Belgium Tour Reviews — 901 to 930 of 1097

A wonderful experience as my first bike tour. Enjoyed most everything about the trip, even with the boat breaking down and a new bike route added for the day. However, my first hour was stressful as I had been given the wrong pier to meet the boat. Fortunately, the sister boat was able to give me directions. Two other guest had the wrong directions to pier also.

Food and scenery fantastic! Jack, bike tour guide was rude at times. Also expected everyone to keep up with his ebike. Several women spoke to him and he got a little better and used a sweep and someone to wait at turns. I expected something a little more leisurely so could take pictures along the way. I did not expect a road race even though I could keep up. However, inspite of this, I have recommended the trip to friends as it is a wonderful experience. I do hope you retrain your bike guides to be kind.

The bikes were not in excellent condition. Some needed work on them.
A guide better versed in local traditions and history would have been nice.

It was a wonderful way to see the country. Wonderful fellow travelers and the crew couldn't gave been more accommodating . So much fun!

I thought there weren't enough safety precautions: riding too close, no warning of slowing or stopping. Would have liked more stops along the way for photos.

Loved the Magnifique II! The food was spectacular! Variety of routes/terrains.

We did the bike barge trip from Bruges to Paris on the Zwantjie. We would absolutely recommend the trip. Our comments are:
1. While the cabins are small, they are still adequate and good layout in the bathroom ( each cabin has it's own) . They are kept very clean. They all have AC as the porthole does not open.
2. The rides was rated easy to moderate. It was MUCH harder than Bolzano to Venice so be prepared. I would say it should be rated moderate. The second week is easier than the first - perhaps due to improved fitness but also l think there are less hills.
3. Meals were good and wholesome.
4. Staff were incredibly obliging. Nothing was too much trouble. Thank you Martyn ( the Captain ), Michael ( mechanic ), Chris ( chef/cook ), Gosha ( amazingly efficient at serving meals/alcohol and cleaning the cabins ) and our great guides, Christain and Elia.
5. Size of about 24 riders is excellent. For us, better than say 30-40 as on the Ava Maria. You get to know all the riders are we had a great group of people, Australians, Americans and Poms.
6. When we stayed in Perrone we went to Villers Bretonneux. This is particularly relevant to Australians - whose troops saved the town from the Germans in WW1. A stunning memorial site -very moving. We also rode through a number of memorials to WW1 victims. Also quite moving.

The food was excellent. We also enjoyed the guided tours in the evenings.

Accommodations were too small. The rest of the journey made up for lack of space. No room to put our belongings.

The routing was great, food excellent, barge lovely and the staff was outstanding: Nico, Eric, Jan, Martin, - would love to have them lead my next bike and barge trip. Yay for the Elodie, my favorite barge. Thanks Nico for all the help; The crew made this trip one of a kind. I'll be back.

LIa is the best guide we've ever worked with - well informed, good managing people, qualified in every way; and went well beyond what she had to do in her position. All the riding - even in the rain and varied road surfaces - was extremely pleasant.

Because Lia is an exceptional guide; on this trip one guide for up to 30 cyclists worked well. In most cases, however, I think having only one guide for this large a group - especially a group with many novice riders - is bad practice. Also, a water bottle cage and a cyclometer on the bike would have been nice.

Boat and crew were first class as was the bicycles. Lots of fun and enjoyed the evening company. Beautiful scenery and city visits. Most memorable was the 50 km day trip my 86 year old father-in-law did with 7 other family members.

The bike and barge trip aboard the Magnifique was amazing. Could not have asked for a better trip! Can't wait to go on another bike and barge trip.

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.

Everything was A-1. I was totally surprised when our tour guide Tom managed to reunite me with my lost "zebra" luggage on a cobblestone street corner 4 days into the trip! Thanks, Tom!

My husband and I had a great bike trip. Riding through the Belgium/Netherlands was delightful. The staff made the trip most memorable- Jacob (bike guide), Els (boat captain), Thomas (cook).

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.

I would recommend it, but with reservations. I think there should have been two guides, one to take a faster group and one for a beginner group. A few people on the trip should not have been. They were not comfortable on their bikes, and were a daily danger to whomever they were near. Something should have been done about it.
I also would have liked to ride faster, and spend more free time in the little towns.

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!

I have planned to contact you with feedback, but haven't. The staff was great except the guide. He was not friendly or helpful. We were all disappointed in his lack of leadership and "guiding". Of the three trips we have taken, this was the least appealing. The route was not attractive, and mostly industrial, urban or rural. We were near places we know were charming and interesting, but did not visit them. I'm left wondering if it is that tour company. For 35 people biking there really should have been more staff on the road with us. Still love you!