Bike & Boat
Travelling by bike and boat is really something very special: you can explore the region around the navigable waters by water and on land. There is no need to pack your suitcase every day, you spend the day on your bike and get to know the country and its people. If you don't feel like getting on your bike, simply stay on board, read a good book on the sun deck and enjoy a cosy chat with your fellow travellers.
On this page you will find the most popular ships, voyages and regions. Newcomers on board will also find information to help them find the right voyage. At the bottom of this page you will also find some travel reports from our enthusiastic bike and boat guests. You will soon realise - no two trips are the same and each one has its own special charm. We are already looking forward to your next holiday by bike and boat!
Our tip:
As capacities are quickly exhausted, experience has shown that cycle and boat holidays are booked earlier than our normal cycle tours. So if you decide early, it is more likely that your favourite ship will still be available on the date you have chosen!
The special thing about travelling by bike and boat
Experience the region by bike and on board!
It sounds obvious, but travelling by boat has a very special character: while the landscape passes by, you can enjoy relaxing hours on the sun deck. Once ashore, you can explore the most beautiful routes, landscapes and places by bike. You can chat to your fellow travellers in comfort and let the crew spoil you at dinner. If you have grown up far away from navigable waters, the daily tasks of the crew - passing through locks, mooring and casting off in the harbour – are also exciting highlights of the trip!
You don't have to cycle every day.
While travelling on a bike and boat trip, you can easily skip a bike excursion. Would you prefer to spend your holiday reading a good book on the sun deck? Then go for it. As you are under no pressure to reach the next hotel, it is entirely up to you whether you want to cycle or not. This is particularly appreciated by families with children who may not want to cycle every day. So do couples or other travel groups with different expectations of how active their active holiday should be.
You open and stow your luggage once, not every day.
When you move into your cabin on board, you unpack your luggage at the beginning of the journey and only pack it again at the end of your holiday. As your floating hotel accompanies you, there is no need to pack your suitcase every day on a normal cycle tour.
Ship cabins are not hotel rooms.
The cabins on the ships are a little narrower, the furnishings may be simpler - after all, you are spending your holiday on a ship and not in a five-star hotel. That's exactly what makes a bike and boat holiday so cosy and so special. The facilities and comfort vary greatly from ship to ship and from trip to trip! So take a close look at the ship descriptions, the details of the cabin facilities and the photos. A cosy wooden ship off the Croatian coast like the MS Planka, the comfortable premium ship MS Magnifique II with a whirlpool on the sun deck and the imposing three-masted clipper Elizabeth on the IJsselmeer could hardly be more different in terms of equipment and comfort.
Get to know your fellow travellers!
Guests on one and the same ship get into conversation with each other much more quickly than guests staying in the same hotel. After all, you spend the entire time of your bike and boat holiday together. So you can look forward to interesting conversations with people who are just as enthusiastic about spending their holiday in the fresh air, on the water and on two wheels! The atmosphere on the ships is relaxed and friendly throughout. But don't forget this aspect when choosing your holiday and ship:
Are you more the type for a comfortable river boat such as the MS Swiss Crown, which offers plenty of privacy with its large cabins, restaurant and bar despite having around 135 guests? Or do you prefer to spend your bike and boat holiday on a family-friendly wooden ship, the MS Aneta? On board, you will inevitably get to know all of your 20 or so fellow travellers due to the lack of privacy. In busy harbours in the high season, when ships are moored next to and next to each other, you will also quickly strike up a conversation with the guests on board the other ships.
The captain and the tour guide are responsible for planning the journey and route.
The freedoms of a classic cycle tour - cycling at your own pace, taking breaks, the route travelled - are left in the experienced hands of the captain and tour guide on a bike and boat trip.
The arrival date is naturally tied to a fixed date and time. After all, the captain also has to adhere to lock and tide times. On the way ashore, the tour guide takes charge: the speed on the bike is chosen so that everyone can cycle along comfortably. So it doesn't necessarily have to be your pace. Breaks are taken together.
So you give up some freedom, but gain a great deal of security: after all, the crew know the area inside out. You stop at the most beautiful places, never miss a turn-off and are back on board in time for dinner. And should unexpected obstacles arise, there is always someone nearby who can help.
It is also important to mention that the actual itinerary may differ from the planned one, as you are dependent on wind conditions and water levels on the ship. This goes without saying, as your safety is the crew's top priority.
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