Reviews

The ship is small and cozy and the owners are nice and work hard to please and make it a good experience. However, operating a ship with a 3 person crew is not enough. We have been on many boat and bike trips and we were never involved in loading and unloading bikes of the ship as it was this time. Cabins #1 and #2 are to be avoided, smallest and stinkiest of the 13. The thing most people remember from trips is the meals and in this case 2 of 6 were vegetarian (33%) that were very very low cost. First and last meal should always be the most memorable and in this case they did not deliver on the first meal. Good breakfasts but if you were slow you ended up with very little choice of breads or cold cuts. Having to ask is not my style. The tour is excellent and lovely places were visited. The instructions for the paths taken were poor, not the typical map like paper instructions with detailed info. Just the numbers of the cycle-paths. Overall we enjoyed the small group of people, the food was acceptable and would be better with some changes as mentioned above, improve the deck space for sitting during sailing and get another crew member to help with the chores and the bikes. Good people, well intending but need improvement to make this a 5 star tour.

The crew was friendly helpful. Rooms clean. We were 30 members of our family. For the early birds it would have been nice to share a coffee in the lobby without waking to ones like to sleep in.

The cycling was great. It may be helpful if there were ear phones or some type of communication device on the ride. With 22 people there may be something pointed out at the front of the line and the people behind don’t know what it was. Offer T shirts for sale.

We enjoyed our Bike and Barge tour from Passau to Budapest. The ebikes were wonderful, the staff were fantastic, the food was pretty good, our room was clean and roomy enough for two of us. We did about half of the offered tours which were decent, but we did find some of our own tours which we preferred. We did this tour the last week of May and would love to do it again.

Captain: Jan Mate:Robin Chef:Agnus Hostess: Sandra Guide: Simon All were exceptional! They each did their jobs extremely well and professionally. They made our trip memorable enjoyable and fun. The chef did a tremendous job in very small quarters to prepare the meals. The food was excellent, with a very diversified menu. The captain was great. He made us all feel welcome and shared his knowledge openly. The hostess was very helpful and accommodating. The mate did an excellent job assisting all crew members and the guests. The guide was also top/notch. Simon was a great leader very empathetic, very caring, very informative and just a plain good human being. He was patient and tolerant of everyone. The room, beds and bathroom were all a person needed and very practical for our needs. I recommend a bike/barge trip to everyone.

Extremely competant and pleasant crew. Our first bike and barge trip was wonderful success largely because the boat was more than adequate, comfortable room and full bath. The staff was excellent aboard ship from the captain, to cook and crew. The maps provided allowed for self navigating for rides or joining the groups. We joined the groups most days to enjoy the arranged tours and extras along the way. Very good trip, look forward to taking another.

We had a wonderful adventure biking the Netherlands with Boat Bike Tours. The staff was friendly and helpful and the meals were tasty! I would recommend the trip to anyone who wants to truly experience this beautiful country.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week aboard the Lefde van Freslan. The trip was interesting, varied and it all went very smoothly despite some wild, windy days. The ship itself was remarkably comfortable and it was far better than my opinion when I stepped aboard a few years ago. The public areas are spacious and well laid out with plenty of room for all the guests. My single cabin was small, as you know, but adequate with a good size bathroom. It had everything I needed with perhaps a space under the bed to store a suitcase. Other twin cabins onboard were remarkably spacious. The idea of putting up the sails appealed to everyone onboard and there were many enthusiastic helpers. Sails were hoisted, even the topsail, at every opportunity. The crew of just four were brilliant, nothing was too much trouble and nothing phased them. They all worked tirelessly to make everyone’s trip the best it could be and still had time to chat and offer advice where needed. A big thank you goes to chef Peter who’s menu and presentation gave me some of the best meals I have experience on a boat and bike trip. Plus he always had fresh cakes or cookies for afternoon snacks. Brilliant. The bikes, mine an e-bike, worked perfectly, with more than enough battery left at the end of the day. The whole group only had one flat tyre and no mechanical breakdowns during the week and that was quickly dealt with. The itinerary was fascinating, a great mix of wild natural beauty, Dutch culture and history and wonderfully varied cycling paths. I enjoyed the art galleries, museums, a traditional market or two, the coffee shops – especially the Heartbreak Hotel – and the views across the North Sea beaches. I appreciated the widespread internet access. The seafood on the islands and the frites were great, I often came back with my sandwich lunch uneaten. The trails through the woods and beside the sand dunes and polders were great fun. We had more than enough information with the app, map and junction sheet. No one got lost, no one was likely to. I took lots of photos, especially on days when we had brilliant sunshine. I have no hesitation in recommending this trip to anyone who enjoys cycling, including those occasional cyclists, and the romance of a traditional sailing ship. And my goodness, wasn’t it brilliant to see those rows of old and restored sailing boats in every port we visited.

Exactly as expected. Wonderful guide, he was knowledgeable, funny and loved his job. Ship crew were accommodating and helpful. Tour provided beautiful countryside, good food, ship was adequate. Rides were well planned, lots of time to ride, break, tour, eat….perfectly orchestrated.

The guides were fantastic and the ship was beautiful. Would have enjoyed longer cycling days.