Bike and Barge trip in Holland and Belgium

Badger

Badger

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Planning for an 11 day September trip (8 actual days on the road) in Holland and Belgium through a company (VBT) my wife recently used for a bike trip in Normandy and was very pleased with. She has wanted to do a Bike and Barge trip for a few years and they offer those as well. Due to some minor balance issues I ride a recumbent trike but those are not available so I may try their hybrid bikes that appear to be similar to beach bikes with gears. Even if that doesn't work for me I can always enjoy the barge ride to the different towns.


Has anyone taken one of these Bike and Barge vacations? What did you think?


Cheers!
 
I know people who have and they enjoyed it. VBT has a good reputation but I have not used them.

Our trip is going well. I am writing this from Lyon. We just completed a large part of Velo 17. We should get to Normandy in 10 days or so. Glad your DW enjoyed her tour.
 
Badger said:
Has anyone taken one of these Bike and Barge vacations? What did you think?
Click to expand...

You'll probably get good responses, but if you do a search of this Travel forum for "bike and barge" you'll find quite a number of good comments.
 
I have taken many VBT trips and liked them all. I took the trip you are talking about the other way; it was one of my favorites. Here is an album of photos from the trip. An advantage of barge trips is not having to unpack. The disadvantage is tight quarters.

Edit: I ride road bikes at home but I usually get the hybrids on VBT trips. They are good for the mix of roads and trails you usually encounter. Also, VBT trips are easy going, definitely not a hammer fest.
 
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Spring of 2018 we did the Belgium to Holland bike and barge. Thanks to several people in this community we were well prepared for the tour. The big thing was weather, we were prepared for wet or dry weather, and as it turned out or week was warm and sunny, the previous group the week before, were barge bound for three days!

If we were to go again my DW would opt for the battery assist bike for sure. About a third of the bikers had them. We always stayed with the group though it is easy to chat your own course if you wish.

Excellent trip, would love to do again sometime. Again, the weather helped make it very enjoyable.
 
Well, it has all been settled and the trip, air fare, and insurance have all been paid. It turns out that Wednesday was the last day for full payment and there was only 1 cabin left. Whew! That was close. Glad I didn't procrastinate.
donheff - the pictures were nice to see. Thank you. I noticed that you went to a Coffee house. :D

My wife had an electric assist bike in Normandy but decided not to this trip. I bike (recumbent trike) about 10-15 miles every morning. Only takes and hour so I didn't think it would be a problem. I figure since it is rated "Easy" and it must be flat trails and a non-issue. My only concern is balance. A year ago I fell off my regular bike and broke both wrists. Hence the really good insurance.
Looking forward to lots of fresh fruit, beer, cheese, pastries, and chocolate.

Now is the difficult part. The wait begins.


Cheers!
 
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Badger said:
Well, it has all been settled and the trip, air fare, and insurance have all been paid. It turns out that Wednesday was the last day for full payment and there was only 1 cabin left. Whew! That was close. Glad I didn't procrastinate.
donheff - the pictures were nice to see. Thank you. I noticed that you went to a Coffee house. :D
Click to expand...
Yes we did and my fellow travelers wouldn't have been able to find their way back to the hotel if I hadn't paid close attention.

My wife had an electric assist bike in Normandy but decided not to this trip. I bike (recumbent trike) about 10-15 miles every morning. Only takes and hour so I didn't think it would be a problem. I figure since it is rated "Easy" and it must be flat trails and a non-issue. My only concern is balance. A year ago I fell off my regular bike and broke both wrists. Hence the really good insurance.
Looking forward to lots of fresh fruit, beer, cheese, pastries, and chocolate.

Now is the difficult part. The wait begins.


Cheers!
Click to expand...
I can't say how your balance will hold out but you won't need the e-assist on this trip. I have noticed that my balance is deteriorating a bit with age but I can handle it by slowing down a tad -- especially on turns and curves.
 
I just got back from a trip to the Netherlands visiting a friend - we did a mini bike barge trip. She lives near Groningen and there is a little ferry system that winds through the sloughs in that area. We took that on two trips with our bikes - great fun! I also love that it was mainly FLAT :) I don't like biking hills. It was windy, though. She let me borrow her non-e-bike and she used her e-bike. When we were going in the wind and/or up a little hill, she would whiz past me with that bike. She said it makes biking feel like you have a tailwind. If that is so, sign me up. What a huge difference biking with a tailwind versus head or cross-wind!

In any case, to the OP, I'm sure you'll have a blast.
 
Sounds like so much fun! Hope to see pictures after you get back.
 
Cycling Holland has a lot of advantages:

It’s flat!!!!!!

There are ample bike lanes often segregated from car traffic.

There is a huge network of cross country bike paths. We really enjoyed these on out last trip, out in the country away from roads!

And using the waterways is a lovely way to see the country.
 
