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Harry and Sandy Johnson’s eighth bike and barge trip was destined to be a special one, joining their similarly boat and bike-loving friends who had chartered the Sarah, along with their respective adult children and partners, and other close friends and relatives. Their wish for the week: giving their children a shared experience of the wonderful cycling in Holland.   Laughter and hugs “As the crew on the Sarah would attest, the collegiality aboard the ship was immediate and set the tone for the week,” recalls Harry. With a party…

2019 is up and running! What does it have in store for you? Is it the year you try a boat bike tour for the first time? Whether you’re already familiar with our cycling and boat accommodation concept, or it’s a new experience for you, we have some wonderful tour suggestions to get you in the travel mood. We have many tours and destinations to choose from (more than 22 within the Netherlands alone), so sometimes it can be hard to decide which one suits you best. Here we list…

At Boat Bike Tours we run unique multi-day boat and bike tours that immerse you in authentic Dutch life and culture, including spectacular cycling trips through tulip fields. From the official season launch mid-January, to peak tulip season from mid-March to mid-May, there are so many ways to experience the beauty of the tulip flower and its importance in Dutch culture.   Here are four very different ways you can enjoy tulips in the Netherlands: 1. See tulip season launch at Dam Square in Amsterdam Every January, on Nationale Tulpendag,…

How was your New Years Eve? Here in the Netherlands, we celebrate it with lots of fireworks and deep-fried doughy goodness, such as oliebollen and appelflappen — if we’re not on a holiday. Another thing that many of us do to prepare for the new year, is setting resolutions. We like to think of them as goals to make them more real, instead of just a wish to forget about after a couple of weeks. What are the most common resolutions?   I’m going to travel more Let’s say one…

If you’re planning a unique cycling and cruising trip through the lovely Dutch lowlands, you won’t want to miss perfect photo opportunities when they arise… from the sunset over the windmills, to cyclists against the flower fields and reflections in the vast array of waterways. These pictures will be the physical presence of your memories for years to come, and you’ll no doubt show them off to friends, family, co-workers, and really, anyone who asks. But combining landscape photography and moving objects (cyclists!) can be daunting, especially if you’re not…

Preparing for the biking season the Dutch way  We all know the Dutch are avid cyclists, and they have the strong legs to show for it. But all of this cycling activity has to be fueled by something, and we’ll let you in on a secret: It’s the traditional winter foods that have them biking year-round — rain or shine. So if you want to prepare for the biking season the Dutch way, then make sure you try out these three traditional dishes to stay warm and fuel those cycling…

The Dutch really love riding their bikes. Did you know the average adult pedals about 1,000 kilometers a year—and teenagers do double, a whopping 2,000 kilometers! Everybody bikes, no matter their age (even 25% of seniors ride their bikes every single day!). Cycling is just a lifestyle here—the country’s young professionals use their bikes for about 75% of all their journeys. If you’re thinking the Dutch must have some kind of cycling magic…well, we won’t argue with you. In fact, we’ve come up with 16 reasons the Dutch are in…

Sometimes Belgium gets overlooked as a prime vacation destination—crowded out by its more flamboyant sisters like France, Italy, and Germany. But Belgium is a fabulous place to visit; it’s got history, culture, architecture, and cuisine, not to mention gorgeous natural landscapes just begging to be explored on a bicycle. So if you’re looking for someplace different for your travels this year, here are 14 reasons to put Belgium on your short list.   1. Belgian beer—need we say more? It’s not really an overstatement to say there’s a bit of…

Thinking of a bicycle vacation this year? There’s a great case to be made for pedaling the prettiest routes in Holland. Did you know that there are over 35,000 kilometers of cycle paths in the Netherlands? It’s a place that absolutely caters to its cycling friends—trust us, there’s no better place to ride your bike. Still need convincing? Check out some of the sights and experiences in store for you if you take a bike tour in Holland this summer.   1. Pedal through the Hoge Veluwe National Park to…

What would be more delightful than to cycle and waltz your way down the magnificent Danube on a Bike and Boat touring adventure through four magical European countries – Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary? Well, that is what we did, all four of us and we range in age from 60 to 70 years young. We ate and slept on board the MS My Story, which is a forty four year old, 105 meter-long ship with a total of 74 en suite cabins. It has a staff compliment of forty…