4 Star Amsterdam to Bruges Bike Tour Tour Reviews — 1 to 6 of 6
Easy–Moderate Bike Tour in Netherlands, Belgium
Experience this wonderful cycling holiday through Holland down into Belgium, past towns, villages, and canals on high-quality cycling paths. With our bike and barge tour between Amsterdam and Bruges…
Tahnee R.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer
A few of the positives and suggestions...
Pros
Great bikes. High quality, both the regular and e-bikes.
Friendly, responsive and helpful staff. When a few of our group asked to exchange for e-bikes after a first very windy day, the local company (Dutch Bike Tours) was very friendly and drove them to us within a couple of hours (for a cost but that was expected).
The Netherlands is amazing for biking. Flat, accessed by a huge network of bike paths (seemingly every roadway), very well signed, drivers unexpectedly respectful to cyclists (compared to the U.S.), and so scenic.
Some lovely towns: we especially loved Gouda, Willemstadt, Zierikzee, Middleburg and Bruge.
Suggestions
Information: While we had contact with the local Read More company in our first trip (Lake Constance), we had no initial contact with the company and had to figure things out more on our own. Information that would have been helpful:
1) It would have been helpful to have some basic instructions on how to use an e-bike (we had to search for instructional videos on the web).
2) how the Dutch bike path system works and is signed was only briefly mentioned in the printed material. More detailed explanation would have been helpful.
Maps: The printed maps provided are not very helpful. They are too big for the plastic window on the bike, the font is tiny and can’t be read while biking, and the print quality is low so even harder to read the maps. We ended up using Google Maps to map out the cycle route the next destination each day. This worked but was not ideal because there is no place to put the phone securely (e-bikes don’t have the front bag) and the route missed the customized route suggested by the tour company. We would recommend anyone to get the GPS option (even just one person in a group having this would be helpful). Or even better, why don’t you just include a GPS unit, or, a Google MyMap link for each day so we can get easier access to the customized route. I think this should be provided without extra cost since the printed maps simply don’t work.
Hotel/Locations: While some of the hotels were quaint, locally owned, and in or very close to the center of town, others felt like chain hotels in the suburbs. Perhaps ask people to select not only if they want a slightly nicer hotel but how important it is to be in/close to the historic center of the towns. For us, this would have been more important than better amenities in the hotels. This was probably the most disappointing part of the trip, especially Pappendrecht, a newer town seemingly without a historic area when we could have easily gone a few extra miles to Dordrecht.
Andrew M.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer
Here are a few suggestions:
1. Offer a less congested route out of Amsterdam. The route we were given took us through the areas with the most traffic and a lot of confusing turns. An alternative route could easily be offered and would have made the first day's ride a lot less stressful.
2. Several of our bikes had problems with shifting and other things. My bike often would shift down and up with no input from me other than pedaling. Two other bikes in our group of four had shifting issues. Also, my seat kept tilting forward on the seat post, despite the fact that I had a multi-tool and would crank the Allen bolt as tight as I could. Unbelievably, there was no interest from Dutch Bike Tours in identifying which bikes had problems.
3. Although most hotels were nice (we had the upgraded package), a few were very disappointing. In particular, the Woerten Best Western and the Vlissingen Hotel Piccard were quite bad and depressing, with tiny rooms and no charm at all. These were unacceptable.
4. The ride was scenic and very pleasant-- the bikes themselves and a few bad hotels were the only bummers.
anna • 2 years ago Tripsite Staff
Andrew thank you so much for this feedback, your comments are very helpful and will allow us to make improvements to this tour. On a bike tour one would naturally expect that the bikes are in top condition, this will be brought up with our partners on the ground and rectified for future travelers. In regards to the hotels, while they are mostly chosen based on what is available and ease of accessibility, we will do our best to use only the highest quality accommodations.
Lawrence F.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer
The trip From Amsterdam to Bruges is a wonderful cycling experience - lovely scenery, charming towns full of history, great, fresh food, and easy cycling over the flat lowland terrain that defines the Netherlands. One has to accept the wind and rain as part of the experience, but we were certainly lucky this time with the weather - mostly sunny or lightly overcast days, with occasional drizzles and gusts of wind, particularly near the coastal areas. A highly recommended tour that provides a great introduction to the region.
The only concerns/suggestions I would offer are these: a) would prefer hotels located in/close to the town center, not in the suburbs; would also prefer locally owned hotels rather than chains,2) the maps were
Generally unhelpful - they are virtually microscopic, and certainly difficult to follow on a bike - suggest getting the GPS option, or just using the GPS on your phone, and 3) if wind/rain/distances are a concern, would suggest opting for the excellent and very efficient ebikes that are so common here in the Netherlands.
Don H.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer
The accommodations were perfect. All of the lodgings were comfortable, clean, and well appointed. They were located in the heart of the community. Our luggage was transferred from place to place in a timely manner. The bikes were comfortable and the bags easily fit everything we needed on the route.
Carol C.
5 years ago
Verified Reviewer
I loved riding through all of the farm land and villages. All of the hotels we stayed in were great. They all had fantastic breakfasts. Only down fall was the GPS device, it would just stop working so we would have to rely on street signs or local people to send us in the right direction. My bike was great, but another person in the party had to put up with a seat that was falling.
Jehiel from Tripsite • 5 years ago Tripsite Staff
Hi Carol,
Thanks so much for sharing this feedback.
As mentioned in your travel information, our local partners are a call away to help assist with GPS. They would have happily replaced the device for you. Perhaps the asking locals made the trip a bit more exciting and immersive? ;)
Glad you had a great trip and we look forward to helping you plan your next!
Peter and Janice Vink
8 years ago
Verified Reviewer
This was our first tour in hotels, others have been on barges. I would recommend staying with the barges. There is no contact with a person regarding the tour or the bikes except hotel staff so issues with the bikes were difficult. Bikes were in bad shape we had 4 flats and a broken gear casing so we spent a lot of time in bike shops getting repairs done. Thank goodness ther are lots of bike shops in Holland. GPS was good but one day took us to the wrong hotel some 10 km off course and missed a town we had to back track the next day to see, so that was very annoying. After that we made sure it had the right destination on the GPS. Some hotels were lovely but a couple were very small. We had purchased the meal plan and that was good, though Tripsite said we would have a choice of meals there were 3 places it was just one meal offered to bike tour participants. Holland is beautiful and enjoyable to bike though we had lots of rain and wind so dress appropriately.
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