And it's a musical country, with the ever-present triumphal "DING" from the bicycle bells, which signify that the rider has just run over an oblivious tourist.
 
braumeister said:
And it's a musical country, with the ever-present triumphal "DING" from the bicycle bells, which signify that the rider has just run over an oblivious tourist.
Click to expand...

We lived in Amsterdam for a couple of months two years ago. We bought used bikes. Cycling Amsterdam is very exciting. Great protection from cars and even bike stop lights. The bike merges are the scariest as they are a free for all and pretty much a game of dare. The motor scooters riding down the bike lanes are pretty freaky. And occasionally a tourist steps into the bike lane - can get dicey. We really enjoyed it though. I’m sure we were annoying to the Amsterdammers who are always in a hurry when on their bicycles. We were more leisurely in our travels from one location to another.

Out in the countryside though - uncrowded, peaceful, oodles of room, lots of views to enjoy.
 
donheff said:
I have taken many VBT trips and liked them all. I took the trip you are talking about the other way; it was one of my favorites. Here is an album of photos from the trip. An advantage of barge trips is not having to unpack. The disadvantage is tight quarters.

Edit: I ride road bikes at home but I usually get the hybrids on VBT trips. They are good for the mix of roads and trails you usually encounter. Also, VBT trips are easy going, definitely not a hammer fest.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the pictures. What were the "tight quarters" like? How much room? ensuite showers & toilets?
 
walkinwood said:
Thanks for the pictures. What were the "tight quarters" like? How much room? ensuite showers & toilets?
Click to expand...

Single beds across from each other about 2 feet apart luggage slid under the bed. Shower and toilet were in the room. I can’t remember them so they must have been Ok.
 
Returned a few days ago from this fantastic trip through Belgium and the Netherlands. We had terrific guides, pilot/captain, and chef. Everything about the trip was excellent. It is a small group of only 24 like minded people so there is no crowd. I have already booked another bike and barge for spring time in the Netherlands and wait listed for another on the Mosel river in July. I just hope I won't need a shoulder replacement before then. We did 150 miles on 6 of the days. I was surprised that I was ready to ride for even more miles each day. It was an easy ride through beautiful countryside and small towns. Roads were mostly paved and away from traffic.


Ate lots of waffles with chocolate and strawberries, cheese, and the best selection of beer I have ever seen. We even had a beer tasting on board. A few picnics along the route and the chef created some amazing meals for us. Even rode through a small village carnival one day. I have never seen a food truck that served escargot. Then there were all the modern and old style windmills in The Netherlands and stopping at a small dairy that makes gouda for local consumption. Then the last day at a large market in Amsterdam for a snack of Stroopwafel. Mmmmmmm!



Can't wait for the next trip. I plan on doing as many bike and barge or just the guided bike trips while I still can. I finally found a way to blow the dough. I don't care about a new car or fancy house. I would rather travel like this.


Cheers!
 
We did a VBT tour of the Moselle starting at Metz where I was posted with the service. DW got to see a part of the world second nature to me. We started our tour in Luzembourg. DW said why go there? Now it is one of her favourite places. We also did Cologne after the tour. Great experience and good people on the tour. We keep in touch with a few other Americans from the trip.
 
Badger said:
Returned a few days ago from this fantastic trip through Belgium and the Netherlands. We had terrific guides, pilot/captain, and chef. Everything about the trip was excellent. It is a small group of only 24 like minded people so there is no crowd.
Cheers!
Click to expand...


Badger, sounds very much like the bike and barge we took in May 18. Right down to the Gouda farm, Strawberries and Stroopwaffles! We were fortunate with fantastic weather.
Good times.
 
Asher Aion said:
Badger, sounds very much like the bike and barge we took in May 18. Right down to the Gouda farm, Strawberries and Stroopwaffles! We were fortunate with fantastic weather.
Good times.
Click to expand...
I was apprehensive at taking a guided trip/vacation for the first time but my wife had returned from her first trip with VBT and was so excited. I had visions of being on a barge with people like in the National Lampoon "European Vacation". I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be a great time instead. As long as I can ride a bicycle it is the last active thing I can still do.



Cheers!
 
Sunnymar said:
I really like VBT, we're going to Portugal next month with them.
Click to expand...
Looks like a great trip. I wouldn't mind taking them all. I really don't know the other companies that are like them but we did meet another one on the road. Out of curiosity I may google search others but really like the folks at VBT.


Cheers!
 
We've also cycled twice with Backroads, they are more expensive and don't really give much more.
We went with them in Thailand on our first cycling tour because I knew they were good and didn't want to take a chance on the trip.
We then cycled in Italy with VBT and really disliked it, we went back to Backroads for a trip to Morocco and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I kept reading good VBT reviews and thinking about our trip it was really the guides we disliked. So we booked the Natchez Trace trip and loved everything about it, the guides were fabulous, the rooms were great, we're glad we gave them another chance.
We did Cape Cod with Bike and the Like, it was okay but prefer smaller groups with better accommodations.
Two years ago we did an island hopping trip with Inselhüpfen in Croatia, we also liked that company.
 
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