Belgium Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 271 to 300 of 1003

Coan & Christina own and operate the 50 meter 1930 converted cargo ship Merlijn along with a crew of 3 and a bike guide. The attention to detail , ,new equipment and bikes. The difference is other tour vessels are owned by larger companies and hire a captain a crew with older bikes.
Our guide Francien was very good, had 20 years experience and took us places that you would not see on a self guided tour. In the evenings after our on board gourmet dinner she would take who wanted to go on a tour of the city or town.
The scenery was amazing and a boat canal side tour in Gent was arranged. Our groups average was between 55 and 73 and everyone was able able to keep up a good pass on regular and e bikes.
We will be taking another tour they offer in Germany next year

The barge route was very nice and the food was excellent.
The Fluvius is an old barge and had several maintenance issues including; no hot water for 3 days, electrical problems and other maintenance issues. In their defense, the captain did his best to make it up to us with reduced bar bills and a free canal ride.
Bettina was superb particularly since it was her first time on this tour. Tom seemed to want to be elsewhere. His communication issues were almost nonexistent and attitude gruff.
Ride with GPS was very good though those of us who chose self guided were pretty much on our own.
The patch kit provided did not include a wrench so fixing a flat would have been tough for a bike mechanic and impossible for any other.
We did have wonderful entertainment one evening. I would have loved more history as it is such an important part of these countries.
All in all, if the Fluvius had been in better shape and Tom not so gruff, it would have been a wonderful tour.

Amsterdam to Bruges was our first bike and barge experience in 2016. The experience of small group travel, seeing villages and countrysides at 12-14 mph, and the coziness of barge life intoxicated us. We have since done six more tours. Everyone unique, quirky, full of beautiful vistas, and future friends from all over the world.
If you are considering this type of travel adventure for the first time, this tour is for you. AND for you stubborn Americans, there is absolutely no stigma attached to e-bikes. In fact, they are prolific throughout Europe.

Biking from Noyon - Compiègne, the Compiegne forest was very beautiful to bike through.

As we neared Paris, the biking was sometimes more difficult due to traffic on some sections of the route.

Comfortable lodging, excellent food (especially the soups- thanks Frank) knowledgeable guide and unforgettable landscapes - what more could you ask for?

OK. So we weren't expecting luxury at this price and on a barge trip. The rooms took a bit of getting used to but we really only slept there and mostly ears the comfortable common areas. Loved every minute of the biking and every bite of the food. Chef was amazing. The crew worked their butts off looking after us and the bike guide was everything one would want. Knowledgeable competent careful and patient. My only wish would be for a larger room and a bigger window but hey I got what I paid for and more

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.

Cycling through the countryside and then returning to the comfort of our boat. The staff were accommodating and considerate. By far the best cruise that I have experienced. The meals were exceptional and the small group setting provided an opportunity for both socialization and relaxation. The crew also provided a variety of opportunities which enhanced the experience .

The boat, crew, dining, site seeing and and itinerary were fabulous, buy the most memorable was the bike tour guides, who- "with a little luck" was able to time our rides and routes through the many predicted rain showers and keep us dry and entertained.

The staff on the Merjlin were fantastic
The bike seats were a bit uncomfortable but overall the trip was great. The tour guides were were great unfortunately they did not explain the route prior each day

Outstanding trip. The Merlijn is a first class ship. The owners and the crew were just out of this world accommodating. The food was delicious, maybe too delicious. My bike was fantastic. Can’t say enough good things about the ship and the people that own it. Liked it so much, I’m going back on it for three weeks next year in Germany.

The Merlijn and their staff were excellent! The food was fabulous too! The only reason I am giving this trip a 4 out of 5 stars is the tulips were on somewhat dying on May 11th. We booked this trip in 2019 for April 2020 and then COVID took over all of our lives. Then we rebooked for 2021 and had to change 1 week later. Then 2021 was still not safe to travel so when booking again for 2022, we had to switch to start May 3 in Bruges with the tulip part at the end of the trip. I loved Bruges and thoroughly enjoyed biking in Belgium. I developed a cough so unfortunately I missed a lot of biking in The Netherlands. But I did enjoy the river views while on the boat and got to experience locks also. When cruising into Rotterdam, I saw one of the super yacht builders' ship yard (Oceanco) and that was exciting for me as we sell to the super yachts.

