4 Star Netherlands Tour Reviews — 31 to 60 of 269

The sights were beautiful but would have preferred to arrive in the town and villages earlier so we could have seen them in the daylight.

My husband and I loved this trip! It was an amazing combination of cycling and sometimes more difficult cycling due to weather and an incredible opportunity to see some beautiful country! The crew aboard Sailibg Home worked hard to make this trip go off without a hitch and they were successful! We were spoiled rotten! The meals were tasty and satisfying without being over the top or too much food! Lunches for the day were tasty and satisfying. The crew provided a sense of comfort and safety and much fun and laughter.

The crew were super friendly and worked tirelessly to keep us comfortable and happy. The meals were delicious and beautifully plated. Our cycle guide Kitty was patient and friendly in spite of an unexpected reroute. Unfortunately this reroute had us cycling 50-60km each day with very little to see other than country side. Cycling shorter days would have allowed more time to explore the towns & villages. When we docked, our suppers took 2 hrs which prevented us from seeing some villages in the daytime. One final observation: we felt that the cyclers should have been split into two groups each with their own guide. One faster group and one slower group. The faster group often had to wait for the slower group to catch up.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. A huge thank you to Paul, Pim, Inma, Karin & Kitty for making us feel so welcome on the lovely “Sailing Home” barge.

Great canal cruise to many historic cities….study up on thèse before thé start of thé trip.

Scenery and the food was delicious every meal. Rooms were better than expected.

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.

We loved the beautiful countryside of the Netherlands and Belgium! The cities of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Ghent, and Brugges were all so unique and beautiful! We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the MV FLUVIUS. The captain and staff that run the boat were excellent! Our cabin and the rest of the boat were freshly updated and extremely clean. The chef was outstanding and made every meal unique and delicious! His curried soups and lasagna were especially popular! The most memorable part for us is the wonderful people that we met and travelled with!!

Meeting other ship mates, seeing the country side of The Netherlands and Belgium, relaxing after a great day of riding.

Scenery, staff was wonderful.
Need better lighting in bathrooms. Hard to put on makeup with a tiny light behind you in ceiling.

O que mais gostei foi passar pelas cidades pitorescas e lindas do trajeto, ver o mar e a natureza singular dessa região. A manutenção das bikes deixou muito a desejar, por duas vezes tivemos que parar e buscar apoio para conserto, o que também ficou por nossa conta apesar de utilizarmos os telefones de apoio. Já tive outras duas experiências com a tripsite e as bikes eram ótimas, o que não posso dizer dessa vez.

The vibe on the boat was great! The chef was amazing, and so accommodating to my food allergy! Two great bike tour-guides!

Suggestions - budget for at least one beverage included for dinner. It was a nice treat on the first and last day to have a complimentary drink pairing. The wifi on the boat was really bad; I know we were warned that it might not be strong, but it just didn't work most of the time. That was frustrating, not being able to communicate with family, check the scores of Eurocup games, etc.

the best part was the absolutely most beautiful scenery in Belgium and the Netherlands! Be sure to check ahead for the latest weather to be prepared for biking and be prepared to have very spotty internet on the boat.

The staff on the barge, Gandalf, were friendly and accommodating, Meals were exceptional; kudos to Chef Hans!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Green Belt biking of Holland, the fields, forests and windmill areas!
Our tour leader, Patrick, did an excellent job of leading and managing the group.
However, I do feel the local partner fell short; by not having an extra staff member biking in back of the group, as the “Sweep”.
Patrick asked for someone to volunteer, each day, to be the Sweep and I don’t feel we paid for this tour to have this job and responsibility.

