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Bike/Barge Tour from Brussels
Route: Mechelen > Brussels > Antwerp > Willemstad > Hertogenbosch > Vianen > Amsterdam
Price: $1135/person (double occupancy), standard plus barges.
Dates: Saturdays, (May 30 reverse), June 6, (20 reverse), 27; (July 4 reverse), 11; (25 reverse), August 1 , (22 reverse), 29; (September 5 reverse) , 12, 2009
This bike & barge route combines the countries Holland and Belgium in a very surprising and attractive way. In eight days time you will sail and cycle two countries from Capital to Capital from Amsterdam to Brussels. The week after that the trip will be reverse from Brussels to Amsterdam. This year the barge is waiting for you in Mechelen, the next day you visit Brussels and you will have plenty of time to visit this well-known city. The Flemish port town of Antwerp is another highlight. Belgium is famous for it’s tasty beer, so a visit to one of the fine pubs for a beer seminar and some beer tasting is scheduled for that day. Then cross the Belgian border into Holland and via the islands of Zeeland into the provinces of Brabant with its capital 's-Hertogenbosch, then the province of Utrecht with Tiel in the fruit growing area of the Betuwe, and finally the capital of Amsterdam. So different from Brussels and yet so close.
Day-by-Day Itinerary:
Saturday: bicycle ride apporx. 10 km
Arrival in Mechelen (approx. 20 minutes by train from Brussels). Your tour leader will invite you for a small ride to try out the bicycles in and around Mechelen. Overnight Mechelen.
Sunday: No bicycling.
You get up early to go by train to Brussels and walk to the town centre with your tour leader. There's time to visit some of the highlights of the capital of Belgium. When you become hungry or thirsty, try one of the culinary specialties: mussels, chocolate, waffles or french fries. At the beginning of the afternoon you return to Antwerpen by train. In the evening you'll be tasting some special beers during a cosy beer seminary in a typical Belgian bar.
Monday: No bicycling
Your tour leader will guide you to the town center of Antwerp. Time enough to visit the Rubens House, do some shopping or to relax at a sidewalk café. A sailing trip from Antwerp across the Dutch/Belgian border to the peninsula of Tholen in the province of Zeeland.
Tuesday: bicycling approx. 45 km
The cycling trip brings you from Tholen to the walled town of Willemstad, where you spend the night.
Wednesday: bicycling approx. 45 km
You disembark in the town of Geertruidenberg for your cycling trip to the charming capital of the province of Noord-Brabant: 's Hertogenbosch.
Thursday: bicycling approx. 40 km
You leave 's Hertogenbosch and sail to the town of Tiel, situated in the Betuwe, the 'fruit garden of Holland'. Here you start pedalling across some fine Dutch landscapes and visit the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The trip ends in Vianen where you stay for the night.
Friday: bicycling approx. 30 km
After a sailing trip, the barge moors in Breukelen. From here you make the last cycling stretch: enjoy the rural sceneries of tiny villages at the banks of small and winding rivers that show the way to the Dutch capital Amsterdam. In the evening you have the possibility to make a short guided city walk and a round trip of the Amsterdam canals.
Saturday
After breakfast your guide and crew say goodbye and your bike & barge tour has ended.
Included in tour:
• 7 nights accommodations on board of barge in double cabin
• Full board (breakfast + packed lunch + 3-courses dinner)
• Coffee and Tea on board
• Services of tour leader
• Information booklet
• Beer seminar in 't Waagstuk Antwerp
• train ticket Mechelen Brussels and back
• Several City Walks
• Use of 7-speed bicycles
• Credit card fee
• Booking fee
• Bicycle damage protection insurance
Not included in tour:
• Airfare
• Excursions not in program
• Drinks (other than coffee & tea)
• Transfer between airport(s) and barge in Mechelen and Amsterdam
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