julies

I am looking at taking a cycling trip in the Netherlands and Belgium. I have done both self-guided and guided cycling trips in Europe in the past. Now I'm alone, so self-guided is out. Nearly all guided cycling tours I can find in these countries involve a boat/barge.

People seem to like these because they only have to unpack once. However, I have some apprehensions, and I hope people here can give me some insight. A lot of my apprehensions are because I would be traveling alone, and I hope your answers can reflect that.

Is there too much togetherness and no place to escape on a 1 to 2 week cycling barge tour? Does it get old after a few days as far as eating dinners on the boat (rather than going to different restaurants) and then just hanging out on the boat for the rest of the evening? At least as a single in a hotel in a town or city I could get out and walk around on my own if I want. I enjoy being with others, but I also like my own space and time. I can't envision myself just sitting around the lounge area every evening chatting with my fellow travelers. And, as far as I can figure out my only other choice is to hole up in my tiny cabin (yes, I would pay the exorbitant extra amount of money to have my own space). I am old. I don't go out to bars at night, and I don't stay up super late, and I don't watch tv in hotel rooms. But, I am just concerned about the possibility of no escape in the evenings. It's so different if one isn't partnered up with someone else on a trip like this.

I guess I should say that I am not a "cruise person" and right now I can't imagine myself ever taking one. I am looking at this as a cycling trip where people just happen to sleep on a boat.

If you have done one of these, can you please advise me. Thanks.

lavandula

Caveat: I have never done a barge cruise or cycling trip. But you could do worse than seek out the TV series of Rick Stein's barge trip through France. He is very honest about some of the tensions between his party and the barge crew - all told with a smile on the face, of course. But it certainly didn't look as though this was an advertisement against barge cruising. On the contrary, it looks very appealing. Of course he catered for the barge while he was there!

If you do go on this trip, please write a trip report!

Lavandula

hetismij2

Why is a self guided tour out of the question? What about one which provides GPS guidance? Still individual so with some freedom but not tied to a boat, and a group of people you may not like.
Of course newly solo you may prefer to cycle with others, and accept life on board.

This site has some ideas. I have no experience of them mind!

https://www.hollandcyclingroutes.com...cling-packages

Choose the Wadden one and I'll meet up with you if I can!

ekscrunchy

I did one in Burgundy, years ago.. It was a small group but you could do your own thing. You could even get off the barn an eat in a nearby village but I never did that, as the food was good on the ship. You could have lots of alone time if you wished....it's a good choice for a single traveler....

FTOttawa

If the barge is moored in the evening, you could at least get out for a solo walk.

Speaking from experience of diving liveaboards, Mr T has vowed never again to go on a trip where he can’t get out and walk for a bit by himself.

julies

I knew I'd get some good answers here. Thanks a lot!

When there were two of us, self-guided (with the luggage transferred and waiting at our hotel) was a fabulous way to travel. We could be on our own schedule and stop whenever we wanted. I had a companion to talk to and someone to take care of the bike if there were mechanical problems. (And, on a self-guided trip we took from Bordeaux we had many issues. On the cycle path that leaves the city of Bordeaux someone apparently didn't like cyclists. We both had several flats because thumbtacks had been scattered all over the path. At one point I had 8 of them in my tires. I don't even know how to fix a bike's flat tire.)

I much preferred that independent travel style, but those days are gone now. I am not at all worried about being on my own in a foreign country where I don't speak the language, and I don't need any hand-holding (other than bicycle repair). But, I also want some companionship at times. That's why I am looking at structured tours.

With all of the encouragement from all of you, I think I just might sign up for a bike and barge trip.

bilboburgler

go for it, the worst is you have a solo ride, the best you have a great time.

hetismij2

One advantage of a bike and boat trip is if you don't want to cycle one day you can stay onboard. You don't have to cycle just because you have a hotel booked that you have to get to, because you are on the hotel!.
Give it a try and if you hate it you know not to do another one, and decide solo cycling is just fine, if you love it you may get hooked.

AlessandraZoe

We have not done any bike and barge trips, but I can share that we took many group cycling trips with solos on them. We always adopted one or two into our family group each trip in terms of dining and often in terms of each day's cycling. The only problems that I ever saw were with shared rooms with two solos who did not know each other. If you can snag a private space, go for it.

menachem

This company gives more options than a barge and more leeway in tweaking your trip. https://www.dutch-biketours.com/
(they have great Veluwe tours, with one hotel as a base, and they have linear point to point tours and even barge tours. More to choose from in any case)

this one for instance, just because I love the Hanseatic IJssel cities, they're usually out of reach for people whose primary destination is Amsterdam, but it's just prime cycling! Leisure cycling is a big thing in rural Netherlands, so there's lots of places to stop, to wander. https://www.dutch-biketours.com/cycl...ong-the-ijssel

julies

menachem--

Thank you for the answer and the information. This does look like a good company with interesting itineraries. But, they are all self-guided, unfortunately. I suppose I could maybe maybe do a self-guided trip and purchase the breakdown policy whereby the company will rescue me.

You linked to the Hanseatic cities tour because you said that is a favorite area of yours for cycling. Some of the bike/barge tours offer this route rather than the typical routes out of Amsterdam. I could possibly look at one of those.

And, a final question for everyone. Barge tours basically charge the single person double because you are also paying for the other person who would be occupying the cabin. This is a huge premium, and I would suspect it would really limit the people who would be traveling on their own; in other words very likely everyone on board would be with a partner/friend rather than traveling solo. I am guessing this would limit the true interaction possibilities since most people would be paired up. What are your thoughts on this?

Southam

Emma, a trustworthy cruise poster, recorded this account of a bike.cruise.

FTOttawa

Backroads seems to offer some group tours in the Netherlands and Belgium that are not barge-based. However, they are pricey.

Exodus and Headwater, which I’ve used happily for walking tours, offer guided tours in Portugal, Italy and the Baltics.

In my limited group experience, including landing up at guest houses that offered an evening table d’hôte, once everyone is around a big table it doesn’t matter who arrived as a couple and who arrived alone.

FTOttawa

Hmm, Womantours is offering a sailing and cycling tour of the Hanseatic cities. You sure would not be the only un-paired traveller on that trip.

bigtyke

A friend of mine, a very experienced senior citizen woman cyclist, did one about 30 years ago and enjoyed it. The previously mentioned Emma enjoyed her first bike and barge that she did another. She is not a cyclist and the rather short distances were fine with her. I imagine that my friend would have liked greater daily distances.

menachem

Backroads has a great reputation and good service and it reflects in the price. Also excellent choices for bikes.