Gandalf boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 32

The staff on the barge, Gandalf, were friendly and accommodating, Meals were exceptional; kudos to Chef Hans!
I thoroughly enjoyed the Green Belt biking of Holland, the fields, forests and windmill areas!
Our tour leader, Patrick, did an excellent job of leading and managing the group.
However, I do feel the local partner fell short; by not having an extra staff member biking in back of the group, as the “Sweep”.
Patrick asked for someone to volunteer, each day, to be the Sweep and I don’t feel we paid for this tour to have this job and responsibility.

Holland is a beautiful country and a cyclist's dream with all the bike trails. We loved the vibe of the trip and our group on the Gandalf became a family. The food was excellent and the hospitality of Hans and his team aboard the Gandalf were fabulous and fun. The barge had to adapt to several canal locks being closed, and change the route for us. The tour guide was great considering all the changes in the route he had to accommodate. And the evening tour of the towns was really fun and well thought out. And it was my 60th birthday aboard the ship and everyone celebrated with me.

I really enjoyed rolling through the countryside and stopping at small towns and villages. The city tours were an enriching cultural experience.

We had a fantastic time on our recent "Heart of Holland" tour, aboard the Gandalf. The scenery every day was varied and interesting and we enjoyed the evening walking tours in each town. Our tour guide, Fred, was alot of fun to be around and it was obvious that he enjoyed his job!

The barge was comfortable and had everything we needed. Hans, Rosanna and crew were professional, warm and friendly and made you feel as if you were part of the family. We enjoyed the family style dining and the food was excellent.

If/when we book another tour, we will definitely make sure we're on the Gandalf again!

Since this was our first Bike and Barge experience we have little to compare it with, but found we enjoyed the total package. The accommodation on the Gandalf was clean and the crew made it feel more like at home instead of just a place to sleep. Can't say enough about our guide, Simon, who spent many hours insuring the biking portion was smooth and profession. Even when the unexpected happened he calmly got us up and running again. The little personal touches he added gave the group a great deal of comfort in navigating in a foreign country.
Suggestion: If you are not use to riding 40 km a day, the e-bike option goes along way to improving the enjoyment level. A purchase of a local "SIMM CARD" that has data is very reasonable and give you a local phone # to communicate with the guide and/or the boat. TIP: call your guide on the first day so that he has your phone number registered on his phone.

The Gandalf has a great crew and captain, excellent service great meals clean and tidy. You must remember where you are you are on a barge not a 5 star hotel. Cabin cleaning was done regularly and clean towels were available when ever needed. Patrick our tour guide went out of his way to accommodate everyone, even taking us for walks in the evening. His knowledge was amazing. Bikes were well suited and maintained. It is hard to say what was the most memorable part of the trip as we saw and enjoyed everything. We would definitely look at another trip especially on the Gandalf.

We loved the biking! We realized very quickly that with the 'junction points' identified for us by the cycling guide, we were able to venture off on our own. That allowed us to stop when we wanted and still get to the boat on time. The meals on the ship were outstanding as was the crews' attention to detail! The owner of the boat was very personable and had history to share, which we really enjoyed. Getting to know 20 people by sharing breakfast and dinner was also very enjoyable. Paperwork provided prior to the trip was thorough. Payment efficient and accurate.

Best Part? Feeling a sense of Awe as we traveled through spectacular scenery on a bike then stopping at the little villages for coffee and a chat with our fellow riders.
Just the best.

All days, with one exception, were beautiful, pleasurable, interesting, refreshing. The one exception day, that was actually most memorable, had very strong headwinds and some driving rain. It was the one day that added a sense of reality to this fabulous biking adventure.

The Bruges to Amsterdam BOAT-BIKE tour created memories that will last a lifetime! We really enjoyed the people we met. The staff was very welcoming and accommodating. The guests were interesting and fun to get to know - we hope to keep in touch with several of the couples that we met. The cycling was at a good pace and the frequent breaks for coffee and regional treats added to the experience. We toured through a nice mix of historical sites and local neighborhoods. After cycling, arriving back at the boat to have a glass of wine while dinner was prepared was the ultimate in being pampered. We will definitely book another tour through Tripsite.

Really enjoyed the bike/barge tour on the Gandalf. The food & scenery were great. Enjoyed cycling into the forest & small towns. On the down side, be prepared for some wind. If new to cycling I would recommend getting the electric assist bicycle. The terrain is mostly flat but there are some hills which can be challenging with head on wind. Our guide, Fred, was very knowledgeable & friendly. He took good care of everyone.

FOOD & staff aboard the Gandalf were amazing and loved Ghent!!!!

I enjoyed the whole trip. The pace was perfect, fast enough to be interesting, with constantly changing scenery and a mix of cities, villages, and farmland, and yet slow enough to enjoy and savor the experience. Our travel guide and the staff on the Gandalf were fantastic and looked after us almost like royalty, but still with a casual and friendly approach.

I loved everything about my barge/bike trip from Bruges to Amsterdam. Wonderful staff members were very professional and accommodating making all of the guests feel special. The food rose above my expectations. The quality and presentation were superb. I have already booked another bike/barge trip for 2018!!

