Boat Bike Tours Reviews 

The friendly staff and the food made our trip great. The room we slept in was very small but the beds were quite comfortable. Pity we were not able to cycle to Eperney on the last full day of the trip. Chef’s food was to die for. 100% fresh and new every day.

Boat was clean, comfortable and inviting. We felt very much at home the moment we came on board. Gezellig!
The staff were first rate, most excellent all around.
Hielke, the captain was engaging and an all around great leader. Albert was an excellent first-mate, always willing to lend a hand wherever needed.
Steven, the chef provided us with a wonderful and varied culinary experience.
Shirley and Gabriela were sweet and kind and served us so well in various capacities throughout the week.
Andre and Hans were top notch bike tour leaders, the routes were excellent, with many stops and interesting history and stories along the way. We saw so much and learned new and interesting things every day.
Thanks so much to the entire crew, we really didn't want it to end.

This was our first Boat Bike Tour. It met or exceeded all of our expectations. We are already planning our next trip. The Netherlands is windy so be sure to take the ebike upgrade.

Everything was explained well, expectations were clear, and staff was efficient, knowledgeable, and friendly.

Loved the boat bike your experience!! It was well planned, the food was amazing, accommodations were very nice! It will be hard to beat this trip!!

We enjoyed riding on scenic bike paths and back roads in Holland and Belgium and visiting cities like Gent and Bruge. Liked the flexibility to ride using the route tools. Friendly supportive crew, good food, and meeting others riders from around the world.

We had a very nice chat with Virginia in the Connecticut office about our options following the cancellation of the Amsterdam to Cochem trip. We were fortunate that the decision came early enough that we were able to cancel airline, hotel and other reservations without a penalty. We ultimately applied funds paid to our 2027 trip with Boat Bike.

We would also like to thank Liz for permitting us to change our Cochem to Metz cruise, applying those funds to the 2027 trip as well.

Excellent boat bike tour along the Danube. The itinary had to be modified due to low water levels but it did not detract from the enjoyment. The cycling distances were just right enabling a day of cycling without too much exertion or watching the clock. A mix of standard and electric bikes kept our group together at the same speed.

My wife and I have been on several boat-bike tours and they have all been great. But this time water level in the Rhine River was too low and the tour was canceled at the last minute.

Boat-bike scrambled and found another tour in the Netherlands. Although it wasn't the tour we really wanted, it turned out to be a positive experience.

The boat was clean and well maintained. The food was great. The e-bikes were good. The staff could not have been nicer. The trails were well marked and flat. And the weather was good.

The tour is great. The support van is a fantastic idea. The guides were great. The food was unbeatable.

Great tour! The Lena Maria is a beautiful small boat and the crew is very welcoming and helpful. The food was excellent! We loved our tour guides Tamy & Bert, they make the rides fun. We specifically look for tours with Tamy for that reason.

This tour visits some beautiful sites!! A great way to see some of the Netherlands and Belgium.

The only slight negative was my bicycle, it was making some terrible noises and felt a bit “worn out”. Tamy was able to somewhat address the worst of it but getting a better maintained bicycle would have been nice.

I traveled on the Magnifique II between Amsterdam and Bruges in August 2026. The barge was beautiful. I had a twin cabin below deck as a single that was comfortable and spacious. The only downside was that the advertised satellite television was inoperable. (A small issue as I did not come to watch television.)

The boat operates with a very small crew that includes a captain, a mate, a chef, and two hosts. They perform multiple roles and were always in good cheer and willing to please. Meals were delicious. Portions were plentiful. Oh. And they cheerfully provided ice for my water bottles each morning!

Some reviews take issue with the packed lunches, which consist of cheese and cold cuts. And terrific bread! While Magnifique might up its lunch game, perhaps adding bagged chips, dried fruit or other packable alternatives for variety, there were opportunities at local cafes to pick something else up to eat. Personally, I do not take much more with me when I ride at home.

My issues with the trip were less with the boat itself and more with the tour. Had I read previous reviews more closely, I would have realized this was not a tour for bicyclists used to riding in an organized bike group. Riding in a line, calling out hazards to one another, signaling turns, stops, and announcing slowing and generally obeying conventions such as passing on the left were not followed by my fellow guests. This was basically a ride for beginners to novices. But the Netherlands, with its narrow roads and heavy bike, car, and pedestrian traffic is not a place to play around, let alone learn to ride a bicycle.

