South Holland Tour Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 86

Very well organized. Friendly and attentive staff. My brother and I had such a great time. The weather was mostly great, and even when it rained on us, it didn't matter. We were weather-proofed and active, so kept warm. We got a little tired mid-week, after doing 40 mile rides, so were thinking that planning an easier day mid-week or doing something else off-bike would help with the muscle recovery. We rode regular bikes, so the e-bike people may not have the same comment. You are always welcome to stay on the boat or do the shorter routes, but we wanted to see it all!

One inconvenience with the trip is when you could and couldn't use credit cards on the boat. It was inconsistent. We found ourselves short of Euros because they wouldn't accept credit cards when my brother wanted to rent an e-bike for a couple days . . . but you could use your credit card to buy drink cards! Go figure.

We really enjoyed our cycling adventure in South Holland however, what was not mentioned was that the entire boat; staff and guests spoke German. This was not in the information that I read when booking this adventure. We did not understand the people at our table nor when we were cycling. The itinerary said the trip was September 21-29, so I was surprised when our trip was over on the 28th. I then needed to secure a hotel room that evening. Finally, I booked a room on the upper floor to have a view of the water and a window that opened. I did not read anywhere that the boat was in port each evening and I paid a premium to look at people sitting on a bench. We did not open the curtains or window for this very reason. I do feel that I should be reimbursed the extra fee that was charged for being on the upper floor.
Our guide Wolfgang tried his best to help us in English but he was difficult to understand. The food was great, and having coffee and cakes when we arrived back each day was fabulous.

The ease of booking, hospitality of the boat crews, well furnished boat (room, restaurant, lounge), scenic route, & most importantly, accurate offline RIDE-GPS

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

It was well organized. Ari was excellent as were the rest of the staff. We really enjoyed cycling in the outskirts of cities and stopping for coffee in small villages

In spite of rain and hail storms and being drenched most days while biking, it was FANTASTIC. The bike tours/itineraries were great (the app had some glitches but we figured it out). I didn't love the timeline to have to be back by 5 for briefing. I would have enjoyed longer days (aside from when the ship had to sail, that I understand). The other issue, and from what I heard from staff having other complaints as such, is the lack of water, coffee and tea not being available most of the day. If we didn't make it back in time for the afternoon snack, they pulled everything, then there was nothing hot to warm up with (especially being soaking wet), then you had to wait until 4 for the bar to open and then you had to pay for coffee/water. Does not seem unreasonable to have a pot of coffee and hot water readily available all day. Not sure if it's a common occurrence, the the lower decks hallways smelled horribly of sewer. I know they had a plumbing issue the day we boarded, so maybe it was related to that.

We had a wonderful time on this very active vacation. I most enjoyed seeing Dutch country life in a relaxed and independent way. We did face many challenges on this trip as the three of us in our group were the only English speakers. The trip leader debriefed us separately each evening but I feel we missed out on a lot of the information that the German speakers received in their debriefing later. We weren't given an orientation on how to use the e-bikes and had to figure that out on our own. We also weren't given an orientation for the boat the first night as it was given all in German and we had to figure out where everything was on our own as well. While everyone on the boat was very cordial I felt like a burden because I didn't speak German and was excluded from the larger group because of it. The maps and route descriptions were difficult to follow and it took all three of us to find our way each day. One of us needed to have the app open (my phone wasn't working so the app was useless to me), one of us had the map and the other used the route description. We frequently missed junctions and turns either because the sign was down or the route wasn't explained in enough detail. Riding in the cities was the most difficult. The app often contradicted the route description and the map. When we asked the trip leaders about it at the end of the day we were given the impression that we just didn't follow it correctly. I'm wondering if the debriefings had been better the night before that maybe we wouldn't have had so many issues.

The scenery was lovely! We enjoyed our active vacation - we self guided our biking days & between the maps, app, & instructions from our guide beforehand we didn’t get too lost. The staff of the Normandie was amazing!

Organization of the trip and the quality of crew and colleagues south holland is terrific cycling the bikes were of high standard

Great trip the tour could use a rundown on the operation of the e-bikes. Bikes were great but a rundown on removal and locking the bike needed to be done. Seat adjustment needs to be covered as well. Crew was great just more time for the operation of e-bikes is needed

Riding an E-Bike for the first time was super comfortable. Easy to operate and the 'Ride with GPS' made it simple and slick to cruise the Holland countryside. Also very much enjoyed the boat rides through the canals...

As our trip leader was well aware, I preferred the scenic countryside to the hectic intersections of the bigger cities. Though I was glad to see Leiden, Haarlem and Delft, it is a consideration when picking a tour. Crew was great and the meals surpassed expectations!

