Holland and Belgium in bike and boat on Fluvius from Brugges
Day 1: Bruges (11 km)
Boarding in Bruges takes place between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. The boat is waiting for you in the port of Bruges. After a meeting with the crew at 2 p.m., you pick up your bikes for a short hike in the countryside. After dinner, the guide takes you to the city center of Bruges for a walking tour.
Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is nicknamed "the Pearl of Flanders". It is possible (and recommended) to take an extra night to fully discover Bruges, its museums and cafes.
Day 2: Bruges - Ghent (57 km)
You start your first day of cycling by pedaling towards Ghent through the magnificent Flemish landscapes, along the Ghent Canal. Ghent is a historic city, its medieval center has pretty illuminated streets that are definitely worth exploring. In the Middle Ages, Ghent was the second largest city in Europe after Paris. The ship docks overnight at a lock in the outskirts of Ghent and approx. 30 minutes by bike from downtown.
Day 3: Ghent - Dendermonde (40 km)
After breakfast in Ghent, you drive through a varied landscape that runs along the banks of the Scheldt to Dendermonde, a town at the confluence of the Dender and Schelde rivers. Dendermonde has a nice town hall located in a pleasant square. The place is ideal for having a good Belgian beer after your bike ride. The Béguinage Saint-Alexis is also worth a visit.
Day 4: Dendermonde - Antwerp (48 or 63 km)
Today you follow the Scheldt further downstream through the Thames region to Antwerp. Over the centuries, the Scheldt has been of strategic importance to the Romans, Vikings, Spaniards and Napoleon ...
Today it is a magnificent inland waterway ideal for a cycling or barge holiday! Antwerp, your destination of the day, is a port city renowned for its management of 80% of the rough diamonds in the world. It is also the birthplace of the famous painter Sir Peter Paul Rubens. The city has many tourist sites to discover, including: the town hall (one of the majestic buildings built during the Renaissance), the historic Grote Markt Square market, the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe cathedral and the medieval castle of Steen.
Day 5: Antwerp - Locks of Kreekrak - Tholen - Dordrecht (36 or 20 km)
In the morning, the ship sails along the Scheldt-Rhine Canal and passes through the huge Kreekrak lock system. Here your bike ride begins through the beautiful forest from Wouwse Plantage to Tholen. Tholen was once an island in the middle of Zeeland's great streams, where many people lived. Today it is still a picturesque village with many relics from a checkered past. From Tholen you will join the boat again for a pleasant afternoon sailing to the town of Dordrecht. Halfway, the ship passes through the impressive Volkerak locking system.
Dordrecht, one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, is your destination. The guide will take you there for a night walk and tell you about the history of the Netherlands.
Day 6: Dordrecht - Alblasserdam - Kinderdijk - Schoonhoven - Vianen (57 km)
Today you start your tour with the Waterbus, a fast ferry that takes you with your bike in just 10 minutes to Alblasserdam. After a few minutes of cycling, you will arrive in Kinderdijk, a village famous for its impressive row of 19 windmills classified as UNESCO cultural heritage. Windmills were built in the 18th century to pump water into the lower polder of Alblasserwaard.
You then continue by bike through Schoonhoven to Vianen, a small fortified town on the Lek (Bas-Rhin), where you stay overnight and can explore at your leisure after dinner.
Day 7: Vianen - Breukelen - Amsterdam (38 or 49 km)
During breakfast the boat heads to Breukelen where you disembark to start your last day of cycling. Stroll along the River Vecht in an area renowned for its beautiful mansions, small castles, impressive houses and large gardens. After passing through the villages of Nieuwersluis, Loenen and Vreeland, you arrive in Nigtevecht, where you can visit a traditional cheese farm.
Continue through the historic town of Muiden to Amsterdam, where you join the barge for the last time, in the port of Amsterdam.
Day 8: Amsterdam
End of the tour after breakfast. Disembarkation before 9:30 am.