Merlijn boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 199

  Merlijn Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

Biking thru the small villages of Austria, enjoying their beautiful, clean lifestyle and the magnificent Danube was memorable. Our guide was quite capable and knowledgeable adding to the experience. Would recommend this trip highly!

  Merlijn Along the Danube - Passau to Vienna
Austria, Germany

The crew and our guide were very friendly and knowledgeable. We had a great time biking through beautiful countryside and learned alot about local culture and history. The food was great.

  Merlijn Berlin to Wolfsburg
Germany

The Berlin to Wolfsburg was an amazing experience. This was my second trip on the wonderful boat, Merlijn and it won't be my last. We already have one booked for next year! The pedaling was fun and easy and the historical sites fascinating with a great guide. I highly recommend this trip!

  Merlijn Saarburg to Mainz
Germany

  Merlijn Cologne to Saarburg
Germany

The Merlijn is a fantastic ship. Great to be escorted by the owners themselves. Cabins were perfect and the small size ideal.

  Merlijn Berlin to Wolfsburg
Germany

This was my second trip with the Merlijn and I will travel with them again in the future. The staff made our our living conditions on board very comfortable, the food is always amazing and the biking was outstanding. We had a family emergency which they handled professionally and efficiently. The friendly relaxed atmosphere that this boat/barge provides in a small group setting is exactly what we look for.

  Merlijn Berlin to Wolfsburg
Germany

Lovely biking holiday! So enjoyed the bits of history as we biked through German villages and towns. The The boat was delightful, food delicious, and the hosts went out of their way to ensure a wonderful time.

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

Walking through the Keukenhof Gardens and seeing the blooming fields of tulips, and smelling the fragrant fields of hyacinths as we were riding was amazing, especially as the pouring rain held off until almost the end of the day! But walking around Ghent, and Bruges were equally delightful, if for a different reason. Of course the fabulous meals Christina prepared for us on the Merlijn were memorable. For future riders on this trip, know that the tulip experience is only one day of the entire trip so that you aren’t terribly disappointed, and be sure to have rain gear at that time of year!!

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

enjoying the beautiful countryside on bikes with friends .

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

I cannot say enough great things about our trip from Brugge to Amsterdam! The Captain and Crew of the Merlijn were awesome, and our intrepid tour guide, Francien was great!
What a wonderful way to experience Belgium and the Nederlands; riding through the countryside, towns, polders, and along the canals on every manner of bike path.
We were spoiled by the food provided by Christina; a delicious breakfast buffet, tasty sandwiches in our packed lunches for the ride, and gourmet meals for dinner with a little bit of history about the dishes.
Our cabin was comfortable and cozy, and the dining room and lounge were always adorned with fresh flowers.
If you want to experience travel in a unique way, then this is the way to go:)

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

The cycling was the highlight of the trip for us, we thoroughly enjoyed the pace and travel through small towns and villages along the way. Of course the tulips fields are also quite a sight! Although the weather did not always cooperate - we like the motto “there is no bad weather - only poor clothing choices”. Be prepared.

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

It was all perfect, a great experience and the Captain along with his wife and crew were superb

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

The Keukenhof gardens were spectacular. The food was also far above expectations.

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

Seeing fields of tulips and hyacinths in full bloom and in full fragrance was amazing as was the Keukenhof Gardens. Disappointingly, however, was that tulips were only one day of the entire trip. Ghent and Bruges were also definite highlights. The cuisine presented by Christina each evening on board the Merlijn was gourmet and delicious. Our guide was excellent and very knowledgeable. We were very pleased to have many layers of clothing as we had days of rain, wind, and or cold temps. A few mornings it was only 4C when we started out but did get up to 10C. Although the countryside is flat for easy riding, there were many bridges to cross requiring some decent hill climbing to get up and over! Belgium however was all flat and the much easier portion of the trip. Another tip to keep in mind is that the third week in the Netherlands is a school holiday as it is the King’s birthday. The KG was packed with people.

