* Comfort Barge

Day 1 Saturday: Arrive in Amsterdam. Cruise to Oude Wetering, 6 miles (10km).

Join your fellow guests aboard your floating hotel. In the afternoon the barge will cruise to Oude Wetering. In the evening your guide will take you for a short test ride.

Day 2 Sunday: Oude Wetering to Gouda, 22 miles (35km).

You enjoy an easy bike ride right through some real Dutch meadowlands and end your trip in the cheese town of Gouda. Free time in Gouda after your dinner.

Day 3 Monday: Gouda to Willemstad, 25 miles (40km).

You ride to the world famous windmills of Kinderdijk where you will visit one of the mills. After the visit you head for Dordrecht, and partially throught the natural reserve Biesbosch to Moerdijk. The night will be spent in the walled town of Willemstad, a real Dutch beauty!

Day 4 Tuesday: Willemstad to Antwerp.

Right across the impressive waterways of Zeeland the barge will take you to the lively town of Antwerp in Belgium. After arrival there is free time to explore this old port. Antwerp is not only known as 'diamond city', but also as the native city of the artist Rubens. In the Rubens House, where he was born, you can admire his work. In the middle of the city is the Cathedral of Our Lady and around the Market Square beautiful town houses from a rich past.

Day 5 Wednesday: Antwerp to Dendermonde, 31 miles (50km).

The day starts with a sailing trip to the outskirts of Antwerp. You will then cycle across the riverland of the river Schelde. In the charming provincial town of Dendermonde you will spend the night aboard the barge.

Day 6 Thursday: Dendermonde to Ghent, 19 miles (30km).

The barge leaves Dendermonde for a sailing trip on the tidal river Schelde to Ghent. You can enjoy the flat Flemish countryside to Ghent, a lively university city, again one with a rich past. The city has its origins in Roman Times, at the place where the rivers Leie and Schelde converge. This favourable situation brought a great deal of prosperity over the years, which peaked in the late 13th and early 14th century. The textile industry brought great wealth and in the city centre you will see many old patrician houses that have been preserved. The owners of these houses, the textile merchants, used to meet in the Clothmakers’ Hall. The major church is St. Baafs’ Cathedral, built in various ages and in various styles. In the cathedral you can admire a number of masterpieces of mediaeval painting, of which the ‘Adoration of the Lamb’ by Jan van Eyck is the most famous. In the evening your guide will take you for a walk around the city.

Day 7 Friday: Ghent to Bruges.

Everybody makes the train ride to Bruges. After arriving there is a horse carriage ride and a short guided walk past the many historic monuments in the centre of Bruges. From midday you are free to visit Bruges until you are ready to return by train to Ghent.

Day 8 Saturday: Depart from Ghent.

It is the end of the tour and so it is time to say farewells, exchange contact details and make your way by coach back to Amsterdam airport.