Rhine Bike & River Cruise: Basel to Amsterdam
Guided Bike & Boat
- Daily Mileage: 13-45 miles|
- Biking: 1-5 hours|
Starting From
11-day Air Package
$7,395
8-day Bike Tour Only
$5,845
Per person, double occupancy
Rhine Bike & River Cruise: Basel to Amsterdam
Travel in style along the storied Rhine River on this indulgent Bike & Boat vacation. During your cruise, you’ll wrap yourself in luxury—enjoying the five-star amenities of your Emerald cruise ship. Discover a different country each day as you pedal a well-maintained, fitted VBT bike—joining your VBT trip leaders on carefully curated routes through the Rhine’s picturesque villages. You’ll find ample time for relaxation on board as you splash in the ship’s pool, lounge on the sundeck, and enjoy your comfortable stateroom—or upgrade to a luxurious balcony suite and watch the scenic banks of the Rhine drift by from the privacy of your own cabin. Along the way, you’ll stop to taste exquisite vintages, explore local wineries, and tour charming medieval cities. In the evening, enjoy a full menu of locally-inspired cuisine prepared by your ship’s onboard chef.
Tour Highlights
- Enjoy the best of both worlds: an all-inclusive river cruise and VBT Bicycling Vacation.
- Touch the shores of four countries—Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands—but unpack your bags only once.
- Delve into the wine culture of Alsace as you cycle France’s famous Route des Vins.
- Explore the historic cities of Strasbourg, Heidelberg, Koblenz, and Cologne.
- Cruise the charming canals of Amsterdam.
Positive Impact
VBT is proud to support Wine to Water with a donation on behalf of each guest on this tour. Wine to Water is an international organization providing access to clean drinking water and emergency supplies in water-challenged regions. We believe in giving back to the places that have enriched the lives of our guests. We’re committed to identifying and supporting sustainable initiatives in a variety of areas including education, world health, economic equality, safe drinking water, the environment, and the preservation of cultural traditions.
What to Expect
On Shore: This tour offers easy, rolling terrain along rivers, with a few climbs to reach riverside towns. Riding is primarily on paved or packed gravel bike paths, with some road riding, through both urban and rural areas. Our VBT support vehicle is available every day at designated points for those who need assistance.
On Board Ship: Our group of up to 24 VBT guests will be part of a larger assembly on board our 182-passenger river cruise ship. Every day will include your choice of exclusive VBT activities and opportunities to join others. Our boat may be docked adjacent to other ships, which might lead to some views being obstructed while in port.
- Daily Mileage: 13-45 miles|
- Biking: 1-5 hours|
- Group Size: 24
Cyclists
Support
Average High /
Low Temperature (°F):
Apr58º/42º
May67º/51º
Jun72º/57º
Jul77º/60º
Aug76º/59º
Sep69º/53º
Oct58º/46º
Average
Precipitation:
Apr1.5 in
May2.9 in
Jun2.6 in
Jul2.4 in
Aug2.0 in
Sep1.8 in
Oct1.5 in
Air Package |
Tour Only |
|
---|---|---|
Roundtrip international airfare |
||
Airport car service for arrival and departure |
||
One night in Zurich and one night in Den Haag in conveniently located hotels with daily breakfast |
||
7 nights aboard a deluxe river ship |
||
21 meals: 7 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners |
Electric-Assisted Bicycle (E-bike)
See More >Step-Through Electric-Assisted Bicycle (E-bike)
See More >Road Bicycle (Carbon frame)
See More >Step-Through (Mixte Hybrid) Comfort Bicycle
See More >Step-Over (Diamond) Comfort Bicycle
See More >Biking Packages Include:
Custom VBT Bike and Helmet
Two Local, Bilingual Trip Leaders
Support Vehicle
Luggage Transportation
Ride with GPS and Daily Route Notes
Welcome Reception
Facilitated Cultural Experiences
Your Choice of VBT Branded Gear for Your Adventure
Accommodations (Please Note: Days are based on the Air Package Itinerary. Accommodations may vary depending on departure date. )
Enjoy Your Vacation Longer With Low-Cost Trip Extensions
Air Package Only
2025 Pre-Trip Extension - Zurich
2 Nights From
$445
per person, double
occupancy
Single Supplement: From $145
- 2 nights at the Hotel Opera
- Airport car service for arrival
- Daily breakfast
- City information
All you have to do is get to the airport. On our Air Packages, we’ll take care of the rest, handling all the logistics, so you can travel with peace of mind. Spend your first night aloft and arrive refreshed for an unforgettable trip.
Start off your first day in Zürich right by having a VBT representative greet you at the airport. A complimentary car service will whisk you to your hotel. From your centrally located hotel, you are perfectly positioned to explore this charming city at your leisure.
