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FIND your perfect trip!
FIND your
perfect trip!
Cycling days
Distance
Through Flanders' Riverland
Through Flanders' Riverland
Type :
Hybrid :
E-Bike :
Duration :
6 days
Cycling days :
 4
Comfort :
period:
Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Code:
BE106002
Cycling along rivers Nature Cities Flemish masters
price from € 607
Through Flanders' Riverland
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Through Flanders' Riverland

Bike Tour: Through Flanders' Riverland - 6 days

Through Flanders' Riverland

The meandering rivers Dyle, Nete, Zenne and Rupel shape influence their surroundings. Together they are Regional Landscape Rivierenland, a region marked by an open landscape with streams, ponds, claypits, marshes, meadows, willow and poplar woods and caste domains. The fours small rivers are tributaries of the large river Scheldt; and - even at a distance of 140 km from the sea, are subject to the influence of the tides that move through the Scheldt estuary. This makes the region a tidal freshwater zone, marked by high habitat and species diversity. This cycling holiday will take you through this beautiful wetland area between the diamond city of Antwerp and the cathedral city of Mechelen. You will start your journey in Mechelen with it's impressive Sint-Romboutstower.  Lier, a hidden gem between these well-known cities.

From Mechelen you will cycle along the river Nete to Lier, a hidden gem between the well-known cities from Antwerpen and Mechelen.

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Route
Day 1: Arrival in Mechelen
Day 2: Mechelen - Lier
Day 3: Lier - Antwerp
Day 4: Antwerp - Bornem
Day 5: Bornem - Mechelen
Day 6: Departure from Mechelen

Day 1:    Arrival in Mechelen

Organize your own journey to Mechelen, a really charming city in the center of Flanders. 

Day 2:    Mechelen - Lier
24 km

Mechelen is too much fun to leave in a hurry, so make the most of the morning and go for a walk in the city centre, climb the St. Rumbold's Tower, or take a boat trip on the Inner Dyle. Today's cycle route takes you through the hinterlands of Mechelen to Sint-Katelijne-Waver and further to the river Nete. On the cycling path on the riverbank enjoy the winding route to Duffel, where duffel cloth for duffel coats and bags was inventedand produced. At the end of the day, arrive in charming Lier.

Day 3:    Lier - Antwerp
28 km

Leaving Lier behind you, you will soon find yourself cycling along the Kleine Nete, a riverlet that still harbours some rare fish species. The first part of this ride to the great city of Antwerp takes you along quiet country lanes between vast green (or yellow) meadows and through villages such as Boechout and Vremde. In Mortsel you will pass Fort 4 of the seven remaining Brialmont Forts designed to defend Antwerp. In the park around the fort, children have a great time in the playground. From here the roads will be increadingly busy, but entering Antwerp is easy: a long and straight bike path along the railway will lead you to the city centre where your hotel is located directly behind the Central Station.

Day 4:    Antwerp - Bornem
32 km

Fashion city, diamond city, port city, there are many ways to describe the biggest city of Belgium. Make the most of your morning and do some sightseeing. Are you traveling with children? Start the day with a visit to Antwerp Zoo, situated at walking distance from your hotel. Then mount your bikes, set off for Hoboken and catch the ferry to Kruibeke. That is where the pretty part of the route begins. Cycle through the floodplains of the Scheldt. This is Flanders' biggest flood control area with reduced tides. It is part of the Sigma works, a flood protection plan preparing Flanders for climate change. What the cyclo-tourist sees is a lovely polder area with tidal nature, mudflats, marshes, alders woods and meadow birds. Near Temse, cross the Scheldt and continue to the lively village of Bornem where you will stay the night.

Day 5:    Bornem - Mechelen
34 km

A beautiful stage of the tour awaits. You will cycle on the former towpaths of the Scheldt, Rupel and Dyle, past water-rich floodplaints that attract many different bird species. Moreover, you will cycle on neat, cobbled streets in charming Flemish villages and through the woods around d'Ursel Castle. Take your binoculars with you to spot the wetland wildlife, from cormorants to woodpeckers and beavers, all of them live in the Rupel Valley. Later, you will reach the Three Rivers Point where the Dyle and Nete join from the Rupel. Follow the Dyle into Mechelen and end the day with a tour through the beautiful city centre.  

