REVIEWS
We’ve had lots of excellent feedback and reviews from satisfied customers who enjoyed our tours. Here is a selection:
The biking was so beautiful and easy. I appreciated seeing Denise so often. It broke up the long rides into short segments punctuated with apple pie! I didn’t expect such personal attention from Denise. Every wrinkle ironed out.
Colleen Wise, April 2024 (Self-guided)
First and foremost: Denise was accessible before and during the tour allaying our concerns. The pace was just our speed. The country is beautiful! Denise and Jan are exceptionally kind and competent.
Diane Hoefer, April 2024
It felt like a ‘custom tour’. The kindness of the tour leaders and the pace were wonderful. They know how to read the guests. Tip: Maybe a bird specialist at one point?
Vicki Zimmerman, april 2024
I enjoyed the most the bike rides and camaraderie with other guests. Really great group. The tour leadership from Denise and Jan was Superb and responsive. Great customer service. Overall the tour was excellent. I would definitely go on more tours that you organize!
Giner Neel, April 2024
The tour was well organized and executed, the provided documentation detailed and helpful. We were quite impressed by the navigation app which allowed us to travel independently while being supported by you regularly – it was always such a delight to see you waiting for us, Denise. 🙂 The daily programming kept us busy and entertained while still allowing for quiet time to relax. We felt fortunate that Colleen and Allan joined our tour – I recall many fascinating conversation topics during the fine meals the five of us shared. Most of all, Denise – you were a delight! We appreciated your attentive kindness, your open-mindedness, your professionalism and your well-established network of providers and activities.
Ursula Flury (WBUR Sweepstake winner), April 2024
I really enjoyed everything: The camaraderie with Jan and Denis, the bike routes, the Keukenhof, the sand dune, the ride into The Hague and the ride with the tulip expert Herman van Amsterdam.
Pete Pettis, April 2024
This tour was a marvelous blend of historical and contemporary activities. We were impressed with Holland’s commitment to cycling and how accommodating the people are to bikes. A large variety of attractions and environments are available on reasonably distanced bike rides. Each day brought new sites and experiences, including Holland’s iconic windmills. Unexpected private tours were an added plus. The tulip fields are absolutely spectacular and there is nothing to compare to riding your bike next to herds of sheep bleating to each other. We thoroughly enjoyed the entre trip and highly recommend it.
Marian and Scott Harmount, April 2023
Loved it. Had a blast the entire week. Would 100% book another tour with y’all
Jeannette Warren, April 2023
Excellent! Loved riding the dunes, around tulip fields and biking with Herman (Tulip Ambassador). We did many different kinds of things on this tour (boat ride Delft, Indonesian food, The Hague guided walking tour and the Keukenhof Gardens, which we like. The video/photo’s at the end were a very nice surprise.
Christine and Kate Barnicki, April 2023
My daughter and I went on the Country of Tulips tour with Emma and Denise this past April. The bike tour exceeded our already high expectations. The tour was well-paced giving us ample time to enjoy the tulips in full bloom as well as each of the towns that we biked to. Every hotel that we stayed at was very comfortable and every restaurant that we ate provided a delicious meal. The entire trip was a wonderful experience full of spectacular sights, sounds and flavors!!!
Sally Katz, April 2019
We just spent a wonderful week cycling through Holland. Emma and Denise take great personal care of you. They take care of every detail and let you enjoy your vacation. Great group of traveling partners….wonderful country…awesome bike paths. We will be back!
Pam Carmona, April 2018
Tulip Tour. Beautiful country-side, quaint villages, overwhelming flowers, and great accommodations and food! The bikes were in good condition and well-suited to the individual rider. Guides Emma and Jan were constantly attentive to needs of our group and truly wonderful people. Highly recommended.
Doug Taylor, April 2018
The Country of Tulips tour in the Netherlands was fabulous from start to finish. The bikes were great, the scenery was fabulous, the hotels were wonderful. Emma and Denise did a great job keeping our group of 12 together, moving at a relaxed pace so that everyone could enjoy the magnificent scenery. The bike lanes and paths in the Netherlands are incredible. Emma and Denise did a wonderful job of fitting in some unique cultural experiences for us; talking about tulips with experts and growers, a tour of the Hague by a local, a tour of a Delft pottery factory. We left feeling enchanted with the Netherlands.
Anne Thompson, April 2018
Both tour guides were great but Marcel was particularly fun. Some of the friends I brought had not been to Europe before, so Van Gogh Tours was the perfect way to introduce it to them. The biking was incredible, the scenery was amazing, and the crew of the Fleur worked hard to make it smooth and fun.
