Belgium Tour Reviews — 361 to 390 of 1097

The ebike trips through wonderful countryside and lovely small towns en route were great. Dinners were excellent on board but I would try a better quality boat. The Fluvius is old, tiny cabins, no bathroom hooks, towel racks; shower head falls, dangerous 6” high step which caused a fall, unresponsive captain to requests to fix shower. Crowded buffet in a tiny space for 40 people. Bikes and staff excellent except captain. Tripside is doing a disservice by choosing such a downgraded boat. Surely there are better choices.

Loved riding through the farmlands leading to Gent at the beginning of the trip. Beautiful scenery and so peaceful! Our boat tour up the canal was magical.

I would rate this trip excellent and well beyond my expectations. The staff were always cheerful and accommodating. Guides were informative and all of the days were well paced and eventful.

The bicycling each day through fabulous scenery led by a wonderful guy and guide - Mark Van Rossom. The leap-frogging of our comfortable barge each day to pick us at at a new spot along the way from Netherlands to Belgium.
Also extremely impressed with our barge’s captain Coba.

Every aspect of the trip was delivered as advertised. Crew and cycling guide were outstanding. Sailing Home was more than comfortable and food was plentiful and delicious.

The Magnifique IV was a lovely barge, we’ll set out and nicely appointed. Meals were delicious, the suite was spacious and the bathroom was the equal or better of many we experience in quality hotels. The staff including the guides were excellent and contributed to a delightful week of seeing the Netherlands and Belgium.

It was a fantastic trip. The magnifique 2 was classy with a hard working and friendly crew from the chef to the captain and beyond. We enjoyed everything about the trip. Cycling everyday through farmlands, quaint towns, along dykes and rivers was a truly memorable experience.
We plan to book another bike barge adventure soon. We felt very well taken care of. We highly recommend it !

All was very well done.. food, tours, boat. Great trip.

Meals were delicious. E-bikes turned the trip into sightseeing rather than difficult exercise. Great way to see the countryside. Rooms were clean, comfortable and air conditioned. Bathrooms were clean and big enough. Crew and guide were friendly, open and accommodating.

Given that the climate is warming it is time to air condition the upper deck.

It was so amazingly organized. The tour guides were exemplary, the rest of the staff absolutely wonderful and so personable, the food was totally extraordinary, the bikes were really well maintained and wonderful.

And three of my colleagues on the trip - who had been, between them, on no less than13 other bike and barge trips - all said whole-heartedly that this particular July 23rd, 2022 was the best by far that they had ever experienced. Was I ever lucky as it was my first!!

Our Ship's crew was the highlight of our trip. What a wonderful collection of people! The salon staff were always on duty to see to our needs regarding meals and bar service. Both Jeanine (sp?) and Alexandra always had a smile for us at all hours. John was the hit of the ship with the excellent meals that were never the same twice. We saw him riding his bicycle laden with fresh foods and wares and marveled at how hard he worked. Sailor Michael was tending to the ship day and night and his smile never dimmed. He will be the Captain next summer. Captain Andreas was an outstanding captain and is known in the region as a training captain. He even welcomed a couple of us to the ship's bridge to see the operation of the ship. Everyone worked as a team to get our bicycles ready to ride and then our two excellent guides took charge. Guides Arnold and Maria-Jose kept us safe and dealt with a widely varied caliber of cyclists. I will truly miss each of our crew members, as they worked together to make our trip unique and enjoyable.

We really overall enjoyed our bike & boat cruise from Bruges to Amsterdam taken July 2-9, 2022 on the Fluvius boat. But there are few comments that I would like to make in hopes that Tripsite finds them useful.
First of all, we worked with Anna Zdancewicz at Tripsite and she was an amazing communicator. She provided clear and detailed answers to any questions we had and was very timely in her response to us via email. We also spoke with her on the phone a few times and enjoyed the conversations as well as the information. We would definitely use Tripsite again for another booking and we often recommend Tripsite to others.
The upside of our trip was Jack, our bicycle tour guide each day. He was great and very knowledgeable of the sites we rode to and also he gave a few evening guided walking tours which were also excellent. We really enjoyed Jack and his helper Johan, who was the “Sweeper”…taking the rear positon of all bike riders keeping us all together.
The downside of the cruise for us were issues concerning the boat, Fluvius. The Fluvius is a small and pretty old boat with up to 44 passengers. This boat is well-worn and old and definitely shows it. It is clearly in need of a facelift and major update throughout the entire boat. Even the bed linens and bed comforter was just a little too old and did not seem crisp and fresh. The dinners served on the boat were very good and well presented. We did not want to eat fish and they kindly gave us something else as a substitute. However, the breakfasts were really lacking and uninspired. But worst of all were the lunches that everyone had to put together themselves every day to take with them on their bikes. The bread for the sandwiches was always very dry. And overall, the items one could pack for lunch were very limited and not very tasty or appealing. If you wanted to just have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you had to open about 7 or 8 small packages of each to make one sandwich. The choice of fruit was just so very limited and the drinks offered were juices boxes that tasted not great. For water, you were given a reusable plastic bottle that you were expected to fill yourself each day in your bathroom. We never did that. Instead, we bought bottled water to take with us.
The cabin we were in (which was one of the two very best ones) did not seem very clean. The shower did not seem well scrubbed out after the previous guests. I understand that there is not much time between one set of guests disembarking from a cruise and the next group arriving. However, rooms need to be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized between groups and clearly this was not done. I also felt that the overall ship could have been cleaner.
Another aspect of this cruise I would like to comment on is the bikes. The majority of riders rode ebikes. The ebikes on the Fluvius were old and should be replaced. I noticed also that most of the bikes were dirty even on the first day of use which proved to be just a sign of their overall condition which was poor. My own ebike required maintenance twice during the week. There was only one guy who was in charge of maintaining all the bikes and he definitely seemed overwhelmed with the responsibility of this.
Our tour guide Jack mentioned that the boat had recently been purchased by a young entrepreneurial type of guy. Perhaps Tripsite might let the boat owner or local partner know about these short comings and needed changes. Also, it might be helpful if Tripsite conducted an annual review of the boats you represent to be sure things are up to par and meet your standards and the expectations of your clients.
On a final note, I would like to say that we enjoyed the daily rides and felt that Jack, the tour guide, did an excellent job. Without him, the overall experience would have been less enjoyable.  SHOW MORE 

