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In the Netherlands, flowers are a way of life… You’ll see flower boxes abloom with tulips and an array of colorful potted plants in villages and towns all over Holland. Gardens grace the landscapes everywhere you look, paying homage to an economy which is largely horticultural based.
- 78868
- River
- 01 Jan 24
- Amsterdam
- Brussels
- Europe
- From 05 Apr 23 to 27 Apr 23
- 12Apr23, 04May23
- 7 nights
- Tauck Cruising
- Cruise Only
-
Amsterdam, Keukenhof, Kinderdijk, Dordrecht, Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels
Inclusions
- All gratuities to ship staff, drivers, local guides, Tauck Directors and Tauck Cruise Director
- All private Tauck shore excursions – AUD $2,211 Value!
- 7-night riverboat cruise aboard ms Treasures, ms Esprit or ms Grace
- Visits to Keukenhof Gardens, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp
- A scenic cruise along the beautiful 17th-century canals of Amsterdam
- Visits to Dordrecht and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kinderdijk's 18th-Century windmills
- Choice of a bicycling excursion among the windmills of Kinderdijk
- Excursions to the well-preserved medieval Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges
- A visit to a local brewery for a "bier" tasting in Antwerp
- Unlimited complimentary beverages aboard ship include regional wine, beer and premium spirits in addition to specialty coffee, water and soft drinks
- Airport and train transfers upon arrival and departure as noted
- 20 meals; service charges, taxes, porterage, and applicable fuel surcharges
Important Terms
- * Rates quoted are in Australian dollars.
- 120 days or more before departure - Loss of Deposit.
- 60 days before departure - Loss of 50% of tour cost, not including air (if applicable)
- 59-1 day before departure - Loss of 100% of tour cost, not including air (if applicable)
- Please note - Airfares included on On-Tour Flights required with any of Tauck tours may be subject to different cancellation fees not outlined above.
- *For services included in your booking that are not provided by Tauck, additional cancellation fees may be incurred
- *Travel Professionals may impose their own cancellation fees.
- Prices shown are fully inclusive of taxes unless otherwise stated.
- Advertised price includes any bonus nights, special offers or discounts listed in the inclusions.
- Surcharges may apply due to demand, Christmas & New Year's Eve, school or public holidays, trade shows, special events & other unforeseen circumstances.
- Prices may be based on Dynamic Rates and as such, may fluctuate at anytime without notice, due to matters outside our control, such as adverse currency fluctuations, fuel surcharges, taxes and airfare increases, or at the property's discretion.
Departures & Rates
*Rates are based on per person for two adults sharing. For solo travellers or single person occupancy rates, or other cabin types not listed, please contact our Travel Specialists for a quote.
Itinerary
Day 1
Welcome to Amsterdam & embark riverboat
Tour begins: 4:00 PM, Amsterdam. Upon arrival, a transfer is included from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport or Centraal Train Station directly to your Tauck riverboat. After settling into your cabin, attend a discovery briefing, then enjoy a welcome reception followed by dinner this evening aboard the riverboat.
Meal(s) served: Dinner
Accommodation: Ship
Day 2
Amazing Amsterdam
Awaken on your riverboat today in Amsterdam – a vibrant blend of the historic and the contemporary, from its medieval core to the bustling shops, cafés and rich cosmopolitan life of a 21st-century European metropolis. After breakfast aboard ship, begin your exploration of this nearly car-free city of flower-rimmed canals, gracious gabled mansions, and people on bikes with a boat cruise through the network of 17th-century canals at the core of the old city, that offers a refreshing perspective of the Netherlands’ capital city. As you’ll discover, Amsterdam boasts more canals than Venice… and, as it happens, more museums per kilometer than any other European capital. One of the most famous is the matchless Rijksmuseum – filled with myriad works by the Dutch Masters, including Rembrandt’s The Night Watch and Vermeer’s The Milkmaid – which, after lunch aboard your ship, you’ll visit this afternoon with a local guide. Spend the rest of the afternoon as you please, then join us onboard this evening for a shanty choir performance, some Dutch treats and the chef’s Signature Dinner, as the riverboat cruises to Haarlem. You’ll have an opportunity to walk ashore in Haarlem with your Tauck Director tonight.