Day 6:    Departure from Mechelen

After breakfast, your holiday will come to an end. It's time to return home.

Prices & dates

Starting dates:

Every Monday from the 7th of April to the 22nd of September


Price pp
Double room, breakfast 599.00
Single room, breakfast 899.00
Extra night double room, breakfast only 80.00
Rental bike
Child bike 65.00
Hybrid 75.00
E-bike 155.00
Extra services
Bike theft insurance € 3.00 x 5 15.00
E-bike theft insurance € 6.00 x 5 30.00
Bike helmet per piece 15.00
SGR per piece 5.00

Start:

Mechelen

Accommodation

The hotels on this trip have been carefully selected for their location, atmosphere and/or unique services. All rooms are en-suite. A list of the hotels we work with appears below. If a certain accommodation is unable to confirm due to lack of availability, we will request a comparable alternative. 

 

NH Hotel Mechelen**** (Mechelen)
Hotel Florent*** (Lier)
Mercure Antwerp City South**** (Antwerpen)
De Notelaer**** (Bornem)
Bikes

Instruction video hybrid bike and e-bike

 

 

Our hybrid bikes are aluminum bikes and have 27-gears

Assembly: Shimano Deore

Brakes: Shimano V Brakes (hand brakes)

Tires: Schwalbe Marathon

Saddle: Selle Royal Freedom

Pedals: flat pedals (XLC)

Weight: circa 16,5 kilo

The e-bikes are Freebike Harlem or similar. The bikes have a small electric engine and battery, which can be charged at the hotels. You still have to pedal: it just makes pedaling much easier. Some experience with e-bikes is recommended, as the bikes accelerate faster and are heavier than regular bikes because of the electric engine.

Assembly: Shimano Nexus 8 gears

Brakes: Shimano hydraulic discbrakes

Handlebars are adjustable without any tools

Tires: Continental

Pedals: Flat pedals

Saddle: Velo Comfort

Range battery: ca. 100 km (with normal use)

Weight: ca. 25 kilo. 

 

For children who are at least 125 cm, we can also arrange bikes (these are 24”or 26” for children that are bigger than 140 cm). The bikes are Oxford Kick-Off bikes or similar, we also use child mountainbikes as child bike.

Assembly: Shimano 7 gears

Brakes: Shimano V-Brakes (hand brakes)

Pedals: flat pedals

Weight: 13,3 kg (24 inch) or 13,9 kg (26 inch)

The maximum body height for a child’s bike is 155 cm. 


Bell

All our rental bikes come with a bell.


Brakes

All our adult bikes come with hand brakes. 


Childseat

For children up to 30 months old (max. 15 KG) it is possible to rent a front child seat. This is not possible with e-bikes, due to the display.

For children older than 30 months (max. 22KG) it is possible to rent a rear child seat. This is also possible with e-bikes.

 


Helmet

Helmets are not mandatory in Belgium, but can be rented for €15,- per piece.|
Available sizes: Adult: 54-61cm, Child: 50-55cm. 


Lights

All our bikes come with both front- and rear lights. You need to push the button on the lamp and it will flash three times. This means that the lights will automatically start working when it gets dark. 

When you push again, the lamp will flash one time and the lights will be turned off.


Locks

Our bikes come with a defender lock with plug in chain (cable lock that is attached to the regular lock, see picture).

You need to turn the key a bit, take out the pin from the cable lock and attach it to a pole/other bike/fence etc.

When you push the pin back into the regular lock, you need to lock the regular lock as you always do, and both locks will be secured.


Pannier

1 pannier is included at the 'standard' bikes and the e-bikes.

