4 Star Netherlands Tour Reviews — 151 to 180 of 269

The enthusiasm of our tour guides was excellent. They helped the family (our group of 6) a couple of times by sacrifice of their personal time and attention.
Some better orientation on ebike and gears would have been helpful. The "sore-butt" syndrome for inexperienced riders was worth it.

Bob W

Kinderdijk was amazing.

Although we enjoyed the trip, there is no one thing that stands out as the most memorable. However, there are some things that need improvement:
- The food. This was a top-rated boat but some of the food was sub-par. For instance, you do not serve vegetables from a can!
- Having electric bikes and regular bikes in the same guided groups is a mistake. The regular bikes do not have a chance and the pace keeps getting quicker and quicker, pushing the ordinary bikes aside. There should be separate guides for the two types of bikes.
- Riding through the cities was terrifying, particularly in The Netherlands where everyone rides bikes. We have been on another boat/bike tour down the Danube (with RadReisen) and our tours of the cities were by bus with riding only on the fringes. It was much safer and you saw and learned about so much more.

Our tour guide Corrie was the best!

The food on the barge was excellent, much better than I anticipated. The staff was friendly, very hard working and seemed to enjoy working together to make our trip special. The accommodations on the barge were very comfortable. We biked through the countryside, past farms, and small villages, places a tourist wouldn't normally see. Even though this tour was rated "easy" it did require a certain amount of biking skill as the terrain on the bike paths varied from cobblestones, brick, gravel, dirt, narrow and sometimes crowded with other bikers.

The windmills and the cheese farm were the most memorable. We found the cafeteria style dining to be at least unromantic and that the portions could have been bigger. The crew was awesome. The ship gorgeous, the weather incredible. But it was always odd on the boat - not enough camaraderie among the passengers with no encouraged social interaction outside of forced togetherness at meals which with Covid rampant was a concern. I think it was a shame that the boat didn’t include the windmill tour as part of the activity because we felt it a fabulous understanding of what we were traveling through and by. Thank you for a wonderful vacation! Fredda and Derek

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Offer a less congested route out of Amsterdam. The route we were given took us through the areas with the most traffic and a lot of confusing turns. An alternative route could easily be offered and would have made the first day's ride a lot less stressful.
2. Several of our bikes had problems with shifting and other things. My bike often would shift down and up with no input from me other than pedaling. Two other bikes in our group of four had shifting issues. Also, my seat kept tilting forward on the seat post, despite the fact that I had a multi-tool and would crank the Allen bolt as tight as I could. Unbelievably, there was no interest from Dutch Bike Tours in identifying which bikes had problems.
3. Although most hotels were nice (we had the upgraded package), a few were very disappointing. In particular, the Woerten Best Western and the Vlissingen Hotel Piccard were quite bad and depressing, with tiny rooms and no charm at all. These were unacceptable.
4. The ride was scenic and very pleasant-- the bikes themselves and a few bad hotels were the only bummers.

Loved the great bike paths

Weather was great! no rain at all. Biking was very easy. I had no idea. I was the sweeper for the group. There were quite a few Americans that really had no clue about the rules of the road for bicycles and how bikes interact with cars and pedestrians. A quick overview at the start would be helpful for them. Especially who has the right of way at intersections. At times the group was too big and therefore the train too long. Also a break-up according to ability might be wise. My bike was really too small for me. It was an "L" frame and it should have been an "XL" frame, which is what I had requested.

The most memorable part was the biking itself. We had an E bike so the trip was very comfortable. The bikes were in great shape, it seems even the regular bikes. The route chosen was very memorable and scenic. Marjan the guide, was very capable as it was a challenge at times to keep the group all together. And some suggestions: one guide for 24 people really was not enough. Although we had a sweeper in the back this should not be a paying guest responsibility. If there have been a serious accident, not sure what the rest of us would’ve done if Marjan had to take this person to a hospital. Also the speed was very slow probably due to the fact that we had 24 people in one group. Going too slow also increases the chance of accidents. It was also challenging in towns and busy areas like Amsterdam for safety reasons. It also would it be nice to learn more along the route. Marjan gave some titbits of information but more of this would have been appreciated. We stopped at a wooden shoe making factory but no actual tour and it would’ve been nice to have a tour like this included and some other interesting tours. Also all coffee stops we had to pay for ourselves which would’ve been a nice touch to include. Seven full days of biking was also a lot and it would’ve been nice maybe to combine the biking with a couple of interesting outings. We did get to cruise a little bit after a couple of bike days so that was enjoyable. We only saw one other bike tour once so it was nice not to be herded along with a bunch of other tours. The staff were all very friendly and capable, the cabins were comfortable and clean and the public areas had enough space for everyone. We would definitely consider another type of trip again but maybe as mentioned a combination of bike and sightseeing or something else. Thanks very much

Cycling from Vianen to Schoonhoven, and the walk through Bruges beautiful historic city. Bring cycling waterproof gear and be ready to take lots of pictures…

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.