We were dissatisfied with the fit of the bikes. Care was not taken to size the bike to the rider and several of our members dealt with bikes too big for them - a safety issue! Also, my nephew had to trade seats with me to make my ride much more comfortable - that left him with a less desirable seat - those options should be the responsibility of the tour company and back up equipment should be available on site.

The dinners and the beautiful countryside.

The crew, the lodgings, and the bikes were fabulous. Breakfasts were good… dinners took two hours every evening ~ which was a bit long. The food was… interesting. Soup really bad a couple times, and seemed rather understaffed as far as getting beverages. Also the wording of the afternoon beverages misleading. It sounded as though coffee and tea would be available all day until 4:00, but that is incorrect. Coffee and tea were available free from approximately 3:00-4:00 only. After that, everything costs. All in all a very enjoyable experience. Nico in particular was great, arranging the rides. Weren’t able to dock at the two northern towns of Haarlem or Zaandam because of engine trouble, but made the best of it, staying in Amsterdam and riding out of there instead.

Getting to see so much of the Green Heart of Holland. However, incompetent dining room staff making me late for outings, insufficient/late availability of food for packing lunches, one guide leaving mid-trip, broken down barge meaning loss of 2 days of itinerary and then overloaded internet making us unable to download alternative routes, maid skipping our room first day - all made this a memorable trip as well, but not in a good way

The scenery was beautiful. I was disappointed that I had to miss the last two days of the biking tour because the ship had engine trouble and had to go back to Amsterdam for repairs.

Riding through the countrysides of the Netherlands was on my bucket list and it did not disappoint! The incredible beauty of the wetland areas and the diversity of bird life far exceeded my expectations!

I must sing praises for our tour leader Nico! He was always there when we needed him! Are there more than one of him?

Watching the De Amsterdam crew one day sail the boat through the canals is a must! It was a peak part of my trip watching them maneuver sideways and make the turns ! Such incredible scenery and seeing the huge variety of boats and vessels was outstanding!

Although my South Holland Tour was canceled and rerouted to North Holland, it was lovely. The tour guides, captain & staff were terrific and despite weather related complications, made the trip memorable. I will definitely be doing another - hopefully the Southern route...

The beautiful scenery, wonderful camaraderie, and helpful guides made this a remarkable and enjoyable experience. For those not comfortable cycling who might be traveling with an experienced cycling partner, I highly recommend an e-bike. It took all of the stress away for both is us!

This was my third Tripsite Barge Biking Trip and as good as ever again.
Highly recommended.
Excellent guide who ensured that everybody was happy.
Despite the large age difference from10-92 years, the group of 18 pax jelled well together.
A trip that combines nature, culture,exercise, education and relaxation in a most balanced holiday that one could wish for.

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.

Well organized boat and cycle tour through South Holland. The Poseidon was a super boat with great staff and great food. The tours were well organized by Ingrid. Ingrid is excellent, well informed and very helpful. She provided some assistance and guidelines for our self guided tour. The E bikes were very good. Highly recommend.

Most Memorable Part: The many and varied biking routes on the tour. Our guide Ingrid van de Grint was fantastic.

Bikes were top quality and the tour instructions were excellent. It was an excellent route. Food on the Normandie was good and the accommodations very comfortable.

Finding out that using an E-bike is WONDERFUL (this was our first trip) and allowed us to bike must further and faster than we thought we were capable of. The daily tours were well set up - took us along the unbeaten (bike) paths and allowed us enjoy time with friends.

I loved the first day biking through Bruekelyn, the day in Gouda, and the day we biked the dunes and tulip fields. Tinaka, the gulf was awesome. The food was mediocre but we went into town every night and had great dinners.

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!

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

It was so nice to once again be able to travel. We joined a wonderful group of cyclists mostly from Germany on de Amsterdam. The boat was very nice with a great crew. Our guide gave excellent briefings every evening to prepare us for the next day and was helpful the whole week out on the course. The rest of the crew was equally prepared and helpful the whole tour from amazing meals to top-notch drink service to keeping the boat clean. While we were used to the smaller barges it worked out to the best because there were fewer than normal on this tour. It allowed us to get to know all of the fellow cyclists and to share a good beer and a stroopwafel with them. Making so many new friends is absolutely the best part of the trip. We look forward to our next adventure!

Very nice boat. We had a mildew smell problem with our room, and the boat crew acknowledged it and when they were unable to fix the problem they upgraded us to a nicer room. The crew was terrific, and the boat was very comfortable.