Belgium Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 811 to 840 of 1017

Two items that were not as expected.
The literature states two guides but there was only one guide. This means there could only be one guided ride per day. So provide two guides or change the description of the trip to say only one guided ride per day.
Our pre-trip information provided a location for the where the barge would be moored in Paris. We selected a hotel near this location and planned activities based on this location. The boat did not dock at this location. We were not told that the location was changing. The boat docked. We didn't know where we were at and our guide also didn't know where we were at. Guide was very good. This was an issue with the boat captain.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. I loved biking through different scenery - quaint villages and towns, beautiful forests, farmland and countryside. It is the perfect way to see parts of Belgium and Holland. You can go at your own pace because the trails are so well marked. The barge is beautiful and the rooms are comfortable. I can't say enough about the staff, they were excellent. I definitely recommend this trip and can't wait to 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.

This is a great way to see Europe.

The Magnifique II and staff were more amazing than we expected! The bike routes were absolutely beautiful with very well planned and laid out maps. Overall a very memorable experience that I am highly recommending to every one I talk to.

The most memorable parts were the scenery, the cute villages, the windmills and the dunes with great people and staff.

Dutch and Belgium rural scenery and bike paths were beautiful, well marked and saw lots of wildlife.

The trip provided both the opportunity to see the countryside in an up-close and invigorating manner, but it also allowed for memorable time to get to know and enjoy our fellow travelers.

Directions were terrible for Amsterdam and the last two days there were not the number routes we needed on the intersections so was confusing. All hotels were good but one was a dive and not nice. Hotel Piccard.

The guide and crew were amazing. Great home cooked meals with personal atmosphere.

Marcos , captain and Kim, cook were at the helm of our trip with the Claire de Lune. They did an outstanding job; food excellent, conversation and safety of boat exceptional - we were taken care of very well. Paul, tour bike guide kept us all together on the back streets and roads, never lost and always got us back to the boat in time for relaxation time and dinner. He knew the area, well versed in the country's history and strong bicyclist and took good care of us. This trip is not for the faint at heart or easy bicycle afternoon riders. We road 30 miles almost every day - wind in our face and sometimes lucky with the wind at our backs. The riding was some back roads, some deltas and some cobble stone city riding along with traffic. Not rails to trails and no sag wagon. We saw beautiful country sides, the tulips were full aglow at the tulip fields and the windmill adventure was super. It was a good full week of adventure. The barge crew are to be commended for all that they did to make our week special.

It was the best trip. The food was spectacular, our guide was spectacular. I loved the whole trip.

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.

Three highlights of the trip: glorious sunshine on the palette of colour at the Keukenhof Gardens; exploring the fabulous 'secret' back alleys in the Kieuperspoort district of Middelburg; the helpful, friendly and confident nature of our Dutch hosts. Fantastic holiday!!!

The most memorable part was riding through the beautiful countryside.

The trip was fun but I don't think the description of the trip was accurate. The trip was about 85% bike riding and 15% site seeing. I would have liked more time to explore the cities we were riding through but most of the time it was too late or placed were closed. Not sure if I would do another tour like this. The riding was beautiful but I really expected more site seeing according to the trip description.

The most memorable part was fellow cyclists and our very helpful and knowledgeable guide.

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

A great trip. The area was great loved the villages we rode through.

Most memorable was the friendliness, patience and helpfullness of the staff!

The barge crew were exceptional. The cook treated each guest as a friend. Accommodated our request for a birthday cake. He even baked it on his own time. The scenery was exactly as anticipated.

Our guide, Arie, was terrific! The chef, Chris (I think), was fantastic! The whole bike/barge week was a 5 out of 5 experience

Just got off the Magnifique II a couple of weeks ago and my wife and I along with three other couples in our group had a fabulous time. Captain Paul, first mate Kevin, Chef Leroy, and Tesa went up and beyond duty helping and serving all of us. With temperatures above normal and the lost of one additional crew member they never missed a beat. The meals were excellent,Tesa always had a smile on her face while pouring us a glass of wine,Kevin could be found helping dock the boat, getting a beer for someone,adjusting the height of a bike seat and many,many more duties. Capt. Paul not only guided the ship throughout our trip,but jumped right in to clear dinner dishes ,tend bar and always willing to answer questions we might have about the Netherlands and Belgium. Marcel our guide did just that,telling us about certain structures we passed by, folklore and tours on foot through some of the towns we stayed in at night. A great trip

The food was exceptional! The Chef put a lot of effort to please.
Presentation was amazing.

I cannot say enough about the whole trip. The Barge accommodations were perfect for all my needs, the food aboard the MS Fluvius was way beyond what I expected - such a variety and the quality and quantity were superb. The staff on board could not have been more obliging - so eager to help so much fun. Our Guide was just simply the best (Jack/Jacques) knowledgeable and helpful, concerned always for our safety and our enjoyment. All our stops for coffee breaks and lunch breaks were also well planned. Would I recommend this trip to my friends? You Bet!! Look forward to going again - Thanks Tripsite

The bike-friendly paths through magnificent landscapes in Belgium and the Netherlands was outstanding.

The most memorable part of this trip was our impromptu swim off the boat. Jumping from the top and getting 22 of us in the water including the Captain.

This was a fun trip full of historic sites. Would have liked to have maps so we could go off at our own speed sometimes. The side trips for additional mileage were great. Got to ride some of the "Tour de Flanders" route with cobbles and hills. Chantilly was fantastic! Also took a side adventure to a roman ruin, something we weren't expecting in that part of France.

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.

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.