclist and took good care of us. This trip is not for the faint at heart or easy bicycle afternoon riders. We road 30 miles almost every day - wind in our face and sometimes lucky with the wind at our backs. The riding was some back roads, some deltas and some cobble stone city riding along with traffic. Not rails to trails and no sag wagon. We saw beautiful country sides, the tulips were full aglow at the tulip fields and the windmill adventure was super. It was a good full week of adventure. The barge crew are to be commended for all that they did to make our week special.
Boat: Clair de Lune
Reply
Sandy B. 1 year ago
It was the best trip. The food was spectacular, our guide was spectacular. I loved the whole trip.
Boat: Quo Vadis
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Rick H. 1 year ago
The most memorable parts were Keukenhof gardens and fellow bikers. Disappointed that a week long "tulip tour" ended up being about 3 hours of tulip tour. Primarily focused on 1953 Delta Plan, interesting but spent too much time...days, on it. Enjoyed seeing Kinderdijk windmills. Would have been nice to see more small towns and tulip fields.
Boat: Quo Vadis
Reply
Patricia C. 1 year ago
Three highlights of the trip: glorious sunshine on the palette of colour at the Keukenhof Gardens; exploring the fabulous 'secret' back alleys in the Kieuperspoort district of Middelburg; the helpful, friendly and confident nature of our Dutch hosts. Fantastic holiday!!!
Boat: Quo Vadis
Reply
Julie H. 1 year ago
The most memorable part was riding through the beautiful countryside.
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
Betsy A. 1 year ago
The trip was fun but I don't think the description of the trip was accurate. The trip was about 85% bike riding and 15% site seeing. I would have liked more time to explore the cities we were riding through but most of the time it was too late or placed were closed. Not sure if I would do another tour like this. The riding was beautiful but I really expected more site seeing according to the trip description.
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
A. Miller 2 years ago
We loved the trip. Hank, Jantien, & staff were super as usual. The electric bike was a bit heavy. My(Anita) electric bike at home feels much lighter--it's smaller. Look forward to another trip on Merlijn & with Jantien & Hank. --Anita & Duncan
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
L. Reisinger 2 years ago
The staff of the Merlijn were delightful and very personable. Enjoyed them thoroughly.
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
J. Klok 2 years ago
Travel aboard the Merlijn is always a wonderful experience. Our guide, Felix, was excellent. This was our fourth trip and we will return for more.
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
C. Martin 2 years ago
I really enjoyed this trip. The barge was very spacious and the food was excellent. The staff were friendly and the atmosphere was very relaxing. The biking was just right and our bike guide was wonderful. Felix was knowledgeable and very helpful to all. I will certainly recommend this trip to others and can hardly wait to do another bike and barge trip.
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
S. Carlson 2 years ago
Some of the other people that came on the trip were not prepared to ride a bike 20-25 miles per day. They said that they had not ridden a bicycle since they were a youth. Consequently, this significantly held up the entire group. I would recommend emphasizing the importance of being in good riding condition for the bike/barge trips. Thank you.
The staff of the Merlijn absolutely made the entire trip a pure delight! We would definitely sail with them again in the future!
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
R. Modi 2 years ago
The entire trip for all 13 of us was superb !!! From the quality of the boat, the skipper, the chef, the cycle route, the guide, the food on board, all excellen !! A must do!! The quality of the cycles were excellent ! Which made the experience memorable! I did get a chance to compare it with other boat and bicycle tours, ours was far superior, practically new bicycles.
Boat: Quo Vadis
Reply
J. Shah 2 years ago
Best time we ever had. It was like coming back to home after the day cycling. Staff was very friendly and felt at home. Food was good. Look forward to come again in future for sure. The E-bikes were too good and very good for us who are not regular cyclist.
Boat: Quo Vadis
Reply
L. Chandler 2 years ago
I loved this trip. The Merlijn was well-above my expectations. Very clean and well setup. Everything on the boat was perfect. Now if only we had had better weather. :)
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
Derek Gee 3 years ago
Both my wife and I were very happy with the overall experience. The crew, barge, daily itinerary and especially the food were all top notch. It was more then we could reasonably expect. We would and have recommended the experience to others. We hope to return soon on another bike and barge trip.
Reply
Mary Barchiesi 3 years ago
We loved our trip so much that I just chartered another boat for 36 people in Croatia for September 2016 with another company. Better working deal than tripsite. The boat owners were rigid and probably not as congenial as they could have been. It was their boat, not our trip. I organized a group of 12 and were not demanding at all. The tour guide was over the top just amazing!!!! All in all a wonderful experience!
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
Elizabeth Yates 3 years ago
Yes, I have recommended this trip to several people and will continue to do so. So many people have never heard of such a trip. One of my friends has already booked on our same barge (Merlijn) for next year! The staff, the rooms, the food and scenery were absolutely wonderful.
Boat: Merlijn
Reply
Linda Scotten 3 years ago
Though not a 'delux' trip the staff and other passengers made it such a memorable trip! It might not suit everyone but we loved it!
Reply
James Dowie 4 years ago
the captain was wonderful and the nice part was he had his two daughters on for a few days and they were lovely. They also had there small dog who was great. Missed the dog when he went with the girls. The guide Lia was excellent and very helpful at all times. They rearranged the direction of the tour to cope with the wind and to go to the Keukenhof on a day when it was not so busy. The Keukenhof Gardens were at its peak the day we went. We will never forget that day. There were many highlights the cheese farm, the floralies were flowers are sold world wide, and so many other things like a barge tour at night in one town. I could go on for pages.
Waldy the helper was always there with a smile and never did he let me carry a bag. The cabins were neat and clean. Alf the cook who did the food was sensational every day . Alf and I had a birthday on the same day (April 21st) and they had a party for us. It was my 82nd birthday one I will never forget. All the other guests were great and we mixed so well. We bonded the first day even though we were from many different backgrounds. The e-bike you arranged allowed me to keep up with everybody. It was always ready and charged up each morning. I had a minor tumble in Amsterdam landed on my head and the helmets provided did the job. Guess I have a hard head too. Only damage is a sore thumb. When it hurts from time to time it brings back fantastic memories of our wonderful trip a very positive feeling. My wife and I really hope life will let us take another bike and barge trip in Europe.
I really can not thank you all enough for the wonderful happiness you provide.
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Mary & Bill Perkins 5 years ago
The tour was packed with history, beauty & a real feel of how the people live there lives - thanks to Lia our guide. Food, decor & Jantien's hospitality aboard the Merlijn was second to none. The crew went out of there way to make this truly a memorable cycling vacation.
Thank you!
Boat: Merlijn
Reply

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Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges Boats + Barges

Merlijn Germany, Netherlands Comfort Plus Class Boat The Merlijn has 12 luxurious cabins with two comfortable airbeds that can be pushed together or separated, a desk, a wardrobe closet, a hairdryer, and a safe. The lounge is comfortably furnished in a modern style with a restaurant area and lounge near the bar. You can enjoy fresh air, water, and nature in all weather on the sun deck. The entire ship is climate controlled and you can adjust the temperature in your own cabin.