Karen Ruud, April 2024
Thank you for expertly planning our tour –the Deluxe Springtime Tour was simply wonderful! The Sarah crew and cycling guides were professional, knowledgeable, attentive, and friendly. The food was delicious, the accommodations were clean and comfortable, and the bicycles and cycling accessories were in excellent condition
Janira and Robert Dickerson, April 2022
Although we have been on organized bike trips in the past, this was the first bike/barge trip which we loved. The guides and staff on the barge were excellent. The chef did a wonderful job providing great meals with a lot of variety along with serving local specialties. The Deluxe tour lived up to its expectations with beautiful flowers and great bike rides
Mary-Ellen and Wayne Heike, April 2022
Great guides, variety of landscapes
Bill and Barbara Roerink, April 2022
The daily trips were well planned, not rushed, informative, with pleasant breathtaking views. Intimate friendly groups, knowledgeable informative pleasant guides. Excellent food and accommodation on the boat. Well organized with good communication with passengers. Tours were superb.
Roz and Jeffrey Therrien, April 2022
We had a wonderful tour, perfect weather, great staff on the boat. The day to day guidance was fantastic and staff’s sense of humor and joy was just great. The food was amazing and Chef Frank prepared food for guten-free, vegetarian, pre-diabetic and “regular” meals with flare! The guides were just great, knowledgeable, fun, and energetic. We had long and shorter ride options each day. The captain, first mate, and “boat mom” Karen, took wonderful care of everyone. Our group were mostly in the 50-70’s with one couple in their 30’s. You could ride on your own using the “Ride with GPS” or with the two guides. We all road with he guides as they provided narration as we went. 3 individual chose the ebike option.
Anna and Jay Keller, April 2022
I appreciated all the walking tours at night and stops we made along the route, like the family cheese farm, flower auction and other stops. It was a great opportunity to learn about the history of Holland and how people are currently thriving. I was so impressed with how much pride the Dutch people have. It shows in their homes, businesses, farmland, streets, bike-friendly communities, and centuries of harnessing their abundant water resources.
Lisa and Steve Nute, April 2022
Our experience with VGT was very good. It was one of the best vacations I have taken with just my husband. We liked that the groups were small and that we had guides who knew where they were going and could discuss the areas in which we biked. The people in the group were congenial, so we enjoyed getting to know everyone. Although the weather was somewhat chilly, I was prepared for cooler days than my husband who could have used a warmer jacket. He basically only had a wind breaker and that didn’t keep him warm at night as we visited the various towns. The packing list was very thorough; I didn’t have too many extraneous clothes, and the communication was superb. Given that we booked this tour in 2019, VGT stayed in touch with us and gave us options regarding changing or refunding our tour. We had only heard good things about the tour, so we just waited. Also, the bikes were in good shape. If one doesn’t bike often, I recommend using the e-bike; it helped me to stay up with the group. We had so much fun that we have been recommending it to all our friends and would like to take another tour in the not too distant future.
Melissa Holiday, April 2022
Excellent tour. The food was varied and delicious. The guide had an in depth knowledge of our route plus gave walking tours with interesting facts each evening. The boat captain dealt efficiently with the challenges of last minute changes out of his control in order to ensure we saw everything. . Van Gogh is an excellent company to deal with, we had no issues at all and Denise even met us at the boat prior to departure to ensure everything was fine. Bikes we had reserved were there waiting for us as well. Really recommend Van Gogh.
David & Chelle Leadbetter, April 2022
We enjoyed the tour very much. There was a funny smell in our cabin but they solved the problem by moving us to another cabin. There was also a communication problem regarding when the tour ended. However, they paid for our last night’s food and board as compensation. We enjoyed the crew, our fellow guests, the bikes, the boat, and the countryside
James Currie, April 2024
It was great, loved the bike tours. The boat and staff were fabulous. The food was gourmet.
Cindy Johnson, April 2022
Every day was fun, the guide, the crew, the chef and the fellow passengers all combined to make each day a wonderful experience. Bikes were perfect for the terrain. Distance travelled each day were perfect.
Virginia Venslovaitis, April 2024
It is good value for the money
Karen Drayton, April 2022
Loved scenery. Beautiful comfortable barge. Very knowledgeable tour guide. Barge crew were wonderful. Loved seeing the animals along the way while bicycling. Great bicycling routes. Keukenhof is spectacular. The Netherlands is a beautiful country. Enjoyed the stops for photos and pastry!
