Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 days Tour Reviews — 1 to 25 of 25

We have done many biking trips in Europe, most self guided. We did find the pace a little slow, but got into the groove with the group on the very good hybrid bikes-thanks Coene. Cristina's hospitality and food was wonderful and both her and Coene are very good hosts. Their staff were also extremely good.
The boat was very comfortable, cabins big enough to not feel claustrophobic, beds comfy, appreciated the heated towel rail to dry washing.
For us the best part of a trip is seeing the countryside, smelling the roses and taking time to look at the scenery.

Our bicycle tours led us through beautiful countryside, small seaside towns, farm land, medieval fortified towns, and city centers, all on designated bicycle paths. I loved the custom, belt-driven bikes, the cultural tours, the scenery, and back on the boat, the food was amazing! Co-captain and chef extraordinaire Christina fed us a wide variety of gourmet dinners, complete with a reasonably-sized, fabulous dessert. People with birthdays received whole, hand-made cakes to share. I felt thoroughly well-taken care of at all times. Also, the new bathrooms were quite nice— and the entire ship was cleaned to a fastidious degree every day!

Loved the Merlijn boat , Coen & Cristina were wonderful hosts , Cristina was a fabulous cook & hostess, so accomodating. Coen very knowledgeable & helpful.
Might be helpful to have 2 cycling guides as we found the pace very slow at times , even though we were on the hybrid bikes. Francine did let us go ahead at times. Bedrooms were very comfortable, heated towel rails great for drying biking shorts overnight.
We would consider going again but probably a week trip.

Loved the biking along the coast of the Netherlands, beside the sea! Very scenic, but also very windy, more wind than I expected. Using an e-bike was most beneficial for the entire route. I highly recommend the e-bike on this tour, especially due to the strong North winds!

The crew of the Quo Vadis and the guide were excellent, treated us like family. Food was excellent and plentiful. Bikes were great. The only thing I would suggest is that you put mirrors on the bikes for safety reasons. USA people are not used to having someone pass on our left without an announcement or bell ring.

I highly recommend this tour. It was more comprehensive than any other bike tour I have taken, with unique opportunities to interact directly with locals - i.e. millers who tended a windmill, a baker with an extensive collection of WWII memorabilia in the back of his bakery, a boat captain who took us for a ride through the canals in his small boat, etc. Most nights also included a walking tour of the historic city centers for those who wanted to participate.

The crew aboard the Quo Vadis were so friendly and accommodating, the food was delicious, and our bike guide (Rikko) shared a wealth of information about the history and culture of the area.

Too many memorable parts to decide. The staff aboard the quo vadis, the food, the beautiful scenery both on the bikes and barge. All were superior.

The food was very good, the accomodations were fine, the crew was very helpful and friendly. The route was less scenic than i had hoped for. Holland is prettier than Belgium (for what we saw) and the dutch bike paths are awesome.

This was our first Bike and Barge tour, it was great. The stay on the barge was what I expected. The captain and crew were wonderful. Captain (Hans) gave daily briefings, chef (Marcel) created a wide range of meals throughout the week that were excellent, desserts by Maria were also excellent. We enjoyed the whole experience on the barge.
Cycling with a guide was also wonderful, Ron (our guide) has a great knowledge of the history and facts of the areas we cycled, is very friendly and personable. He found hidden gems. We laughed and had a great time with him. Our group was friendly and made some new friends by the end of 11 days. It's a great experience. Cycling was easy, flat but winding in places.
I would recommend this ride.

This was our first bike and barge tour. We travelled on the Gandalf, the captain and crew aboard are wonderful, friendly. Daily up-dates and briefing from the captain and our guide were very informative. Food AMAZING, can't say enough about that.... Our guide Ron was also amazing, friendly, very well informed and full of historic information...
Bikes worked very well. We enjoyed every minute of this tour. Travelled with a great group which made for an excellent adventure. 5 star's thanks to the crew and people.
Thank you Tripsite for all assistance navigating the pandemic.

Crew and both guides were professional, knowledgeable and very friendly throughout the trip. Our chef Wendy was superb and prepared wonderful dinners...also prepared crispy bacon and delicious scrambled eggs to start of out day. Our guides shared interesting stories and history about relevant sites we visited...all in all a great trip!!

Fourteen strangers came together for 11 days of cycling, with lots of laughing, good food, and camaraderie. We learned a lot about the places we saw and by the last day we were all friends.

An excellent biking experience through beautiful countryside and on top of dikes allowing views of the sea and dunes. Then on to the boat for delicious food and an after dinner tour through picturesque towns and cities. It's my favorite way to visit a country.