Visiting the beautiful cities of Bruges and Ghent

The fellowship on the Magnifique IV was wonderful. However, several of our fellow travelers tested positive for COVID right after leaving the ship. More options for testing and keeping the travelers free of COVID need to be provided.

Had water issues at two hotels. Nothing you could have done. Hotels were great. Anna Caspari the best service.

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

Incredible countryside! The boat was very clean and the staff was great. The evening food was a bit disappointing but the overall experience was fantastic and a great value!

The most memorable part for me was riding through the tulips with friends. I really enjoyed the many stops that we had along the rides with so many interesting places to see.

Riding through such beautiful countryside...make sure to include a planned trip to Keukenhof when it's tulip season

There were two main memorable parts of this trip. First, the Dutch countryside and cycling infrastructure are amazing. We were fortunate to have clear weather and lovely, cool riding temperatures for our trip through the Green Heart of the country. The route planning was excellent, giving us opportunities to see farmland, cities, beautiful small communities, polders, and of course, picturesque windmills. Second, the Merlijn is a memorable ship: beautiful, comfortable, hospitable, and first class, no one could ask for a better barge/cruise experience.

The horrible weather. I know that the weather was so bad that everything was altered due to this and this is not anyone’s fault. I would however have to reconsider doing another bike trip. I am not an avid biker, but I do bike. The one day that we actually got to bike I was very frustrated in that we rode so slowly I could hardly keep my bike upright. 7 kg/hour was just way to slow. We did this due to one of the customers being very slow and rest of us had to wait. I do not have an answer to this but for me it ruined the one day we got to ride. The one group had real bikers so they went faster and longer rides, that may have been better than being with the group I was with. I would not do this type of trip again without having some reassurance the same thing would not happen again.

This was a memorable trip and everything was organised to perfection ... well done tripsite, you surely have won me over

The trip From Amsterdam to Bruges is a wonderful cycling experience - lovely scenery, charming towns full of history, great, fresh food, and easy cycling over the flat lowland terrain that defines the Netherlands. One has to accept the wind and rain as part of the experience, but we were certainly lucky this time with the weather - mostly sunny or lightly overcast days, with occasional drizzles and gusts of wind, particularly near the coastal areas. A highly recommended tour that provides a great introduction to the region.

The only concerns/suggestions I would offer are these: a) would prefer hotels located in/close to the town center, not in the suburbs; would also prefer locally owned hotels rather than chains,2) the maps were
Generally unhelpful - they are virtually microscopic, and certainly difficult to follow on a bike - suggest getting the GPS option, or just using the GPS on your phone, and 3) if wind/rain/distances are a concern, would suggest opting for the excellent and very efficient ebikes that are so common here in the Netherlands.

The People - The Food - The Organisation!

The accommodations were perfect. All of the lodgings were comfortable, clean, and well appointed. They were located in the heart of the community. Our luggage was transferred from place to place in a timely manner. The bikes were comfortable and the bags easily fit everything we needed on the route.

My son and I bonded while exercising and seeing the world. We had an amazing experience on our Bike and Barge trip from Brugge to Amsterdam, had the most awesome tour guides and met fabulous people. The sites, the accommodations and food were top notch. Not many teens would brag about traveling with their moms but mine did! Thank you!

Bruges was outstanding, boat crew very nice.

The overall concept of being able to bike daily, sleep in the same bed every night and socialize with great people during the 11 days both on the boat and on the daily rides was a fantastic way to experience our vacation time. Anyone can go to a city and be a tourist. Cycling allows you to experience so many other places along the way in a less busy format. Countryside, quaint villages and towns, beautiful homes and churches, the scenery all the while chatting with your new friends about what you are seeing. I would do a bike and barge again any time.

The most memorable part was getting to see the countries from a bicycle. The weather was not good and the tour guide did an excellent job of juggling the personalities with varying degrees of athletic fitness. At 53-58, there were people on the boat that were over 20 years older than my wife and I, and as a result, some rides were cut short somewhat - this was a bit disappointing as my wife and I had hoped to ride at least the distances advertised. One additional constructive comment - some of the bikes were not in good shape. The bike set aside for me had its front brakes permanently rubbing and the solution was for me to ride a women's small bike for the week. Disappointing. The trip was excellent overall and we will do a bike and barge tour again.

I loved riding through all of the farm land and villages. All of the hotels we stayed in were great. They all had fantastic breakfasts. Only down fall was the GPS device, it would just stop working so we would have to rely on street signs or local people to send us in the right direction. My bike was great, but another person in the party had to put up with a seat that was falling.