Netherlands Bike + Boat Tour Reviews — 211 to 240 of 1671

The food and service on our boat were A1. Our tour guides were super helpful and went above and beyond!

The bike ride through towns and the countryside was fabulous. Dont need to be in super fit shape but helps to wear padded bike shorts or bring a padded seat cover.

The barge accommodations are luxurious and food was excellant.

The vibe on the boat was great! The chef was amazing, and so accommodating to my food allergy! Two great bike tour-guides!

Suggestions - budget for at least one beverage included for dinner. It was a nice treat on the first and last day to have a complimentary drink pairing. The wifi on the boat was really bad; I know we were warned that it might not be strong, but it just didn't work most of the time. That was frustrating, not being able to communicate with family, check the scores of Eurocup games, etc.

The guided walking tours of Bruges and Antwerp were informative and interesting.

As always, the tour guides were wonderful. The boat was great, the food was great, and the itinerary was just what we were hoping for.

The trip aboard the Magnifique III from Brugges to Amsterdam was both stimulating and relaxing! Each day was filled with interesting cycling adventures with newly found friends! The evenings gave us the opportunity to relax enjoy a gourmet meal! The tour guides kept us laughing and they were all informed about each areas history and unique characteristics! Come prepared for fun, new friends and adventure!!!

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Guides could have had more info. Sometimes they knew nothing about the cities we stopped in and just told us to read the brochure.It doesn't take much to give them a one page cheat sheet to tell us a bit about the history of the place and the buildings.
Went on the same trip six Yeats ago and the guide had a wealth of information. The guides were very nice ladies however.

This barge trip was my second one but definitely it wasn’t better than the first. The main reason of this disappointment was the guide. We were a group of 12 with a wide range of ages and personally I think he wasn’t able to adapt to every bodies needs and we had to look after ourselves. The guide didn’t explain much about the history and meaning of the places we visited, which, to my mind, diminishes the value of this experience.

the best part was the absolutely most beautiful scenery in Belgium and the Netherlands! Be sure to check ahead for the latest weather to be prepared for biking and be prepared to have very spotty internet on the boat.

The entire trip was just so wonderful, the food, the accommodations, the guide, the staff and the places visited. The food was probably the biggest surprise. Each and everyday we had a delectable 3 course dinner. Everything was fresh and tasty. The beds were very comfortable and each stop was so peaceful and quiet, it was easy to get a good night's rest. We opted for e-bikes, more so for the wind than hills. We were fortunate to have only one ride with extreme rain (so have good rain gear or opt to stay on the boat if you know the weather is going to be really bad). After the trip, we have put this vacation as our best ever!

The staff on the barge, Gandalf, were friendly and accommodating, Meals were exceptional; kudos to Chef Hans!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Green Belt biking of Holland, the fields, forests and windmill areas!
Our tour leader, Patrick, did an excellent job of leading and managing the group.
However, I do feel the local partner fell short; by not having an extra staff member biking in back of the group, as the “Sweep”.
Patrick asked for someone to volunteer, each day, to be the Sweep and I don’t feel we paid for this tour to have this job and responsibility.

The Magnifique III was great. It is a barge, so don’t expect The Ritz, but for instance, It’s much nicer than most chartered Catamarans in the British Virgin Isles.
Meals were delicious and plentiful. The chef did an amazing job feeding us a great variety of tasty meals.
Most importantly, the guides were great. They had a great sense of humor and managed the various personalities, skill levels, expectations and behaviors diplomatically and graciously.

Having issues with the battery while bicycling in Friesland where it was very windy was the most memorable part of our trip! We had to ride our e-bikes with no power assist for approximately 10 kilometres. The food was good, the option of the drink package was really nice. The staff were well trained, they were courteous and friendly. When I had an issue with my bike, it was replaced the next day. This was a self guided trip, the guides who reviewed the route for the next day failed to inform us that there was a route detour, some of the guests became lost and had trouble finding their way back to the boat. All guests should have a Sim or eSIM card on their phone ( Canadian and Americans) or cell phone coverage (Europeans) so they have access to Google Maps when there is an issue with navigation. The App was very good, but it did not assist when there is a route detour.

The barge was super deluxe with an excellent chef and our Bicycle guides were spectacular explaining historic sites and interesting cultural info.

The crew was amazing. The boat very comfortable. The scenery outstanding. The food excellent. Even the weather behaved. Our Guides Andre and Franklin provided historic information in addition to keeping us all safe. It was great to be on a trip with people of the same interests. One suggestion would be if you are sensitive to insect bites bring repellant!
A great experience overall. So glad we checked it off of our to do list!