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to explore on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to explore on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Hotel Opera
This private boutique hotel has been exquisitely decorated by the well-known Swiss interior designer Roland Schön. It is ideally situated in Zurich’s city center next to the famous Opera House. The nearby lakeside promenade makes for a lovely morning jog or a leisurely stroll. Just a five-minute walk away, the glamour of the world-renowned Bahnhofstrasse unfolds, the most attractive and exclusive shopping mile in Zurich. The Old Town is also nearby, with its pastel-hued guild houses and historic buildings. For an unforgettable meal, indulge in the gourmet Restaurant Opera, awarded the “golden fish” for its exquisite seafood specialties. Elegant paintings from the young Baroque artist Tatjana Tiziana adorn its walls, inviting you into Zurich’s opera world. Free WiFi is available throughout this air-conditioned hotel.
Air Package Only
2024 Pre-Trip Extension - Zurich
2 Nights From
$495
per person, double
occupancy
Single Supplement: From $145
- 2 nights at the Hotel Opera
- Airport car service for arrival
- Daily breakfast
- City information
All you have to do is get to the airport. On our Air Packages, we’ll take care of the rest, handling all the logistics, so you can travel with peace of mind. Spend your first night aloft and arrive refreshed for an unforgettable trip.
Start off your first day in Zurich right by having a VBT representative greet you at the airport. A complimentary car service will whisk you to your hotel. From your centrally located hotel, you are perfectly positioned to explore this charming city at your leisure.
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to explore on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to explore on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Hotel Opera
This private boutique hotel has been exquisitely decorated by the well-known Swiss interior designer Roland Schön. It is ideally situated in Zurich’s city center next to the famous Opera House. The nearby lakeside promenade makes for a lovely morning jog or a leisurely stroll. Just a five-minute walk away, the glamour of the world-renowned Bahnhofstrasse unfolds, the most attractive and exclusive shopping mile in Zurich. The Old Town is also nearby, with its pastel-hued guild houses and historic buildings. For an unforgettable meal, indulge in the gourmet Restaurant Opera, awarded the “golden fish” for its exquisite seafood specialties. Elegant paintings from the young Baroque artist Tatjana Tiziana adorn its walls, inviting you into Zurich’s opera world. Free WiFi is available throughout this air-conditioned hotel.
Air Package Only
2025 Post-Trip Extension - Den Haag
2 Nights From
$345
per person, double
occupancy
Single Supplement: From $245
- 2 nights at Boutique Hotel Corona
- Airport car service for departure
- Daily breakfast
- City information
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to continue exploring on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to continue exploring on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
After an included breakfast this morning, complimentary transportation to the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport will be provided (an approximately 30 to 40-minute drive, depending on traffic) for your departing flight.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Boutique Hotel Corona
The Boutique Hotel Corona is a fine boutique property and the oldest 4-star hotel of the International City of Peace and Justice. Its elegant common rooms and guest rooms occupy three historic 17th-century buildings. High ceilings and grand chandeliers give the lobby an airy feel. Located in the center of Den Haag in a former forecourt of the Buitenhof (Dutch Parliament), it boasts an illustrious past. The Boutique Hotel Corona is only 650 feet (198 meters) from the Centrum tram stop. Free WiFi and air conditioning are available throughout the hotel.
Air Package Only
2024 Post-Trip Extension - Den Haag
2 Nights From
$295
per person, double
occupancy
Single Supplement: From $245
- 2 nights at Boutique Hotel Corona
- Airport car service for departure
- Daily breakfast
- City information
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to continue exploring on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
After a delicious included breakfast at your hotel, you are free to continue exploring on your own, using our included city information packet to guide your discoveries.
Included Meals: Breakfast
After an included breakfast this morning, complimentary transportation to the Amsterdam Airport will be provided (an approximately 30 to 40-minute drive, depending on traffic) for your departing flight.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Boutique Hotel Corona
The Boutique Hotel Corona is a fine boutique property and the oldest 4-star hotel of the International City of Peace and Justice. Its elegant common rooms and guest rooms occupy three historic 17th-century buildings. High ceilings and grand chandeliers give the lobby an airy feel. Located in the center of Den Haag in a former forecourt of the Buitenhof (Dutch Parliament), it boasts an illustrious past. The Boutique Hotel Corona is only 650 feet (198 meters) from the Centrum tram stop. Free WiFi and air conditioning are available throughout the hotel.
