Testimonials From Our Friends
Tandems love tulips!Tandem riders from 3 countries joined together for a fabulous week of guided riding and sightseeing. Our guide, Joppe, aimed to please and personalized our routes to satisfy our need for miles and miles of tulips, windmills, and canals. The crew of the Allure were accommodating with delicious food, ready smiles, fine housekeeping and laundry services. Barbara and Michael |
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Our second “girls” bike and barge trip with IBT …… and our third has already been confirmed! No better way for 22 friends to travel, relax, catch up on life, and laugh than with IBT – all we had to do was pack and get on a plane, IBT took care of the rest! Theo our guide, and the crew of the Fiep were amazing! The Long Group |
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“We just returned from a springtime immersion …… in the land of windmills on a tour never to be forgotten. Everyone in the Netherlands bikes and the rest of the world is catching on to the joy of Slow Travel to deeply connect with the landscapes and culture. April was the best month to experience the charming wonders of Haarlem, Alkmaar, Leiden, Gouda, Purmerend and dynamic Amsterdam. Distance becomes relative when you pedal through medieval villages and miles of tulip fields bursting in rainbow colors. Onward, we peddled right through the iridescent floral fields’ fragrance by sweet purple hyacinth. We visited windmills, a cheese auction centuries old, floral museums and the famous annual Keukenhof gardens. In reflection, it’s hard to believe I bicycled 100 miles over a week through this Venice of the North. I must present this Adventures For Singles soft adventure journey again next spring.” Suzy Davis, Adventures for Singles |
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“We do a family reunion trip every year …… and our Main River trip with IBT stands out as one of the best. Our group consisted of 13 family members ages 15 to 80, so the arrangement of bicycling by day and then rendezvousing with the barge down the river by late afternoon was a perfect solution to the varying skill levels of the riders. Each evening we were able to dine as a group below deck, and then ‘retire’ to the deck afterward for drinks, cigars, and fellowship. The scenery of the German countryside was spectacular. Halfway through the trip, you pass from beer country to wine country, so you get to sample the best of both brews. As for the guides, they worked tirelessly to ensure everyone had a good time. Whenever the inevitable issue came up with a bicycle, they quickly resolved it. When we had a rainy day, they arranged a special trip for those who were up for that challenge. When a few of the bikers wanted a longer route, they accommodated an earlier departure further up the river. The bicycling system of ‘corners’ was new to us and worked very well, as it kept the group together instead of becoming spread out over many kilometers. Finally, when one of our family members had a birthday on board, the crew threw a little party and even provided a gift. Outstanding! Thank you so much IBT!” Conrad & Michael Hetzer |
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“For anyone interested in a bike and barge adventure …… International Bicycle Tours is THE best. I have invited a group of 20+ friends on four tours now and every time we say ‘this was the best.’ I think IBT gives you the best value for your money while giving you the best guides, barges and itineraries. You can’t go wrong booking an IBT adventure!!!” Karen Kushner |
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“Our group fully enjoyed …… the 2016 Holland Tulip Tour. The total experience was fantastic. The boat was a fun place to stay. Our guide and crew were very attentive to our needs. We learned a lot about the history and culture of Holland, saw beautiful scenery, and ate great food. We hope to make cycling with IBT an annual event.” Fred and Wenni Hsu |
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“Waiting to bike in heaven …… is not good advice. Mary and I were very lucky to have biked with Elderhostel (now Road Scholar) and IBT on at least eleven trips, beginning in 1993 and ending with a Holland Tulip Bike & Barge in 2012. That last trip was happily with our eldest son and his wife. We don’t believe we ever thanked you and Sue for what became the love of our life. We don’t bike anymore, but the memories of those trips are quite emotional. We especially liked the banter of our fellow bikers. Please accept our deepest gratitude. Our life was so enriched and our memories so profoundly affected that we cannot imagine our lives without those experiences.” Don and Mary Kaplan |
