Boat Bike Tours Reviews 

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.

Yes, this was my third time joined,
My next will be 6th September,
happy to see Boat & Bike getting improve their
boats and service

The boat was first class and the staff were amazing. It was a great experience

I have just finished a boat bike tour on the Claire d'eToile. I loved the cycling, the guides were wonderful and the boat perfect. However I was dissapointed with the food. Just a tip for anyone with dietary needs, you are charged more, but actually get less. Also salads were not fresh and breakfast did not usually include eggs and bacon.

Very fun tour in the Netherlands! GPS easy to navigate and ability to choose routes.

Fantastic biking holiday! Hugo, could not have done any more to guide / motivate our group and inform us on all aspects of the Netherlands history and culture. The boat crew and captain did a superb job in making sure we got to every destination on time, delivered really excellent meals for breakfast /dinner as well as keeping the rooms tidy and clean!

Boat/Bike Tours was very helpful to arrange our family trip of eleven, including 4 children. They were great with communication to us in arranging rooms and payments etc. They were also fair in a refund as our trip route changed due to water levels in the Danube. The partner company treated our family very well and we thoroughly enjoyed every day on board and on the bikes. If you do have children along ( our youngest was nine) make sure everyone involved with providing the bikes knows critical information of your needs.
The accommodation was great, the service and meals were excellent on board. The routes were manageable for a family with biking experience. We made wonderful memories with three generations of family!
Thank you for your service and we look forward to our next adventure!

Guide was great!