Bruges–Amsterdam Relax Bike & Barge

Day 1: Bruges (11 km)
Embarkation is between 1 and 2 p.m. in Bruges, where your ship will be waiting for you in Bruges harbour. After a welcome and briefing from the crew at 2 p.m. there will be time for bicycle allocation and a short but sweet test ride through the countryside around Bruges. After dinner your guide will introduce you to the city with a short walk through its gorgeous medieval centre.

Day 2: Bruges – North Sea – Bruges (38 km)
After a sound night's rest your tour leader will guide you on a morning bike tour of about 37 km. You will set out along a quiet canal, past beautiful poplar trees and through attractive landscapes of flat green polder fields dotted with small farmhouses. On the return ride you will follow a charming little canal. In the afternoon you will have time to discover this UNESCO World Heritage city, nicknamed the Pearl of Flanders; visit one of its many museums or simply take it in from a pavement café.

Day 3: Bruges – Aalterbrug / Aalterbrug – Ghent (37 km or 45 km)
After breakfast on board you will start cycling out of Bruges, zigzagging through charming woodland and pastures. Your barge will be waiting for you halfway along the canal between Bruges and Ghent. Once everyone is back on board the anchor will be lifted and you can enjoy the scenery as you cruise on to Ghent. In the evening you can take a guided tour through the historical centre from one of the best perspectives possible, a small canal boat that passes delightful areas such as the Graslei and the Korenlei.

Day 4: Ghent – Dendermonde – St. Amands (40 km or 55 km)
After a delicious breakfast in Ghent you will cycle downstream along the tidal river Scheldt through varied landscapes to Dendermonde, where the Scheldt and the Dender meet. The scenery here is stunningly beautiful and is definitely one of the highlights of the tour. On this stretch the ship's speed is set by the tidal range, so from Dendermonde to St. Amands you will travel either by ship or by bike, depending on the tides. The ship will dock in St. Amands in the evening, where you will spend the night.

Day 5: St. Amands – Temse – Antwerp (33 km or 49 km)
Today you will follow the Schelde further downstream through the Temse region to Antwerp. Over the centuries this river held strategic importance for the Romans, Vikings, Spanish and Napoleon; today it is simply a stunning waterway. Antwerp, your destination for the day, is a harbour city famous for handling up to 80% of the world's rough diamonds and as the birthplace of Peter Paul Rubens. It has many delights in store, from the Renaissance City Hall and the Grote Markt to the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral and the medieval Steen castle.

Day 6: Antwerp (0 km)
Your ship 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 the shopping area. Dinner tonight will not be included, so you can choose your own restaurant; the crew can recommend one.

Day 7: Antwerp – Kreekrak locks / Kreekrak locks – Tholen (20 km or 36 km)
This morning your ship will sail along the Schelde-Rhine Canal and through the huge Kreekrak lock system. There your cycling will start, through the beautiful Wouwse Plantage forest to Tholen. Tholen was once an island in the middle of the large Zeeland waterways, where many people fished for their living. Today it is connected to the mainland in various ways, but it is still a picturesque village with many relics of an eventful past.

Day 8: Tholen – Willemstad / Willemstad – Dordrecht (36 km or 44 km)
Your ride today will pass through the pleasant Tholen village of Oud-Vossemeer to Willemstad, an old fortified town on the Haringvliet inlet of the North Sea. From there you will board the ship again for a pleasant afternoon sail to Dordrecht, one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. In the evening your guide will lead you through the city and bring the history of the Netherlands to life. You will spend the night in the port of Wolwevershaven, which dates back to 1609 when it emerged as a trading centre for wool weavers.

Day 9: Dordrecht – Alblasserdam / Alblasserdam – Vianen (32 km or 57 km)
Today will start with the Waterbus, a fast ferry that will take you and your bicycle to Alblasserdam in just ten minutes. After a few minutes of cycling you will reach Kinderdijk, a village famous for its row of 19 UNESCO-listed windmills, one of which you can visit. The mills were built in the 18th century to pump water out of the low Alblasserwaard polder. You will then cycle on to Vianen via Schoonhoven, a small fortified town on the river Lek, where you will stay for the night and can explore at your leisure after dinner.

Day 10: Vianen – Breukelen / Breukelen – Amsterdam (37 km or 47 km)
While you enjoy breakfast the ship will cruise to Breukelen, where you will disembark for your final day of cycling. You will ride along the Vecht in an area famous for its beautiful mansions, small castles and impressive houses with expansive gardens. After the villages of Nieuwersluis, Loenen and Vreeland you will reach Nigtevecht, where you can treat your tastebuds at a traditional cheese farm. You will then cycle on through the historical town of Muiden and into Amsterdam, meeting your barge for the final time in the Amsterdam harbour.

Day 11: Amsterdam (0 km)
The end of your tour: enjoy your last breakfast on board and disembark before 9.30 a.m.