This tour combines cultural highlights and charming scenery in both Holland and Flanders. You ride on flat cycle paths from Amsterdam to Bruges, the 'Venice of the North', over multiple stages. In Belgium you can enjoy the historical Flemmish towns of Antwerpen, Ghent and Bruges where there are gabled houses and patrician houses, narrow alleys and a rich cultural past wherever you go, which is still expressed in the architecture and artwork nowadays. In Holland you can admire the impressive country homes, cheese farms and Kinderdjik's 19 windmills along the way.
Arrival and embarkation time between 1 pm and 1.30 pm in the beautiful city of Bruges, also called “Pearl of Flanders”. After a welcome meeting with the crew at 2 pm there is time for a short test-ride through the countryside around Bruges. After dinner the tour leader will take you for a walk through the city centre. Dinner on board.
Today your first bike tour to Ghent through the flat land of West-Flanders will start. Your destination today is the historical centre of Ghent. Enjoy the beautiful parts of Ghent during an afternoon stroll. The barge is docked at a lock in Merelbeke, in a suburb of Thent and approx. 30 cycling minutes from the city centre. Dinner on board.
Your bike tour leads along one of the most beautiful parts of the Schelde, a tidal river, today. You will follow it downstream. In Dendermonde it is worth visiting the St. Alexius Beguinage (1288). The departure time will be set by the skipper and is depending on high or low tide as the tide has effect on the speed of the barge. If necessary, shipping to St. Amands and overnight stay in St. Amands. Dinner on board.
Today we will follow the Schelde River further downstream through the Temse region to Antwerp. Over the centuries the Schelde River has held strategic importance for the Romans, Vikings, Spanish and Napoleon… today it is a beautiful waterway just perfect for bike and barge holidays! Antwerp, your destination for the day, is a harbour city famous for handling up to 80% of the world's rough diamonds and as the birthplace of the famous painter Sir Peter Paul Rubens. There are many highlights in the city to discover including: the City Hall, one of several majestic buildings constructed during the Renaissance period, the historical City Square Grote Market, the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral and the medieval Steen Castle. Dinner will be in town in a restaurant of your choice (recommendations available on board).
The barge will sail over the Schelde-Rhine Canal, over the huge Kreekrak locks. Here your bicycle tour starts through the beautiful “Wouwse Plantage” forest to Tholen, a former fishing village amidst the large streams of the province of Zeeland. From Tholen you will join the ship again for a nice afternoon sail to Dordrecht. Halfway the ship pass the impressive Volkerak lock system. Dinner on board.
Today you will start your tour with the waterbus, a fast ferry that will take you and your bike in just 10 minutes to Alblasserdam. From here you will cycle to Kinderdijk, famous for its impressive row of 19 UNESCO cultural heritage-listed windmills. You will continue via Schoonhoven to Vianen, a small fortified town on the river Lek. Dinner on board.
During breakfast the MS Magnifique III will cruise to Breukelen where you disembark to start your final day of cycling. Ride along the Vecht River in an area famous for its beautiful mansions, small castles, impressive houses and their large gardens. After cycling through the villages of Nieuwersluis, Loenen and Vreeland you will arrive at Nigtevecht where you can visit a traditional cheese farm. Continue cycling through the historical town of Muiden and on to Amsterdam where you will meet the barge for the final time in the Amsterdam harbour.
After breakfast: end of the tour and disembarkation till 09:30 am.
Tour character
Leisurely cycling - this route is suitable for everyone! You mainly ride along asphalted bike paths, quiet agricultural rides but also on dusty forest and field tracks. Short sections run along faster roads. The route is mainly flat though some hills do need to be tackled.
7 nights tour and accommodation on board of MS Magnifique III in the booked category
Program according to the routing
Welcome drink
Meals: (7 x breakfast, 6 x picnic lunch during bike tours, coffee and tea on board, 6 x 3 course dinner)
Daily cabin cleaning
Use of linen and towels
Daily briefing on the respective bike tours
Tour guide for guided bike tours (for 18 persons or more two tour guides)
All charges for harbours, bridges and locks
Printed instructions and detailed maps for daily bike tours (deposited on board, 1 per cabin)
GPS tracks
Fees for ferries
Entrance fees for Kinderdijk Mills, cathedral Antwerp
Canal trip Gent
Infos
Arrival / Parking / Departure:
Guarded parking areas at the main station (Stationsplein), approx. 5-7 € per day. No reservation possible. Transfer by taxi from Stationsplein to ship berth approx. 15-25 €.
Return transfer by train from Amsterdam to Bruges approx. 40 € per person.
The MS Magnifique is 63 meters long, accommodates max. 35 guests and sails under Dutch flag and management. The lower deck has 16 cabins: 11 twin cabins (approx. 11 m², 2 single beds next to each other), 4 premium twins (approx. 14 m², 2 single beds next to each other, small sitting area) and 1 single cabin (approx. 7 m²). All cabins have portholes (all portholes are fixed for safety reasons), shower and toilet, hairdryer, individually regulated air conditioning, safe, flat screen TV (satellite); if requested, an extra bed is available in some twin cabins (above one of the other beds). On the upper deck there is a tastefully furnished salon/restaurant, combined with a bar and a lounge with wide screen TV, large windows, Wi-Fi (with limited data use). Two partly covered teak wooden sun decks with chairs and tables and cycle shed (front deck), and with a whirlpool/jacuzzi and barbecue on the aft deck.