Bike and walking tours - Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam
 

My husband and I are in the midst of planning a trip to Belgium and the Netherlands - I've got another more general thread going, but I thought I would start a new one with a more specific question - about bike and walking tours.

We will be in Brussels, Bruges, and Amsterdam with day trips to Den Hag, Ghent, and a couple other towns yet to be determined - perhaps Oostend, Antwerp, Delft - and are looking for recommendations for bike and walking tours.

In Bruges we are considering a bike tour with Quasimundo and in Amsterdam we are considering a bike tour with Mike's Bikes - we went on their tour of Munich and had a blast.

Any comments or other recommendations? Thanks :)

It's Den Haag - two aa's which are pronounced like ah not a as is ante :).
Mikes is popular in Amsterdam. Not sure how sensible it is to bike ride in Amsterdam personally but that's another matter.
You can always hire bikes and follow a route from one of the tourist offices. Most stations have a bike rental place.

When we were in Bruges, we just did our own bike ride along the canal to Damme and beyond. The Belgian bike trails are well-marked, and most likely you can borrow the bike map from your B&B owner (which we what we did). It was very easy to DIY.

What we did was similar to Tour #2 offered by Quasimundo.
http://www.quasimundo.com/html/tours.html
Except that all we paid was 10 euros for renting 2 bikes from our B&B, instead of the 24 euros per person tour price.

Yes, of course we could rent bikes and follow a map, but while you may see the same things, we like taking a tours and having the guide tell us stories and having the opportunity to socialize with others for a few hours :)

Anyone with recommendations for tours?

I'm also more into the DIY way. For a day trip to Ghent, you can rent bicycles, leave most of your luggage at your hotel or host in Bruges and cycle all along safely towpaths to that historical town. It's no more than 45 or 50 kilometers. And the day after, you can return along the same way or choose to do a bit extra along other canals with towpaths. And if you choose for a homestay formula like 'Vrienden op de Fiets' you also don't have to worry about socializing. These locals like to host and help cyclists. ;-)

Parts of the next two links show the canals to follow!

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Ghent-Bruges
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...ldegem-Eeklo-G

In Amsterdam you should do a bike tour with Bike Tour Amsterdam, http://www.biketouramsterdam.nl

A nice city tour on a typical Amsterdam bike.

Like you, I've done Mike's Bikes in Munich and also the FatTire bike tour in Berlin, and it is so much fun! So, I know exactly what you're after here. I don't know if you're going to find these kinds of tours in Bruges and Ghent (or the smaller towns), however, I just came across this link for Brussels: http://www.brusselsbiketours.com/. Can't comment specifically since I haven't done it, however, we're going to be in Brussels for a few days next month, and I'm thinking about doing this with my boyfriend. If you come up with any others, let me know. When are you going?

I've not done it but for within the city of Amsterdam, I would definitely join a bike tour, not try to ride on your own. It's crazy (the bike traffic).

I felt completely safe while cycling two days in Den Haag and nearby Scheveningen. Bike lanes everywhere!