5 Star De Holland boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 35

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

We are so glad we choose the authentic Holland tour on the de Holland. It was a great blend of forests, wetlands, and Hanseatic cities! The staff was very friendly and helpful, and the food was excellent. I highly recommend this tour.

Best Part: Villages

Most memorable part: Small villages & countryside

We loved everything about this trip! The boat was clean and comfortable, the crew was wonderful (especially the tour guide, Andre). We loved the cycling through this beautiful country! It was especially exciting to ride through the countryside and explore the unique towns along the way. We were so impressed with the incredible bike path system and the friendly people we encountered.

The "directions/highlights " paper along with the offline downloaded directions were terrific. The company's expert experienced routing took us thru scenic backways and villages that we may have missed by simply following a directional app ourselves. We enjoyed being able to ride at our own pace, stop where ever we chose, visit sites, museums, villages, or take photos on our own timeline. This also allowed us to begin the day's ride on our own schedule, enjoy a picnic lunch or lunch in a village center, and return early or later, have a coffee or beer along the way, still knowing when dinner was being served!

We loved everything about this trip! The cycling experience, the cruising on beautiful rivers and canals, the opportunity to explore interesting and historic cities, the camaraderie onboard the boat, and the care and support of the crew were all wonderful!

This was a wonderful trip, highly recommended to both cyclists and non-cyclists! The staff went out of their way to make sure all the guests were well looked after.

The North Holland barge and bike is a fantastic experience and a great opportunity for a family to share a unique adventure together. The scenery is spectacular, the villages immaculate, the people friendly, the barge comfortable, the food good, the bikes new and the staff accommodating. To improve the experience, breakfast could be better and the lunch selections more varied. Early risers generally helped themselves to all of the pastries before others cold enjoy them. Seating could be unassigned so that more people could meet and enjoy different parts of the dining room. Otherwise they have this trip wired.

This was a very positive experience. Bikers of all abilities can participate in this tour. The navigation can be a bit tricky. I would definitely recommend using the navigation app in addition to the maps & briefings. However, there was usually a friendly local or another member of the group not too far away to help get you back on the route. The barge was very nice. We had an upgraded room. Plenty of storage space. The guides were excellent. The staff on the barge couldn’t have been nicer. The food was very good. The tour itself exceeded my expectations. Holland is beautiful. The route took us through a variety of geography. Lots of quintessential Dutch experiences, windmills, cheese, delft, etc.. The de Amsterdam is a larger boat than most so you have a large group. Neither here nor there, just a note if you prefer a more intimate group.

There were 3 of us from the USA traveling together. They told us to lock our bikes and take the key with us when we went into a store or restaurant. Toward the end of the trip we ( all 3 of us ) went into a store and did not luck our bikes. When we came out of the store one of the bikes was GONE. We took one of our other phones and called the USA to have the spouse lock the missing phone and track the bike on the GPS. The missing bike was 6 miles away at a big store. The shop owner called the police- the police went to the store- closed the store down for 45 minutes and locked all the 4 doors to the store. The police walked into the store looking for the red and black bike bag- saw it- walked up to the man , who was using the stolen phone and arrested him. He had stolen bikes before. They were so happy to catch him this time. The police never found the helmet and the man took $100, US dollars. They found the bike in the front of the store, as we knew the bike's # and brand. The phone was recovered. The thief was put in jail for 2 nights- we were told. The bike was returned to the barge. The victim was returned to the barge by the police. Lesson learned- NEVER LEAVE YOUR BIKE UNLOCKED and TAKE the KEY! On a lighter note- the wildflowers and wildlife a long the canals, were unbelievable! Would do it again, but lock our bikes.

Boat and bike trip was our first experience. It was really amazing and well- organized one :)) we just wish to have more options for healthy food on board and choose our table at dinner time to socialize with more people than having assigned seats every night. -Thank you

We have been on seven self-guided bike trips (two of them with boats) and this was truly one of the best! The accommodations on our Prague ship, the MS Florentina were nicer (larger lounges, expansive deck, etc) than the Angela Esmee to be frank, but the Angela's superb crew, the charming towns as ports of call, and along the route, and our tour leader, Margaret, more than made up for it. I highly recommend this tour!

The overall experience was excellent. We enjoyed the intimacy of a relatively small group on the boat. It allowed us to meet a number of people over the course of the week. We will definitely be returning in the future.

If I had one suggestion it would be to limit the number of days where there was a deadline to meet the boat in the late afternoon as these deadlines sometimes creates pressure to complete the route quicker than I would have otherwise chosen.

The scenery was beautiful and the barge was lovely. The most memorable part of the trip was the people - the Dutch are friendly and helpful, and the Angela Esmee crew was exceptional!