By following my usual bicycling safety practices, I managed to alienate myself from my fellow riders, and was told by them to stop shouting alerts. I received no support from the tour leaders. They listened sympatheticly, but basically I was "handled." No action was taken and much unsafe riding behavior persisted among other guests. Fortunately there was only one visit to the hospital, which was handled well.

The supplied e-bike was generally adequate. The Bosch motor is sufficiently powerful and the battery range was excellent. I had issues with the 7-speed gearing which was abysmally slow to respond in the face of a few Dutch hills and required what I can only liken to double-clutching a manual transmission to get the bike to downshift. (Be forewarned: Shift to low gear well in advance of any hill.)

As for the tour, the sights and sounds were beautiful. The itinerary was breathtaking. I saw some of Europe's most beautiful cities. However, some of the stops seemed somewhat rushed. It would have been nice to have a little more time built in to appreciate some of the stops and take a few more snapshots. On some stops we were actually encouraged to take photos. And then I was snarkily reminded they were waiting for me.

The quality of the tour varied depending on the tour guide. There were some issues with English intelligibility depending on the guide. Not serious. One tour tour guide was clearly more knowledgeable than the other. Many days there was only route; if you wanted a shorter ride you were out of luck. With only two guides, the sweeps were volunteers. One of the tour sweeps was a former NHL hockey player. An enforcer when he played, I think. He thought his role was to keep up the pace rather than to make sure no one got left behind. No intervention from the tour leader.

I traveled as a solo (I am married) which presented an issue. Had I known to ask, I might have learned that more than half of those aboard were married couples from a retirement community in South Carolina -- self-described pickle-ball players. They behaved as if they were in their clubhouse. This definitely changed the character of the tour. The rest were family groups of three to four or other couples. Because the married people wanted to sit and ride together, there were issues with where I sat, which group I biked with, and of course, no one thought to include me in any on-your-own group gathering. Or maybe my bike behavior took care of that. I was the odd man out.

All in all I did have a good time. But I would seek out a tour that focused on cyclists with greater experience -- not necessarily the "spandex mafia" --but a greater proportion of cyclists used to riding in organized groups. And I would inquire if the tour has booked a large group. I would consider not booking that tour. Magnifique II does a fine job. Boat Bike Tours should make clear they are really more geared to the novice cyclist at best.

The Boat Bike tour guides, Mieke and Maria-Jose, were helpful, friendly, caring, connected, and paid attention to details. In my four trips with BoatBike, this team was tops.

Our GiroLibero boat bike from Venezia to Mantova was 10/10!
Our leaders Martina and Olga were fantastic as were our chefs Diana and Alberto and our captain and crew Jano and Samuele.
They were organised, friendly, punctual and inclusive. They made a very good team.
Our e-bikes were perfect, the cycl paths and roads were not busy and the scenery was peaceful and the food was next level!
Congratulations to our lovely team.
I already miss them and bike and barge life…
Grazie mille, Catherine Riedel, Newcastle NSW Australia

I loved this trip! The tour guides were amazing, the bike rides were exciting, and the scenery was beautiful.

A wonderful crew and tour guides made every day a joy. Such nice and accommodating people made you feel special.

Good tour guides.
Average food and WiFi. Make up of the small group meant we were the only English speakers and didn’t make the usual connections that we have made on similar tours.
The basic drinks package - hot drinks and water - and the request for a (Middle East) fuel surcharge were excessive and unwelcome.

Our trip was delightful. The accommodations on the ship were so nice and comfortable. The staff were all wonderful, they were knowledgeable, helpful, and kept everything running smoothly. The food was delicious. We enjoyed every meal. Overall a really great experience. Last but not least the biking was so much fun. We really enjoyed seeing the countryside, the small cities along the way, and the camaraderie of an outdoor experience.

Fabulous staff. So professional and hardworking. Very persondl service. Food top class... 4 or 5 courses for dinner. Amazing breakfast with more choices than you'd see in any hotel. Beautiful boat..Lisabelle.. with lovely bar, restaurant, sundeck, jacuzzi. Spacious room with lots of storage and daily housekeeping. 24 hour reception desk. It was a really amazing trip.