Amsterdam–Bruges Relax Bike & Barge

Day 1: Amsterdam – Weesp (11 km)
You will board your barge in Amsterdam's Oosterdok between 1 and 2 p.m., where the crew will welcome you on board. Around 2 p.m. the ship will sail to Weesp, a small city on the river Vecht whose historic centre is full of canals and seventeenth- and eighteenth-century buildings. On arrival your tour leader will organise a test ride, and after dinner you will have time to stroll through this charming town.

Day 2: Weesp – Utrecht / Utrecht – Vianen (47 km)
Your cycling will start in Weesp and follow the meandering Vecht past the impressive mansions that line its banks. Along the way you will visit a real Dutch cheese farm, where cheese is still produced by traditional methods. You will meet the ship again in Utrecht, and from there she will sail the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal to Vianen, a small fortified town on the river Lek.

Day 3: Vianen – Alblasserdam / Alblasserdam – Dordrecht (22 km or 57 km)
Today you will ride a beautiful route along the Lek to Schoonhoven, a city renowned for its silversmiths since the 17th century and nicknamed Zilverstad, the Silver City. Cycling on through the Alblasserwaard you will reach Kinderdijk and its row of 19 large windmills, a UNESCO site where you will have the chance to go inside one of them. From nearby Alblasserdam the Waterbus fast ferry will carry you and your bicycle to Dordrecht in about ten minutes. In the evening you can join the guide for a short city walk.

Day 4: Dordrecht – Willemstad / Willemstad – Tholen (44 km)
While you relax over breakfast the ship will sail on to Willemstad, where your cycling day will begin. Willemstad is a beautiful old fortified town on the Haringvliet waterway. From there your route will head for Tholen, once an island in the middle of the large Zeeland stream system and a place where many people fished for a living. Today it is connected to the mainland, but it remains a picturesque village with many relics of an eventful past.

Day 5: Tholen – Kreekrak lock / Kreekrak locks – Antwerp (20 km or 36 km)
After coffee and breakfast you will leave the barge for a ride through the Wouwse Plantage forest, heading south to the impressive Kreekrak lock. In the afternoon you will board the ship again and cruise to Antwerp, on the river Schelde. Antwerp handles up to 80% of the world's rough diamonds and has a long list of attractions in store, including the Renaissance City Hall, the Grote Markt, the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral and the medieval Steen castle.

Day 6: Antwerp
Your barge will stay in Antwerp today, so you will have a whole day to discover this city of culture, cobblestones and Flemish Baroque. You can visit the Rubens House, the palazzo where the artist lived with his family, and admire more of his paintings ten minutes away in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral. Other ideas are a tour and tasting at the De Koninck brewery, the MAS museum on the Scheldt, or an afternoon in Antwerp's shopping area. Dinner tonight will not be included, so you can choose your own restaurant; the crew can recommend one.

Day 7: Antwerp – Temse – St. Amands (34 km or 49 km)
This morning you will cycle out of Antwerp along a striking section of the Schelde to St. Amands, where your floating home will dock for the night. The scenery along the Schelde is magnificent and is without doubt one of the highlights of the tour. In the evening, if you have not yet tasted one of Belgium's incomparable beers, give them a try: the famous Duvel is a speciality of the region.

Day 8: St. Amands – Dendermonde / Dendermonde – Ghent (52 km)
During breakfast the ship will bring you to Dendermonde. There you will disembark and cycle on along the Schelde to Ghent, where the ship will moor for the night at a lock in a suburb of the city. Ghent is a lively university city with a rich history: since Roman times its position where the Leie and the Schelde meet has made it a successful trading port, at one point the second biggest city in Europe. The old city has an opera house, 18 museums, more than 100 churches and over 400 historical buildings, among them St Bavo's Cathedral with Van Eyck's Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, and the 91-metre belfry.

Day 9: Ghent – Bruges (22 km or 45 km)
After a fortifying breakfast you will cycle on from Ghent through the beautiful countryside of Western Flanders to Bruges, widely described as the Venice of the North and arguably the most beautiful of all the Flemish cities. Its UNESCO-listed medieval centre is outstandingly preserved, and its original Gothic buildings still form an integral part of the city's identity. You can visit one of the many museums or simply take in the city from a pavement café. In the evening your guide will take you for a walk through some of the loveliest parts of the centre, perhaps with a Brugse Zot along the way.

Day 10: Bruges – North Sea – Bruges (38 km)
Your barge will stay in Bruges today, so the day is yours to shape. The tour leader will offer a morning bike tour of about 37 km. Your final ride will set out along a quiet canal, past beautiful poplar trees and through flat green polder fields dotted with small farmhouses. On the way back to Bruges you will cycle along a charming little canal.

Day 11: Bruges
The end of your tour: enjoy one final breakfast on board and disembark by 9.30 a.m.