Reviews

Best first time experience in trying something new! Everything is as advertised or better- all good surprises and incredible staff and crew! You will not be disappointed

Very well organised trip. We travelled on the San Snova which was very comfortable and clean and friendly. Our bikes were comfortable and ran easily. Dini and Dora our guides were kind, efficient and knowledgeable. We had a most pleasurable experience. However, be warned, one needs to prepare for those hills by doing some early practise. I survived well on a simple bicycle. I am 72 years old.

Sail/Bike Frisian Sea was fantastic! It was my second Boat-Bike tour, and the sailing added an exciting dimension. The Mare fan Fryslân is a large, comfortable boat and the crew is top notch. Captain Jores sails the boat at every opportunity, guests helping with the sails under Mate Renska’s supervision; both are calm, confident, highly skilled and very laid back, giving the boat a relaxed, comfortable, fun vibe. The cook and assistant were wonderful, food was great, accomodations very comfortable. Self-guided bike tours are well laid out on the good maps provided, with most tours following the bike-by-numbers strategy. We didn’t have much luck with the Ride with GPS app but managed fine with the map. The Friesland region of the Netherlands is beautiful with stress-free biking through the flat countryside, mostly on separate cycle paths or sometimes in designated lanes through picturesque villages, with visits to great historic spots and some nice beaches. The Frisian people are about the most charming and friendly I’ve ever met. Great sailing, bicycling nirvana, cute towns, great food and local beer, wonderful people – I can’t say enough good things about this trip – it was fun and relaxing and there was so much to it that I’ll be soaking it up for weeks to come.

Room and bathroom very small but clean and very comfortable. Crew was fantastic – our guide, Carlos, was so nice and made sure we had the opportunity to see as much as we wanted. Sara made very good meals – I thought I’d want to go out to dinner on my own a couple of nights, but I never wanted to miss her meals. Fillippo, the captain was very nice and went out mornings to get fresh bread and baked goods, and Marta took care of the cabins and all of our needs – she was happy, entertaining and made us all feel so comfortable! There was a place to relax and socialize both indoors and out on the deck. The bikes had very smooth shifting mechanisms and the handle grips were very nice – several of us were interested in getting them for our bikes back home. The bikes were in good shape and we were provided a pannier and handlebar sac for our lunches and other personal items. There were plenty of stops for refreshments and to use the toilet – we wanted for nothing. It was my first bike and barge trip, but after such a great experience, I hope to do many more!

Everything was good and even very gooD, except my E-bike. The first day I have seen that the breaks were not in order and I inform the guide of this fact. I’ve got the answer that it would be fixed. The second and third day it was absolutely the same, what I said to the guide again. The fourth day the front wheel bloqued completely on a downhill ride !!! The guide gaveme his bike to finish the journey. It was supposed to be fixed on the evening but the fiftth day, the breaks were a bit better but not repared. I’m not satisfied with the E-bikes and the bad response of the Company that has provided the E-bikes and its bad after-sales service.

loved the crew and the tour, food was very good. lower cabin was very good but upper rooms don’t have air conditioning and no window screens! dining room also had no air conditioning and got very hot. if you want to go into museums, castles and churches and bier gardens you need an ebike…otherwise you will be only bicycling and not have time for touring.there was a mistake about the bikes but the tour corrected it and gave a decent refund.bikes were well fitted with great front and side bags. trip of a lifetime! beautiful rhine and nekkar rivers…

We had an excellent tour from Bruges to Amsterdam. The Tour guides were excellent and there were options each day for a shorter or longer bike ride. The food was amazing with 3 course meals at dinner time that were exceptional. The cabins were very comfortable with air conditioning and ensuite shower and toilet. I would highly recommend this tour.

The boat, staff and food were excellent. Sandra and Hester did a great job of guiding us across Belgium and the Netherlands. Gourmet food each night and an air conditioned room topped off the list. Definitely exceeded my expectations.

