De Holland boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 68

What I am left with is the memory of the wonderful people I met on the trip. People from all over coexisted, braved some very wet weather, adapted to continuous itinerary changes due to weather conditions and still had a lovely experience. Food and accommodations were excellent. Kudos to the guide Peter who spent hours on his computer sleuthing out alternate routes for cycling as our itinerary continually changed. We missed some cities and had little time in others but you can't control Mother Nature or "traffic control" on the canals. All in all we had a great time and I will definitely book another B & B trip.

Cycling through the small towns and fields. So picturesque and very calm riding.

Staff were great and worked very hard for all of us during the week. Unfortunately strong winds kept us docked for a day so we lost a day riding north as planned and caused other changes in the itinerary which apparently is not common but can happen. Food was very good and enjoyable to meet others from other countries during social hours.

The mix of beautiful countryside and vibrant cities and towns.

The most memorable part of the trip was the gift of breezing through the many changing landscapes of this region, at our own pace, stopping for a coffee to be part of the community for only a few moments.

We had a wonderful time. The combination of biking everyday and returning to our comfy accommodations on the boat was perfect.

The last two days were the most beautiful weather-wise. Loved the scenery, farms, birds, farm animals, gardens, homes, windmills. Just beautiful. The meals on board were delicious. Met some fun people. Loved our upper level rooms!

Most memorable were the amazing rides through the countryside in the sunshine. Assistance from the cycling crew was amazing!

Disappointed to hear that participants who chose to remain on the boat were restricted to only certain areas.

Would have liked more snacks and drinks post cycling.

The cycling itself.
Meeting other cyclists.
Certain staff members approach were very appreciative and attentive and others not so much.
Meals were not great. Made mostly from frozen or highly processed food. Lack of availability of free cold drinking water for cyclists was a concern.

The first few days of bicycling around the Netherland were the best, after that it became a bit monotonous with lots of farm land.
The boat was great.
The food was ok but would benefit from more fresh vegetables and fruits and salty snacks after the day of biking.
The hospitality staff were a bit too rigid in applying rules for access to drinking water or coffee. We were refused a glass of drinking water because the kitchen was closed but there was water at the bar!!!
There should be more guides to help with issues when biking. At one point we had one guide for 60 people biking in two different routes! It was difficult navigating at times and would require more support.

Trip was great overall. De Holland was also very good, rooms, etc., were very good. Food was ok. On board staff seemed a bit rigid & could have been a bit more flexible. Tour guides were very good though there could have been at least one or two more guides for the number of people riding. Boat crew were very good. Overall, a great trip & would do it again & recommend it to others.

Biking was great, even with constant modifications to the initial itinerary. Our tour guide was vigilant and made sure everyone stayed or got back on track! We really enjoyed getting to know our guide, he certainly made our experience more enjoyable.

Loved every day of the bike rides, especially through natural areas including the tulip and hyacinth fields, the dunes, wooded areas, and of course to Keukenhof Gardens

Of course the tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths were beautiful and we picked a good time to go. We had good sunny weather, we were lucky with that. The Keukenhof gardens were well worth the stop. Our group of 8 were very impressed with the food and the staff were great.

Great biking holiday ! This was our first but will not be our last the boat accommodations bikes and routes where exceptional!. We went in late September early Oct and you will want to bring layered clothing as it was usually cooler in morning but warmed up late morning. Overall great experience and holiday.

The most memorable part for me was meeting great people. The food and the sights were amazing also.

This was a wonderful trip. It was our first bike and barge trip but it won’t be our last one.
Biking through the fields and countryside of Belgium and the Netherlands was beautiful. We were on a self guided tip but each evening a guide went over the next days tour and pointed out interesting places to stop and visit. Staff was lovely and meals were great.
The vest we received from Tripsite were the best. Everyone commented on them. They made us so visible. Would definitely recommend them to all who are doing these trips.
Most took electric bikes but it was very flat and always paved so very easy to bike on.
Definitely would recommend this trip.

An excellent way to visit Belgium and Netherlands. The food was delicious. Rooms were comfortable. We will definitely be doing another bike and barge trip.

Biking through the country was unforgettable. Truly enjoyable.

Lanadscapes and history were amazing!
Bikes great.
Staff extraodinary!!!
Food too plain.
Arie was great!!!
would like to plan another trip next year!

The most brilliant part of the trip was the cycling of course! Flying along the wonderful cycle paths; getting lost, getting back on track again, enjoying the scenery of fields and windmills and people's beautiful gardens; finding the boat at the end of the day after an exhilarating ride and then really enjoying the sense of achievement at successfully completing a journey. I also just loved the boat (so comfy) and the crew (excellent) and the tasty plentiful food. I should add that the other passengers from all around the world were really nice and we had shared values - positive, energetic intelligent people - so I felt amongst friends. It was definitely one of the best holidays I've ever had and I shall do it again.
Top Tip. Buy padded cycling shorts!!!
And if you're not a practising cyclist hire an e-bike.

How helpful the on board staff were. With the exception of Arie, the tour guide, I found everyone helpful and fun. The guys who managed our bikes were awesome, even wiping down our seats in the rain.

So many wonderful memories! The boat was very comfortable, the food was delicious, and meeting folks from all over the world was so much fun! The bikes were well maintained and the crew was helpful, courteous and thoughtful. Tour guide Arie always seemed to be on the road where he was needed.

We throughly enjoyed cycling through the villages and rural landscape.
We had a few days of strong winds which we understand is very normal for this region - this made for challenging cycling on a hybrid bike.
The bicycles were very old and needed replacing plus 2 bike bags should have been provided to hold rain gear. The GPS app wasn’t reliable and required frequent rebooting. Our cabin was infested with sewer flies - very off putting and disturbing.

The beautiful bike trails and paths throughout Holland and Belgium gave us the opportunity to see so many wonderful things that we wouldn't have seen by car, train or on foot. Everyone on board the ship were wonderful and our tour guide, Jan, was great! It was wonderful to meet the other guests from so many countries. Great weather, which was helpful!

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!

Some great self-guided cycling routes.

Would have appreciated more information en route regarding points of interest, not just directions.

Oddly, water was not provided at dinner except at an additional cost - unusual for an active cycling trip when hydration is important.

Also no coffee or tea expect at prescribed times, unavailable if one arrived back to barge later than the prescribed time.

No wifi except at an additional cost.

The Bruge to Amsterdam trip was great! It was wonderful to see parts of the Netherlands and Belgium that you wouldn’t see just touring by train or car. Using the ride with GPS App made the self-guided trip seamless and the odd time some unexpected construction appeared on the pathway, the always pleasant tour guides managed to be there to redirect.

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.