Reviews

We had a great time on this tour, which was very well organized and gave us the option to either ride or sail to the next stop.

We had an amazing week on The Gandalf in mid July, 2016. Our trip left Amsterdam on July 9 and arrived in Bruges on July 15. There are some wonderful things about The Gandalf. It may not be for everyone. The accommodations are simple, but extremely comfortable. Two beds and not a whole lot of room to move around but all you do is sleep in your cabin–and shower, etc. The crew is super friendly. The food is fantastic. We saw other boats with white table cloths and fancy dining spreads and could not have cared less. The Gandalf’s food was stellar; terrific variety in the dinner from night to night. The final Dutch feast, hosted by ship owner Hans, was non-stop. And delicious. Our bike tour guide was Fred, a very friendly and compelling figure who handled a variety of situations with ease. Broken bicycle seat? No problem. (Don’t let that make you think the bikes are not in good condition; this was a rare event to be sure.) We handled rain and lost riders with no problem at all. He made it look easy and encouraged people to ride every day, if they could. We really like the smaller size of the bike group and community on The Gandalf–just 20. This made for a more intimate feeling, I believe. The variety of riding days was fantastic and Fred knew a variety of colorful places to stop and grab coffee or beer. The pace was good but at the most we rode for five or six hours a day, with plenty of breaks. In the evenings, there was always an interesting town or city to walk (or ride) to and poke around, grab an evening beer or glass of wine. Fred made sure there was time for museums or castles–whatever the day encountered. It was Fred’s “Magical Mystery Tour” and my wife and I both could have gone another week; it was that much fun. You really get into a groove. Fantastic organization. Fantastic crew on The Gandalf and this was a great way to see The Netherlands and western Belgium, particularly Antwerp, Gent and Bruges. I’d recommend The Gandalf and this company for travelers who are flexible, open to new experiences and just want to have a good time.

This was my first cycling holiday and unusually I was travelling alone. I didn’t know quite what to expect but all my worries were soon dispelled from the moment I arrived at the boat. The MS Zwaantje is a purpose built barge with everything needed for a comfortable and pleasant stay. The cabins are quite sufficient for two people and I heard no complaints whatsoever about the size, facilities or comfort. The captain, crew and guide were cheerful, efficient and welcoming. Nothing was too much trouble for them and I felt that they enjoyed giving the best possible experience. The food served was plentiful and of a very high standard, my waist size grew despite all the cycling! The cycle trips and evening walks were well planned and flexible depending on the weather and the ability of the cycling group. Cycling with a group of people of different nationalities was enjoyable and as there were a few English speakers on the tour, it was conducted in English, an important point for me as I have no other language skills at all! Even the group of people on the tour went out of their way to speak English so that I was included in the evening gatherings. The tour involves some beautiful scenery, quiet roads and reasonable tracks, there was very little time spent on busier roads but even those had cycle lanes. The bikes were of good quality, well adjusted and well maintained. The pannier bag supplied was solid and more than adequate to carry the essentials (water, food etc.) and other items for the day or room for any items purchased during the day. Our guide was able to sort out any problems we did encounter (puncture). You need to be relatively fit to do this tour (or hire an e-bike) and there is always the option to stay on board and take a rest day. At the end of the tour I would have happily stayed on board and done the tour back again from Epernay to Paris! Give half a chance I would go back and do it all again.

Holland is beautiful for biking, and safe. The boat (Angela Esmee, 1st week July 2016) was not fancy but it was comfortable enough. The meals were healthy, with lean meets and plenty of vegetables. The only thing I would change is they need to put a pitcher of water on the table with meals. Charging two and a half euros for a small water is excessive.

This was our second boat & bike tour and we couldn’t recommend it highly enough. The boat (Fluvious) was great, sun deck really did the trick with the good weather. The food was fantastic and the tours were interesting, well paced for all and enjoyable. The staff on the boat were brilliant. It was such a good trip we can’t wait to book up the next one.