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“IBT is THE BEST!!!I’ve bicycled extensively in the USA and Europe, and can honestly say that the latest bike and barge trip to Holland deserves five stars…from the first moment of planning to the final “welcome home,” the staff at IBT was attuned and responsive to the needs of our group…and just HOW did you arrange sunshine, temperatures in the 70s, and stunning acres of tulips in bloom for that week? The Fiep, our home on the water, was picture perfect … clean and comfortable guest cabins, spacious lounging areas, gourmet meals, and a gracious crew focused on service. Our biking guide was knowledgeable, always aware of the riders’ capabilities, safety conscious, and just plain fun! This troupe of 23 seniors was unanimous in declaring the holiday a success, and want to know: What’s next? Thank you again, IBT!” Bonnie Sanderson |
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“I booked a wonderful itinerary with IBT …… last year for a Mosel & Saar Rivers Nordic Walking and Barging tour. Our barge was so wonderful, like having our own private hotel/yacht. Everyone onboard, from the Captain to our host and guide, Frank, were simply wonderful. The itinerary was perfect and just the right amount of walking, eating, drinking great wine, and relaxing. We were a group of fourteen friends who are still talking about this trip of a lifetime. Small groups, whether you know someone or not, are the best memories. Thank you, Frank, who took us by the hand and guided us on our adventure. Hope to come back soon!” Sherry Meluskey |
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“If you want to enjoy an amazing bike trip …… for seniors (or anyone), be sure to consider the Holland Tulip Bike & Barge that International Bicycle Tours arranges. This was a never-to-forget trip that I organized for a group of eleven senior couples (60s – 70s) in May 2015. We boarded the Fiep in Amsterdam and were hosted by an amazing crew including an outstanding chef that went out of his way to cook for 22 vegetarian guests. The tulip highlight of the trip was a visit to Keukenhof Gardens. It is now a year later, and our group still talks about this trip as the best ever. My wife and I have been on three European bike trips, and this one was, by far, the best. Holland is a biker’s paradise as the country has paved bike trails all over the country. They even have traffic signals for bikers; so no riding on roads with the traffic. Holland is very flat too – which is a plus for us older bikers. This trip includes a guide who knows the country very well. You definitely are wined and dined on this trip. The Dutch people are very gracious and they all speak English – better than any European country. Just do it!” The Fillman Group |
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“This was one of my BEST trips ever!That was a common response from people who went on IBT’s Tulip Tour in April and May 2014. Friends from the Denver Bicycle Touring Club filled two trips and thoroughly enjoyed the bicycling, the Allure, our IBT guides, the attractions we saw and an all-around great trip. Our group photos verify we were all smiles. We loved the crew and guides who made sure we were always where we were supposed to be when we were supposed to be there. We particularly enjoyed the work of the chef, who made us extra happy every breakfast and dinner. There were a few surprises, but of course we can’t tell what they were. The tulip fields were lovely. The flower auction was a spectacle to see. The tours of windmills and the wooden shoe factory were very interesting. We learned a lot about Dutch culture and history from our guides and can’t wait for our next IBT tour.” Carolyn & Ellen |
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“So far I have done …… a total of 30 bike tours, of which 27 were with IBT. I really like IBT’s relatively small group tours and the IBT corner system of navigating. I tried a “map system” tour and I did not enjoy it. I was paying more attention to the map, odometer and street signs than seeing the passing scenery. Which trip was best? Since the Loire Valley trip was our first and that stands out the most, I would like to do it again.” Steve Yanai |
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“We first dipped our toes …… into the world of IBT bike tours along the Loire Valley in 1991. It is one thing to go on a first bike tour; it is quite another to take tour after tour over almost two decades. We’ve made 16 European bike tours through 10 countries (some twice), plus seven domestic tours that spanned the lower 48. Why did we make 23 tours with IBT? Because each combined great biking among geographic and historical gems, authoritative lectures, excellent accommodations, an expert leader, and above all, each was fun.” Jean and Phyllis Keneipp |
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“It all started …… with a 1996 IBT/Elderhostel Danube bike trip that Fran had to convince me to tag along. Well after 19 trips (16 Europe and 3 US) we are still married and signing on for more. Why? IBT has the experience and people to maximize the joys and minimize the pains of biking through the ‘back roads of Europe.’ The 24-hour guide and support van can’t be beat, for getting us there, not getting lost, and being able to enjoy the sights along the way. They provide great biking packages, good value, and lifelong memories.” Ken and Fran Ando |
