Netherlands Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 361 to 390 of 1671

Combination of boat and biking. We are sailors and enjoyed the maritime aspects of trip. Chef was an unanticipated pleasure.
Note that there are strong headwinds in North Netherlands.

The Fleur staff was terrific and our guides Japke and Brian were great fun.

Seeing the Netherlands up close from the bike was fantastic. Our guide was very knowledgeable and personable.

Biking under the excellent leadership of Tammy. The equipment was excellent. The pace of the trip perfect for retirement aged people

Barge and crew were great. Plentiful and tasty food. Our guide was superior

All of it!!! Loved bicycling through the beautiful countryside with the never ending flowers, water, green fields full of fowl of all kinds, beautiful historical homes and buildings, delicious food, windmills, cheese markets and the personal friendliness of the attentive and informative crew of the Zwaantje. Honestly, these people made us feel so welcome and were so accommodating to our needs. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and will return again to visit.

We had an amazing time! All biking levels will have a blast on this trip - the routes and system in the Netherlands are so user friendly - and each day is spent biking through countrysides and historic small towns - a dream! The guides, crew, and staff were all so kind and lovely. Highly recommend!

Our guide was wonderful. He was flexible and went out of his way to bring us to see things that were of interest to us. Also, the food was delicious and accommodating to special diets.

My highlights were the tulip fields, Keukenhof, the flower auction, and the functioning windmill. I also loved the camaraderie with staff and fellow travellers.

Some improvements:
The rating was easy but I think that pertains to the flatness of the path. biking between 30-65 kms per day wasn't easy with the wind conditions. Some clarification might be useful.

Also, some of the times and plans for the day were fluid and sometimes confusing. Still liked it an awful lot though.

The Tulips were Spectacular!
I loved our boat, it was sparkling clean.
The food was Delicious and the crew so very accommodating.
Thank you for a wonderful trip!

Our guide and crew were exceptional! We highly recommend the use of e bikes…

When I read reviews of trips from former guests…I am always a little cautious about the use of hyperboles. However, I have to say that my expectations were far exceeded on this tour and it was thanks to the ship La Mar, the crew, Captain Marnik and especially the tour guides Michiel, Mijntje and Anne. They all worked amazingly well to create the best tour I have been on! I ended up selecting a comfort class level because that was what fit my timeline and availability but I have to say it was delightful and lacked nothing (Marnik your renovation looks great!). Cycling through the countryside and stopping in small towns and farms gives you a very different perspective of what a people and a country are about…and this trip delivered that…I have a new and wonderful impression of the Netherlands and all the wonderful people who live there. Thanks for an amazing adventure!!

We had a wonderful time on this very active vacation. I most enjoyed seeing Dutch country life in a relaxed and independent way. We did face many challenges on this trip as the three of us in our group were the only English speakers. The trip leader debriefed us separately each evening but I feel we missed out on a lot of the information that the German speakers received in their debriefing later. We weren't given an orientation on how to use the e-bikes and had to figure that out on our own. We also weren't given an orientation for the boat the first night as it was given all in German and we had to figure out where everything was on our own as well. While everyone on the boat was very cordial I felt like a burden because I didn't speak German and was excluded from the larger group because of it. The maps and route descriptions were difficult to follow and it took all three of us to find our way each day. One of us needed to have the app open (my phone wasn't working so the app was useless to me), one of us had the map and the other used the route description. We frequently missed junctions and turns either because the sign was down or the route wasn't explained in enough detail. Riding in the cities was the most difficult. The app often contradicted the route description and the map. When we asked the trip leaders about it at the end of the day we were given the impression that we just didn't follow it correctly. I'm wondering if the debriefings had been better the night before that maybe we wouldn't have had so many issues.

The scenery was lovely! We enjoyed our active vacation - we self guided our biking days & between the maps, app, & instructions from our guide beforehand we didn’t get too lost. The staff of the Normandie was amazing!

The ease and convenience of returning to the ship every afternoon to share experiences with the rest of our group was the most noteworthy comment I could make. However there were many other hiighliights.
Riding through the Dutch countryside on the first day was a highlight.
Both guides and the bikes were great and the varied nature of the cycle paths on this tour was terrific.
Food was varied, good quality and well prepared. Rooms were efficient and comfortable as advertised.
Onboard staff from Croatia were terrific – friendly, hard working, accommodating and very nice with our grandsons.

