Reviews

Nicely refurbished boat with a few teething problems that need sorting out. The styling of the ship is fresh and contemporary and the staff are all very friendly and extremely helpful at all times. I thank them for making our stay so good. The cycling was so enjoyable. Good clear instructions and we used the GPS app which really made it relaxing. Lovely countryside and towns to visit along the way. We cycled 50+ km each day which was easy for us as we paid extra for the very nice electric bikes. You can vary the assistance to your peddling so you can get a decent amount of exercise without getting exhausted after 6 days cycling. The bikes were brand new and in great condition. The staff were helpful if there were any adjustments needed. Unfortunately the saddles were the basic hard ones and after 6 days, even with padded shorts and my own padded saddle cover it was very uncomfortable. I really wanted to give 5 stars on my review but there were a few things that really need to be sorted to allow me to do so: Our premium double cabin had a bed which was raised too high even for someone who is 5’8″. The front edge of the bed had a wooden edge which was extremely uncomfortable to climb over. Needs a step or the wooden edge to be removed. However the mattress was very comfy and we slept really well. The shower tray was very shallow and the curtain didn’t keep the water in. The whole bathroom was really flooded every time we washed. Very dangerous and slippery. In addition the proximity of the basin to the toilet meant that it was an uncomfortable squeeze to get to. The windows were difficult to shut due to the plastic part in the frame being loose and difficult to clip the window into. There was often a smell of sewage in the corridor on the lower deck. Thankfully the rooms did not smell! The electrics needed attention. Our ceiling lights failed and the cabin air conditioning was intermittent. In the main salon the wall lights randomly flickered bright and dim which drove me crazy! Finally the food was not of the best quality. The breakfast was almost the same every day. It was missing good coffee (you had to pay for proper coffee at the bar) and bacon and pastries – the sort of indulgences you enjoy on holiday but don’t have at home! Dinner three course meal was uninspiring. The daily soup was EXTREMELY salty as was a lot of the food. The soup seems to just taste of salty stock and only changed colour each day but not flavour. The salad course was very bland and insufficient. One table spoon per person at most. Some of the main courses were tasty but the desserts were like school food. The live entertainment provided one night was not needed or required. It just made the ship very noisy and only a couple of people stayed to listen. Jose who was our cycle guide obviously cared deeply that everyone was looked after and enjoyed their trip. A really lovely lady who briefed us each evening as to the route for the following day. The only thing that might have made the briefing better was to have a few more photos of the recommended places to stop along the way so you could get more of an idea of where you might like to have your lunch. One finally thing: Almost all the guest were at or over retirement age and there were only 6 English speakers, the rest were German. We were a family with two teen children and felt out of place. On arrival we were allocated a table for the dining room with two Spanish speakers and were expected to stay at the same table every meal time. As only one of the Spanish guest could speak English it make meal times awkward. Would have been better to be at a table of just 4 or to have been able to mingle with other guests each evening. In summary, the cycling trip is really enjoyable the boat and cycles are of a good quality but there are a number of things which could easily be addressed to make it really worth 5 stars.

Our family recently completed a Croatia Bike and Boat tour. The staff was amazing, the food good and the countryside, towns and cities were beautiful. We would do it again in a heartbeat.

The boat : Nice, but maybe too big. Cabins on the back are noisy : the engine / generator works 24/24, and is located in the back. The bike trips : From 35 to 60 km, Quite easy to follow. Beware : no guide with you for bike trips, you will have a map. But easy to follow. The ambiance : Anouncements, meetings, and preparation for trips are in deutch or in german. Not in english or in another langage. This is definitively not an international tour, it’s a deutch one. Average age of travelers : more than 60 / 65. For resume : come with your friends and have a cabin in the front of the boat, you will have nice vacations. But do not hope to make friends if you do not speak deutch.

I booked our our trip with 11 other friends, there was a total of 13 of us in our party. We stepped up on the Quo Vadis and were welcomed with open arms. The captain JR showed us to our room. It was just like the picture online, no surprises. The room was very clean along with the bathroom. We met the rest of the crew and started to meet the other passengers. The food was top notch! Gourmet meals, very delicious! The guides are what made this trip so magical. Ferry knew the history and facts behind everything we stopped to see. Really made the stops interesting! Loved our route, lots to see, vineyards and castles and Roman ruins. Even got to see how Brut Champagne is made bottled , corked and labeled. Fascinating! Back to the ship for another gourmet meal. The beds were very comfortable along with the air conditioning in every room. I would do this ride again in a heartbeat, it was that good! Now the negative, I had issues with booking the 13 of us. Invoices were sent out then cancelled and several people kept getting multiple invoices to pay. Made the booking and paying process very confusing on our end. Once we got on the barge and started our vacation I was relieved! Don’t know if I would book thru Boat Bike Tours again, maybe use another trip booking website.

The Magnifique III is nice and fresh and new. The food is excellent. The accommodations are fine. The guides, Tammy and Carla, were good. I only got lost once. One irritant: The E-bikes that passed me every time there was a gap. It made me feel like they were cheating. Overall it was a great time.

The Amsterdam to Bruge Bike & Boat Tour was one of our best vacations ever. The Manifique II’s crew & bike guides are an exceptional team that made us feel truly welcome and the experience rewarding. The small group setting of these tours was friendly and relaxing – something you don’t experience when on an ocean cruise. Every meal was outstanding and far surpassed anything we have had on an ocean cruise. I have already recommended a Boat & Bike Tour to friends and am considering another one next year.

Our boat and bike tour on the Quo Vadis was all we could have asked for: the two biking guides were experienced, knowledgeable, and fun. The staff on the boat went out of its way to meet our needs. The meals were excellent. The boat itself was clean and well designed to accommodate guests’ needs. All of this made for a week of great memories.

This was an excellent holiday on a great boat with super hosts who could not do more for you. The food was healthy and tasty, The drink prices were reasonable. The bikes were like new and the escorted tours were very interesting and we visited very beautiful parts of Holland.

Wonderfully organized tour! Loved every minute! Biking, eating, sailing the Rhone! Many thanks to a very dedicated initial reservation team and boat crew & guide.

This was the best travel experience we have ever had. We took our 12 year old daughter, 23 year old son, and met some extended family members for the Northern Tour aboard the De Holland, and it was fantastic. The bike routes were well- planned and just about the right length, with plenty of options for shorter or longer rides. The bikes were good. The food was very good, though dinner portions were definitely smaller than what most Americans are used to– but that’s good, in my opinion! Beds very comfortable, rooms air-conditioned with nice bathrooms. Pay attention to the pre-ride briefings. But the quality of the maps was excellent and the app they use for GPS locating yourself works very well, so we were never lost, though we found ourselves off the route many times– which brought some of the best experiences of the trip! A great value, overall. We loved the non-sedentary nature of this type of cruising. We will be looking for another bike/barge cruise with this company in 2021!