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“We’d love to …… still be riding with you guys. Unfortunately I am recovering from knee replacement and, after 18 IBT trips, our biking days may be behind us. You guys should know that you don’t just provide bike trips. You provide voyages of discovery. Exploring Europe, exploring and finding yourself, enlarging your world and so on. We cannot thank you enough for what you have done. I know it’s your job and you make $ but it is really so much more. After a PhD and 32 years of University teaching and research it is still one of my foremost growing experiences. You both should be very proud of what you do. We will never forget you.” Mike and Linda Dowler |
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“We have been on …… 25+ trips since 1998 with IBT. We’ve visited Holland, Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, England, Liechtenstein, Hungary, California and Denmark. IBT’s guides, equipment, food, lodging, airport pick-ups and take-to’s have always been terrific. We will continue to ride with IBT until we are physically not capable. We have a photo album shelf that is filled with pictures from our many trips, full of memories to love and cherish.” Bill and Rose Evans |
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“IBT bike trips …… are our favorite way to travel, having done 14 trips and looking forward to more. You can set your own pace and never fear getting lost or left behind with the IBT system for riding. The “coffee and pastry breaks” are always interesting and “local.” You really get a feel for the area. At the end of the day, your luggage is in your room waiting for you with time for a hot shower and a nap. Social hour and a group dinner with laughter top off the day. One feels a sense of accomplishment and rewarded by a wonderful travel adventure. Try it, you’ll like it!” B.J. and Hans Wittwer |
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“With IBT …… we have always had a great experience. It’s not a race; it’s an enjoyable and satisfying experience of sightseeing by bicycle. There will always be a bicycle trip on our travel agenda for each year as long as we can still get on a bicycle and pedal it! We encourage anyone even vaguely interested to give IBT a try – you might get hooked – like us!” Bill and Jane Vaughn |
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“I’m a single traveler …… and cyclist in what would appear to be at first glance a world inhabited by couples. Awkward? Not for a minute! The small but supremely talented and experienced IBT staff easily allays my pre-trip concerns and anxieties, arming and encouraging me with specific detailed information and moral support. Which IBT trip has been my favorite? After 22 tours, the one from which I’ve just returned…. every time!” Lillian Adamson |
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“Several years ago …… after reading an article in the Washington Post that glowingly described a bicycle tour in Holland with IBT, we decided to give it a try. It was everything the article described and more, and thus began our love of biking – so much that it became inconceivable to think of taking a vacation that did not include biking! The pace of the trips is perfect – one does not have to be a jock to keep up with the group, and getting lost in the countryside is not an option. There are stops along the way for coffee and pastries, and each evening’s dinner makes for lasting friendships. If you want to be on your bike but travel at a leisurely pace that gives you time to stop and smell the roses, these tours fit the bill.” Esther and Leonard Deitz |
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“The joys of traveling …… by bicycle are so numerous that it’s difficult to limit the rewards. Celtic music in Ireland, scenery along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain, the salt marshes and Roman ruins in Provence, as well as vineyards along the Mosel River in Germany make sweet memories for all of us who have traveled the distance with IBT over the years.” Henrietta Boland |
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“Since 1995 …… I have been making it a key priority to schedule a trip to do Europe with IBT and then get in shape so, at 85, I don’t hold anyone back. So far it has been working perfectly. See France, England, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Italy, even Switzerland. And I get healthier each year by doing it.” Don Duncan |
