4 Star Belgium Tour Reviews — 121 to 150 of 162

It was so wonderful to cycle through 2 beautiful countries taking in the scenery and ambiance.

The trip wasn't exactly as I understood it would be. The staff were absolutely great, couldn't be any better. The guide was also very good, knowledgeable and patient. However, it seems to me that the objective of each day's ride was to get from point A to point B; we didn't stop enough to enjoy & explore the sites along the way. Also, I wonder about riding thru farmers' fields. Perhaps that was the only way to reach certain destinations. We needed better introductions in the first meeting. We should have introduced ourselves at that meeting. We were 32 strangers together for 8 days, let's start with introductions.
The food was pretty average. Breakfast was fine; once in a while there was hot food served but you had to be aggressive to get any, there wasn't enough to go around. Food available for lunch was fine, no complaints. Dinners were disappointing. We didn't need gourmet dinners, we needed substantial meals. The best meal was the BBQ, there was enough food. Other meals were inadequate. Dinner on the last night was abysmal and the dessert was a joke, 1/2 a glass of liquid. I would like to see bar prices posted and a statement produced on the last day. I have no idea if I was charged the correct amount or not; not that I don't trust the staff, as I said they were great. In spite of sounding like a chronic complainer, my wife and I are talking about doing another Bike & Barge trip, we really enjoyed this one. Don't take my comments as negative criticism, take them as suggestions for improvement, no one is perfect.

Great vistas of remarkable vineyards. More WWII history info prior to the trip and designated site visits would truly be great.

Great experience, although a very large group to be riding together. The food was good but not great. Made some friends and really enjoyed the trip.

The Zwaantje and crew are top notch, and present a great value. Some of the routes in northern France had a little too much traffic. Riding in Belgium and Netherlands seems nicer. Once is enough for this tour.

The most memorable part of our trip was people we met, we made some fantastic new friends. The Dutch countryside was especially beautiful, just like out of a fairy tale. Lots of other great countryside and small villages as well, quaint and old European.
The rooms on the Fluvius were poorly ventilated, and the A/C was extremely noisy. The dining room, lounge, bar and upper deck were great.
One of our rides included having to take a short ferry ride. We were all asked to pay .70 cents for this. Many of us felt that was being extremely cheap, and should have been included. Really...70 cents!!!!
For each day of cycling we were only given 1-500ml bottle of water. This is not even close to daily requirements, especially given that on several days we were riding in 30 degrees C. It should have been at least 2L/person/day.
Our guide lacked enthusiasm. He told us to fill our empty water bottles in the bathrooms, he talked about bathroom breaks in the pre-ride briefing but despite being told (during the ride) that we'd need a break, he just kept going. Rarely did he stop for photos; there was some beautiful countryside that many of us would liked to have captured. For the most part, the only time he stopped was for coffee and lunch. He did not seem overly concerned about safety; when there was a car coming from behind the riders would shout "CAR" and that kept getting shouted up the line. One time I was behind the guide, so we both heard it at the same time...the guide then very flippantly said "Good for the car". Crossing major intersections was dicey; many times he would cross despite the traffic, while the group would then wait on the other side until it was CLEARLY safe to go. This seemed to frustrate him.
My bike was great, but it would have been nice to have a water bottle holder mounted on the frame, and include a cycling water bottle for it, which people could then take home. Not all bikes were the same; some had 2 hand brakes, while others had a hand brake and a foot brake, which took some getting used to for those that were assigned that type of bike. There was no option to swap.
The Fluvius crew were amazing. Very, very hard working, yet personable and great senses of humor! Shout outs to Alex, Nadia, Marianna, David & Captain Arno!!! (PS, we hope everything is okay with Nadia's mom).
Despite the negatives, we had a great time, met some amazing people, saw stunningly beautiful countryside, had lots of fun & laughter. And, we would go again!!

Most memorable part: Going through the locks. Tip would be to practice cycling up hills.

The most memorable part: The views and experiences we shared together as we ride along.

Love the boat ride, also liked the bikes and bike riding as well as our tour guide.
The food was too American, it could have been more European. The scenery was
lovely and the trails terrific. Weather fantastic. Would do it again.

