North Holland Tour Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 46

The North Holland bike and barge trip in Oct was very memorable! Beautiful scenic rides thru villages, seaports, sand dunes and more.
Although Holland is flat as a pancake, the ebike was very helpful on windy days and those 25+ mile routes. The Holland bike trail system is amazing and drivers are so safety oriented compared to Americans. Such a joy!
The barge and room was very comfortable. My favorite part was relaxing on the upper deck and watching the pilot navigate the De Willemstad carefully thru the locks and under bridges.

Our routine of evening trail orientation, breakfast (and pack lunch), ride and sightseeing, back for drink and dinner, was very enjoyable! Everything except the food was 5 star.

Packing a small thermos might be helpful for some riders who would like some tea or a warm drink if they tend to get cold. Padded bike shorts important.

Our guides were helpful and fun! They even offered walking tours thru some of the towns.

The Dutch are very warm and kind people!! Can’t wait to go back!

More Information on last day details would have been helpful with planning flight times. (Could leave late that day if needed)

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.

The bike friendly routing of each day's ride and the expert, friendly guidance by Ronald and the helpfulness of the entire crew. Meeting many new folks on the boat/bike tours. The GPS guidance (Ride GPS) was invaluable and very simple to use.

If you are planning a bike trip, this is the one. We have been on 11 bike trips and this was the BEST! The weather was perfect, the food outstanding, the staff was great, Ronald the tour guide was always about in case one needed him on the ride, and of course the country was magnificent. Don't pass this opportunity up!!!!!

All parts of the trip were memorable. From the start to the finish. Crew on board took excellent care of all bikers.

Participants should be advised to have internet capability if doing the self guided tour. The GPS system worked well. We had no dietary issues, but some people at our table did. There was a bit of an odour in the hallway outside our door on the top floor, but our room was OK. We sized ourselves for our bikes, some of the frames were too large for the person it was assigned to.

Amazing trip… So many small towns and villages that were cute and quaint to stop for lunch. The dunes and the beaches were spectacular. The GPS system worked beautifully. The routes were marked well. Always wear layers. It can be cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon or can rain . Out of 90 people, there were only 7 English-speaking guests;but the good news is the ship staff spoke English. The food was OK. On some of the smaller barges I’ve been on the food was spectacular. I understand. They have to serve a lot more people. Our guides were exceptionally informative and they rode the routes with us. They were helpful kind and fun, Johan and Jerome … the entire crew was polite and helpful. I would recommend strip it was great.

The best part of the trip was to feel the wind on my face and realizing that I could be successful with the comfortable hybrid bike and the guidance of my tour guides and the gps app. A wonderful tour of the northern part of Holland: cultural, historical and scientific points included.

The bike boat trip and all the scenery! Wonderful!

Biking through the sand dunes and pine forest

We just finished our Guided North Holland tour. What we loved the most was the time the guide took to show us the hidden gems of Holland. If we had done our own tour, we would not have got the true flavour of the Netherlands. For example, we were able to go into working windmills the pumped water as well a windmill that made paper that is still in use today. The country is full of history and heart ache, our experience on our tour was excellent and highly recommend it.

We had a wonderful trip. We went with a group of 20 people some we knew and others we met for the first time. Everyone had the freedom to do what they wanted to do. The food was fabulous, the GPS app worked great, good size rooms and very clean, staff was friendly and helpful, the one night of entertainment was fun and the drink package was a nice surprise.

We had a group of 20 family and friends that booked a trip in May, ages 23-88. We were treated amazing by the staff on the DeWillemstad. Captain Michael was so caring and made sure that our rooms and bikes were in tip top shape. He even assisted us with additional train schedules and bookings. Our waitress Petra was charming and took care of our table and became a friend.
We truly loved the Holland countryside and biking options. We had so much fun dancing and spending time on the upper deck.
I would recommend this boat & tour and I have to give a shout out to Captain Michael and the crew, they truly made this an experience and not just a trip !!!

The bike tours through the quaint countryside. The crew on the boat were helpful and the food was incredible.

You can make this trip exactly what you want -- a great adventure by biking every day; a relaxing cruise by staying on the boat and curling up with a good book; an educational trip by picking up loads of history while walking through the wonderful old towns and villages the boat docks at; or a combination of it all.

My memorable part of the trip was seeing the colourful tulips, cycling through the quiet farm land. Perfect weather for me to cycle in, some may think it's too chilly.

Wished we had stopped over each city/ town longer, had a guided walking tour each evening after dinner. Dinner was too long, need to trim down on the dining time.