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

Coan & Christina own and operate the 50 meter 1930 converted cargo ship Merlijn along with a crew of 3 and a bike guide. The attention to detail , ,new equipment and bikes. The difference is other tour vessels are owned by larger companies and hire a captain a crew with older bikes.
Our guide Francien was very good, had 20 years experience and took us places that you would not see on a self guided tour. In the evenings after our on board gourmet dinner she would take who wanted to go on a tour of the city or town.
The scenery was amazing and a boat canal side tour in Gent was arranged. Our groups average was between 55 and 73 and everyone was able able to keep up a good pass on regular and e bikes.
We will be taking another tour they offer in Germany next year

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - 7 day
Netherlands

The bike rides and the food.

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - 7 day
Netherlands

The scenery was beautiful! The people that we biked with were great companions for the week!

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - 7 day
Netherlands

Fabulous guide, beautiful bike rides, wonderful food on the boat, great boat crew, fun group of travelers....overall it was a fantastic experience!

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - 7 day
Netherlands

My immediate response would be the expert cycling guide (Tamara), who insured we were 1) safe and knew the cycling etiquette in the Netherlands, 2) took the time to stop and educate us at special points of interest and 3) invited any passengers to accompany her on after dinner walks through the towns the barge overnighted at. Equally memorable were the gourmet meals prepared by Christina and her team. Each night she would announce dinner at 6:30 pm sharp and begin her detailed yet brief explanation of what we were about to savour that evening.

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - 7 day
Netherlands

This was my first barge trip. Everyone on the trip who had been on other barges informed me that I had started at the top! The crew was amazing and provide first class service. The chef is the captain's wife and cooked us 5 star meals. The lunch she packed for the bike trips was wonderful each day. She accommodated the gluten-free passengers. Our tour guide, Tamy was knowledgeable and friendly. I learned so much about the cities where we docked and the countryside where we rode. This was my first bike trip and the description was accurate. The ride was flat and easy which made looking around at everything pleasurable. I loved that there were only 24 passengers on the boat. I got to know them all and enjoy their company at meals and during the rides. Since this was the first tulip tour of the season, the tulips were not yet blooming in the fields. However, there were many other flowers blooming to see on our ride. We saw many many tulips and other flowers at the Keukenhof where we spent several hours. I am looking forward to traveling on the Merlijn again in the future!

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - 7 day
Netherlands

Was the wonderful guide and the beautiful scenery we encountered every day. Peaceful countryside.The boat was top notch and the hosts went out of their way to make things nice . Food was well presented with lovely courses. I would recommend this tour to others.

  Merlijn Mainz to Merzig
Germany

This was our first Bike & Barge, but it won't be our last! The whole trip was fabulous, the biking, the crew, the food, the other passengers and Tripsite for organizing it all!

  Merlijn Berlin to Malchin
Germany, Poland

Riding the trails through the beautiful forests!

  Merlijn Mainz to Merzig
Germany

Biking with family, romantic views from the river, the friendliness of the boat puppy and crew, wonderful dinner , and the stadt tours

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

The staff on the Merjlin were fantastic
The bike seats were a bit uncomfortable but overall the trip was great. The tour guides were were great unfortunately they did not explain the route prior each day

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

Outstanding trip. The Merlijn is a first class ship. The owners and the crew were just out of this world accommodating. The food was delicious, maybe too delicious. My bike was fantastic. Can’t say enough good things about the ship and the people that own it. Liked it so much, I’m going back on it for three weeks next year in Germany.

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

The Merlijn and their staff were excellent! The food was fabulous too! The only reason I am giving this trip a 4 out of 5 stars is the tulips were on somewhat dying on May 11th. We booked this trip in 2019 for April 2020 and then COVID took over all of our lives. Then we rebooked for 2021 and had to change 1 week later. Then 2021 was still not safe to travel so when booking again for 2022, we had to switch to start May 3 in Bruges with the tulip part at the end of the trip. I loved Bruges and thoroughly enjoyed biking in Belgium. I developed a cough so unfortunately I missed a lot of biking in The Netherlands. But I did enjoy the river views while on the boat and got to experience locks also. When cruising into Rotterdam, I saw one of the super yacht builders' ship yard (Oceanco) and that was exciting for me as we sell to the super yachts.

  Merlijn Tulip Tour - Amsterdam to Bruges - 11 day
Netherlands, Belgium

Great meals, excellent organization.
More substantial lunches would be good.
The tulips were finished by the time we got to the fields. I don’t think the May 2 trip should be advertised as a tulip tour.

  Merlijn Berlin to Malchin
Germany, Poland