Height: 42 cm
Depth front to the side: 17 cm
Wide top: 32 cm
Wide down: 23 cm
Volume: 20 liters
It has an easy click-on/click-off system. The panniers are water resistant, so everything will stay dry.


Pedals

The rental bikes come with regular pedals, so no click-in/SPD pedals. 


Quickrelease

All our bikes come with a quick release system, which makes it very easy to adjust the height of the saddle and the handle bars. 


Repairkit

There is one small puncture kit included, which can be found in the pannier. In case a rental bike has another problem, we always advise you to go to a bike repair shop or call the bike breakdown emergency number which is provided in the travel documents when you book this extra service.


Saddle

Saddles can be adjusted in height without using any tools, see ‘Quick Release’.
Our saddles don’t come with a gel cover. 


Waterbottles

Dutch Biketours does not provide water bottles. We can also not guarantee that there are bottle holders on the bikes. You will always receive 1x pannier, so you can always store your water bottle in your pannier.


We have a limited amount of tandem bikes available on request. The tandem bikes are steel Victoria Special 8.7 or similar. Tandem bikes are suitable for two adults only. 

Assembly: Shimano Acera 24 gears

Brakes: Magura HS11 (hand brakes)

Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Plus

Saddle: Selle Royal Rio Plus SR 8020

Weight: ca. 28 kg


The tandem bikes have a frame size of 48 cm. 
The height of the handle bars on a tandem bike cannot be adjusted.

We have limited family tandem bikes available on request. The family tandems are made of aluminium and can be used for one adult and one child with a minimum body height of 125 cm.

Assembly: Shimano (8 gears)

Brakes: V-Brakes (hand brakes)

Tires: Schwalbe Marathon plus

Saddle: Selle Royal Rio

Pedals: Flat pedals

A tag-along bike is a good option for children between approx. 100 cm and 125 cm, as they can pedal themselves and on their own pace but don’t have to worry about other traffic.

 

 

Child trailers can be rented for a maximum of two children who are up to 100 cm (max. 35 KG in total). 

We mostly use the XLC Duo 2 child trailer.
Child trailers are not possible in combination with e-bikes.  

Mile after wonderful mile of untroubled cycling is what we would wish our clients. However there is a minimal chance of breakdown along the way. If this thought is a nagging worry to you, a Bicycle Breakdown Assistance insurance policy may ease your mind. If you buy this insurance from our partner FietsNED in advance, their service is as follows. If your bike breaks down by the roadside a FietsNED bicycle repair man will drive to you in his repair van and fix your bike so you can continue your tour.You won’t have to pay him repair costs. If you are cycling on your own bicycle you will be charged for any new spare parts your bike may require. If you are renting a bicycle through Dutch Bike Tours any new parts are at our expense. If it turns out the bicycle cannot be repaired on the spot, or if you don’t wish to continue cycling, the repairman can drop you off somewhere in his van. One companion plus bikes may join you in the van.

The Bike Breakdown Pass is €2,75 per day per bike and can only be booked for every participant in a booking. 

 

Do you wish to insure your bike against theft? The cost is € 3,- per day per standard hybrid bicycle.
For an electric bicycle, premium bike or racing bike: € 6,00 per day per bicycle.
Please see the General Terms and Conditions for Bicycle Hire and Insurance. 

If a rental bike gets stolen or damaged, we will hold the client responsible.
If your insurance does not cover this event, you will have to pay the costs yourself.

Article 1 Bike Rental Price

The bike rental price is determined by the rates mentioned on the Dutch Bike Tours website at the time of the booking; or as subsequently agreed.

Article 2 Payment

a. The rental price and any other due sums regarding the rental agreement must be paid before the bike is handed over to you.

b. If, for whatever reason, you cannot make use of the bike(s) you have rented, Dutch Bike Tours will not be held responsible for any resulting expenses or damage.

c. In the case of the article 2b, the client remains obliged to pay the full rental price and any other amounts mentioned in the invoice, in accordance with our General Terms and Conditions of Booking, unless the client can prove that his not being able to use the bike was the consequence of a defect that was already present at the beginning of the rental period.

