Belgium Bike & Hotel Tour Reviews — 91 to 102 of 102

This was our first bike tour (second for the two other couples in our party) and we truly enjoyed it. It was a good amount of daily biking, a mostly flat ride, with nice places to stop along the way. We liked all of the hotels - though two could have been more conveniently located in town - and the breakfasts were always great. We made use of the printed directions, maps, bike route number system, and GPS to find our way - each system seemed to work better at different points of the journey. There were a couple mix-ups with missing or misplaced signage on the bike route, but other than that, things went smoothly. We've posted pictures and more info about our trip at http://intentionaltravelers.com/4-reasons-self-guided-bike-tour/ . Thanks for a great trip!

Hello some feedback from our bike trip to better the experience.

We had a flat tire and the bike pumps didn't work. We were in a group of four and none of them worked. Also there were no tire tubes! Should we have taken some with us? If so I didn't read that suggestion in the info provided.

We only had two saddlebags
No knobs on kick stands
No stem caps
Odometers only worked on one bike and one bike didn't have one at all
Bells didn't work on all bikes
The handle bars were loose on one bike and that was quite worrisome going down hills
On the bike trip from Dresden to Wittenburg we did a couple of years ago we were sized to our bike by a nice gentle man who took the time to explain aspects of the bike and we appreciated his efforts. We didn't have that attention this time so wondered if the bikes actually were road worthy, especially when we came to facing a fairly challenging route. The feed back from the bike shop in Huckelhoven was that the man caring for the bikes or owning the bikes was not as committed to his responsibilities to do so.. Just a comment they passed on and I am passing on to you.

We do appreciate the ease with which to book these bike trip through emails on line etc.
the hotel people along the trip were so friendly and accommodating and made us feel very welcome.
Thankyou
Cheryl

The Mast Family
Bike tour Bruges to Amsterdam,
June 14-20, 2015

We really enjoyed the trip. The scenery was beautiful and we got a good overview of the coasts, farm land, waterways, historical sites and the cities. The hotels were very nice, comfortable, varied and had good restaurants in the hotels. The breakfast buffets were great. We particularly enjoyed the smaller hotels. Luggage transfer worked well.
The routes were easy to follow for the most part once we got “tuned into” finding the route signs. With the maps we were also able to alter the route to see some other sites we were interested in.
A couple of things would have made the trip easier:
Equipment:
More specific information about the bikes, which differ from those we normally ride, before the trip started would have helped us to get a good start the first day.
An extra tube for the tires would have helped since some tires required multiple patches.
Route:
The route on day 2 from Vlissingin to Noordgouwe included a ferry across Veerse Meer. When we arrived at the location on Monday we were told the ferry did not run Monday in June (this was in the detail route description but was in Dutch, not in English). We spoke to some local residents who told us the (lengthily) alternate but mentioned that since there were so many of us we could speak to the ferry staff and see if they would run for us (which they nicely did). Our trip would have been much more pleasant (and a couple hours shorter) that day if we had had this information up front.

Availability of help:
It was not easy to contact you when we needed to report an equipment issue after finishing a route after your office hours. We had to resort to emailing you so you did not get the message until the next day. We received an email that we would be called and the battery replaced but we never received a call, maybe because we had a US cell phone. So on the 3rd day someone finally showed up with a replacement bike. This would have been a better situation if:
We could have contacted you after office hours.
The bike people had contacted the desk at the hotel rather than trying to call our phone.

We are really impressed and will give all our friends top ratings on Brugge.

Great things to say about the hotel and the area. June is cool weather - bring jacket & light rain gear, but just expect to get a little wet every day and you won't be disappointed.

Paul and Mannie are great. One runs the hotel and one the B&B. They are very helpful and good people. There are not real "rides". You get a map, you ask questions and you go ride. It's just not that specific. A total beginner needs a little more hand-holding. Nancy & I did not.

Breakfast is filling & tasty. Cereal, juice, coffee (more American than most of the places in Belgium), toast, cheese, ham (really good ham), and a soft boiled egg every day. Plus yogurt, fruit, jams/jellies, and always something sweet like a cookie/chocolate. And an apple, kiwi, or banana to go.

You don't need to eat again until 2pm.

It stays light until 10:30, so you end up eating late.

Mondays & Thursdays pose the most challenge with eating out. And you have to venture outside the cirucular canal to find groceries who sell you sandwiches and trinkets at normal prices. Everything inside the canal is triple price.

All chocolate shops are good. Dumon is excellent because they are more creative and they put more thought into their display.

The cobblestones get a little old after awhile, but the bikes have spring seats and low-air tires so it's not too bad. Ride a road bike through the town at your own risk. :-)

Be prepared for wind. We were so surprised at the cooler June temps; very pleasant. A light jacket and a rain-proof attitude is all you need.

The hotel internet logs you off constantly, so every 30 min or so you have to log back on, but otherwise is very solid. I had good VPN all the time, so I could check work emails.

