Bike & Barge Tours Of Europe

If you want to sleep in late each morning, this kind of travel isn’t for you. The boat usually moves on once people get off the boat after breakfast. There isn’t any, unless you count the TV, which is only in some premium ships. On the Nassau, a guitarist came on board one evening to perform. Because of Covid, even that one musical evening didn’t happen on the Magnifique III. Most evenings your entertainment, unless you go off-ship, is a quiet drink and pleasant conversation in the lounge. Usually you have all day to get to where the boat is moored, and there’s plenty to see.

After the last tunnel, take a break in a little town where you can have a well-deserved ice cream. Following dinner, stroll to the fascinating cellar of Josef Zimmermann for a wine tasting. This unique biking and sailing experience allows you to travel at your own pace. You can discover the natural beauty of the landscapes you cycle through while your floating hotel follows you down the river or sails from island to island. Immerse yourself in the region’s culture and traditions and meet the friendly locals.

What Should I Bring On A Bike Barge Trip?

Lunches are the same as breakfast, and guests are expected to make and pack their own sandwiches to take with them on the day’s ride. Even guests who decide to stay on the boat and skip the day’s cycling need to pack their lunch. The Magnifique III docked in Enkhuizen.The Magnifique III, unlike most of the boats used for standard tours, was built for this purpose.

You don’t need any other specialized biking clothing. The bikes are the sort where you sit up straight and they’re intended for paved roads and not for racing. You can, if you prefer, bring your own bike along instead of renting one of theirs. On the other hand, people coming to Europe by plane would have to pass a PCR test to fly or else be vaccinated, and some countries require a test to enter, so perhaps it’s not really a problem. While I didn’t ask, I would guess that all or most of the other passengers and crew on the trip were fully vaccinated. And presumably, as the vaccination rate goes up, the issue will disappear.

Guided Bike Excursions:

Currently, he is an independent consultant who produces videos and crafts written messages for clients. Bruce lives in Grand Haven, Michigan, and travels both for work and pleasure. Cycling is a huge mode of transportation in Europe, particularly the Netherlands, so cyclists are well-heeded and respected by drivers.

During your conversation, you’ll learn about local traditions and everyday life in Enkhuizen, a historic town that used to be a harbor town for the Dutch East India Company. Meet up with your Trip Leaders and the VBT support van at an arranged time and place to refill your water bottle and enjoy a healthy snack. Then continue cycling through beautiful landscapes and quaint villages before stopping for lunch. Your professional Trip Leaders are bilingual and native to the regions they guide, providing you with insider access and local knowledge. We offer support throughout your journey, from our expert tour consultants—who are eager to help you prepare—to shuttle services, baggage transfers between hotels, and snacks and water along the route.

Amalfi Coast Yacht + Bike Tour

Enjoy the amazing panoramic views of the surrounding main peaks and valleys, including the vineyards of the Côte de Beaune, the Saône Valley, Morvan, Jura and the Alps. Even on a non-premium tour you might find opportunities to swim in lakes or river or the sea, so bring one along, just in case. On the first couple days on the Magnifique III I had an allergy attack – I guess I’m just not used to the countryside’s plant life – so I was sneezing, coughing and itching a lot. Once I started taking antihistamines the allergy symptoms subsided, but the cough stayed. I’m not used to sitting on a bike for that many hours in a day. I did wear bike shorts, which add a layer of padding, but still, it ended up hurting.

We are delighted to have the spacious Angeline on all 12 tours. Simply choose your route, ship, and departure date, and our knowledgeable team will take care of anything else. Find your perfect tour and reserve a spot with our easy online booking. A full range of terrain mixed with moderate and challenging hills. Longer distance options can be very rewarding for those who cycle regularly. Ideal for recreational cyclists and first-time VBT travelers.

Tour Itinerary

On this cruise, we’re sailing the Seine in France’s Normandy region with Scenic Cruises. And we have this flat, paved, bicycle path all to ourselves – heavenly. Our bicycles crunch over yellow oak leaves as we pedal beside the Seine River to Villequier. We’ll meet up with our barge docked below skyscrapers in the modern city of Rotterdam. The city was burned to the ground during World War II and reconstructed with buildings designed by world-famous architects.