Having issues with the battery while bicycling in Friesland where it was very windy was the most memorable part of our trip! We had to ride our e-bikes with no power assist for approximately 10 kilometres. The food was good, the option of the drink package was really nice. The staff were well trained, they were courteous and friendly. When I had an issue with my bike, it was replaced the next day. This was a self guided trip, the guides who reviewed the route for the next day failed to inform us that there was a route detour, some of the guests became lost and had trouble finding their way back to the boat. All guests should have a Sim or eSIM card on their phone ( Canadian and Americans) or cell phone coverage (Europeans) so they have access to Google Maps when there is an issue with navigation. The App was very good, but it did not assist when there is a route detour.

A fantastic trip. There were so many great town and villages along the way. The bike routes and hotels were very good. Unfortunately there was a strong prevailing wind from west to east. If we were to do this trip again we would go from Bruges to Amsterdam.

We have done many biking trips in Europe, most self guided. We did find the pace a little slow, but got into the groove with the group on the very good hybrid bikes-thanks Coene. Cristina's hospitality and food was wonderful and both her and Coene are very good hosts. Their staff were also extremely good.
The boat was very comfortable, cabins big enough to not feel claustrophobic, beds comfy, appreciated the heated towel rail to dry washing.
For us the best part of a trip is seeing the countryside, smelling the roses and taking time to look at the scenery.

Loved the Merlijn boat , Coen & Cristina were wonderful hosts , Cristina was a fabulous cook & hostess, so accomodating. Coen very knowledgeable & helpful.
Might be helpful to have 2 cycling guides as we found the pace very slow at times , even though we were on the hybrid bikes. Francine did let us go ahead at times. Bedrooms were very comfortable, heated towel rails great for drying biking shorts overnight.
We would consider going again but probably a week trip.

The itinerary for this trip was very scenic with a good mix of countryside and small towns. The hotels were nicely located and appointed.

Route: nice combination of countryside and small towns. The GPS tracks that were provided worked great on our Garmin device. Getting into Amsterdam was a bit unnerving so not sure if there would have been a little less busy route to the hotel.

Hotels: all were located near city center and within walking distance of town sites and restaurants. The Hotel Mondragon in Zierikzee was wonderful; the host at Hotel Loskade was very helpful and accommodating. The NH Bruges was an ‘upgrade’ and while the location was very good, the hotel itself was worn and in need of maintenance and upgrade. All hotels provided nice buffet breakfasts.

Bikes : the hybrid bike was comfortable and well maintained. The e-bike was comfortable and the battery had a very long charge time. The hybrid bike came with handlebars that adjusted with a lever however the e-bike did not. The e-bike required a multi-tool to make this adjustment. A crank arm and pedal fell off the e-bike while riding and the thread was stripped taking some expertise to repair. Thankfully, our travel companion brought a multi-tool otherwise we would have been unable to fix these two issues in the field. Our travel companions had a couple mechanical issues and were told to find a bike shop for repair. That is fine if you are in a large town during the week, but on the road there were very few. Highly suggest including a multi-tool in the repair kit that is provided.

We had a pleasant week exploring!

We really liked exploring the old towns in the NL while biking but wished there was more time to do so as there were so many interesting things to see. Having some additional information on each was nice.
The staff were extremely helpful and friendly and we enjoyed their kindness and willingness to serve & make our trip comfortable & enjoyable. (Thanks to Jeremal, Christina, John, Stani and the other deck hands.) The beds and rooms were comfortable and the dining room/bar were well appointed. The food at dinner was excellent but the quantity was not enough for the ‘bigger’ eaters in our group.

We found the distance to bike on some days was more than we wanted and had hoped we could have options to go off or on the boat part way. (Though having the opportunity to change to an ebike helped…thank you John!.)
We were disappointed that we could not purchase any snacks in the evening and that the only ones provided during teatime were sweets. Then on the last evening we were reprimanded by the tour guide for buying fries from the street vendor and eating them at the dining table long after dinner was finished. He said it was like ‘bringing food into a restaurant’ but there was no where else for us to sit and socialize with our friends. Not very understanding or accommodating on his part which was evident when we asked for his expertise in bike routes as well. He would not be inclined to discuss things or give consideration to the queries.
We would also recommend that the lunches have more options for on the buns (ie Tuna, roast beef, Egg salad and or lettuce).
Mostly we will have fond memories of this trip with the DeNassau and crew and wish you a good season.

