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Tamara Veenendaal is one of our most experienced tour leaders. For seven years she’s been leading boat bike trips with us. But that doesn’t mean she’s seen it all. Far from it. This year she stepped aboard one of our sailing ships for the first time. Here she shares what she learned from the Sail & Bike Tulip Tour, and why she liked it so much.   Hello, Tamara! You already have lots of experience with cycling and boat tours, but this was your first trip on a sailing ship.…

Besides being the biggest lake in the Netherlands, the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake) boasts some other remarkable facts thanks to its dramatic transformations through time: from when it was the stormy Zuiderzee to its modern identity as a freshwater lake.   Here are five fascinating things about the IJsselmeer, truly one of the Netherlands’ most incredible combinations of nature and engineering: 1. The IJsselmeer was a lake, then the sea, then a lake again In ancient Roman times, a body of water quite separate from the sea, known as Lacus Flevo,…

It’s glorious summer and whether you’re basking in sunshine or already at your desk again, the prospect of going back to the usual routine is never very appealing. But there’s a bright side. One of the few consolations of returning home from a vacation is… looking forward to the next one! That’s why this summer we’re already busy with one of our favorite activities: travel planning! Our tours have become so popular that they’re being booked a year in advance. To keep up with demand, we’re introducing a bunch of…

To e-bike or not to e-bike? That is the question! Some people turn their noses up at the idea, while others are crazy about it: with e-bikes, opinions are divided. In this blog we look at the pros and cons of motorized bicycles, and ask the fundamental question: are e-bikes really just for lazy people?   How an e-bike works First of all, the defining feature of an e-bike, also known as a “pedelec”, is the small, battery-powered electric motor that makes pedaling easier. An electric bicycle does not ride…

At Boat Bike Tours we offer full-service boat and bike tours in 14 countries across Europe. Our multi-day tours are fully-catered-for in every way, from gourmet meals to cycling equipment. European cycling vacations offer the curious traveler an inexhaustible wealth of experiences and adventures, but the huge range of possibilities can be overwhelming: what equipment do you need to bring for day trips, bike-packing, bike touring, or even a boat and bike tour?   Seven things you need for bike touring Luckily, at Bike Boat Tours we have more than…

First course was the most divine zucchini soup I’ve ever tasted; second was perfectly seared salmon and fennel with a mustard cream sauce; and dessert was homemade chocolate cake garnished with strawberries and a passionfruit coulis. After our first delicious dinner, I found a new appreciation for one of the most important ingredients on a cycling cruise: the chef! The next day I sought out Bas van Os, chef aboard the Magnifique II on our Tulip Premium Tour, to learn a bit about his background, how he plans the menu,…

The activities in the shipyard certainly don’t look like a vacation: a massive boat hull is being busily welded, drilled and painted. The shipbuilders are hard at work. But next year, thanks to their efforts, you’ll be able to relax on the sun deck, enjoying a coffee as you watch the passing countryside. We’re in the Frisian town of Franeker where the Magnifique IV, the fourth ship in our popular Magnifique fleet, is being built. But there’s still plenty to do before we can welcome the first guests on board.…

Beatrice Clarke is an Australian writer based in Amsterdam. In March 2019, she took a cycling cruise for the first time and experienced a delightful new side to life in the lowlands. Despite having lived in Amsterdam for 10 years, there are some aspects of Dutch life that I have never truly experienced. Windmills are one of them. So it was a pleasant surprise when I joined the Tulip Tour Premium, to discover that the first destination would be the iconic historic Zaanse Schans neighborhood north of Zaandam.   Life…

You probably already know our bike and boat trips. But did you know that you can have a bit more of an adventure on our Sail & Bike tours? On these voyages we swap our well-known river cruise ships for beautiful sailing vessels and instead of calm rivers and canals, we travel on open waters. Curious? In this post you’ll find out what awaits you on our cycling and sailing tours: learn what makes a trip by sailing ship and bicycle so special, get to know our stately sailing ships…

While the Netherlands is known for being bike-friendly, Utrecht takes this to the extreme. The medieval core of this city was a historic intersection of the Netherlands’ Protestant north and Catholic south, it’s simply crammed with Golden Age townhouses arrayed around its stately main canals — the Oudegracht and Nieuwegracht — and it’s best explored on bikes.   Cyclists flow in effortless streams along narrow, cobbled streets which follow wharves created the best part of a millennium ago (when no-one thought of planning for cars). Back when the Rhine River…