Amsterdam to Bruges Tour Reviews — 31 to 60 of 351

My husband and I loved this trip! It was an amazing combination of cycling and sometimes more difficult cycling due to weather and an incredible opportunity to see some beautiful country! The crew aboard Sailibg Home worked hard to make this trip go off without a hitch and they were successful! We were spoiled rotten! The meals were tasty and satisfying without being over the top or too much food! Lunches for the day were tasty and satisfying. The crew provided a sense of comfort and safety and much fun and laughter.

The crew were super friendly and worked tirelessly to keep us comfortable and happy. The meals were delicious and beautifully plated. Our cycle guide Kitty was patient and friendly in spite of an unexpected reroute. Unfortunately this reroute had us cycling 50-60km each day with very little to see other than country side. Cycling shorter days would have allowed more time to explore the towns & villages. When we docked, our suppers took 2 hrs which prevented us from seeing some villages in the daytime. One final observation: we felt that the cyclers should have been split into two groups each with their own guide. One faster group and one slower group. The faster group often had to wait for the slower group to catch up.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. A huge thank you to Paul, Pim, Inma, Karin & Kitty for making us feel so welcome on the lovely “Sailing Home” barge.

This was my first cycle trip. I rented an e-bike just in case I found it to difficult. I probably used it about half the time in minimal power assist. Quite flat for most of it but when travelling by north sea alot of headwind so the e-bike was terrific.
I loved the barge. The small group was great as we got to know one another! Food was good. I look forward to doing another cycle trip.

Scenery and the food was delicious every meal. Rooms were better than expected.

We loved the beautiful countryside of the Netherlands and Belgium! The cities of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Ghent, and Brugges were all so unique and beautiful! We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the MV FLUVIUS. The captain and staff that run the boat were excellent! Our cabin and the rest of the boat were freshly updated and extremely clean. The chef was outstanding and made every meal unique and delicious! His curried soups and lasagna were especially popular! The most memorable part for us is the wonderful people that we met and travelled with!!

Meeting other ship mates, seeing the country side of The Netherlands and Belgium, relaxing after a great day of riding.

If you want to see a country, then get out of the cities and see the country. The bike trip from Amsterdam to Bruges lets you do that. I have a lot of good memories that will last a lifetime. The crew worked well together and made sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Special compliments to our Chef as the evening meals were varied and nicely presented.

The beautiful bike trails and paths throughout Holland and Belgium gave us the opportunity to see so many wonderful things that we wouldn't have seen by car, train or on foot. Everyone on board the ship were wonderful and our tour guide, Jan, was great! It was wonderful to meet the other guests from so many countries. Great weather, which was helpful!

What a wonderful adventure! The barge was lovely. It was so nice after a day of riding to sip on a tasty adult beverage and watch the world go by. You could tell the staff really enjoyed working with each other and their joy and sense of fun was contagious. Our meals were varied, filling and done with attention to detail. Thank you Inma for the recipe of one dish! The walks into town lead by our bike guide were very informative and gave you a real taste for the life. The biking was not difficult (especially with an e-bike) and the terrain was amazing. The landscape of the Netherlands was so peaceful. I especially loved cruising thru the small villages. I look forward to doing another Bike and Barge trip with Tripsite and Cycle Tours soon. What a great active, but not too active vacation.

Tips: No need to bring your own helmet. Bring an Allen wrench for small adjustments for your bike to customize it to your ride. I brought my own padded seat cover and was happy to have it but with padded bike shorts others did just fine. Bring patience. There were a few things out of the companies control such as weather and broken bridges. Roll with it. Pack lightly. Pulling a heavy suitcase over the cobblestone streets is challenging. In Bruges, there is a free electric van that will take you into the town near many popular hotels and then take you from your hotel to the train station for free.

The Magnifique II is a beautiful boat and worthy of its Luxury designation. Our chef, Andreas, prepared incredible meals each night and each meal was better than the night before. The service staff, Violet, and Ruvie-Ann were attentive, caring, and professional. Our bike guides, Roseanne and Hester each took care to ensure we had a wonderful experience. My husband and I loved every minute.

The entire trip was just so wonderful, the food, the accommodations, the guide, the staff and the places visited. The food was probably the biggest surprise. Each and everyday we had a delectable 3 course dinner. Everything was fresh and tasty. The beds were very comfortable and each stop was so peaceful and quiet, it was easy to get a good night's rest. We opted for e-bikes, more so for the wind than hills. We were fortunate to have only one ride with extreme rain (so have good rain gear or opt to stay on the boat if you know the weather is going to be really bad). After the trip, we have put this vacation as our best ever!