Great meals, excellent organization.
More substantial lunches would be good.
The tulips were finished by the time we got to the fields. I don’t think the May 2 trip should be advertised as a tulip tour.

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.

The captain and crew were wonderful! The boat was very comfortable. The food was amazing. The bicycle route was beautiful with interesting stops.

The crew, the guides and the scenery. The stops at historical places was a really nice bonus.

The trip was very enjoyable. The scenery and bike paths were great. The staff and cook were excellent.
Suggestions:
The bike groups should be split up into smaller groups (6-8 riders), especially when using busy routes.
The strong bikers should not be grouped with the more leisurely bikers.
The guides should have good skills in GPS navigation and/or riders could use an app such as "Ride with GPS".

Just a great experience. The food and views were wonderful and the guide was excellent.

I think more questions about individuals biking ability and whether they have experience with e-bikes would be good. Also, people should not expect the bike guides to know all the history of the places people bike through-they are there to assist in biking and take care of problems. They have knowledge but they are not historians etc. I think it should be explained that biking with regular bikes and e-bikes are going to be a part of the same group and unless you are going on your own, it might be difficult to keep up. More emphasis on the App that can assist you when biking. Might also want to emphasize preparation before coming such as doing some long rides. It seems some people think they used to bike and this should be a easy ride especially in the Netherlands where it is flat-they forget it is windy and you are doing this every day for a week!

It was an awesome way to see Belgium and the Netherlands. I can't wait for the next trip to Croatia. A bike is the only way to "fly." The food was surprisingly good and varied despite being served on a barge and to a group. Our bike lead, Carla was wonderful. On the down side, the smell of mold in our room on the Fluvius was disgusting and the attempt to fix it with bleach was just as bad. But even worse was the denial by the manager that I told her about it. The staff did their job and nothing more.

The reservation process was so professional with no hitches along the way. The trip was amazing, the guides especially Franz were so good, informative and always present. The barge itself was quite a pleasant surprise to everyone as it was hard to imagine what it would be like, clean, modern with all modern conveniences. Our weather was perfect which was a surprise also as the prediction was rain every day!!! Food was wonderful as well as all the staff. Each tour was different with unique stops along the way and the countryside is so beautiful. Every one was pleased with their bikes, we had e-bikes which we loved.
Thank you Tripsite for an amazing trip.

Visiting the windmills

I liked seeing the windmills. Also 2 full days of pouring rain were memorable; glad my rain gear held up.

This was a very pleasant trip through pretty country. We had two guides, Carla and Tom, who alternated leading the e-bike and non-e-bike groups. Carla is an excellent guide, who obviously researched the areas she was guiding us through, and pointed out interesting sights and historical details. Tom, on the other hand, seemed mostly focused on getting the day over with. (Unless there was a good lunch to be had!)
One thing I didn't realize before the trip was that the guides automatically divided the groups into e-bike and non e-bike sections, and assumed that the e-bike group would go faster and farther. This put people who could have gone farther into the "slow" group, and people who could barely ride a bike into the "fast" group.
The barge itself was quite comfortable, and the food was excellent!

The Bike Tours with Carla were fantastic. The e-bikes were terrible, poorly maintained and were breaking down daily. Tom, the other tour guide didn't stop for anything unless you made him. He would fly past beautiful pictures, areas of interest, and historic sites without a word of explanation. By the end of the trip, people were switching groups daily to ride with Carla instead of with Tom. Back to the e-bikes...The first one I had was not shifting properly nor was the battery working properly. They changed it out for another bike. That bike worked for a few days and then the brakes went out. All I had to slow me down was a tiny bit of front brake and to drag my feet. (felt like I was in an episode of the Flintstones!) This happened with 10 miles to go on the ride. I reported it to Tom upon arrival and the "the bike mechanic", Rabi, was going to fix it. It was clearly an adjustment that needed to be made and that was it. I was informed at that time that they didn't carry spare parts...what? That night, I was informed that Rabi was able to fix my bike. The next day, I got on the bike and it was the same kind of bike but something felt different. I noticed some scratches on it that were not there before. Turns out that the bike number was different and that they had lied to me and actually gave me the broken bike that I had in the first place with 2 gears missing and the faulty battery. Within a few miles of the 35+ mile day we had ahead of us, I noticed the shifting problem and then the battery started going out. The only way to fix it was to stop, remove the battery and then shove it back in to reset it. This caused the whole group to have to stop each time.

