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Bike/Barge Tour from Bruges (8 days)
Route 1: Ghent/Bruges > Dendermonde > Antwrp > Willemstad > Gouda > Oude Wetering > Amsterdam
route 1 includes transfer by private coach from airport in Amsterdam to starting point of the barge in Belgium and it also includes horse and carriage ride through the center of Bruges.
Prices route 1: For this tour you choose between 2 barges.
Price is: $1150/person double occupancy standard/Standard Plus Barge.
Dates: July 19 (reverse), July 26, August 30 (reverse), September 6, 2008.
Price single supplement: $220 on standard and standard plus barges only (one cabin per departure, the rest of the singles have to share).
Price is: $1335/person double occupancy, comfort barge.
Date: June 14 (reverse), June 21, September 13 (reverse), September 20, 2008.
Day-by-Day Itinerary route 1:
Route 1: Holland's Golden Age in the 17th century and the hey-day of the Flemish trade cities in the Middle Ages united in one route.
This tour shows you lovely Amsterdam and old Dutch towns like Gouda (well known for its cheese, candles and pipes), and Willemstad with its old fortified walls, that were built many centuries ago. In Belgium you will visit the Flemish pearls of Antwerp (with its 17th century merchant houses around the town square), Ghent (with its famous cathedral and th medieval castle in the center of town) and Bruges (with its unique medieval center).
Saturday: no bicycling
Ghent,Transfer by private bus from Amsterdam airport to Ghent in Belgium. Embarkation and checking in aboard of your barge. The tour leader will invite you for a walk across the wonderful town center.
Sunday: bicycle ride approx. 15 km
Ghent/Bruges - Dendermonde The tour leader takes you by train to Bruges and you will start with a horse and carriage ride through the old medieval center of Bruges, that way you can familiarize you with the lay-out of this unique town. After this you are free to explore Bruge on your own till mid afternoon and then the group goes by train with the tour leader to Dendermonde, where the barge is staying for the night. In the evening there is a short test ride in and around Dendermonde to try out the bicycles.
Monday: bicycle riede approx, 30 km
Dendermonde - Antwerp Form Dendermonde you tour will go via the picturesque Flemish countryside, following the river Schelde to Antwerp. In the afternoon your guide invites you for a short city walk and afterwards you have time to explore the town center on your own. In the evening you may wish to visit a Belgium pub and try out some of the famous Belgium beers.
Tuesday: bicycle ride approx. 40 km
Antwerp - WillemstadFirst by barge from Antwerp over the Belgian/Dutch border to the old town of Tholen in Zeeland. Form here the parents of the American president Roosevelt left for the USA. The bicycle ride crosses the flat polders and former islands to the beautiful fortified town of Willemstad. In the late afternoon or early evening, you can walk the old town walls.
Wednesday: bicycle ride approx. 45 km
Willemstad - Gouda Again we start with a barge tour in the morning till we reach the edge of the Natural Reserve "Biesbosch" and you start your bicycle ride. You will visit the Windmills of Kinderdijk and will certainly the rural area you pass through until you reach the "cheese town" of Gouda. Beside cheese, Gouda is also very well-known for its candle making, pipes and pottery. In the evening you can join your tour leader for a short city walk again.
Thursday: bicycle ride appox. 40 km
Gouda - Oude WeteringToday a rural bike ride though polders and meadows to the small village of Oude Wetering. Enjoy this quiet area in the country before reaching busy Amsterdam tomorrow.
Friday: bicycle ride approx. 25 km
Oude Wetering - Amsterdam Following the river Amstel you bicycle to the mooring place of your barge in Amsterdam. In the afternoon there is time to explore the lively Dutch capital and do some shopping or sightseeing. In the evening there will be a city walk again with your tour leader and you also may wish to make a canal trip with a canal boat (not included)
Saturday
Amsterdam, debarkation before 10am near Central Railway Station. From this station trains run every 15 minutes to the Amsterdam airport (starting at 5 AM)
Included in tour:
• 7 nights accommodations aboard barge
• Full board (breakfast + packed lunch + 3-courses dinner)
• Coffee and Tea on board
• Services of local tour leader (who bikes with you)
• Route description with map.