• We’ll learn how the 12 resident painters still hand paint every piece of pottery out of a blue glaze made from a secret cobalt formula.
• Our trusty tour operator led the way so we never had to worry about getting lost.
• If a bike and boat tour is not your thing, check out our full list of bicycle tours in Europe or go back to the main page for all of our bicycle tours.
• For example, Ponant has new bike-and-cruise journeys with Backroads in New Zealand, Iceland, the Baltic, Galapagos and Croatia.

Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. Several routes and a range of levels are offered each day so you can choose how much or how little activity you want to do. Have done 2 vbt trips and can enthusiastically recommend vbt. Megdean — we have not done a bike & barge trip with VBT but we traveled with them in ’07 , ’08 , and are headed to Spain this fall.

Independent Tours

(Where I learned that evidently, I was eating cheese incorrectly all my life. They taught us to take a hunk of cheese and top it with honey.) With this leisurely schedule, the mileage never played a factor. By the end of the eight-day trip, my daughter and I had biked over 120 miles. But thanks to the ship, we were also well-rested, well-fed, and well-guided. Using bikes to go beyond the shoreline and river banks enriched the experience more than would have been possible had we just stayed on or near the ship. Cycling tourism is becoming very popular, with our cycling barge trips you enjoy the convenience of never having to pack, check out and cycle with a pack.

Toulouse To Sète, Canal Du Midi, France

For example, along the way you may find temporary deviations caused by roadworks, which cannot be foreseen; in this case please follow the indications you will find on site. This morning we cross the Po and ride southwards through a patchwork of farmland, orchards and hamlets, as far as Ferrara. Under its ruling family, the Este, this city state attracted architects, artists and scholars for centuries, pioneering town planning principles that have been emulated worldwide ever since. To this day, Ferrara University ranks among the best, and the town is dubbed the ”Cycling Capital of Italy”. We love to travel and we want to share our excitement with you.

Avalon Waterways Cycling River Cruises

In the afternoon, join us on a tour of Saint-Jean-de-Losne. Don’t reserve an ebike if you’re not quite comfortable with biking in general. Inexperienced cyclists find them hard to handle, which can be dangerous, especially in a guided group. Bring padded bike shorts if you don’t normally bicycle a lot.

Boat

We’ll see pastures dotted with cows, fields filled with potatoes and corn, and the canal lined with herons, cranes and magpies. We’ll start the day with a tour of Royal Delft, the last remaining Delftware factory from the 17th century. We’ll learn how the 12 resident painters still hand paint every piece of pottery out of a blue glaze made from a secret cobalt formula. Then we head inland again and find ourselves cutting through flower fields.

Find A Cruise

Our bed and bathroom had everything we needed to enjoy our floating hotel where we didn’t need to pack and unpack. We looked forward to the creative snacks waiting for us on the top sundeck each day at the end of our ride, as well as the authentic Italian meals served in the barge restaurant. Cycling Barge Cruise – When a biking enthusiast goes on vacation they usually hook up their bike rack to their car, drive a few hours to a nice bike route, and then ride and camp for a few days before heading home. Imagine biking throughout historic areas of Europe and returning each night to your luxury hotel, which follows your route. It isn’t, the Barge Connection, specializes in European barge cruises.

Amsterdam

Tonight, you are on your own for dinner and can select one of the many wonderful restaurants in Trier. All of the popular routes in Europe are on our site but if you are looking for a place to start, check out our bike and barge tours in Holland as well as those in Belgium. This trend in travel is expanding to Asia as well so be sure to check out India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Take advantage of this first day cruising to relax and admire the beautiful Burgundy scenery, or to walk or bike alongside the boat on the canal’s bicycle path. In the afternoon, join us on an excursion along the Grands Crus Wine Route.

Experience Plus! Bicycle Tours

Most barges have also air-conditioning in the cabins. Ideal for active beginners to more experienced riders. In spring, when the flowers bloom, the Dutch countryside comes alive in a riot of colors. Riding a bike is the best way to absorb the experience up close. Fields of flowers, seascapes, and quaint villages sum up this colorful tour.