Reviews

Bicycle guide Felix and Captain Hans with crew onboard Gandalf gave us a memorable summer vacation! If possible, bring your own bikes, although the rental bikes onboard seemed allrigth, but you know your own better :-) Birte & Preben Bensen, Denmark

my friend and i did the netherlands/belgium trip in May 2015 and had a fantastic time. Thomas, our guide, was amazing, the bikes were easy to ride, and very comfortable, and the places we saw were so memorable. Now i am looking to do another trip w/ them in the fall…

Fun experience – Brugges toAmsterdam- 300 km in 6 days. Great way to see the countryside and some beautiful cities ….. just follow your guide.

This is our 5th boat and bike holiday so it’s a formula we love. We also keep returning to The Netherlands and Belgium…we haven’t found anywhere that caters so well for cyclists…we are not courageous in traffic nor good on hills. This trip was on The Gandalf…one of the smaller ships…takes about 20 passengers..the skipper, Hans, was welcoming…a friendly and generous host. His crew and the chef were really excellent and the food was varied, imaginative and extremely tasty and lots of it. The route Bruges to Amsterdam is really lovely…beautiful cities, towns and villages. You really feel you can see day to day life…what people are growing in their gardens…whole classes of school children out on their bikes…small holdings with a few sheep and a duck pond. The guide, Rikko, worked hard to find good spots for refreshments and had excellent knowledge…historical, technical, local, which made the trip richer. He did tend to keep the pace a bit swift. He also led a walk each evening so it was not all cycling. Our group of 16 was by far the most mixed we have experienced and we all got on well…people came from France, UK, Germany, Argentina, Australia, USA and The Netherlands…this made for some interesting conversations. This is not a luxury holiday. Be prepared for getting soaked, wind blasted, sunburned, exhausted and in need of some good muscle rub. The bikes are good. We have seen more and more people using ebikes and have some qualms about this. We feel it might put those not on ebikes at something of a disadvantage at times…and sometimes we did struggle with the pace. Three of us therefore decided to ride independently using the maps provided…this was easy and fun….but you did miss out on the guide’s local knowledge and the group experience. Being able to go at a slightly slower pace worked well for us. We love cycling holidays (have been on about 14)..we especially love the boat and bike formula but a word of caution…on almost every trip we have done…with a whole variety of companies… there has been a tendency to play down the daily distances…so practice beforehand and be prepared for some long days in the saddle (sheepskin saddle covers seem very good investment!). We hope to do more bike and boat trips …they are something a bit special.

We sailed aboard the “Magnifique” in 2013 (the Amsterdam-region tour) and 2014 (Flanders & Netherlands tour). On each trip, we were treated royally by Captain Walter and his crew; we enjoyed the beautiful and interesting daily bike tours (led by Laia in 2013 and Tom in 2014); and delighted in being part of a small, friendly group of fellow travelers for several days. We have been recommending BoatBike tours to friends and family alike since our 2013 trip — and hope to return for another trip someday soon.

Excellent facilities on the boat, first class cuisine, very professional and friendly staff/crew on the boat. All of this made for a fantastic holiday experience.