4 Star Holland Southern Tulip Tour Tour Reviews — 1 to 10 of 10

Great trip. The captain, guide, chef, and crew were wonderful. They made me feel very welcome and safe. While meals could be served earlier (breakfast at 8 and then heading out to ride at 9) and (dinner at 6:30 which lasted until about 8) the meals were very tasty. One thing I wish were different, we had our destination "tour" after dinner when everything was closed and often walking around in the dark. We didn't therefore get to really experience the lovely towns we were docked in because we left at 9 each morning and had little time to explore. It would be great to have a timeline and not just the riding itinerary because we could have gone faster through the open fields and farmland if we knew the plan for the day and seeing the towns, cities, villages. Our guide was very fun and made the days throughly enjoyable.

Riding through the countryside and seeing all the baby animals and, of course, the tulips! The Keukenhof Gardens was absolutely spectacular. There is so much to see in Amsterdam, I'd suggest spending a few extra days there either before or after the barge trip-you just might want to avoid Kings Day! I also recommend using an electric assist bike-more enjoyable and less stressful.

Overall the trip was great! The boat was nice, the rooms had more space than I expected, and the boat staff were superb! My only "opportunity for improvement" comment is that for a group of 25, the cycle tour company needs to provide more than one guide. Though our guide was very nice and knowledgeable, he was not good at making sure all 25 of us stayed together, made it through red lights, knew where the rest of the group was, etc. On more than one occasion, we had multiple people get far enough behind that they got lost and didn't know where they were supposed to go.

The barge, service, crew, meals & hospitality all exceeded my expectations. This was a very well planned itinerary and was implemented seamlessly. Riding past tulip fields and the amazing day at Keukenhof Garden is something I will never forget!

Boat and crew were great! Food was very good and overall I would recommend this trip especially if you are a skilled/avid biker. For me I only biked one day of the five, I had trouble managing the e-bike with the number of other bikers, people walking and cars especially in the cities. I would agree that the biking was easy because it was flat, but there are a ton of other people biking and there was lots of starting a stopping and others people, bikes and cars to watch out for. I also think there needs to be two guides, 25 riders is a lot for one person to keep track of and manage. On Multiple days riders got lost.

The barge, the crew, the service, the hospitality were exceptional. The itinerary was well planned. The thrill of cycling by tulip fields and the amazing day at Kuekenhof Garden is something I will never forget.

Gorgeous scenery and lovely people! I will say that we did not luck out where weather was concerned, but that’s Mother Nature for you! The crew on our boat was fantastic and made our stay very comfortable.

Pros:
The tulips were gorgeous, Keukenhof was a highlight and a nice break.
The bike paths were easy, fun and relaxing,
Food was plentiful and the chef did a good accommodating various diets and planned varied and delicious menus.
The other guests were friendly, fun, and interesting.
The crew were all kind and patient.
The hybrid bikes were comfortable.
The guide (Piet) was knowledgeable, and gave historic walks almost every night.

Cons:
Riding in the cities was stressful. There was too much urban riding with many treacherous intersections, bike and pedestrian traffic. It seemed very unsafe.
The e-bikes mixed into the group were a problem. Some of the riders couldn't control the e-bikes. Also, riding up and down hills through the dunes, with a strong head wind was gave the e-bike riders an advantage.
The size of the group (24) was too large for a single guide. He struggled to be present for everyone.
The large gap in abilities of the riders was problematic. This tour was rated easy, but some riders were extremely fit and pushed the pace.
Some of the schedule didn't work well. On the hardest riding day, we started the bike tour very late, after shopping in town and museums. We barely had time to eat lunch that day . But the ride through the dunes was difficult. I'm not sorry we went, but I wish we had left earlier and taken some breaks.
We were close to the end of tulip season and so didn't see as many as earlier tours.

1. Kukenhof gardens was our favorite part of the trip- absolutely gorgeous.
2. The staff was awesome- friendly, cheerful, energetic.

Overall I really enjoyed our trip. However, our guide Piet left a lot to be desired. He got us from the boat and back each day but that was about it. We had very few stops during the day for water breaks or photos. He did not provide any "tour guide" type of information like history or pointing anything out of interest, or even a clear idea of the details of the following day. While we got to all the towns on the itinerary, everything was pretty much closed after dinner so we couldn't do any sightseeing in towns on our own. The guide on our sister ship "Liza Marleen" did much more with her group.

On the plus side, the barge Sailing Home was excellent and the crew was great - very friendly and helpful. Our chef Markus was amazing.

I had an electric bike and I loved it. It made the trip much easier and enjoyable. Highly recommend it for inexperienced bikers.