Exceptional, friendly, polite and competent staff in all areas: meals, cleaning, boat, bikes, tours, hospitality. Very nice atmosphere on board. Very good mix of structured tours and flexibility. Being able to stay aboard the comfortable boat all day instead of biking was a real advantage. There were often alternative biking routes. We had anticipated more leadership/ guidance from the tour guide while biking, but it proved not to be necessary. We were a more experienced group, but others might need to be led and this was not a possibility. Good with TV for the UEFA games, a must! Perhaps more WiFi. People would post more pictures if there was more free Internet access (more free advertising for you). Every destination was superb. Holland is really beautiful. I loved all our stops and all our rides. Fantastic scenery all around. To improve this trip experience — more information is needed about the bikes available. These were not light-weight touring bikes. They were old, heavy-duty city bikes with new gears and brakes. These bikes were too heavy, cumbersome and uncomfortable for 40-50 km/ day in all weather for 6 days. I have experience with other tours that offer better bikes as the standard. Perhaps these can be the discount bike. Have on offer better bikes!!! There was no drinking water available on board without an unreasonable cost. The mark up on the bottled water was 10-20 times what it cost in the village stores. Drinking water on a summer bike trip is a health issue, not a courtesy. Water needs to be freely provided or at least reasonably priced!!! Not to mention the environmental pollution due to the small, un returnable bottles solely available on board. The ride to Texel we learned could be dangerous in certain weather; in fact we adjusted our crossing due to safety concerns. Passengers should be told about life vests, what to do in the case of an emergency, etc. We received no such information. Traveling with children places more safety requirements on the tour and crew. But everyone should know about life jackets on a boat! More consideration needs to be placed on where one can use the toilet. These places should be marked on the map. There are cafés, but we were often turned away even if we offered to pay. Perhaps there needs to be a wider system of ECO toilets on the map at convenient nodes. It must be possible to go to the bathroom on route. Perhaps rightly so the same cafés are tired of handling 100s of bikers every week! Again, on other bike trips, toilet stops were clearly part of the deal – no stress.

Really had a wonderful time on the recently added Bourdeaux, Boat Bike tour. This well laid out tour lets you bike along quiet country roads with scenic vineyards and chateaus from five major producing regions. The MS Bordeaux was clean and well presented, the crew friendly and courteous. For me the highlight on board the ship was the excellent French meals and a later sampling from the wine region we were to visit the next day. If you are not a bike rider or just out of shape, consider renting an ebike as this tour has some gentle to moderate hill climbs. Merci Beaucoup to the Captain and crew, Scott, Pascal and the Chef du Maison.

We did the Paris to Epernay Champagne tour in early July. We were blessed with amazing weather (no rain at all while cycling). The crew of the Zwaantje are truly outstanding. They work together like a well oiled machine and always with a smile on their faces. The on-board meals, served ‘family style’ were plentiful and equal to many luxury sea-cruise lines we’re taken before. The cabins are small, but you’re only there to sleep and shower, so they’re sufficient. They were cleaned each day while we were out. The sundeck (roof) was great for relaxing (and dancing some nights) after dinner. Martijn (captain/owner) altered the morning routine a couple of days at our group’s request to give us a breakfast cruise along the river. He indicated he may add this to the itinerary for future trips. It was beautiful to enjoy the early morning sun on the roof as we glided along. The bicycles are all Treks for the non-ebike versions. Great shape and easy to adjust. The cycling part of the tour was wide ranging from flat to steeper hills (both up and down). Our guide, Mijntje, speaks English, Dutch, German, Italian, and French. As we explored the French countryside, we’d stop for pictures and information about the areas we visited. We also visited a few champagne houses, from large commercial operations to small family run enterprises. Our favorite was Champage Nowak. Be sure to buy some bubbles when you are there! Every evening there was an optional (no charge) walking tour of the town where we were moored. Led by Mijntje. As the Euro Cup was on, we also went to a few pubs to cheers on the teams in the evening. I highly recommend this tour. We’ll be back to go on the Bruges to Amsterdam beer tour!

We had a very good, relaxing experience. Our time on the boat was very pleasant. The rooms were a little small but perfectly adequate and always cleaned thoroughly each day. The food was excellent and we really enjoyed our time with our fellow guests at table. The bike routes were well selected and the rides were very enjoyable. One small criticism is that the maps provided certainly sufficed in rural settings but were sometimes inadequate once the route entered a crowded urban environment.

The Magnifique II is a beautiful barge. It was a pleasure to return each day to this oasis of the senses. The food was exceptional. The crew were personable and enthusiastic. They went out of their way multiple times. The bikes worked out well and we enjoyed each day’s ride. We think Mariels, our guide, was superhuman to bike all day, then do an after dinner town tour. This was a memorable experience!