The B&B is larger rooms, with larger showers. If you are over 200 lbs, you get a little cramped in the hotel showers. But otherwise, the hotel is great value It's in a quiet area, and yet only minutes walking or riding to all the touristy things.

I'd Recommend the Groeninge Museum for art collection. It's fascinating and all the works are in top shape.

The Diamont Museum is a must is you have any interest at all in diamonds. The demonstration for an extra 3 euros each was well worth it.

And the restaurant across the street (forgot the name) is great value and offers free wifi.

There is no common language. You may hear Dutch, German, French or English spoken at any store. But everyone has enough English to get by. Paul says he can sell a room in 6 different languages. :-)  SHOW MORE 

Our cycle trip to beautiful, medieval Brugges was exceptional. The routes were picturesque and diverse; small castles, forests, canals, sea views, beautiful farmland and interesting architecture.The bike paths are amazing, easy to follow and extensive . Our rental bikes were new, well-maintained and suitable for any level rider. Hotel Fevery was very comfortable and quaint; we especially enjoyed our hosts', Paul and Benny, who had many suggestions and helpful hints for our daily rides. Breakfast was super and filling with cheeses, meats, baskets of bakery fresh breads, and market fresh fruit.

Because the terrain is so flat and easy to cycle we recommend this bike trip to anyone who is just starting out on their quest to tour Europe by bike.

Ian and Kim White, Canada

This was our third Pack and Pedal tour, and as usual it was fabulous! However this time we had a day that was well above and beyond what was expected. The owner of the partner company in Roselaire, Belgium,(who provided the bikes) was incredibly knowledgable about WWI, and when he found out that my brother-in-law wanted to try to locate an uncle's grave near our route, he took it upon himself to meet with us on one of our biking days, drive us to the nearest town likely to be the one with the gravesite, and successfully help us find it. This was one of many meaningful days in an amazing week. I might also say that whatever weather gods you partner with, keep them happy. We have almost always had really good weather when biking. And we will definitely be back! Thanks again and again!

We had visited Bruges previously and wanted to return to this beautiful charming place. The routes took us in all 4 directions from the city; each was interesting and beautiful. We loved the B&B stay.

We really enjoyed the tour. This was our first time cycling in Europe and we are eagerly anticipating our next. We liked the flexibility of self-guided. The hotel was great and we loved Bruges!

This tour was phenomenal! My boyfriend and I had no idea what to expect since we booked it rather last-minute. Carla took care of everything and all we had to do was show up!

The bikes are typical city hybrid bikes that rode just fine. Some people on the tour brought their own bikes, too, so that's an option.

It was completely self-paced and you can linger in the cities you pass through or stop for lunch whenever you please. We usually kept running into the same cyclists, but it was never as though we all had to stick together in a herd.

We were booked into some very nice hotels and what a treat that they schlep your luggage from place-to-place for you. One less thing to worry about! Given that you're on your bike for a good portion of the day, it's good to know that you will have a comfy bed waiting for you at day's end.

The map is helpful. I will say that the directions in English started off well, but there were a few glitches along the way. Particularly if your odometer isn't working or if you wander around a bit (and you will because the cities you pass through are really beautiful!), you get thrown off-course. Thankfully, Belgians have to be the most incredibly helpful and friendliest group of people we have ever met; if we were ever lost, there was always someone willing to help us get where we needed to go.

If you're worried about the difficulty, don't be. My boyfriend is a seasoned rider; my longest rides prior to this were about fifteen miles. The route is all pretty much flat (even on Day 1 when there are supposed to be hills to tackle). If you leave just after breakfast, you will arrive at the next destination with time to explore and relax.

If you're worried about safety, also have no fear here. Belgium has the equivalent of an intrastate highway system for bikes. In big cities, bike lanes are clearly marked and people heed to them. The pace of life is much different than back in the States and drivers are incredibly patient around cyclists.

This was so much fun and we are definitely looking forward to another trip!

Our group of 12 took this tour several years ago. We had extra days in Brussels (well worth it) and in Brugges (three days will give you a day to visit the seacost resorts (just 10 miles away. This trip is entirely in the Flenish (Northern) part of Belgium. Pack and Pedal took care of us in a first class manner..

The trip we did was a self-guided tour of West Flanders & Brugge, and I can honestly say it was the best trip of my life! I can't recommend travel through Tripsite.com enough. Using them, we experienced the highest level of professionalism & security, in addition to a fantastic cycling adventure. We're definitely planning on another self-guided tour, the only problem we're having is agreeing on which one to take first! Thank you, Carla, Hennie & everyone at tripsite for giving us an experience we will never forget!

We loved our trip. It was our first visit to Belgium and we felt like we saw most of the country ... Brussels, Leuven, Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges and more. Plus, you really get to see a place up close when you do it by bike.

The bike paths were excellent ... many of them were along rivers or canals. The directions were usually easy to follow and, on occasion, when they weren't, that just added to the adventure.

There is so much to do in Brussels, we stayed a couple of extra days. Bruges is so charming, we spent a little extra time there, too. Plus, we were fortunate to be in both Ghent and Bruges during festivals.

We look forward to other trips in the future.