4 Star Netherlands Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 307

The actual tour itself was great, but the food on the barge was not the greatest. Repetitive breakfast buffet in which we had to make our lunches with and then used as an appetizer for dinner. Too many coldcuts. The staff was great and the boat was clean. Another suggestion is to make sure all the bikes are functioning before sending people out on them. I had a gear issue and so did another member. Another passenger had his brakes seize.

Boat Service Staff was very good, and Bike Tour Guide was very good. Food was fair and needs improvement, need variety on lunches, and dinner food and drinks should have been Dutch inspired. Cycling bikes need better maintenance preparation before each group.

Beautiful scenery and flat terrain, mostly featuring safe and well-maintained bike paths.

Excellent way to see the country side and unique things like castles and quaint towns.

Great trip. A little windy at times. The food was very good and the staff were great and accommodating. No hills to worry about. We had a regular bike. Going through all the small villages is always enjoyable on these trips. Amend meeting new people is a highlight

The great people we met, amazing country scenery/sights, fabulous meals, fantastic tour guides & staff on barge!!!

Cycling through windmills and into small villages was amazing. Guides were awesome. Stopping in local little cafes run by locals was a treat.

I loved the active travel! Cycling 30+ miles everyday, followed by touring in afternoons and evenings. This was an unguided tour, and I appreciated the balance between independent time and time spent in community. We met fun people and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of life on the boat. The Bike with GPS app worked great! We felt secure in our independent travel navigator.

Celebrating a milestone birthday with 40+ old and new friends on the trip!
Only downside for me was the cycling groups were too large and having inexperienced riders in these large groups made for some issues at times.

The Brugge to Amsterdam Bike Tour was very good overall. The route was excellent and the information about the sights, restaurants, bike shops etc. along the way was truly appreciated. Most of us used the travel app on their phones, while I used GPX files on my GPS. Both worked well for navigation. With only one exception (Dordrecht), the selection of hotels was very good. They were located well and allowed us to enjoy the local area after our ride (The hotel in Dordrecht was some distance from the old centre and restaurants). Our luggage was transported without issue from place to place. It didn't arrive until late afternoon one day (within the timeframe we were advised); moving it was trouble-free. All bikes were well-maintained. Although the bikes were adequately adjustable, the one-size-fits-all system meant that it wasn't ideal for three of us who are tall. The bike were heavy. Also, two of the helmets we rented didn't fit and we had no option to switch them.

The most enjoyable part of this tour was definitely the bike riding, the company of fellow passengers and enjoying the delicious dinners prepared on board. We felt very comfortable being guided through the beautiful countryside on trails and amazingly narrow roads, stopping at historic sites and learning a little of Dutch traditions.

The most enjoyable part of this tour was definitely the bike riding, the company of fellow passengers and enjoying the delicious dinners prepared on board. We felt very comfortable being guided through the beautiful countryside on trails and amazingly narrow roads, stopping at historic sites and learning a little of Dutch traditions.

Our tour guides and staff on the ship were fabulous. Our ship had mechanical issues including air condition failure, generator failure, ice machine failure and generator failure. The ship waived the fuel surcharge to compensate but I was glad I was on an upper deck with a window.

The scenery and ease of biking through the Netherlands were wonderful. I loved cycling past windmills, canals and wildlife. I loved cycling through marshes and small towns and cities. I loved experiencing bike ferries and bike parking garages.
The tour guides were fun and very helpful. The boat crew was also helpful and worked hard to help us in any way they could. The food was good and the boat was clean and very comfortable.

Biking through the national tune forest was the best part for me. But it was all lovely. Except for the discrepancies between the written map and the GPS phone map it was very nice. The food was plentiful.

Riding next to the North Sea and the inland lakes, riding across the storm surge protectors, and our fellow travelers.