Nancy Dault, April 2022
The tour was great! The guide, Ed was fantastic. Lots of history and extra walking tours at night. The biking was a little more than advertised which was a plus for me. But, it may not have been for others. Loved the tulips and more.
Beth Fernbacher, April 2022
Overall, this was a very pleasant tour. The hotel was modest but comfortable and had exceptional food; the staff was welcoming and attentive. The Van Gogh Tours day trip suggestions were very good. The bikes were of good quality and equipped for the weather. The printed and electronic maps VGT provided usually worked, but at times were disconcertingly discrepant; signs to destinations were not where instructions indicated and there were no warnings of trail closures. Still, our experience seemed far superior to the trip friends took with a much more expensive company. The 3 people in our self-guided group would readily use Van Gogh Tours again.
Kristin Hanson, April 2024
We were very pleased with the bike portion of our trip in The Netherlands. La Fortuna Hotel in Edam was a wonderful place to stay for 3 days. The breakfasts were great and the dinners were outstanding. They made a special dessert the day we arrived – my birthday. It was a fabulous meal and a special way to celebrate my birthday. The package of information you provided was terrific. I’m “old school” and love maps and brochures, so it was great to get all of the print information you left. The Bike GPX app worked like a charm and we did never get lost. The only issue was needing to stop at a café on the way home from Zaanse Schans to charge the phone so we could complete the ride. I loved the routes you selected and riding on the fietspad and through the small villages. We particularly enjoyed visiting Marken and Volendam, with the bonus of the beautiful ferry ride! The weather was perfect for biking as well. It was such a wonderful way to see a small part of your beautiful country.
Fran and Hannah Goldman, June 2022
We went on the Edam/Hoorn unaccompanied bike trip and would highly recommend it. Edam is a fun, quaint, interesting town, and the hotel Fortuna is charming. Hoorn has a number of classic old buildings and interesting history. Denise (the new owner of Van Gogh Tours) is very helpful and responsive. Getting to Edam by bus is easy and convenient. The bike rides are fun, and flat(though the wind can be tiring). Generally the rides are on dikes or small side streets, so traffic is not a problem. The ride to Marken includes a ride back on the ferry, which is a nice change of pace. We wound up taking e-bikes for the ride to Hoorn, which was fortunate as it is a longer ride than the trip to Marken. We would definitely recommend this trip.
Elizabeth & Jim Bright, May 2022
This tour was amazing! The hotel was lovely with a beautiful garden and patio where we could sit by the canal. We ate dinner at the hotel twice and the food was wonderful. The three routes we took were all different, and Denise was great to send us an alternate ride instead of Amsterdam, as we had already been there and were eager to explore somewhere else. Each route had magnificent scenery and gave us a great way to experience the Netherlands. Ready with our bike tour notes, we loved the freedom of being able to stop along the way and visit the recommended sites, have a coffee, or just wander the lovely towns we rode through. I would highly recommend getting the route app to follow the route on your phone so you don’t have to try to navigate written directions while riding. This tour is a wonderful do-it-yourself kind of tour for people who want to explore on their own but appreciate the expertise and organizational skills of someone who knows the area. I would highly recommend Van Gogh Tours!
Dee & Robert Varnell, April 2022
We had a lovely 3 days on the bike riding along the trails. The maps were great and we enjoyed it very much. Thanks for coming up with the alternate plan for the 3rd day. The B & B was fabulous. The food was excellent.
Michelle & Charles Oseroff, April 2022
Rhine & IJssel Tour – The Netherlands
We arrived to find that the tour we signed up for would be changed due to flooding on the IJssel. Our crack crew made all the necessary changes on the fly and pulled it off spectacularly. We had a great time.
Thomas and Constance Zimmerman, May 2024
For my wife and I, this was an amazing trip. The crew was outstanding. Each member provided an experience we’ll never forget. Our guide Klaas was very knowledgeable about the country and history. Luuk, our captain, kept the Anna Antal cruising even though some challenges were thrown at him (out of his control). Marcel made sure everyone had the best time. Patricia made excellent dishes for us each and every day. They all kept us smiling and excited for each day. We would travel with that crew any day of the week.