Meal(s) served: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ship
Day 3
Magical Keukenhof Gardens & the Hague
Disembark the riverboat for an excursion to Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, the home of famous show gardens and millions of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, in various stages of bloom and particularly beautiful at this time of the year. A rolling carpet of color, Keukenhof is one of Europe’s most iconic – and fragrant – places to witness springtime in all its glory. After lunch ashore, return to the riverboat for an afternoon of cruising. This evening, meet your local guides in Rotterdam and travel to The Hague (the royal city of Den Haag to the Dutch), for a sparkling Tauck Exclusive evening featuring dinner, live music and a tour showcasing Dutch Golden Age paintings at the Mauritshuis, a renowned art museum housed in a historic 17th-century building.
Meal(s) served: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ship
Day 4
Kinderdijk’s windmills & Dordrecht
Arrive this morning in the Dutch village of Kinderdijk, where 19 original 18th-century windmills – preserved today as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – create an iconic polderscape that’s better than any picture-postcard, which you’ll enjoy on a boat cruise. There’s no other place in the world besides Kinderdijk where can you see so many historic windmills together in an authentic setting. During your visit, discover how a windmill works both inside and out, and explore the quintessentially Dutch history of windmills. Alternatively, you can choose a bicycling excursion amidst the Kinderdijk windmills. Cruise on to nearby Dordrecht, a historic island city bordering no less than five rivers in the South Holland province of The Netherlands. Reflecting the definition of the Dutch word for harbor – “haven” – the city’s charming harbor district preserves many historic warehouses, merchants’ mansions and quays, and its role as a major port city from the 15th to 18th centuries. A walking tour reveals Dordrecht’s notable architecture and monuments in its medieval inner city, as well as the surrounding ring of 19th-century buildings. Return to the ship for dinner and evening activities as you sail on to Belgium tonight.
Meal(s) served: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ship
Excursion Choices
Day 5
Flemish treasures in Ghent & Bruges
This morning, your riverboat arrives in the historic port city of Ghent in Flanders, arguably Belgium’s most beautiful city. Take a walking tour of Ghent’s Old Town; the pedestrian-friendly cobblestoned town center feels like an outdoor museum of early Flemish architecture. Think about climbing to the top of the 14th-century belfry, crowned with a dragon, for the view – Ghent laid out before you is a visual feast of castles, churches, and historic merchants’ houses. Be sure to try the local speciality, Ghent noses, a traditional raspberry candy sold at stands on the street – or a warm waffle with sugar or honey. Continue on to Bruges, known to many as “the Venice of the North,” for its canals and tiny medieval streets. On your walking tour along Bruges’ cobblestoned lanes, you’ll feel like you’ve walked into a painting by Jan Van Eyck, who captured life in the city during its heyday in the 15th century. The hike up the stairs of the medieval belltower is well worth the effort; you’ll be rewarded with wonderful panoramic views. Enjoy dinner onboard tonight as you sail on to Antwerp.
Meal(s) served: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ship
Day 6
Antwerp & the age of exploration
Your riverboat arrives this morning in the major port city of Antwerp for a day in the capital of the Belgian province of Flanders. Take an orientation tour of the city and a guided walk through the city’s historic center. As you stroll and hear stories and insights from your local guide, take in Grote Markt, the old market square; City Hall; the Cathedral of Our Lady; and numerous restored merchants’ houses, harkening back to the days of the 16th-century Age of Exploration when Antwerp – at the time a powerful center of international commerce – was the richest city in Europe. Later, you’ll have a choice between a visit to the Red Star Line Museum – whose interactive exhibits in the former warehouses of the Red Star Line shipping company tell the story of the more than two million immigrants from all over Europe, whose long journey to a new life in North America began right here in Antwerp. Or join us for a tour and tasting at a local brewery. After lunch aboard ship, you’ll have some free time to explore more of Antwerp. Return to the ship and enjoy dinner and a musical performance this evening as the riverboat cruises to Brussels.