The crew was amazing. The boat very comfortable. The scenery outstanding. The food excellent. Even the weather behaved. Our Guides Andre and Franklin provided historic information in addition to keeping us all safe. It was great to be on a trip with people of the same interests. One suggestion would be if you are sensitive to insect bites bring repellant!
A great experience overall. So glad we checked it off of our to do list!

We just got off the Magnifique III today. What a wonderful trip despite some inclimate weather. Our biking guides Peter and Edith were fun, knowledgeable, encouraging and brought us to some very interesting local places on our very scenic ride through countryside, fields, forests and towns. We had very full days eating breakfast at 8, on the road by 9:30 and back on the boat by 5 ish, depending on how many miles were covered , or if you took the long or short routes offered. The meals cooked by Chef Steven were magnificent-steak, seafood, fish and lots of veggie option- way beyond what I expected. Meike and Annika kept us very happy on board and took care of rooms and provisions. Captain Hank and first mate Jarre were experts at what they do, made themselves available for questions and occasional tours of the boat and kept us informed of our routes and sights along the way.
We had morning and nightly briefings, and Peter gave lots of history, tours and background info.
I was wowed by how first class this operation is. There were only 20 cabins, with a total of less than 40 in our group-perfect size.i chose an electric bike, with the option of choosing no, low, or high assist.
The terrain was flat, so assist was only needed in strong headwinds. I had wanted a top deck cabin with full length glass doors, but was too late booking to get one. It ended up that those cabins were sometimes blocked by a dock or another boat when docke so I am glad I did not spend the extra-unless you spent time in the rooms while sailing.
We went with a group of 6 and enjoyed our time together as everything was provided for. Lots of options for our athletic to laid back group. I will be booking another trip with them. Highly recommend

A note and not a review. Some colleagues returned to the Fluvius a few minutes after midnight and the sliding glass doors on either side of the main deck were locked. These doors were locked with a key on both the outside and the inside. My concern is that if there were an emergency and crew were not available, passengers could not open the sliding glass doors from the inside. I think this is a safety issue and those doors should have an emergency inside lock that can be opened by any passenger or crew without a key or without specific training.

Overall, a great trip. Excellent meals - thanks to Mirka and her staff. Carla and Laura were great tour guides and I hope Carla recovers from her accident soon.

Another suggestion - review mirrors on the bikes would make keeping groups together a bit easier.

Although the guided tour had its frustrations and the rainy - windy weather didn’t help, the experience was worth the trip. However, it was frustrating that more attention/instruction was not given to novice bikers. Firstly, they needed to understand the e-bike, specifically to understand the function of gearing down and powering up when needed. Secondly novice bikers didn’t understand NOT to crowd other bikers and to keep a safe distance. Also your marketing should be clear state that they shoukd be experienced bikers. Some areas were highly trafficked - bike auto and train - therefore novice bikers are at great risk. The guides were unfamiliar with the trail and particularly in the first days were getting lost. Your selection for lunch stops were poor. We ate our sandwiches (which got really boring after the second day) outside in the rain. Suggest you add some lunch stops at some local sheltered restaurants with enough time to enjoy and experience the local fare.

My most memorable part of the trip was the barge and crew. It was a pleasure to be on the barge.

Hello. The trip is nice, beautiful ride! The only thing makes me very upset is the way the chef treat me, his rude. Never in my life, someone talk to me that way. His name is Emilio! All other stafs is so nice.

The cycling through beautiful trails, seeing the country in a way you would not by car or train. Meeting the lovely people on Board geeting to know them, and also our tour Guide Albert, He was so good and kind. Our Chef Marcel and the crew.
Looking forward to doing another trip next May with more friends.

The food was excellent. Ebikes are the way to go. Know your route so not surprised. Book an upstairs room.

Every aspect of the trip was first rate, but the luxury of the barge, the quality of the meals and the attentiveness of all the staff deserve special mention and praise. Well done everyone!

Some great self-guided cycling routes.

Would have appreciated more information en route regarding points of interest, not just directions.

Oddly, water was not provided at dinner except at an additional cost - unusual for an active cycling trip when hydration is important.