I’ve just come back from the May 26th to June 2nd sailing of the Mare Fan Fryslan….the circle route from Enkhuizen to Texel/Terschelling, down the opposite coast of the the Ijssel Meer and back to Enkhuizen. This tour is a really good deal when compared with the same tour with a well-known American firm, VBT. It’s a full 60% less- about $1500 vs $3545 for the identical itinerary and the same sailboat! VBT does include train tickets for Amsterdam/Enkhuizen/Amsterdam ($30) and has some home visits. Also VBT will have a van to trail after bikers for any repairs or fatigued biker recovery. The Netherlands, however, is totally bike friendly with (no-car) dedicated bike paths, flat-flat countryside and villiages spaced out at 5 miles intervals; so Mother Hens to shepard you around are really not necessary. My son and I were totally happy touring independently. The company gave us an excellent detailed map of the area of the tour with all bike paths clearly marked. We opted for electric bikes, sturdy Gazelle Bikes, manufactured in the Netherlands with a Bosch Power system. The electric option cost an extra $200 (included in the $1500 price). The electric bike was wonderful, worked beautifully, even during the one afternoon’s rain deluge. I’d recommend the electric option because it totally prevents fatigue even when you’re doing more than 40 miles per day. Going up hills (yeah, there are hills in the Netherlands when you’re approaching bridges or sand dunes). My son called the electric power boost up hills, “the hand of God”. The electric option gives you a read out of miles(kms) and time travelled plus estimated travel kms remaining. Our maximum mileage day from Makkum to Stavoren was about 60Kms and I still had about 20% battery left after liberally using the battery along the way. The Boat-Bike bicycles come with a massive rear side pannier which easily accomodates raincoat, extra clothing, and battery charger in case you need to boost the charge at a friendly resturant along the way. The Sailboat offered half day sailings every day when we weren’t on the islands. All hands, that wanted to, were recruited into raising and lowering sails by the owner’s ( Jorin de Wit) enthusiastic, friendly wife, Rindske. The sailing experience was wonderful since we had 75F, blue sky days for almost all of the trip. The sailboat experience really set this tour apart from other tours that offer motorcoach transfers or puttering along on a barge. The Mare Fan Fryslan is a 3-masted historical flat bottomed boat, well suited to coastal cruising. There are 12 double bed cabins and 2 triples on board. All have a private bath with shower, sink, and toilet. Our cabin was spacious with 2 portholes and 7 feet of headroom. Beds were comfortable. Having a travelling home base that required only one unpack and repack is a real time-saver compared to the 3-4 different hotel stays on a typical 8-day bike tour. The sailboat has a dedicated dining room with 4 and 6 place tables..no assigned seating. Sit where you want. There’s dedicated bar area with a good selection of wine and bottled and draft beer, fairly priced. The mostly German tour participants put quite a daily dent in the beer supply! Food was good. Full European breakfast with fresh cooked eggs- fried, hard-boiled, omelettes offered every day. Delicious fresh bread was delivered to the boat every morning. The cheese and cold-cuts were available for making sandwiches to carry along on the bike tours. But we generally took advantage of cafes and beachfront restaurants along the way. Dinners offered fresh seafood and Dutch specialties. I was totally thrilled with this tour and will certainly consider this and other tours with Boat-Bike again. The price is a real bargain. In the future I’ll consider taking along my Grandson when he gets a bit more secure with his bicycle skills.

The people looking after us were amazing! We perhaps were very lucky with staffing….as Carlos was a very competent, accomodating and friendly bike tour guide; Max was an outstanding chef and provided an amazing varied menu which we all appreciated after a hard days bike ride; Dita was a very welcoming and endearing hostess and Christian was a friendly captain and even though many of us didn’t speak his language we still could communicate! We believe we were so lucky to have these people look after us and provide such an enjoyable experience. Thank you so much Mandy & Tony (Australia)