A perfect experience - great staff - very flexible - excellent meals

We have completed many boat and bike tours all through TripSite who have always done an outstanding job to make sure the customers get their information on time. Carla and her team do a great job.
The North Holland tour is the least desirable tour to choose for a number of reasons.
The De Holland boat is the least agreeable thing to ever float on a river, a box with no charm at all. On the other hand the cabins inside even though they are small, they are clean and the bathrooms are fitted nicely and roomy. It also has a decent deck from where to enjoy the view when in port or sailing.
The administration of this company are not doing themselves any favours. They have cut down the crew to the level that they are unable to properly serve their customers. The persons working as crew on this boat are killing themselves to provide the best service possible without much success most of the time. Just not enough people to do the jobs. Furthermore if you plan to charge for WiFi service you are simply daft by asking for the 10 euros for the week. Just up the trip price and tell everyone WiFi is FREE. What a a bargain! Nickel and dimeing your customers is a poor way of doing business. Also changing the itinerary in order to save fuel is a disservice to your customers. The excuse that the boat is not able to dock at Ouderchild on Texel is rubbish as they have been doing it before and cycling through the harbour there, we saw no difference to facilities or space than all the other docking places we did dock at. So boat wise and management wise this trip is poor.
However, the guide person was outstanding. She knew everything about the area and the routes and she was soooooo patient she was great! The day (Day 3) of cycling the dunes east of Alkmaar can easily be deleted. There is little to see and of very little interest to almost all the riders we spoke with. It is far more interesting to cycle in Alkmaar city and explore the city museums and other historical venues than riding the dusty windy dunes. The most interesting cities visited are Alkmaar, Enkhuisen and Volendam.
The food on board was adequate but nothing special or even Dutch. Not a single Dutch meal or treat was offered during the week. Then the issue with the coffee and cake time upon return after a day of cycling. Are they nuts or what? One day coffee time is 4 to 5 pm. The next day 3:30 to 4:30 and the next day different again. Get real and set the time 3:30 to 5:00 and get on with life. No need to confuse things and have people expect a cup of coffee and then find out that the time was earlier today. Really?
Asking for ice in the water was like asking for gold plated silverware. One napkin per person like napkins are a euro each. Are you kidding? Put a napkin holder on each table like every where else. What is this 1910 world paper shortage or are you pretending to be the world leader in paper napkin savings??
The bikes were of top quality and well maintained. The crew that was looking after the bikes were there when you needed them and helped everyone to make sure the bikes were set up properly and safe for them. First Class service.
What is great about these trips? The people you meet and the fun things that happen during the tour. The fun places you meet strangers and have lunch with, the help you may get or give on the way to a destination and memories that stay behind. I am afraid to say this trip was short on great memories, but some nevertheless. Perhaps another boat and this trip could have been a better one.  SHOW MORE 

Scenery was great, bring a camel back if you like to drink water while riding, most bikes did not have a cage for the water bottle, instead you kept it in the pannier. Our guide, Eduaro, did not seem to know where we could stop to take a break or use a bathroom, he said everythng was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, this was a problem for the women in the group, it was hot and we needed to keep hydrated.
The captain, chef and assistant Vera were wonderful and did all they could to make us comfortable.

This was a wonderful trip, highly recommended to both cyclists and non-cyclists! The staff went out of their way to make sure all the guests were well looked after.

The De Holland is a lovely barge with a proficient staff and nice upper level staterooms. The food was above average and the after-ride beer is a great value. The North Holland area is very rural with small towns but mostly agricultural routes. Easy navigating because The Netherlands has an extensive network of bikeways and understandable wayfinding. The history of diking, watermills and pumping is fascinating and would be good to know about as you ride through this area. Our trip was in the beginning of October and we had beautiful weather although it can be windy along some portions of the ride.

On the Liza Marleen there were 6 of us from our family ranging in age from 82 to less than 2 years of age. The staff on the ship was superb, especially the cook who was particularly considerate regarding the granddaughters who roamed the dining area. She was quite creative with her menus and happy to socialize with the participants. Moreover, because it was my daughter's birthday (birthdays are Big Deals in the Netherlands) on the last night of the trip, the cook ignored my request for one cupcake with a candle and instead presented gorgeous cakes for the entire ship. Her English assistant was equally kind; the skipper turned out to be a first-class guitar player and had the entire ship singing along.

It was a wonderful and successful excursion and I am very grateful to the staff on board the Liza Marleen for everything they did to accommodate us and make it a memorable 50th wedding anniversary.

The North Holland barge and bike is a fantastic experience and a great opportunity for a family to share a unique adventure together. The scenery is spectacular, the villages immaculate, the people friendly, the barge comfortable, the food good, the bikes new and the staff accommodating. To improve the experience, breakfast could be better and the lunch selections more varied. Early risers generally helped themselves to all of the pastries before others cold enjoy them. Seating could be unassigned so that more people could meet and enjoy different parts of the dining room. Otherwise they have this trip wired.

Most Memorable Part: How well everything was organized for each day - even when weather was challenging (very rainy), being able to re-accommodate the trip itinerary in such short notice.

A number of things stand out. First, the size of the room (which was shown as 4 single beds but ended up being a tiny room with two bunkbeds where we could not all stand in the room). Second, the fact that after active days covering 50 Kms or more there was no water provided (a bottle of water was provided at breakfast only) and no food available in the hours before dinner. Third, all meals had to be taken at the same assigned table reducing any opportunity to mingle with other guests. Fourth, on an active holiday with healthy active people, the meals did not include any colorful vegetables. The staff were mostly lovely and the rides were picturesque, but the overall experience was not positive.

This was our first time at a bike & barge trip and it was a great adventure! Staff was amazing and the other guests all gelled - we all worked together to have a fun experience. Getting to see various areas in Northern Holland up close was amazing. Be prepared for weather changes! Layer and bring clothes for rain! But most of all be prepared for a great vacation!

We have been on seven self-guided bike trips (two of them with boats) and this was truly one of the best! The accommodations on our Prague ship, the MS Florentina were nicer (larger lounges, expansive deck, etc) than the Angela Esmee to be frank, but the Angela's superb crew, the charming towns as ports of call, and along the route, and our tour leader, Margaret, more than made up for it. I highly recommend this tour!

I already have recommended this trip to several people. By far this trip was the best trip I have ever been on. Thank you.

Complete day from start to finish! Staff were super friendly and efficient! Breathtaking views of countryside and timeless villages! Supper dining was plentiful, varied and delicious! Basic rooms were always tidy and clean. Wow...what an incredible adventure.

The wifi on the barge needs to be upgraded. It was inadequate and inconsistent.This is really the only criticism I have - the rest was great. But it is important to travelers these days.