We were a group of 4 friends doing a bike barge for the first time. Wisely we were offered a good deal and coaching for electric assist bikes and that did help make for an enjoyable experience. We also opted for suites and those were excellent. Such efficient bathrooms and plenty of storage. Nice decor and lighting. Internet spotting so used my phone as a hot spot.
Our one trip leader was extremely helpful - especially in guiding us thru some tricky parts of the route. The other was delightful in her presentations, but was a bit hard to understand and seemed to leave out some crucial information - especially on what routes or areas were very crowded for biking. My partner opted out of riding a few days because the 2nd day was so difficult for him. I found as we went along our skills increased and we understood the navigation better. I also was able to Google the bike computer to learn more about its operation and how to connect it to the map mileage. That was not explained in the beginning.
The crew: Not nearly as friendly as I had expected. They did seem to warm up to a large group of party girls by the end and maybe us too, but smiles and friendly greetings were lacking except for 1 or 2. My partner and I had come from the Cotswalds prior and everyone was just extremely friendly and helpful - so that made the contrast more evident. It just shows when people don't love their jobs.
I had also expected to meet more passengers, but that was a bit of a hurdle because of the different languages. I was glad we had a group of 4.
We were blessed with some great (but hot) weather and overall had a wonderful experience. Food was good and deserts were great. If done again we would pay more attention to not biking in cities if possible.

The beautiful scenery,quietness of the nice small towns and the countryside's beautiful landscape visiting nice protected areas such as parks was enjoyable . The houses in the small towns are all well kept and clean. The free time given to us. The tour guides were great and knew the area very well.
They were able to give great information at the briefing sessions every evenings to all participants in regards of the following day tour. My wife and I were very much satisfied in regards of the quality of the bikes.

The IRIS barge was great as was the crew. Couldn’t have been more supportive or helpful. I would Not call this a tulip tour-almost all tulips were dead headed. Tulip tours need to end two weeks prior to our tour. We did not see the massive fields of tulips, we did not ride along roads filled town tulips - we were post season.

I have participated in several small group tours and for me, it's always about the people and friendships you make. As for a highlight, the landscape is breathtaking every single day. Our guide, Rosanna was terrific. She was attentive to the group's rest stops; talked about history and various sites and was flexible with the itinerary. Here comes the reason I gave this a 4 star and not a 5. When we were in towns we would be given some time to explore but it was usually only 40 minutes or a bit more. It was enough time for a coffee and bathroom break but that was about it. We also carried a lunch every day and personally, I would have enjoyed a lunch out with the group at least once. The towns are charming.And yes, you do visit quite a few churches, lol.
The accommodation on the boat was comfortable and the staff were excellent. Meals were very good. City tours after dinner were informative and just right. The cycling: I am a senior and used an e bike and the cycling was easy. There were a few spills by members. You just need to be aware, capable, and have confidence. Enjoy the ride instead of worrying about it! I never felt intimidated by surrounding traffic, etc. ( an added note- we had a couple in their 80s who did fine). It was common for most of the group to enjoy " happy hour" before dinner when we got back to the boat. There was a lot of togetherness which was good.
I thought that this trip was a great choice for me ( I'm a solo traveler) and good value. I went in May and yes, be prepared to ride in rain. I would do another barge bike trip! Its' good fun and good exercise!

The food was amazing! Some of the more serendipitous events also stand out in my mind.

Carol and I enjoyed our trip on the IRIS. The sheft was excellent and food was great. We enjoyed the walks at different locations surveying the different cities we stopped at. My only complaint was that we were requested by the guides to not participate in the bike riding portion of the trip. Since we had limited use of the electric bikes we rented, I would request a refund of the 340 Euros that we paid to use the electric bikes.

The country side, the historical significance. The bikes were great as was the boat and food.