Since this was our first Bike and Barge experience we have little to compare it with, but found we enjoyed the total package. The accommodation on the Gandalf was clean and the crew made it feel more like at home instead of just a place to sleep. Can't say enough about our guide, Simon, who spent many hours insuring the biking portion was smooth and profession. Even when the unexpected happened he calmly got us up and running again. The little personal touches he added gave the group a great deal of comfort in navigating in a foreign country.
Suggestion: If you are not use to riding 40 km a day, the e-bike option goes along way to improving the enjoyment level. A purchase of a local "SIMM CARD" that has data is very reasonable and give you a local phone # to communicate with the guide and/or the boat. TIP: call your guide on the first day so that he has your phone number registered on his phone.

My wife and I have just completed our first Bike and Barge tour. Amsterdam to Bruges on the Gandalf. From the Captain Hans, crew and Nishka (the dog) they made a very comfortable and enjoyable trip. We spent a lot of time with our guide, Simon, and I can't say enough about the profession way that he handled his job. Planning of the daily routes, briefing, finding a wonderful spot for lunch break, the evening walking tours(for us that had enough energy), providing city maps and all the little extra personal touches added a great deal to the overall experience.
Since my wife had not been on a bike for a few years, the rental of the e-bike was a very welcomed. The tour is on flat ground but there overpasses and distance that the option of the e-bike should be considered.

The overall concept of being able to bike daily, sleep in the same bed every night and socialize with great people during the 11 days both on the boat and on the daily rides was a fantastic way to experience our vacation time. Anyone can go to a city and be a tourist. Cycling allows you to experience so many other places along the way in a less busy format. Countryside, quaint villages and towns, beautiful homes and churches, the scenery all the while chatting with your new friends about what you are seeing. I would do a bike and barge again any time.

The Gandalf has a great crew and captain, excellent service great meals clean and tidy. You must remember where you are you are on a barge not a 5 star hotel. Cabin cleaning was done regularly and clean towels were available when ever needed. Patrick our tour guide went out of his way to accommodate everyone, even taking us for walks in the evening. His knowledge was amazing. Bikes were well suited and maintained. It is hard to say what was the most memorable part of the trip as we saw and enjoyed everything. We would definitely look at another trip especially on the Gandalf.

We loved the biking! We realized very quickly that with the 'junction points' identified for us by the cycling guide, we were able to venture off on our own. That allowed us to stop when we wanted and still get to the boat on time. The meals on the ship were outstanding as was the crews' attention to detail! The owner of the boat was very personable and had history to share, which we really enjoyed. Getting to know 20 people by sharing breakfast and dinner was also very enjoyable. Paperwork provided prior to the trip was thorough. Payment efficient and accurate.

Our trip went from Bruges to Amsterdam on the Quo Vadis. Our last day took us through Amsterdam to get to our docking site. Captain Bert must have taken us under at least a dozen bridges. Bridges of all shapes, sizes and ages. It was a beautiful day and we were all up front on the boat taking pictures and waving to people near the bridges. It was fantastic! One evening during our cruise Captain Bert had a Belgium beer tasting event for us on the barge. We learned a lot and then knew what to order when we were sitting in town squares near the end of a biking day with our very knowledgeable and personable guide, Rikko.

Highlight: Sailing along the many canals as we arrive in Amsterdam on the Quo Vadis barge.

Better than great! We loved our Amsterdam Bruges 11 day on the Quo Vadis. The guides were both really great; knew the route and it’s cultural and historical background. Most simply, they were really nice people and interested in everyone of us. Our group came together so well; lots of laughs and camaraderie at night and sing along with a guitar brought along by a guest. Our meals were ample and nicely prepared and presented. The captain and his crew were so welcoming. E-bikes were top quality; easy to use and always ready for us. We’ll be back for a second Tripsite booking.

As we neared Amsterdam, the captain of the Quo Vadis took us through a canal with 13 bridges - many of which had to be raised by a Raiser. We were the biggest boat on that canal and the site was spectacular. Someone in our party reported seeing the Raiser at one bridge running up ahead of the boat to raise the next bridge - very quaint!

We recently completed the 11 day Amsterdam to Brugge tour on the Quo Vadis. We really enjoyed ourselves. The boat was very nicely appointed, the cabins are not large and the bathrooms small but very adequate, lots of hot water which is really appreciated after a day of cycling. Food was very good, especially the dinners. The staff did everything to make our trip enjoyable and mixed well with the guests. We had 2 excellent guides who both had extensive knowledge of the history and geography of both countries. The tour itself gave us a really good taste of the Netherlands and Belgium, from the beautiful countryside, through the dunes at the North Sea, over the dams that prevent the floods, past and into windmills, into the cities and large towns like Rotterdam, The Hague, Ghent and a day visiting the World War 1 sites around Ypres. We were very fortunate the on most days the wind assisted our travels and we had very little rain. All and all a great adventure.