Reviews

Well planned excursions and options, friendly, helpful, and communicative staff, great food, and great company!

I can’t say enough about traveling on the Magnifique four and biking through Belgium and the Netherlands. We had an unbelievably great time! Violet (host), Christine (host), Avi (the chef), Michael/Walter (captains), and Joelle (sailor) we’re an incredible crew with great hospitality that made us all feel like we were at home. Esther and Hilde were fabulous bike tour guides, I would highly recommend boat-bike tours to anyone!

Exceeded our expectations! The crew, was very caring and really enjoyed their jobs which reflected in how they treated the guests.

The rooms were comfortable and clean, the food was plentiful and delicious, and the bike tours were wonderful, the destinations and information provided by the guides were great. The attention to detail on every level was superb. Everything was well thought out, would highly recommend this.

We had a wonderful trip on the de Holland from Bruges to Amsterdam. The cycling brought us through lovely landscapes and villages of Belgium and the Netherlands. Cycling there made me wish we could have such well thought out cycling routes everywhere in Canada, along with the positive mentality that the Belgians and Dutch have towards cyclists and cycling. The Riding with GPS app was quite good though improvements could be made to include more info on where to stop en route to see specific places of interest, or restaurants etc. The map of the routes with the numbers was at times not well explained at the previous nights info session or was incorrect, or the signs difficult to find or see. The concept though is brilliant! The food was fine, dinner portions were sometimes too large, and it seems that there was a lot of waste, especially with the salads at dinner, that were not as popular. Sadly, we learned that any leftover food was thrown out. Additionally, there was little variety with breakfast or the assortment of “make your own sandwich” foods for lunch. Perhaps skipping the lunch idea altogether and providing people with the names of restaurants and eateries along the route, where they can support the “buy local” idea would be more suitable. The dessert and tea/coffee time in the afternoon was much appreciated. The staff were quite nice and worked hard at their jobs. Asking for group tips at the end of our trip was awkward and left me wondering if they weren’t being paid well enough. Is there another way to look at compensating them for a job well done? Finding the ship at the end of a ride was problematic on occasion. A better way of informing cyclists of the location of the boat might be considered. The bikes, both regular and e-bikes were good. As was the locking mechanism and handy pannier. The tour leader was available to help with any bike problems, though thankfully we did not need his help. The rooms and bathrooms were great. Comfortable beds, hot water for showers etc. The other cyclists on board were so nice to meet and enjoy this shared experience with. There were Canadians, some Brazilians, Americans and Germans. Overall, it was a great trip and I would recommend Boat Bike Tours to others and we will likely do another trip.

We truly enjoyed our trip. And are planning another Boat & Bike for the future. The staff was wonderful. Everyone was professional, extremely helpful ane hard working. Cabin was clean. The bike routes were well planned. Belgium and Holland were beautiful. The food was good, dinners did seem to fall off a bit later in the week. The only negative was the system of paying for drinks was confusing.

The friendly captain inspired confidence in the way he talked about and handled the boat. The entire crew was pleasant, cheerful, and very hard-working. Public areas and our cabins were very well maintained. Chef made sure we had tasty and healthy food morning , lunch and dinner. Although would have appreciated some lunch variety. Even PBJ would have been welcome. The guides were knowledgeable and very good at describing sights and ride plans and guiding us safely during those rides. The rides took us through beautiful countryside that led to interesting sights and ride breaks. , Those who chose to stay on the Boat were made very welcome and had a great opportunity to see the gorgeous countryside that the boat sailed through We would definitely recommend such an adventure to other bicyclist.

What an amazing trip! Excellent boat, staff, food, guests and weather!!! Beautiful tours of 13th to 18th century towns, historical and war memorial information, lovely farmland, dike rides, forests and more. I’ll be back!

The crew were great and we really enjoyed the food,the dinners were delicious. I would suggest greater variety, even on a rotating basis for the breakfast and lunch options. While we enjoyed the snacks & coffee that were placed out upon return of the cycling day, we felt that those foods could have been left out for a longer time, those who cycled at a slower pace couldn’t take advantage of this. Additionally, we felt that water, tea, and coffee should have been free at all times. When one cyclist suffered a head injury shortly after leaving the boat and his wife requested a cup of tea while he awaited medical attention, it seemed petty to charge him for that tea, as his wife was told he’d need to be charged for it. The injury happened after his wheel had fallen off, a free cup of tea seems very little to ask. While nothing can be done about weather related delays and issues, the communication was poor and slow to be shared. We were left with questions about why some changes had occurred, a transparent and full sharing of information as it became available would have reduced frustration, for example, the first day’s warm up loop was cancelled, with no explanation given. We enjoyed the riding routes, the communities we saw, and the people we met over the course of the week. As was mentioned, the crew of the boat were hardworking, friendly and helpful. Hopefully our feedback regarding the other issues can be food for thought on some positive changes you may wish to make to improve the experience for your future guests.

What a disaster. The primary staff were surly and not hospitable at all; 4 bikes ‘broke’ causing injuries (loose handlebars, front wheel fell off, e bike ‘e’ not working’, seat fell off. I am not making this up). Breakfast and lunch were the same every day. Would NOT recommend. The tour was pretty although there was no tour guide available despite it being advertised as such, and when there was an accident (seat falling off) they didn’t answer the phone or call back. Very frustrated and disappointed.