Meal(s) served: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ship
Excursion Choices
Day 7
Discover Brussels
Morning guided sightseeing today in Brussels, Belgium’s capital and a key center of European trade and culture since the 13th century, begins with a city tour that takes in the Atomium, a 338-foot-tall structure resembling atoms, built for the 1958 World’s Fair and winds up at Grand-Place, one of Europe’s loveliest city squares, boasting a Gothic town hall surrounded by Renaissance-era guildhalls. Return to the riverboat for lunch; this afternoon, you might choose to participate in a demonstration by a local chocolatier. Then join us this evening for a farewell reception and dinner marking the end of this fabulous spring river cruise!
Meal(s) served: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Ship
Excursion Choices
Day 8
Disembark for your journey home
Tour ends: Brussels. Fly home anytime; all guests must disembark the riverboat by 9:00 AM. A transfer is included from the riverboat to Brussels Airport; allow 3 hours for flight check-in.
Meal(s) served: Breakfast
Accommodation: Ship
Cruise Line
Tauck Cruising
Go beyond the ordinary and experience cruise travel at its best with Tauck. What makes Tauck’s Small Ship Cruising and River Cruising unique is the focus on the destination. Each scenic ports of call connect you with people and places, which will give you a moving, compelling and heart-warming experience both onboard and ashore.
Time ashore is enriched by in-depth cultural exploration and insider access that ensures up-close-and-personal connections with the locals and daily life. Tauck’s cruise travel adventures include guided sightseeing with local experts such as naturalists, historians, and accomplished lecturers. You’ll dine on regional cuisine on land at aboard ship that showcases specialties of the destination. After a day of extraordinary sightseeing, Tauck welcome you back onboard the hand-picked vessels for warm camaraderie and lively conversation that’s inherent on every Tauck cruise travel experience. The stories are endless, the memories are timeless and the connections priceless.
You can expect to see the sights a bit differently than you would with anyone else. Tauck explores Europe’s great waterways from the Rhine and the Danube to the Rhône and the Seine in France. Their luxurious riverboats are spacious and comfortable, welcoming you to an onboard experience characterized by the Tauck. Discover river cruises that go beyond the ordinary!
Tauck Voted World’s Best River Cruise Line
For the second time in three years, Tauck has been named the “World’s Best River Cruise Line" by the readers of Travel + Leisure, one of the world’s most authoritative and respected publications for travellers. The World’s Best Awards from Travel + Leisure are selected by the magazine’s readers. Every year, T+L holds a survey for readers to fill out on their main website. The survey remains open until April.
Winners are announced in the August/September issues of Travel + Leisure. These awards are given in categories such as hotels, resorts, spas, cruises, airlines, travel companies, tour operators, cities, islands, family travel, and more.
River Cruising
The heart of history meets the art of sophisticated river cruise travel aboard Tauck’s river cruises. Experience the Tauck difference on cruise travel days along great European waterways from the Rhine to the Danube, from the canals of the Netherlands to the Rhône, from the Main to the Danube and the Moselle…
You’ll cruise aboard spacious riverboats that have been custom designed to meet American standards with well appointed outside facing cabins and suites, a choice of on-board dining venues, complimentary wine with dinner, fitness centers and attentive personal service from Tauck’s staff and the ship’s crew.
Ancient civilizations beckon on cruise travel days along the River Nile in Egypt and China’s Yangtze River on Tauck’s Exotic journeys, where 3- and 4-night river cruise travel enhances land journeys.
Small Ship Cruising
The difference in Tauck’s small ship cruise travel lies in the choreography of the total cruise travel experience – the combination of personalized cruising with cultural land exploration. How you spend your days ashore – where you go, what you do, who you meet – that’s the Tauck difference. From the moment you step ashore, with 85 years of expertise on land ensures that on every cruise travel day, every moment of your shore excursions (all included in the price) count! Smaller ships hold fewer passengers, which means more personal attention from the captain and the crew – you’ll find the on-board atmosphere to be both club-like and comfortable. The pace is more relaxed, the conversations are richer, and the day-to-day experiences are shared with like-minded travelers.
