5 Star Belgium Tour Reviews — 721 to 750 of 824

Truly a wonderful experience. I was the tour organizer for a group of 12 tandem cyclists. Hennie and her staff at TripSite and the Captain and crew of the Quo Vadis were truly above and beyond expectations. This was a life bucket trip for all involved and all were very satisfied with the entire experience!

What stands out is the friendly competent crew - Coba, Marianne and Petra, the gourmet chef - Franco, the experienced knowledgeable guides - Piet and Wouter. Together they made the two week journey both comfortable and memorable.

What stands out is the friendly competent crew - Coba, Marianne and Petra, the gourmet chef - Franco, the experienced knowledgeable guides - Piet and Wouter. Together they made the two week journey both comfortable and memorable.

Wonderful staff - the entire trip was just great! Tome, our guide was exceptional.

Our first bike barge holiday and we loved it. Good mix of nationalities as guests. The Magnifique truly was glorious.

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

The staff of the Merlijn were delightful and very personable. Enjoyed them thoroughly.

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.

The most memorable part of my trip were the small towns and villages that we visited. These are places where tourists rarely venture. The people are friendly and open for conversations; willing to share their lives and experiences with us. And curious to know about us as well. I have so many wonderful memories.

Having the map to tryi to not get lost was so much fun. Thank you to all the staff for making the bike barge a great activity vacation.

Great trip BUT.. We decided to cycle with 6 others because we are experienced riders. We were counting on the signage being much more complete and easier to follow. At times, there was no indication of where to go. Our path just ended! Also, the bigger group, of about 18, had some inexperienced riders and we felt that riding in this large a group could be dangerous...which proved to be the case.
In one case, a previous rider had taken the liberty to use a marker to write our path number on a sign. Thanks to him/her we were able to continue on without taking out the GPS. Had this been done on several other signs, we would not have had to find our way ...using GPS..on many occasions. There were also 4 other Europeans, who cycled as a group, who experienced the same sense of frustration as us.
We will forward a photo to the Tripsite website. Thanks for providing a most enjoyable and memorable trip.

Had so much fun. Looking forward to doing it again. Been telling everyone they need to try it. Just riding your bike through the towns over cobble stone or brick. Just a great way to see a country.

The barge - The Merlijn was unbelievably wonderful with huge cabins and wonderful big bathrooms with large showers.- very nice big dining room and bar area. All super clean! Wonderful hosts! The biking I found a bit disappointing mostly biking along the canals where there were trees on each side and not being able to see the countryside. Our last day we biked thru small villages and farms and I found that great!

My e-bike was great and I was used to it in a day or so. They are much heavier than a normal bike and if a bit off balance they are harder to right. They are a great help on the hills.

Our guide Lia was lots of fun. Very sharp map reader and knowledgeable regarding the history. The passengers were mostly German and very friendly.

Great experience! We loved the way the English-speaking and German-speaking groups coalesced - to a large part due to Jantien , our amazing hostess, chef and boat-owner!

We sailed on the Magnifique II from Bruges to Amsterdam, 25 June to 1 July, under the able command of skipper Paul, and ride leader Tom Tiedom. It was a magnificent experience in every way, even though we had a few odd showers to contend with. This is virtually a brand new barge with upscale accommodations and amenities. We had one of the four top-side suites, which are indeed larger, and with view windows that open as opposed to port holes. Tom, the ride leader and guide, was an extremely charming, knowledgeable and humorous fellow. He provided daily briefings on the next day's ride, all of which included ample coffee and food stops, as well as providing historic info. Indeed, the entire crew were extremely courteous and helpful in every respect, and the food delicious.

The trip could have stopped at interesting waypoints more frequently. The stop at the art studio was silly. I would have liked to learn more about Holland's and Belgium's history and current culture. A portable DVD player with a travel related DVD would have useful after dinner treat!

The trip could have stopped at interesting waypoints more frequently. The stop at the art studio was silly. I would have liked to learn more about Holland's and Belgium's history and current culture. A portable DVD player with a travel related DVD would have useful after dinner treat!

The regular bikes are great but we rented an E-bike for our disabled son which did not work and there was no replacement. Riding a malfunctioning E-bike is extremely heavy and I was stuck with it for two days. Once we accepted normal bikes we all managed much better and my son amazed me. Tripsite was excellent in refunding us for the E-bike. This trip is a wonderful experience.

We had a fantastic trip on the Fleur, It was well above our expectations.
The crew were fun and helpful in every way. ( food was excellent )
Bikes were easy to ride, i would take a gel seat cover for extra comfort.
Cabins were bigger than expected and the bathrooms clean with a instant hot water.
Our guide was informative, she took us into places that you would not normally enter.
We had a fun team of riders, thanks guys from the Smurfs xxx

Was a fantastic trip!!! Tom was a great guide and will recommend this to others.

Best week of food ever. Great bikes. Super helpful guides. Would like access to more detailed maps to know better where we were. Really enjoyed the bike barge combination.

It would be good for the guides to have a bike calculator (a little device on the bike that shows distance and speed). The guides varied the speeds more than was necessary. It wasn't bad, but at times faster than "advertised" for the slow group and slower and faster than advertised for the faster group. This is not a big deal, but would be an improvement. Also we often biked a little longer than was in the route descriptions, so those could be looked at. Other than that, the trip was great. And less rain of course :-)

Our guide Felix, was fun, knowledgeable and intuitive. His attitude and ease of being with people made even a horrible weather day endurable. The BIGGEST bonus was having Astrid along as a trainee. She added so much to every aspect of our journey and was a treasure trove of regional information.

Had a fantastic time, would highly recommend it to others!

The Merlijn is a very special barge full of character and charm, beautifully appointed and owned and operated by the delightful Jantine and Henk. They along with their crew spoiled us rotten with great food and hospitality. Our bike ride was thru beautiful countryside and expertly guided and interpreted by a delightful Dutch couple, Jack and Marianne. They gave us great local insight. We thoroughly recommend the Merlijn and can't wait to return.

The staff at Tripsite were amazing to deal with and very helpful about everything. I would recommend this company and biking trip to anyone.
Thank you
S. Fryeskul
PS: We loved the new Magnifique II !!!

Nearly everything excellent. The only downside was the cycling was promised to have the option of two different rides each day i.e. a long or a short ride with two different guides. There was only one guide so both options were compromised into one medium length ride each day. Many on the tour would have preferred a longer ride most days.

It was well above our expectations in every way, cabins, staff, cleanliness and the gourmet meals all the time. Fantastic experience.

1) the description of the mileage per day on the itinerary was not the same as the reality. There were two days where it was listed that there would be a choice of riding 42 km or over 50. When we questioned our guide he said there would be no choice and that they keep asking for the itinerary to be changed but it hasn't happened. There were quite a number of people found the over 50 km too long.
2) one guide for 36 people was too big a group. Also the same people rode up front with the guide everyday and they had the benefit of some really interesting information that the rest of us were not.
3) we were assigned tables for dining and they did not change. With such a small number we would have liked the opportunity To move about and sit with different people at meals as we got to know people very well.
4) all in all, we loved the trip and it was a great experience.

Loved it! The crew was great, the boat was marvelously beautiful, the food was very good, and the overall atmosphere was perfectly casual and elegant at the same time. But: They should NOT charge for coffee/tea after 4pm. If the Bar Tab could be handled at the end of the trip by credit card it would be a bit more sophisticated, but not a deal breaker.