Now, on the to problems with the ship. Upon arrival, we were given the key to our cabin in the lower forward part of the boat. I opened the door and the smell of mold and mildew just about knocked me off my feet! I immediately turned on the air conditioner and set it to cold with the fan running constantly. If the fan went off for even a few minutes, the smell returned. There was absolutely NO ventilation in these rooms, not an exhaust fan, nothing! Every time we took a shower, the entire cabin turned into a steam bath which made it impossible to dry my hair or put on make up. After a day, I started becoming very ill from the smell since I am highly allergic to mold. My throat was sore and I was having asthma which is the normal reaction to me being exposed to mold spores. I was not the only one who had a problem with the smell in the cabins. It seems as if the further forward you got in the boat, the worse it was. The upstairs was unaffected although those who had cabins up top with opening windows had no heat for the first 2 nights. Bottom line is that the boat is a floating nightmare and I would never, ever, use that company for trips again. It needs to be renovated before taking any more passengers. The crew did the best they could in trying to clean but then it just smelled like moldy clorox.  SHOW MORE 

The ability to really get to know your other travelers. The scenery and routes were wonderful.
Be sure you have put in the miles before you go so you don’t get so tired you can’t enjoy the rest of the trip. If you sign up for an e-bike, get some experience before you go. Know your ability today not when you were 18, 25 years old. This is a bike tour with guides for the route and care of the bikes. They are not there to give you the history of the areas or buildings you visit-you need to do your own work. They share their knowledge but that isn’t their job!

This was one of the best vacations I’ve ever had! The Magnifique IV is gorgeous and comfortable, and every single staff member was super helpful and just absolutely lovely! Our cycling guides, Hans and Wilfred, we’re wonderful - fun, knowledgeable, well-organized. Seeing bigger towns and cities, and all the countryside and ‘regular’ towns in between by bicycle is such a good way to explore. I highly recommend this trip!

The team (captain Paul, chef Michael, sailor Albert, Hostesses Annika & Ingeborg and tour guides Hans & Wilfred) on Magnifique IV is amazing. They are always cheerful and are so hardworking. Every meal was exquisite and the warm and delicious snacks offered after a long (wet) bike ride were so appreciated. The barge is beautiful. It is clean and well appointed. We appreciated the 2 usb ports to charge our phones in our large suite. We were conservative with water so had lots for a hot shower after a day of cycling. The scenery was gorgeous. If we had stopped at every place for a beautiful picture, we would still be in Gent! Our tour guides were very knowledgeable about the area. They easily answered our questions with enthusiasm and humour. Our daily route was tweaked according to the groups' abilities, interests and, of course, the weather.

Tips
Pack light. We avoided long lineups at every airport because we had only carry-on luggage.
Don't bring a bike helmet unless you are cycling before or after the tour. They are provided.
Rent one of the e-bikes. Even though the routes are mostly flat, we so appreciated having a little boost. I had mine on level 1 most of the time. Level 2 was for near the end of the ride. Level 3, only for going up hills. Make sure to unlock your bike and turn your battery on again after a stop.
Keep some distance between your bike and the one ahead. Not everyone will be experienced with cycling in groups and hand signals.
Do bring a gel seat cover with a waterproof bag. You can cover it, or just take it off when stopping. The seats on the bikes are just okay. They were much more comfortable with an additional squishy layer.
Do bring water-PROOF raingear, top and bottom. We kept warm and almost completely dry with ours. Others went with water RESISTANT and regretted it. In fact, next time I'm bringing good quality covers for my shoes. The staff kindly put our shoes in the engine room to dry out. This worked beautifully when they were damp, but let's just say that stronger measures were needed on other days. Bring an extra pair of shoes.
Your waterproof jacket needs to have a hood. Note, the ball cap I wore under my helmet to keep the sun out of my eyes also kept the rain off my face. We had a mix of weather. Definitely dress in layers if you are doing a tour in late September. I was glad I packed warm long-sleeved tops, hoodies and wool socks. I also had a warm coat and a scarf for the cool evenings in the various beautiful cities.
Do bring a few ziploc bags. These will come in handy on wet days, even with the waterproof satchels.
Don't believe the nice lady at the cheese farm. Unless you are going back home right away, uncover and place the cheese you buy in a fridge. Simply opening the package to let it breath won't be enough to prevent mold from growing.
Do get a data package with your cellphone company. Not every place will have wifi when you need it.  SHOW MORE 

When we road past all the windmills