Phil and Suzanne Polderdyke, June 2024
This was a lot of fun! I hadn’t been on a bicycle for over twenty years so I was a bit nervous when I signed up for the tour but there was no need to feel this way. The guide, Rosanna, the crew and my fellow cyclists, were all very helpful and supportive. Communications when booking were clear and easy to navigate. I know a few enthusiastic cyclists and I feel like I have joined an amazing community. This was a great way of immersing yourself in the local area and culture like none other. The walking tours in the evenings were great ways to unwind, stretch your legs and see the towns up close. The Netherlands is a very beautiful country and cycling on this tour covered farmland, forest and beach areas. The Escher Museum and The RoyaI Delft Museum and enjoying the cheese in Gouda were on my ‘to do’ list. I feel very privileged to have had this experience. Now I can say that I have been in The North Sea, up to my ankles at least. (I don’t swim in cold water at the best of times.) Thanks Van Gogh Tours and Cycle Tours Global.
Margareth O (Australia), May 2024
My daughter and I loved the trip
Mark Gibson, June 2022
Loved the tour. The hotels were good to really good and enhanced the experience. The provided meals /vouchers exceeded our expectations. We almost always could order anything on the menu. That said, we are already talking about next summer 
David & Norine Gill, September 2023
tour was a great way to travel the Burgundy wine route with some direction but not in a guided tour. Denise was terrific to work with and responded quickly to all of our questions. The bikes were delivered to our hotel and were well-maintained and comfortable. They included panniers and handlebar packs. The route was beautiful and mostly on bike trails/vineyard access roads so the traffic was minimal. We cycled through the vineyards and small towns and the distance for us was just right (around 50 km) so we could arrive at our destination in time to explore the town before dinner. We were pleased that our bags were at the hotels when we arrived, and sometimes had even been brought up to our rooms. The hotels were all different and unique and having dinner vouchers made it easy to go out to eat as we didn’t have to make any restaurant decisions! We had some excellent meals on the trip, in a variety of restaurants and all with great wine. I would highly recommend getting the route app to follow the route on your phone, as the written directions (especially getting in and out of towns) are hard to follow while actively biking. This is a wonderful do-it-yourself kind of tour for people who are familiar with cycling and are okay with a few wrong turns along the way. We loved it!
Dee & Robert Varnell, March 2022
Wonderful hotels with great food. Bike routes easy to follow, through lovely woods and mostly small roads. The chateau were great destinations during the day and made each day different and interesting. Transfer of luggage all very smooth and Denise was available for any questions along the way. If you want a self guided bike trip, I would highly recommend Van Gogh Tours. We will definitely use them again!
Natalie Venezia, June 2022
The tour was organized for us with very good follow-up and communication. We were able to know we were going to be ready to go! Questions were answered promptly even with a big change in our key person!
Jill Reising, May 2022
Great trip, great value. The hotels were excellent and the restaurants had great food and good service (with the exception on one restaurant that was a bit overwhelmed). The online GPS maps were great and easy to follow. Overall, one of the best trips ever.
Alan Rooks (Group of 13 Family and Friends), September 2022
Cycling in an unfamiliar setting and doing so with interesting group of people. Michela is an excellent tour leader and we really appreciated all that she did to ensure that everyone was cycling safely.
Will Burbank, April 2023
This was my first VanGogh tour and it was amazing. Beginning with Denise during the registration process, the correspondence, the barge, the bikes, the crew, the itinerary – it was all top-notch. The barge was clean and comfortable (excellent air conditioning for our 90+ degree days), the bikes well-equipped and maintained, and Fillippo, Irene, Rafael, and Melanie were the best. They were cheerfully helpful, professional and a lot of fun. It was clear they enjoyed their jobs. Melanie’s calm presence and guidance ensured that the ride was safe and doable for all of us. The crew truly made the trip.
Jane Renkes, May 2022
Excellent pre-trip information on transportation, hotels, packing list, daily itinerary and cultural notes provided by VGT – Thank You! The barge was comfortable, the crew very nice and our guide was very knowledgeable and a good bike trail leader. He changed a flat rear tire in record time! The routes we rode on were so interesting. I enjoyed seeing small towns and larger cities. Visiting an organic cheese farm was a treat.
I chose this tour because of Van Gogh’s reputation and the itinerary and it was wonderful. The hotels were carefully chosen and better than expected. There are lovely bike paths along the Rance River and routes along farm roads that were biking at its best. Denise was easily accessible to help with any detail. This was our fifth tour with Van Gogh and they provide the best experience and value in biking.
Jeannie McRae, September 2022
Venice to Mantua - Italy
The food was incredible. staff on the boat were kind, obliging and liked each other.
Sarah E Pruitt, April 2023