Article 3 Rental Period

a. The rental period runs from the morning of the first cycling day (day 2) to the end of the holiday (the departure day), as stated in the booking confirmation.

b. Extension of the rental period is possible only after approval by us and according to the (extension) rates as mentioned in article 1.

c. No refunds are possible after the rental period begins. If you return the bike(s) to us before the end of your holiday, the rental agreement will automatically be terminated and you will not get any of your money back.

d. At the end of the last cycling day of your holiday, the bike(s) must be returned to the hotel from where it was/they were issued, no later than the time stated in the booking confirmation.
If you book a one way tour tour you can leave the bike at the last hotel of the trip. 

e. If the bike(s) is /are not returned by the return time stated in the booking confirmation, we will continue to charge you rent until such time as the bike(s) is/are returned to us or is/are received by us. In the event of late return, the rates as mentioned in article 1 will continue to apply, plus a fine of €25 per day. We also reserve the right to demand payment for any costs and/or damages suffered by us due to late return of our rental bike(s).

f. Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, in the event of late return of our rental bikes, we reserve the right to dissolve the rental agreement without judicial intervention and immediately claim back our bicycles where ever they may be and from whomever has them. Dutch Bike Tours also holds this right in the event that the client does not comply with any of the other conditions stated in this rental agreement.

Article 4 Improper Use

a. The bicycle(s) may only be used for its/their intended purpose and only by the cyclists listed in the rental agreement.

b. The bike(s) must be returned to us in the same (clean!) state in which you received it/them.

c. You must take excellent care of the bicycle(s), as if it/they were your own. You must take every precaution against damage, loss or theft.

d. The bicycle may not be used on the beach; or on sandy paths in the dunes unless a paved path is unavailable.

Article 5 Damage, Loss and Theft

The renter will be held responsible for damages to or loss of the bicycle(s) or parts of it, as well as bicycle keys and chains and locks, for such an amount as is determined by us according to standard market prices. You must understand that you are not insured for damage to the bicycle(s) or for any damages to third parties.

Article 6 Theft Insurance

It is possible to purchase Bicycle Theft Insurance. Covered are: damages arising out of the theft of the bicycle; and damages to the bicycle as a consequence of the theft. Not covered are: theft of bicycle parts; and damages arising out of attempted theft.

Article 7 Theft Insurance Premium

a. The premium for Bicycle Theft Insurance is € 3,00 per day per standard hybrid bicycle. For an electric bicycle € 6,00 per day as well for a Premium bike and racing bike.

The number of insurance days is the same as the number of cycling days as stated in our booking confirmation.

Article 8 Liability in the Event of Theft

a. If you did not purchase Bicycle Theft Insurance from us before the start of the holiday, you will be held fully accountable for the sum determined by us according to standard prices.

b. If you did purchase Bicycle Theft Insurance from us, but you failed to lock the wheel lock and failed to produce the original wheel lock key and failed to produce an official theft report drawn up by the police, you will still be held fully accountable for the sum determined by us according to standard prices.

Article 9 Costs During the Rental Period

Any charges and taxes regarding the rental bicycle(s), such as fines and ferry tickets, are to be paid by you. You will also be required to pay all costs ensuing from the use of the bicycle(s) such as parking fees, maintenance and repairs.

 

Practical info

5 nights included

3/4 star hotels

Tourist tax included

Breakfast included

Tourist information on all the places of interest

Possibility of renting our bikes

7-days a week service hotline during your holiday

Luggage transport to your next hotel is included

The start hotel is 10-15 minutes walking distance from Mechelen Central Station

Parking possibilities at the hotel

GPS-tracks available

Any ferry crossings are not available

Arrival info

Nearest Airport is Antwerp Internation Airport (ANR) or Brussels Airport (BRU).

Reviews

12-09-2022

Erik and the team at Belgian Bike Tours were excellent and easy to deal with. The arrangements were seamless and the experience was excellent. I would highly recommend them for any trip to Belgium.


Gary Jacobson - AU

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