Also no coffee or tea expect at prescribed times, unavailable if one arrived back to barge later than the prescribed time.

No wifi except at an additional cost.

This was the most wonderful trip I have ever taken. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was perfect and the trip was very well organized. We met some wonderful people who were also on our barge and the ebikes we used made the trip delightfully doable (we did bring along extra gel seat pads for the bikes which were welcomed after a few days of riding!) Our guide was knowledgable and funny and kept our group on target. Our group was pretty large and it would have be nice to have had an extra guide as our sweep but our guide Maryann did an excellent job of handling mishaps when they occurred.This will go down as one of the most wonderful trips I have taken and I would encourage everyone to sign have this adventure!

Everything. Loved the idea of biking through the country and spending time on the barge with the guests. The boat crew were very friendly and helpful. The food was excellent and the accommodations were great. I would do this again and have recommended it to my friends.

Well most memorable was the people who rode into the canal. Fortunately they were ok. And there was the man who hit the tunnel wall and took out another cyclist. It was rumored he was drinking vodka in his water bottle. Besides these incidents the best part was the daily riding through idyllic towns and pastoral areas where birds had their young, fields of flowers abound and people were so friendly.

We had an absolutely amazing trip on the Sailing Home! The crew was outstanding and the experience memorable. I would love to do it again. The only complaint that I have is that for such a large group, we should have a rear guide that is part of the team.

From the moment we boarded the Magnifique IV to the morning we left everything was exceptional…Mariela was our cycling guide for the week and she couldn’t have been more lovely. We had beautiful weather and each day of cycling was interesting and fun! All members of the crew went out of their way to make us comfortable and the food prepared by Jules was delicious! We had a great group of travellers and enjoyed our social time on the barge each evening. We would highly recommend the adventure!
John and Kate

We loved travelling on the Magnifique II from Amsterdam to Bruges. It’s a beautiful, intimate barge with nice sized rooms. With only 30 people on board we got to know almost everyone. The food was amazing everyday and all 7 staff were friendly and accommodating. The guided biking was the highlight even though we didn’t have great weather. Both of the biking guides were great fun, informative and kept everyone safe.

The staff on board the Fluvious was wonderful, especially the chef, Mika. The food was plentiful and great. The dining and lounge area very comfortable. Americans should be advised about the difference in bikes. Both manual and E bikes are heavier than we had experience with and that does effect balance issues around sharp turns. The Amsterdam to Bruge trip is listed as easy on well maintained routes,perhaps a few more qualifiersare needed. We experienced some rough riding - it may have been the result of winter damage- but riding on dirt and a sandy portion of the trail was challenging as are coblestomes.

Another disappointment was that I was only able to ride three days. And on those days we had no special tours. I was especially looking forward to going to a cheese factory which we missed, Much of that was due to the fact that the Fluvious had some problems which effected steering. We did not have a chance to practice on the bikes as scheduled, which made the first day very difficult for some of the riders. Those of us on Manual bikes were separated from the leader and all the e=bikes and often took the wrong turn at a Y. On one day we completely missed a castle and on the first day, the option to hear more about the old windmills was missed due to our being late (due to the boat arriving later than scheduled due to the boat issues). Additionally on the Ghent biking we were discouraged going because of the busy city and no other option was offered ie. bike the countryside and tour Ghent and the canal tour by going on foot or parking the bikes outside of the busy city center.

The ease and convenience of returning to the ship every afternoon to share experiences with the rest of our group was the most noteworthy comment I could make. However there were many other hiighliights.
Riding through the Dutch countryside on the first day was a highlight.
Both guides and the bikes were great and the varied nature of the cycle paths on this tour was terrific.
Food was varied, good quality and well prepared. Rooms were efficient and comfortable as advertised.
Onboard staff from Croatia were terrific – friendly, hard working, accommodating and very nice with our grandsons.

The Magnifique 11 promised luxury, and they most certainly delivered every step of the way! The welcome from the captain, chef, tour guides and assistants was outstanding. They established a comraderie among the guests who were sharing the experience. Our rooms were immaculate, the food tasty and beautifully presented, fantastic 24hour coffee machine too. The first two days of biking were brutal with the head winds, but getting an e-bike was a saver, one I would recommend, even as a seasoned biker! We’ve come home with new friendships - so how rich is that! Thank you so much for another grand experience tripsite! (My 4th)