A trip of a lifetime. The best way to see the small cities of Holland and Belgium at a leisurely pace with like minded people. Our North Star our guides Hester, Ester were amazing. They had very good understanding of the routes and the history of each city. Drum roll for an amazing crew on the barrage. The food and service was spectacular . If you want a slow, luxurious bike tour this is the trip to do!

We enjoyed the cycling with expert guides through this Low Countries. I became very emotional at the Canadian memorial cemetery and finding headstones from his regiment.seeing historic sites at Kinderdyck was fascinating. Our accommodation was top notch and was great being with like minded travellers . The bikes were comfortable and perfect for this tour.we had ebikes which were great for the Dutch mountains (wind)!We enjoyed the Netherlands. Amsterdam is a lively city for tourism and easy to manoeuvre.

Wilma was the highlight. She was our daily update for travel on bike. Loved the barge and the room. Occasionally a diesel odor came into the cabin. We were nearest the engine top deck. But loved it all.

The program o the trips was excellent and the chief guide also.

The most memorable part was being with friends and meeting new friends from Australia!
Pack clothes for both extremes hot and cold!
Food was just okay

Small suitcase, rooms have little storage
Super nice shower
PLEASE have Tripsite reflective vests available at the START of the trip NOT mailed to us. That would make us a more safe and cohesive group on the roads and especially in crowded cities

Amazing trip… So many small towns and villages that were cute and quaint to stop for lunch. The dunes and the beaches were spectacular. The GPS system worked beautifully. The routes were marked well. Always wear layers. It can be cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon or can rain . Out of 90 people, there were only 7 English-speaking guests;but the good news is the ship staff spoke English. The food was OK. On some of the smaller barges I’ve been on the food was spectacular. I understand. They have to serve a lot more people. Our guides were exceptionally informative and they rode the routes with us. They were helpful kind and fun, Johan and Jerome … the entire crew was polite and helpful. I would recommend strip it was great.

Loved the biking through the many forests along our routes. Loved all of the biking, but especially the forests!

The Magnifique 11 promised luxury, and they most certainly delivered every step of the way! The welcome from the captain, chef, tour guides and assistants was outstanding. They established a comraderie among the guests who were sharing the experience. Our rooms were immaculate, the food tasty and beautifully presented, fantastic 24hour coffee machine too. The first two days of biking were brutal with the head winds, but getting an e-bike was a saver, one I would recommend, even as a seasoned biker! We’ve come home with new friendships - so how rich is that! Thank you so much for another grand experience tripsite! (My 4th)

We had a wonderful time on our trip. The Boat ,room, staff, and meals were excellent. All the staff work very hard to make sure all have a great trip.
One thing I would recommend to others is to bring light rain gear and gloves for riding

The daily rides supported by the bike and boat guide Wilma on the de Holland , was excellent! Each city and countryside we rode through was that much better with the detail of information provided by her. Loved each day.
Be prepared for wind and a little rain in October month.

Most memorable was the excellent guiding from Wilma who gave us so much information about the routes.

It was wonderful visiting the cities and small towns each day in addition to the countryside.

The people on board. And the food. Stella was great, too. I liked the open windows in the upstairs rooms. Also, coffee or cappuccino, espresso 24/7.

The overall organised week-the daily presentation of our next days excursions. On top of biking through beautiful routes , we also benefited from nightly activities and presentations of local cultural products such as chocolaterie,beer and cuisine.
The warm and welcoming reception of the whole crew, especially our two experienced and knowledgeable guides : Peter Van Avermaet & Tom Stout ,their camaraderie and sense of humor made the whole group feel at ease !
The chef was very accommodating as I had requested a gluten and lactose free diet. Many thanks !!!
Tips - In order to fully enjoy this wonderful adventure ,when booking a Bike & Barge ,you should be ready ,comfortable and expecting to be biking !!!!

Excellent staff, from the Captain on down through the chef, support personnel and the two knowledgeable tour guides on the very comfortable and well appointed Magnifique 11.

Tip: the pendulum has swung strongly towards the use of E bikes on this tour. Suggest you put the miles in ahead of time, if you plan to go with a hybrid bike so as to comfortably keep up with the e bikers.

The quality of the boat's amenities, the cuisine and the areas travelled through were exceptional.
My last bike and barge was more than a decade ago. Since then the growth of e-bikes has accelerated. On this tour, 24 of 34 riders were using e-bikes. I'm not convinced that mixing e-bikes and regular bikes is viable.