Needed the second guide as group unwieldy for one. Unlike prior trips, guide gave little info on trip sites/locales, despite being quite personable.

The most memorable parts were Keukenhof gardens and fellow bikers. Disappointed that a week long "tulip tour" ended up being about 3 hours of tulip tour. Primarily focused on 1953 Delta Plan, interesting but spent too much time...days, on it. Enjoyed seeing Kinderdijk windmills. Would have been nice to see more small towns and tulip fields.

This was our 2nd trip this year. We signed up for a 3rd already. Barge and bike is wonderful.

The the scenery was very very enjoyable as were the other guests on board the boat. The major problem or I should say the major dissatisfaction came from the fact that the bikes were too big and too heavy. I am an experienced bike rider and usually feel comfortable on most bikes but these truly were very very uncomfortable for me and I know for some of the other smaller women on the trip, dangerous. My only other comment would be about the guide..... I felt his attitude was very condescending in the first few days he was barely a guide his aim was to get from point A to point B in whatever amount of time he deemed necessary without any consideration for the inexperienced bikers on the trip. The slower bikers trailed way behind perhaps in some cases almost a quarter of a mile behind him and he barely looked back to see if they were there or for that matter even struggling. I volunteered to sweep and finally in frustration stopped him and told him he must go as slow as the slowest biker. I thought it was rather interesting too that he made a point constantly of telling us that if we either went on our own or staggered behind and became lost that he would make no accommodation to look for us. He repeated on several occasions that we were to read the map, read the map! We laughed when we realized that he had actually gotten us lost because his GPS had run low on batteries and he missed a turn. Now this was a man who told us he had done this exact trip 16 times this year! Yes you can see that I was very unhappy with his attitude towards his guests, the people who were his bread and butter.

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.

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

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!

Fabulous trip. Great, hospitable staff willing to please, answer questions, professional, share information. Boat was clean, comfortable, well equipped. Food was excellent and there was plenty to enjoy.

When I first heard of a bike & barge trip, I thought I would be sleeping on a cot under the stars! After obtaining more info, I realized we would have a comfortable room but I was very impressed with our accommodations. It was like being on a mini cruise. Food was great, tour guide was personable and entertaining, friendly staff went out of their way to make this trip extra special. We had an arranged canal boat tour complete with champagne after arriving in Amsterdam! I would highly recommend the Magnifique and this crew, for an awesome way to experience Belgium and The Netherlands.

Exceptional staff, welcoming, friendly, informative, knowledgable. Perhaps on the rides having a buddy system so the guide doesn't need to count all the people to make sure everyone is present would be my only suggestion. I sometimes got the sense that people wanted to stop more often to take pictures and no one told them not to but then it can take time away from getting to visit town at the end of the day. Perhaps that needs to be discussed in more depth. Sometimes some of the breaks were longer than necessary. Again they were fine but took time from visiting a town at the end of the trip.

Great bike leader. Have name tags for participants or for bikes to help us w names. Would like to have been brave enough to ride on my own! Some participants were not really regular cyclists. Would have been good to have a briefing re group bike rules, including spacing, passing, signaling, warnings, etc.

Some wait staff could have been more accommodating. We seemed burdensome at times. Running out of food & then having to wait for more or not refilled at all was an annoyance.

My sister and I loved the trip and have told many people to book the barg trip. One of the best trips I have had.

Issues related to the boat: bad smell, cabin room was cozier than we would choose in the future. Laundry facilities were inadequate. We really enjoyed the trip, the guide and the experience!

All good on our bike and barge trip from Amsterdam to Bruges - especially the fantastic boat crew (I got to spend a rainy afternoon on the bridge with the boat captain).

Barge had bugs in drains. Lots in room every night. Aldo specifically booked comfort class boat for the AC. They turned it off before 9pm every night.

Trip was up to high standard and very enjoyable. Great staff and very friendly atmosphere.

Excellent guide, staff. Very friendly and helpful. No complaints.

Excellent guide, staff. Very friendly and helpful. No complaints.

We have made two bike and barge tours in the Netherlands and thoroughly enjoyed both trips. We are looking forward to another trip this coming spring on a barge with low beds. (Bunk beds are not as easy to use as we get older.)