It was well organized. Ari was excellent as were the rest of the staff. We really enjoyed cycling in the outskirts of cities and stopping for coffee in small villages

We loved this trip! The boat is lovely and the state rooms were a good size with excellent storage, a comfortable bed and nice private bathroom. The crew was very friendly, extremely attentive and accommodating. The Captain was very fun. The food was solid and plentiful with a good amount of choices. The dining room was lovely and comfortable. We did think it odd that we had to pay for water at dinner but other than that we felt it was a very good value.

The biking is absolutely beautiful! I can't say enough about how lovely the scenery was. We used regular bikes but would recommend e-bikes to future customers because of the high winds that you can experience. The bikes were in good shape and had 7 gears which was enough since the majority of the trip is flat biking. The e-bikes can be shut off and used as a regular bike if you want more exercise, but can be turned on to go up hills and fight the wind. I borrowed and e- bike for a while and found it easy to ride when the power was off, so I only used it going up hills. Plus having an e-bike gives you more time to do sight seeing.
The tour was self guided but there was a guide on the route available for problems. Jan was very responsive to calls and had a great sense of humor. He gave a daily route briefings and the GPS app was quite good. Just be sure you know how to use it before you start biking. Between the GPS and the written route instructions, we always found our way with only a couple short hick-ups. We also got tips on places to stop for coffee, snacks and sight seeing.
I would recommend this tour to anyone who enjoys biking. I would warn some people that although you are usually on a bike path, it is often a designated shoulder of the road. You do need to be able to get off and on your bike quickly sometimes at intersections, so it can be intimidating for older folks who aren't as nimble as they once were. The car drivers are very used to cyclers and in general are very courteous, but you do need to stay aware of the many other people cycling on the roads and some are very fast. Having said all that, we had a wonderful trip despite rain off and on. You can always stay on the ship if the weather is too bad!

The tour itself was fantastic.

My interaction with tripsite was confusing and not reassuring. I’ve never encountered such a strange and needlessly cumbersome and costly process to book a trip.

Holland is a beautiful country and a cyclist's dream with all the bike trails. We loved the vibe of the trip and our group on the Gandalf became a family. The food was excellent and the hospitality of Hans and his team aboard the Gandalf were fabulous and fun. The barge had to adapt to several canal locks being closed, and change the route for us. The tour guide was great considering all the changes in the route he had to accommodate. And the evening tour of the towns was really fun and well thought out. And it was my 60th birthday aboard the ship and everyone celebrated with me.

We enjoyed our trip from Bruges to Amsterdam. The Magnifique IV was very comfortable. The food and service was terrific.

Our tour guides (Corrie and Mariah) lead us through the countryside and small towns. The gave us history lessons and local insight on our rides and after dinner walks, making the journey much more enjoyable.

Over the week we rode each date for a total of 278km. There was very little elevation change and we were fortunate to have the wind at our backs for much of the trip. Be sure to pack a raincoat. The weather conditions were variable, affected by the proximity to the ocean.

We can't wait until we do this again.

Tour leaders were great.
Always very helpful and knowledgeable.
They knew the territory and landscape and brought us to the most beautiful sights.

We have done many biking trips in Europe, most self guided. We did find the pace a little slow, but got into the groove with the group on the very good hybrid bikes-thanks Coene. Cristina's hospitality and food was wonderful and both her and Coene are very good hosts. Their staff were also extremely good.
The boat was very comfortable, cabins big enough to not feel claustrophobic, beds comfy, appreciated the heated towel rail to dry washing.
For us the best part of a trip is seeing the countryside, smelling the roses and taking time to look at the scenery.

Our bicycle tours led us through beautiful countryside, small seaside towns, farm land, medieval fortified towns, and city centers, all on designated bicycle paths. I loved the custom, belt-driven bikes, the cultural tours, the scenery, and back on the boat, the food was amazing! Co-captain and chef extraordinaire Christina fed us a wide variety of gourmet dinners, complete with a reasonably-sized, fabulous dessert. People with birthdays received whole, hand-made cakes to share. I felt thoroughly well-taken care of at all times. Also, the new bathrooms were quite nice— and the entire ship was cleaned to a fastidious degree every day!

I really enjoyed rolling through the countryside and stopping at small towns and villages. The city tours were an enriching cultural experience.