Your website should warn people if they choose a tandem bike, that only one pannier is provided for two people. No handle bar bag is provided.
An additional very low cost tool that should be included in every pannier is a bike multitool. You are riding a bike in the countryside and most times not near a bike store, let alone one that is actually opened when you need it. We had parts fall off bikes (e-bikes and tandem) that were not able to be fixed unless you had a multitool. A pedal fell off while riding, and of course no town in site for miles. We happened to have a bike multitool so we could continue on our ride.
The hotel provided in Willemstad was not satisfactory. We had low angled ceilings that you can easily bump your head on when turning around. The sky light leaked. The room had a bad smell.
The tour instructions for Amsterdam could have been updated to reflect all the bike path closures in the city. These paths had been closed for a long time, so alternate instructions to maneuver around the city would have been very helpful.

Visiting the Dome and biking along the river. The food was excellent and the boat was beautiful.

The countryside was extremely beautiful. The meals were extremely delicious and the dinners were exceptional. The boat was clean and updated with very attentive and positive staff. The bikes were in very good repair and we found the directions to each site/city and the boat generally very clear.

Communication from bike tour leaders was not great. Also, we had major engine problems on Day 1-3 necessitating us to miss 1 day of riding. The communication around the mechanical problems was very poor and initially we found out about this by accident. Once rectified the tour continued as promised.

The cycling through beautiful trails, seeing the country in a way you would not by car or train. Meeting the lovely people on Board geeting to know them, and also our tour Guide Albert, He was so good and kind. Our Chef Marcel and the crew.
Looking forward to doing another trip next May with more friends.

The food was excellent. Ebikes are the way to go. Know your route so not surprised. Book an upstairs room.

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.

Well most memorable was the people who rode into the canal. Fortunately they were ok. And there was the man who hit the tunnel wall and took out another cyclist. It was rumored he was drinking vodka in his water bottle. Besides these incidents the best part was the daily riding through idyllic towns and pastoral areas where birds had their young, fields of flowers abound and people were so friendly.

The scenery was very picturesque. It was amazing to witness the incredible bike infrastructure and culture, which made for some relaxing rides.
Kinderjik was a highlight. Ghent was beautiful. It would have been nice to spend a little more time there. If possible, plan to spend extra time in Bruges and Amsterdam. Both cities have a ton to offer. The service onboard the ship was excellent, as was the food. Chef Mikkah did an amazing job!

Unfortunately, the conduct of our bike tour leaders, Tom and to a lesser extent Laura, was disappointing. Communication was poor. Tom seemed bored, and uninterested in the wellbeing of the guests. Laura guided a group of two, and had very little interaction with the rest of us. When they took us on a guided tour of Antwerp, neither guide could give us much information. In future, it might be useful to hire a professional guide for the walking tour.

It would be helpful in there was a fully stocked first aid kit on board. One passenger had a crash into some stinging nettles, and no one seemed to know how to help him.

Excellent, tasty dinners! Chef (Meeka?) prepared delicious, well-displayed meals

Barge staff were excellent--great chef and friendly hostess. Dinners were great but breakfast and lunch were very repetitive. The staff needs better training in safety. We had 20 guests in our group with 2 bike guides. We were divided into 2 groups and rode with our group each day. Our guide was not friendly. Other than that, the bikes were new 7-speed bikes which were adequate for the mostly flat rides. The scenery was beautiful and the museums and city stops were interesting. I didn't enjoy having to ride with the group at a pace set by the bike guide and the slowest riders, and I don't trust Ride with GPS enough to ride on my own.

The crew was fabulous! The tour was good. I thought we were going to stop at a cheese factory snd that did not happen. Most of our group was not thrilled with the bikes-tippy with handle bars that were raised up. The boat was great and meals delicious!