The guides were excellent (Hetti and Jacqueline) and I was impressed with the quality of food and accommodations. It surpassed my expectations for the price. Great value.

I loved all the experiences, from the boat ride through Ghent, the exploration of the various towns along the way, the Kinderdijk windmills, sitting in the hot tub and cruising along the rivers, learning the history of the area and enjoying the great food and company of our tour group and guides. Great trip!

The tour went through amazing neighborhoods and towns, so much beauty. The bike was comfortable, but wish I had a gel seat cushion! It would have been a plus to have that added to the things to bring on the trip. The tour guides were very personable and knowledgeable.

My biggest room for improvement would be the food. It was so carbohydrate based, too many sweets for breakfast, it was a challenge for the chef to keep up with eggs in the mornings. Surprising we never had a salad or greens. I can only believe it is due to refrigeration on the boat, but that was a disappointment.

Overall, I would do this tour again.

I had a great time! I didn’t ride as much as I thought I would, but I have a shoulder issue and it wasn’t cooperating. But I loved just sitting on the top deck watching Belgium and The Netherlands go by. The crew was outstanding, and very cooperative. And everyone of them could do most anything.
Although the routes each day were flat, this is not as easy as it might seem. It does require some training. The bikes are heavy, and not in the best shape. In the future, I’d choose an e bike, although they are very heavy also. Our guides were great, and worked with me, and my shoulder, to enable me to do the most riding I wanted to do.

Almost everything. Boat and staff were both wonderfull. Scenery was magnificent, got lucky with great weather.

Great staff and fun traveling and experiencing this with a large group of friends! Scenery was spectacular and we had great weather.

Biking through the country side in Belgium and the Netherlands. Very beautiful villages, and the open fields in the countryside. And of course the people we shared the trip. with.

The barge crew and the bike guide were fabulous. Friendly, accommodating, informative, flexible, and knowledgeable.

The enthusiasm of our tour guides was excellent. They helped the family (our group of 6) a couple of times by sacrifice of their personal time and attention.
Some better orientation on ebike and gears would have been helpful. The "sore-butt" syndrome for inexperienced riders was worth it.

Bob W

Kinderdijk was amazing.

I was very excited to be going on this bike tour of Holland/Belgium. It was a great chance for some father-son bonding, especially after a 3-year vacation drought due to the pandemic. If anything, the trip was even better than I imagined. The guides (Hans and Arnold) were fantastic, the rides were gorgeous, the accommodations were luxurious, the food was excellent—a really top-notch trip and a very affordable price. I also can't say enough good things about Walter and the crew of the Magnifique III (Corrie, Inge, Albert-first mate). If you're thinking about it, book-it you won't be disappointed. The only piece of advice would be to bring padded shorts or a gel saddle, especially if you're not used to being on a bike saddle for several hours a day. The only other piece of advice would be to wait until the 2022 summer travel chaos has subsided; and/or consider flying into/out of Brussels, instead of Amsterdam.

Our tour guide Corrie was the best!

Riding through the countryside, stopping for drinks at local bars and of windmills. Stopping at a local farm for cheese making tour was also memorable.

Most Memorable Part: The friendly, helpful, knowledgeable staff.

The ease of bicycling, bicycle trails, beautiful scenery, people we meant and all of the staff made this trip memorable to us!

Our family of 7 made wonderful memories Everything was so well done from accommodations , food and the attentive staff

The bike rides through small towns and villages, beautiful scenery were the highlight of the trip. On one day our guide also stopped at an unscheduled attraction at our request - this willingness to be flexible was much appreciated.
The guided rides are great, but try to take advantage of the self-guided rides as well on some days - the biking staff provide thorough directions and the app so that it is pretty hard to go off-track.
The food on the barge was outstanding, and the snacks provided for lunches were great.

The food on the barge was excellent, much better than I anticipated. The staff was friendly, very hard working and seemed to enjoy working together to make our trip special. The accommodations on the barge were very comfortable. We biked through the countryside, past farms, and small villages, places a tourist wouldn't normally see. Even though this tour was rated "easy" it did require a certain amount of biking skill as the terrain on the bike paths varied from cobblestones, brick, gravel, dirt, narrow and sometimes crowded with other bikers.

We loved the bike tour from Brugges to Amsterdam! The biking was excellent and we loved using the e-bikes! The tour guides and ship crew were helpful and very responsive! They made the trip fun and memorable. The cities were truly amazing! Bike and barge is such a fun way to see beautiful cities and lovely views!