We just got off the Magnifique III today. What a wonderful trip despite some inclimate weather. Our biking guides Peter and Edith were fun, knowledgeable, encouraging and brought us to some very interesting local places on our very scenic ride through countryside, fields, forests and towns. We had very full days eating breakfast at 8, on the road by 9:30 and back on the boat by 5 ish, depending on how many miles were covered , or if you took the long or short routes offered. The meals cooked by Chef Steven were magnificent-steak, seafood, fish and lots of veggie option- way beyond what I expected. Meike and Annika kept us very happy on board and took care of rooms and provisions. Captain Hank and first mate Jarre were experts at what they do, made themselves available for questions and occasional tours of the boat and kept us informed of our routes and sights along the way.
We had morning and nightly briefings, and Peter gave lots of history, tours and background info.
I was wowed by how first class this operation is. There were only 20 cabins, with a total of less than 40 in our group-perfect size.i chose an electric bike, with the option of choosing no, low, or high assist.
The terrain was flat, so assist was only needed in strong headwinds. I had wanted a top deck cabin with full length glass doors, but was too late booking to get one. It ended up that those cabins were sometimes blocked by a dock or another boat when docke so I am glad I did not spend the extra-unless you spent time in the rooms while sailing.
We went with a group of 6 and enjoyed our time together as everything was provided for. Lots of options for our athletic to laid back group. I will be booking another trip with them. Highly recommend

Loved the Merlijn boat , Coen & Cristina were wonderful hosts , Cristina was a fabulous cook & hostess, so accomodating. Coen very knowledgeable & helpful.
Might be helpful to have 2 cycling guides as we found the pace very slow at times , even though we were on the hybrid bikes. Francine did let us go ahead at times. Bedrooms were very comfortable, heated towel rails great for drying biking shorts overnight.
We would consider going again but probably a week trip.

A note and not a review. Some colleagues returned to the Fluvius a few minutes after midnight and the sliding glass doors on either side of the main deck were locked. These doors were locked with a key on both the outside and the inside. My concern is that if there were an emergency and crew were not available, passengers could not open the sliding glass doors from the inside. I think this is a safety issue and those doors should have an emergency inside lock that can be opened by any passenger or crew without a key or without specific training.

Overall, a great trip. Excellent meals - thanks to Mirka and her staff. Carla and Laura were great tour guides and I hope Carla recovers from her accident soon.

Another suggestion - review mirrors on the bikes would make keeping groups together a bit easier.

We were on the boat "Sailing Home" and we went from Bruges to Amsterdam. We've never done a Bike & Barge trip before and this trip far exceeded our expectations. From the moment we stepped on board, there was a warm welcome from the 5 fantastic crew members. These 5 could not do enough for you to make your trip a trip to remember. There were 22 travelers on board and having breakfast and dinners with them was so much fun. The food was 5 star every night, the captain was awesome with our boat... smooth and easy travel. Our bike guide was outstanding. We went to so many different places, learned about the history in the villages, she personalized the trip by taking us to a cheese farm and was calm under pressure! The biking was incredible... it was so beautiful everywhere! The rooms were cozy and it was so nice having a bathroom in each room! I highly recommend this trip. It was spectacular!

The staff aboard the Magnifique IV were fabulous. We had great bike tour guides. The people we met on the ship were from all over the world and we all became friends. I would highly recommend this tour and we will be doing this again

We really liked exploring the old towns in the NL while biking but wished there was more time to do so as there were so many interesting things to see. Having some additional information on each was nice.
The staff were extremely helpful and friendly and we enjoyed their kindness and willingness to serve & make our trip comfortable & enjoyable. (Thanks to Jeremal, Christina, John, Stani and the other deck hands.) The beds and rooms were comfortable and the dining room/bar were well appointed. The food at dinner was excellent but the quantity was not enough for the ‘bigger’ eaters in our group.

We found the distance to bike on some days was more than we wanted and had hoped we could have options to go off or on the boat part way. (Though having the opportunity to change to an ebike helped…thank you John!.)
We were disappointed that we could not purchase any snacks in the evening and that the only ones provided during teatime were sweets. Then on the last evening we were reprimanded by the tour guide for buying fries from the street vendor and eating them at the dining table long after dinner was finished. He said it was like ‘bringing food into a restaurant’ but there was no where else for us to sit and socialize with our friends. Not very understanding or accommodating on his part which was evident when we asked for his expertise in bike routes as well. He would not be inclined to discuss things or give consideration to the queries.
We would also recommend that the lunches have more options for on the buns (ie Tuna, roast beef, Egg salad and or lettuce).
Mostly we will have fond memories of this trip with the DeNassau and crew and wish you a good season.