My reviews/posts tend to be long so my apologies at the outset. My hope is for this to be helpful to my fellow would-be travelers and give you a detailed review of the trip rather than just a short, “we loved it” and a few bullet points and therefore let you review before you decide to plunk down a lot of $$$$ on one of these trips. Here we go… This was the 4th VBT trip for my wife and I together (I did a solo VBT also before getting married). We have always had a wonderful experience with VBT and this one was a good one as well. Not our favorite but still good. There are a few things about this trip that is so vastly different from the others I want to detail. First, the Boat portion: Clearly this was a Boat and Cycle trip and not the traditional cycle-only trips we have taken in the past. We wanted to try this because: • The number of countries involved. • The ability to not have to pack/unpack every day and, • The fact we have never traveled by boat. All these things made the trip very appealing. Let me tell you, not having to pack and unpack was great but it also comes at the cost of not seeing all the charming and quirky European hotels VBT finds for you! Do not get me wrong, the boat was excellent, the crew could not have been better, and the accommodations were first rate. We upgraded our cabin and if you can do this, do it because having the extra space and having a large deck/window view is wonderful but then again, there is a lot of common space on these boats too with boundless views. They even have a daily laundry service that we took advantage of, so you do not have to pack as much! The food was excellent, very professional and there was never a bad meal or service. However, this too comes at a cost. Because you are captive on the boat, you do not really get to venture out into a town and discover the local fare of a hidden gem or that Michelin restaurant in town as much as you may want. Nor do you ever get to have that 1:1 dinner with your significant other (if so inclined!) on the boat because dinner is always at tables of 4-6. We were lucky that we met an amazing group on our tour whose company we enjoyed tremendously. However, if you find yourself with a group you do not like, you will quickly realize you are going to be eating a dozen or so meals with them or at the very least be in the same room with them for over a week! One last thing about the boat- I had mistakenly assumed the boat would drop us off every morning and we would ride along the Rhine or into some towns and then meet the boat up the river. Nope. The boat stops, you get off and do your ride while the other vacationers on the boat (about 130+) do their city/touristy excursions. Boat stays docked. So essentially, you’re making a loop around the town and countryside. Not a big deal but wish I would have dug in a little deeper on this. The boat sails at night for the most part except for one day towards the end when we did have a 2:30 departure time in order to get to Amsterdam. Second, the Cycling: We met our two guides (was supposed to be three but the third had to bail due to family issue) who were genuinely nice. Mattyeus (Matt) from Hungary and Werner from Germany. Our group was large (24), and I think ultimately we could have used a third guide here as this was a unique and challenging trip that I’ll get to in a minute. Ride with GPS is a godsend and if you do not download it before your trip, you may experience issues when you get there so when you get the email from VBT telling you to download it, do it immediately!! Bikes were great and our group used all different types of bikes. Terrain is easy and flat with nearly no hills. We had riders in their late 70’s on road bikes and people in their 40’s on e-bikes. It was easy and fun! If you have cycled in Europe before you know that everyone loves to ride bikes and in many instances bike riders have more right of way than cars or pedestrians. If there was any criticism of this trip, I think that the stops you have during the rides for lunch and/or snacks could have been closer to restrooms, if possible. Half of our tour was women and I know several were hoping that the stops had restrooms at them or closer by. Having to hunt for a restroom sometimes became a sport at times. When I mentioned that cycling was unique or challenging, I meant only in that some of the routes were confusing-even with Ride with GPS. For instance, on our last ride in The Netherlands one of the longer routes was closed about ½ way through it and although we were told at outset it was open, it was not and so we had to quickly change course and use the other route provided. Not a big deal but confusing, nonetheless. Also, there were a lot of turns and back roads that look like you wouldn’t want to be going that way, but trust me, you do. Also, I would suggest not trying to “race” on these trips. You’re on vacation so enjoy the rides. Wanting to be first to finish will get you lost because sometimes you will be faster than your Ride with GPS guide can locate you and you may just miss a turn. This happened several times on this trip because the roads and side streets are so narrow and close together and not always easily marked. Also be aware that Ride with GPS is not like your car and will not tell you how to get back on course. You'll just have to figure it out if you're way off course. Also, word of caution; in The Netherlands you will also be quickly identified as not being a local because no one, and I mean NO ONE wears a helmet at all. Bikes are the primary mode of transportation in the cities, and you will have to ride somewhat offensively, not defensively. There is no yelling out, “on your left” or ringing of your bell for these folks- they are professionals and will zip in and out of lanes, cut you off or run you down if you hesitate. However, when they see you are wearing a helmet, they instinctively know you’re foreign and are very polite-most of the time. Also, keep in mind that they even allow mopeds on/in bike lanes so be sure to use your mirrors and always stay to the right- don’t meander on the path. Lastly the Pre/Post trips. If you can do it, I always suggest it. Not just because of the amazing cities, scenery, culture, and food but also for getting over the jetlag. We come from the West Coast so a trip to Europe is sometimes a 24 hour+ adventure. You need the time to get yourself right before your first ride. Zurich is an amazing city. The food, people, culture, and diversity are wonderful. We planned ahead and did a spa day and booked a top restaurant weeks before we left. You’ll need to do this too if you’re planning on wanting to do something special as everyone seems to be experiencing a labor shortage. The Hague for the post trip was equally fantastic. Much different pace than Amsterdam, we thoroughly enjoyed the museums (Escher, Mauritshuis and Mesdag) and were able to rent bikes at the hotel and head out to the beach just two miles away. Great weather and the beach were filled with dozens of restaurants and attractions. I am going to give this trip a 4+ Stars. Was not my favorite (Lake Constance still the best!) but I would recommend to anyone looking for something a little different than the normal cycle-only trip.
Fun and different kind of VBT trip.
Wonderful trip that includes the best of both worlds: a cruise along the Rhine in a new (this year) boat with all the amenities including delicious and plentiful meals, and biking on varied bike paths while taking in the beautiful landscapes all around. It's a trip you shouldn't pass up!
Don't miss this trip of a lifetime!
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