Gorgeous countryside and beautiful cities to cycle through. The food on board was 5 star! The staff were wonderful too. The bikes are heavy and many of them had issues. Mine had no rear brakes that I finally figured out on last day while needed to brake hard in Amsterdam. My husband had to have his seat changed 3 times to get one that didn’t slip and his bike was small for his 6’ height. A friends bike has gear grinding on and off every day and they couldn’t fix it. Realized these bikes take a lot of abuse but the 20lb e-bike I was told about on a phone call does not exist. Otherwise our group of 19 would do it again! The gps is important to have as not all paths are well marked and it lets you know if you get off course. We brought our own helmets and rear view mirrors—highly recommend. Since it was non guided there were several options each day—take the long route if you have time.

Overall, the trip was great and the beauty of the rides were often times breathtaking with all the different colors of the Spring flowers and the North Sea! We also were thrilled that Hennie joined us as we really enjoyed meeting her on our Croatia trip.
The only issue we had was the use of an electric bike by the tour guide and his lack of personality. Several of us were on regular bikes and it was challenging to keep up with him/group. He did get better with his speed as the trip went on, but at the start, he was completely out-of-touch with us regular bike riders. I also think it was a bit unprofessional for him to not have a sweep. I think this is necessary when you have such a large group and we had several inexperienced riders who kept falling off their e-bikes and getting started was often difficult for many. The trip could be rated easy, if one had an e-bike or an all regular bike group as well as being accustomed to riding a bike, but perhaps a better rating for that particular ride would be moderate with an explanation of why.
Having said all of this, we do look forward to our next bicycling adventure with Tripsite!

We enjoyed biking in the countryside along the farm fields and the canals.

The overall sailing ship was lovely, although space in the dining area was cramped and especially difficult if someone were to sit at the middle tables. Regarding the food, Peter was fabulous and the food was varied. We loved sitting on deck in the eveings when the weather cooperated. Our captain and sailing crew were highly skilled navigating that long boat thru canals and locks. Very impressive. the housekeeping staff were also amazing and we really enjoyed interacting with them. But--we had #2 cabins ( in our group) at the very front of the ship. It was billed as a triple, but I cannot possibly even imagine 3 people in there. The room narrowed with the shape of the hull and it was rather uncomfortable. Definely not a "Deluxe" experience. Those rooms should have been discounted more. The bike guides really need to fit clients bikes the day before the first ride. My bike didn't get fitted correctly ( seat too high and I needed a smaller bike). I didn't know there was an alternative--so it was a dangerous situation at one point on day #3 with an almost altercation with a car. It didn't get switched out until the very last day. We all loved biking in the small towns and around the tulip fields. I even saw a spoonbill among hordes of other birds and animals. Conversely, the groups were too large going thru larger towns with cars, local bikers, and pedestrians. We should have been broken into 3 groups for more secure safety. All in all--a great trip with diversity of historic towns and natural landscapes like the dunes on Texel.

Riding the beautiful countryside of Holland. The crew was great! Kitty the guide was wonderful.
There were some changes due to Kings Day that was disappointing.
Boat was sufficient.
Food could have been better and more variety at breakfast and lunch,
Seem to run out of items.
Communication with tripsite before leaving was good.

Overall, the trip was quite lovely. We enjoyed the company on the trip. Our guide was great and so was our captain and crew however, we were 24 people. We were surprised that there was not a second guide in the back rather relying on one of the passengers to assume I think a responsibility that would supersede that as of a guest, we had several people fall on the bikes and I think that is a liability to your company The sweep should have had a way of communicating to our leader by walkie-talkie or some other type of communication as well as a mirror to see what was coming behind us to prepare all of us with verbiage we were taught to use on the trail This was billed as a tulip tour, but it was not apparent that we would not be seeing tulips and it was a situation where we think we should have been told that before, as we were billed in this trip for prime season tulip viewing. It was not until the next to the last day that we saw fields of tulips other than the garden we visited, which was spectacular.
I also think the rooms should be upgraded a little bit with something

Scenery was unique and beautiful along canals, tulips were a highlight as well as other unique stops. Boat and crew were accommodating and helpful we were glad we had e-bikes as It made the trip more enjoyable. Cycling was sometimes challenging in cities and traffic crossings. Boat was good, Rooms are small and beds are low to ground. Food was very good.