• Use of 7-speed upright position hybrid bicycle with panniers
• information booklet
• transfer by private bus from Amsterdam airport to starting point barge in Belgium
• horse and carriage ride in the center of Bruges
• Several evening walks with tour leader
• Credit card fee
• Booking fee
• Bicycle damage protection insurance
Not included in tour:
• Airfare
• Excursions not in program
• Drinks (other than coffee & tea)
• transfer from barge in Amsterdam (close to train station) to Amsterdam airport (few euro and 20 minutes by train)
Route 2: Amsterdam > Vianen > Dordrecht > Zierikzee > Middelburg > Ghent > Bruges
Prices route 2: For this tour, you may choose between three barges
Price is: 1260/person double occupancy On a Standard Plus Barge for the Low Season
Date: September 20, (September 27 reverse), October 4, 2008
Price is: $1375/person double occupancy for the High Season /person.
Dates: (July 5 reverse), July 12, (August 30 reverse), September 6, (September 13 reverse), 2008
Price is: 1315/person double occupancy On comfort Barge Low Season
Date: June 7, 2008
Price is: 1405/person double occupancy On comfort Barge High Season
Date: (May 17 reverse), May 24, 2008
Price is: $1570/person double occupancy on comfort deluxe barge Low Season.
Date: June 7, 2008
Price is: $1685/person double occupancy on comfort deluxe barge High Season.
Dates: (April 19 reverse), April 26, (May 31 reverse), (August 9 reverse), August 16, 2008
Price single supplement: $370 on all departures (only one cabin per departure).
Day-by-Day Itinerary route 2:
The Bike Barge holidays Amsterdam – Bruges and Bruges – Amsterdam can be combined into a 15-day trip. That gives you extra time to visit Bruges.
The trip starts in the beautiful and richly decorated Bruges. You cycle beside the canal to Ghent, a bubbling entertainment town, famous for its different kinds of beer. These two Belgian cities experienced their golden age long before the emergence of the Dutch as a trading nation. This is clearly evident in the architecture and paintings of the Flemish school.
After this rich Flanders, you leave Belgium and enter The Netherlands. You encounter a mixture of landscapes, wide views over broad waters, impressive cloudscapes and here and there a sleepy village. On the way a rich history passes you: the Triangle of Forts with Gorinchem, Slot Loevenstein and Woudrichem. In Gorinchem you can still see the walls of the old fortified town. If you have the chance, visit Slot Loevenstein, one of the beautiful medieval castles of The Netherlands. Woudrichem is the third fortified town.
Via Vianen you cycle along the Vecht river back to Amsterdam. The Vecht has many large and monumental country houses, built in the Golden Age by the rich people of Amsterdam. Thus the center part of the city hall of Breukelen still has a leftover of the country estate of Michiel de Ruyter.
Saturday
Bruges, embarkation at 4 PM, short roundtrip 15km/10 miles (optional)
Sunday:
Bruges - Ghent 52 km
Monday
Ghent - Goes (NL) 42 km or sailing to Hansweerd and biking to Goes (46 km)
Tuesday
Goes - Willemstad 75km or off board in Zierikzee 53 km
Wednesday
Willemstad - Gorinchem 48 km
Thursday
Gorinchem - Vianen 51 km
Friday
Vianen by boat to Breukelen, then biking to Amsterdam 48 km
Saturday
Amsterdam, debarkation before 10am near Central Railway Station.
Included in tour:
• 7 nights accommodations aboard barge
• Full board (breakfast + packed lunch + 3-courses dinner)
• Coffee and Tea on board
• Services of local tour leader
• Route description with map.
• Use of 24 speed Gazelle Medeo bicycle with panniers
• route description
• Credit card fee
• Booking fee
Not included in tour:
• Airfare
• Excursions not in program
• Drinks (other than coffee & tea)
• Bicycle damage protection insurance
• Transfer between airport and barge in Amsterdam
• Transfer between airport Amsterdam and barge in Bruges
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