I actually crashed my bike at the end of the first day, tried riding an ebike the next day but found it too painful. Therefore I spent the remainder of the trip on the barge, totally loved it. My suggestion for others would be to make sure to train, most of the people on our trip felt that they were being pushed and that the distance biked each day was too far. Also, for myself I felt that the bike was just too big for me and that contributed to my accident. Our guide (Fred) was delightful as were the crew of the Gandalf and the meals were fabulous. So, overall a great experience in spite of the spill.

The route for the Authentic Holland Tour was very attractive and went through some very attractive Hanseatic villages. Our guide Meindirt made every day a pleasant experience. For people looking for a fun and relaxing bicycle trip in the Netherlands, this one will not disappointment you. Enjoy!

The country side, the guide was very personable and knowable of the routes, sites with a very positive and safety conscious attitude. More time in some of the major centres (Gent, Antwerp) I would recommend that travelers arrive at least one day preferable two in advance of the bike & barge departure and stay at least 2 days afterwards to enjoy the cities of Bruges and Amsterdam. The availability of e-bikes was essential so that those less experienced in pedalling the distances could enjoy the biking part of the trip.

I really enjoyed the variety of the tour, including bike rides through pastoral countryside and alongside canals, and walking tours through fascinating historical cities and towns. The food and drink were highlights, both on and off the boat, and I really enjoyed traveling with a great group of fellow travelers. The crew and guide were fantastic! The Tripsite guidebook included suggestions for tipping the crew and guide. Our group felt that the suggested tip amounts were not adequate, so we tipped a lot more than what was suggested.

Having been on several of these bike/barge tours, this was a different area culturally than trips south of Amsterdam. Interesting history of the area. Our guide was excellent and made the trip.

I would recommend this trip but only if a group of friends were going or if there was some way to know the mix of language of fellow travellers. I was the only person who did not speak the German language. I felt very isolated. A number of German people did try to speak English but it was hard work for them and they were on holidays. One English sailor on board as staff was very kind and attentive. The cook made wonderful gluten free dishes for me!! The guide did an excellent job of switching back and forth from German to English. The cycling and countryside was very pleasant. Sometimes the stops were a bit long but perhaps that was because I couldn't chat around with other travellers.

It would have been nice to have a group photo at the end. It seemed a little confused at the end. Also, with other trips I have been on the guide circulates an email list and anyone who wants to join it can. That way it is easy to connect with other participants to exchange photos etc. Other than that it was a great trip. I'd definitely like to do another one! I think the Gandalf is the best boat in the fleet (or so I hear from others).

This is a great route and the cycling areas are excellent in so many ways. Scenic paths through forests, parks, graphic small towns and with well defined directions given daily by the guide. The barge cabins were quite adequate in size and even though the bathroom was small it served the purpose for the week long trip. Having porthole windows that we were able to open was great in order to bring in fresh air. The disappointment was that the barge was not very clean overall (dust and cobwebs), there was very little deck space to enjoy the views during cruising and having two large dogs on board did not help matters.
The food quantity was good but hardly any quality in it. Four out of seven meals were rice oriented, little meat substance and overall not comparable to other similar meals on other barge and bike trips we have taken and the first time we have ever had "fish" lasagna!
Breakfasts were by far the best meals and there was always plenty to go around and to prepare for your take away lunch. The crew were friendly and welcoming. I would most definitely recommend this trip if done on a better ship. The trip gets 5 out of 5 stars, the ship hardly 3 out of five.

The trip was nothing short of Fantastic! The towns we went through on the Hanseatic Route were so charming. Captain Hans on the Gandalf was so generous to me...he knows what he did! ;-) I will specifically seek out trips on the Gandalf. Fred the guide was superb...ensuring everyone got the biking experience they wanted and just a lovely guy all around!! This was my first Bike & Barge but it won't be my last...I've got friends lined up wanting to join me on my next trip...they didn't know such trips exist, but they do now!!

This was such an amazing trip on the Gandalf with Captain Hans and Fred the guide. The description does not do this trip justice. You go through such varied terrain like forests, along the water and the towns were sooo charming! I've been to Holland many times and yet I saw such a beautiful side of Holland that blew me away!

In Ghent, too far from city centre to explore after biking unless take a taxi into the city. Antwerp museum was closed, as it was a Sunday. Very disappointing. Breakfast and lunch meals were almost always the same, got too uninteresting.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Bruges to Amsterdam bike/barge trip last spring. From the easy, scenic rides, to the informative, knowledgeable guide to the excellent private accommodations on board the barge, I'm already looking at booking another bike/barge trip with Tripsite!

I had an amazing time. I loved everything about it and I would recommend it to anyone. In fact I have recommended it to many many people.

Was disappointed that there seemed to be less cycling per day that expected from the website description.

Amsterdam to Bruges was a great first bike trip. Although we averaged 50km/day the pacing allowed much time to soak in the culture and scenery .

We had a fantastic trip we loved everything about it. I would recommend this trip to anyone. The people we met were so nice and helpful and friendly. Our Polish chef on the boat was fantastic.