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“Ann (now 82) and Daniel (now 90) Streissguth …… have made seven trips with IBT. We’ve found every trip extraordinary! Each has provided great scenery, accommodations and food; fine bikes; splendid leaders; exciting visits with well-informed local guides; and wonderful camaraderie among a group of companion bikers. We’re hooked on IBT and hope to do many more trips.” Ann and Daniel Streissguth |
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“We first bicycled with IBT …… on Cape Cod in 2000. The experience suited us to a “T,” so much so that we have now taken 11 trips with IBT. With all of the bicycle touring companies to choose from, it is saying a lot that we continue to come back again and again to IBT. We think that IBT has mastered the art of designing, organizing and conducting trips. The destinations are always both interesting and beautiful. The routes tend to be scenic, off the beaten path, away from crowds and congestion, and find fascinating places to see and things to do that we would otherwise miss. The guides are personable, knowledgeable and capable of handling even the most unforeseen circumstances. The level of support from the driver and the van is excellent. We like the charm and character of the small hotels and restaurants, as well as the picnic lunches. We have always been provided with good bicycles and IBT’s ‘corner system’ makes us confident that we will not get lost or be left behind. We have especially enjoyed the people that we meet. We have bicycled with some of them on as many as six trips. Finally, we appreciate that we always get a good value when we bicycle with IBT and we are looking forward to many more trips.” Don and Joan Chambers |
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“I am a retired …… French/Russian Foreign Language Teacher who has taken 13 IBT/Elderhostel trips to Europe, beginning in 1993, my first year of retirement. My last two trips were bicycle/barge trips which I found easier to do as I got older.” Carole Kuhn |
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“We have done …… about 13 trips with IBT and are looking forward to many more. The guides are always outstanding, the people of great character and interesting, and the scenery, tours, food, etc. great! What else could one ask for? And the biking tops it all off.” Ed and Charlene Schwaneke |
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“Our first experience …… with IBT was the Loire tour in 1989 and we were ‘hooked.’ We have been on at least one tour each year since, and sometimes two. We are always with people who enjoy biking, are friendly and fun to be with. The guides are uniformly excellent, always alert for the safety of the participants and also are friendly. We are able to ride at our own pace, and rest breaks are sufficient to take pictures and enjoy the sightseeing. The excellent corner system used by IBT is better than following a map on your own. IBT’s concern for safety was noted on our first trip and has remained a priority for them on each subsequent trip.” Don and Laurette Bryan |
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“We have been …… on 13 IBT tours. We find the IBT tours to be well organized; structured to provide group sightseeing and learning opportunities, as well as allowing enough free time for personal exploration. The tours are led by a quality IBT guide who is supplemented by knowledgeable local guides at specific sites and/or cities. We have enjoyed the balance between biking, learning and the adventure of exploring a particular region. We joke that our favorite trip is the one we just completed.” Brad Bradburn and Marie Buffaloe |
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“We have been traveling …… throughout Europe on a regular basis since 1990 and have bicycled with IBT up the Elbe River in 2004 and down the Aare River in 2007. Not only were the IBT itineraries excellent and the guides really on top of things, the logistics were very well organized and executed by IBT’s local support staff who, along with the guides, became integral parts of our group and the total experience. Did I mention IBT’s arrangements for food and lodging? Those alone were worth the price, so the bike trips were virtually free. We just finished a bike and barge trip in Belgium with IBT for all of these reasons and it met all our expectations.” Darrell and Dolores Meyer |
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“Jim and I did some research …… taking a trip down memory lane with our photo albums, and decided that I have been on 18 trips with IBT, and Jim has ridden on 22. We started in 1990 and are looking forward to more. As to our favorite, it is impossible to name just one. Jim liked the trips that we named ‘the virgin trips,’ when the path was under water, the tunnel was closed and we backtracked six times! I loved the times when I had my four grown kids with me. Also the affinity group trips were special because of all the dear friends.” Jim and Shirley Ryan |
