North Holland Tour Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 40

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

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.

It was a great bicycle trip. Beautiful countryside, bike paths were excellent and the guide "Hugo" was exceptional. Barge was perfect. We were able to see the real Holland, not the typical tourist city Holland. Communication and arrangement of the tour with Tripsite was very good. Thanks.

The small tour group was perfect for my 12 year old son and I. The biking was awesome - we both loved cycling through the farms and along the canals. Although it was rainy and windy for majority of the time - we still enjoyed it very much. The food was fantastic!!

We have been on 4 barge based bike trips plus 3 hotel based bike trips, all in Europe and this was the best. There are simply not enough superlatives to use to praise this trip. From the guide to the cook to the quality of the bikes and the barge we add the wonderful route and great scenery.

I would have liked was some variety in the lunch fruit. Apples every day but one ...... got a bit boring. I would also have liked to have a condiment (mustard or mayonnaise) to add to the meat/cheese sandwiches as they were a bit dry. All in all, a great trip! Too bad the weather wasn't a bit better, but nothing could be done about that.

I would recommend the trip with reservations. The food on the boat was not special but ok. While our leader was competent I did not find him helpful at times and other times I found him condescending. The route descriptions were well done but we had to argue to have one for each rider even though it clearly stated we would each a have one. I would have like much more about the places we were visiting included on the daily route descriptions. Carrying a visitor guide is not easy on a bike. The bikes were not in good shape for our trip. The mechanic tried to do his best but they were not a "freewheeling" experience. On mine the gears did not work, others had similar issues. When the holiday depends on a good cycling experience then the bike becomes a priority.
I cannot recommend the experience whole heartily except for the amazing landscape of northern Netherlands. That part I really enjoyed. Also I enjoyed being part of a group. I would not recommend a person or couple try the trip because no effort was made to mix the people. I was part of a big group and so I always had people to cycle with.