During this tour, the historical Flemish cities are central: Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges. But before we arrive there, you will get to know a very beautiful part of the Netherlands. You bike along the winding river Vecht with its impressive castles on its banks, you visit a real Dutch cheese farm, where cheese is still produced according to traditional methods and you visit the Dutch windmills in Kinderdijk. From the fortified town Willemstad, which is situated on the impressive wide Zeeland streams, we head for Belgium. There we spent the night in Antwerp, the city of Rubens, whose paintings you can admire in the cathedral. You bike from Antwerp to Ghent along the beautiful tidal river Nederschelde, in order to breathe in the atmosphere of the days of old in the town center, with its impressive Belfort and the St. Baafs-cathedral, where you can admire the famous triptych of painter Jan van Eyck. Final destination is Bruges, with its picturesque town center probably the most beautiful of the historical Flemish cities.
Arrival and embarkation time between 1 pm and 2 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.
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.
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.
Today we will follow the Schelde further downstream via Temse to Antwerp. There is a beautiful cycling track along the river and the scenery is magnificent. The harbour city Antwerp with it´s beautiful inner city is well known as diamond city and the city where the famous painter Rubens was born.
The barge will sail over the Schelde-Rhine Canal, over the huge Kreekrak locks. Here your bicyle 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 the beautiful city Dordrecht, one of the oldest towns in Holland. Halfway the ship passes the impressive Volkerak lock system.
A fast ferry will bring you 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.
Shipping to Breukelen, where you disembark and your cycling tour starts. Ride along the small river Vecht: this area is well known for its beautiful mansions, small castles and beautiful houses with large gardens and parks. Over the small villages of Nieuwersluis, Loenen and Vreeland to 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.
7 nights tour and accommodation on board of MS Fluvius in the booked category
Program according to the routing
Welcome drink
Full board (7 x breakfast, 6 x picnic lunch during bike tours, 6x coffee and tea in the afternoon till 4 PM, 7 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)
Fees for ferries
Services not included
Journey to Bruges and from Amsterdam
parking fee
shuttles
bike rental
entrance fees and excursions
town maps
drinks on board
tips
insurances.
Extras
Arrival/departure and parking-information
Central railway station Amsterdam near landing stage.
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.
Embarkation: from 1.00 pm to 2 pm • Disembarkation: After breakfast, until 09:30 am • Bicycles on board (Brand/model may change): Bikkel unisex bicycles, 7 gears, pannier bag, hand brakes and pedal brakes or (only a few) hand brakes only (subject to availability). E-Bikes (Bikkel 1be E2, 8 gears, hand brakes only, pannier bag) are only available after prior request (by booking) and confirmation and at limited number. Please indicate your body height when you book.To bring your own bike: on request only, due to lack of space on sundeck (max. 4 own bikes) • Cycle Tours: individual tours or daily guided bike tours by one guide (for 18 persons or more two guides). If there are two guides on board you can often choose between a shorter and a longer tour. Not all mentioned highlights will be visited during the short bicycle option. It is also possible to ride the bike tours individually. Tour description and maps are available on board. The kilometers/miles indicated for the cycle tours are approximate. The quality of the cycle ways along this route is excellent. Most of the way is paved or asphalted and does not have any gradients of note. This makes the trip suitable for cyclists with an average physical condition. • Luggage on board: we recommend waterproof rain gear, bike helmet, sun hat and sports shoes. We would like to ask you to do without hard-side luggage as storage space in the cabin is very limited! • Alterations of schedule or program: subject to change. In case that as a result of nautical, technical or meteorological reasons a route cannot be taken, the skipper reserves the right to change the route for your safety (this would not be a rea-son for fee-free cancellation) • Travel documents: EU-citizens (without special situations like dual citizenship, main residence abroad or a limited-validity passport) are required to have a valid passport or ID-card, not expiring within six (6) months of the return of your cruise. We kindly ask non-EU citizens, EU-nationals with multiple citizenship or anybody who has to respect special legal entry requirements for the country to visit, to inform about visa and entry documents at the competent embassy. • This trip is not suitable for guests with reduced mobility.
Important notes
Further important information according to the package travel law can be found here!
The small, comfortable and very popular river cruiser MS FLUVIUS sails under Dutch flag and had its sailing area in Holland and Belgium for many years. The salon with bar is a large room for common use and has a semi-separate restaurant area. On the large and partially roofed sun deck of the ca. 70 Meter long ship are sitting places (tables + chairs) and storage room for the bikes.
In Winter 2017/18 MS FLUVIUS will be partly remodelled and will feature 4 new premium twin cabins with french balcony.
Then on board of this cosy ship are a total of 22 cabins (ca. 10 to 12 m² ) for max. 44 guests.
All cabins have shower + toilet, 2 lower beds, TV and air-conditioning, individual adjustable:
Lower deck: 15 x 2-bed-cabins (windows cannot be opened)
Upper deck: 3 x 2-bed-cabins with picture window (cannot be opened) and 4 new premium 2-bed-cabins with french balcony with an opening sliding door.
The interior of the ship is a non-smoking zone: smoking is only allowed on the sun deck. As a safety measure, a statutory smoking ban applies in all cabins; this means that all cabins and rooms on board are no-smoking zones.
Year of construction: 2001 •Length: 70 m •Width: 5,60 m• Depth: 1,00 m •Height: 3,85 m•Crew: ca.5-6 • Currency on board: EURO. Credit cards: MasterCard and Visa.