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“I have such a great time biking …… with IBT! Since my first trip in 1994, ‘Along the Danube,’ I have been on a bike trip every year. At the time we wondered, what in the world have we got ourselves into? We found out: New friends and new adventures. Over the years we have biked together and added more friends from all over the U.S. On a trip to East Anglia in 1998, so many were added that a charter group was formed as ‘The Lois Group’ in 2000. What a GREAT group! Our most recent trip was to Mexico in 2010 (photo at right). I never expected to visit so many great places, ride though small villages, visit museums, art galleries and hear Orpha play the organ in several different churches. Where else would you have as much fun and have greater companions than on an IBT trip? See the world from a bike seat.” Lois Woodcock |
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“IBT literally put us on wheels …… 25 years ago on a Tulip Tour to Holland where we first met lifelong friends. Now we wouldn’t think of leaving our bikes home for a vacation. ‘Not to worry’ about a thing, Director Frank Behrendt has carefully arranged routes, fine hotels, safety details, and of course, pastry stops. Our most memorable trip, four years ago, was to the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, a moveable feast of dramatic views and beautiful islands. IBT is a senior sporting adventure not to be missed!” Jeannette and Verne Gilbert |
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“We’ve been doing IBT tours for 12 years …… always having a wonderful time. Our very first trip, during tulip time in Holland, absolutely sold us on both biking as a unique way to see the countryside and on IBT. Our guide related her experiences as a young girl in World War II and steered us to the annual Memorial Day cemetery service, where all over Holland every grave of every soldier, no matter what nationality or side he fought on is cared for. The IBT guides and their assistants, who love where they live and are enthusiastic showing it, have all been wonderful.” Wally and Carol Rowe |
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“I remember my first ‘role model’ …… on the North Holland tour with Els at the end of the last century. Els was my first group leader and had a mind of her own. Now I have reached her venerable age after 19 IBT excursions and have a new role model – my cabinmate of 85 on a recent bike and barge tour. Hope to break his record! Thanks for creating IBT and enriching my life. (There’s a succinct testimonial if ever there was one.)” Lee Miller |
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“I took my first IBT trip …… 19 years ago, in England’s East Anglia. Over the years there’ve been nine others, each one memorable. My first experiences were thru the Elderhostel program, but I soon learned that, having participated, I had become a member of Frank Behrendt’s IBT family. I’ve done bicycle trips with other companies, and by comparison, IBT is BY FAR the best. Safety and control are prime feature of IBT trips. An initial training session instills the unique IBT corner and sweep systems, and one’s chances of becoming lost or injured are minimized. My IBT memories are legion. Door County. Cape Cod and Nantucket. England and Ireland. The rivers of Europe: Danube, Elbe, Mosel, Inn, Salzach, Rhine. Castles, wineries, museums, concentration camps, cathedrals. The Alps: downhill from Krimml, Austria, or rising above Austria’s Lake Country or Inn Valley. Magical moments. As I write the Yucatan tour is only a short time away. I can hardly wait.” Richard “Steve” Stevens |
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“We have enjoyed 16 bike trips …… since retiring in 1995, all with an excellent organization known as IBT. IBT scouts out a route, takes care of all the details, and allows the participants to bike with new friends and people we have biked with on previous trips. IBT also does an excellent job of finding great chefs to provide us with gourmet breakfasts and dinners. The biking routes are designed for average bikers, but they do provide enough to counter the calories from the gourmet food provided. Looking forward to the next trip.” Kathy and Keith Wolf |
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“From 2003 through 2014 …… we participated in 11 bicycle tours with IBT. As regular bicyclists, we appreciate the dependable bicycles; the high caliber of leaders and van drivers; and the IBT system using consistent riding rules that make us work as a team. We enjoy bicycling, being outdoors, learning about history and culture of an area, eating good food, and being with like-minded, active people. That is what we have found on the IBT trips.” Shirley Wolfe and Roy Neuer |
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“Thank you …… for a perfect trip! The boat, the crew, the guide, the ride, the sites, the food, the fun! It was all we hoped for! We look forward to another trip with IBT” The Hughes Group |
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